Hey all: Wanted to start a thread that might help us who regularly track their MINI's..... I have a 2005, with two track days but would like to track this car frequently ....

Any problems, weaknesses, issues people have found (other than obvious things such as need for upgraded brake pads, brake fluid changes, etc.)

Is the MINI perfect? or has anyone found weakness, broken parts, etc?

Examples of weaknesses that I can refer to in our parent company/BMW cars would be things such as subfloor failures on E36 3 series, rear stabilizer bar mounting tabs breaking off of E30 3 series, need for new control arms on e30 bimmers every 20 or so track days with r compound tires, etc....

It would be good to know which items on our beloved MINI can be reinforced for long term track use.....

 

The ONLY weak point on the MCS for track use (assuming you're talking about equipment failures as opposed to handling issues), is the supercharger pulley belt and the associated tensioner assembly. Prolonged exposure to heat and high revs at track runs can lead to the pulley belt snapping or shredding - then, if that happens, due to a fairly well-discussed (on this forum anyway) design weakness, the tensioner assembly can crack and/or fall into and damage the crank pulley / harmonic dampener. I believe there is a company in the UK (you can find links on other posts this site) that sells a small device that can be placed on the tensioner assembly to at least keep it from falling into the crank pulley if the belt brakes. I always bring spare belts, a spare tensioner assembly, and the BMW tensioner tool with me to track events.

So far, as long as I keep revs at or below 6000 I have not had a belt break, even on very hot days at WGI.

 

Oh, I forgot to add: Otherwise the car is f-----n bulletproof at the track.

 

thanks for the information.. thought this thread has lost all and any responses.... My car made it through its third track day with no problems.... my only issue is how to get a very firm brake peddle doing a one man brake bleed job...

 

You can use a Power Bleeder from Motive Products - easy one man job. However, don't expect to get a very firm brake pedal feel even with SS brake lines - this has been somewhat of an issue for me and my other MINI track friends - the pedal often feels mushy.