Mini Cooper S
June-24th-2003, 01:37 PM
#16
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 241
I'm not joking. Drive around a while on the autobahn, and you WILL see a Mercedes, or Audi, or BMW with a hitch, towing something. They don't really have pickups or SUVs out there, except what people ship over there on their own.
(I go to Germany often as a C-17 pilot. We station out of Frankfurt for short periods, and I often drive between Rhein-Main AB, in Frankfurt, and Ramstein AB, which is on the news all the time; digressing... I even got to drive an A4 1.9 turbo diesel for a couple months, nothing like doing 120mph everywhere you go!)
(I go to Germany often as a C-17 pilot. We station out of Frankfurt for short periods, and I often drive between Rhein-Main AB, in Frankfurt, and Ramstein AB, which is on the news all the time; digressing... I even got to drive an A4 1.9 turbo diesel for a couple months, nothing like doing 120mph everywhere you go!)
June-24th-2003, 02:59 PM
#17
Thread Killa'
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: k-town, USA
Posts: 326
Originally posted by DBR
a turbod p5 is like a WRX in that it's a good family car too, if your life goes off in that direction. not sure you can get a xmas tree in the mini, unless it's a dwarf alberta spruce.
a turbod p5 is like a WRX in that it's a good family car too, if your life goes off in that direction. not sure you can get a xmas tree in the mini, unless it's a dwarf alberta spruce.
And I like the Mini, too. A turbo-ed P5 is like, well, a blown P5 - no resale value! (unlike a WRX or the Mini which will likely have excellent residuals)...
Knocking the gearing of the Mini's transmission seems rather unwarranted, too. It's not as if the Pro has a Borg-Warner in it. In fact, the protege would benefit from stiffer gearing, too, so I really don't see the point there.
Best yet: it's not rice, baby - Fish 'n' Chips all the way!
June-24th-2003, 03:06 PM
#18
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 1,122
Originally posted by glyph_99es
I'm not joking. Drive around a while on the autobahn, and you WILL see a Mercedes, or Audi, or BMW with a hitch, towing something...
I'm not joking. Drive around a while on the autobahn, and you WILL see a Mercedes, or Audi, or BMW with a hitch, towing something...
June-24th-2003, 06:26 PM
#20
Certified Sick Individual
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Houston, TX.
Posts: 1,141
Originally posted by carguycw
They also don't protect against catastrophic blowouts, or whacking a 4"x4" wood post and bending a wheel so badly that it won't hold air (this has happened to me, as you probably guessed).
When this happens, it's comforting to know that you will actually be able to DRIVE the car afterwards, rather than having to trust your baby to some tow truck driver and then try to track down a suitable replacement tire in a rural area. 
I don't really trust run-flats for this reason, and a lot of other people I know don't trust them either.
They also don't protect against catastrophic blowouts, or whacking a 4"x4" wood post and bending a wheel so badly that it won't hold air (this has happened to me, as you probably guessed).
When this happens, it's comforting to know that you will actually be able to DRIVE the car afterwards, rather than having to trust your baby to some tow truck driver and then try to track down a suitable replacement tire in a rural area. I don't really trust run-flats for this reason, and a lot of other people I know don't trust them either.
And it is ghetto to tow crap behind a nice car. May as well just buy a truck if you are going to tow something.
June-25th-2003, 07:33 AM
#21
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: W.Htfd. CT
Posts: 545
Look not every thing is about racing your cars. I did not get the Mini to race, I have a Mazda for that. I did get the Mini because I think it is some of the best cars on the road in the world. As for the runflats after reading the Mini forum the only people that don't like them live in North America. I think I'll keep them besides I can't think of the last time I had a flat.
P.S. the Europeans love to tow thing with same car as well. In the UK this guy I met has towing a 16" camper with a Ford Sierra 1.6L.
P.S. the Europeans love to tow thing with same car as well. In the UK this guy I met has towing a 16" camper with a Ford Sierra 1.6L.
June-25th-2003, 10:09 AM
#23
formerly chastan
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: California, USA
Posts: 2,350
Originally posted by PseudoRealityX
I tow my tire trailer to autocrosses with my MR2... Ghetto or not, I can't afford both a race car and tow vehicle.
The weight of runflats is rotating mass, not static, and therefore hinders performance quite a bit. Not to mention you cannot get any GOOD performance tires in run-flat versions.
I tow my tire trailer to autocrosses with my MR2... Ghetto or not, I can't afford both a race car and tow vehicle.
The weight of runflats is rotating mass, not static, and therefore hinders performance quite a bit. Not to mention you cannot get any GOOD performance tires in run-flat versions.
. not sure what he actually pulled though (probably a tire trailer, but ya never know 
)
June-25th-2003, 06:21 PM
#25
Certified Sick Individual
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Houston, TX.
Posts: 1,141
Sick sick sick, why can't you people buy trucks? That is what they are for! A good trailer, drive the car up on it, and tow the whole job down to the races. You can get an older 351 powered Ford in good shape for less than 5G without even trying.
June-26th-2003, 11:51 AM
#26
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 1,122
Originally posted by kc5zom
Sick sick sick, why can't you people buy trucks? That is what they are for! A good trailer, drive the car up on it, and tow the whole job down to the races. You can get an older 351 powered Ford in good shape for less than 5G without even trying.
Sick sick sick, why can't you people buy trucks? That is what they are for! A good trailer, drive the car up on it, and tow the whole job down to the races. You can get an older 351 powered Ford in good shape for less than 5G without even trying.
Also, if I remember the story correctly, the guy who towed the Formula Ford with the 'Vette lived in a condo with a 1-car garage and one parking space. The formula car went in the garage, and he didn't want to drive a truck every day. The 'Vette had a big V-8 and was perfectly capable of pulling a lightweight formula car. Why not?
June-26th-2003, 11:55 AM
#27
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 1,122
Trailers...
This is getting WAAAY off topic. If you want to discuss trailers further, go here...
http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...threadid=27793
http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...threadid=27793
June-26th-2003, 08:33 PM
#28
Certified Sick Individual
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Houston, TX.
Posts: 1,141
Originally posted by PseudoRealityX
I tow my tire trailer to autocrosses with my MR2... Ghetto or not, I can't afford both a race car and tow vehicle.
The weight of runflats is rotating mass, not static, and therefore hinders performance quite a bit. Not to mention you cannot get any GOOD performance tires in run-flat versions.
I tow my tire trailer to autocrosses with my MR2... Ghetto or not, I can't afford both a race car and tow vehicle.
The weight of runflats is rotating mass, not static, and therefore hinders performance quite a bit. Not to mention you cannot get any GOOD performance tires in run-flat versions.
And I saw an article in Autoweek today where GM feels that runflats have improved enough to be standard equipment on the new C6 Z06. So obviously they aren't all that bad.
June-27th-2003, 06:34 AM
#29
Protege Enthusiast
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Westminster, MD
Posts: 49
Two of the guys I work with have S's. The biggest compliant they have about the run flats is the harshness, but then again they did buy the sport suspension. Rear legroom...sucks! But not as bad as I'd think for a car THAT small. One of them has the 15%overdrive pulley and he says it really woke the car up-especially low end grunt. As for the hitch, there is a company that made an exhaust the exited to the side and they put a hitch in the stock exhaust outlet location. The 1.6 sierra towing-I have a vid of a guy racing around towing a trailer 
July-5th-2003, 07:18 AM
#30
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Dover, NH
Posts: 154
My partner and I would of bought a Cooper if the dealer wasn't and hour away from home. I sell BMW and Mini parts at this website
http://www.bavauto.com
http://www.bavauto.com