Hello NAM!

On Sunday, I will be going to the drag for my first time to see how my Mini will do in the 1/4 mile.

I was wondering if anyone knows what tire pressure I should run.
FYI, I am still on stock run flats and I plan to burn them up.

Also, does anyone have any pointers or info that will help me run some good times?

Thanks

 

With the horrendous reputation of the stock clutch, I'd go REAL easy with my launches. That said, what's the point of this exercise? It's a Mini, not a Camaro SS.

Oh yeah - runflat destruction. A truly worthy cause.

 

Old drag trick for tire pressure.
Do a little burn out.
Look at the mark it leaves
If it's darker on the edges you need more pressure
If its darker in the middle you need less.
I do tend to agree with KevinC though .... whats the point?
Having said that, please post your best time!!!!

 

Well, I have an auto so I can launch pretty well without worrying about burning up a clutch. The main reason I am going is because the car club at my university is going so I said why not.
Right now I probably have about 1/32 to 2/32 tread depth and I plan to make them bald by the end of the day. And the next day I am getting new real tires.

 

In NAM, there is a section near the botton called racing and competition with a subsection for drag racing. Perhaps looking down there will answer some of your questions. Have fun.

 

Well normally I run 38psi to 40psi, but I read somewhere that it's better to lower the pressure a little to get better grip . I might be completely wrong, but thats why I am asking the question. The point is to see if I can get low 14s. And I will definitely post the (hopefully good) times.

 

Sound's like your tires are pretty close to bald anyway....

With the RMW tune, no matter what you do you're going to be spinning. But, try dropping them below 30, it should help a little

You should definitely be in low 14's, assuming you can get your auto to launch correctly

 

Wow, I literally looked for about 15 min to see if there was a section about racing. Shows how much I know. Thanks slinger

 

Talk about spinning! Last weekend I did a couple of trial launches and I literally spun through 1 gear and almost all the way through 2nd . Hopefully lowering the pressure will help with grip.

 

Like taking a $2000 hooker to the prom... I mean you can, but there are much better uses...lol

Have fun.


OBTW, it's not really going to matter what pressure you run with the stock tires. Compound is 5x more important. And the stock compound pretty much sucks.

 

What does my Prom date have to do with how much tire pressure he should use?

 

What!! the runflat's compound sucks!!! That makes no sense as those runflats are pricey . But really, any more grip I can get will help.

 

Missed that they are the stock runflats...

Dropping the pressure won't do a whole lot, the sidewalls are too reinforced. I know....I've driven at least 80+ miles at 65-70mph with one that had 0 psi in it, couldn't even tell it was completely flat

You can try dropping the pressure pretty darn low, maybe will help more than nothing...but think you're screwed either way

 

Another reason runflats suck. I can't wait to get rid of them

Also, will I have any problems putting 215/40/17 tires on the stock rims?

 

Update:

So, after making at least 6 passes on the drag strip my best 1/4 time was a 14.25 which I am very happy with. I dropped my tire pressure down to 28 psi and I surprisingly did not have any problem with traction. It was not as cold as I would have hoped being around 82 degrees, but I guess that is better than it being like 100 degrees .

You should have seen the look on some people's faces when I destroyed a dodge challenger and charger both r/t edition .

 

I think we just found the point of this exercise. Go mini.

 

Excellent report! I love to hear great stories like that.

I do want to mention that an R/T is not an SRT-8 though. Great job but be careful who you challange