I am planning to take my f56s to the track for the first time in June. I have not seen much in the way of threads on hpde driving with our cars. I have been tracking an e30 for the last 10 years (also e36m3, 2001 mcoupe) but this is the first time in a front drive car.

How would everyone feel about posting driving impressions, tire\brake\suspensions setups etc.

My current setup will be

2015 mini S, 6sp

nm lowering springs with stock shocks
22mm nm sway bar
nm power module
remus responder
Michelin pilot super sports 215/17/45
ebc yellow pads front\rear (on order)
ate 200 brake fluid (need to flush bleed).

somethings i would like to know

has anyone done a brake fluid flush yet? I have a motive bleeder but some cars can be a pain, especially modern abs systems

experience with the ebc pads, i am used to PFC.

tire wear, usually i am running track only tires, i should be fine with the Pilots for this event

any observations on handling of our cars on track. how does the lack of LSD affect your laps

Has anyone installed the schroth 4 point belts? I have a set from my e30 and visually they look the same as the r56 ones. I am going to test fit those to see if they work. I have no seen that schroth has f56 specific ones yet.

any engine issues from heat etc. i am going to run the power module on low. This event will be at roebling road in june so it will be hot. anyone have any limp mode issues like the big bmw turbos seem to have

future plans

coilovers, exhaust, track wheel\tire setup

Thanks all!

 

search out user name MarcoPolo he has done a bunch of track events in this MINI.

 

Congrats on tracking the mini. given your history, i don't need to tell you how addicting it is.

given your driving history, i assume you know why you chose what you chose. i would consider myself a newbie. i've done roughly 5 track events with 5 more setup for this year. personally, i had the NM lowering springs with stock shocks and while i thought i was happy, it was quite literally night and day when i went with the Bilstein PSS10's. being able to push my rear to max (10) allowed me to take turns where before i was applying some brake to now going WOT. i know it's on your list, but i would make it close to the first thing....moreso than anything else on your future list.

on the braking, i went with Carbotech XP10's up front with XP8's rear and Motul RBF600. the shop i've gone to that does track weekends suggested Motul...it also helps that the group i track with all use Motul, so a few of us bring bottles and share it around.

tires wise, i went with Conti DW's originally. they chunked up badly. i went with them because of the rating they got on the track. i think the 2 biggest issues i had with those tires were:
- w/out a camber kit up front, the tires were rolling over a lot, no matter how low i put the tire pressure. if i had some decent front camber, they probably would have survived.
- the tires themselves were too wide. with our cars, going 8" wide roughly gave me a 215 tire width, which actually looked stretched. this combined with the camber ruined the tires. not sure what size you're running, but keep that in mind.

i've since moved over to 7.5" wheels and with the same 215 tire width, the tires seem to sit better (Toyo R888R's)

i have the motive bleeder as well. works perfectly fine. i don't like how big the bottle is personally. that's my only gripe. usually takes about 2 bottles to do a flush and 1 bottle will last me the rest of the season on the bleed.

when i first started tracking the mini, the ONLY company that offered pads were carbotech. EBC didn't have them, PFC didn't have them, no one did. so i went with carbotech. i've since moved onto G-LOC (danny and chris puskar left carbotech over to g-loc). the thread search has lead me to believe that the carbotechs hold up better, but i have also seen someone eat a set of carbotechs in one day. i guess it's trial and error. my XP10's fronts lasted me about 7-9 days. my XP8 rears are still on the car and look new.

i've been wanting to get the schroth 4-point belts and i remember some users modifying the R53 units to fit the R56's....it does look very similar. when speaking with someone at Schroth, they suggested i go for the universal kit (only different being it bolts onto the seat belt hole vs quick releasing). otherwise, they just have't had an F56 they could run tests on. in due time, i imagine they will. in the meantime, i invested in a CG-LOCK and will be using it for the first time in a few weeks @ VIR. $50 investment...won't hurt so much if i don't like it.

i monitor my car quite a bit when at the track and i have never had any problems on the track. twice off the track the car went into a drivetrain malfunction but turning it off and turning it back on cleared it. go figure...i paid no mind to it. as for power modules, i was running the Jb4 on MAP2 (that would be equivalent to your NM module on high) and was happy with it. while it should have been on map1 as i was on stock gas (93), i got the blessing from the burger tuning after they saw a few maps of mine.
i've since replaced the JB4 with a custom dyno tune.

FWIW, here is the link to all my track events, in chronological order:

my march 2017 weekend was with both the new R888R's as well as the bilsteins and custom tune.

Good luck in June. i myself will be at VIR memorial day weekens, NJMP in June, LRP in July, and hopefully Ohio in september. i was planning NJMP again in october, but i just got win that MSSD2017 is that weekend so i may do that instead (MINI's Slay the Sleeping Dragon) with the tarheel group.

 

Hey Marco. I don't live far from VIR. Might take a ride out there over Memorial Day.

 

Marco,

thanks for the reply! i am so used to the e30 world where there is so much info it is almost overwhelming. Any info i can get from real world experience is welcome. I am excited to see what this car can do...

I have driven roebling road extensively over the last 10 years, mostly with my e30 a little with my mcoupe (sold).

VIR is an amazing track i think we are going to do it in September. The e30 got run over there with the high hp cars and the long straights.

Im running the 215 tire on the stock wheel, which i believe is a 7". I will definitely have to watch my tire pressure. I have a feeling that these tires will be chewed up pretty good after the weekend.

I have a cg lock. ill be using that if i cannot get my set of schroth to work. I also have a set of recaro speed seats from the e30, i just am not sure what type of adapters i need for those or if i want to mess with installing them. The sport seats are pretty supportive...

the pss10's are an amazing setup. I was looking at the kw's or the jcw pro kit. I have some issues with the nm springs making crackling sounds at low speeds. i know that is not a perm setup for me.

great videos btw! you are really moving in those march 17 videos. impressive.

 

Marco, one thing i just thought of, what do you do with traction control? i have not messed with the settings on that very much. do you turn it all the way off?

 

i don't go fully off....at least not yet. i consider that my "worst case scenario" protection....i usually just go one level off...i forget which one that is...fully engaged it can be way too intrusive...i've done a lap with traction fully on and it only took one lap for me to realize "WTF is going on" until i saw i had it fully on. i'd say for most of your sessions, you'll be fine starting and leaving it one level off.

 

who are you goint ot vir with over memorial day?

I'll be there next weekend with NASA for hyperfest with my r53

 

Nice to see the Gen IIIs hitting the track.

As for your first post, everything marcopolo said, plus the following:

The Yellow stuff pad are not a true track pad and you will likely overheat them. My experience with them was that they were nonlinear. They had little bite at first and then they would start to grab just as I was trying to modulate them for trailbraking. After 2 sessions I switched to the Carbotechs and was sooooo glad I did. They really are that much better.

I believe your S comes with DTC which includes the eLSD. The eLSD uses the brakes to do what a mechanical LSD does. That is, it applies the brake on the inside front wheel to keep it from spinning in a turn. This will also cook your brakes which is another reason for using a real race pad and not street/track pad.

HMS Motorsports is the importer of the Schroth Quickfit and are the ones who certify them to use in the states. When the R56 came out they changed the design of the belts for the R50/53 and it would fit the R56 without further modification. But, they would never say that you could use them in the R56; too much liability. It was much later that they got them certified and now have a listing for them for the R56. I am sure the same is true for the F56; they won't say you can use a set in there. However, if you happen to have a set from a R56 that just happens to "jump" into your car and they look and fit right, you could make your own judgment about using them.

Another option is a set of CGlocks for you stock safety belts.

Get a Scangage so you can watch what is going on with your car.

Lastly, have fun and let us know how you make out.

 

(3) M3's & 1 370Z...we're all PCA members so we're doing it with FSR PCA (First Settlers Region).

 

summary from the user manual:
-DSC is on by default.
-If you have DTC, when you push the DTC button once, DSC is turned OFF and DTC is ON. However keep in mind that DTC is basically a less-zealous version of DSC, which allows for some spirited wheelspin and some loss of stability before kicking with the DSC-like control of retarding throttle and/or braking. MINI makes a distinction that DTC is not DSC, but their action is similar and what differs is mostly the threshold for application. (as stated in the left column of page 58) To return to the default operating mode (DSC ON) just press the button once again.
-Because having DSC ON is the default, there are no lights on in the instrument cluster by default. A warning light indicator only appears if you turn DSC off and have either DTC ON or both systems deactivated. In both situations the car is warning you that it is going to attempt to control instability less or not prevent instability at all and to drive cautiously.
-If you hold the button for three seconds, both DTC and DSC are off and you're on your own to control the car should you wish to spin the tires or lose stability. (as stated in the right column of page 58)
-During "normal" driving and keep in mind-everybody's idea of normal is different, "most" people will leave DSC ON and thus not push any buttons. For snow or sporty driving, yes you would probably turn it off as it will retard your ability to get going or your ability to have fun respectively.
-Gas mileage is not affected at all. Some people don't like to feel that the car is controlled by the computer, although keep in mind the car also has the ability to brake an individual wheel at a time, unlike your left foot.

 

ahh ok, bunch of the guys I talk with a lot on facebook are going with that group, I did not realize it was this coming weekend.

 

following weekend, not this weekend
i'm leaving NYC thursday the 25th, event is 26th to 28th (fri-sun). probably missing last session and drive straight home sunday night. kinda need to. have to pick up my daughter monday morning. gonna be a rough day.

 

ahh right, hyperfest is next weekend, been a long day

 

thanks for all the good info!

i have a cglock from when i tracked my mcoupe. i am going to test that out and see how the 3 point belt feels with that. i may go ahead and buy the schroth r56 ones and see if they work. i tried the ones i have from my e30 but the connector is too wide.

hopefully the ebc's will be ok at roebling road, that track is pretty easy on brakes, nothing like road Atlanta. the main hard braking zone is the front straight. i am really hoping that pfc will come out with a compatible pad at some point. i love the pfc 08's on my e30.

 

A lot of times you can find the Quickfit harness for sale in the NAM Marketplace. You can always resell them if they don't fit.

 

I'm selling mine, i got sparco seats and dont need it anymore, hoping it sells local so I dont have to deal with shipping

 

Well, there ya go.

 

so you had them installed in your f56? im interested in the drivers if it fits and you can tell me what you had to do to make it work.

ill be in asheville this weekend for vintage... also willing to work with you on shipping

 

No they were in my r53 for a couple autocrosses

 

I have the Schroth 4 point belts on my F56 and they fit absolutely fine. Took them off the R56 and they bolt in exactly the same. The only thing you have to do is the bolt that holds the front seat belt in has a bushing on it. You have to pull the bushing off slide the Schroth on then put the bushing back.

 

 

thanks! that is what i needed to see!

 

great job! now i need to buy a set

 

hey do you think you could take a quick picture of this piece. soon as you posted up i did a search on the 2nd Gen Marketplace and bam, found a set...should be arriving on wed want to get them on for this weekends VIR event.

for you other guys that have done HPDE, this will be my first time using a 4-pt harness. what do you know about it passing tech. my tech form says that it just has to look clean and no other requirements. does the harness say "r56 mini" on it? will they yellow flag me for using the quick fits?

thanks.