I have held off for a year without making any significant modifications other than getting rid of the runflats and replacing them with Yokohama ES-100's

I am planning on competing in G-stock in my local region here in Alabama and since this forum is still very small, a thread like this might be helpful to many others than myself.

I want to get the most bang for the buck when it comes to the few allowable mods in G-stock, and at the very least I will be purchasing a set of dedicated wheels/tires for competition.

My goal is to spend no more than $2000 to prepare the vehicle to compete for the season.

This leaves me with the choice of either new shocks or an improved aftermarket cat-back exhaust. My gut feeling is that better shocks will get me around the track faster than a less restrictive exhaust.

I also plan on upgrading brake pads, and will soon be needing new brakes and rotors anyway. Will probably go with the ferrodo pads.

I am also most interested in the sort of "free mods" or simple adjustments that can be done cheaply to improve performance on the auto-x track.

I don't think I can afford the Hoosiers, so am considering a Kumho tire, but the Falken Azenis are very attractive to me because they have a 16" size with 215 section width that I am happy with on my Yokos. However, the Falken compound may not be as grippy as the Kumho's or Hoosiers. . . but might stand a better chance of surviving a season of Auto-X without replacement.

Most importantly, I want to have fun, but I do want to be as competitive as possible despite my novice driving skills. My high performance driving experience consists of about a week's worth of afternoons on a road track (Second Creek in Denver) with a friend/former BMW driving school instructor. Beyond that, I have only played on places like the Tail of the Dragon where you can run fast, but still have to hold back since it is a public highway.

I would greatly appreciate any advice and tips from seasoned racers to help me be as competitive as possible this next season.

Thanks in advance for any advice and help. Perhaps a thread like this will be a good reference point for other novices interested in getting started but don't know exactly where to start.

 

Yucca,

Have you gone out to watch the races in your local area? If not, try to and talk to any MINI owners that are already there, even if they are not in G-stock.

Intake- a drop in filter is an option-maybe a foam Alta or Unifilter from Webbmotorsports or a Green Filter.
Tires- the best ones are very costly and don't last that long but do help performance a great deal.
Brakes- changing brake pads would be good- even Mintex RedBox would help and they are fairly cheap- The Ferrodo DS2500 are better suited for light track use rather than autocross which are short one minute runs. Upgraded Brake fluid like ATE super blue will help reduce overheating your brake fluid.
Cat-back exhaust? Ask randy webb about the Milltek exhaust for autocross.

This is worth looking at-
http://www.sfrscca.org/solo2/faq/auto.htm
Good luck.

 

Mr. Patrol, For tires, even though the Azeni are grippy they are about 2 seconds slower on an average 45-60 sec course. With a limited budget, the Kuhmo Ecsta V700s are $133 each from TireRack, bringing a seet of 4 to $532, add shipping an mounting on new rims- call it $600. Now for wheels there are really only three options Stock 16", Ak Monzas, and SSR Comp Rs. With tires you can gain 2 seconds by doubling the price, wheels are another story all together. Stock 16s can be found on te markeplace for about $100 a wheel (XLites or VSpoke) both are on the heavy side (16&19 lbs. resectively), but even a wheel that weighs 1/2 of either of these, is only an improvement of tenths of seconds. Ak Monzas are about 2-5 pounds lighter but are $155, SSR Comp Rs are 11 pounds and $300 each. Go with what you like. With this set up half of your $2000 budget is gone for a 2 second improvement. A drop-in filter is OK, but for $50 how much hp is gained- 1-3 maybe. The exhaust will lighten the car, and add power for $500. The last improvment will make a safer and faster driver at the same time, (insert drumroll here) Drivers Ed no, not that kind with the bloddy movies, Evolution Autocross school. Your $2000 is gone just that fast, but you can now drive as fast as I spent your money. Good Luck.
Chris

 

I agree with Chris... other than wheels and tires (I use Ak Monzas and Kuhmos) the MINI is ready to run out of the box.... Even the stock shocks are good if not close to great......any other mods like Koni Shocks, filters, exhaust will do little to no good to a person with little experience... heck on shocks it is quite easy to make the car slower if you do not have the ability to properly set the adjustments... as for free mods... Alignment is one area where one can work... stock my MINI came with some toe in front and rear... most use 0 toe or some toe out on the MINI... I use 0 toe front (actually just a hair toe out) and as much toe out as I can get in back... but I plan to try a bit more toe out in front and 0 in the rear along with a diffenent approach to tire pressures soon... as well as new tires.... not sure if I am going to Hoosire or staying with Kuhmo.....


Good luck Yucca... and when ya have time come over to Atlanta for an event... we have had huge G Stock turnouts recently...

 

Andrew,
I fully agree with Chris. I would first find a Phase 1 and 2 Evolution class to take and focus first and foremost on the drivers ed. In taking these classes back to back you can almost go through a set of Hoosiers or Kumhos. Given that I would either find the wheels you want and run Falkens for the classes or go ahead and jump to the tire you want to end up on. If you want to be able to focus on driver improvement all season minimize the number of changes you are making to the car as early as possible. If I were to do it again I would go with a set of lightweight 16" wheels, Hoosier Road Race R-Compounds (not Autocross as these the road race compounds appear to be a little better with wear, alternatively there is a new Kumho tire that is supposed to be a very close competitor to the Hoosier this year...something succeeding the V700...V710 perhaps?), and find a recommended front and rear toe-in/out alignment setting and run that. I would have this in place prior to going to Evolution classes. To me Solo 2 is all about finding a consistent feeling set up so that you can focus on what you are doing rather than worrying about the car. This also helps with the fun factor...not having to worry about every little thing on the car.

Mark

 

Aside from the driver's training that I would definitely agree with, a great lightweight wheel and the only true hp/trq gain and weight loss exhaust on the market, the Supertrapp. I've got the dyno sheets to prove my 31 lbs loss and 16 WHP/TRQ gains from the Supertrapp. If you can live with the sound, you net the best gains.

Aside from that, you're wasting your money until you're ready to compete at the top of the National level.

Heck, it's gonna be hard enough to just learn not to spin the inside wheel for most of the course

Brian

 

Everyone, thanks for the very helpful suggestions for how to prepare my MCS this season.

I have decided that I will go with the AK Monza wheels from Randy at Webb Motorsports with the Kumho Ecsta V700's in a 205/45/16 size.

I'll drop in a filter just for fun and if my birthday wishes come true, I may or may not get an exhaust.

I will leave the stock MINI suspension as is, with the alignment adjustments suggested here.

One question about the Kunho tires. Tire Rack says the following:

I cringe at the idea of paying extra to have my tires worn down for me, and wonder how many people running these tires in G-stock actually purchase the shaved and heat-cycled versions?

Will I actually get longer life out of the tires by having them shaved prior to use?

Unfortunately, I will not have the opportunity to attend a specific Auto-X school before this season, but I do have some confidence in my driving skills learned from prior professional training on the road track. Of course, a road track and an Auto-X track are very different, but I am sure the basic skills carry over and I will just have to learn as I go along.

On the bright side, Alabama still does not have a MINI dealership and so last year there were no MINI's whatsoever racing in Solo II, so I might have a nice advantage of simply having the only MINI in G-Stock. However, looking at some of the results from last year, one fellow in a G-Stock Neon was one of the fastest drivers regardless of racing class.

All in all, I am out to have fun, and am very encouraged by everyone's comments here. I feel that with the right choice of wheels and tires, I can almost do no wrong and I'm sure my times will vastly improve over the season.

Thanks again for all the helpful comments.
:smile:

 

Yucca,
You can talk to Alex@tirerack to get prices for shaving and heat cycled tires which will perform better than new stock tires. But you are getting them from Randy so you might ask about having them done before sending them to you.
Good luck.

 

I ran the V700 tires unshaved last year.... all in all if I were to do it over I would have shaved them.... I do not think it will effect wear much because the MINI kills the outside edge wayyyy before the rest of the tread is worn.... the best thing you can do to get decent life out of the tires is to rotate them often and "flip" the tires (inside edge is not the outside edge)over on the rim when the tread on the outside is getting low... go too long without doing that and cord will show... (don't ask)

all in all I think the Kuhmo Victoracer tire is better suited for the MINI than the v700 BUT there is not a great size available in the Victo... 225/50/16 is as close as you can get... it will work but there will be a little rubbing since the tire is a little to tall (which also effects the gearing a little) that is why I went with the v700....

 

>>the best thing you can do to get decent life out of the tires is to rotate them often and "flip" the tires (inside edge is not the outside edge)over on the rim when the tread on the outside is getting low... go too long without doing that and cord will show... (don't ask)
>>
>>

Good points Jason, but I believe the best thing you can do is invest in a pyrometer to ensure you're at the right pressures all of the time. Many people run the Ecsta V700 UNDERinflated causing premature wear. Once you determine the right pressures, you don't need to check them for awhile unless conditions change dramatically (asphalt to concrete, cold to hot, clean to dirty surface, etc.)

On your orginal question, YES, get them shaved, it truly will make the tire last longer. The same applies to the Kumho MX in autocross scenarios. Make sure it's done by somebody reputable. It can be overdone or unevenly done.

Brian

 

Thanks minihune and conecarver.

I have become very familiar with the way the MINI destroys the outside corners of the front tires. On my next rotation, I will be having my daily driver Yoko's "flipped to get some extra life out of them for the trip to the Tail of the Dragon in late April.

I think I will be ordering the wheels from randy but will get my tires from Tire Rack and have my local guy mount them, although perhaps Randy can make up a package for me.

 

>>>>the best thing you can do to get decent life out of the tires is to rotate them often and "flip" the tires (inside edge is not the outside edge)over on the rim when the tread on the outside is getting low... go too long without doing that and cord will show... (don't ask)
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>Good points Jason, but I believe the best thing you can do is invest in a pyrometer to ensure you're at the right pressures all of the time. Many people run the Ecsta V700 UNDERinflated causing premature wear. Once you determine the right pressures, you don't need to check them for awhile unless conditions change dramatically (asphalt to concrete, cold to hot, clean to dirty surface, etc.)
>>
>>On your orginal question, YES, get them shaved, it truly will make the tire last longer. The same applies to the Kumho MX in autocross scenarios. Make sure it's done by somebody reputable. It can be overdone or unevenly done.
>>
>>Brian

I should have mentioned that.... my pyrometer is one of my best friends

 

I would definitely get the v700's shaved. Last year I went through my front tires halfway through the season! I probably waited 1 event too long to rotate the tires, but everyone tells me they last a lot longer if they're shaved.

 

Here is a tip from an old road racer that knows squat about Autocross but has run many, many races on true street tires......
Prepare a bucket of ice cold water with four very large towels in it.
Get your tires nice and warm, in other words, put a heating cycle on them, like go for about a half an hour´s worth of spirited driving down twisty roads or go nuts on some empty parking lot (PAVED) for 10 minutes. Stop, jump out and "soak" your tires with the ice cold towels. Make sure you move your car half a wheel revolution after initial soak so that you get at the contact patch.
Wear characteristics are vastly improved. They won´t be as sticky but the car will glide, which is what you want anyways......