Hard acceleration. Aggressive steering. Rapid shifting.

Things like that put the smile on my face.

What does my MINI think of it? Do I need to tone it down if I want my MINI to last??

 

From what i hear, your car should be okay as long as you are good with the maintenance, but you may want to put some cash away in the event that something does go wrong

 

Not sure that I understand the question? What do you mean "What does MINI think of it"? It is your car and you can drive it however you like (within the limits of the law). However, if you are talking something like a spent clutch due to your driving style, be ready to pay for it as MINI will likely not cover it. I have an 06 that I press fairly hard from day to day and it has been fine, but I am the one that pays for gas, tires, clutch etc...

So, if you are worried about warranty and spending money, then tone it down.

 

The clutch is covered by the MINI warranty, the first one anyway. An MA from a dealership near me told me about a Countryman that had its clutch replaced at only 8000 miles. Supposedly, the driver of the poor thing was told by someone that there was nothing wrong with riding the clutch and he apparantly did it constantly.

 

Not necessarily... I have seem many people be forced to pay for a clutch that looked burnt. MINI will not pay for wear and tear parts, only mechanical failure.

 

Bahhahaha the clutch covered by warranty!!! **** no it is not. Mine was all jacked up and they did fix crap. Dealership told me that it is a wear part and unless there was catastrophic failure they would not even entertain the idea.

 

My mini didn't seem to have any issues at the track. I point blank asked my dealership if there was any issues or break-in items I had to worry about when it came to my warranty and the track, and the answer was no.

That said you have to expect there to be some impact. Tires and brakes will wear more and thus will need to be replaced faster, etc. I don't know what the wear rate will be in the mini, but I used to go through tires and brake pads every 12-18 months with my Lotus. (I'm expecting much better with the mini).

 

I'm just saying what an MA at a nearby dealership told me. Maybe they weren't supposed to honor it and they did or they considered it defective due to the mileage at which it failed even though it clearly failed due to driver negligence.

 

Not to insult you or your story but, MA is not a mechanic nor has anything to do with service. This is why I really don't like dealing with dealerships because of stuff that is just randomly said.

 

we were getting about 3 track days out of a set of front brakes (2 of us driving), then we got faster and the last set only lasted one day. The good thing is MINI is paying for the brakes. Though I decided not to go back to the dealer with only a 1000 miles needing new brakes, I did them myself. I'll find out how well JCW brakes do next week.

 

Driving enthusiastically on the street? The effect that will have on longevity is negligible. Nothing beats on your car like a track day, and despite doing a few in my MINI, now, it's been perfectly reliable. I think Btwyx has had similar experience as far as doing track days and having limited issues with his MINIs, too. Maybe track days are to minis like exercise is to people? Maybe it's actually GOOD for them? :D

 

Of course its good for them, haven't you heard of an Italian Tuneup?

 

After about 35 track days or so, things do seem to break such as CVs, suspension bolts. Maintainace items not included.

 

I think the JCW brakes would last about 3-4 days. Are you still running OEM pads? I have seem those melt and fuse to the calipers.

 

Agreed.

I think the op needs a few track days. I no longer drive on the street in any spirited manner after getting my track day fixes.

 

I'm running the OEM pads at least to start. I have some EBC Yellowstuff ready to go if necessary.