There is a chance the SCCA is going to move you guys to DS. I wrote a letter to the SEB asking for this move and the reasons why a month or two ago. I just read the July Fastrack, and, they have now proposed the move from CS to DS and put it out for member comment!!!!!! I really think there is a good chance this move will happen. If all the Mini guys write a letter, that will help big time! I'll post a link on where to go to write the letter in a bit...

 

Go to the link below to write your letters to approve of the move to DS.

http://www.sebscca.com/

Here is my reasoning as to why the JCW 06 and 09-11 should be moved to DS.

06 JCW is stuck on 17's where the R53 thrives on 16's, not as much torque as the 07+ regular MCS currently in DS. Brakes on the 07 are better. 07+ MCS with the JCW tuning kit line item option is a better choice.

09-11 JCW doesn't have a real LSD(only has electronic), this definitely hurts. Also, I think the low end on the regular MCS with JCW Tuning kit(port installed tuning kit) is better than the JCW Model, which means coming out of corners, the MCS will have an advantage over the JCW, especially with the LSD.

Also to note the other cars in class, the new AWD 2011 WRX has -2.5 degrees up front, 255awhp and 295 wide tires on wide wheels(8.5 if I remember). The new Audi TT also has huge HP and AWD along with a good camber curve and 285 wide Hoosiers. These cars are overdogs for the class, therefore, adding the JCW to DS will not mess up the mix of cars.

As to my personal experience, I was beaten by over 1 second in the dry by an Audi TT at the Lincoln Tour on day 2 just 1 month ago after leading day 1 in the rain. I have not been beaten by 1 second on one days course in years, and, I drove well that day. I realize its just one event and one course and the future will tell the tale, but, no way should the JCW be excluded from DS while we have these new quicker cars in DS such as the 3.2L TT and 2011 WRX who really belong in BS. The 2011 WRX at the Oscada Prosolo in DS beat the BS WRX STI, both with competent drivers. The WRX has better gearing with a 5spd as compared to the 6spd in the STI and the WRX has as much power(proven on a dyno) as the STI in BS. Definitely a BS car.

OK, Write you letters and join the MCS and JCW together in DS where they belong!

 

Might start autocrossing again! I saw that in fast track. BTW, your link doesn't work.

 

Fixed, go to http://www.sebscca.com to write your letters in support of the move.

 

I feel your pain...........we tried to class a Mini in TTA in NASA........
the car should be 350whp if it was normal power to weight but they handicap us down to 280whp...........

 

wrote my letter in support of this move. we just arent competitive enough in CS.
thanks for posting this up here. if you receive anything that confirms/denies the move please keep us posted. thanks.

 

All MCS JCW cars should be allowed in Dstock as well.. due to better breed rule.

The F Stock 11' GT has 100hp more than the 10' GT and it also has sport package with better suspension and brembo brakes. Still in F Stock.

 

Be careful what you ask for! The best of breed rule would put the base and S in CS with the JCW.

 

What? No one is talking about base model at least I wasn't, If the JCW was offered on the base non-S then they should be in Hstock too if not already.

Let me restate my arguement a 11GT is better than the 10'GT by 100hp and then the sport package has better suspension and Brembos. Same class still FStock SO why not the same for the MCS with the sport package or model "JCW"???

Better breed would mean instead of MCS JCW packaged cars placed in CStock like currently, to put them in Dstock with the other S models model cars.. R53 or R56 all together doesn't matter. R56 is the newer/better breed over R53 and the JCW pkg option is the better car available from the dealer.

So I'm saying all MCS whether normal or JCW packaged/model be in the same class D STOCK.

 

I understand your argument, it just isn't the best of breed concept the SEB often follows. Normally all versions of a car are placed in one class based on the potential performance of the one with the most torque and horsepower.

 

Correct, they somehow end up doing what you said but the MCS JCW is outclassed in C stock just like it was in B Stock before it was moved to C.. it's about time this is possibly in the works, they took a long enough, or is it because of the recent decline of DS and DSP that they made this move?

It would better serve the stock classes to only have 2 classes of Minis D Stock and H Stock and that can be justified with better breed.

The new Mini Coupe 2 seater however should be placed in B Stock(S/JCW), and D Stock(Non S). Though that's a whole other can of worms.

I also wrote while they're at it they should think about moving those damn pesky BMW 135 out of D Stock, I don't know why it's even in that class, 128i C Stock 135i maybe B Stock.

 

Good point. My friend drove his 135i in DS last year and at least trophied nearly every event he attended. The people who decide what car is classed where must never actually drive these cars? It's just all based on paper numbers- that's unfortunate.

 

The SEB screwed up by declaring port installed accessories equivalent to factory options. That made the JCW suspension and tuning kit stock-legal options on the other models. There is no longer any reason to misclass the JCW as a limited availability performance special.

As for the BMW 135 it suffers badly from not having a mechanical diff. The 1 series M model does, and along with 35 more hp it went to A stock. BTW, BMW now offers stock, sport, M sport, and performance suspensions as options/accessories on various non-M models.

 

Good point HSAUTOXER on the 135i. 135i has no camber, can't fit wide front tires(relative to weight) is a heavy pig and has no real rear diff. I'd definitely take the Mini to an SCCA Solo event any day over a 135i with both fully prepared. I watched a 135i compete at Nats in 2009 and it didn't look like it was happy. ;-) In SP form though, I think the 135i would have some good potential.

 

Here's a question to anyone running a stock '09+ factory JCW:

Are you competitive in CS against:
other CS classed cars/drivers?
on the Raw time?
on PAX?

I am not claiming to be an expert in autox (been active for about 5 years, with this being my 2nd year with the MINI) and i know that continuing to practice and participate is [one of] the only ways to improve and get better. But I find it discouraging to be trying my best and to drop times over the course of a day, but still end up middle to middle-end of pack on PAX.

Don't get me wrong, I am still having fun out there and enjoy driving the MINI- it is a real blast; especially with some real tires (just got some star specs). I was just wondering if others are seeing the same results? Or if you are being more successful and its just me and I need more experience and practice?

Thanks for any feedback!

 

I am currently Running my 09 JCW in C stock (I run on street tires as do most people in our region) We have a street tire modifier.

Regardless, I'm currently leading PAX overall, (barely) and have a perfect record in C stock through 10 events or so. It's a very competitive class locally with RX8's, 350's and MX5s. I don't think there's any chance for me or the car at a national or even divisional level though, I've been out Horsepowered on open tracks and outhandled by cars with more rubber, and since all of our events are at 5000 ft in elevation, I imagine the turbo provides some advantage up here.

Either way, I think that car can compete to some extent, but in no way is a favorite in C stock.

Do you guys use a street tire modifier in Chicago? The way we use ours it allows Street tire and race tire cars to compete in the same class, run together, etc, and score within the class as if competing head to head.

In PAX the Street Prepared and BS Subarus are the toughest competition. This is my first year in my JCW after moving over from a fully prepped BSP STI. I seem to be performing slightly better if not the same in PAX this year.

 

Under SCCA national rules, racing tires put you in STS or STX. Where we run, they follow that rule.

 

I think you meant street tires in STX or STS?

Anyway, what I was trying to get at, minimini482 said he was running on star specs in C stock, if there isn't a street-tire factor in play, I wouldn't expect to pax very high against race tire cars head to head.

By the way, back on topic...Has there been any further buzz around the move to D stock? Any indication that it's building momentum.

 

Thanks for the feedback.
We do not get a street tire modifier. We get lumped together with all other cars running street tires and whatever the class is for the car (CS for me) is the multiplier used to determine where you fall in the open street tire class. Hopefully that makes sense?

So for example - I usually compare myself to someone running an '06 mini cooper s. He has been running it for years and he usually trophies nearly every event. The last event his fastest run was 45.447, mine was 44.919. He finished 8th in open street tire and trophied. I finished 15th (out of 33 in OST). So I would have to go what? 2 seconds faster than him to place above him on pax?

The moral of the story is: i need to learn to go faster

 

I haven't heard anything further regarding this. I did receive an email saying "The SEB will review your letter and the Stock committee's recommendation on their next conference call."

 

looks like the move has been posted:
http://www.scca.com:8080/assets/11-fastrack-nov.pdf

does this make it official?

 

I'm assuming it is official, but is there any way to know for sure? I guess when the rulebook is finalized we'll know.

I had a very successful campaign locally in C stock this season, (winning the class, 2nd in PAX) but will welcome the move to DS next year.

 

and now the questions is where will the JCW S Coupe be classed? DS should be the choice...regardless, that new coupe is growing on me with the JCW package. Drove one around for about an hour this past weekend and its got me scratching that itch for another coopa

 

Apologies in advance if the question has been answered already, but I've spent 2 hours doing searches on this forum with no clear-cut answer that I've been able to find. I have an '08 MCS with the DEALER-installed JCW engine kit. The car is completely "factory" otherwise. Would my car fall into C-stock, D-stock, STX or something else under current SCCA rules. I searched SCCA's 2011 rulebook, and it states that the Cooper S JCWS ('06-'011) is CS and the Coopers S is DS. I'm not sure if my car is considered a JCWS given that the engine kit was not factory installed.

 

JCW Tuning kit was a port installed option(or dealer in your case), therefore is stock class legal. Your Mini is DS legal. It is also STX legal. I have the letter from Mini USA showing all of the port installed items for the R56 if you need it.