Thursday morning Gollum and I started our day with a quick run back northwards on 129 to the neighborhood gas station and store, which also does a very nice breakfast.

So we were fed, watered, booted and spurred by 6:30 am, at which time it was still entirely dark.

Which left one option - a dark Dragon run.

So we did! Slowly (relatively)...

In darkness I miss so many of the visual cues that normally tell me where I am on the road, and therefore what's next. Likewise the truly tight bends, where I am looking behind the A pillar for the next apex, are pretty dodgy as even the excellent headlights do not spread their beams that widely. We met no critters during that initial run, which is a very good thing as the Dragon is most certainly bear country.

Now down in Deal's gap, the first grey light appears, and within a fairly short time the ridges and forests emerge into visibility. The restaurant opens at 8:00, but first Gollum and I make two more runs - north to the Overlook, and then after due consideration, a little faster back south to the gap again. All hail the Dragon!

There really isn't much that's more fun for me than doing what is essentially a fifteen minute long third gear autocross run, with almost no margin for error at all.

It summons from me an utter stillness of mind, a dwelling in the present, a fierce focus. It is wonderful and exhilarating and rewarding.


dance...

By now, the day has started to warm, and so Gollum and I leave Deal's Gap headed southeast, to finish something we started during the Spring trip...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

As Thursday continued to warm and brighten, Gollum and I left the Gap taking Route 28 down towards Fontana, through the eight mile stretch of fast sweepers leading to the dam.

Not pausing, we carried on ever eastwards headed past Cherokee towards Maggie Valley.

Because you see, we had made this trek before, and arrived outside the charming gates of Dale Walksler's magnus opus - "Wheels through Time" - TWO DAYS BEFORE THEY OPENED!

This time however, having done my homework for a change, we were greeted by a bustle of activity.

So we took the best parking spot, and went in - and emerged in a slight daze about 20 minutes later.



The ground floor, from the entry portal, begins with an assortment of immaculately restored four cylinder bikes from the 20s and 30s.

Everywhere there is a profusion of parts, pieces, tools, benches, signs, models, posters and photographs. The air is laden with the aromatics - oils, fuel, and occasional infusions of exhaust gas as one or another of the two wheeled gem collection is started by a member of the staff.



Not defeated (albeit temporarily stunned) by this cornucopia of motorcycling I had a cigarette, and mentally prepared myself to re-enter...


Hillclimber...



I've been to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, and to the hidden jewel which is the Smith Museum in Lincoln Nebraska, but Dale and Matt's accomplishments here take the cake.

With a few breaks, I eventually scoured the second floor (competition bikes, drag bikes, road racers), and again the first floor (dirt trackers, hill climbers, classic four cylinder bikes, assorted rare cars), and finally around 2 pm I declared at least a provisional victory and returned to Gollum to reverse our morning route and head back to Deal's Gap.

While we were gallivanting about over in Maggie Valley, the Dragon had gotten a bit busy.



And so we spent another few hours enjoying the heel of the afternoon, before retiring up to the Inn for recuperation.


Yum... hot stickies...


The gloaming of the day...

And finally, when I returned to the Dragon Pit Inn, I received bad news. Of my two friends that run the Inn, Dennis and Jane, only one now remains to welcome me. Dennis lost his years long battle with cancer the preceding Sunday. RIP my friend, I miss you.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

So then there was Friday.

The last solo day, hearkening the congregation scheduled for Friday night and Saturday, at which time MSSD "Minis Slay the Sleeping Dragon" arises down at the Fontana Resort, and pervades the hollers. That, as the diligent reader may note, was my excuse for breaking my earlier vow and coming again to this beautiful landscape.

But that involves company, which is a mixed blessing for an old and solitary wolf such as I.

So Friday I had the itch, and was seeking a few Dragon runs to remember, and knew Saturday would not afford such opportunities.

Arising early, and breaking our fast at the local store, and thus fortified with an excellent bacon and egg sandwich, Gollum and I eased southwards to the gap searching for vehicles of the speedy variety.

Sitting down by the gas pumps awaiting the opening of the Deal's Gap restaurant proximate to the Tree of Shame a small convoy of sports cars headed north into the dawn, and I swung in behind.

A cute little blown Mercedes, a Miata or two, offering a spirited pace entertained us for a few miles, until those stalwart drivers attended to their mirrors, and one by one took pull-out to allow us by. The lead car was their fastest, but also courteous and deferred to Gollum as the chance arose, and thus we were parked at the Overlook when that group arrived.

At this time, by chance, there were two Georgia Minis with much style and some substance - slammed, wing equipped, snarling little beasties. They were even further north having gone beyond the Overlook and paused at the parking lot down near the headwaters of the Lower Chilhowee Dam.

Ultimately I got tired of waiting for them, and headed in that direction - meeting them coming south of course, and necessitating a quick change of direction and a mile or so of pursuit to attain their stern quarters, from whence I enjoyed watching their progress for a short while. There are more pull outs northbound than coming the other way, and thus these drivers, courteous also, gave way to Gollum and we led them briefly but then continued on about our business with good pace, returning forthwith to the lot at Deal's Gap, and resuming our surveillance in the freshening morn.



The third run we took Friday morning began with the passage northwards thorough Deal's Gap of a group of four leather-clad sport bike riders, all making good speed and looking competent and confident as they confronted the Dragon.

Having ridden an eighth of a million miles on such conveyances I was mightily amused to tail them for a coupe of miles, enjoying the lean angles and agility of the bikes on that demanding piece of road, until by gum they too were watching their mirrors.

Thus one by one, back to front, each in turn yielded to Gollum's progress until their lead rider was behind us, and apparently most motivated to keep up.

But alas no, as Gollum and I took the bit in our teeth and galloped away down the ridges to the bafflement of even their fastest operator, and were as usual parked at the overlook when they arrived.




On this last and third pass, involving other operators, my internal little way-in-the-back alarm bell started to tinkle just a mite, as the task of overtaking other drivers/riders on the Dragon is somewhat more risky than a simple solo pass, and I started to become aware that I was entertaining a level of risk that might ultimately prove unfortunate.

So we dialed it back, and a good thing that was. Friday the road became busy, which means dangerous, and the first of the casualties appeared, foreshadowing the next day.

Later that day, a bike low-sided on a northbound left hander - leaving the rider OK, but the bike damaged by impact with a cliff on the outside of a hairpin.

Gollum and I stopped down to the Fontana resort later Friday afternoon, observing the congregation of Minis from as far north as Ottawa, and as far south as the Keys, and also enjoying a very nice snack at the lodge.

And ultimately we retreated back to Tennessee for a rest, and to join "Tiny's Reverse Tour of Terror" which is a Mini run orchestrated by the Tarheels Mini Motoring Club and scheduled for Saturday morning.


The convocation of the flock in Fontana...

Saturday would be a strange one alright.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Such a tale...

Sorry about your friend...
It is never easy to take in, but here is to living one day at a time and enjoying the little things. Hopefully his life was full of wonderful little things.

 

Saturday was odd, from the beginning.

The first thing was that as I was having the first cigarette of the day, and a cup of Inn coffee, I met an indigenous creature.

I was standing 12 feet off the ground on the north end of the porch that runs the length of the 2nd floor of the Inn, and had a double set of stairs descending to my right.

Up which, towards the first landing something waddled, and caught my slightly sleepy gaze.

When said critter started up the second flight of stairs in my direction, it became apparent that it and I would meet, and quite shortly, so I unlimbered my best manners, and spoke.

"Good morning Mr. Opossum" I said, into the quiet darkness that enveloped both of us.

Mr. Opossum was not in any way impressed with my Yankee manners, and reversed course almost at my feet, and with an almost audible gesture of complete dissatisfaction with my appearance, descended back to ground level and disappeared.

After this amusing drama I then retrieved my usual breakfast sandwich, and ventured forth towards Deal's Gap and through the continuing darkness.

I intended to reach Fontana by 8 am, and was doubly encouraged to do so as I had left my credit card at their grill the previous evening, and was quite certain I wasn't going far without it.

But we had enough gas to make it, and the staff at the resort were charming, quick, and accommodating in retrieving my error posthaste.

Hastily replenishing the contents of the gas tank, Gollum and I then repaired to the breakfast buffet and tracked down the right Honorable Jeff Cole, who was to lead aforesaid "Tour of Terror" leaving at 9:00 am.

And thus Gollum and I were in the unfamiliar position of stationary amidst a crowd at 9:05, having met many charming and humorous Miniacs over the preceding hour.




And off we went, me gazing at the bumper ahead, and wondering if this mode of group travel was worth the price.

Which question was settled about three mile later, when our caravan encountered a local pickup truck lazing southwards ahead of us, and all 30 Minis slowed to a crawl with no respite in view.

So Gollum and I pulled a U-turn and went back to the Dragon - so much for group travel.

But by 10 am the Dragon was aswarm with two-wheelers, three-wheelers, Harleys, sedans, and pickup trucks.

The pickup trucks appears before dawn, many adorned with cages for hunting dogs, all of whom bayed at us as we passed by in the early morn. Most of their parking was on the outside of tight corners, and the margin for error on Saturday thus shrunk immeasurably due to their company and positioning.

But as Saturday was the first day of both boar and bear season, the presence of much orange and many weapons was as natural as Autumn, and not to be despised in any manner.

That was daunting enough, but mid-morning found a Harley rider well and truly down the mountain, having missed a curve, and attended by more than a dozen other riders seeking to be of assistance while awaiting the Sheriff and the ambulance.

And that dear reader, was more than sufficient omen for me to heed, and so I did heed - indeed (with apologies) I heeded home at that point!

We went North, and made our manners to Jane and the staff of the Inn, and then set out for Bristol, intending to make the Virginia line at least, if not West Virginia, before stopping for a night and continuing Sunday.

Yep, You know how that went.

So at 3:30 Sunday morning we arrived back in Gloucester, a bit worse for wear, but having survived yet another merry adventure in good style, and without the need for any tickets, accidents, or other misadventures.

Throughout this journey Gollum never put a wheel wrong, and I am most obliged to him, and to Joel DeCoff and the staff at Mini of Peabody who have helped me create and maintain the most entertaining Mini I've yet to own.

Thanks to them, and to you dear reader, for navigating this tale.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

"And off we went, me gazing at the bumper ahead, and wondering if this mode of group travel was worth the price."

My sentiments exactly. Always wondered if all of the MINIs in front of me were automatics as I constantly shift gears to maintain their pace. Extremely slow, boring pace.

 

This is crowdsourcing. Pitch in if you feel so moved.

I recently had a near miss with another car, but resisted. It was the M2 Competition version. 63k. Oohh. Ahhh. Nope!

So having just saved a fairly (to me) vast sum, I console myself with further madness in regard to Gollum. Within the STU SCCA regulations mind you.

In essence:
1. the Quaife
2. the Bilstein B16.dropped subject to clearance (10-20mm not drastic)
3. stiffer front roll bar, if there is one

Anyone have a better idea? My goal is sheer grip, and in particular corner exit. I've been eaten by 2-3 secs this year by a talented driver using a 2011 Boxter S.

I want one of those seconds out of Gollum - the rest is my problem...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

We love our OS Giken but any diff is an improvement over none. Looked yesterday for another fellow and they've taken it off their site but I do believe you can still special order one for not much more than the usual prices. I think this will be your biggest bang for the buck whether it's osg Quaife or wavetrac or someone else.

We are also looking at Eibach, they sell a pair of swaybars bundled together, haven't seen anything else.

Not sure if the Bilsteins will transform the car, they use pretty soft springs, but should allow you to start playing with 60mm springs and revalvable by a lot of people if you get super sucked in again, I like the idea of BCs actually, conventional wisdom says they're not great but there's been some success revalving them like Bilsteins by people like ProParts for autox, my Megan's though do sacrifice comfort for performance on my car, I think the Taiwanese manufacturing has upped their game significantly since guys like DG wrote their books on building autox cars. Our KWs are pretty much out of damping at this point.

You're peeking into the void again, don't worry, the car is a hoot when it's happy, wish our GoPro hadn't died for our last six runs on Saturday, we had a blast.

 

Bigger Fan of the WaveTrac LSD...no clutches to wear out and if one tire is super light (in the air of barely tracking) it still transfers power to the weighted tire. Also uses the same Diff Fluid as a stock open diff so the dealer won't even suspect anything...lol.

As for the Bilsteins , they are "OK" but Camber Plates make them less important IMO.

Front Sway bar might be a plus...still using the 25mm NM Eng Rear Bar on stiffest setting ands stock front bar...

I am thinking about getting the Mario Kart ECU upgrade to get closer to 300hp without going over 300hp. The NM Module has helped but I think an ECU Tune will do more...especially when I get the 2.75" Downpipe Thermal Ceramic Coated and added. Then I think I am about done.

What I really wish is that the Mini JCW would be at least moved to STH or reopen STF (Front Wheel Drive)

I did just get a 2019 Audi RS3 Quattro which would do well in BS

 

Thanks folks - I do believe I'll proceed with the Quaife and a fresh clutch as an initial step.

I've a bit more research to do with respect to the coil-overs, specifically about clearances.

The pretty RSe05 I'm running is +45, and I suspect that with the PSS10 I may have a clearance problem at the inner edge of the rim.

Compounding my caution regarding clearances, I'm also seeking a 245 that might be comfortable on an 8" rim - so taking ride height, offset, and tread width it's a bit of a head scratcher.

So, step by step and we shall see.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Oh, so much fun, so little time. I keep telling myself - “No Mods to the JCW... You still have your modded S to play with and run on the track”. But that hasn’t kept me from thinking about it.

I am a big fan of the bigger front sway bar to balance a bigger rear bar. Another thing that it does is it cuts down on car body roll, which results in less loss of camber in a turn. I do autocross my S with this setup and this setup is better than my previous S without the front bar.

I am a big fan of the Bilstein shocks also. They are bottom adjustable, which means that you can adjust the rears on-site without having to take the car apart or even jack it up. The mono-tube design up front does remove flex from the the strut. Being bottom adjustable also means that you can easily do a “street” and “track” setting. Their downside is likely their soft-ish variable rate springs, but there isn’t much out there with their advantages. And, there is possibility of changing springs, Their shock adjustment affects both compression and rebound (unlike most “single” that only change the rebound), which can be used to augment the springs (eg: stiffen the car).

If you go with the bigger front sway bar, I would go with the WaveTrac. A downside to the larger front swaybar is that it will tend to move load off the front inside wheel and it will tend to want to loose traction more easily (a trade off for the above noted benefits - you don’t get something for nothing). The Quaife depends of that wheel having traction to apply torque to the outside wheel. If that inside wheel comes off the ground the Quaife acts like an open dif. The WaveTrac will do better at putting power to the ground and you will still retain the benefits of the bigger front swaybar.

You already have camber plates that will allow you to add more caster to your wheel alignment. Caster becomes Camber in turns. The more caster, the better the car will handle, especially in tighter turns. So add some caster to your wheel alignment.

I am not sure on this one as I don’t know the adjustability of the rear suspension for camber, but, if you are lowering the car, you may want to have adjustable lower control arms for the rear. The MINI has quite a bit of rear camber. With the larger front and rear sway bar and the resulting increase in overall roll stiffness, you won’t be loosing as much camber in turns from body roll as the car would with the stock suspension. With that, the car should be good with a bit less rear camber than the the MINI spec and you may want to dial out some of that rear camber that MINI uses.

I am looking forward to reading about what you ultimately come up with...

 

I read up on both the Quaife and WaveTrac and ended up going with the Wavetrac

I ran the NM 17x7.5s and some 235/45/17's and had clearance problems that took a bit of shaving of the outside plastic fenders and a 10mm spacer...had to raise the Mini a bit and it hurt acceleration with the taller tire...I ordered some 245/40/17s and visually knew they wouldn't be a good fit. Back to the 225/40/17s and they fit perfectly. I do think a 235/40/17 would work tho...

I am running simple flat 5mm spacers and having no clearance issues.

Good Luck

 

Adding a spacer and some ride height and maybe a touch stiffer spring than the B16 comes with should guarantee clearance if you allow the plastic to do some self clearancing. We managed to have a 225/45/17 A7 on the car that stuck out well past the S fender, took a lot of spacer but it worked eventually, you know how those tires are. The BC coilovers come with a spacer for the front since they don't have the indent that the OE and KW coilovers do, not sure if it's 3mm or 5mm. I think we'll be sticking with the 225/45/17 for the foreseeable future, maybe try the A052, maybe not. We also have a chilly Oceanside site where getting enough heat in the BFG might be a struggle.

 

Y'all rule, and I thank you for much to consider.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

If you are doing all that you might as well consider doing the bushings, the big pair type chassis reinforcement and then corner balance the car. That will pretty much max you for STU from a suspension standpoint. I think you are always going to be at a disadvantage though in STU beyond what cars are classed there due to how much rubber can be fit under the 3rd gen.

Oh yeah, H&R also makes a front bar, but i believe like eibachi they are only sold with the rear. You might be able to call some vendors though and see if the front is order-able on its own, be ready to pay to have that put in though. I was quoted (mini dealership) at $800 for just the front.

 

I know this is a stupid question but can you go with wider fender flares in STU. I have seen the kit (carbon fiber) for the MINI challenge on UK sites.

 

No, OE fenders only, some minor lip rolling is allowed but you're not supposed to modify them beyond that and a bit of self clearancing the soft pieces.

 

Buy the pair and sell the NM rear on NAM. this way you have a matched pair front and rear.

Do I remember correctly from having looked at both sets that one had a bigger front bar than the other? I would go with the set that had the smaller of the big front bars. Or was that for a different Gen MINI. Sorry for any confusion here.

 

So, step by step....

First step, and handy for the oncoming winter, is the Quaife.

Sourced? Yup - thanks Way Motor Works.
Installation? Yup - my stalwart pit crew at Mini of Peabody have agreed to do the work (as long as I include the two bearings).

Mebbe next week, we shall see. MoP has done this before with the R53, but I do believe this will be their first go at the F56 Getrag 6 speed.

The suspension will wait until springtime, at least.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Did you decide to do the clutch or not?

 

Of course.

;-)

 

Charlie, This doesn't seem like your first rodeo. I'm curious what made you choose Quaife over Wavetrac considering both now come with a lifetime warranty and Wavetrac is made in the US? Is it price or past positive experiences? Which clutch are you going with? I've had some bad experiences with aftermarket clutches in the $500-$700 range. Not sure if OS Giken even makes a clutch for an F56 or if I'd want to pay the price. Thank you!

 

Two reasons:
1. I do not do HPDE or road racing and thus both front tires tend to remain in contact with the road (autocross on Moore Airfield - which is flat...),
2 With my original STX build using Gollum I (an R53) included the Quaife, and it was flawless.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Just one suggestion when installing the new bearings on the new LSD. The bearing cages are pretty weak and can easily be twisted, crushed, ect. … I suggest that whoever installs the new bearings on the new diff...they heat the bearings up in an oven a bit which will expand the clearance while installing...press on much easier and of course they will contract as they cool down.

 

So this week the new and perfectly shiny Quaife goes is....


The unit is jewel-like!



I am most grateful to the Mini of Peabody service team, for joining me in this endeavor.

New clutch, new seals, and a bit of TLC and we should be back on the road by the end of the week.

In the meantime - a three cylinder Countryman.

Cheers,

Charlie