Thought I'd kick off a new thread with new index numbers for 2016! Released yesterday:


http://solotime.info/pax/rtp2016.html


Off the top of my head, what impacts Minis:


Class 2015 2016
DS .812 .811
GS .806 .806
HS .796 .798
STF .801 .809
STX .831 .836
SMF .853 .861


Probably missing an SP class somewhere along the way! Was hoping with a Mini winning HS at nats we wouldn't get a bump but unfortunately did anyway. GS is a bit of a head scratcher to me.. and STF and SMF have been too soft for a long while now, and they lead the way in index bumps for 2016

 

That's quite a bump for SMF. HS and DS look the best.

 

What's everyone's plan for 2016? changes to your car, class running in, what tire are you going with, etc. ?

I will be piloting my 2012 JCW again this year, hoping to make 3 National Events (two in Texas and Nationals in Lincoln), and competing locally.

Will be on the 215-45-17 Bridgestone Re-71 most likely on tire.

 

Season starts in two weeks in the PNW. Can't wait.
What is the current tire purchase advice? Did Grassroots do their tire test this year?

'07 R56S 17" wheels
22 mm sway and Koni yellows w/White Fat Cat bumps

Currently running 2 year old Dunlop ZIIs which got VERY hard towards the end of last season.

We do run in some rain cool mornings in Packwood in the early season.

Thanks

 

no changed for my HS mini here, save for brand new RE71Rs! Ran Z2's, Ecsta XS's, RS3V2, Z2 star specs, and now these. First event is probably 3/20 for me. 3/19 in the Evo, 3/20 in both the Evo and the Mini, then 4/3 the first points event in my region.

Looking forward to a good year! Looks like to start, RE71Rs are still the only tire to get.

 

The G Street Season will start this year at the Dixie Nationals.

The tale unfolds over here.

All the best,

Charlie

 

First event yesterday. Had a great time.
I can not say enough good things about the RE71Rs. Great grip in the dry and wet.
Ran 38/42 psi dry and 36/41 wet. I think I could have dropped the front pressure a bit. Would be interested in what pressures with the RE71Rs are working for others.
Have great seasons everyone!

 

in for that - haven't raced on re71rs yet, trying to get some kind of idea of pressures - probaly will start at 40/42 per usual.

how's the sidewall strength? just want to control lack-of-camber-wear

 

Tales of Dixie Nationals may be found here.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

The sidewalls are very stiff from what I feel. The 38 front pressure did not bring me to the wear arrows.

 

interesting - got my first event in, was pretty rusty but I ran around 39-40psi in the fronts, and I was starting to get to the arrows. 205/50-16s.




not a great run, missed a lot of points from what seems to be not looking ahead far enough. hopefully i'll clean it up for some real improvements next event

 

Some great pix and advice. Which model BMW Mini makes for the best autocross platform? What's the consensus of opinion?

http://new.minimania.com/Search_Resu...ocross/default

 

fortunately for minis, they are all reasonably competitive in the class they are in, save for possibly SMF - could just be that no one has made a killer SMF setup yet though. I'd say the most competitive is still the base 07+ Cooper in HS.

 

last event:




I am getting owned by a civic si in the region here, got me by half a second this event. it's tough competition - my line could be better and I really need to be eking out tenths here and there to beat him.

 

Love the video, please keep posting. Have you had any issues with throttle response. We find many of our solo and competition Mini owners opt for the Sprint Booster. Do your rules allow this plug-and-play accessory? Please let us know if we can help, and keep posting!

http://new.minimania.com/part/SPR209...61-F55-F56-F54

 

sadly no.

 

An '06 Civic Si has been beating me for years, especially when he got classified in H-Street. Now the driver has purchased a Golf-R. I was able to beat him..... at least in his first outing.

Interesting about the tire pressure. I guess it depends on tire size and driving style. I might not be as aggressive as you.

How sticky are the 71Rs? Swapped them out after a 83 degree day of runs and the tires had rubber stuck to the tread area just like I have seen on R compounds. Don't know if it is my rubber or stuff they picked up from the course. I've seen drivers scraping their R compounds between runs. Would it help on the 71Rs?

 

Nice video Kyoo. Best of luck with the Si.

Here's my rusty effort from last weekend.


Slaloms are OK, but I'm late on the sweepers on the main straight around 2:18 and subsequent...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

sounds about right for re71rs lol. picks up a whole lot of crap from the road. according to a rep their sweet spot is 120-150, though I'd guess it was lower than that.

thanks, looked pretty darn good there!


I'm signed up for spring nats memorial day weekend - thus far the lone mini in HS, 3 other fiesta st's to do battle with... honestly though, I'm really not good so this might turn out to be a blood bath. i'll do my best to do mini proud

 

Hey Kyoo, good luck and have fun. As a wise man (Brian Levesque) says - "if you aren't having fun you're doing it wrong".

Cheers,

Charlie

 

That looks like a fast ( mph wise ) layout compared to what we have around here in NC. Have you ever checked to see what kind of top speed you get out there.. Ours are usually held in a big parking lots so we have lots of turns and only 2 areas of slaloms usually of any length which is 3 or 4 cones..

 

latest runs from today - did not raw time my first sloppy run..



i think part of the struggle was there is a big difference between these tires when hot and when cold.. so when i do the cold run and hit cones, i think it can't do it when it actually can when hot. and i just suck, idk

 

I just picked up a 2004 JCW a few months ago and I am preparing it for STX. I have never driven a fast car or a fwd car in autocross so I have a lot to learn. There was a practice event near me that I knew would be under attended so I went this weekend. We got 16 runs.

Note that the course is being run backward. The timing lights were in an awkward spot so I deliberately went slower at the end of the runs.

 

Here is my fastest run at a new venue behind the Daytona Speedway. It was fast but bumpy. Hopefully they we can keep using this lot in the future.

 

One of the biggest challenges when competing with front-wheel drive is scuffing off speed with too much steering input to compensate for the inherent understeer. Your steering looked very precise, which may partly be the reason for the fast time. Good job!