That comparo is fascinating - Brian is clearly quicker in the first third, with 10-15 feet advantage turning left onto the small taxiway. I gain a little coming out of that taxiway onto the main runway, and have pulled almost even at the end of the 5 cone slalom midway down the main, and might have caught up going into the last three gates, and then Brian carries more speed right at the end and regains his edge.

Back and forth even during the run.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Thanks Brian K. - this is a fun ride


Cheers,

Charlie

 

Charlie, I have a few questions about the suspension for you.

Have you done much other than the camber adjustment?

Do you think people over-estimate the amount of body roll they are experiencing?

What would be the easiest way to prove to myself that I do have the sport suspension, as spec'd? Where would I look?

How would you describe the suspension compared to Gollum I.

 

>> Gollum I had a full STX conversion, with H&R Coil overs and an aftermarket sway bar. I don't remember much of the OEM suspension to be honest. Gollum III is not as stiff as that race setup, and the ride-height is stock where Gollum I was low as all hell.

 

I've got that listed.

S226A Sportliche Fahrwerksabstimmung

I'm wondering if they missed it.

 

I've said this before and I'll say it again: the Sport Suspension is basically an 18mm rear sway bar, just 1-2mm thicker than stock. It does have a slightly thicker front bar too. The springs and dampers are the same. Yes I know they have different part numbers. But people who have done aftermarket parts say they are not different than stock. I find my car with the SS rolls very little. But I have a stiffer chassis than the HB, mine is the same as the Roadster convertable, which has to be reinforced cause there's no top (I have a top of course).

 

The sport suspension does have stiffer springs and shocks than the stock S suspension.

I have had both in 2 different R56 HBs and can attest to it; the sport suspension is significantly stiffer, both in shocks and springs, than the stock S suspension. And the car has significantly less roll. On the track and in autocross the two cars handle totally different, including less pitch when braking with the sports suspension, which has nothing to do with the sway bars.

There is no reason for MINI to list 3 (Base, S, and sport suspension and a 4th if you count the JCW suspension option) different part numbers for the shocks if the parts are not different. This is because there is a financial cost to each different part numbers that is inventoried. So there is a financial incentive for MINI to not provide them with different stock numbers if they are really identical.

Now, the basic shock body may be the same for all of the applications and likely they are. But, it is the valving inside that makes the difference, hence the different feel to the cars and different part numbers. Also, I have seen cases were aftermarket suppliers list the same OEM replacement part for multiple application, but, I am not sure I would take that or their comments as "proof" that the MINI parts are actually the same for the different suspensions.

 

OK you convinced me, I hope you're right because that's what I paid $500 for!

 

I have the SS too. I agree with everything Eddie said.

About the sway bars- I mic'd mine, and the front is 24.5mm and rear is 22mm. Maybe the 18mm number is from the R56? 22mm sounds a LOT bigger, but I guess we need to know what the regular bars measure- anybody know? Lastly, aftermarket bars are usually solid, and stock are usually hollow. So although 22mm might sound real nice, aftermarket bars are still going to be a lot stiffer. But I feel that for the money and OEM quality (no squeaks etc), I'm happy that I got the SS.

 

Something doesn't sound right about your measurements...
the front sway bars are:
22.5 mm for the Cooper S
23.5 mm for the sports suspension
24 mm for the JCW
the rear are:
17 mm for the Cooper S
18 mm for the sports
18.5 mm for the JCW

Now there is probably a 1/2 mm or less of coating on this, but nothing that would make the rear bar into a 22 mm bar...Yes, that is a lot...

That almost sound like you have a JCW front bar and an aftermarket rear bar...is that possible? The 22mm rear bar is a popular mod people make.

And no, the stock bars on the MINI are solid, as are most of the aftermarket bars. There is only one (that I know of) aftermarket bar that is hollow and that one is a rear bar that is 25mm.

 

So Gollum III (a.k.a. Smeagol when not in racing trim) now has just over ten thousand miles under his wheels. The fancy schmancy rims and wide sticky tires are replaced by the OEM alternatives, with proper TPMS sensors. The mighty battles of the 2014 season now are mere echos and memories which must sustain me over the coming months.

But all is not lost, as the delights of the B38 equipped Gen 3 car are still delicious even when not assaulting an autocross course!

I still grin when I fire up that un-muffled triple at 4:30 am to seek either cigarettes or coffee (or both) as a prerequisite for another work day. I still find magic in the almost inaudible whistle of the tiny turbine as I ease out to the end of my road, and then roll into the throttle headed down a wet and windswept secondary route. I still appreciate the extraordinary long-leggedness of the gearbox when shifting from 3rd as I leap down the highway at barely legal speed aiming at the oasis of an all-night Dunkin.

Gollum has slogged down to Jersey - the route that tired his predecessor last winter over a dozen times, returning 36 mpg at a speed slightly higher than the Gen 2 car, and not to be mentioned in polite company.

In short - the fun continues, although at reduced volume!

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I have the JCW with the Sport Suspension ($500) option. I wonder what that gets me? I know it's subjective but it FEELS like my 2007 MCS with a 21mm rear aftermarket sway bar. I was led to believe a thicker rear bar reduces understeer whereas a thicker front bar increases it.

 

you are mixing and confusing gen2 and gen3. We are talking about gen3 here.
Gen3 sport suspension has sportier springs, dampers and rear swaybar according to MINI.

 

Same as the GenII. The person I quoted measured the sway bars on GenII cars I think, because they don't make a JCW suspension for the F56 yet. I don't think the F56's sway bars are probably any different than the R56.

 

If this wasn't answered...the short version is: Short stroke engines put less stress on the rod and less side load on the piston which enables safer higher rpms. Longer stroke (undersquare engines make more torque lower in the rpm range due to the stated lever ration/action). However, undersquare engines put more of the side load on the piston and stress the rod more which results in more wear and tear.

 

While the easy answer is yes to what you say, but nothing is ever quite that simple...
You can think of the sway bars as a way to balance to the car. Depending on what you want, you may want to increase both the front and rear bar. The reduction to understeer comes from decreasing traction in the rear, hence the tripoding (lifting the inside rear wheel) the car may do in a corner. With that may come a dramatic switch to over-steer, in particular if you lift at all in a corner. This can be dialed back by increasing the front bar. There is an added bonus to this...that is, an increase in the total roll stiffness of the car, which may be better than a car that rotates easily, and makes for a safer car for the street. The sports suspension has a larger front and rear sway bar which, along with stiffer springs, has about the same total roll stiffness as your previous S with the 21mm bar, hence the similar feel, but without the dramatic switch to oversteer.

 

Thanks, that makes perfect sense now.

 

Mr. Thompson, I would just like to say that you write very well indeed.

 

Thank you for that lovely compliment.

All the best,

Charlie

 

Any chance you can get a couple of additional clips of the muffler-less exhaust? Both inside and outside? Would be much appreciated

 

I've always found the holiday season a bit of a challenge frankly, as my parent's marriage exploded Christmas Eve long ago and possibly the sadness lingers.

So what's the best medicine? A ROAD TRIP of course!

My dear son, who used to change rims for me years ago with Gollum the 1st, has for some reason turned out to be a southern boy. How the hell did that happen? How did I raise a lifted truck driving, country & western listening, bow hunting man? The Lord has a great sense of humor some times, and so does my prodigal one.

So he says - ***** it Dad let's drive to Nashville for New Years!

Right - now that's a gut check isn't it? How much cojones does this old man have, who at the age of seventeen hitch-hiked to Mobile AL chasing the sweetest girl that ever graced the planet? How much craziness is left in this aging carcass of a former hippy? How many giggles and acts of randomness will my partially ossified and overly rational mind tolerate?

One more apparently - we are SO doing this!

And now that I have mapped it I am truly psyched, as the Tail of the Dragon is on the way and the whole route stays up in the wrinkly old bones of the Appalachians and the Blues and the Smokies.

What's not to like? We'll take the USPS pledge...

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers..."

Wish us luck...

Cheers all, and a Merry Christmas.

Charlie

Ps: Sorry to disappoint Thumper, but all my recording gear is stowed and I am just too damned lazy to accomodate your request. Please excuse me.

 

What a great father/son Christmas drive! Did the Dragon first time this year returning our BMW F31 home from Spartanburg PCD.... Rick

 

Sunday we leap - and by early afternoon are beyond the known world - past the Garden State Parkway exist off I-287, and ultimately through 78W to 81 W and a quick nip through the corner of West Virginia.

Light rain, mostly light traffic (except for the accident around Harrisburg) and no worries.

Who knew that stand-up comedy can be streamed from the Internet and appear in the Mini? I had Ron White, and numerous other folks - from the profane to the hilarious and often both.

I had plenty of good music too - steel guitars, plenty of picking, and plenty of good stories wrapped as songs.

In short, LJ + Mini => immersive.

Now we're within striking distance from Deals - a mere 520 miles down the ancient spine of the east coast, past Monongahela National Forest and many other temptations westward into the foothills. Should be cloudy, but not wet and of course for us Yankees the temperature is an improvement.

I haven't quite admitted it yet to LJ, but the day after tomorrow will be playing around Deals, and only after I tire of that will we slink off to Nashville.

Did I mention we got the last two great hotel rooms in Nashville? Providentially I pulled my head out of my *ss and admitted that "playing it by ear" is indeed the spirit of the road trip but when considering New Years Eve in Nashville having a roof over our heads might be a great advantage. Hence a last minute stab (optimistically) that paid off.

I do believe I am having fun - must be why I am grinning as I make this note.

More to come.

Charlie

 

Southwest through the cold damp greyness of unseasonable December, we slipped through Connecticut and New York before anyone noticed, and by the time the fatigue of the first 500 miles had stolen our ambition we were well into Pennsylvania.

Where the old rested and recharged, and the young went exploring the local flora and fauna, and traded with the indigenous occupants of the land. Which In Lovell's case meant having a delightful evening with several young ladies all without breaking the laws of God or man, or even leaving the county.

And so on day two, we continued down I 81 in the same uncertain weather, and to his credit a poor night's sleep did not dampen his spirits.

With country music on the stereo (interspersed with Ron White monologues) we ultimately made Knoxville, and settled in again aiming for the run down to Deal's Gap in the morning.

The long stretch of I81 that traces the ancient spine of the east coast has been a pleasure, even in greyness. Good surface and an easy 75 mph ride most of the way down.

However, tomorrow will bring something entirely else!

Cheers,

Charlie

 

The Dragon is empty in cold December. Route 129 from Knoxville meanders southwards in fast swoops, ultimately finding water to tighten the bends a bit, but it only becomes the Dragon when it finally lifts and rises upwards toward the ridges.

And there in switch-backed coils we found it, veiled in grey mist that in some cases would leave us with only the corner under us and no hint of what came next.

And the Dragon seems alive, although sleeping on a cold winter morning. It's coils flex lazily, tightening here and loosening there with a blend of wet gleaming and brown litter from the trees.

Here the apex drops away into a virtual vortex around which the car may pivot, or given sufficient speed even float across - barely skipping the verge as I feed in the throttle and feel the car searching for traction as it leaps into the next braking area.

There the trees reach forward, leaning towards Gollum's flanks in a tightening left hander, daring the tires to slip as I roll gently off and tighten my line. The extra camber from the knuckles matters now, as understeer could turn a moment of exuberance into a bad day out.

If I drove that road a hundred times I wonder, would it be the same? Or could I catch it morphing in some minor malevolence?

I found at one point that my forearms were swelling a bit as though I were in a go-kart and trying to slide the damned thing around, and had to take the familiar correction of relaxing my hands. There is of course no time to take a breath, no time for shifting hands in anything but the deepest and most ingrained habit, no time for anything except an almost blink-less and fierce forward gaze.

Roll on, unwind, leap forward, roll off, adjust with trailing brakes, mid corner, be patient, and repeat. Over and over and over.



The Dragon has more tight and technical distance than either US 1 north of Mill Valley or even the Great Ocean Road from Geelong to Port Campbell. It is simply the best damned autocross course of a road I have ever driven.

All 2nd gear, and switchbacks so tight that I was immensely grateful for the quick steering of the Mini, and equally appreciative of the small size of that car.

I can imagine driving it with proper stickies with a dry warm surface and good visibility, but I cherish my own experience as to meet the Dragon at 40 degrees of slick damp and veiled in mist, and to do so with the OEM Continentals and wheels, makes a great challenge and one I would not exchange for optimum conditions.

Sometime when we finally do something that we've wanted for a long time it can be depressing - a "that's all?" experience? Not so the Dragon.

I can now drive that amazing roller-coaster in my memory, with the exhilarating and intimidating fogginess paired with a road which seemed capable of almost anything.

Makes me grin.

Cheers,

Charlie