tweedbean

Thanks for all the great comments guys. Hopefully by the summer it will be lower and on some better wheels.

Recent Road Trip Today we went on another road trip with a much better outcome than a roof box When buying my Clubman I asked the question if you could fit JCW Recaros in it as I heard it couldn't be done without air bag warning lights. Many people said you cant code the Clubman like you can the hatchback however this is not true. Both MINI Matt and Norfolk MINI said it could be done so I decided to find a pair and take a chance. So earlier in the week I placed a deposit on a pair of alcantara Recaro JCW CS Sportster seats. The guys over at Norfolk MINI had a pair for sale at a great price which I couldn't turn down. I plumped for Norfolk MINI to have a go at coding them as they included fitting and recoding in the price of the seats. It was the first time I had heard of these guys, however speaking to them on the phone they were very knowledgeable about MINI's. Road Trip So this morning Rich and I headed over to Norfolk to collect the seats. On arrival we were shown the seats and they were amazing, even better in the flesh. Untitled by tweedbean, on Flickr Untitled by tweedbean, on Flickr Neal then offered to drop us into Kings Lynn while they fitted the seats and took my car into the local MINI dealership to do the actual coding. A couple of hours later the car was done and we were picked up by Neal and taken back to their garage, great service. Fitted It was dark by the time I got home so I will take some better pics in the light at some point. Untitled by tweedbean, on Flickr Untitled by tweedbean, on Flickr Untitled by tweedbean, on Flickr Interior Plans Now I have these, I've ordered the JCW carbon fibre/alcantara gear knobs and handbrake grips to match. Then I will move on to sprucing up the interior by wrapping some of the interior/dash trim with alcantara. I've just got to work out which bits to wrap and what colours to use. I also have some Orranje Performance alcantara gaiters on the way top quality products that match the JCW alcantara really well. Exterior mods so far: Few simple mod's done, including new bulbs and new aerial. Facelift Scuttle Vents by tweedbean, on Flickr Side light, front and side indicator bulbs by tweedbean, on Flickr MINI Sports Aerial by tweedbean, on Flickr New chrome indicator bulbs fitted: Before Tango indicators by tweedbean, on Flickr After De tango'd by tweedbean, on Flickr Chrome side repeater bulbs: Before Tango side vents by tweedbean, on Flickr After De tango'd side vent by tweedbean, on Flickr Sports Aerial Old vs New New and old aerial by tweedbean, on Flickr Side light LEDS: Before Before by tweedbean, on Flickr After After by tweedbean, on Flickr First Wash It also had its first wash since I owned it, warning lots of wheel gap: Coilovers have been chosen just waiting on the funds as a couple of other large purchases made this week for the car already Side on by tweedbean, on Flickr Bottom Corner by tweedbean, on Flickr Bits picked up this week: Another small update, hopefully some bigger and better ones to come soon. Just awaiting to here back on a few parts. Thanks to MLJ for dropping these around, headlight rings and petrol cap for painting at some point. All I need now is a set of front door handles and rear club door handles: Headlight rings and petrol cap for painting by tweedbean, on Flickr I also picked these up brand new from MINI Rybrook: JCW Alcantara and CF Gearknob and Handbrake Grip by tweedbean, on Flickr I photographed these today for Orranje, adjustable control arms from Hard Race. Impressive bit of kit, which I have added to the list of suspensions parts to go on the car. Hardrace Control Arms by tweedbean, on Flickr Sensible mod for weekends away After a road trip to Northampton a couple of weeks ago, I picked up a dad friendly mod, only to be used for weekends away etc, now removed and put into storage for when we need it: Roof Box by tweedbean, on Flickr MINI Roof Box by tweedbean, on Flickr Now removed.

Hi all, I thought I would pop back and create a thread on here to show what I brought instead of a Lupo. I was close to buying a Lupo last year as a 2nd car so I joined up on here and you were all very helpful, however I was tempted back into a MINI. After a short affair with a Nissan Qashqai, I finally came to my senses and brought something fun. While searching for something else on google, a link popped up for a MINI Clubman fJCW at MINI which caught my eye and got me thinking. So after a couple of days of searching and many phone calls, I planned a road trip for today. The good thing was I managed to change from a Qashqai to a JCW Clubman and save money. Cheaper to insure as I also changed my address finally to Balsall Common, cheaper to tax £210 a year vs £165 and the Qashqai was worth more so I even got a cheque back for the trade in Win Win Win First stop, the local Shell garage to stock up for the road trip. First stop Sheel to stock up for the road trip. by tweedbean, on Flickr Petrol stop near ManchesterPetrol stop near Manchester by tweedbean, on Flickr The skys open and down came the rain.Rain hits by tweedbean, on Flickr Arriving at MINI PrestonArriving at MINI by tweedbean, on Flickr Inside signing paperwork in their temp office next to the Smeg fridge matching my carInside signing paperwork in their temp office next to the Smeg fridge matching my car by tweedbean, on Flickr Off to the inspection bay as it was too dark to see anything outside:Time to check the new car over by tweedbean, on Flickr 10 Minutes into ownership and im already stopping for more fuelTime for fuel on the way home by tweedbean, on Flickr Finally back at home after nearly 5 hours of driving up and down the M6Arrived back home :0) by tweedbean, on Flickr Spec includes: Factory JCW 210 BHP turbo charged 1.6Laser BlueCHILLI PackChrome Line interiorColour Line Dark GreyFirst Aid Kit & TriangleFull Bluetooth with USB.Metallic paintPark Distance ControlRoof in body colour The car was owned by MINI then one female owner. When MINI owned it, it was used for a load of photoshoots etc so I have some decent shots of it already Mod List: - JCW Recaro CS Sportster Seats in alcantara- MINI Stubby sports aerial- LED bulbs in sidelights, side repeaters and front indicators Plans: Short term plans include JCW seats, ITG filter, stubby aerial, possibly the JCW spoiler. I also need to rid the car of wheel gap. This one will definitely be around for longer than the last one. I had toyed with an R53 but the clubman had a boot big enough for our pushchair (We did a test fit on Saturday in one at Solihull MINI) and strangely the baby seat in the back has more room in the clubman than in the back of the Qashqai. My Previous Projects: R53 Cooper S:http://www.minitorque.com/forum/f273/tweedbeans-r53-mcs-18403/ R56 fJCW:http://www.minitorque.com/forum/f272/tweedbeans-r56-fjcw-25319/ Previous Photoshoot Front by tweedbean, on Flickr Rear by tweedbean, on Flickr Side by tweedbean, on Flickr Closeup by tweedbean, on Flickr With a roof rack by tweedbean, on Flickr On the track by tweedbean, on Flickr On the track by tweedbean, on Flickr

I used P-Torque for my MINI, they do a lot of VAG stuff too. They are based in Wombourne, near Wolverhampton. http://www.p-torque.co.uk/

Then you can sell me your GTI lol

Keep an eye out for Orranje Performance on there as thats a company I own with 3 mates. We make replica GP parts aswell as brake ducts and lightweight parts for the MINI. So even if you end up with an S you can make it faster and look better than any GP

Just realised who you are, thought I recognised the username from MINI Torque. Didnt you have a really tidy GP with GTT strut brace?

Thats one of the reasons im looking at the GTI, I've been there with the power thing with MINI's. I ended up spending a lot of money and know if I got another one, I would end up spending the same again. They are amazing cars and if anything went wrong I would know exactly how to fix it. Where as with the GTI I know I cant make it much faster without spending crazy money on engine swaps or forced induction so I wont go down that route.

Thanks, the GP works is a nice car but if your looking to mod then you might aswell by an S as just changing the supercharger pulley makes its faster than both the JCW and GP. The GP is now coming down in price and can be picked up for less than 10k now. I am looking at either buying another Cooper S or a Lupo GTI March next year when I get my bonus from work. Funny thing is both cost the same to insure, guessing thats due to the rarity of the Lupo as it is way down on power on a Cooper S.

Yep see below:

How low can you go on the AP coilovers?

Looking good, will look even better once the roof decal and spots have gone.

Dont worry im all for doing something different, I got shot down for my plans for the MINI with people saying it wouldnt work, however when it was done, everyone on the forums loved it. Im all for taking a risk and doing something different.

Yes but arent they by the company in Denmark, who wont share how they split the lights?

Im guessing by the lack of response that no-one has joey'd a set of Lupo xenons?