3rd Gen F56 Cooper Most liked posts in thread: My 2-day MINI F56 Justa Cooper Test Drive

Really? There wasn't a more discrete way of implementing a fuel gauge? That's tacky as all hell.

I do like the look of the speedo and tach and I even like the little screen and the way it presents info. The fuel gauge is a gimmick though... and an ugly one at that.

 

To each his own....a GTI nor any other VW does anything for me.

 

What no Fartfignewton? :smilewinkgrin:

 

Nice cars, just not my cup of tea.

 

VW designed their engines to not run on walnuts...... I think???

 

I've put 160K+ on three N14's without shooting walnuts yet.

 

Nice job Spa! very entertaining writing style you have....

Hope your JCW is ship-shape and ready to go..

 

Carbon build up is an issue with the TSI engine as well from what I have seen on the VW forums.

 

Good read!! Nice job!

 

I'm afraid we are going to find this level of nanny in all cars in the very near future. For some reason keeping it simple is no longer the watchword.

 

The same guy who PRICED the cost of the upgraded stereo!! Now it is impossible to rip it out (without sone serious work) and install an aftermarket system for less than the upgraded OEM...
I think they don't want folks messing with the wiring, etc....bet the computers are gonna be MUCH more locked down.
Interesting to hear the mpg was such a small increase, even dropping a cylinder and adding a turbo....but nobody ever said a mini was aerodynamic....so I'm guessing it can't get much better without lowering the windshield (make it less vertical)....guess they are saving that for gen4.....

 

Who cares about replacing the radio..... it just a receiver / controller leave it in the dash.

To upgrade any OEM integrated radio is very easy now. You keep the factory radio and use a product like JL Audio makes called the "Clean Sweep". I had one in my old Maxima with a Bose HU ( Head unit / Radio) and speakers. I took the Bose system out and just used the wires into the doors from the HU area.

You wire only your speaker output into it and it provides you with a digital DSP and 2 RCA lines for aftermarket amps. Even with the HK system you can upgrade to all the power you want and replace the OEM or HK speakers and quality separates and a sub if you want. The only limit is your wallet.

Below is copied from JL Audio site:
DSP-based solution that permits almost any factory-installed audio system to serve as the source for a high-performance aftermarket sound system.

Unlike primitive line-output converters that only reduce the level of factory audio signals, the CleanSweep® CL441dsp employs a powerful DSP (Digital Signal Processor) to automatically analyze the frequency response of a full-range factory audio signal and then applies 30 bands of powerful equalization to each channel. This counteracts any factory equalization and provides a clean, flat signal for your aftermarket amplifiers and speaker systems to sound their best. You can use your factory volume control(s) or the included Master Volume control when listening to the factory source unit. Oh and yes it has an iPod input also. :devil:

Read more below but its a great product and not just a cheap a$$ line converter.

Car Audio - OEM Interface - OEM Integration

 

A lot of people do, and that's why it's such a big part of the aftermarket industry. The output (amplification/speakers etc) is only one part of the system. People may want a higher quality audio source, or better smartphone integration, or a slideout screen with GPS, etc.

 

Heard a radio add for then gen3 cooper....
They are running lease deals for $239 a months...
Guess there must be a few on the lots unsold...

 

Just buy the car with Navi in the radio because after all it's just an audio source. No Aftermarket radio has a good signal source period. Don't believe the marketing hype as I have competed in IASCA for years and the output voltage is what matters. Every radio even Alpine, Kenwood and all the others including the Pre-amp only Eclipse with 4.3 volts I had all need line drivers to up the voltage to lower the noise floor and DSP to clean and balance the signal.

Not to mention nobody will want to breaking and steal your radio because it's stock. Also nobody will be able to tell you have a system unless you stick the silly "steal me" audio advertising stickers all over your car. I had well over 6G's in a system and my car looked stock. My current system is nice but not 6g's, maybe half that.

As for Smart phone integration personally I think people should put them in the glovebox and concentrate on driving. I don't care if it's hands free and all that crap because people on the phone cause accidents so any argument saying they don't is complete BS.

I hope they pass a law and make the phone manufactures disable cell service if the GPS in the phone detects the phone moving faster than a human can.