wessy
Active Member
Cool! Congratulations, and welcome!
Delivery Stories
After almost five months of waiting I finally received my SE at the end of March. I immediately installed a set of coilovers and new wheels and tires. Feels even more like a go kart now!
I'm still debating my color choice. I really wanted Island Blue, but I didn't want to spend almost $7K more for the Electric Collection. BRG is growing on me though!
I'm still debating my color choice. I really wanted Island Blue, but I didn't want to spend almost $7K more for the Electric Collection. BRG is growing on me though!
CoachCookie
Active Member
Outstanding on the immediate cosmetic mods!
What coilovers did you go with? And what are the specs on the wheels?
What coilovers did you go with? And what are the specs on the wheels?
tesrivmini
Active Member
But aren't you selling it? I saw those photos yesterday in a private sale ad on CarGurus:
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inven...er.selectedEntity=d436#listing=326375342/NONE
Coilovers: ST XA
Wheels: Sparco FF-1 17x8 +45
Tires: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 215/45-17
I had everything ordered before the car arrived. I probably got a little ahead of myself.
I currently have a feeler out for selling the car.
Here's the long version of the story: I really wanted an EV and was torn between the Mini and a Model 3. Between uncertainty regarding tax credits (BBB Act) and delivery times, I ended up placing an order for both back in November and figured I'd have some time to decide. I also have a Veloster N that's been my daily driver. In March, within a week of each other both cars were set to be delivered. I ended up buying the Mini and I was able to delay the Tesla for a few weeks, but it's delivery date is coming up again.
My plan is to keep two out of the three cars. I almost sold the Veloster to keep the Mini and Tesla, but decided that I would really miss not having a manual transmission, and there are some situations where it might still be nice to have a gas car. So now it's down to keeping the Mini or buying the Tesla. The Tesla is appealing because it can be an only car, comfortably carry more than one passenger, etc. My order pricing is also $5K lower than current pricing, so it's going to be a lot more expensive if I want to order it down the road. However, the Mini is so much fun and handles 90%+ of my driving needs.
So that's my situation. Basically the epitome of first world problems.
After more than 50 years driving stick-shift cars, I thought I'd miss it in my SE. What I didn't like about automatic transmissions was their decisions about when to shift could never match mine (and I hated the CVT in our 3rd Insight). The SE's stepless acceleration from 0 to top speed changed my mind. Now I consider a manual transmission to be an anachronistic crutch required to overcome the limits of the internal combustion engine. And after more than 30 years of marriage, my wife finally gets to drive the fun car in the family (she is third-pedal averse).
After tuning your SE to handle even better than stock, I can't imagine the Model 3's superior acceleration would be enough to make it as much fun to drive. Have you found yourself reaching for the ghost shift knob in your SE?
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I actually haven't found myself reaching for the shift knob or even looking for where to put my left foot yet, as I typically do when driving an automatic. I agree that EV's solve a lot of what I don't like about automatics: waiting for it to find the right gear, not decelerating when letting off the gas, and the creep functionality requiring you to always have the brake pedal depressed when stopped.
I've spent quite a bit of time driving the Model 3 as a couple of my friends and family members own them. They are fun cars in their own way. The acceleration is addicting. The Mini is much more tossable though and arguably more fun zipping around town. It's not necessarily a slow car, but it sort of follows the mantra of it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.
As far as the Veloster, I actually had an appointment setup to sell it to one of the online buying sites. The whole drive over I was regretting my decision and couldn't bring myself to sell it. Between the manual transmission, electronically adjustable suspension, and burbling exhaust, it's still a more engaging and visceral experience that I'm not quite ready to let go of.
My fourth Mini was the double-clutch auto, and I didn't like it, even with the paddle shifts. The SE is much easier to control, especially when going downhill in a speed zone, or coming into a corner when you don't really want to brake. And it's absolutely perfect when you get caught in a stop/start traffic jam.
I recommend you keep all 3 cars. Each has a unique place and fills a unique need. I myself have a hard time getting rid of cars. I keep them so long they become a part of the family. Plus I always pay cash so I own them outright. My wife continues to insist that my 2004 Honda Accord manual transmission must go when the Mini arrives. I want to keep it even though it takes us back to a 5 car household.
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
It's hard for me to part with cars as well. Once I switched to MINI my VW Corrado VR6 sat neglected in my garage for too many years. But nowadays I would never keep a car that runs on jurassic juice, considering how expensive fuel is (and only going to get worse).
(Not mine, but the one I had was just like this.)
CoachCookie
Active Member
Excellent, appreciate the info! Have been debating on those exact coilovers, but I'd be lying if it weren't tempting to go with springs at a fraction of the cost...Coilovers: ST XA
Wheels: Sparco FF-1 17x8 +45
Tires: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 215/45-17
I had everything ordered before the car arrived. I probably got a little ahead of myself.
Did you have to do anything for the larger than stock tire diameter?
Totally get your situation here. The M3 can certainly be your only car. I won't wave the flag and say that the MINI could be your only car, it certainly has more limitations with range and ease of passenger use if those are things you care about.
I did get rid of a modded Golf R (DSG) for the SE as my daily driver and I will say I don't regret that decision at all. That said I still have my weekend fun car (03 Cobra) that satisfies the manual shift, exhaust, and fast acceleration itch...so I totally get where you're coming from there.
tesrivmini
Active Member
Having options is almost always a positive, and a fortunate position to be in. It all comes down to your specific wants/needs/priorities. No doubt you could quickly and easily on sell the Tesla at a profit if you wanted to, even allowing for the price going up while it was order.
Clearly from your choice of daily driver and your Mini mods, you're an enthusiast driver.
The Model 3, particularly the Performance that we currently have, is ridiculously and hilariously quick (recently my wife had a guy in an R8 try and take her at 3 consecutive sets of lights), of course that means on a public road, you can only use a small fraction of it's potential, like squeezing the throttle in very brief bursts. It handles and rides pretty well for what it is, in fact after my first test drive I told the sales guy that it was surprisingly good at being a car - as opposed to a piece of tech or rolling hype. It is also pretty practical with the range, supercharger network and the passenger/trunk space.
Of course, I have chosen to switch from the M3P to the Mini, as the Mini will fulfill pretty much everything we need, with much more engagement, albeit slower acceleration. The other car in our garage, my wife's car, is a 981 Boxster S, so it scratches the itches an EV doesn't. If there is the very occasional situation neither car fits the bill, then we'll just hire/borrow something for that (until the Rivian finally arrives).
For me, the Tesla is fast and practical, but nowhere near as fun as the Mini, which is still plenty quick for public roads and carving up traffic. Plus, I've been and done the Tesla thing, variety is the spice of life!
Carsten Haase
Well-Known Member
I'm running that size with no issues. You do need aftermarket wheels with more offset or spacers to clear the stock suspension but coilovers may give you more clearance.
We've also had someone running an even larger diameter 215/50R17 tire that supposedly fit with no rubbing
CoachCookie
Active Member
Good to know. I guess to be more specific, I would also be curious about the speedometer/odometer and if anything was done so that calculations were correct?
Carsten Haase
Well-Known Member
The difference between the stock 195/55R16 and the 215/45R17 pretty much negligible.
Diameter is within 0.2" with speedometer error less than 1mph at top speed
https://tiresize.com/comparison/
Sounds like I'm in good company here based on everyone else's stories. I'll have to see how everything turns out, but the more I drive the Mini, the more I want to keep it. I've really hardly driven the Veloster since the Mini was delivered, so maybe I'll realize that I don't really need it. Who knows, maybe I'll go in a completely different direction. The Supra is supposed to finally be coming out with a manual transmission. Ha ha.
I've had many cars over the years and few that I've really looked back on. My first Mini, a modified 2011 Cooper S, is the car I've always regretted selling.
I've had many cars over the years and few that I've really looked back on. My first Mini, a modified 2011 Cooper S, is the car I've always regretted selling.
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