I had a run early up to the hills and back to deliver some newspapers.

8*oC and calm & misty, 12*oC coming back.

I will see next week as a comparison with the efficiency. Maybe as much as 10 degrees cooler in a wees time.  Sorry camera must have had condensation on.    Lots of campers about and getting up, nobody on the roads other than wildlife. 

Living and dead, lots of dead hedgehogs. 

 3.6 mile / kWh up & 4.6 coming back. 38 mile round trip.

Edited 10 September, 20232 yr by toot

Do not leave the window down (passenger side) even just a little by mistake if there is going to be rain, especially lots of rain.

Then if you do and it turns out not too much water came in and you dry it up and drive off, do not make the mistake of opening your window.

 

Lack of guttering is the biggest error of any in these cars that are much BIGGER than the original Mini but is supposed to be have the Retro look.

 

You never got soaked with the sliding windows or wind up and down ones when there was a gutter. 

The door would drop though and the engine might not start  because of the H20 that got in the engine compartment.

 

....................

The New MINI Cooper Electrics can be reserved.   I take it that is because they will come in from China before any are built in the UK.

That seemed not to be mentioned the other day when the news story was all about how the 2 new electric MINI's will be built in the UK from 2026.

Well this is 2023. 

 

Lets see if Motoring Journalists notice that you can not open the windows when sitting and it is raining unless you want rain coming in the car and obviously you can not fit Wind Deflectors.

Not handy if sitting in an EV when charging and it is raining and you are not under a canopy.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 13 September, 20232 yr by toot

The Vredestein All Seasons have been good in the dry and wet and have 800 miles on them and have been at 37 psi.

I have a good few miles to do this week so i put the tyres up to 43 psi until the weather gets colder just to see if it makes any difference to the range.

I thought i might as well try DRAGY with the pressures higher.   14*oC and on the flat and dry grippy usual road.

Only the first run with traction control on was under 7 seconds, the rest were with or without Dynamic Traction Control Active and i had too much wheel spin.

OK for all seasons though.

Then pics just the run back home downhill.

I had a wee shoot up and down a nice secluded Glen devoid of traffic, walkers, cyclists or animals wandering onto the road.

Warm, damp and a bit loose surfaces in places and tight corners.

 

Well with the Traction Control / Dynamic control in the 3 available setting i can say with certainty it will stay on the default setting until i try again on snow or a track / large space with nothing to hit. The all season tyres and lack of electronic assistance gave a few moments of squeaky bum time.

 

Better just to proceed in a safe manner and let the car do a bit of controlling the wheel spin now that i am very much less than a driving god.

 

4 miles to the kWh for 30 miles with a bit of playing about is OK IMO.

 

The Brake discs & calipers have not even the slightest of corrosion showing and i hardly touch the brake pedal.

The Corsa electric,s brakes had started rusting within days of using it.

 

I really might need to put on mud flaps but i need to see how it is when there is now and how it clears out of the arches or if it builds up and freezes in big lumps of ice.

 

 

Edited 24 September, 20232 yr by toot

I thought i had found someone using a MINI EV for motorsport & i was looking forward to seeing the mods, and was ready to watch how it went, but no follow up from his first vid.

 

I used to do Autotests with a Mini 1.0 Automatic and the likes of a Justy CVT, a Micra CVT, a Saxo 1.4 Automatic and even a Kia Picanto Automatic.

All these had a hand brake, fly-off hand brake and sometimes a line lock & really with an e-brake i have never tried doing anything like what i did with these other than on snow.

EDIT.

Found his follow up. 

 

 

 

@lol-loli found eventually this on the MINI Cooper SE Race Car.

No idea why they put the duff stuff on the same power as the road car when they are 181 bhp / 184 ps / 135 kW. 

 

EDIT.

I got a reply, "The R56 Electric model had 150 kW / 201 bhp electric motor whereas the F56  181 HP / 184 PS / 135 kW."

So now i know.

 

It was 2010 that it did the Nurburgring.

 

 

 

 

Edited 24 September, 20232 yr by toot

On 24/09/2023 at 12:50, toot said:

The Brake discs & calipers have not even the slightest of corrosion showing and i hardly touch the brake pedal.

The Corsa electric,s brakes had started rusting within days of using it.

In the manual, is there any mention of brakes activating to scrub it? I'm wondering BMW may have prior knowledge of EV brake problem from their older EV's and have implemented fixes. 

I cleared out my Picnic and tool box, deck chairs and other stuff that has been filling the rear as it is to be a Dog transporter for 10 days.

So just enough room for a Hungarian Vizsla & her grub etc once she curls up. 

Edited 27 September, 20232 yr by toot

@wyx087I will look see but really most of my research has been through the many educational video,s from MINI and others that cover really almost everything.

I have never seen a car with Brakes looking so clean and fresh or had a new one that did after 6 weeks or so.

I am using it as a dog transporter because my young lads BMW brakes are so bad and the control arms that they will need dealt with after my holiday so not taking it away.

That will be a grand and a half in parts.

Stupid me.   Not one reviewer i have seen or read mentioned the Elephant in the room.

 

I really had no idea how hopeless a MINI Hatch is when raining. 

No issue if inside it can rain as much as it likes, the wipers work.   

But getting in and getting out you get soaked as the doors and inner sills do as the water steams in. 

 

*You touch the door handle, press the button, keyless entry, the frameless door drops the window an ickle bit to let the door open, 

water streams in. Wiping the water away across the roof helps, as doing the coating on the roof that sheds water, but still the water gets in then, 

than as you climb in or out.*

 

Today is torrential and i have been in  and out like a jack in the box.

This will really be crap once the weather turns cold and dampness will be an issue.

 

As for sitting charging and opening the windows even a mm there is no way, rain streams in. 

So it is a case of running the heating / demisting and actually on AC trying not to get totally steamed up and that is just me in the car, no passenger or dog. 

 

I am going to try and find a bit of trim that i can 'stick' to the roof above the doors and just above the trim where a gutter would be to deflect the water off the roof.

Not found anything of the likes online but i have a few ideas for something i can adapt that comes in black plastic. 

An electric Mountain bike down tube Crud Catcher i used to have would be almost long enough an i could make a left and a right by splitting one down the middle, 

maybe using the parts even narrowed a bit more.

Edited 4 October, 20232 yr by toot

Have a look at self adhesive trims on the car builder solutions website as they may have something suitable.

MkII Fabias are awful when it's raining. Opening the window more the a few mm and the water pours in. 

I had wind deflectors on my Mk2,s because of that & on my Corsa and on about everything i have had foe 20 years.

Sadly none exist for frameless door MINI,s.

I have found a couple of trims that might just help from the site that @skomazpointed me too.  I can not believe that site passed me by. Brilliant.

 

Looking more hopeful on getting the rain pouring into the interior sorted.

 

The last few days of only a few miles driven, very wet roads and at the seaside has the disc braking surfaces started to have some cosmetic corrosion showing.

I will be going into the hills later and see if i come back with the discs faces shiny again.

The thing is i really do not need to use the brakes and they work that well there is no just light touch and keep rolling even on the steepest of slopes, 

it will need to be some hard braking i think. 

A simple gloss black trim run along the edge of the roof at the top of the window line would probably look much neater and work equally well at stopping water pouring in off the roof when a window or door is opened - almost like the roof gutter on the original mini?

 

13 x 3.5mm GLOSS Black Flat Self Adhesive Trim Per Metre (carbuilder.com)

Edited 5 October, 20232 yr by skomaz

@skomazthat was what i had been looking at after your introduction to that site.

Once home i will see what odd wind deflectors i have in my shed.  I got a 4 door set for my Shogun in error when i needed only 2 for a 3 door and i cut down the rears to lengthen the fronts so the offcuts are someplace to just try how they might sit against the roof.

Edited 5 October, 20232 yr by toot

First morning away to go out in the MINI with ice on the Glass & the car a bit damp inside from the past few days.

Not plugged in to pre-heat.  Last few days of about 10 miles a day, 5 x 2 miles  with Heating on, heated seat, AC and rear screen and heated mirrors, 2.5 miles kW/h showing.

 

So lets see if the windows drip OK for door opening and how quick the glass inside and out is ready for the off without the use of de-icer.

 

EDIT.

Well it was starting to thaw when i started the car and just ice outside on the Windscreen.

The Demister is f*****g useless. 

The Mirrors are not heated.

It takes a while till heat comes out the vents.    After glass clear then fine.  But not quick so pre heating will be used if plugged in, or wanting in the car and away.

 

 

Edited 22 October, 20232 yr by Rooted

Minus 3.  Pre heating for 5 minutes worked fine.  Heated seat was on as left set last light and heated rear screen and heated mirrors worked.   Set ae 25 degrees interior when parked.  All good.  Drive a mile and great vision then into frozen fog and could not see 10 yards.   That was in street lighting.  

On 22/10/2023 at 08:20, Rooted said:

It takes a while till heat comes out the vents.    After glass clear then fine.  But not quick so pre heating will be used if plugged in, or wanting in the car and away.

I wonder if the car is programmed to use heat pump as much as possible? 

 

I noticed this with Model Y, where it would say "warming up" for a minute or so before hot air begins to blow. Whereas Leaf would pull 2 kW with its resistive heater elements and start blowing hot air straight away. 

 

Of course, pre-heating solves this because it builds up heat pump pressure before you jump in. 

@wyx087

The bumf says their is a heat pump.  Hard to believe, or if there is it is any good.     But as it is just now it does the 100 miles or so and the !00% shows as 104 miles.

 

So better than 3 miles kw/h. 

   I had to move others cars and the 520 estate was near 10 minutes from firing up and the Shogun still iced passed that.

 

MINI sitting with roof and windows open to dry out inside later once it gets above freezing and the sun comes around.

I will pre-heat the MINI plugged in or not on the 3 pin charger and be sure it is plugged in and at 100% before any trips.

Parts of the A90 still closed right now passed Forfar.

Autonomous pre heating or having instant heat without risking the engine start would seem to be a definite advantage of an EV.

 

Maybe we will look back one day and laugh at the things we put up with on ICE vehicles.

The MINI is doing wonderful on water logged roads and torrential rain.

I just need to remember not to open the windows until all the water is off the roof, so just a bit of acceleration clears that.

 

My young lads BMW i am looking after just got new discs fitted and i took it out for a wee run and really i will stick in this weather to the Mini with the 205 wide tyres suited to the wet and front wheel drive rather than the hearse.

Edited 5 November, 20232 yr by Rooted

The cars performing perfectly.  Just done 85 miles heading south and west through the ,yellow weather warning ⚠️ area.  Torrential and around 5 degrees C.   Heating at 20 in the car.  2 hours driving.  Car rock steady, All season tyres great through flooded roads and overtaking HGV,s etc in outside lane.    Arrived with 20 % battery showing and 3.5 mile kW/h averaged.   Need to go to 99% charge as have 90 miles until on next planned rapid charger.  Should be less cold and maybe wet but going on motorway.     PS edit.  90 miles later 1 hour 27 mins and 21% left.  Straight on the 50 kW rapid getting 52 kW.   Larry.   30 miles was unbelievably heavy rain.  

 

 

I am still learning stuff.

I had to as something happened and many settings reset someplace. 

Likely in the same place as the Corsa Electric would lock me out or get over the air updates and reset stuff.

 

Finding out how to stop the passenger mirror dipping in reverse was very important as it was a PITA going into charging bays..

 

The Miniac Channel more help than anything from MINI. 

 

 

 

Edited 5 November, 20232 yr by Rooted

First chance to see how quick it clears the windows inside and out with remote pre-heating.

I plugged in to charge after doing 42 miles last night when it was quite cold and it took 12 kWh to charge back to full.

So that was 3.5 miles to a kWh which was fine given how cold it was and heating / ac on and trying to be sure the interior was pretty dry before the frost. 

12 x 21 pence tariff i am on.    £2.52 for 42 miles. 

 

A car reviewer that knows her stuff.   

There are many that should learn from her and get facts and not just what a Media Pack tells them and repeat it.

 

 

 

 

Edited 12 November, 20232 yr by Rooted

A wee run up to Glen Doll and back after the rain and before anymore.

Not many about other than at the Clova Hotel or Workers doing ditch work and fallen trees, but there were some cyclists that would be going through pretty long stretches of water.

Beautiful scenery. 

 

3.9 mi/kWh is very good for hilly drive. 

 

44 miles divide by 3.9 mi/kWh gives 11.28 kWh. At 22p/kWh, that drive only cost £2.50. 😁