How Much Does a Sunroof Hurt Me?
 

How much time would you say it's worth, for a driver of any skill level, between a Mini with and without a sunroof, ceteris paribus on roughly 50-60s of autox? I know this practically amounts to bench racing, but I have to wonder how much it's hurting me auto-x wise.. I could use every tenth I can get. Otherwise the car handles great and I'm improving as a driver every event, but still..

my dealer had 2 identical cms all4s, except one had the sunroof and the other did not ...

the all4 with sunroof was 80 pounds heavier than the all4 without the sunroof ... and that weight is at the very highest point on the car!

scott

My co-driver and I have observed that a normal sized passenger is about .3-.5 seconds depending on course. I'm not sure how much heavier a sunroof is, but its probably less than a person, but is up higher. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say .2-.3 seconds on a 60 second course. YMMV

thanks for the input - so i guess it's not too terrible for local - for nationals, huge obviously

Bought my MINI before I started autocrossing. The Pano sunroof would not have been an option I'd get now.

A good driver can jump in my car and get almost a second better time on me. I can get in a non-sunroofed MINI and improve by about .25 secs.

My skill level has a lot more to do with my times than the sunroof. But... I won't have a sunroof in my next car.

I wouldn't give it a thought, and of course when you have a great run and stick your fists in the air in a moment of transcendent joy, you won't break your wrists on the headliner...

Cheers,

Charlie

well i'm thinking about it more like this - let's say the difference is a quarter second. every run i make, slowest, fastest, everything in between, will automatically be faster by that much. And I almost wonder if it's even more than .25s. That would imply roughly .01s/corner (i think?) faster for not having a 50-80lb sunroof over your head? That actually seems a little low to me. it'll impact accel, decel, overall grip, and balance/stability in every corner. Anyway, probably right though.

lol well i guess the next question then is - better to leave it open or closed? if i had to guess i bet it goes upwards roughly 1", but then the whole thing is back for better f/r weight distribution. lol. thoughts?

I keep mine closed most of the time. I can't say I have noticed much of a difference in handling either way.

Rear tire pressure sure changes things up though....

Transcendent joy? I must not be living right.

Oh now methinks thou dost protest too much... :wink:

Well, immanence is the best I've experienced although I do have a friendly aquaintance with a driver of eminence.

if your auto-x skills are in the top 10% it might hurt you. . . otherwise your skills are more of a negative than the weight of the sunroof

true true.. regardless i think i'm close to ordering a new mini, and at least somewhat spec'd for HS - how are you liking midnihgt black? i think i heard there are black and silver specs in it?

What if you give the roof the tap open so it's double dove tails showing wouldn't that give downforce?

I'd think if you leave it open, the weight transfer to the rear somewhat for better rear end traction. And aerodynamics have to be better too with it acting like a rear spoiler.

And for what it's worth, Pepper White IS.THE.FASTEST.COLOR.

/Thread

Not if you're inspired by the history of British Racing Green.