The rains have returned. 2 days of pollen, now that is being washed away.

The clutch is becoming more smooth, but its release/engagement point is a the bottom end of the pedal movement, which is the opposite that of Smokey where that point is close to the top of the pedal movement. So, this has taken a bit to get used to.

Another difference is the location of the shifter. Albert’s is closer to me. The throws are longer and a bit more notchy than in Smokey.. On the other hand, it readily engages each gear nicely. It might be interesting to, some day, try a short shifter.

I am noticing how effortless it is to drive Albert. His power band is so wide that, at times, I have forgotten, until the last minute, that I needed to push the clutch in when coming to a stop. This has surprised me as I had the sense of driving an automatic when this happened. The exhaust is also quite on Albert when coasting; more quite than Smokey’s. I know, just put it into sport mode, that will fix that “problem”....

Differences are just that, differences. They just take a little time to adjust to and they will become the norm and, maybe, the preferred.

Then, there are dislikes. Something that is just “wrong”. Albert has only given me one dislike... The center arm rest. It is way too high for me, it interferes with shifting and it obscures the hand brake lever making it darn near impossible to use. Each of our MINIs has presented something to dislike. On Blue it is the cruse control. The CVT is like a rubber band and the cruse doesn’t understand that. On hills especially, it won’t keep a constant speed. In my first R56 it was the automatic climate control. On a long trip at 10 deg outside, it wouldn’t hold the temperature in the car. Just a little imperfection in each. Some would say it adds character...

 

How about the fact that you can take the revs up to 3k in 1st in less than a second, but it takes a full second to let them fall to 2nd? The same from 2nd to 3rd?

Have you noticed the short final drives keeps the mileage at about 28?

Are you starting to adjust to the low rpm torque, which prompts me to cruise at 35 mph in 4th, and 40 mph in 5th?

Or are you still grinning from the 3rd gear pull from 40 to 80, which is pretty goddam breathless?

Cheers,

Charlie

 

So, what are you telling me? This car is SUPPOSED to get over 20 mpg????

I wonder what is WRONG with Albert that he hasn’t gotten the average over 20 yet???

Oppp, just checked. He’s up to 22.

I must be slowing down or something.



I will never admit to taking Albert past 35 mph in 3rd gear in violation of the strict instruction of Albert’s all knowing ECM (see above milage disclaimer)


Said will grinning from ear to ear....

 

On both of my F56 the armrest drove me bonkers no matter in which position I had it up down I hit my Elbow on it believe it or not that was a big reason why I bought the Clubby. Mini could easily redesign the middle consule and make it more like on the Clubby it is a cheap piece of plastic for crying out loud.

 

Yes, absolutely!
What Evlkarl said...

 

Well, I “fixed” the issue that it feels like driving an automatic - I spent a very fun ride with the Sport Mode engaged.

And, Charlie, I must disagree (a gentlemanly disagreement, that is,,, )...
It is 2nd gear from about 1500 rpm to about 50 mph that will put a big, fat, ear to ear smile on one’s face. At least on the back roads around here. 3rd is for cruising. It’s all good.

 

Having just finished the 3rd SCCA event up here in NER I cannot argue with you about 2nd.

The top of 2nd is 60, but I know you are still in the honeymoon...

But with the Elite in play I do not use all of it on the street.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I have been so lazy driving my JCW, letting it rev entering freeways, but only part throttle. Today, I finally floored it. I didn't realize how much pedal travel there is. And it was like the secondaries in a 426 Hemi 4-barrel kicked in. The engine had really good power all the way to 6k rpm.

 

So far I have been pretty good about following the book on break-in for the car. No running over 4500 rpm. Well, maybe 5000 rpm, as I have found that is a nice part of the power band. But I will say that you can be lazy in driving the car. 1500 rpm in 6th is no problem. Add a little throttle and it just goes. How sweet it is!

OK - Can someone tell me what MINI’s thinking was to make the tach an unreadable afterthought? Mine is shadowed by the speedometer and I need to have the headlights on to read it. Then it is so small that to tell where you are on it takes a magnifying glass. Why isn’t the speedometer the tach and the tach the speedometer? Oh, where are the aftermarket suppliers to fix that one?

 

I totally agree that the tach should be the large central dial. I have just tried to get used to the tiny tach. But, I have the pro exhaust and the exhaust changes with throttle and rpm changes , I can get a feel where I am in the rpm range. At below 2000rpm the exhaust sounds bad(drone). As the rpms increase the exhaust changes and sounds pretty good. Of course I am describing the exhaust running in the open mode. When I am just cruising in the quiet mode, the exhaust sounds fine at 1800rpm, maybe not so good in 6th.

 

The Pro Exhaust sounds fun. I noticed that the stock exhaust becomes louder too in Sport Mode. But, just listening to the exhaust may not be enough, especially at a place like Lime Rock Park with an 85 dB sound limit (the Pro exhaust may not be usable there). Throw on a helmet, have open windows at 100+ mph, and I am not hearing much. Add on to that the rock concerts and shop tools and, at this point, I may be hearing less than most...

On the street, not having a tach isn’t too bad. But, here is a car that they know will be taken to the track or autocross and they missed the mark on that one. Not as bad as the arm rest, but none the less, it is frustrating. For me, it wouldn’t take much to make it usable. It just needs to be permanently back lit so I can at least see the numbers and where it is at. Turning the lights on helps but they don’t like you running with lights on while out on the track. The Gen I JCWs had an option for a set of shift lights, like the race cars have. That would be great for this car.

Well, it is what it is. I am enjoying the car as it is. A few warts just adds character.

 

I try not to clutter up my cars (I said “try”... ). There are a couple of things that are a “must have in the car”, though. A quality 12v tire pump is one of them. Albert is now equipped with one of these:



HF can be a bit tricky with finding something of quality. A while back I took a gamble on this one and found it to be really good. It moves a lot of air, it is all metal and dissipates heat well, it is well made and it is at a reasonable price (moderately expensive by HF standards... ). All of my cars have one of these in it.

With RFTs, this can be a tire saver. If a tire goes down, sure you can drive it without air, but the tire will be toast by the time you get to where you are going. However, if you only have a puncture and it is a moderately slow leak, pumping up the tire pressure when you get the alarm and running it at full pressure may save you the cost of a new tire. Plus you can go forever this way. Some leaks (maybe most) in a RFT are repairable, as long as the tire hasn’t been run without air (as in running with the tire below the alarm point). I did this with a RFT snow tire. The RFT saved a ski vacation (picked up a nail in a snow storm at 10 deg F) and keeping it full of air saved what had been a brand new tire.

 

So yesterday was a ride to Thatcher Park that overlooks the Mohawk and Hudson River valleys. It is on the edge of the Helderberg Escarpment. This overlook is the top of about a 100 ft cliff and the view is amazing. There are some minor twisties around there. Mostly a nice drive and explore the fun driving Albert.

 

Monsoon season is in full swing, with the added touch that it is quite chilly out. There is snow in the forecast for the higher elevations. Not just a little snow, either. They are talking about 5 - 6” in some spots. We are two months behind where we should be. Ugh!

That hasn’t kept me from driving Albert. Hitting standing water at 65+ MPH with the Hankook A/S RFTs is less than a desirable adventure. The tires have no water channels, so they just push the water aside like slicks and they tend to hydroplane, like slicks. All in all, it feels like someone yanked on the e-brake and then floated the front end. Not nice But on just wet roads they seem to have pretty good traction.

Another thing I noted with these tires is that they are very low rolling resistance. Much less than the RE71Rs on Smokey right now (getting ready for a track day... ). When I took Smokey out for a spin with his new tires I thought they were all flat because the car was reluctant to roll...

With all the rain we are having, I got to check how clean the back end stays. Yup, pretty clean. On the highway, with standing water, I have not had to use the rear wiper.

Enjoying the day!
Motor on...

 

Well, Friday I got to meet one of Albert’s cousins at the track. Smokey is still doing track duties (and doing quite well at it, I must say). But at the track, MINIs are MINIs no matter what generation they are. Not to far from where I was “camped out” was a black w/red roof JCW. It turned out to be a 2017 that was optioned out with almost nothing, much like Albert, and the Guy had it at the track for the first time (Lime Rock Park), in its pure stock form. Stock right down the the Pirelli RFTs (A/S, 280-ish wear rating) and the MINI street brake pads. I was very curious as to how it would do. It was a cool day that was dry the 1st and 4th sessions and wet (rain mostly) the 2nd and 3rd sessions. He reported back the car did really well, but he hated the tires. Even though he was in my run group I never saw him, which usually means on that track that he and I were running about the same lap times. My cousin, in his M2 did run with him for a little while and said the guy was a really good driver and that the car had really good speed down the front straight. So, I have high hopes for Albert out on the track and it sounds like with very few mods (real track pads, tires and maybe camberplates) he will be quite spectacular. A MINI friend who was also at the track was very excited at the prospect of me bring Albert to the track...

My cousin did stop at my house for the night and he had a chance to drive Albert. He had high praise for him and had a lot of the same positive comments about the latest version of the JCW that I have had. He added a few more that we MINI owners take for granted, those being the MINI’s uniqueness and generally “cool” factor. He really liked the seats and thought the Sports mode pops and burbles were fun. He agreed that Albert had a “BMW” feel to the ride and handling. He also noted that info system was clearly up graded from his, but his M2 has Nav and whatever else that brings.

Darn - I didn’t even think to snap some pictures at the track. Sorry everyone. I’ll do better the next time.

 

Other Albert oddities...

Has anyone else noticed that random MINI pictures show up in the bottom of the speedometer when you get into the car and before you start it up?

And, that the JCW symbol only randomly shows up on the Info Screen?

So much fun; so little time...

Enjoy and motor on!

 

I had heard about the HF compressor but I have not seen one or find it at HF. As soon as Eddie posted the photo I knew I have to get one right away. Got my coupons from Grassroots Motorsports (courtesy of TNiA) and came home en route grocery shopping with one as well as another free DMM . I know in time I will get a few more. I like the all metal construction. Also the gauge looks decent and has just the good range for Desire's sticky donut tires. Going to test it now.

 

This thing is every bit as good as people say it is. It has a nice screw on chuck. It has very little vibration and quiet unlike my gen 1 12V pump that try to shake itself to death. Pumping my tire from 20 PSI to 38 PSI took just under 2 minutes. Despite the diminutive size it does not walk from the vibration thanks to the nice and soft rubber feet. The gauge is quite accurate compared to my bigger gauge.

 

One thing about that compressor. If your car isn’t running and your battery is weak, the back pressure from the tire might keep the compressor from starting. Just loosen the chuck to let some air escape, start the compressor and then tighten the chuck...

 

I was so impressed with it I went back and bought another one, since I have the 20% off coupon a free DMM coupon too. Really like the quick disconnect and the brass air chuck. One of the best HF item for sure. One will be added payload for Desire.

 

So, yesterday (Friday) Albert and I went to Lime Rock Park in the NW corner of Connecticut, where the boarders of NY, Massachusetts and Connecticut come together. LRP is a short 1.5 mile road course that saw the likes of Trans AM and CanAm racing in the ‘60 and ‘70, and, in more recent time the Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA races. This weekend there are the SCCA Pro T/A and SVRA races (Trans Am Series by Pirelli, the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) and International GT ).

This was the first long ride in Albert. It is a 1:40-ish long ride that is a combination of highway and backcountry roads. Albert is a comfortable cruiser on the highway and not at all intimidated by anything else on the road. The twisties of the the backcountry roads were Albert’s favorites, making quick work of 20 and 30 mph curves and the few slower moving vehicles that he came upon. This included a farm “thing” that was clearly not comfortable on the road, bouncing along on its 6’ dia, 30” wide tires and doing what must have been a very exciting 10 mph for the driver. It also covered about a lane and a quarter, so passing it was an exercise in caution with a ditch on one side and a moving green steel wall on the other that, with each bounce on those tires, would move 6 inches to one side or the other.

It was a very windy day and I was surprised at the buffeting that Albert experienced. So much for the aerodynamics of a brick going through the air... I continue to learn about the fun little touches that MINI has included in this car, like the cruse control that shows you the speed it is set at. However, it took me a few minutes to figure out that when it turns RED, it doesn’t mean some sort of disaster is going to befall me or Albert (Why red, MINI? It should be yellow as red means stop, or something bad will happen). It just means that the cruse control has be deactivated.

Parking at LRP is in the infield and there is always a fantastic assortment of cars waiting to greet the new arrivals:




A fun group of little cars!

While there were all sorts of fun cars there, the classic Minis always stand out.


Road going Mini

Race Mini

And some cars are like gorgeous models...


There is just “something” about Italian cars... Wow!

And then there is old school elegance. When it comes to an elegant engine, no one does it better than Jaguar back in the day...


A work of art!

And I did watch the fantastic race cars on the track. There were thundering late 60’s 427 Corvettes, screeming 302 Cameros and Mustangs, Owen Trinkler and Hugh Plumb’s IMSA Benz, an IMSA Panoz, the T/A and T/A2 cars, all wanting to draw your attention. However the iPhone 5S isn’t the greatest for those sorts of pictures....

It was a great day.

Enjoy and motor on...

 

I have never seen an Enzo first hand. It strikes me it is not as big as my impression, now seeing it sits next to the classic mini (lower case emphasis its size). Is that a Simca behind the yellow racing mini?

The Jaguar twin cam six has to be one of most elegant engines in the era. I had a chance to drive an older friend's 60s XK-E Coupe during high school and boy! what an elegant car with performance to boot. It has the color just like Desire.

 

You might be right about that car being a Simca (rear engine and looking like a cross between a BMW 2002 and a Fiat 124 coupe?). BTW - That Jaguar engine sat in a car that is up for sale... $225,000.

So I have a newly discovered toy....
iMovie - yes, I am behind the times...

So, here is a series of clips from LRP yesterday - Sights and sounds of cars at LRP.

A few noteworthy items...

- The Benz at the beginning is the one driven by Owen Trinkler and Hugh Plumb in this season’s IMSA races; my apologies for knowing the drivers of the Porsche, also a current IMSA car.

- Keep an eye on the background in the early part of the video as there are all sorts of interesting cars at this event.

- The first on-track scenes are of the cars coming out of turn 1 and going through turn 2 are LRP.

- The stock car that you will see midway into the video was previously a Darrel Waltrip car.

- In the up-hill section note that the first car gets light and the engine revs up. Cars have been known to full leave the ground when cresting this hill.

- The end of the video is back at T1 and T2, then T2 to T3 with the TA-2 cars.

This is a track that I have driven many times. It is really interesting to see professionals and very high caliber drivers on this track.

Enjoy...

 

Very cool. You must have spent quite some time editing the short clips and stitch them together. Makes me want to bring my DSLR and tripod to the track. Hell, I should bring out the prosumer HD video camera but I hate video editing.

iMovie is so easy to use unlike the very beta Sony Vegas that I used to use. Today I am going to catch up on the two most recent episodes of Project Binky.

 

Actually I didn’t sped a lot of time on this video (an hour or 2, maybe?). First time using it. I had a couple of false starts, but once I got the hang of it, it went quickly. I used the split tool for longer videos where I was panning up the track and then had to swing back to catch the next group of cars. Then I would use the trim function to remove the swing-of-the-camera part and/or remove dead time. At the end I saved it as a completed HD movie that I then uploaded.

And a special picture, just for pnwR56S. A tire storage and changing station for your backyard...


Pirelli tire change station at LRP, note the older design tires in the foreground