I recently made up my mind that I want to track my Mcs hardcore And wondering what's everyones who track with there mini list What mod they have on there mini and there dream list and possibly if you could put a picture of your beautiful beast

I track my MINI about 3-4 times a year and here are some things you absolutely need. Notice that I'm mentioning no power adders since I think that's the last thing you need to worry about when learning how a car behaves on the track.

-Big brake kit or upgraded pads with DOT4 brake fluid
-Sticky summer tires
-Rear sway bar

This is a great place to start. From that point I would invest in coilovers and camber plates. Again, power gains are the least of your problems if the car doesn't compose itself well and can't stop well after 10 laps!!

Thank you very much! Can you list company names or which you recommend for summer tires coilovers suspension etc.?

countryboyshane ... your car is illegal ... def on steroids nice looking engine and love the racing stripes ... nice color combo !!

It really depends on your budget, but here a starting list:

Motul Brake fluid
Hsport Rear sway bar
NM torque arm bushing, get the power to the ground, and helps with shifting
Coilovers, Budget, Budget, Budget??
Race Tires are great but will cover up bad habbits so learn to drive before getting good tires

thats a good bang for the buck start

Motul brake fluid and a nice set of pads that can take some heat are must haves IMO.

I'm one of a small few that say camber plates and good alignment before rear swaybar. Both are good. BUT it's worth planning out your full suspension from the start. Not necessarily saying jump into expensive coilovers, but figure out a plan. Maybe camber plates, 19mm rear sway, and rear control arms for now, and then next season either NM springs with Koni Yellow or Bilstein Sports, OR good coilovers. You can carry all the first stuff over. Forget about the cheap chinese coilovers....yeah they include camber plates and are super adjustable, but the valving is the most important part and that's where their cheapness shines through.

Totally 100% agree! A nice set of summer tires will do....r-comps will stunt your driver development.

- andrew

I totally forgot about the NM-eng torque arm insert. It's cheap, easy to install, and it greatly reduces torque steer during hard acceleration and upshifts. Buy it now!

My knowledge with car parts are a bit noobish ... But I'm looking at coilovers I assume blistein is the best ? Then come kw? I've been looking at those and idk if Meagan racing is good at all. I have a budget but I can save up to the most expensive coilover but is it worth it is My concern. I just got the torque arm insert . For the sway bar I have a question for it . Is 22 mm better than 19 mm I dunno which to get or which company to look at for quality . Thank you all for helping me out here

I agree with the posts above that mention DOT 4 brake fluid and better pads as a must for track use. After that a rear sway bar is a good place to start that won't break the bank. I would also get the NM motor bushing as soon as possible since it's a great mod for both street and track.

As far as coilovers you can't go wrong with either KW or Bilsteins. If money is absolutely no object then look at AST too. I have the TSW spec KW V2 and they've been great on the track and on the street.

Andyroo makes a very good point about planing out the suspension so that it serves your needs and the components all work well together.

As far as whether to go with 19mm or 22mm, if you ask 5 different guys you'll probably get 5 different answers. One good piece of advice is to get an adjustable one, whichever size you decide on. I have the H-Sport 22mm bar and have been very pleased with the results.

Countryboyshane, just saw your car. That's one heck of an R56! very impressive.

Do you leave the Hawk HPS pads in the rear for both track and street? How do they perform on the track? I was planning a similar setup with DT-70 (for track) up front and and leaving the HP+ in the back but if the HPS work well enough I'd prefer going that route since I think they'd be better as daily drivers.

What sanctioning body, and what class? Or are you thinking HPDE?

Cheers,

Charlie

Bubbleboy, How much experience on the track do you have? Are you rolling in dough as you will need it?

If you are new, then just the brake pads and fluid will do to start. Forget about EBC greens or reds or any non track pads. Get Carbotech XP10 F and XP8 R. Motul or ATE fluid will work. Hook up with some track fanatics from the Mini clubs and they will show you some of the ropes.

Step 2, after a couple of track days, start thinking about the camber plates and/or rsb and some better tires, something like Dunlop Z1 Star Spec or Yoko AD08 or Bridgestone RE11. You have lots to think about here, like tire pressures, camber choices etc. You know when youhave passed this point when you say the stock car's handling with rsb and camber plates suck.

We can discuss following steps when you get to step 2

OP, Reread your post again and you are looking for the dream list so I will attempt to provide you with mine:

My own track mechanic

Suspension:
AST 5300 coils with 450 in/lb f and 550 in/lb r hyperco springs with some spare with different rates or jrz coils
Vorshlag front camber plates
Vorshlag or AST rear spring mounts
H-sport upper and lower control arms
H-sport 19 mm rsb
H&R front sway bar
Braces, lower front upper and rear
All sorts of poly bushings

Lighten the car:
Remove all the carpet
Delete all the seats except drivers
Braille no weight battery

Safety:
Full roll cage
Fire suppression
Hans
Five way seat belts at least
racing seat
External ignition off
Tow points straps

Brakes:
BBK front as large in mass as you can get on the rotor
BBK rear same
Stainless brake lines
Remove all junk sensors
Brake ducts

Performance:
Tune
FMIC such as helix
Oil cooler
Occ
Maybe some sort of air intake
Turbo wrap (I want power)
Turbo back exhaust with no cat

Suspension: (more)
Front and rear end links from NM. ( don't skimp on this, those cheapies break)

Rims and tires:
Lightweight one that fits the BBK (3 sets)
Wet tires
Dry tires
Spares

On themway to the track:
Towing vehicle
Trailer
All my equipment for my track mechanic


Anyone, if I forgot something, please chime in.

How can I forget, cameras, data loggers, monitors for track time etc.

And an understanding wife who has full insurance on you.

Very nice. Is that your dream setup or your actual setup?

Hey Slinger you forgot, Water\Meth injection

Christ on a crutch! Did the OP seek our collective wet dreams, or some practical advice???

Not that I am averse to the former, but...

Spend on the driver - get safe and get seat time.

It's all about the loose but behind the wheel. Truly it is.

Grinning in Boston,

Charlie

I've never had Hawk HPS in the front & rear at the same time. At the track I've only used the DTC-70 up front on my Detroit Tuned BBK and Hawk HPS in the rear. On Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs it is definitely easy to lock up the wheels with the DTC-70s. Stepping down to the DTC-60 pads might be something I try in the future.

Even if I didn't have a BBK, I would still opt to have seperate front pads for the track. Changing pads, even on the OEM calipers, is really easy.

So true. The poor guy will probably never track his car after reading through this thread!

not sure if this is a ridiculous idea, but has anyone ever entertained the idea of fitting some bmw 135i brakes on the car? might not be worth the effort since a set of those new will cost at least as much as a wilwood setup. it would look pretty sweet tho!

You'll change your mind about using 135i brakes after you price the pads and rotors they are EXPENSIVE.

And I see people recommending some pretty serious track pads. If someone is not that experienced at the track they really need to stick with softer pads. If you start out with a real hard track pad, but don't operate it in the heat range it is designed for you will just wear away rotors really fast. Its like driving down the highway on full track pads, they don't get hot enough and the rotors take the wear.

I'm with Way on the pad comment. I speak of course with many folks a day who feel they need a "track pad" because...well, they're going to the track!

Balance the pad needs to both the skill level and the tire. The tire? Yes, the tire; if you don't have a very sticky tire then running a high torque pad will make modulation more difficult than it should be as well as lead to premature rotor wear.

Dunlop Stars with DTC-60, no fade good modulation, can brake as hard or late as I want. Would fade out HPS after 2 or 3 laps. Remeber, track pads are very aggressive, something has to wear out along with the pads!!!....LOL

I intially took my 09 MCS out rock stock, was really impressed and the run flats were not that bad, yes they get a little slippery after a lap or two but so did the brakes, so it all evens out. Good practice driving a car that loose, you really will know when you don't hit your marks and off line. Makes you really have to stick to the perfect line, anything else and you just don't make it around to good. So if you can build up your speed with the junk stuff on, any mods will only make it better for you. Upgrades don't replace good driving!! It's also cool to keep up with or pass guys with tricked out cars but don't know how to do turns well! Amazing how much track you can eat up if you hit your marks! even in Show Room Stock mode!!! Remeber....You gotta go Slow to go Fast!

I am less than 1/2 way there since I do not have a dedicated track car like what the op wanted.

Of course this car has also seen 34 track days so far including open tracks of up to 6 hours per day in duration. Have to say that when you run with the OT crowd, it is all about what is in the car and tires as there are very few if any non experienced folks out there. But OT is the best with unrestricted passing.