Do not collect $200.

I'm a total newbie at Auto-X. I'm spending this year just improving the nut behind the wheel by attending some classes, track days, some CCA auto cross events and would like to try a couple of SCCA events as well.

I have an '04 MCS with a CAI (which I could swap back to stock); 16 x 7.5 rims (which I could swap with 16 x 6.5s I use in the winter); a 19mm adjustable rear sway bar (which I could swap back to stock I suppose); and a 15% reduction pulley....which I... Oh.

So I'm going to be running SM with my 15% pulley, CAI, 7.5 inch rims, and 19mm sway bar afterall, right? Short of adding a LSD and emptying my 401k on other mods, anything else I should change? Camber Plates? More stickers?... I don't want to be competitive, but I don't want to be an embarrassment to the MINI community either....

 

Add a set of camber plates up front, and adjustable control arms in the rear, and you should be pretty well set for regional events. More can always be done, but the above combined with what you already have gets you much of the way there already.

Have fun.
Scott
90SM

 

Starting Autocross in SM class isn't going to be easy. In my first season I was often in the bottom third and mostly 9th or 10th place at best. Not due to problems with my MINI but a lack of skill to drive it. 5-6 seconds faster run times on a 60 second course would be possible but I had not learned enough yet.

It's all too easy to look at our upgrades and expect improvement. The biggest difference comes from making the most of what you have. No matter what your set up you can always drive faster and usually by full seconds.

Camber plates up front ($500 plus labor and re-alignment) and adjustable rear control arms ($250 plus labor) will allow you to make the alignment better suited for performance handling (autocross or for track). The MINI lacks enough front end camber and has some negative rear camber but it can be tuned to match any changes in the front. Aggressive alignment will tend to wear out the insides of the tires a bit more when used for street driving. Sometimes the ride quality will be a bit more harsh and bumpy for daily use.

Most importantly with more negative camber you will wear your performance tires more evenly. If you use stock alignment and add R compound race tires, you will wear out your tires more rapidly due to lack of camber.

Here's a rundown on your mods so far-
'04 MCS
CAI
16 x 7.5 rims
19mm adjustable rear sway bar
reduction pulley

Common additional SM class mods (no particular order):
Exhaust headers (ceramic coating), lightweight cat back exhaust single or double sided
ECU tuned for 15% pulley- (check out MTH)
Colder plugs and upgraded wires
Upgraded shocks
Lowering springs (H-sport or similar)
Competition rear sway bar (H-sport comp 25mm-lightweight)
Front adjustable camber plates (Ireland, RDR, Webb, etc)
Rear adjustable control arms
Upgraded brake pads (fluid, lines, rotors optional)
Lightweight race rims (15x7, 16x7.5 or 17x7.5)
R-Compound race tires (Kumho V710 see Alex@tirerack.com)
CG lock for your seatbelt or Schroth harness

As you can see the list is endless. Take your pick. Many SM cars have alot of horsepower often costing twice as much as a MINI even with all of your mods added in. Many SM drivers are quite experienced.

To gain experience you can run your MINI as is and try to learn as you go. Get the better drivers to give you a ride if you do fun runs or have one drive your MINI and see how they do.

 

If you are just looking to have fun run, what you brung. If you are looking for a National Championship, forget about it. If you think you can you haven't met Vic.

Even G Stock at the national level is a tough nut to crack.

 

How true!

But don't let that stop you.

In my area, often we get from 8 to 18 cars in SM class. The top 5 are usually the same drivers in slightly different order although from time to time it seems the car with the newest sticky tires does awfully good. Since courses are changed for every event and no two are alike the top spot can change- at least that is what we all fight to prove.

Top cars in SM in my region include: BMW M3, Subaru WRX Sti, Nissan 240, Honda Civic and my MINI. I've had good and bad days during the season with winning margins of only 0.03 seconds for a 60 second course. 0.3 seconds is an eye blink.

If you don't upgrade much more then just get out there and drive, gain experience and try to do better over the span of the season. Many of our drivers have been at this for 5 to 15 years. If you upgrade alot of stuff then it's possible you might do well in your region but not much better than that.
If you get interested in national level driving then stock classes are a much better choice. Time to get a "new" MINI!

MINIs are always happier in packs of two or three anyway.

 

Thanks to all for the advice. I'm just going out there to have some fun and hopefully learn a few things. Some time back I put in a rear strut brace. I don't really know if it does much from a suspension stand point -- I put it back there to have something to attach my spare tire to after I ditched the runflats and started carrying a spare around on long trips. Do I need to remove it before an event? I looked through the rulebook and couldn't really figure out how it would be considered. It's not a part of the moveable suspension but it would definately be considered a device that is not fit to an original location. Here's a picture of where it attaches:


Also forgot to ask earlier: Do magnetic number stick to MINI doors? I had a magnetic US flag that I couldn't get to stick so I wasn't sure if number kits were somehow different....

 

Suspension mods are free in SM. Yes magnetic numbers stick all over the car.

 

You know, some local clubs have special classes that are SM-related. Mine has an SSM class that's a street-tire version of SM. All of the people in it aren't so serious about the competitive aspects of autocross, they just want to race against their buddies (all the not-so-serious people in SSM) and do their best.

The standard SCCA classes are made up by folks fairly serious about competition. You don't have to play that game if you don't want to. Just go out there and enjoy yourself.

 

I'm a pretty crappy driver, even after Evo school. I love autocrossing, though. I run street mod because it gives me an excuse to buy the go-fast goodies that I want. I agree with the above: if you're going for driver of the year or a national championship, forget about the MINI in SM. If you just want to have fun (like me) go for it.

 

A close friend, Laura, has an MCS with RDR camber plates, a Quaife LSD,
Kumho V710 tires, and 15% pulley. She took first in SM Sunday here in
Atlanta, beating 3 very well prepared Honda Civics driven by seasoned
drivers, the nearest by 2/10s of a second. I was 3.5 seconds behind her
in my first SM event, running without LSD, on older Azenis RT-215s, and
with my son riding in the car. I was happy with 8th, out of 20 cars.

 

So this weekend I'm doing a Auto Cross School but on Sunday there will be a pratice Race with only the people in the School. So I have a 15% pulley with Mth Ecu Tuner software and CAI. Is SM the only class I can be in? Right now that is a good thing because I'm the only one in it but could I drop down to STX Class with a Pulley? Thanks for the Help.

 

Reduction pulleys are not allowed in STX. You're in SM.

 

Thanks for that info. I have looked around and I was thinking that was the case. Still looks like I will be the only one in the SM Class for this School. So I guess I'm racing the time clock even more so , because that is all I have to race.

 

It will be great having a practice race with the students. Ask for an instructor to drive a few laps first if you can, this can show you the correct lines to drive, the right gears to be in, and the feeling of the track before you do it yourself. Play close attention to how the instructor drives and take it all in.
You never want to drive an unfamiliar track under race conditions if possible unless you are already very experienced.

Usually the early laps are to allow your tires to heat up and to get the correct lines memorized. Look for hazards and road debris or problems as you go around.

The 15% pulley puts you into SM class since it increases boost. That is the deciding factor. Everything else doesn't matter, you can run as is but for each class you have a PAX handicap. Those in stock classes have a favorable handicap that results in them to be able to run their laps quite a bit slower and still beat you using their handicap.

Pax multiplier values:
H-stock .777 (MC)
G-stock .782 (MCS)
FSP .811 (modified MC)
DSP .822 (modified MCS)
ASP .850 (early MCS with JCW kit non factory)
S Mod .842 (MCS with any reduction pulley)

I usually find that for a 60 second course I need to finish 4.6 to 5 seconds faster than G-stock or H-stock MINIs to make up the difference for SM class. This isn't hard to do if the stock MINIs are truely stock (thank you S-lyte wheels and runflats) but if they shod SSR comp rims and Kumho V710 tires in 215/40-16 size forget it. Worse even with an '06 MCS with LSD and R-compound tires (a great combo).

 

Well this this weekend I did the school and run the Autox on sunday. There was four Mini's there. One in STX,myself in Sm,one in DSP and one in G-Stock. The Mini in the STX had the top time at 75.540. The Mini in DSP time was 77.913. My time was 80.471. and the mini in G-stock was 81.790. The fastest time on the track was 60.541 by a kart. Slowest time was 113.671sec.

My first run I had a DNF. I missed a gate . I think that wouldn't have happen I would have had a top time on that run because I went down and turned to hit the couse the right way. My time on that run was 88.092 even after the little turn around stop to see where I need to go and then take off again. My second run was 83.708 but I didn't try to beat the clock but to just make it to the end with out a DNF. That worked because I didn't hit a cone on run two or three. The final times say that I didn't hit a cone on run number 1 but I think I bumpped on that didn't fall over.

Here is a link of some videos and pic of the weekend.
http://www.magicmini.com/images/TAC%...School%202006/ (pics from school)
http://www.magicmini.com/images/TACAutoSchoolday2-2006/ (pics from autox)

Video of first run
http://www.magicmini.com/Videos/My%2...utox%20Run.wmv
video of second run
http://www.magicmini.com/Videos/My%2...utoX%20Run.wmv
video of Instructor driving my car.
http://www.magicmini.com/Videos/Ride...Instructor.wmv

 

Front camber is the biggest drawback IMO. Put some front camber plates in and go have a lot more fun. There is no need to mess with the rear at all since you already have a sway bar and most MINI's come with about a degree and a half of -camber already.

I saw a '05 MINI w/LSD win SM at a S.E. Divisional in Nashville with 1.) a pulley, 2.) a rear bar, and 3.) R-compounds