Before you complain, I’m not trying to set up a “should I buy a MINI or a Miata thread.”

I’ve been doing some track days and autox, and all of that has been in a Just-a-Cooper, unmodified H stock except for 16” wheels and better tires.

I decided to rent a spec Miata for a SCCA PDX event (basically an HPDE) at Thunderhill in NorCal. The one I rented from OneStopRaceShop can be seen here (it’s number 17): http://www.onestopraceshop.com/. You can read up on spec Miatas, but they are probably the most raced car in America. They are everywhere, and very competitive. Mine was a 1.6, and was tuned by a guy who has been very fast in Miatas. It was running Toyo RA1’s; these are very sticky tires compared to anything you’d run on the street.

It was really a blast; I’d highly recommend this to those of you who are thinking of stepping up from just HPDEs in your MINI. The cars share similarities in that they have similar horsepower; I was going down the straights with a speed not too far off my MINI. But boy, that cornering! It isn’t just the tires; the Miata is so well-balanced you grow ever more confident till in some turns you even stop using that “I just tapped the brakes to settle the suspension” excuse and just hit ‘em flat. Rear wheel drive was also nice; I didn’t miss the MINI’s near-constant understeer at all.

All in all, a nice step up. I’d do it again, and I must say that the idea of racing one gets more and more attractive. Going from one chick car to another....

 

Nice write-up about the experience and how the handling/behavior varies between the cars! Thanks!

 

$375 for one day. Wow that is a great price.

I do miss rwd!

 

I forgot to mention that they provide complete support when you rent. They swapped out a brake unit on my car before the start cuz it looked like it might have a leak. And they tech’ed the car for me. And even went up to the grid to start up the video cam (it’s on the roof, and it’s kinda hard to do it yourself). And they provided LOTS of coaching, giving more advanced tips than the in-car or classroom instructors provided.

And they have a BIG awning (you’ll know how nice that is at T-hill if you’ve been there in July) and a RV where we could sit in air conditioned comfort and either critique the session or watch F1 on his HDTV.

I did have to pay for gas though...but on the other hand I cut a tire (we noticed when it was on the trailer at the end); the tire alone would be a pretty big hit if it was my own car (these were going for well over $150 new).

I’d highly recommend it, if just for the fantasy camp aspect.

Rob

 

Sounds really neat. I might like to try this sometime.

 

They are great cars. On track and on road not much like them at any price. And like our MINIs they have fantastic aftermarket support.

 

I agree about the fun factor!

I sold my 97' Miata STO a few years ago after the BMW, Audi & other HPDE's basically put a ban on convert's without roll cages. There are some days that I wish I had just kept her & transformed her to a full on dedicated track car. Except for roll-over protection and an LSD, she was essentially stock. Getting blown away on the straights was never an issue for me because being able to really feel the car rotate in the turns and respond to inputs was more than made up for the lack of straightline speed. I have a 2001 Audi S4 & people always ask me why I don't do a KO4 conversion on it. I'm sure the extra power would be fun, but that would mean just more wear & tear on brake pads, etc.

 

We're a 2 MINI family, but the Clubby, just can't take the track abuse. SO I keep my '04 as a track machine and my partner wants to build an electric Miata. I don't think it will be ready for MINI Thunder in Feb, but we're hoping

 

Last car was a Cooper S, the one before that was a Miata. I still miss that car. A two-seater convertible is a whole different kind of fun.