Well, I finally got a chance to drive my MINI at the local race track yesterday. I've been wanting to see how all the performance modifications, most from RandyBMC, performed at the track. Well, everything worked flawlessly and I am really impressed what our fine MCS can do! Several drivers dropped by to say how impressed they were with the MCS's power and handling from their vantage points in their cars.

I think the lighweight wheels, H&R springs and rear swaybar really shined at the track because the car was very well planted, and this was on a very wet track. If left to it's own, the car understeers as expected with 63%+ of the weight in the front. But, with the rear swaybar it is easy to get the car to be relatively neutral by lifting off the throttle a bit (thanks for the tip Randy).

The only HP upgrade that I have is the air intake; the car really pulled hard all the way to red line. There was a certain 911 that had a hard time pulling away from the MCS :smile: It didn't really start to pull away until past 100MPH. I ordered a pulley from Randy so I'm very curious to see how that will relate to acceleration beyond 100MPH :smile:

For brakes, I have the Ferodo 2500 compound, Castrol GTF fluid and I've removed the front dust plates. The car did not fade once! But, we'll see how it does in the dry with the pulley later this year. There may be room for improvement with Brembos...

Anyway, I'm extremely pleased with how the MINI performed yesterday and I felt like sharing

 

Thanks for sharing! I love going to the track or auto-x and having people tell me how cute the car is - then having them come over after the runs and saying, "so what's in that?"

 

Nice work, how were the tires as far as grip? I just got my yoko es 100's monday, but its been to cold to get any heat into them or do any good driving.

 

I've been very happy with the ES100's; especially for price.

At the track they performed very well, unfortunately the track was wet all day so I can only comment on their wet traction performance, which was as good as any other tire that I've tried on other cars; including S03's.

There were several cars on R Compound rain tires and they were not any faster than the MINI in the corners The tires do a really good job of evacuating the water so only really big puddles at over 80MPH caused any hydroplaning; this track needs some seriou renovation because it has really poor drainage in certain areas.

 

Sleepless,

What wheels are you using? Are they lighter than stock 17"?

Thanks
Christian

 

Christian,

Sleepless has the SSR Comps, which are forged and are significantly lighter - by about 13 lbs or so. They are very nice wheels, but they tend to be a bit pricey. Volks are in the same category - very light, forged, but pricey. Hope that helps!

Randy

 

I love the SSR Comps. How noticeable of a difference did they make in the car's handling? How well do they hold up in street driving (have they inspired an unnatural fear potholes?)? Thanks.

 

Around town I noticed a difference in acceleration. I didn't drive the S-"lite" bricks at the track so I can't compare the Comps to them; but I can say the car was really glued to the track and if you've ever driven at Pacific Raceways you'd know that is impressive because it is a very bumpy track. There is no doubt in my mind that a 13lbs loss in unsprung weight makes a big difference at high speeds when it comes to keeping the tire glued to the road.

We don't have a lot of potholes around here but if we did I'd fear them more because of the stiff suspension loosening the fillings in my teeth rather than bent wheels :smile: They are forged so I don't worry about it. If they were 18" wheels then I'd worry a bit more.

 

Here is in car video of one lap around Pacific Raceways with the MINI persuing a 911 whose driver later told me he was amazed at how well the MINI kept up with his modified 911 with a close-ratio gearbox

Windows Media Video (2.5 MB)
_________________
Sleepless

 

Great Video
Carman

 

Sleepless,
Have tried to view the video of your track day and it won't come through. Other's do, so I am wondering if there is a problem with the link you sent????????
Would you be able to email me directly, I'd love to see it? petrich@u.washington.edu

John Petrich in Sammamish

 

Try using Right-Click->Save Target As to save it to your computer and then play it locally.

 

Thanks for the vid. Fun to watch

 

Nice video.Too bad the guy in the 911 has no idea how to drive.

 

Very fun seeing you reel him in - Mini's so awsome! ...Not bad driving on your part either - looked ever so relaxed.

cheers,
mc

 

Yes the MINI is really great performer, I was very impressed. However, I should point out that rain is a great equalizer so we'll see how the MINI can hold up against the 911's in the dry. To put this lap on the video into perspective, it took about 2min 5sec; my best time in a stock Boxster S in the dry on R compound tires is 1min 42sec. I'm thinking the MINI can do low 1:50's in the dry with the Yoko ES100 tires. I hope to find out on Monday when I get to go to the track again; but with one of Randy's fine pulleys this time

 

Did Colin get it in today? I hope that worked out - nice guy.

If you did get it in today, what do you think!?!?

 

Yeah, Collin installed it today; thanks for the loaner pulley extractor. I didn't realize they were so hard to find!

I've only driven it from Speedware to my house in rush hour traffic but clearly I could feel the difference. I didn't get it over 5000 RPM which is where it will really make a difference at the track. I was amazied to see 11PSI on my gauge at such low RPMs instead of at redline! Having the boost gauge is really a nice confirmation that everything is working correctly.

I'll post tomorrow after I get to drive it to work in the morning when there is no traffic. And of course I'll have a lap time update from this coming Monday's track day :smile:

Thanks for all the goodies Randy and the great support!

 

Boy, you really are "sleepless". Thanks for the great posts, can't wait to hear your full evaluation.

 

hmmm... unable to download appropriate decompressor. did you use the Divx codec or something?

 

Okay, we had a dry day on Monday at the track, and as predicted, the MCS easily does low 1:50's (even high 1:40's) laps at Pacific raceways; this is very respectable :smile:

This time I had the addition of the pulley upgrade and the MCS screams at the track! I continue to be extremely impressed with the performance of this car and the goodies that I've installed. The power and overall grip is superb.

The only downside is the brakes. As others have noted, the stock brakes are not upto the task of track driving and I can confirm that even with decent sport pads from Ferodo, the fade is moderate+. Fortunately, the fade was not bad enough from achieving my goal of 1:50 lap time :smile: But, I probably won't go to the track again until after a brake upgrade... The braking distances got a little unnerving.

I was equally impressed with the Yokohama ES100 tires. They have really good grip and wear very well (no chunking), lap after lap. The temp was 50 all day so I'm not sure how they'll do in hotter weather. Damn good tire for $95.

Here is a fun )video clip of one lap at around 1:50 while trailing a 996 Carrera 2 who later came by to tell me how amazed he was how well the MCS kept up (he did ease up at 120MPH on the front straight while I was still at full throttle, but then he had 320HP so no suprise there).

You'll need MS Media Player 9 to view the clip.

Enjoy! (I did )

My next prediction is that with better brakes and R-Compound tires, the MCS can get very close to my best time so far at this track of 1:42 in a stock Boxster S with R-Compound tires; the Boxster is going to be very envious

 

Greetings!!
Thanks so much for sharing the video!! Inspiration for the rest of us !
Regards,
Ron
'03 MCS PS/B

 

Was that through a Porsche Owners Club? I'm still working on finding track days that will let a 19 year old race. I tried to get into a track day just before spring break but the guy who ran it called me and said "An instructor will be riding with you, enforcing speed, apex, and braking limits to ensure you do not 'overstep your bounds'". He just wanted to make sure I stayed well away from his track day.

 

Actually, that sounds pretty normal. All people who are new to the track, and some who have been driving for some time, really need someone along to show them the techniques of pushing a car hard at the track. Turn-in points, apexes, braking points, passing areas, etc.

Every time I hit a new track, I like to at the very least ask a guy along who knows the track. It usually cuts my learning curve in half for finding the braking points and turn-ins. After I have driven it with someone who knows the track, I can then focus on what lines I like, and just how deep you can push the braking point.

I really don't think he was trying to keep you off his track - most guys are very welcoming of all new drivers, no matter what their age.

Give me a call if you want to discuss any of these points - I'm always happy to talk racing.

Randy
720-841-1002

 

Yes, all the local clubs require new people to go through some form of high performance driving school or orientation. After that you can usually go solo.