http://www.scca.org/_FileLibrary/File/05-08-fastrack.pdf

Can some of the more practiced hands speak to how this is going to affect us. I am a little concerned about the Cooper in HS.

 

IMO the Mini Cooper S w/LSD will always be safe in GS, it would actually be competitive in DS, but, some courses, such as the Atlanta Pro where there were only sweeper after sweeper, the BMW's and others would dominate us with camber, rear wheel drive and more power.

In HS, I don't have any experience there, but, I would imagine the Mini will still be dominate there. Someone with more experience should chime in on HS though.

 

I think some of the cars proposed to move into HS might be too fast for the Cooper.

The Probe/MX6 cars are very fast and can run big tires. This is a bad move, IMHO.

The 94-98 Celicas are light, have big camber, wide wheels, and years and years of development. They also have decent gear ratios and a nice torque curve. This might be a bad move...

The 99-00 Civic Si has a very nice motor and the same gear ratios as the Integra Type-R. It can probably fit 225's in the front. It might not have a lot of low end torque, but neither does the Mini. Only 2 things hurt this car: slow steering and it's a wee bit heavy (but probably not really that much heavier than a mini). I think this car would be extremely competitive with the Mini, but ultimately the Mini might be able to take it ?

My vote for the darkhorse would be the Acura TSX. 200HP, european Accord Type-R suspension tuning, big wheels, SLA suspension. The Mini would probably be faster on most courses, but you never know. No one that I know of has ever "brought one of these out". If they move to HS, though, we might see someone give it a try

Some of the cars seem like they should have been in HS a long time, ago, though. Like the Mazda 3 and Pontiac Vibe.

 

I thought the same thing would happen to the GS cooper on a mostly sweeper course and looked what happened at the last event:

www.wwscc.org/event_results/2005/scca05-4.html#spax

05Coopers crushed a seriously competitive(next DS nat champ? BMW that was on his good tires....they stomped the rest of us too).

Just one event but I think that the 05 CooperS/LSD is a BIG step up from an O4 or earlier car.

Gearing helps it too.

I got my fingers crossed that PAX is going to get fixed for next year....

FM

 

Yeah, I looked back at the Atlanta Pro and the difference was only .2 or so between top GS/DS time. Now that guys are settling in with the 05 MCS, times are starting to REALLY show the potential. The 05 could easily be competitive in DS, so, I'd say PAX for GS should be only .002 or so below DS.

 

I autox my TSX and while I'm the best driver yet, its probably far too heavy (3250lb) to be competitive.

 

Yes, but rightfully so, Rick Ruth's PAX isn't based on Pro Solos. The Atlanta Pro and Oscoda Pro were very tight, not giving any advantages to D Stock cars.
I agree that the '05 Cooper S is quick and that the LSD helps...a little. However, for most faster Solo courses, I'm not so sure the Cooper S would be the car to have in D Stock. It may be able to win some events, but it would be course dependant and I don't think you'd see it on top at Nationals. With the restructure and the ZHP BMW coming to DS, that may be the car to have.

Brian

 

I agree, once the re-structure takes place, the Cooper S belongs in GS for sure. Also, with Atlanta, you drove your azz off so your closer time to DS was because of a great performance more than the Mini being on par with DS, so, the numbers on paper are a bit decieving for sure.