I admit that my previous driving style was less..ehem.... than exempelary, but having been forced to buy my blazer (and not for my personal ego), I have also been forced to change the way that I drive in order to make it affordable. It has been quite a transition from very high performance based vehicles to a heavy, slow, inefficient lump of detroit steel. But I have always been aware of the people around me and the lack of driving skill or even minimally maintained vehicles - believe me I see some very scary cars DRIVE into my shop on a daily basis, it's truly terrifying at times to be aware of what could be in the lane next to you or someone else.
Compared to their window tags, my cars are both only in the 92-95% of EPA combined, mostly due to mechanical issues and previous owner abuse. The only reason I've gotten mine up really is FAS.
Seen this yesterday in my delivery area, sorry about the photo quality, I had to stop in the road and didn't adjust well: - Dale
Not too bad, still looks like it can be saved - for what I'm not sure...... The original minis are an absolute blast to drive, if you haven't and ever get a chance don't hesitate.
That old Mini is not worth 4k. It's been rolled. The SCCA sticker leads to why it was rolled. LMAO. Mini's roll very well at auto-x.
Ok, I'm new here but I will keep track of my new mini clubman mileage facts for all to see. Here's what I bought: 2010 Mini Clubman, Normally aspirated, 6speed manual, sunroof, cold weather pack, sport seats, 16" wheels with 195/55/16 contisport run flat tires. It now has 115 miles on it. Tonight I will go to the local truck scale to see if I can get the actual weight of the car as equipped. Car I gave up: 2008 Honda Fit Sport, 6speed manual. I kept track of every mile and fuel used. My average over the 44,000 miles was 38.4 miles per gallon on the stock Dunlop SP31 Tires. I traded off a wonderful Fit for this Mini that the government rates with higher MPG than the fit. I am going to find out if this is fact or fiction.
I drove a 2002 Mini S a little when they first came out and absolutely loved it. Many times I almost ordered one but could never justify the inability to carry what I normally carry with me conveniently. The Clubman answered that problem. I almost bought the Mini instead of the Fit, but, at the time I did not want to wait the 8months I was quoted from the Mini dealer to order one. With the new economy purchasing a Mini was never easier, so I did. And I really want to find out if the fuel economy can trump the Fit, given the increased level of comfort.
My first car in New Zealand was a 1971 Astin Mini Clubman (1.0L) Mint Green I used to race around town all over the place and still only had to give it $10 worth of gas for the whole week. I wasn't keeping track of MPG at that time but it was sure fun to drive. all smiles We had a great assortment of fuel efficent cars from Japan, Austraila and the UK. There were also desiels, LPG and CNG powered cars. I knew a person that had a Holden Commador that could run on CNG and gas.
The Clubman weighed in at 2730lbs., with 9-10 gallons of gas, which would be 54-60lbs. I thought it would weigh more considering it has sunroof and premium sound. We will see what the first tank logs for mpg.
The regular Mini is a wonderful car. My daughter works at the Richmond dealership and owns one, which she lets me drive occasionally. I think that Mini owners are more interested in the performance than the FE, though that doesn't escape their attention.
I think Jimepting hit it... Everyone I know of that is interested in the MINI doesn't care about the FE at all... To them it's a cool vehicle with potential for a high hp/weight ratio... In otherwords: Performance! The people I know interested in them are very concerned with making the FE as bad as possible.
You cannot shut the engine off while the car is moving in the Mini, so no engine off, key on, hypermiling.
I'll keep you posted on the actual mileage I'm getting. The fuel system is direct injection and complete fuel shutoff is stated in BMW's technical articles on this engine when in gear under 0 load (coasting in gear). Considering how high the epa highway economy is rated I have been surprised not to find actual mileage accounts by owners.
Can the car be bump started? If so (yes, I know this is brand new vehicle ), you might be able to stall it out with a switch inline with the fuel injectors -- this is how several of our members have implemented a FAS switch.
Hey there, Nice to finally see a MINI here. I can't wait to see what can really be done with it. :bananajump: The weight sounds about right. Premium sound doesn't really change much weight, but the sunroof is a big hit - they are mother to replace! I would really have to advise against a FAS switch for the direct injection setup currently in use. It is EXTREMELY sensitive and I'm not sure how it would accept a loss in the signal to the injectors (it is monitored by the DME). Yeah, the push button start/stop is kinda funky and really gets in the way of doing anything creative - it is actually connected to a separate control unit from the DME. Good luck and keep us posted.
