I am thinking about a current gen clubman S or 4 door hatchback S for a daily driver and an occasional backup autocrosser. Mods will be limited to an exhaust and a rear sway bar. My new primary autocross car is going to be a non-street legal, trailer only affair and I can't tell how often it is going to be broken.

If I pick up a fat mini, I have a few questions about autocross prep. I haven't really found much information on these cars online.
- Are there any must have options? Are the adjustable dampers a good option?
- How annoying is the e-diff?
- I have not yet seen a no-sunroof car in my searches. Do they exist at all?
- Any ideas on tire pressures and max front camber to avoid the tires rolling over?
- Which mode do you drive in? Is there a trick to get the traction control fully off? I remember sport mode in my old r56 made steering heavy and made it hard to modulate the throttle.
- How far behind the Type R and Focus RS am I going to be? For that matter, how far behind Focus ST and Civic Si?

 

I'd just do tires and the RSB and leave it alone. No point in gilding that lily and it will not be competitive in DS no matter what so just enjoy the heck out of it on the days your primary car is unwell.

But to be specific.

1. eDiff: Not annoying but also not fast, and if there's a lot of throttle all the time it'll cook the front brakes a bit.
2. Dunno.
3. Front camber is about -.1 on those puppys and not adjustable at all, although there's crash knuckles ($400 a side) that are -'30 min and can get you to -.6 or so on a good day. I run 38f/42r HOT which is like 33/38 cold using the 7" rims and 205 rubber.
4. I run Sport and DSC off. Press and hold Traction switch downwards for 3+ seconds to fully disengage it. eDiff and ABS of course remain on.
5. A few seconds depending on the driver, you know that story! ;-)

Cheers,

Charlie

 

If I run 17x7 wheels, I can run SSC or BRZ/FRS C Street takeoffs. There are enough serious people around that I can pick up 50 or 75 run tires for peanuts.
If DS runs a course with a 60 second time then, according to 2020 PAX, GS matches it with a 61, and HS matches it with a 62.
That camber number is a bit depressing.

 

I agree with Charlie. Just put a big rear SB on the back and some good tires and have fun. Your car is way under powerd compared to the other cars but the civic S and it has a real limited slip, sport springs, 8 inch wide wheels and is just under 2800lbs in autocross trim. If I understand you right your building or have some kind of built up mini. They do well in most build up classes so enjoy.