Team Justacooper
#601
06-14-2010, 04:29 AM
5th Gear
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Emmitsburg, MD
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Well, you can't really "win" at a HPDE (High Performance Driving Event) as you're not competing/racing anything, not even the clock, but with other cars out there, it's impossible not to notice whether you are faster or slower than they are. 
That said, compared to the other MINI out there, a heavily modded Clubman S (new turbo, lightweight wheels, big brakes, huge intercooler, etc.), I was very happy with the Cooper. Over the course of the ~3 laps that we were near each other and unobstructed by lots of other traffic, the Clubman S couldn't put any significant distance between himself and me. He absolutely walked away from me in the long straights (just like pretty much every other car) due to having probably 75% more hp than me, but it's obvious the Cooper and I were much faster through the curves.
Anyway, for those of you who haven't done any kind of Auto-X or Track Event... do it.
It doesn't matter if you've got the least horsepower of any car out there (like I did) or even if that's coupled with having the absolute WORST tires of any car out there (like I did... Cooper brand All-Seasons that came with my second set of wheels), you will STILL have a blast... and STILL have opportunities for the MINI to shine. For instance, at the end of a fast section, I had a BMW 335i riding my tail (he didn't have time to pass, btw) and with the tires howling around the 3-turn sequence before the back straight, my instructor started laughing out loud at how we had "smoked" (his word) the 335 through that sequence in the lowly MINI on crappy tires.
So, while I had to let quite a few Lotus Exiges and Porsche 911s pass, I had an absolute blast, and was very impressed with our little MINI despite being showroom stock with worse-than-showroom tires.
"Team Justacooper" for life!
That said, compared to the other MINI out there, a heavily modded Clubman S (new turbo, lightweight wheels, big brakes, huge intercooler, etc.), I was very happy with the Cooper. Over the course of the ~3 laps that we were near each other and unobstructed by lots of other traffic, the Clubman S couldn't put any significant distance between himself and me. He absolutely walked away from me in the long straights (just like pretty much every other car) due to having probably 75% more hp than me, but it's obvious the Cooper and I were much faster through the curves.
Anyway, for those of you who haven't done any kind of Auto-X or Track Event... do it.
It doesn't matter if you've got the least horsepower of any car out there (like I did) or even if that's coupled with having the absolute WORST tires of any car out there (like I did... Cooper brand All-Seasons that came with my second set of wheels), you will STILL have a blast... and STILL have opportunities for the MINI to shine. For instance, at the end of a fast section, I had a BMW 335i riding my tail (he didn't have time to pass, btw) and with the tires howling around the 3-turn sequence before the back straight, my instructor started laughing out loud at how we had "smoked" (his word) the 335 through that sequence in the lowly MINI on crappy tires.
So, while I had to let quite a few Lotus Exiges and Porsche 911s pass, I had an absolute blast, and was very impressed with our little MINI despite being showroom stock with worse-than-showroom tires.
"Team Justacooper" for life!
Jim
#604
07-20-2010, 02:53 PM
2nd Gear
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bakersfield
Posts: 67
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#605
10-01-2010, 01:50 PM
#606
10-11-2010, 01:50 AM
#607
12-29-2010, 06:37 AM
raises a door
Last edited by eaglebeagle; 12-29-2010 at 06:47 AM. Reason: added pics link
#611
01-14-2011, 08:02 AM
#614
01-16-2011, 05:48 AM
#619
06-10-2011, 01:38 PM
#620
06-16-2011, 12:55 PM
1st Gear
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Italy, between Milan and Bologna
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#622
09-27-2011, 10:37 PM
#624
12-17-2011, 08:53 PM
#625
12-17-2011, 09:57 PM
