[R99]

Hi all, new to this forum - but not to MINI's! I've had 3 previous MINI's (1x R50 1x R56 JCW 1x R55 Clubman) and now I have my latest F56, and I can safely say that this is the best

I had a short break from them with a BMW 1 series, which was sold to make way for my latest car…

The spec is:

Cooper S
Thunder Grey
White Roof / Mirrors
18" Cone Spokes in White
Leather Cross Punch Carbon Black / Carbon Black

MINI Yours Off White Interior Pack
- Interior trim (off white)
- MINI Excitment Pack

Media Pack XL
- MINI Navigation System XL
- Enhanced Bluetooth with USB audio
- MINI Connected XL

Chilli Pack
- Multifunction controls for s'wheel
- Floor mats
- Passenger seat height adjustment
- Storage compartment pack
- MINI Driving modes
- Rain sensor with auto headlight activation
- Air conditioning, dual zone automatic
- Interior lights pack
- LED fog lights

Sport Suspension
JCW Steering Wheel
Electric Folding Mirrors
JCW Roof Spoiler
Panoramic Electric Glass Sunroof
Darkened Rear Glass
Front Centre Armrest
Anthracite Headlining
Cruise Control with Brake Function
LED Headlights with Cornering function
Harman Kardon Hi-Fi

Here is the car on collection day (with 4 miles on the clock!!)

 

[mikeswagon]

Welcome to the forum.

I've been following this on just minitorque and northamericanmotoring, hadn't noticed you weren't on here yet.

 

[R99]

On collection day I fitted the CC'd body parts (headlight and taillight rings, grille surround, grille trim and bumper bar)


Colour Coded Front End

IMG_5322 by jamesnathanjolly, on Flickr[/QUOTE]



Since then, I have done the following:

Speedline Marmora alloys (18x8 ET45)
Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres (205/40 R18)
JCW carbon bonnet scoop









Finally, a photoshop to show the car on coilovers (will be purchased in the next month when KW release them!!)



Plans are as follows:

Fit WayMotorWorks stud conversion and H&R lug nuts which are sat in their box!

Buy KW coilovers

Then…

Purchase JCW bodykit parts when available
Purchase JCW bluetooth exhaust when available

 

[R99]

On collection day I fitted the CC'd body parts (headlight and taillight rings, grille surround, grille trim and bumper bar)


Colour Coded Front End

IMG_5322 by jamesnathanjolly, on Flickr[/QUOTE]



Since then, I have done the following:

Speedline Marmora alloys (18x8 ET45)
Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres (205/40 R18)
JCW carbon bonnet scoop









Finally, a photoshop to show the car on coilovers (will be purchased in the next month when KW release them!!)



Plans are as follows:

Fit WayMotorWorks stud conversion and H&R lug nuts which are sat in their box!

Buy KW coilovers

Then…

Purchase JCW bodykit parts when available
Purchase JCW bluetooth exhaust when available

 

[DonaldD]

I like what you've done with your MINI, especially the grey piece over the grille and the carbon fiber hood vent.

 

[Steve07]

Hi R99.

Sorry to be the party pooper here and please do not take offence but .............

Your mods are a step too far for me, too much grey ..........

Your pick up day stock photo looked very smart, shame.

Only my opinion and we are all different.
Best wishes.

 

[R99]

No problem - the grey CC'd bits have divided opinion since I did it!

For me, the chrome is nasty looking and I have removed it on all of my previous MINI's too. I wish MINI would wake up and offer a no chrome option when speccing the car.

I may look to add some black back into the front end as and when I see some more cars with the JCW body kits.

MINI will be offering a gloss black grille surround as part of the JCW front end and obviously I have the original black bumper bar too - so it may end up with a black grille surround / bumper bar and grille trim at some stage!

That said, I think the black bumper bar looks out of place and should be body colour from the factory.

 

[GoKart7]

Look well done

The only thing I couldn't live with is white wheels period - but okay go for it!

 

[R99]

The car is going in for a new car detail on the 11th August.

Its having the full Gtechniq treatment (exterior & interior) and I have also opted to have the front end of the car boosted with an additional application of the EXOv2 coating.

I may decide to spend the extra ££ and have the whole car done, but with the current plans coming in at £350 I am already pushing the boat out as it is!

This should make the wheels MUCH easier to clean too as they will be fully sealed and protected to try and make removing brake dust etc as easy as possible!

 

[pjsjr13]

R99 Welcome and Congrats! Love what you've done. Looking forward to a black grill surround .

 

[JohanB]

I want to remove the chrome on my car to, picking it up next week. Where can I get those parts in black or did you just cover them with film?

 

[R99]

These parts are not black.

They are body colour.

I ordered the chrome pieces from the dealers and had my local paint guy sort them for me. I then fitted them myself.

 

[Solar red]

The car is going in for a new car detail on the 11th August.

Its having the full Gtechniq treatment (exterior & interior) and I have also opted to have the front end of the car boosted with an additional application of the EXOv2 coating.

I may decide to spend the extra ££ and have the whole car done, but with the current plans coming in at £350 I am already pushing the boat out as it is!

This should make the wheels MUCH easier to clean too as they will be fully sealed and protected to try and make removing brake dust etc as easy as possible!

I did this to my car, but I did it all myself. The products are about £70, and 5 hours of labour.

 

[Steve07]

Hi R99,
Totally agree with you that Mini UK need to offer more exterior options either at factory level or dealership level. Its a no brainer for the sales team.

Some colour coded or gloss black items would allow owners to really personalise their Mini's.

You are very well connected and on the ball with the current option information, please keep sharing your updates with us all.

I too am looking forward to adding some of the official JCW options, just wish they would pull their fingers out and offer them.

A good start would be a Sport Pack similar to the R56 or even allowing future owners to have Chilli Red as a colour option which incidentally was detailed in the original F56 brochure before they pulled it.

Was my first choice colour but I am not bitter ......

 

[R99]

I did this to my car, but I did it all myself. The products are about £70, and 5 hours of labour.

The car is being fully machine polished and corrected as part of this process - its going there for a day and a half.

I'm sure it could be done myself but unless I was a pro detailer I wouldn't bother tackling it as I doubt I could get anywhere near the finish I saw on the cars this guy had in his unit.

Hi R99,
Totally agree with you that Mini UK need to offer more exterior options either at factory level or dealership level. Its a no brainer for the sales team.

Some colour coded or gloss black items would allow owners to really personalise their Mini's.

You are very well connected and on the ball with the current option information, please keep sharing your updates with us all.

I too am looking forward to adding some of the official JCW options, just wish they would pull their fingers out and offer them.

A good start would be a Sport Pack similar to the R56 or even allowing future owners to have Chilli Red as a colour option which incidentally was detailed in the original F56 brochure before they pulled it.

Was my first choice colour but I am not bitter ......

Most JCW options should be available early September

I will probably leave my colour coded parts as they are, unless I see a thunder grey car that someone else does with a black grille surround etc as I don't want to waste any more £££ trying different options when I am happy with the colour coded look!

 

[Solar red]

A day and a half ! There should be little, too no machine polishing required on a new car. I do pro detailing, I know.

 

[R99]

A day and a half ! There should be little, too no machine polishing required on a new car. I do pro detailing, I know.

I'm not saying you don't know! Detailing is something I know VERY little about!

I have shopped around and I've been quoted as high as £500 for the Gtechniq protection!

My car has done 3k miles now and has holograms from poor dealer prep on the bonnet along with numerous flies which seem almost embedded in the bonnet (they don't come off with washing) its these bits that I am told will need to be polished out?

As I say, I'm sure it can be done cheaper (if you're a pro then its only your time!) but for me, with no experience of applying or polishing, then I'll leave it to someone who knows what they are doing!

Plus I'm too lazy to spend 5 hours doing it!!

 

[R99]

Got the car back yesterday then it rained!!

The Gtechniq finish is amazing, after a 2 hour drive in torrential rain it still looked fantastic! The beading is awesome & the way it repels water is equally impressive.

Some pics:

 

[R99]

KW Variant 1 Coilovers are been ordered on Friday (when I get back from my time at the MINI factory)

I have FINALLY got KW UK to understand that they are available to order! (they have actually been available since late last week, but it seems KW Germany forgot to tell KW UK.... which is a long and frustrating story!)

The lead time is 4-6 weeks as they are not currently stock piled yet, so it will be another month or so until I get them on the car!

 

[R99]

Just to update this again!

The coilovers have been ordered today.

Now I need to shop around for some longer bolts and hubcentric spacers