Watkins Glen International is an old classic F1 race track. Over the years it has changed a bit, it has gained a mile in length, it now has a real front straight and the uphill esses have been made to be very exciting. But with all of this it has retained all of its uphill and downhill NE country road character. And Racers love to race on it because of its high speeds and technical corners, all of which demand respect. A few days ago, this was the amazing scene that some got to witness:


Just flat out amazing! And this record was made with what appears to have been a mistake going into turn 9 (the left hander coming out of the boot). This is doubly of interest to me as I have driven on this track many times and I know how hard it is to go fast on it. I am hoping to get Albert out there this year to see what he can do... I’m sure it will be nothing short of amazing too; for a MINI Cooper...

 

Watkins Glen is referred to as a “Horse Power” track. It is definitely not a “MINI” track. And it is definitely not an “Ego” track. Almost all of its acceleration zones are up hill and most of its braking zones are down hill. So no bragging rites about the top speed of your car and it kills brakes. It also is surrounded by guardrail, so you better not make a mistake. Unlike the Monticello private race track (ego track for the Ferrari and Lambo owners) in downstate NY, where I saw 130+ mph in my 2007 MCS on their longest straight (which runs downhill), the best I have seen at WGI is 120 mph with a pretty good tail wind. And you have to look hard to see a guardrail at Monticello as there is grass and sand traps to keep from marring your $300k+ car whereas I know of a few Lambos that will not be running on the track after mistakes at WGI.

So, probably the most important things for driving on WGI are brakes and respect for the track. It doesn’t take long before the conventional wisdom of “Oh, a street/track brake pad (yellow stuff, Hawk +, etc) is just fine for taking my street car out on the track” to come back at you with a slap in the face of toasted and ineffective brakes. I have seen this more than once. One time I had a guy complain that the MINI brakes were crap. When I asked him what he was running for pads he said XYZ street/track pad. I said it was the pads not the brakes. He insisted that those pads were fine for the track. I had a spare set of Carbotech XP10s that I said he could have. He said no. I said that I insist and will install them for him. He finally relented and put them in himself. After the next session he came over to me with the biggest smile on his face and money in hand for the pads. He said he couldn’t believe the difference. Smiles for the rest of the day!

As one improves their driving skills on the track, the more important having the right brakes and pads becomes. Peak brake temperatures go up greatly as braking distances decrease. The brake pads need to be able to withstand those temperatures and the brakes need to quickly dissipate the heat being generated. For those of us who only see the track a relatively few times in a year, it is tough to try a bunch of options. So, we need to rely upon the information provided by the manufactures. This is where it gets tough; they don’t like to give out any information. One of the few that does is Hawk. Here is their selection of brake pads in a nice, clear picture form...


Hawk Brake Pad performance chart.

In looking at this, it is not hard to tell that a HPS pad will likely be toasted out on the track. The HP+ might last for a novice, but it won’t be long before they cook them at above 900 deg, which these brakes can get to. I run the DTC60 pad at WGI and have a set of DTC70s on hand if the others fail me. Brakes are all about heat and how you manage it. I plan for brakes to never be an issue.

 

I am still waiting for mine to arrive via Amazon sub-Prime shipping. I have so many uses envisioned and the most pressing is to inspect the brakes of my 4-ton Sprinter based camper. I want to buy the right rotors, pads, and wear sensors ahead of time but here are 3 possible calipers on the 2500 T1N Sprinter. I do not want to take the wheels off just to inspect the pads and rotors, and to find out which caliper and also the wear sensor type.



Getting this super affordable borescope is a no brainer for me, as long as I don't use it for DIY medical purposes as the name (endoscope) suggests.

 

Hope it works well for you.

I note that the one set of brake pads (in the middle) looks an awfully like those for the Gen 1 MINI cooper. You think they might be interchangeable.

 

So Albert is finding more things he would like to have. He found an interesting post about adding in and coding the rear fog lights:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4480648

Great info there in that short post. I didn’t know about the Bimmercode app and there is a second one to go with it. These looking like must have items for the iPhone/iPad.

So it looks like there will be some coding going on in the near future. Maybe code in “Sport Mode on” and “DTC off” upon startup????

Here is a copy and paste of the post linked above:

Wow! That was the easiest mod I ever did. Replaced light switch and activated 2019 F55 Rear Fogs lights (bulbs and wiring already there!) Euro Rear fog switch 61 31 9 865 845 (Thank you ECS Tuning!) Panel simply pulled out and switch was held in by fasteners (no screws), clicked new switch in and replaced wires. Everything except the rear fogs worked after replacing switch. As I had to code ECU with BimmerCode iphone app ($31) and a bluetooth OBDLinkMX+ adapter.

I found coding Originally Posted by TVPostSound (thank you!)

Coded: In Expect Mode....in the "Body Control Module" [No idea what that link is?]
Activate Rear Fog Lights:
3068 NSL_Verbaut = Verbaut

(Note nebelschlussleuchte = NSL= Rear Fog Lights)
Code first, the cycle ignition, then restart Bimmercode for the below options
to show up. This was scariest part as it cycles thru with alerts--but afterwards it is all OK).

Activate Rear Fog Lights feature for lighting switch:
3064 Mapping_Nebelschlussl_L_output = nsl_l
3064 Mapping_Nebelschlussl_L_Function = nebelschlusslicht
3064 Mapping_Nebelschlussl_R_output = nsl_r
3064 Mapping_Nebelschlussl_R_Function = Nebelschlusslicht

Every time you recode after doing rear fogs, you WILL get a dash warning about lighting errors.
cycle the ignition, it will go away, the warning after coding is because the VO has not been coded.
It will not persist after that.

This link was helpful.
file:///C:/Users/toddt/Downloads/BMW...3%20series.pdf

 

Yesterday Albert got a package in the mail from MINI, welcoming me to the MINI community (like we are not already there - see signature). None the less it is a great jester on their part. If I recall, we got one of these welcoming packages with the purchase of each of our MINI Coopers. Just a bit of their quirky nature. Hope all are enjoying their MINIs as much as we have been.

Albert got an early morning bath today. Our driveway is shaded by by trees this time of the day and, with a black car, any sunshine on it results in it being toasty warm and too hot to wash. After he was dried, he got spritz and wipe down with Meguiar’s Quick Detailer. I like that as it doesn’t leave white crap on the plastic and it puts a nice shine on the car. And my handy cordless wet/dry vacuum by Dewalt made short work of the excess stuff that comes into the car uninvited on the bottom of one’s shoes. Next week, Friday, Albert gets to show off a bit when he heads over to Lime Rock Park to watch the practice and qualifying runs of the IMSA cars. This is exciting to Albert as he gets to introduce his 6 year old granddaughter to racing. She already has a MINI JCW battery powered car that she is very proud of and now she wants to see real race cars.... Woo Hoo

Here is what Albert got in the mail:


They suggest that this picture can be remove and an exciting MINI picture of my own can be put in its place and use the box as a picture frame. Cute!



A letter from the Pres of MINI USA, a little book of MINI excitement and a USB drive in the shape of the MINI’s starter button. I wonder if there is anything preload on it?


I got a kick out of this picture. We loved watching these cars race in the IMSA ST class. They won the manufacturer’s championship last year. Alas, no more. IMSA dropped the ST class and these have been relegated to the TCA class in the Blancpain series. Nowhere near the exposure, though. And, who knows after that. We would love to see MINI USA bring to the States the MINI Challenge series that is run in the UK. Wouldn’t that be a great marketing tool?!!!

 

It seems that the weather around here has gone from “Monsoon” to “gorgeous” . Deep blue skies and not a cloud to be seen. A breeze and temperatures in the mid-80s. What’s not to like about that. So Albert took us for a spin to one of our favorite roads north of us. With all the rain we have had, the forests in that area are lush and deep green. Even the twisty road we travel was devoid of its usual slow traffic, which made for a “spirited” driving through the curves. I am ever mindful, though, of the dangers, bicycles and/or people that may be lurking around any one of the blind turns or just past the top of a rise, like the dump truck that we came upon who was backing up in our lane. So, for this road, “spirited” is a relative term, but fun none the less.

Part of what makes a ride like this fun is the seats in a car. I love the seats in the JCW. They are firm and supportive, with a lot of side bolstering. They seem to be a much better seat than I have seen or sat in for a MINI. And they are a far cry from the “wide bottom” seats my 2007 MCS had, which had me opt for the seat upgrade in Smokey (the 2012 MCS). I can ride in Smokey’s seats forever in. But, as good as Albert’s seats feel when first getting into them, over time when riding in them, they are not liking me. After riding in Albert this last time I had major pinched nerve issues in one of my legs. This was much like what happened with the seats in my ‘07 MCS and, yet, the seats in Albert feel much like the seats in Smokey that I like so much. What is the difference? At this point I don’t know. Albert’s seat bottom is a little harder. Could that be it? Or do Albert’s seats have just a tad less lumbar support than Smokey’s seats? Smokey’s seat have an adjustable lumbar, whereas Albert’s seats do not. While they seem the same, maybe they are just enough different to cause an issue. Also, I had the seat a bit higher in Albert than in Smokey. Maybe that is it? Or is it a combination of all of these things?

The human body is such a fickle thing. So resilient and yet so fragile. I’ll figure this out.

On the up side, my wife loves the seats in Albert. The best seats of all 4 MINIs, including her own, and that is saying something (“no car is as good as her Blue” ... )

Hey - What’s the opinion of your seats in your F56? Just curious

 

Yesterday I saw a F56 MCS and, yes, it did have a different rear spoiler. Not as big, nor as aggressive as what is on Albert. Not sure if it a “year” thing or not but it was definitely different.

There are people who believe that the “aero” bits for these cars are purely cosmetic and don’t do anything. I don’t believe that; I believe they do work. We have one of each of the 3 generations of MINIs. Our Gen 1 has no spoiler and the window is always a mess. My 2012 MCS has a window that stays relatively clean and Albert is the best. So there you have it... Proof positive in a very unscientific test of the aerodynamics aids for a MINI’s “back end”....

 

I did Tennessee to Massachusetts straight through, with a congenitally troublesome back, so I cannot complain too much about the seats in the long haul.

I will however, admit that securing the Schroth Quick-Fit belts and nailing my sorry butt to said seat, greatly improves the durability of my spine.

Of course, if I drop my cigarette pack in that configuration I am pretty well screwed.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Charlie,
I was wondering how you made out with these seats on those long trips. There is always a bit of wit and wisdom in your prose. And I appreciate your response. It has reminded me that I need to get another set of attachment points for my Quickfit harnesses so I can use them in Albert, along with Smokey. However, your comment about dropping things and being screwed is a big reason I don’t wear them on the street. I have had track days where I have gotten belted in and have forgotten that the car door is open to the fullest and I can’t reach it... Start over... : I once asked a friend to grab my gloves off my dash because I couldn’t reach them... lol:

BUT... That said, your comment about the Quickfits makes me think that my set of CG Locks perform much the same function. That is, full locking one’s posterior firmly into into the crack between the seat back and bottom. That will help and I won’t have to worry about the door being fully open once I am buckled in... Thanks for the suggestion.

I am also going to lower the seat to be like Smokey and I found some modest thickness rubber padding I had laying around from which I’ll mock up a little more thickness for the lumbar support. And I am gong to look into getting fleece seat covers like I got for the Wrangler. I got those for the Wrangler as its seats are not heated and I have never sat in seats also cold as those. It turns out that they also are a natural cushion and they took pressure off whatever that causes me pain. Might work here too.

 

I find that lowering the seats a bit helps. When I have the seats too high, it hits a pressure point on my thigh.

 

Exactly what I was thinking - seat height and lowering it. I was also thinking about playing with how far away from the pedals the seat is. Not sure if closer or further away will be better, but it will I will just have to “suffer” and drive the car more to find out.

Come to think of it, I put a set of the Euro JCW Recaro seats into my 2007 MCS. When I first put them in, I couldn’t drive in them for much more than 30 min before they caused problems. Lowering the seat bottoms helped a lot. Still, they were not as good as the seats I got in Smokey when I ordered it.

I find it interesting as to how sensitive we are to car seats and how a seat you might think is great, isn’t, and how one that doesn’t seem so great, is. A while back I had a 1980 Chevy HD 3/4T pickup that I put a slide-in camper into. Then I drove out to Yellowstone and back in it. I planned 6 to 7 hr a day of driving. This thing had a cloth covered bench seat and it was the most comfortable “car” seat I have ever been in. If it wasn’t for the need for periodic rest stops, I could have done the 6 to 7 hrs a day, non-stop, with no issues. Go figure...

 

Albert turned over 1400 miles on his last adventure. In my mind this was a magic number as that is what I remembered as being the break-in period for the car. But, I also thought I should double check the book before I to took him back out and “drove him like I stole him”. The book says 1200 miles - Ugh - so I have been putzing around for 200 miles when I didn’t need to...

Time to get the oil changed. I know, the book doesn’t say to do this and I’ll have to pay for it, but I am old-school and I struggle with the idea that these engines are that clean from the factory. And I don’t believe in their 10,000+ mile oil change interval, either...

 

I went exploring inside the right wheel well and I found a few things of interest, like the brake rotors:


MINI Cooper F56 JCW brake rotor. Have you ever seen such a complicated casting? I hope they work as well as they look. They are thick. At 30mm they are huge next to anything that has been put on previous Gen MINIs except, maybe the GP2.

And then there is this weird-a$$ thing that looks like it is going to get blasted off with the first big slush pile that Albert hits. It is attached to the car frame and to the lower control arm with a lever mechanism. Who in their right mind puts something like this, and electrical no less, in a wheel well, totally unprotected. Idiots!
My guess is that it has something to do with aiming the headlights? Maybe?


Dumb, Dumb, Dumb But what do I know. I only live in the rust belt where salt laden snow gets into everything and this flimsy looking thing is hanging out there just waiting to get ripped off...

But they did get something right. The upped the size of the sway bar end link. It looks to be 50% to 2x thicker than what they used on the Gen II MINIs.


Front sway bar link. Beefy compared to past ones.

And speaking of sway bars. The front one measures 24.46mm.When discounting the coating probably means it is a 24mm bar, which makes it as thick as the optional GEN II JCW sports suspension bar. But, that comparison is somewhat meaningless as this bar is a different shape.


F56 MINI Cooper JCW front sway bar.

 

The question is - what good are the MINI Cooper JCW brake ducts?
This question has been in the back of my mind since I got my first MCS and that was reinforced when I got Albert. MINI makes such a point of exaggerating the ducts on this car, it seems they must do something. Well, I found out that it is complicated when the car is in motion. Here is a video of what I found out:


As I said in the video, when the car is standing still the brake ducts appear to work great at cooling the caliper! The problems comes in when the car starts moving and this is when you really do need them to work. I make a guess in the video that the air being pushed aside by the tires is pushing the air coming out of the ducts further into the wheel well and away from the brake caliper. After making the video I noted that the yarn is not only being blown towards the CV joint, it is being blown more upward. Guess again, that this is a result of the air going under the front of the car, then coming into the wheel well from under the car, going upward and out of the wheel well.

It seem MINI did a static test of these ducts and said good enough. They never tested them dynamically. If they had, they likely would have aimed them at the tire and let the air coming around the tire bend the brake duct air to blow on the caliper when the car is moving.

So, my conclusion is - Meh, they sort-of work...

 

The black electrical thing on the lower control arm is indeed a head light leveling sensor. Late gen 1 with Xenon option has one at front and one at rear.

I cannot make out from the photo of the sway bar drop link. Are the black ball joint ends made entirely out of plastic? They sure appear so in the photo and if so they better be a lot bigger. Gen one is made of stamped steel housing with the plastic cup molded into it. Cost reduced end links.

 

There you done it. Now we all want to put the borescope to watch the suspension in motion. Nicely done. The video quality is more decent than I expected. This sensor is not even 720p/30 and is like first gen communist made dash cams that claims to be HD but not. True HD minimum is 720p/30.

 

Still, I find it crazy that thing hangs out there like that. It would be fine in an area with no snow, but here it seems that it would be vulnerable to damage from the salt, slush and snow. However, I do know of people around here who had the Xenon headlights on their MINIs and I heard of no problems. I guess it will be ok.

I was looking mostly at the thickness of the end link shaft when I took the photo, but you are right, both ends of the end link are plastic. And I did think to myself how much better the Way Motors end links would be. I haven’t gotten to look in the rear yet but I suspect they are the same. I know there are people who are fond of putting in a big RSB and these seem to be surviving that. At least for the time being.

Yes, I too was surprised about the quality of the video. There are various video quality setting for the borescope and I didn’t think to check what I was on. I had played with those settings in the past and it didn’t seem to make any difference. So, my guess is that this thing is less sophisticated than what you are thinking...

A few notes about the borescope... the battery life is very poor, likely due to it being a WiFi connection and the use of the LED lights. Both the light end and the transmitter end do get warm to the touch. I ran it with a spare battery connected to it to get the life I needed to get it set up. Also, the cable section, while stiff, is difficult to form into the shape I wanted. It is more springy than formable, so it takes a bit to get it the way you want.

Overall, I am pleased with the borescope, especially for the price. And, yes, I did think about the possibility of mounting it in a wheel well for a track day. But, that thought is tempered by the arrangement I have. The cable comes out of the brake duct, up and over the bumper, is taped to the bonnet and then goes into the passenger side window. And, because of its springiness, it doesn’t lay flat on the hood. Where I go for track days, that would probably get me black flagged...

 

The rear sway bar links are plastic. I spoke to Jerry at NM and he said I didn't really need to upgrade the rear links if I was using his 22mm bar but if I went with the 25 mm he definitely recommends it.

 

Not too long ago Car and Driver did a review of the F56 JCW Knights Edition...
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...y-the-numbers/

Somewhat uncomplimentary to the brand. They didn’t find it as quick as MINI did, the handling was a bit of a handful and not as good as its competition, the tires sucked and the shifter was Meh. They liked the AT version better than the Manual. The Hankook tires were underwhelming and had very low low level of grip. They have alway complained about handling quirks because of its short wheelbase and this car is no exception. It seems like they don’t understand that this is a short and small car and this is what you get. But the other criticisms seem to have merit...

Hmmmm....

 

Friday Albert went to Lime Rock Park to introduce a granddaughter to the race cars. She has a battery powered JCW kid’s car and has wanted to see race cars. A really hot day, though. This was a practice day for the IMSA GTD and GTLM cars. The Corvettes will be missed when they get replaced. They are a rock concert by themselves. Thumping thunder as they pass by at speed and just awesome from 6 feet away even at idle. I grew up with big block 427 Corvettes with side pipes. These IMSA Vettes sound even better... Long live big bore V8s. Not sure the 6 year old granddaughter understood that, but she did understand the offer to get a girl racer tee shirt and to talk to a woman who races spec Miata. The blue raspberry Italian ice wasn’t passed up either on this hot day.

Saturday was a 300+ mile trip to see a brother. Another hot day. All total Albert has surpassed 2000 miles in these 2 trips and he has yet to have his oil changed... Need to get that done. Also, it is interesting that Albert has done better than his advertised combined gas mileage. He has averaged about 30 mpg since I bought him, so this includes in-town, highway and country roads. And trust me, I am not driving in Green mode to get this gas mileage. Anything but that and he is still doing that well. Through all of these travels these past 2 days, in the heat, Albert ran flawlessly. The power is almost intoxicating and wonderful for passing slower cars on back country road that have short passing zones. Albert’s handling has done nothing but inspire confidence.

These travels also gave me a chance to work on seating position to lessen the leg pain. The addition of the CG Lock to keep me planted in the seat and against the seat back, the seat a click or 2 further back and lowered to as far as it goes, and a fleece pad to add a slight cushion to the seat bottom has all helped. I still need to work on a bit more lumbar support. All and all, a good improvement and that has made Albert much more enjoyable to drive. These seats are so supportive, they deserve to be made to work for me. It is a shame that the adjustable lumbar isn’t included with them. I think that would have made a big difference in my comfort and at what cost to the price of the car. MINI, MINI, MINI... Ugh...

Tires - I expect to be able to perform like this in the rain:

This was with tires that the wear bars formed a part of the tread and wider than those on Albert. And that was in Smokey, my R56, which is a lighter car.

However, the Hankook A/S tires that Albert came with are the some of the poorest of that class of tire. In Albert I hit rain these travels that was no where near as hard as that and Albert wasn’t staying on the ground. MINI has done a horrible job at selecting tires for what is supposed to be a performance car and worse yet, these tires don’t belong on any car. These tires don’t even perform as well as the Continental tires that came on Smokey. This has to be a case of “cheap”.

And yet I still enjoy this car... More travels to come.

 

Eddy,
I just sold my JCW and bought a Cayman. But, I just have to mention this. I have never driven my personal cars on the track. I have autocrossed 911s. I have owned 4 MINIs. And for me, the best tires have been Michelin AS/3s. They stick almost as good as some summer tires, wear like steel, ride great, and are great in the rain. They're expensive, but their durability more than makes up for the initial higher price. Just a thought.

 

Thanks for the input...
I have read many posts about virtues of the Michelin AS/3. If this car was going to do much winter driving, that would be a consideration. But I am currently leaning to a dedicated summer tire. We shall see.

And sorry to hear that you moved away from the JCW, but if there was a car that would encourage that move, it would be a Cayman... Enjoy...

 

Well, Albert got his oil changed today and I celebrated by running it up past 6 grand just to see how well it pulls up there. Like a trooper. It freaken’ flies! And a bonus is that the exhaust tone takes on a real snarl up there. This is going to be fun to hear out on the track.

The dealer (yup, got the oil change done by the dealer) had a Knights Edition JCW in the showroom. A little less than $10k more than my JCW. Different seats than my JCW and they feel like they have a bit more lumbar support than mine. I believe these are the same seats that Charlie has, which may have something to do with his apparent the long distance comfort as compared to what I am experiencing. The Knights Edition also has the blacked out trim, which I like.

Another thing I did is to have the techs check out a rear end rumble I hear at times. In years past and on a car with many more miles, I would have said it was a wheel bearing rumble from a bad bearing set. It also could be the tire and tread rumble on different asphalt surfaces, which happens on a poorly designed tire (notice a theme here). As expected the bearings were said to be fine. Tires... are the other option. No surprise here.

So so maybe some blackout trim for Albert?

 

I enjoyed my '19 JCW in non sport but with the pro Exhaust in loud mode. The JCW engine loved to be revved. The engine is very smooth at higher revs.The tone would change as the revs went up and I could use the sound to decide when to shift. I was very hesitant to do any mods to the engine because it ran so flawleesly. The MINI JCW is a great car.