Here is the Situation, I will have a bout $1000 in the first couple months of ownership, (more down the road) to spend on the Cooper S, What would be the biggest improvement, or improvements to get keeping in mind this is for Auto Cross. So all out speed may not help as much as other things. I am talking performance things, not stuff like schools.

Thanks for any help!

Dan

 

Welcome to MCO MiniPilo!

Wheels and tires would probably be your best 1000.00 upgrade for autocross hands down.

You can loose a lot of unsprung weight and gain some traction. :smile:


Rear sway bar on top of that for 200.00 would be ideal.

 

Pay off the judges.

 

MiniPilo, I need to qualify my first statement:

Check out this Track Day link: LINK

If you are autocrossing in "stock" class I think the wheel tire combo is the best upgrade.

We found that the rear sway is incredibly influential in putting down power but is not allowed in "stock". So an air intake and rear sway bar ($400 or so) might make you as quick or quicker than someone with wheels tires in "non-stock".

Autocross is somewhat of a different beast then the track so all info might not apply from the link I gave, but my hunch is that it should play out similar. :smile:

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<IMG SRC=https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/albums/album04/bvr.thumb.jpg>
Borla Exhaust,
Madness Intake,
Rota Circuit 8 wheels,
Falken Azenis Sport

 

ficcion is absolutely right (although at the track, I had the runflats with the suspension mods and that set-up was 2 seconds faster than the stcok suspension equipped car with good wheels and tires).

I would go with a rear sway bar for $190, and wheels and tires for roughly $900.

It'll be a little more than $1000, but if you sell your runflats and stock wheels, that should be no problem.

Then I'd do the intake and exhaust, followed by the springs or coilovers.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Randy

 

I have been lurking here for a while.. and have read just about all of randyBMC's Posts... Great info, just wanting the info as what to do with 1000.. I don't think it will be wheels, I will get them later in the summer after I graduate.. I like in the Car Theft Capitol (Newark, NJ) of the world while at school, and don't wanna have the outside looking too good

 

I am thinking of Custom Fabrication my own Intake.. Using a KN Filter, and some Metal.. I don't think that the Metal nd Filter are worth the 250, so I'm going to attempt my own.. But We will see!

 

Madness Intake $250
KW Springs $200
Rear Sway $190
Yokohama AVS 205/50 R16 $350 shipped

Under a grand! If you don't have the sport package and want to keep the stock 16 MCS wheels, it's a nice setup...it's what I'm running.

R

 

If that was 1000 pounds rather than dollars then you could take it to Hartge and get it up-rated to to 230bhp. Or you could get a system to wake the neighbours?

 

First buy a rule book so you don't accidently go out of stock class by doing wrong mods. Then Kumho MX tires and then hire an instructor for a day so you can be the only one on the track and practice.
Good racing to you.
Foodie

 

>>Madness Intake $250
>>KW Springs $200
>>Rear Sway $190
>>Yokohama AVS 205/50 R16 $350 shipped
>>
>>Under a grand! If you don't have the sport package and want to keep the stock 16 MCS wheels, it's a nice setup...it's what I'm running.
>>
>>R
Davbret,
I will likely copy your set-up (V spokes look okay and are not too heavy), have you thought of changing the exhaust?

 

Randy,

I appreciate the information about wheels and tires -- but I have yet to know what would be the best wheels and tires for autox. I have been trying to find some resources where I can educate myself on the subject, but have not found much as yet.

When I bought my MINI, I didn't know I had choices for wheels, so I got what it came which were the R85 17"x7.5" S-lite wheels. Assuming I knew, would the R90's been a better choice out of what was available?

What should we be looking for in wheels, lighter, stronger, width, heigth, what? What about tires, what makes a good tire for street and autox -- or should I have two sets? Alternitively, can you direct me to a site that would have more information?

Thanks,
-Eric

 

I plan to keep the 16" for every day with the run flats, and plan to get either the Edge Racing Lex Rims, or the Exec Ennio Rims 17X7 and weigh 17 lbs for both, with probably yokahoma tires for racing, but that will be a secondary purchase after the first 1000, I'm not worried about leaving the stock class, as I feel the mini will be able to compete, but I do not want to move more than one class away for now.. Thanks for all the info, and keep it coming

Thanks,
Dan

 

madpoet - the Standard S-Spokes on the S are 17x7 and not 17x7.5 - just wanted to make sure it was clear for people looking at wheel options and want to remain in stock class.

Wheel weight and width are the two important factors. The Diameter of the wheel plays a key role in where the weight on the wheel is located. Two wheels, 16x7 and 17x7 that weigh the same do not have the same weight distribution. The 17 has more weight further out on the wheel thus is harder to spin. You want the bulk of the weight to be as close to the axle as possible. Your best bet for stock class is to find some light weight 16x6.5 wheels. 16x7 if you dont' want to be in stock. If your running in stock and have a MCS you can't get the 15" wheels as those are dealer optional on the S and not factory optional.

For tires if you want to remain within a class that requires street legal tires, I recommend the Falken Azenias or the Toyo T1s Proxies. The Falkens are prolly the better of the two for grip, but the Toyos are a bit better in the rain from what I have heard. The Falkens are also very very affordable. 80 bucks a tire compared to 170 for the Toyos.

Both the Toyos and Falkens are fairly light as well so that will help keep the unsprung weight down where as the Pole Position S03s are great tires, but typically weight a few more pounds then the Toyos or Falkens.

MiniPilo - 17lbs is fairly heavy for a racing wheel. I would suggest looking for something a tad lighter. On MINI2 there is a group buy for SSR Type-C knockoffs that are affordable and stock class legal I believe. I believe the stock 16" x-spokes weight about that and are small in diameter so having less weight away from the axle....more likely a better choice for autox.

Now alot of these tires can get very spendy....so it is a matter of finding a wheel that is light and strong, but also fits into your budget. If budget is a concern I would stick with the 16" x-spokes and put some falkens on them. This will give you a decent setup for the price.

MiniPilo - if budget isn't a real concern and you dont' want to stay in stock - I would suggest the Volk TE37s. They are some of the lightest and strongest wheels you will find, though you pay for it - around 1500 bucks for 4 wheels in 16x7 fitment. But they also weight around 11 or 12 lbs. The SSR Type-Cs are very nice and light as well, but if you went with the SSRs I would go with the Falkens and NOT toyos. The Toyos don't have nearly as strong of a sidewall as the falkens do and I have heard of alot of SSRs bending (not just the manufacturing problem they had a few years ago) but more recently when running the SSRs with Toyo T1S Proxies.

If you are stuck on having 17" wheels because you really like that look - I would suggest the Centerline RPMs. They are light and strong for that size and very affordable.

 

>>Randy,
>>
>>I appreciate the information about wheels and tires -- but I have yet to know what would be the best wheels and tires for autox. I have been trying to find some resources where I can educate myself on the subject, but have not found much as yet.
>>
>>When I bought my MINI, I didn't know I had choices for wheels, so I got what it came which were the R85 17"x7.5" S-lite wheels. Assuming I knew, would the R90's been a better choice out of what was available?
>>
>>What should we be looking for in wheels, lighter, stronger, width, heigth, what? What about tires, what makes a good tire for street and autox -- or should I have two sets? Alternitively, can you direct me to a site that would have more information?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>-Eric

Eric,

Casey covered some of it - quite well - but I didn't want to leave you without a response.

The R90 is made by BBS for MINI, and is very strong, looks cool, but also weighs 24 lbs, so it really isn't any better than the R85s. If you had to choose a factory wheel and didn't want to spend any money on aftermarket stuff, the R84 x-lites or V spokes as they are sometimes called, would be the best choice.

For an autocross, it would depend on whether or not you want to be in the stock class or not. You can go with a 16x6.5 or 17x7 with less than a 1/4" difference in offset form stock and stay in the stock class. http://www.AKtiresUSA.com is making a cheap knock off (but still good quality) of the SSR in the correct width and offset for the 16 at only $165 per wheel. That's a really great deal.

For street and track I would go with the Falken Azenis tires. I am going to use them to stay in the street class for BMWCCA, but I will be keeping my runflats on the street. If you were going with a track dedicated tire, the Michelin Pilot Cup is great but pricey, the Kumho Ecsta V700 is a great track tire for relatively cheap. If you want the stickiest tire, go with the Hoosiers, but they don't last all that long on the MINI, and are a bit more expensive than the Kumhos. The BFG TA KD (I think that's right) is another good tire, but I don't have any experience with it.

Here's a pretty good website for information on getting started in Solo racing (autocross).
link

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Randy

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Click It!

 

Ok, let me see if I got this straight I am still in stock class with my 17x7 (I had to look again, I guess there is an option for 17x7.5 -- but not stock), but I would do better with a 16x6.5?

I do want to stay in stock and I will certainly make sure I don't make any mods to deviate from that until I am ready to step it up a notch.

Thanks so much,
-Eric

 

madpoet,

You can get a lighter wheel in a 16 for the most part. You also, just as Casey said, have less weight further from the centerline of the axle, as well as a smaller diameter if you go with the right sidewalls. This helps in acceleration and reciprocating mass.

The 16" tires are cheaper too, so that is an added bonus - you can't even get the Azenis in the right size for the 17s.

Hope that helps.

Randy

 

Over the yars in the Miata i ran the Toys T1s and tried a couple others. the T1 was by far my favorite on the track. very predictable. For a street tire a few others tried the Azenis and went back to the toyos. I believe they did grip slightly better and had a stiffer sidewall like the Michelin SO3's I had. But I did not like the notchy-ness and that sudden "Catch" rather than a little slide I would get with the toyos... The SO3 are good but they were heavy enough to cost me 20-30 less miles per tank in normal day driving...


I paid 75 for them (T1-S 15&quot. I'll have to see what the Tire rack sells them for in the 16. I don't see them in Dans list.


Also to stay in stock class, I didn't know you had to have a street tire.. At least there were several miatas that put on various autocross tires at the event and won under stock classes.. What makes a tire a "Street tire"???


Eric - We need to get out to mineral wells!!!!!!!
Ches


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<a href="http://www.syntheticwarehouse.com">The Synthetic Warehouse</a>

 

In stock class Autocrossing, you can use any DOT approved tire. This includes the Kumho v700 and Hoosier R3SO3, and any other R-compound tire. There are specific classes other than stock where only street tires, with a treadwear above 140, are allowed. Those are STS and STX.

F

 

How about a driving class? Seriously though, I would bet most of us aren't utilizing most of the potential our cars have. (myself included) A really good driver could probably take a stock car and beat most people out there. Winning takes a combination of a good car and a good driver. If your a good driver you will still be able to borrow someone else's car if something bad happens to yours (like a flat tire or something) and not feel like you now can't win.
-Chris

 

Chris,

I wholeheartedly agree with that.

The BMWCCA has been very welcoming to the MINI at the driver's eds here in the Rocky Mountain area, so that is the first place I would check out.

Another great way to go is Skip Barber. They have some excellent instructors with very good racing experience. Check them out here. .

Randy

 

You could have grippy tires, stiff suspension, and lightweight wheels, but if you can't put the power to the ground you can't perform. The power of the S causes a lot of wheel spin. An LSD will solve much of this issue. A Quaife LSD can be had for a grand. :smile:

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Minian (^-^)