haha!! i love it.. you have to remember that driver skill has LOTS to do with it on the track.. after following the GP for a few laps at tremblant I could easily see which corners I had figured out and the same goes for some other cars.. there was a older mustang 5.0 with lots of suspension work and over a full lap we had identical times.. lost him in the straights, but caught up in the corners. After you get to a certain level it really comes down to how much ***** you have, I tried going through turns 1 & 2 barely lifting, but too risky for me without a proper cage and deeper pockets! im there to have fun and drive home.

phil.

 

On the daily track of life "city streets". I don't track the Mini, one because my suspension is too soft for the track, because I drive between 3k to 5k a month on rough tough Southern California roads. So I need suspension that won't break my back.
The person asked how to beat a GP and was talking about motor parts and really didn't mention handling (until later in the thread he spoke about handling and the whole package) For me the 1st question was about straight aways, maybe I'm wrong. I have raced a GP several times and killed it on the streets, I even switched cars and the other guy drove my car and I lost in his GP.

 

I guess we will have to get it on at Pomona in October

 

Infraction issued to MarioKart for discussion of street racing, per the NAM Site Guidelines:

 

They notice me!!!!!! I'm no longer a Wall Flower :-)

 

He might not kill it, but, sorry. a stock GP ain't that hard to beat. Give the GP a pulley and a tune and you got something. (But still not much more than any other MCS with a pulley and a tune).

All this yapping is cheap. Let's take the BS to the strip. And unless your a calculus whiz, dyno racing doesn't mean anything if you're within a couple dozen points.

 

the GP comes with a pulley

and I concur with taking it to the strip.... I'd like to see some racing!

 

lhoboy, have you ever driven a GP? You sure do seem to talk it down pretty quick. And, as Tuls said, the GP comes with a reduction pulley (of course... the JCW one). Is it a 15%? No, but it still counts.

 

I wanna have a GP.........I wanna have a GP.............

I'm going to make one, with 4 seats and panoramic sunroof.

 

...and I might just beat you to it...

 

But his MINI has got dealer installed 210 hp JCW kit & GP intercooler, plus THE tune.

 

its like a 14.7 % right? it's not even 1 HP diff... LOL

 

Why don't we start with a list of things we need to match a GP in HP.... Can you guy's agree on a list?

 

We might need a little more power than the GP, since the MCS is heavier.

 

Maxi,

Don't have the Tune yet. John's puller was out of action when I went to vist him, and it didn't make much sense to do it without the right pulley. But he did spend almost two hours walking me through the dyno charts and the technology of getting the car to breathe. And there is a 5-10 hp difference between the JCW and a 15% pulley when John maxes out a tune. The JCW pulley is rumored to be between 13.8 and 14.7%, but nobody is certain except for the JCW engineers and they don't seem to be talking. You can't determine the effective pulley diameter without knowing where the effective center line of the belt is located, based on how it sits in the pulley grooves. John at LDG has been tuning MINIs for years and is unwilling to speculate on the true JCW pulley reduction, but based on empirical evidence, 13.8% may still be a high estimate.

If anyone is thinking that I'm talking down the GP, I am not. It is a neat trim package for the enthusiast and if they had been available at MSRP, I would have been in one. The only point I'm making is that the MCS is a great place to start and requires relatively little to get the same engine performance as the GP. If I were making the argument that the GP is a waste of money, the same could be said for my JCW tune kit.

Given the exhaust and the mild porting on the head even a bit more should be possible with the JCW and GP. But please don't wachs poetic about the IC. The engine seems to run smoother when it's hot, but certainly doesn't add any power. The GP gets its added power over the JCW from the flash.

 

I really like your set up. The kit, the suspension, the brake and GP IC.
Also the halo turning light.

I have another project coming that I need to do (non MINI related), but I'm getting there.

 

Thanks, but I wish mine were in your color. BTW, thanks for that shift ****. I couldn't figure out how to transfer the pattern to a Whalen Shift Machine, but since the **** was in such great shape and fit so tightly I've decided to use that one until it starts popping off in my hand.

If the project is car related, do you need a hand?

 

Actuall, its non-MINI thing.

All MINI projects will be postponed, due to the annoucement of the Nikon's new D series.

 

Nope, it's about 11%.

 

The empirical data seems to support that number.

CmdrVimes,

You were measuring the actual pulley diameter. The effective pulley diameter on each of those is larger by some measurement less than the thickness of the belt. However, regardless of what the true reduction is, the relative difference between the "15%" pulley and the JCW remains about the same , a total of 4 percentage points.

 

They were available locally at MSRP - at MINI of Sterling. MoS, under Mike Arata's watchful eye at the time, maintained their policy of not charging more than MSRP for their vehicles (yes, including the GP), despite their demand. The only GP that they sold over MSRP was their last one, because they tacked on a bunch of dealer-installed "extras" (which was the decision of the MINI GM there to do that).

Other area dealerships, MINI of Towson in particular, greedily jacked up the price of their available GPs. I never said it was 15%, I merely said it counted as a reduction pulley, because it does. 11% (or whatever it actually is) still isn't 0%.

 

I just discovered MoS about a year and a half ago for service. It sounds like their sales policies and procedures stack up to those of their service department. Kudos to them. Prior to that I was getting my service done at Tate. Some of you know what I mean.

 

well, we DO need to start somewhere

i agree, let's agree upon a list of mods to match GP-spec, THEN we discuss the weight reduction

 

The GP is a factory tuned car and as such quite mildly done, they have cost constraints ,and profits to maintain.
All the MINI engines are the same and need the same areas altered to maximise performance .
the 3 main areas are the pulley to increase the charger flow, the cylinder head as the design is far from perfect,and the exhaust header
a 15% pulley , ported head with valves and 4-2-1 exhaust manifold will far exceed the GP performance
add a panel filter,and some colder plugs -job done
without a header or head you are struggling to get good gains whatever you do -physics is working against you!

 

There are so many ways to achieve the goal, hard way, easy way, cheap way, expensive way, traditional way, fancy way, your way, my way, their way, etc.

First of all, I would say, set your budget then go from there.