I have a lot of respect for the high speed ability of most euro cars and have messed up some fast cars on the Bayside bridge in my MCS, though haven't tangled with a WRX yet. I did drive the WRX sport wagon (a few lbs heavier than the sedan) and I'd really don't think it could stomp my MCS from 50-100. The WRX is definitely tweaked for 0-60, which is really helped out by the AWD. The WRX just didn't seem as fast as my MCS on the highway. Besides, it's an ugly car and not as truely fun to drive as the MCS (in my opinion).

 

the wrx is a fun car to drive and I'd give about anything to get my hands on the STi - that thing will be a beast. This weeks Autoweek highlights the Mitsu Evo - the damn thing has 271 HP and 273 lb ft of tq!!!! and does 0-60 in 5.0sec. Only thing is it's uglier than the wrx and only comes with a 5speed.

More HP + Low Price = Happy Me

I'm sticking with the MINI - I do like the look of the 04 Mustang though.

 

Another Proud WRX owner as well as a MCS. I sort of raced my wife in my WRX last night at 14lbs of Boost (run 19 at the track). She is a prettty good driver and has a serious weight advantage 135lbs VS 275lbs. Now the WRX is mildly modded and The MCS is bone stock with 1250 miles. So this isn't really fair but hey it was still fun.
Here is how it paned out. I let her have the WHOLE intersection for a head start, I launched at about 5000 rpm with a good clutch slip, and well I caught her by the middle of second gear and pulled about a carlength by the shift into third. Done over see ya.
A MCS could keep up with a stock automatic WRX with no problem up at bandimere (5800 ASL) the auto WRX's run about 17.2 in the QTR which is about where I figure a stock S to be. 5spd WRX's with a good driver run about 15.1-15.5 stock and with a few mods 13's are cake. (ZO6 vettes run 13.8-14.0 up here)
I dont think the mini was ever designed to be a drag champion, however with a few mods I am pretty sure a WRX would get owned by a MCS in an auto-X.

 

I'm the original poster on this one...

Well, they were both Wagons and my friend has a manual but the other one could have been an automatic; it was just some guy at a light.

I don't know if it was bad driving on their part, good driving on my part, both or neither. (shrug)

I'm going to put the Magnaflow on and try again. :smile:

Next time we're going to trade cars too and see what happens.

-Jim

 

In this case ... "less is more"
I am dumping a perfectly nice 2000 Carrera Cabriolet and keeping a 2003 MCS.
Every dope that pulls next to me in the Porsche wants to race, mostly it's the "vette-boys". Women assume that I am attempting to overcome some other "flaw" merely because my car cost $87,000, lol. I was so very glad to find a car like the mini that is more fun to drive than ANY other car out there. There are few, very few cars that you can own that get you where you want to go AND give you something back ... fun in the journey. Step off your need to be faster cause you already are winning.

 

Well said, beshaw.
I usually get a laugh when I see the 60-something guys with Grecian Formula hair cruising in their late model 'Vettes.
I look at my MCS and sometimes think that this is the funkiest looking car in existance....that's part of what makes it so much fun. I guess we took the road less travelled.

 

Today was awesome, sunny, warmer than it has been in weeks ....
Hmm, time to wash the "toys", broke out the hose, suds were everywhere.
Since mine is the first house on the block, all the neighbors seem to get a kick out of giving me thier two cents as they drive/bike/jog/walk by, so much so that I should be much richer with all those cents.
Amazingly enough ... the Mini got more votes than the 996.
Was close though, lol

 

ooooh ....
By the way, time to dye my sideburns ...
gotta go lol

 

I will say this; the WRX is fast off the line if laucned properly. And, it is faster than the Cooper S - everywhere. But, for all the hoopala about the WRX its quarter mile time/speed with even proper launches is not impressive. There are planty of cars out there that may not - for the lack of 4WD - run off the line as quickly, but if they hang in there they'll move-on-by by 100mph or so.

Make the Mini a true 100mph quarter miler and you'll have something! About that pulley...

 

I second that!

>>Trust me, put a capable driver behind the wheel of a MCS and another in a WRX....the WRX will SPANK the MCS EVERY time. Period.
The only reason you won at all, was because the WRX guys don't know how to drive their cars. The WRX has a far more wicked engine than our beloved MCS. >>

 

my previous car (Skyline GTR) time for 0-60 is 4 sec & 1/4 mile is 12 sec flat.......a slightly mod wrx or evo can do 12.6-12.8......wonder what a seriously modded MCS can do....

_________________

Hamann wheels & Diffuser, Yoko 215/45/17 A048R tires, KW V2 Coilover, Phillips 8000k HID, Magnocor

 

>> But, for all the hoopala about the WRX its quarter mile time/speed with even proper launches is not impressive. There are planty of cars out there that may not - for the lack of 4WD - run off the line as quickly, but if they hang in there they'll move-on-by by 100mph or so.
>>
>>Make the Mini a true 100mph quarter miler and you'll have something! About that pulley...

Like I said above, neither of these cars are ideally suited for drag racing. They are truly in their element on a road course with lots of turns...If you want a drag racer, get a Camaro, Mustang or Ford Lighting. Something with rear wheel drive and lot's of displacement.

SMG, did you really get rid of your Skyline? I'm hoping you just added to the stable!

 

>>Like I said above, neither of these cars are ideally suited for drag racing. They are truly in their element on a road course with lots of turns...If you want a drag racer, get a Camaro, Mustang or Ford Lighting. Something with rear wheel drive and lot's of displacement.

You mean something like my son's 1979 AMC Spirit that we pulled the 401 out of an old Wagoneer and put in?

Now that's a drag car.

Keith Hamburger

 

Sup guys,

I just had to add in there that i raced a TT the other night ...i think it was th 180hp one with a passenger
in his and 2 guys in mine. I am proud to say that I smoked him and one of those supercharged chevy pick ups
by at least 3 cars!! Anyway, later on that night i was bragging to my friends about it and one owns a S4 and the other owns a slightly modified M5. Big mistake!! I didnt race the M5 ..never

 

hi astro, yeah i sold it 2 months ago......and i really missed it. i've had that car for almost 3 years ....... i'd say it's the best/fastest car i've ever owned/driven in my life. it has the power of a 996TT (close enuf), awd (torque split to the fronts when lost of traction) & 4 wheel steering with lsd......there're a list of cars that i always bug when i see them....M5, 360, 993tt, 996tt.....i can't say that i win them all but i'm sure they can't say they eat me neither......and alot of evos & wrx challenged me in the past....and i know what time they run.....thier 1st & 2nd gear is pretty quick...(their corning ability is just too good.....i'd say almost as good as an elise)

the problem with the GTR is the weight of the car.....1750kg with 400hp+ is not that good of a power/weight ration and i must brake earlier than other super cars and this car is not made for mountain roads like the mini....so a mini can eat a GTR on mountains.........hahah.....especially downhill....

the fastest i tried with the gtr is 174miles - 290km (before installation of Mine's ecu and running 1.1bar)

after thinking for a while, i wonder what are the wrx/evo specs in the states???
i'd hv to say that none of the evo & wrx on the street are stock......they're all in the 320-340 hp range.....is this the same thing as in the states? are they 280hp stock like the ones we hv here???

and for TT & S3, not too sure if i can beat them coz none of them are stock in hk neither and they run higher boost than stock so that'll be some problem for us ...

on mountains : S3, MCS then TT
on motorways : TT, S3 & MCS

different cars are made for diff. tracks/roads and i think driving a mini is good fun on mountain roads.....

it's just some of my experience that i'd like to share with all mini owners.

 

I'm afraid you've overestimated American-spec horsepower!! The WRX (2004 model) has 225 bhp stock, and the STi isn't even for sale yet. Most are modified, from my experience (however, I live in Southern California - the birthplace of the Rice Rocket - I can't say if this is a national trend). The EVO VIII they just released has 271 hp, but it's not underrated like the EVO VII was. Plus, it's gained a couple hundred pounds! We don't have the S3 over here either. However, the S4 is a major contender in all this, as I've seen many with 350+ hp around here.

The TT is kind of seen as a joke in the states. It costs as much as a Porche Boxter when in the 220hp Quattro guise, but has negligible power. The TT takes a lot of trash talk over here.

That's that

 

oh.....now i understand ..... sorry guys.....i thought that wrx in america shares the same spec in japan & hk....

we do have S4 in hk but they're usually stock.....wierd..??
and for the TT, i think i rather get a S2000.

 

No, the car sceen is the same as europe. We gett Watered down everything here. The U.S. car manufacturers are Dramatically sub-par to the world, so they "Emmissions Regulate" or Tax the heck out of the truly great imports.

For example we do not get the GTR due to "emmissions" problems. The funny thing is that they actually run cleaner than a new Vette. But, hey, we would not want a 4 door Japanese Sedan that can smoke the American performance icon in every way. Similar laws apply to most of the great Audis as well.

The truly funny one is the "Bumper Regulations" If cars don't pass a bizarre subjective 5mph bumper crash...they are banned.

 

>>I will say this; the WRX is fast off the line if laucned properly. And, it is faster than the Cooper S - everywhere. But, for all the hoopala about the WRX its quarter mile time/speed with even proper launches is not impressive. There are planty of cars out there that may not - for the lack of 4WD - run off the line as quickly, but if they hang in there they'll move-on-by by 100mph or so.
>>
The WRX is a rally car it is meant to be driven off of the asphalt. There are very few cars that can do what it does on dirt, mud, and snow. Granted a lot of people are exploiting its AWD for drag racing but that is not what it is designed to do.

I think they made WRX's so ugly so that when you slide into a tree or rip up the skid plates you don't mind so much. That's what I call a Body Kit.

 

motorex sell used or new GTRs in the states but i heard that the prices are really ridiculous.....forget it.

but i must say the 2003 wrx sti is really a killer on the road.....40.2kgm torque with a 2 litre turbo is just too good to be true.

see if u can get a feb, 03 "BEST MOTORING" vcd / dvd / vhs , they put a street version wrx sti vs a rally version sti on rally roads...........and then followed by evo 7, evo rs & previous wrxs , cspec on a famous track in japan for time trial and race.

bigtim, u must get that tape.....you'll love it since u hv a 02 wrx.

 

>> Another Proud WRX owner as well as a MCS. I sort of raced my wife in my WRX last night at 14lbs of Boost (run 19 at the track). She is a prettty good driver and has a serious weight advantage 135lbs VS 275lbs. Now the WRX is mildly modded and The MCS is bone stock with 1250 miles. So this isn't really fair but hey it was still fun.
>> Here is how it paned out. I let her have the WHOLE intersection for a head start, I launched at about 5000 rpm with a good clutch slip, and well I caught her by the middle of second gear and pulled about a carlength by the shift into third. Done over see ya.
>> A MCS could keep up with a stock automatic WRX with no problem up at bandimere (5800 ASL) the auto WRX's run about 17.2 in the QTR which is about where I figure a stock S to be. 5spd WRX's with a good driver run about 15.1-15.5 stock and with a few mods 13's are cake. (ZO6 vettes run 13.8-14.0 up here)
>> I dont think the mini was ever designed to be a drag champion, however with a few mods I am pretty sure a WRX would get owned by a MCS in an auto-X.


BigTim,

A "few" mods I think your WRX has more than just a FEW.

I'd still like to try out my car against a WRX in its current form. It's a monster. On track, a good driver in both cars, an MCS does stay with a WRX.

Randy

 

>>No, the car sceen is the same as europe. We gett Watered down everything here. The U.S. car manufacturers are Dramatically sub-par to the world, so they "Emmissions Regulate" or Tax the heck out of the truly great imports.

In general, I agree with you. While most of the world approaches emissions regulations by taxing engine displacement, the U.S. uses parts per million regulations. But, as you probably know, the STi due in North America this summer is for North America only! That's right, we get bits that the Europeans, Japanese and Australians don't! Instead of a 2.0 liter motor, they are turbo charging a 2.5 flat four to make 300hp/300 lbs. We get a driver controlled center differential.

 

TORQUE TORQUE....
The advantage of my car vs anything that comes up to me is my AWD. I know my car isnt the fastest thing on the plantet, but it does a very good job of leaving from a standsill. There is alot of wind noise in my car @ about 145MPH. And it takes a long tome to get there from about 100 on. My car is still stock but hopefully selling it soon to get a MINI.
Nick

 

Plus I hate 4 doors...and that its been in the shop for 35 days...
I think the mini would smoke a WRX around a road course any day of the week...parts are 2 expensive and subaru mechanics cant tell between a radiator and an intercooler...we'll see with the STi...

 

Toally agree about the STI. I am enthralled that we are gonna see some serious Import horsepower, It just took a decade and some pocket greasing in congress to get the goods. Good thing Subaru made a serious Profit with the WRX or we wouldn't see anything but Forresters for miles. Because of the WRX we get an EVO albeit watered down, and the STI bigger than the rest of the world but at a serious premium... Both awesome cars but still a far shot from the allmighty RB26dett Skylines and true RS Audis. I would like to see 1000hp from EJ25DET, It's just not gonna happen.

The US car market is getting a serious wake up call and it is going to have to answer.