yeah, the solo2 dates are only set for this year so far.

sadly, the "driving schools" are not timed. solo2 is preferred because you can get to practice more of your skills in 1 run of driving than in 5 times around the track. you also get a TIME to see if you improved or not. also, a time allows you to see how you and your car rate against other drivers. i guess it is a matter of being able to see the difference. i wouldn't trust my butt as a dyno when trying to see if something made my car faster, so i wouldn't trust my butt as a g-force meter either.

maybe by the time a PP party date is set, a few mini owners will have gone to scca and gotten used to their car. i remember a EB mini coming once (3 mos ago?)but he wouldn't race(i was at entrance duty). he wanted to get LSD and suspension that, but didn't even want to try his car.

aug 10th's plan is to have mini-t abuse my car(MCS) during the regular runs and i'll beat on it for the fun runs. anyone want to come, can hop in for a ride. should be wild as the last time i decently ran a FF car was back in april 2000. 9th overall(no BS handicap), i owned the subies(subaru) back then. now after a year of no racing, i literally own a subie and get owned by them.
http://www.eng.hawaii.edu/~panos/4-9-00.html

i guess i'll start a new thread for rollcall this sunday.

b

 

There are also some fundamental differences with the driving schools and SCCA events.

In a driving school you are trying to learn skills without the "pressure" of time.
There is no timing of laps so you are encouraged not to worry about competition. You are just learning and it is OK to make mistakes- short of having an accident.
You can do things you would not want to do in an SCCA event and you can experiment in a "Safe environment". Try things out. It is NOT a race. You don't have to worry about looking slow or being in last place. For some people this is good.

In a Solo2 event you want to do nearly the opposite and will be urged on by the competition to press your luck and skills. To take risks. This is totally different.
Both are good ways to try things out but the results and the comfort levels are different. SCCA is competitive. Also it is more of a monthly event with an ongoing nature.

Just some things to consider. Both can be fun. I would think they are complementary.

 

And I forgot another really big thing is in the driving school you have instructors that will help you learn more about driving- ask them for help and explanation- each one is really good and there is much to learn.

In SCCA you are on your own and there is no instructor in the car with you. Learn as you go.

 

so we don't get off track, the reason i posted a suggestion to time the PP with a scca solo2 event was to: "show us the potential of a mini @ scca" not for us to learn how to drive.

nowback to what you just said. driving school... safe? if you haven't heard, there was a minor mishap last safe "driving school". i think solo 2 where you maybe reach 50mph is a little safer than other faster than freeway speeds at driving school....especially in the wet....with other people possibly with even less experience.

i was lucky enough to watch this past driving school when everyone was going around the short track. yes, there is no pressure of time. just the pressure of a few other cars going full blast just to slam the brakes right behind you.

if you have ever tried scca. beginners are not pressured for time. yes, they get a time at the end of the day but they also get a N by their name which gives them novice notation. if you want instruction, you can ask any person there that acts as an "instructor" at other driving schools/events to ride with you or even drive your car during the fun runs for pointers. they are always there with their cars showing why they are in fact legit instructors.

the downside of local instructors. they don't drive front wheel drive cars. they drive rear wheel drive cars and maybe an all wheel drive car. therefore, they cannot push it as well as a front wheel drive instructor. different drivetrains require different skills and techniques. there is only one front wheel drive instructor that i would call good and he races a race crx with the equivalent of a modded type R motor and that would be Wes.

again i just posted my suggestion to have a person who specializes in a mini (front wheel drive) come and show just how much a mini can motor. most likely a good incentive for the PP installer as they are usually racers i have seen visitors run rental cars there. tips pertaining to the ways of a mini would be much appreciated too. i already felt how bad the open diff is in our MCS'. along with the evil ASC.

b

btw. i think solo2 is a good stepping stone up to a short/full track (driving school)day. if you can't handle your car at 40mph, what makes you think you can handle it at 70+ driving your car so hard that the (tech inspected and approved)brakes start to fade and your coolant starts to boil causing your (tech inspected and approved)radiator to blow after 2 laps...good think ifuku rad is right across the street.

 

Appreciate you two giving your own take on the above, baronious & minihune. Both sound unreal! I made it to the afternoon portion of the Aloha 500 & now really wanna check out a SCCA event (I'll try for this Sunday though have a full schedule for then at this point in the week). As far as the driving goes, I'm pretty darn good at racing a B/B MCS on my XBOX so I should do fine ha ha ha

 

>>so we don't get off track, the reason i posted a suggestion to time the PP with a scca solo2 event was to: "show us the potential of a mini @ scca" not for us to learn how to drive.

You can see and feel the potential of a MINI when an instructor drives your MINI at the driving school. You can be watching the car from the outside and you can also be in the car with the instructor- your choice. Every time you drive your MINI is a chance to learn more and to improve your skills. In a solo2 event can you learn how to drive?- Sure. But it might not be the best time to experiment. Better to learn the needed skills and know your limits before going to the solo2.

>>nowback to what you just said. driving school... safe? if you haven't heard, there was a minor mishap last safe "driving school". i think solo 2 where you maybe reach 50mph is a little safer than other faster than freeway speeds at driving school....especially in the wet....with other people possibly with even less experience.

Safe is always a relative term. Yes the speeds are less in the solo2 event and yes speed is a factor in some accidents. Both the solo2 and the driving school are safer environments than driving on the street which is my point.

To be safe- we need to know our limits. Limits of our MINIs and limits of our skill. The S2000 that had the mishap is a very capable car. I was on the track back in April with that very same driver and same car. But the track conditions were VERY different. Safety is dependent on recognizing what to do given the conditions of that day. No matter what the conditions if we exceed our limits we will have trouble. Sometimes we can recover and sometimes not.

>>i was lucky enough to watch this past driving school when everyone was going around the short track. yes, there is no pressure of time. just the pressure of a few other cars going full blast just to slam the brakes right behind you.

It doesn't matter that other cars are going whatever speed they are going. That is not the point of driving in the driving school. By hand signal we are encouraged to help faster cars pass slower ones at the safe and correct time when on the track. The pressure of driving and having others pass you is only self impossed. Each driver should drive at the speed at which they wish to drive. No faster or slower than they wish. If others need to pass then they must wait for a clear signal to pass- it is done cooperatively.

>>if you have ever tried scca. beginners are not pressured for time. yes, they get a time at the end of the day but they also get a N by their name which gives them novice notation. if you want instruction, you can ask any person there that acts as an "instructor" at other driving schools/events to ride with you or even drive your car during the fun runs for pointers. they are always there with their cars showing why they are in fact legit instructors.

Yes, some of the very same "instructors" are at both events. They provide a very good resource at all times.

>>the downside of local instructors. they don't drive front wheel drive cars. they drive rear wheel drive cars and maybe an all wheel drive car. therefore, they cannot push it as well as a front wheel drive instructor. different drivetrains require different skills and techniques. there is only one front wheel drive instructor that i would call good and he races a race crx with the equivalent of a modded type R motor and that would be Wes.

At the driving school we had instructors from far and wide. The one I had taught in England for 7 years and at Skip Barber for 7 more. He didn't look like he had any trouble driving my MCS at all, in fact I think he was holding back and taking it easy. Very relaxed and very fast- always in control. Piece of cake. Ask the Beastmaster about the various instructors. I thought they were good.

>>again i just posted my suggestion to have a person who specializes in a mini (front wheel drive) come and show just how much a mini can motor. most likely a good incentive for the PP installer as they are usually racers i have seen visitors run rental cars there. tips pertaining to the ways of a mini would be much appreciated too. i already felt how bad the open diff is in our MCS'. along with the evil ASC.
>>
>>b
>>
>>btw. i think solo2 is a good stepping stone up to a short/full track (driving school)day. if you can't handle your car at 40mph, what makes you think you can handle it at 70+ driving your car so hard that the (tech inspected and approved)brakes start to fade and your coolant starts to boil causing your (tech inspected and approved)radiator to blow after 2 laps...good think ifuku rad is right across the street.

Each event, solo2 and driving school has something to offer and the limits are different. I think they can be complementary since the situations can be quite different. Could you drive at 50 or less in the driving school and still do fine- absolutely- ask Latka, in April he had his classic red mini going round and round with us and had only 30 HP. His car was gettting a bit worn after one track session so he decided to sit out the last session.

Could you push your MINI too far? Surely. One has to be a bit careful and in tune with your car- notice how it feels to have brake fading or things overheating.

I don't think we are that far off in what we are discussing. Just different sides of the same performance coin.

 

you're right. nevermind. we don't need randy here to show the potential of the car. just knowing how a car is 90% of its potential is fine.

b

ps. i am not talking bad about the instructors. i was saying that they were most likely stronger in the field of rear wheel drive cars. and that randy drives a front wheel drive car (specifically a mini) and i would assume specialize in it. a mechanic at hyundai is ASE certified. why don't we have him do a pulley party.

 

>>you're right. nevermind. we don't need randy or chris here to show the potential of the car. just knowing how a car is 90% of its potential is fine.

Sure if Randy or Chris or Eric from Helix are in Hawaii then it makes perfect sense for them to do more than just install upgrades. Get on the track and that all is great. I think you are right that if we looked at one of the really experienced drivers who knows MINI and saw them on the track we would be delighted.

>>b
>>
>>ps. i am not talking bad about the instructors. i was saying that they were most likely stronger in the field of rear wheel drive cars. and that randy and chris drive a front wheel drive car (specifically a mini) and i would assume specialize in it. a mechanic at hyundai is ASE certified. why don't we have him do a pulley party.

I'm sure that bias exists with rear vs front wheel drive cars and that those who race one type might be less used to driving the other sort of car.
Any qualified mechanic could do the pulley install, it isn't that hard to do. Just need to do it a few times and then it goes by the book. We were thinking of Sonic but if you have someone in mind and we can get reasonable rates then maybe that is an option. Sonic has done the pulley before. We were planning to buy the tool and then share (rent it out for a small fee). Makes more sense than to mail it back and forth across the pacific ocean- remember shipping is a killer. My throttlebody shipping with insurance was about $15 one way.

 

i'll talk to eric at sonics to see what he can do. i gotta guess that robert(actually another good FF driver @ solo2) was the person who did the install as he is the main guy there. hmm, they must have the tools for it as they did one already. the question now is will the pulley's be bought from him or as a group buy and only installed at sonics. b

 

I think that sonic installed the pulley for an MCS but that the tool was rented out. I doubt that they still have the tool. I don't think they have that much experience yet. I'm open to suggestions. The tool is several $100s to buy.

The pulley can be bought from alta at a good price or do a group buy to get the price down more. I would think we would need 5 to 10 to get a good discount.
Normal price is less than $200 as is and then the rest is labor for the install. RandyBMC does the part and labor for $400. We would use the same pulley belt.
ECU via RandyBMC would be additional $700 or so -supposed to be getting updated lately- see other MCO posts.

We do not buy from Sonic- they can do just the labor. Maybe if we brought them a group they would do a good price for us. Can't hurt to ask. Business is business.