Must-have modifications

Surprised nobody has an "actual size" decal. That is a must!

When the blue one comes in (hopefully this week) I plan on putting one on the Mini, and one on my wife's XC90 that will sit next to it in the garage. She may not see the humor, but I do.

 

Maybe make hers a magnetic decal lol

 

Do you never get passengers grabbing the handle? Often when I drive with someone they will grab the handle even if I'm not driving hard simply to brace themselves since they don't have a steering wheel like I do. Sometimes when I ride with someone I'll use the grab handle if I feel at risk of being car sick but that only happens in the back seat for me.

 

Here's my favorite from a nearby parking lot:

 

What are you doing for the blinking 3rd brake light? I think that's a valuable safety feature that studies have shown really make a difference.

 

I have a chip (somewhere on my desk), and I was planning on installing it - one of these days.

 

Does anyone have a cargo net they recommend? I've found a single bag of groceries or other items will slide around in the back.

 

Not a cargo net, but I keep a collapsed Insta Crate in the back exactly for these situations.

 

I use this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0922RMJ2Q

 

I got this one instead:

 

OK, I know everyone's tired of my anti-hood-scoop ranting, but in addition to deleting the hood scoop, I had a custom sticker made for my SE. In 2019, I wrote letters to half of the executives at BMW and MINI, begging to pay $1,500 to get the less-expensive, scoopless hood from a base MINI on my SE. Only Oliver Heilmer responded.

I didn't really believe Oliver Heilmer, MINI's head designer, could get me what I wanted, but I wrote to him because no test car (MINI-E), concept sketch, concept car, or pre-production prototype of the upcoming electric MINI Cooper had a hood scoop. I wondered what he would say about the hood scoop added for the production version unveiled July 9, 2019. His letter to me was brief. He said that he would take up my suggestion with marketing. Reading between the lines, I jumped to the conclusion that he agreed with me that an electric car didn't need a fake hood scoop. He was hinting it was those ICE-bound marketing types who decided any MINI Cooper wearing an "S" would get a hood scoop.

So I decided my scoopless MINI Cooper SE would be a tribute to Oliver Heilmer and had this sticker made to celebrate how my SE reflects the master's original design (OK, maybe a little overboard, here).

 

Dedication to the cause merits a high five from me. I don’t mind the gouge with the impermeable honeycomb at the back, but I think you’re correct in assuming Heilmer was overruled, à la Ridley Scott when Blade Runner was released with Ford’s comically sardonic monotone voiceover track.

 

[How did you get his signature?]

 

I was working old school: I wrote him a letter and he wrote me a letter back.

 

That’s exciting man! Here’s a a couple photos of mine. I added a splitter and replaced the 2021 SE grille with a 2021 Cooper S grille. RallyArmor mudflaps, tinted taillights, painted my brakes yellow to match the highlights and custom bonnet stripes. I did just a little bit of work on the interior and utilized some red carbon fiber highlights on the window controls on the door handle, the center of the steering wheel, the engine start lever and around the touchscreen display. I had plans to add rally lights on the front, but I’m saving that for the ‘23 Countryman SE that’s coming soon. Thought I’d share what I’ve done to inspire some ideas!

 

They can't grab what isn't there

People reach occasionally, but come up empty handed. There are arm rests on both sides, so it's not like they can't brace themselves without the handle.

 

The aerodynamic effect of the splitter keeps his SE from going airborne when he's streaking down the road at 93 mph. It looks good, too.

 

Only must-have mods (aside for that all cork interior) would be BimmerCode and reflective shades for the moon roof.
Tires also make quite a difference. I love the OEM Hankook summers having driven on several different tires now.

 

What's the spec on these wheels? Any need for spacers for clearance?