Returning ex-owner (so I guess not technically a newbie)

[a11y]

Hi all,

Just 'rejoined' NMS after quite a few years away from MINI ownership. Thanks to William for helping me get restarted on my old username rather than starting afresh.

Previously owned a N18 R56 Cooper S but sold that to scratch a V8 itch. I had 4 full years driving a 6.0 LS2 V8 Monaro as my daily. However, it increasingly needing more attention with (mostly) niggly little issues - not a surprise on a 18yr old Aussie car. I sold it at the end of October with no intentions to replace but my willpower lasted <3 months before I was back on Autotrader...

My new MINI - a 2014 F56 Cooper SD. I'm not 100% sure on all the options. It has the usual toys like HUD, etc., also has the H/K stereo, 8.8" sat nav, full leather, heated seats etc. Diesel rather than petrol - I'm now spending less per year on VED than I was per month on the Monaro, plus triple the MPG. Missing the noise of a petrol engine but after the V8 nothing will come close. I'd started off looking at R56 Cooper SDs but know they weren't a serious option as my kids need more rear seat space (legroom) - the F56 gives enough for this to double up for whole family use.

It's nice to come full circle back to a MINI. Totally coincidental that my F56 matches my previous R56 colour combo :smilewinkgrin:

Previous MINI:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AMWts8BhLndW3Ecq0eO2R4SuOBSdUoT6gNYuh8z6pijHfD4uvS bF6U-GX2AUB-9JrRb-2EOgXHrHpE1NGi_NSm5BtjI9phyqASf4udW83XZn0wV9HrEU5s TE=w2400

The inbetweener:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AMWts8AOB3jJb7iXOvNwZQHpKI3oUdb520n_Sflv7zE3W9AInY o9K17q8gi7zSV6UyJA4ScMnZPqXTlir2v51UhDQXRcGCJUs16W wD55ugbdOZ0_MPNw-1ee=w2400

Current MINI:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AMWts8AJnVsnnQiDQAtmhSj-KNs0zsjOU9rqg1JzC1NAdeKeAgFZqz3nG8qwi0Q20GzhWrr_Wp uuugKjPvwdjnhQ7kktc_E5drR2-7xJrz4eY7EOYbkdn9CO=w2400
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AMWts8BIHdZ2vG1IUnkOJ9XcK4KwWX7h7IeoCAUEtTZE4HyNHu te7yxjDc7IBa10a_xDU8HRFx_wZqVFyfR8VwFp_dAdIYxF2Jkf bdPRA5FWhXghd1e61i5K=w2400
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AMWts8DSfPH2s3gRYRYOSMMt4EFQW5XcyLiVHf_WRKp-M-RBi_98AjcgBF5DtaNF_6qEKJXkEZJKUYMPO5WeeBF_9Yq2dBhs FSsOCx7MZoNy-0Zqy7x326wD=w2400

Cheers.
Ally

[Track Ali]

Welcome back Ally - I remember when you left on you Monaro adventure.

New car looks great. :thumbs up:

Re. the noise - I'll just leave this vid here. :smilewinkgrin:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzzp99BS3aM

We bumped into Darkside Developments and their F56 SD at our last track outing and aside from being rather rapid it also sounded proper! Exhaust makes an appearance around 7:30 in the vid.

[DaiB]

Welcome back, new MINI looks great. I always loved those wheels on your previous MINI, a mate of mine had them on his Check Mate.

[badwolf340]

Welcome back ,always had a hankering for a Monaro….nice new car choice

[MINI William]

Welcome back to NMS, great to have you back after your V8 adventures. Lovely new car

[cuddles]

Welcome back

[Crombers]

Welcome back to NMSland :thumbs up:

My wife Karen has a 2016 F55 SD which I'll probably take on this autumn when we get a newer car for her.

Pepper White, full leather, LED's & the laugh a minute 'sport' button .......... what's not to like :thumbs up:

The 2 Litre BWW diesel lump (B47) is apparently detuned for the MINI, 190 down to 167 bĥp. Various mapping options are available out there with Celtic Tuning (they have a good few Scottish franchises), offering one at 240 bhp for £360 :cool:
I'll be tempted to look into mapping back to standard BMW output, add a good bit of poke to the torque :thumbs up:

Enjoy the new car :thumbs up:

[a11y]

We bumped into Darkside Developments and their F56 SD at our last track outing and aside from being rather rapid it also sounded proper! Exhaust makes an appearance around 7:30 in the vid.
I've heard their name mentioned a few times now. Deliberately not looking into things too much as I don't need more power... said nobody, ever.


Welcome back, new MINI looks great. I always loved those wheels on your previous MINI
Thanks. That was one of several wheels I had on my R56 :Whistle:

It arrived on 17" black spokes:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KCCridClS4oHkLceyv4goVktTjwy-jMTy59KKblOKI-MQhBfhhEt3dZ7KJopeSQgOVsbYyGWyUgcjx-tDeiSfsQ7j4g5I3gEKMxbRG0Bn6PxqtZQz9jeFmu-sGeLmKJSE3UH2s3onZH1Ifhu445rpPmEjj8lbKADkkJ90Njk1j IwiH61YV4n4MavaAHrTyrON6UBXSVR7fHWRKnSFME4UmJcU7Mt hGpcAvVK0b3ezfB8qaQsHtAnuY_x9vUUvYWoMjJZRtVdTD_WCo xLBV5L_n-yx68EeGKNcBrANo9_T-_qjU8xUjHp3TkwW75iqoeV0cIcHF1uKu82uPAOSgT29HGULUod lj6IISGJaMAFUR7wYD9ocDo8x9cwUZViqA-9PoBFRa53KCOBqiGrzc0Sj-AvLZiPXrXgWtFx9Rv0xhB0RM7SrME94MRJk8nAK60XNLFbG-BRolIuQ61YfYfLZROntNs7KxRlT3vFggtUZ8-Gv7SmVIoiWyq1CFalziU-cqb50yFRBemmPW-1lLWgCCPIcpPmoUgjCoVsfGsNpwUwLoEe8erYzP616knB2cgOV Hk749VsANqEgU1cDq4YWqXMVyz8vR5ETPqiryC35Dro0czO-9GHE9LGGne1uv1FmdIqgbJkMx4fcEgykbGRqJL7WlSJxN-_yeXT1nvTDu7PX7Avw0aqR6_ktS-D1w4WmIEFE6xKEhPF8CQHfneFfvTVz3UUjm1h_0oY72I48a59B CtQQsMO4g9V5GkBbTD6Wv2rzV4dp6kX26E8iJcqowRRtSrL4JZ GKA4a7UzDNrRf28wniDIyZea53mZuM9jGZ0fjbQyg14zJ09tLD BVWIj8bJO2nICoQaW62oPX-tMBt_dDipOIQkAnDBHI7ySJ3DDHzgohloF5TtwbERmvXvWolOf JXlAVMkpGmc6CgalVu=w1658-h1244-s-no?authuser=0

I bought the silver 17" with winter tyres:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BJPTEuD71VGZ3WF_NFqmz5SvhU1SVqdfFiYL1lGsrsvMw2cCu_ _aSdRD66GYbEkeB695dShObUVWPcHL05hZBrF1A2RcDIYGsseS I6OeD0vJR8ysyj6sZ6HaosWAgTWF3b8DZqy63IC03K5GjE6E9O VQ8heiVzWjRiFOsWYOB60PeuRYDes610Wm2hiM0gNjeJKann6B ZrX9_NJ8_Fc7NsdIiAuvU9uQ56DhjjU5SSnLW1VNhE-GUy6yOHjSmZhN_5eQ5uTkV2Gn4QE_P117U694eOyxj--rzBYC8FBqPJKirMp8VWrmeRnHEj0ImhbaaDBSEE3FVqBl6RO_a 103PAqWR79w0bwBBxdXIpvTWzj6XeQnZWsZDa1JuC7bBNgs5HK nDUsYBJAHmsxdXWW5iNqzcPVCL78VL0QBBAvSECUX7PI9h7bOa 2IPHp2BYObJo-H3KnqQuizODEZscicItesQ39FcFmVlbR4-MEjwQCtALUMTfmfbO5QE9EAS40e9gN8jwe23LUwqrKBNwvnVYJ 9TBuFZ1Y5IlT0DPolu6oCmtVpjt7ziTUgwOnQC2xNXatlqe54K AEBMLE4EwkN4D2IO594X-N-RX2UgLJu8T6ni8HLmz6KOxL36j-BDzrIlaiCOnNd1fR1FTzIe0dNDeCmEDLjWqgGApXY58w-W0eWzjr0yWUKPXIimvf4XN3Yawf1LRYQseFMuXDyL4C_8GuOY8 TeRMKXTfDg41JbqoUwJ8wrbUYp5KSORzCRID4sX5vdike4S4dW VaYCI9fQU1ZOT301KZLLWUXpKz9FYZdCWHrNGHAoTXN5TJk4md e3o-zHAMDvJP1rUb7gC7C3Gw4DfgRrmgxf_lOQ69aqaeonfD3esGcn c5axqAUL2_gA_UQ8u9hePqT46jG4MiB4HWriRKY76_lAnE6odh DVeVmLi=w1658-h1244-s-no?authuser=0

I quickly got fed up with the ride quality of 17" with RFTs, so swapped to non-Chili 16" with non-RFTs in both summer flavour:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1FqZ8hBJcZHuR5NHmEzCY87_BcwPiNfICYfKqVwgb-pBCNTaqv--DeMcPsXS22iXKuB3cpmBRHQn3gMX2Wm_u79Se0R3OQvACw2y02 DeUPWHr89ix51Mjn07r-94zO1U7Sy_KvRI5cOUX8Qbk4TKAlDjouzQNPUZ4oYLWN85B-2GaO9AI_tg1X769ytlaBYPdtplRfXuMlo-0NZCELgyW2vXGYBE0bObrU3uZTmO677YZCaKfaQxQ8ss8RN77w QKqRE7SU6PW8I_OC0zfJis5c_J-wQMHjJpRm1J4mPTukGQQ6gcHQVQTtge1WLEWX2i_Vf4sz3h6pQ mwnmcyrYWOetNG0fGgSwclKvQb-ZY7ihNFl4VGrHsSP7leZ1BF2mKduuwTYX47JlaRgBPAAqYVqP6 6cqyWCrwrYK5L8XeJfhML-facAsq3ESZ2WSG6I6seDp-MRvQtOpeKqZakENrezrVAaBjQxX74nli9gkVluIOSmVmbYK5hQ e98Wd1-QicavROrURSSGImz-4_r-yQECOs231LSFKtxIBR2CyupywsJN8XbEAL39XIcZ5OgYFulVgf wFSpwuikxCxwMFT8v30qr4gWXOy1HFGpZ1bWxG-Rsn1oEm419wmqfJNhRXJfv9c8btNbJnsyCSRLtONCg-MxRK6Y2IzNIhj7HCM3fX7trbLu7fgC2HfYaXEv8uwJo7T5_NEn srY2PFO7Qs6WjOOdQ8O4RDwPsejlYTIbjUJ-xNek0PKFTGDNtPndYp4Pju3zykzvwYi13QS5hAJKgCszxJu2fE 0_oHyOoOHeSIYTHHQ8gAsl2O5zZ0qElBgIG_EKNUK8Ea7fjDg2 oGh5OEkbPZRtnbvKwe08nzMRZ4FrXNzzUknNAi5-BYkegmddowdCu0UFiuGXt2ltGxFZmRfH5jxlbplB4XScPQwsfG V0=w1866-h1244-s-no?authuser=0

And 16" with winters:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5MsHBU-Weof2sN9DsrHWOhGSjvrPtQqTUdMYnOMMtS7N11zGlC6WAeP8K PA8t_3K_EqCSeWQiH6nU__Smm6wNc4YJad1zvfQUnDkhBABCZO bsB9wRiU8_EasVeugnz3Wflo2gNAEEHaWO9FXEE_0jhby_jD3l Gb2orpufo3YnGnTclemDqSynAS70qKTckBDkNRgWNI1K-wzh9oUiCYJdU2IXuMMzR-9e2YNBiujeKGZRIbces2QJOEJiGqziLJHnukr0ys8TsfKa9wkg HwEIbAowd2h9lPP6IWF9y1DGYANNAPZBrfaL1r_T15bEdFU0bt dZlSBW4_v6c2butN23aiKBJXJkVHsp7lDRxbSy2S6nhQDxPjUx d4-5lZ4Ctzyba5F1d-Dfgq_bDNZhvL07bPgrRTor8yTgk0Hk5JX7i4N2_TH-7erV41wo4pLbQMIUxZv-laq1e_Qk1hQ7w5ZPj6CZXyJWXfN4t-x4MbwLfhqdd7jXfSlpc6RmjOew1H9PjubSxtsxb5vWLcuUjItY XbShoF9_SrEecKRaFPHlQtG-vZsTWeqQCm3aAEfpmIdcllAIS17G83NEtYcfZ-J3LUsRmIKFA-Eq1_qewfBA8jP77j_tcQrfHB_zp31j4A4jPzXS-NPtYUdES15vDFzrXaSiBu9J2v9twP8bd4aN6f5Q7ZsumsuIzba ek-tYCZ0a9oise3fnl_WnuwEANfD5UUL-hjloM-tb2xAvtRx2DGABkOQtT2kNXvIz5NjPikpct8lFFK_jAWwShURw IfYJEw5uO3Z8MkDQniSJnJk8_eC26nn7lutJ7jjfR6nUrKde80 RmBgZMTB1ga2_SVOusYPNFCqo_WTrVQEuUP7eLX7gcEqFkExED fKAghq4OQdUL4K3oAh_G2S9Fo35RY-0TIgcJ3oPtFs-BVkz6aJPjWTi=w1658-h1244-s-no?authuser=0

I already have a set of identical-but-silver 17" Cosmos alloys on the way with winter RFTs and will most likely swap my current 17" summer RFTs for non-RFTs when the time comes. Saying that, the ride's already a lot better on the F56 on RFTs compared to what I remember from my R56, so I'm not immediately rushing towards ditching the runlets until they're done.

- - - Updated - - -


Celtic Tuning (they have a good few Scottish franchises), offering one at 240 bhp for £360
Indeed they do. Not that I've looked...:smilewinkgrin:

[Crombers]

Re Darkside .......... that exhaust :smilewinkgrin: