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Okay, I know nothing about tuning (wish I did) but OBTW I did see a very interesting article on tuning a Cooper in the new BIMMER magazine. (check it out, I forget things sometimes....like which BMW magazine it was in...I think it was BIMMER) Anyway, they were tuning a Cooper in order to qualify in a certain racing class...I guess where superchargers aren't allowed. The article tracked various engine improvement and the HP increases achieved, as measured on a dyno. Nice article I thought. Also nice to see MINIs showing up in the BMW magazines. I wasn't sure if they were going to claim us or not!
>>My MINI can already go 0 to 60 under 8 seconds and no problem w/ warranty
>>Just make sure yours says MINI Cooper S!!!
Aftermarket "stuff" vs. SUPERCHARGING:
reminds me of a muscle car T-shirt I once saw:
>>These brakes will pop your eye balls out if you are not ready. This system will lock your brakes up before the Anti-Lock system kicks in.
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>>These are a race/street application that will allow any user to go into any turn hotter and deeper then any other car. Now, the problem is coming out of turns, because of the MINI's torque at low RPM's.
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>>The Unsprung weight dropped 8 pounds on each corner. Plus, we did not have to buy over sized wheels and tires. The Storm Brake System in on my partners car and he runs 17's. But, my 16's fit with no problem. We do not own 15's, so I could not tell you if they would fit.
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>>I hope this helps.
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How many of the F1 or WRC cars, or IMSA or SCCA, or anyone in racing do you see using these? The reasons are many.
1. They do not maximize pad area
2. They do not maximize cooling area
3. They do not maximize pad life
4. They do not support radial cooling
I am very skeptical of this design - it looks a lot more like something for show than a functional design.
I'd like to see a picture of them on the car to get a better idea of how the rotor hat works also.
Have you had them out on the track for any evaluation testing?
Just a little skeptical, and I wanted people that don't know any better to know the issues that may surround these brakes.
All you really need to do is change the pad compound, get some good fluid and maybe go to a gas slotted rotor. If you really want serious brakes, go with Brembo - they know racing and have been supplying Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren, etc. for years (and I don't sell them - yet).
Yeah, that's exactly what I thought when I saw those Storm brakes; you couldn't pay me to put them on my car. Brembo, AP Racing, Stoptech are proven brake systems; stick with them until you start seeing real racers runing Storm brakes.
EBC Reds are available and installed here, but I haven't tested them on track yet. Hawks are my favorite, and I'm still trying to get a set of blues and blacks for eval on the MINI. Pagid are great too. I'll update on what's out there soon.
Just out of curiosity, what engineering principle guided the design of these wavy edged rotors? Why wouldn't you want to maximize the contact area with the brake pad?
I DO believe that if you are using the car at the track, the big brakes are the way to go. After exstensive track testing, with five different cars on several different days (all of which were cooler than 65F), the MINI consistently fades the brakes - after only about 9 hot laps.
The pads and fluid, as well as better cooling, will help. If you are just doing a couple track events per year, this is probably what I would recommend. If you are doing eight or so track events and a couple of autocrosses, and your class doesn't prevent them, the big brakes are a must - be that Brembo, AP Racing, Stoptech, or Alcon. They are well designed systems with striclty performance in mind. I am working with someone now on developing aluminum hats for the rotos to reduce the unsprung weight, but if I have to decide between going into the turn deeper and not having to scrub off speed with the tires or pumping the brakes (therefore having to brake earlier) or adding some weight (not that much mind you), I choose the weight.
The "wavy" rotor is a gimmick. I have done my homework, period.
>>Just out of curiosity, what engineering principle guided the design of these wavy edged rotors? ...
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'Wavy edged' rotors show up on superbikes - the Ducati dealership is just down the street - but their breaking concerns are a bit different than ours: weight is not as big a factor for bikes, and cooling is, of course, better, and as I understand it, the wavy edge is good for flinging away water ...
