28 replies to this topic

[joecowan]

before you do any of this u gota think of insurace. fiting a roll cage into a car add a s*** load ontop of the insure price(if ure 17). also buket seats and six point harness add on as well.
my wheels ad on about 200 cause im 17. u could always not declare the mods n save on the insurance. only problem with that is that if u crash into someone else the insurace wont pay for their car to be fixed or ure car to fixed.
the best safty feature is the driver in the end.

[Ethel]

The front seats didn't have any catches up until 1976. However you beef up a Mini it's, hopefully, going to remain small and light; factors that make it adept at rapid changes of direction. Sadly, this also applies if you collide with other objects and some bits of humans are a bit too squishy to cope with involuntary high speed stops 'n reverses.

On that basis I'd put the emphasis on tyres, brakes, windscreen wipers, fog & high level brake lights - anything that reduces your chances of having a bump, including your driving.

[The_Mistro]

When your gonna crash just jump in the back

somebodys been watching top gear on dave. . . . . . lol

before you do any of this u gota think of insurace. fiting a roll cage into a car add a s*** load ontop of the insure price(if ure 17). also buket seats and six point harness add on as well.
my wheels ad on about 200 cause im 17. u could always not declare the mods n save on the insurance. only problem with that is that if u crash into someone else the insurace wont pay for their car to be fixed or ure car to fixed.
the best safty feature is the driver in the end.

thats stupid! my wheels didnt cost me anything extra on the insurance, and they are 13x7's, because they were less than £500! which insurance company is that with?

[evansisgreat]

The front seats didn't have any catches up until 1976. However you beef up a Mini it's, hopefully, going to remain small and light; factors that make it adept at rapid changes of direction. Sadly, this also applies if you collide with other objects and some bits of humans are a bit too squishy to cope with involuntary high speed stops 'n reverses.

On that basis I'd put the emphasis on tyres, brakes, windscreen wipers, fog & high level brake lights - anything that reduces your chances of having a bump, including your driving.

That's good advice.
The best advice I ever got was drive as if everyone else is an idiot, which isn't too much of a stretch. People leave indicators on, leave lights off, speed and don't look before moving.
Both eyes open, both hands on the wheel, because people can't drive.

[l_jonez]

Is there anyway it can be improved,

dont speed, keep your distance and brake early

Edited by l_jonez, 05 February 2010 - 03:31 PM.

[david_vennard]

as its been sayed if u fit a roll cage ur insurence will go up, quite silly, we pay enough 4 insurence alreaddy.

i think get a pair of bucket seats maybe a 3 point harness

but check ur car that the sills, subs etc are alright, and ur brakes are good, and watch out 4 other drivers on the road

[chappy]

take an advanced driving course or a skid pan session. experience is the best safety device.


as said above, drive as if everyone else is an idiot.


@joecowan...

NOT declaring any mods on your insurance is illegal. this is the reason for insurance being high for young drivers, if you choose to do it, then more fool you, but don't recommend it to others on a forum.

[IainR]

For a daily driver a high level brake light is a very good idea. The lights on a Mini are low in comparison with modern cars.

Ditto about not declaring mods, use a classic or Mini insurance specialist, a lot of mods don't affect the cost by much if at all, remember hardly any Minis on the road are standard spec any more.

Edited by IainR, 08 February 2010 - 12:19 PM.

[joecowan]

When your gonna crash just jump in the back

somebodys been watching top gear on dave. . . . . . lol

before you do any of this u gota think of insurace. fiting a roll cage into a car add a s*** load ontop of the insure price(if ure 17). also buket seats and six point harness add on as well.
my wheels ad on about 200 cause im 17. u could always not declare the mods n save on the insurance. only problem with that is that if u crash into someone else the insurace wont pay for their car to be fixed or ure car to fixed.
the best safty feature is the driver in the end.

thats stupid! my wheels didnt cost me anything extra on the insurance, and they are 13x7's, because they were less than £500! which insurance company is that with?

im not actuly insured yet cause there cars not on the road atm. i was looking into it and every were i checked aded on alot for the wheels. hu r u insured with.

[Nick '91]

Make it loud (exhaust not radio) and bright (nice luminous colours), with decent lights etc, if you can be seen and heard even if it might annoy others atleast they wont hit you.

Sort out your brakes, and suspension no matter how good your brakes are if your not getting enough contact between the wheels and the road because of inadequate suspension youll have a shorty mini, although im sure its not that big of a problem as we are all going to have perfectly smooth roads soon, only reason I can think my road tax has gone up by a fiver.

Keep your wits about you, I find it hard to not be paying attention while driving, especially with my holey floor (passenger), breeze and noise, but not great for puddles.

And know your limits, my advice is to start at the speed limit and then slowly push out your boundaries untill you find a level your comfortable with, (mines 31 honest). Also remember when youve got passengers you dont have to show off just because youve got an awesome car that and your braking distance increases I think as you have more momentum, however if its as powerful as mine it shouldnt be a worry as I have touble getting any momentum with 4 mates in it.


Basically if other road users notice you, and you dont be a t*t you shouldnt have an accident, however some are unavoidable so make sure your car is sound and maybe some nice cobra recliners to increase the distance between you and anything would help. Also try not to carry around things not bolted down in your mini, a haynes manual,, wd40, screwdrivers etc are not good things to leave behind you as if you hit something at 30 they carry on doing 30 into you. Also roll cages fire extinguishers are good ideas but if there in the wrong place and you hit them in a crash then not such a good idea.

Wow really need to stop waffling, hope some of it helped though.

[The_Mistro]

When your gonna crash just jump in the back

somebodys been watching top gear on dave. . . . . . lol

before you do any of this u gota think of insurace. fiting a roll cage into a car add a s*** load ontop of the insure price(if ure 17). also buket seats and six point harness add on as well.
my wheels ad on about 200 cause im 17. u could always not declare the mods n save on the insurance. only problem with that is that if u crash into someone else the insurace wont pay for their car to be fixed or ure car to fixed.
the best safty feature is the driver in the end.

thats stupid! my wheels didnt cost me anything extra on the insurance, and they are 13x7's, because they were less than £500! which insurance company is that with?

im not actuly insured yet cause there cars not on the road atm. i was looking into it and every were i checked aded on alot for the wheels. hu r u insured with.

i was insured with quinn direct, im with footman james now on a limited milage policy as im at uni! but thinking back, they didnt ask me if they were wider, they just asked "do you have aftermarket wheels" to which i replied "yes" they they asked "how much did they cost?" "i dont know, how much the alloys themself cost, they came in a package with tyres, and i was told this came to around £450" "ok then sir, as they didnt cost more than £500 they will not affect your insurance" they also said that any aesthetical improvements do not effect the premium, so things like my bonnet stripes, door handles, seat covers, door cards, grill, de badging etc didnt cost anything, i also managed to blag my maniflow centre exit exhaust for free with them, they asked if it was performance exhaust, i answered yeah in a fashion, it was pretty much the same price as a standard exhaust, and its only from the cat back, and its a tailor made for minis! this again went down as a asthetical improvement!

[The_Mistro]

just echoing advice already said, it was the best advice i was given when i finally came to driving on the road rather than fields, but you may be a good driver, but not everyone on the road is, think once, twice and a third time about what they could be about to do!

obvious ones, dont tail gate, only overtake when you feel its safe to! dont let other drivers infulence your driving, i know its tempting if some guy is driving up your backside in a chav mobile, to just boot it, but dont, let them go ahead and risk their own lives, dont put yours in danger for them!

keep with the flow of the traffic where you can! obviously on motorways you dont have to or on duel carridge ways, but single caridgeway i find it safer sticking in the flow, at a nice pace rather than trying to reach the speed limit! amd national speed limit roads, go to the pace the condition of the road allows, if its a nice smooth road, no hidden dips etc, then fair enough, keep a nice pace, but if the road is rutted, blind bends and hidden dips then hold back with your right foot!

roundabouts, you really need to keep your whits about you! keep an eye on your mirrors for cars coming up the side of you as well as cars already on the roundabout!

to be honest mate, all of the advice given, is sound advice for w/e you drive! its the driving style that makes a car safe not the car! you could have a tank volvo, and still kill yourself and others in it if you drive like a plank! and lets face it, most first cars arent going to be "safe" like modern saloons are, as most cars we can afford to buy and run ourselves are all getting on a bit now!

[cooperdan]

When your gonna crash just jump in the back

Lol thats given me chuckle this morning...

To be truful there isnt much you can do, Yeh there is harnesses etc...Just need good responsive head on your shoulders....

If you already have your mini then it must mean you have accepted the dangers of one..

[ThunderJimmy]

Interesting topic this one, as people have said it's mainly gonna be down to the driver. Obviously some accidents are unavoidable but in my experience fortunately they tend to be the low impact car park ones.

After smashing my first car into a hedge, I would suggest a clock on the dash somewhere, and good time management, as I know personally when I'm in a rush to make up time on a journey I push the limits, don't observe as well and generally take more risks, combine this with poor road conditions/blind bend or whatever and you're in trouble. Also, maybe some air horns. May be slightly brash but when you spend a lot of time city driving I find them invaluable for waking up people who don't know how to use roundabouts and lanes properly.

Other than that, try and enjoy the sense of danger that comes from driving a road legal go kart