Hey all,

So I just registered for the first AutoX of the season with my local AutoX club (www.fcscc.com) and registered in G-stock like I have for the last two years. I went to check my email today and noticed an email from the president of the club saying my 2005 MCS had been D-stock. I know there has been talk of changing the second gen MINI's over to a higher class but this is the first time I have seen anything about the gen one MINI's being changed.

I looked around on the SCCA website to see if there had been a class change, but the only documentation I found on that was from march 2009. Does anybody know something that I dont or was this an honest mistake?


EDIT: Okay so I just found this: http://www.scca.org/documents/Solo_R...inal_draft.pdf

So I am stuck against the 1 series and the 3 series now? Again, I could see why the SCCA would put the gen2 there, but why bump the gen1 when it has been in the same class for the last 5-6 years? Maybe it's finally time to jump to STX (or is it STU now...).

 

SCCA has decided to kill Mini's. Plain and simple. They have had too much pissing and moaning from the other competitors in GS about Mini domination, and now have done something about it. Consider yourself lucky. I've been stuck in BS up until this year, where RX8's completely dominate. Now all of BS has been moved into CS, playing in Miata land.

The SCCA Solo BOD has no accountability to it's members, and only cares about the members that run at the Nationals..... ignoring the 95% of paying members that don't care about the nationals.

 

Well, looks like I have real reason to jump to STX now. At the local level I have been somewhat competitive with those cars in stock form anyway. Guess it's time for a set of camber plates.

 

Thinking the same thing when I can afford it.

 

Are the cars we are now up against in DS faster than the cars we would be up against in STX? Also, how much money does it take to make an MCS competitive (or should I say try to be competitive) in STX? That cost may figure in to the decision to stay in stock or move for some of us.

PAX__ 2009___2010
DS____0.819__0.825
GS____0.821__0.812
STX___0.822__0.830

Not sure if it means anything, but looking at those numbers, the DS cars took a bigger PAX hit from 2009 to 2010 than we did moving from GS 0.821 to DS 0.825.

 

I just started SCCA the last 1/2 of last year. Was doing ok in GS but have a lot to learn. I just ordered new tires to get the run flats off (yeah i was racing with run flats) and now I see we have to move to DS. I was just catching up to the guys in GS! I saw most of the guys/gals at nationals that won with MINI's last year are jumping ship too! Well its still lots of fun anyway! I'll just concentrate on improving the driver.

 

I'm thinking though, why wasnt the GTI switched around as well? On paper at least they are very similar cars. From what I have seen at the local level the fact that you can stuff 245's under a GTI is also a nice plus.

 

On paper it's close, but he GTI has no LSD available before 2010, I think that they got one that year. According to the R32 folks I have talked to, it's a smoke machine without it. I was just a few tenths behind a guy with a similar skill level in a GTI with camber plates, so I don't think it's quite as fast as a stock MINI on an autoX course.

 

If you want to be competitive, stay in DS. The car can do well there, especially on a regional/divisional level.

There are many that say the Cooper S should have been in DS from the beginning, and I agree. From what I have been told, if you look at results, it is not uncommon for a GS MINI to run as fast as DS. For example at last year's nationals, the GS winner was an 05 Cooper S and would have finished 3rd in DS.

The Cooper S is far from dead in DS.

STX would be a very tough class to win in with a Cooper S (especially if you have a supercharger). With a turbo Cooper S, you are going to have some rules allowances that will allow you to make some more power, but you can't change pulleys in STX. WRX's, BMW's, and RX8's are tough to beat in STX

 

In D-stock are you allowed to have a 15% supercharger pulley or must it be totally stock?

 

Completely stock as delivered from the factory drivetrain wise. In a nutshell, in stock you can

-Install lighter wheels of the same dimensions
-Run "r-compound" tires (Hoosier A6/KumhoV710)
-Replace/Upgrade/Remove FRONT swaybar andassociated hardware (endlinks)
-Install adjustable shocks (single, double, triple, whatever)
-Replace your air filter with a different drop in or run no air filter.

 

Thanks! I guess just the new tires I got are going to be it. Cant wait to put them on. Come on springtime!

 

Be careful on the shocks. They can be multiple adjustable, but only 2 adjustments can be available. Here is the text.

"1. No more than two separate external shock damping adjustment
controls are allowed. This permits the use of shocks which originally
came with more than two external adjustments, which have been
converted to double-adjustables, only if the additional adjustment
controls have been permanently disabled (e.g. via welding, epoxying,
grinding off). Gas pressure adjustment is not considered a damping
adjustment. "

 

just a data point

Works Kit - $5,000
H&R Coil Overs, sway bar, Quaife, chassis setup - $5,900
Kosei K1 15x7 (too narrow by the way) - $800
Webb Camber Plates - $400
Hotchkis Rear Control Arms - $420

So about $12.7k

And as earlier mentioned, it's not a top dog in STX these days - even with the Quaife I lose a lot of time in the first 60' compared to aforesaid AWD or RWD competition

But the fastest STX car I ever ran against was Chris Shoenefeld's Civic, so there are a lot of factors. I bet that Civic was around 2,000 lbs.

The Cooper is 2,350.

The RX8 and particularly the WRX are a fair bit heavier than that I'd wager.

The bottom line is that the car is better than the driver, and has been since it was built.

Regionally I've done well with it, and this year I'm going to Lincoln in the fond hope of not running DFL.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I was the Solo II chairman for the Old Dominion Region for 15 years. I was constantly amazed at the way the reclassing committees came up with their suggestions. Someone ******* and cars get moved. Someone else *******, they get moved again. I don't worry about classes anymore, I just run for fun and check out how I did against other CARS not just within my class. But from G/S to D/S I just don't see it. Then again, a street prepared MINI in DSP is pretty uncompetitive too.

 

yep, a DSP Mini would be tough nationally.

but the fun factor is still there as you say, and I too drive against myself and anyone else in a similar time range

i ran ASP in 2005 for example, and that was fun... Hoosiers are a tough habit to break, most certainly.

Cheers,

Charlie

Bottom line, I reckon a Mini in any class is a ton of fun on an autocross course.

 

Thanks. I must have misspoke on that point.

 

Well, I have to admit that in G-stock, we were up against cars that simply could not compete against a MINI. And like others said, I'm no champion, so I'm in it for the fun. I look forward to the new competition!