*******[HI] 06/06 Autocross Caravan*******

Would you like to drive in to autocross with me as a participant/spectator/volunteer?

***Wendy's, Kapolei @ 8:45 a.m.***

If 'yes', just e-mail me (erik_tanaka@hotmail.com)

If 'no', (as always --&gt see you there

 

So great to autocross today alongside (in alpha order)...

*Arioch

*bgrpph

*bgrpph's son (in bgrpph's MCS)

*DaKineMINI

*Francis L. (in my MC)

*Kohu'ulaMINI

*MINIangelD

*minihune

*mini-t (in MINIangelD's MCS w/ mini-t's race rubber)

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10 drivers in MINIs throughout the day. Must be a record:smile: . Everyone did awesome

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take care, erik808

P.S. Damn, I love my car!

P.S.S. Hey, I love this new forum format, too!

 

great showing by the MINI's today. i also saw a ds mcs but i think the driver left?

your alpha order works for my numerical placement today i did terrible, not sure what it was but here's my top 10 list of excuses:
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10. it rained during my first run
9. i forgot how to drive a mcs (i tried to reverse and put it into 6th gear instead)
8. forgot my wallet, driver's license, and scca card
7. drove someone else's car
6. v37 kicked my butt (MINIangelD's mcs has even more pep than the infamous stolen ib mcs with chrome wheels!)
5. the mosquitoes weren't out to aggravate me and heighten my driving aggression
4. forgot to wash my helmet liner
3. red line scared the doo doo out of me
2. seeing the mr2 go up the embankment scared the doo doo out of me
and...
1. payback from the ants (i sprayed RAID near all my stuff so they wouldn't attack it!)
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anyhow, today officially ends my MINI autox days. i'm elated that baronious introduced autox to the original few (erik808, kohu, etc) and more and more folks continue to show up.

my autox wheels/tires are for sale!

wheels - 16" stock 5-star wheels
tires - kumho v700s; depending on driver, has 1/2 to 1+ season of tread on them (baronious --> 1/2 season, me --> 1+ seasons)

please PM if interested.

 

I have always felt that fairness was the key to all hearts:smile:

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*Thanks so much, baronious and mini-t, for being such a big support system and fan of my autocrossing. You two have gone well beyond the call in instruction/feedback/spurring, encouragement, autocross group buys, free installations, and your kind words following my 4th run just today:smile: . Looking forward to seeing you two for many years to come monthly. Despite what you wrote/how you felt about today, mini-t -- to me -- just showing up & checking your ego in at the gate monthly makes you the real deal. Word. sincerely, erik

 

erik808, you deserve it and we love you. always a pleasure to help sweeties like yourself. nuff said.

 

We really appreciate your help-Mahalo

We all owe alot to our fearless leaders at autocross, mini-t and baronius.
A year ago at Spring Fling 2003 several instructors commented that they hardly ever/never see MINIs out at Solo 2 and that we should come and try it. Latka and Kohu used to go about a year ago.

It took mini-t and baronius to lead us and help us beginners. Now we have a regular group that makes it out each month and today was a new record with more on the way, Kencraig, Keikilee, HIMINI, HIpilot... maybe others.

Autocross really boils down to the driver. Just bring what you have and drive and have some fun. It's usually four 1 minute runs. We'll help any novice motorers.

Nice wheels like what mini-t is selling gives added grip and is legal for stock classes for both MC and MCS.

Great to see you all out there today. Hey we need window stickers for-
MINI-racing Club Hawaii

 

thanks we're all just happy that there are more and more MINIs that come out to race. i think that many are hooked, including bgrpph's son who raced for the first time! (actually, i think he might wanna learn drifting after riding in baronious' 240 during the fun runs

i would say that autocross is a function of CAR + DRIVER. the MINI is an excellent choice straight from the factory with its superb handling and steering capabilities. i guarantee you that your times will be different if you drove a different car (i.e., MINI vs. rental car focus or something - curtis didn't place first in this situation). baronious is true to his subaru gang but consistently kills in a MINI b/c of the differences in cars.

minihune, so when are you gonna let baronious test out your quaife?! seems like it's real good....maybe we'll buy an 05 MCS with factory lsd.

 

Yes, that would be a good option.

In autocross I think I saw it might land in D-stock. Still pretty good.

Does Baronius want to drive the blue monster AKA bad MINI ? If so send me PMs and we'll work out the details. I like it better when the Victoracers heat up around run 3 or 4.

I did a little better this week and actually got up to 3rd gear. I have a long way to go.

 

wow. awesome turn out for the minis. just gotta find that highly modded elec blue MCS and get him to come out and play.

from the start i did nothing but praise the mini for autocross races. to this day, my feelings haven't changed. the car is awesome. with the 05 model seeming to have an optional LSD, that would make it a terror in stock form. probably won't be a quaife, but it should make a world of difference.(never checked the boards in a long time)

so why did i sell my EB MCS? well, i had some problems, but it was the dealer treatment(service side) that did it. waiting 20 minutes to drop off the car...blahblah. a car brand that preaches and encourages INDIVIDUALITY but when you try to make it original they turn their back or act unfair? oh well. i'll stop.

mini vs sti. mini is by far the easier car to drive on the local scene. did you notice i compared the mini to the sti and not a regular wrx? it is no contest otherwise just short of a modified class wrx IMHO and experience.

i guess the challenge of a 300 soon to be 350+hp 360torque brute trying to stay on course is what made my decision easier. for the few who have ridden with me, you know what i am talking about.

the mini potential is unbelievable and if i had to guess, a mid modded MCS with LSD would have the capability of a top 3 overall finish consistently. so brad, i may have to take you up on it to see if it is doable. BTW i called your car mid modified because the suspension upgrades are light. coilovers and more adjustable links/arms + wide crazy sticky tires would make it a high mod car to me.

what tire pressures were you running? i should've taken a look at the tire profile. i am guessing you were letting off alot the whole way through after turn 3. i didn't see you drive, but i gotta guess that you are not comfortable with the little slide you car was most likely exhibiting at the exits of the fast turns on the straight so you probably let off. maybe next event if you want i'll try 2 fun runs with your car and you riding. can't remember if you ever rode with me before but it may get you to go faster or drive closer to the limit. you better take me up on it soon before my 6+ years of FWD racing get lost in my AWD+RWD and drifting current practicing.

BUT i really want a MCS owner to take out GS b. taylor!!! angel or jd has to take him out. make him whine. randy, jump class next race to GS and use the tires!!!!!!!!!!!!

b

 

new SCCA reminder that i will be spreading.

do NOT line up in the grid one after another. make sure there are at least 1, preferrably 2 other car makes between you when you run. i was stuck in with 3 other 240's and the cone/DNF calling hit the fan. the workers were calling in things like "2 cones on the 240". help the workers accuracy and spread the word when you line up if you see other cars doing this.

b

 

there's only 1 way i'll ever own another MINI...but i'm not sure when that will happen. BAHAHAHAHAHAH.

yeah, randy...jump ship to g-stock with the other MINIs! buy the wheels/tires so i can get some for my new hot rod!!!!!!!!!!!

(alright, alright, i'll stop getting crazy with my favorite smiley )

 

Thanks a lot, b! However, I must say -- staging behind DaKineMINI and bgrpph yesterday was crazy fun . Panos shared exactly that with us. Now we know:smile:

 

This is very reasonable. I was working the course and saw those 240sx driving by with similar colors. We can go by race numbers and colors or with more spacing if the cars are similar.

I would venture to guess that as a whole we MINIs hit down fewer cones and had fewer DNFs than other types of cars.

So folks lets all spread ourselves out next month and take over the place.

G-stock, you guys are doing great and you have to go for it and pull out all the stops.
You got 2nd and third place and are in the hunt for first.

My mid modded MCS is doing well but I have only 10 minutes of seat time with my LSD and tires so I have much much much to learn. My victoracers were running about 38 psi for the fronts and 36 psi for the rears and were doing OK. I didn't get down as low as Erik808 running 35 psi front and rears.

HIMINI is pretty busy on weekends so I don't know if we can get him out there but if we see him this week we'll remind him.

Going for a fun run or two next month is fine with me, it should not be a problem-thanks for the offer baronius.

 

i was at the timing booth when the 240 mixup was happening.

my 2 cents: if you want the most accurate times, you should space yourself away from other cars of the same make. mistakes can happen for various reasons and this is one way to decrease the % of error. part of the problem is that the corner workers call cones in late and/or without giving the car description/number. "the MINI before the black one" doesn't cut it when there are 3 MINIs in a row and you're one of the ones before the black one. 1 cone/DNF/error makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE!