I was wondering how I would spin my MINI, such as in the Italian Job, around a turn or say, a 180. I tries but I have ABS, is this a problem? I tries it on a slick parking lot after rainfall. I tries to do it with my handbreak, is there another forum listing about this, thanks!

 

Hand brake is the way to do it.ABS doesn't matter. Non-sticky, worn out tires work best. Try it when the road damp too, the back end should come around easy.

 

Humm, ok,. I'll have to try it one of these damp florida days. hey, is your screen name a mutation of thx 1138?- Thanks for the comment!

 

Your MINI does not like flipping onto it's roof. It might hit you in the face with a curtain airbag if it gets mad at you.

Why don't you try it first in a old car? And under safe conditions.

A forum to discuss stunt driving? Neat idea. I will have to bring it up with the authorities
It might be a good time to read the NAM guidelines again. and again.

I think we'd rather you be safe and not break anything on your MINI.
Sorry we feel for your MINI.

 

Hevens no, I don't ever want to hurt it! I just wanted to try it once or twice. and yes a forum about that would be quite interesting. I mean, I'm sure there are many of us that would love the learn how to safely spin the car, you have to had seen the Itailan Job, If you saw the extra fetures on the DVD it shows them driving and learning how to do the spins. It looks quite simple, and the MINI has such a low center of gravity, it's unlikely to flipover!

 

if you watch the in-car sequences in TIJ, you'll see their airbag and DSC lights stuck on all the time. You can guess why....

 

Yes, that's funny, my MINI doesn't have DSC, so , but even if it did, I could turn it off. I'll try it, but be easy with it. I won't force it at all, and I
'll try it at a lower speed. - I'll get some video also.

 

From Winter Driving, the MINI does not like to spin even with parking brake application ... until DSC is turned off.

If you want to spin in a safe environment, try autocrossing. :smile:

 

I watched the lead stunt driver from TIJ doing spins, slides and all manner of tricks on a wet shopping center parking lot in MD just before the movie came out. My wife rode with him and said he had duct taped the button down on the hand brake and would give it a quick tug to start the spin. Other than that, it was a stock MCS.

In a related note, he said that for the stunt work there was no difference at all in the performance of the MC or MCS so whatever MINI you have, feel free to abuse it!

 

Stunt drivers use the handbrake to invoke spin. You will also notice that the ground is almost always wet. This is true for all types of cars. The only time you don't see this is for high speed slide outs in powerful rear wheel drive cars. In these cases it is not really needed.


With that said, they used the handbrake and water in the Italian Job. The Mini can really spin out. It has a very small line between a controlled spin and uncontrolled spin. I do this all the time. It freaks people out when I spin the car into the driveway. I would recommend pulling up on the handbrake about halfway in a very quick smooth motion. This should instigate a spinout without getting uncontrollable. Then as you get some practice, apply more and more pressure. If you really want some fun. Go to a wet parking lot and turn a sharp left at about 30-40 mph with a very sharp and extreme tug on the handbrake. You can get the Mini to easily do a 360 and even get a 720 degree turn out of it.

 

ok, but, so what happends with the gears, do it have to hit it into neutral, or just push the clutch in? Sorry, Im all new to stick as of 4 months ago when I got my MINI.

 

Checkerboy,


You can put it in neutral or keep the clutch in. I like to push the clutch in, put it in first gear, spin and then pop the clutch and spin the tires while making the car go straight forward. If you are not interested in making the car go forward immediately after the spin, then just leave it in neutral. If you don't put it in neutral or put the clutch in, the engine will die. This will occur when the front wheels quit moving.

 

Thanks, I'll try it!

 

get out of your car, do the whirling dervish handbrake maneuver, get back in your car, and start driving. Do this in a parking lot, with few light poles.

i was actually really tempted to do the hand brake thing on some wide street with no traffic at 3am, but as i always say: "the only people out on the road (other than me) at 3am are police people".

 

I would not recommend doing this on a street, especially if you have never done this before. Some cars are very predictable in this manuever no matter how hard you push them. The Mini can be predictable as well if you know where the limits are, and you need to really get this down in a closed parking lot at night.

 

it's all fun and games till someone smashes their MINI. i learned to pull 180's in my 98 Sunfire, first in the snow, then in the wet, then finally on dry pavement and always in a parking lot. not healthy for the car. i have no intention of trying it in my MINI

 

I would really just like to do it once or twice, just to see what it feels like, I would never make it a habbit! Don't worry everybody, I won't crash my mini, or anything, there is nothing in the world more important to me than the welfare of my mini, but it's a mini, and I would just like to try it once, an it would be fun once, that's all. the MINI is a very speical car, I have come to understand that. Most people will look at me and say "Oh, he's just a hotshot teeneager with a brandnew MINI Cooper for his first car, heh, he'll smash it in no time" Well I have had it for about 5 months now, and not even scratch! (knock on wood) I take exception care of my MINI. I wash it every weekend, don't try to show off with red light peel outs, or do anything stupid with it. I have driven my MINI from Tampa to Orlando a few times and have done very well, the MINI is an excelent car, and deserves the love. I am just an interested teenager. I would like to get more into the racing of the MINi's seeing as how I have raced go karts for a long while, and with the MINI's handeling, it works well as you all know. I would love to come to dragon run, but I have school finals that week, and will e missing the week before to be in IL for a Star Wars convention. I hope to learn as much as I can about the MINI, and enjoy it to it's fullest!

 

hey hey now

i never actually did it (nor do i intend to) do it on the street. parking lot however... all bets are off. Well, misdeamors are anyway.

checkerboy, do you constantly feel the need to tell whoever that is driving to, "punch it chewy!"? Cause i do. And when i do, a friend of mine is very consistent with the throaty chewy-talk-yell. life is a delight with chewbacca impersonations.

grumble grumble.. no one ever tells han to be more careful... grumble grumble

 

YO dude! If you don't put your foot on the brake but just use the handbrake and cut the wheel on a rain-slicked street, your little buddy will spin so fast you will need to change your shorts


DON'T DO THIS ON A STREET (THERE IS NO TELLING WHERE YOU AND MINI WILL END UP)
Cheers,
J-Didi

 

Oh yes it is, I love to through a chewy noise in once and a while, just to spice things up a bit!

 

need big parking lot, need big parking lot, need big parking lot, neeed biiig parking lot, hmmmmmm...... need big, wet, parking lot, hmmmmm............ thinking..............

 

if my future neighborhood allows it, i intend to simply pave my entire property. No mowing, some weeding, and plenty of room for small scale autocross, even a small track if i make it tight enough.

har

big parking lot indeed. I can set up a sprinkler system to make it wet, though my pappy always told me that you aint doin it right if you need to lube.

har

fine, so it wasnt my pappy who told me, but the point is, someone needs to buy a big lot of land near the columbus area and make it open exclusively to mini owners so we can do stupid crap to endanger only ourselves, and maybe the occassional small animal.

 

that would be awsome! I need some area around tampa.

 

to anyone in the tri state area i'm thinking about tearing up the garden state plaza parking lot on a sunday...mmmm.... balding tires a great excuse to get non runflats...

 

If you're talking columbus Ohio, you need to join SCCA's OVR Region....they get to play autocross at all manner of OSU parking lots and such....look em up at www.scca.org