Well either I'm a genius or a nitwit AGAIN - no middle ground. We shall see.

This tale began with the original Gollum, who was an R53 and a bit of a street weapon, with 210 HP and about 10 grand of suspension and drive train improvements. That car won two regional class championships in STX before finding a new owner at over 170 thousand miles.

Which introduced my first R56 called Gollum II - all the handling at 100 less horsepower!

And the R56 has been brilliant - just what the doctor ordered! We took the 2013 HS crown in the SCCA New England Region, won the Mid-Atlantic Championship, and got stepped on at Nationals (as usual ). We ran the Hoosiers last year - an historic last hurrah for the "Stock" classes in SCCA autocross before the rules changes in 2014.

We got 500 mile tanks, 40.5 average commuting from Boston to New Jersey, and never put a tire wrong at any moment.

And then, only a few days ago David Oliviera with whom I race, and who works with the Warwick RI Mini Dealership started whispering in my ear on the morning of the second day of the Devens Match Tour.

Charlie he said - have you tried the blown triple? I thought he was groggy, and asked him to repeat. He nattered on about something called the B38 and pretty soon I was listening. When he got to the torque numbers, and the pedigree of the motor, I was fully attentive.

And thus, on Monday I was driving an F56 up 128 - examining the qualities of the car. To my great and pleasant surprise it felt like the old R53 before all the upgrades, and not AT ALL like my dear Gollum II. Same everything but one important difference.

Muy mas power.

And thus, after careful study and patient deliberation and broad consultation for about 24 hours, I went for it.

Thus beginneth the 2nd sequel - with yet another signature on a P&S, and a third build build number in twelve years.

A British Racing Green F56 Cooper with nothing on it but the Sport Suspension and the Sport Seats. Hold the mustard, the catsup, the leather, the chrome, the bling and the blang. Add as much lightness as possible, and tighten all the bolts carefully on those old school 15" holies.

Arrival in late July, which will give me a few events to get accustomed to racing in G Street before the season ends.

And perhaps - just maybe mind you - I'll put a dent in those over-powered Ford Focus ST cars that presently think they own GS in the 2015 season. Stranger things have happened...

So if you, like I, appreciate the dual personality of the base Cooper, then drop by once in a while as this thread grows with the tales of this new adventure.

Remember Tolkien fans - Gollum was a sweet young thing named Smeagol before falling under the spell of the Ring.

Peace, and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Favorite, new car intro post EVA!!!
I also was drawn in by the potential of the Cooper Classic (no longer call it Justa as the only "Justa" it is is "justaboutperfect")
Also planning a slight build on my triple. For racing (around the urban jungle), and manyperma-grin moments.
Triple ahoy there maytee!
Looking forward to many more of your posts!

 

I guess, now that I think about it, I may have a thing about three cylinder engines.

There was the Subaru Justy back in the day - I never did figure out how three cylinders can power a four wheel drive system, there's something fundamentally odd about that.

And of course the BMW K75S - that gorgeous water cooled longitudinal triple that was actually a damned good sport bike, and with which I prowled CA US 1 north of the Golden Gate for a year.

Triples have perfect primary balance, and can produce excellent torque.

And by gum it's not a French motor, nor even a Brazilian one (though I liked that one), it is apparently an in-house effort. And I know from personal experience that BMW can make a motor that runs like a watch yet is largely immune to time.

Golly I just love falling in love - sick puppy, me.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

here we go! thanks for taking the plunge, i'm very curious to see how this car will do in GS. what will become of gollum the second?

 

I must say I do find the triple appealing for some reason. I'm looking forward to your new adventures.

 

I'll trade him in Kyoo. Trying to get a private sale with the right timing might be a little tricky.

Kind regards,

Charlie

 

Subscribing to this. I've been interested in some impressions on the Sport Suspension option on the base Cooper myself.

 

Zillon, the Sport Suspension was also offered with the R56, and in that context I would observe that it gets the job done. In that car I replaced the struts with Koni 8741 (Yellows) and put a 22 mm bar on it, but even without those mods the car as delivered rode very firmly (as expected) and exhibited very little body roll or pitch during competition.

Early pictures before the mods indicated that at max lateral G the car rolled only slightly more than my full boat R53 STX car with H&R Coil Overs.

If you intend to autocross the car, do not leave home without it is my suggestion. If you are delivering eggs for a living, then I would shy away.

In the F56, MotoringFile positioned the chassis options as follows:
1. base Cooper
2. Variable Dampener (30% more performance - not sure how they got there)
3. Sport Suspension (the serious performance option).

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Aye, I've read the MotoringFile review, and from what they said it sounds like it would be the perfect solution for me.

I've driven the F56S without DCC, and was a little underwhelmed at the smoothness and isolation the stock suspension provided. I have no interest in a softer ride, so the Sport Suspension option sounds like it would be the ticket.

I too would end up replacing the dampers with Konis, but it would be nice to not need to do it right off the bat for once, as I've done with all of my cars.

And yes, I autocross as well.

 

Ah hah! Another sicko! Birds of a feather...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Enjoy your new Cooper when you get it, Charlie. Sounds like you've got some awesome plans for it.

 

Charlie, After reading all of the bashing of the F56, I am impressed that someone is going for it based on the mechanics and handling! Of course we understand where your priorities are.

The idea of 3 cylinders is new to some who weren't around when the SAAB used it. I remember driving a new SAAB in the '50s when they used a 2 stroke, 3 cyl. engine (does anyone still call them engines) and it was pretty impressive, but perhaps not by today's standards.

Many of us will be looking forward to hearing of your adventures with the new model.

 

Awe heck folks - this is a BMW motor! These are the folks that have made one of the sweetest six-cylinder motors ever, and who apparently have some psycho with a saw running around who chopped one in half.

This is the sleeper of the year - the more I remember that test drive and learn about the power plant the more amused I am getting.

Even though this is my 3rd purchase I'll still put myself through the whole "track your mini" dance and count the days.

Too damned much fun.

Tales to tell - but not for a time yet...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

You sir, have strange ideas of fun. I find the process to be a mix of anxiety, anger, and annoying my girlfriend constantly with updates every 3 hours*. 'Why haven't I started production!', 'OMG I missed the boat!', 'How come my car unloaded yet, or why is WWs tracking so behind!'. Coming soon: 'Where is my car! Has it left the VDC yet??'

*3 hours is a euphemism for every 3 minutes.

 

ROTFLMAO - Oh thank you for that post!

Kind regards,

Charlie

 

Here is a rather dry, and actually slightly shallow explanation of some of BMW's rationale for the new B38 engine family.

I continue to search for a dyno chart for this motor, but thus far have not found one.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

There is a wealth of interesting information here, regarding the detailed specifications of the F56 (and oh by the way, Gollum III is due in around the 21st of July).

Did you know this is an UNDERsquare engine? That is why it's such a sleeper - with the low HP rating that masks the actual behavior of the car.

I think this is going to be a very entertaining G Street car indeed.

Meanwhile Gollum II and I go romp through a regional tomorrow, and the weather looks good. Too much fun.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Charlie,
Looking forward to your new adventure, even before your old one has ended. Hope "tomorrow" goes well.

 

Thanks, I am counting the days, but still enjoying the sh*t out of the R56.

Today was awesome - why I enjoy the NER crew so much.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I just wanted to reply to get your updates. I enjoy the writing of your adventures and competition with Gollum II, and look forward to Gollum III. One question: did you hesitate for a second when ordering BRG?

Ok, another question: Is there a LSD in this vehicle for your adventures?

Have fun, and good luck.

Mike

 

Howdy Mike.

Nope, and sort of... the e-Diff.

In the R56 that amounts to the Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) option, and allegedly the same behavior is baked into the F56 as well whether one wants it or not.

In the R56 I can only observe that wheelspin on corner exit is not a problem, and that the car launches properly off the line.

In the F56 it better be the same, as if it is not then I'll have bought a one-wheeled wonder which would be a rather serious problem. THe significant increase in torque with the F56 will very likely demand more from that e-Diff...

Now why on earth would I hesitate over BRG I wonder?

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I've called around and expressed interest in shocks, bar, and cat-back options for the B38 equipped F56.

Nothing yet, but we shall see. Perhaps OutMotoring or Way will be quicker than my direct inquiries to Koni.

At this point I really don't expect to change anything for the current season except wheels and tires, and that might be a good thing as until I have the car in competition I would be guessing on the proper recipe to optimize it for G Street.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

So the link Angrybears had in another thread said the B38 was in the I8 with 231hp. Is that correct? Isn't that what they said they could get from the B48?

 

Dunno - not my link. I assume that over time folks will figure out a safe tune for the 3 cylinder B38, but I cannot partake of such magic when competing in the Street classes within SCCA. Das ist verboten.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Hmmm... A Ms. O'Hara at Koni responds very promptly to inquiries, which I do appreciate. Not surprisingly her guidance at this early stage was "Thank you for your interest in KONI shocks unfortunately we do not offer an application listing currently for the 14' Mini Cooper, though with the past success of the Mini market, one will likely be available in the near future."

Fair enough.

Cheers,

Charlie