--Just took a ride in my buddy's Ion redline and man is that thing fast! It's got a eaton roots supercharger bolted to a 2 liter 4 banger and it runs NICE! Man and the price was awesome too! Just $20k! And it was fully loaded with recaro seats, big brakes and 17 inch wheels! Man what a deal! On top of all that almost all the side fenders are plastic so the owner won't even care about shopping car and door dings cuz the fenders just pop right back out. Did I mention it's a 4 door that looks like a coupe? It's got small little suicide doors that are functional. The engine bay is nicely laid out and roomy too.

Eeek! All these new cars floating around me is bad while my Mini is still floating over the atlantic. It's like taking a fat kid to the chocolate factory just before dinner. :impatient Last month my other buddy picked up a nice flint mica Scion tC. That's a really nice car too. Smooth and comfy ride.

They're both nice cars but while the Ion Redline made me go "whoa!" after it chirped the tires in second gear and surged up to 60mph, it didn't make me laugh the way the Cooper S does. I keep getting the urge to put my arms up like I'm in a roller coaster with the Cooper S. But I know that would be REALLY bad if I did that.

--pyratio

 

Tell your buddy to bring his ION Redline to SCCA autocross on Oct 2nd and lets see what it can do on the track.

Straightline speed is one thing that many cars have that the MINI doesn't have but handling excellence is something the MINI has that many other powerful cars lack.

At autocross we strive to design a course that has a mix of elements that don't overly favor cars that handle well nor that have gobs of power. Otherwise cars of either extreme would not bother to come out to the events each month. Last month we had about 104 cars.

If you come out to autocross you can join me at the end of the day for a fun run on the course and see what the MINI is all about in terms of speed and handling. Granted my MINI is hardly stock anymore. You just need a helmet and shoes.:impatient

 

--Hey Brad, actually he runs in the superlap crowd but I'm not sure when he's ready to let'er rip on his brand new car. In his opinion his car doesn't have a break in period, it's his clutch that needs to be broken in. He's a pretty good driver and would probably enjoy auto-x but I think the 2nd is too close for his brand new car.

Man autocross sounds like a lotta fun though. I have motorcycle helmets but I was thinking of picking up a Bell open face for Mini racing. Any suggestions for helmets?

Thanks for the invite, I'd love to ride with you and see what a MCS can do with an experienced driver at the wheel. Unfortunately I will be just getting off an 8 hour plane ride from Samoa that day. I'll probably be jetlagged and brain dead. Might put my helmet on backwards. :impatient

Thanks again Brad. Yeah I'll definitely try to join you and or the club at these events after my last trip to Guam this year. After Oct 15th I'll be on Oahu until the end of the year. Then it's off to Japan again. I think I fly more than ducks in a year.

--pyratio

 

no way dude.........I subscribe to autoweek and they slam those plastic saturns. they are cheap just like the price. the body panels dont even line up evenly on most. this was the case on two of the three test cars. a supercharger doesnt make a car. sophistication and refinement do. you chose a winner. stay far away from the saturn. besides it will fall apart far sooner than a MINI. a little bonus for you.....with just a 19 percent pulley, I chirped the tires in third.

 

pyratio,
See http://www.sccahawaii.org/
Solo 2 is on Oct 2, Nov 13, Dec 18, and SCCA test and tune (all day solo 2 practice day) is saturday Oct 22. All of these would be possible for your buddy, new car or not. Some cars are very new and have paper license plates still. It's also less expensive than Superlap and you can come for a half day (from 12 noon) only.

You are always welcome to ride with me at the end of any of these days and on the test and tune day it's all through the day we can take passengers.

The events will continue through january to April of 2006 as well.

Autocross is very different from SuperLap (short laps for time around the track). The autocross course is never the same and changes directions every month (sometimes slightly up or downhill). If you think you have mastered driving solo 2 because you posted a great time one month just wait until the next month and you will be humbled.

Competition is fierce and the cars vary from bone stock to purpose built race cars that are trailered in to HRP. Funny how some stock cars like the Cooper can best times of some of the purpose built race cars. That's all about driver skill and Solo 2 is designed to allow for speeds up to normal highway speeds only.

 

I'm not sure what the Ion looks like. Can you post a picture of the back end? I've only seen the front (in my rearview mirror ).

 

ION Redline


[font=Arial]Horsepower : 200 hp @ 6450 rpm
Torque : 200 lb-ft @ 5800 rpm
Redline : 6450 rpm[/font]
[font=Arial]Curb Weight : 2960 lbs[/font]
[font=Arial]Top speed : 144 mph
0-60 mph : 6.3 sec.
0-¼ mile : 15.3 sec @ 94.5 mph
60-0 braking distance : 121 ft
200 ft skidpad : 0.85 g[/font]
[font=Arial]Seems a little slow for quarter mile and the hefty almost 3000 pounds isn't too good.[/font]

[font=Arial][/font]