Ok - woman driver here that could use some tips! First of all I LOVE my mini and it's a blast to drive...will be even more fun when I really "drive" it! Please be kind....don't make fun!! Well, ok, you can laugh at my expense...I can laugh at myself! My former cars are a Celica and Prelude, both manual transmissions. I always shifted gears when I was at the 3 on the tach (sense laughter already). I've been trying to shift the mini closer to the 4 (more laughs I'm sure). Also, my former cars were 5 speeds, when should I go into 6? Today I took a tight corner at 40 mph and thought I was going to throw up but the car handled so well it was kind of fun after the sick feeling passed!! I'm not looking to gain any speeding tickets but am tired of the piece of crap cars passing me. The car is fast...the driver needs to learn how to be!!

 

Doing friendly autocrosses will definitely help you get about 800% better at driving any type of car.

Something to REALLY remember though in your MINI.... when you feel the rear end start to come around, i.e. lose control, add lots of gas to send the weight back there and keep your traction.

 

Am I understanding you - I should hit the gas if I feel like the car could lose control?

 

Pretty much. And turn the steering wheel "into" the spin a little, to counter it.

 

Camelpilot is referring to the transfer of weight that occurs under acceleration. Weight transfer (by way of braking or throttling) can worsen or improve the situation. Depends upon how you use it.

To the main point: Try to get some track time. If you can afford it, get an instructor. Go drive go-karts; you can get a little crazy without the expensive reprecussions and learn general dynamics of how vehicles handle at the edge. Go motoring with your local MINI club and ask to ride along or tail someone with experience so you can learn to corner, accelerate and brake better.

I guess I could give details, and hopefully you'll get some, but I'm not a professional and have had no formal training. I will say that for the new MINI driver, it is difficult to get used to how crazy well these things handle.

dan

 

Although camelpilot knows what he is talking about, ignore everything he says and instead listen to what your driving instructor tells you at your first autocross school or race driving school on a closed track.

The best money you can spend on your MINI is professional performance driving instruction.

 

Look into "Secrets of Solo Racing" it is a book that explains autocross technique, but far more importantly dicusses and explains how to best have control of the car. There is also some expination about how to go around corners faster (why would you want to do that [prentending to look innocent smiley]?) Then lookup your local SCCA chapter, go to a few autocrosses, watch and talk to some of the experiance competitors and see if you can watch someone else (who knows what they're doing) drive, then participate at the next event, and after you get some practice see if someone will instruct you.

Add gas to correct oversteer, ease gas to correct understeer. Most importantly BE SMOOTH.

No Snickers here, we all have to start learning at some point, and we all still have learning to do and room for improvement. Hope this helps.

BTW here are a few links that may be helpful.
http://www.miniusa.com/link/motoron/freestyle
http://turnfast.com/
http://www.scca.com/
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/how...2/article.html

 

Is it safe to assume the car is past its 1250 mile break-in?

 

mini2di4, what area of the country do you live in? You haven't set your "location" in your profile, so it's not clear...

I'm sure that no matter where you are, there will be some people within driving distance that will be happy to give you some tips in person!

 

Get some driving lesson time (formal or informal) or participate in an autocross.

But to touch on some of the key driving terms and concepts you're likely to read about on these forums -- and just to be more clear with what Camelpilot was referring to:

During cornering, if the back end of your car starts to whip outward, it is called "oversteer," or when your car *really* steers into the direction you're turning. In this situation, apply more gas to get the tail end back behind you. This oversteer can also occur if, when cornering hard, you suddenly let off the gas (suddenly "decelerate"). Again, give some gas to pull the tail back into control; but it's always best that you are skilled at judging your cornering speed, rather than having to resort to correction. In other words, make sure you are familiar with the corner, otherwise take it slowly.

The opposite can occur while cornering, too. It is called "understeering" and occurs when you accelerate into the corner too fast. This is when the nose of your car "plows" straight rather than turn with the corner. To correct for this, you can lift off the gas pedal, which naturally "decelerates" the car and increases the tendency of the tail to come out and around. In other words, your nose will return into the direction you want to turn (which is along with the curve of the road). The less preferred method of correcting an understeer is to apply the break, but it's usually a driving no-no and you may find yourself sliding right into the guard rail. Again, it's always best to develop your skill of judging corner-entering speed so that you won't have to resort to corrections.

Having summarized some of the technical jargons that you might encounter on this forum, it is worthwhile to keep in mind that your stock MINI already has great suspensions and handling and, unless you've lost your mind completely, you aren't likely to put yourself in a position of understeer or oversteer. Their descriptions (above) are pretty extreme and you, as a reasonable adult driver, should not worry too much about them. Enjoy your MINI, and take it to a friendly track event and you'll learn to trust your MINI.

Best!

 

Thanks for the advice guys! I am going to check out some lessons...sounds like fun and I can afford it. I'm in Denver so if anyone wants to offer some driving lessons...I'm game. I didn't mention this in my original post but I was in two bad accidents last year, not in the mini and not my fault. The end result was I have become a somewhat nervous and timid driver. My mini has really helped me love driving again...I'm having fun and the nervousness is going away. I don't aspire to be a race car driver but just want to really enjoy this fine, fast car, understand how to handle it, control it and really have fun driving again!! I doubt I'll forget the feel of being hit hard and the ugly sound of crunching metal but I know I can overcome the fear.

 

A few courses or some participation time at an autocross will make you a better driver than 99% of the drivers on the road... able to defend yourself in most situations.

Good luck!

 

I don't know why I didn't think of this....driving lessons to overcome my fear of driving! I promise to update with a new thread once I've become speed racer!! Thanks again!!!

 

mini2di4, check out MINI5280.org (they have a forum on here as well) for a denver group. They have occasional auto-x and some of the drivers have taken some instruction and can make some recommendations.

Also check out BMWCCA and their Denver chapter: RMBMWCCA. It's mostly BMW based but MINI is included too. They are having a driving school later this fall that should be very good. Their website is: http://www.rmcbmwcca.org/

-Michael

 

Thanks Michael! I checked out the link, the driving school is in Pueblo. I'd like to find something in Denver. I just joined mini5280 so maybe they can help. I did a google of driving schools, all I found were basic driving lessons..hopefully I'm past that!! If anyone has suggestions for Denver let me know. The only schools I found were ones that will let you race for 6 laps in their race car for $500.00!! I want instruction, not to just race. In the meantime I guess I'll just get more comfortable with my mini, I do love driving her!

 

mini2di4,
Great to hear from you and definitely make contact with mini5280 and ask about where you can find any driving school in your area.

BMWCCA often offer driving schools- check with your nearest dealership and ask about the BMW club. The officers will know about driving schools.
Many schools gear instruction to car control clinics which is perfect for basics.

SCCA offers autocross with instructors- also a great way to learn with events each month during the good weather season. The courses are designed for speeds up to about 50-60 mph with many turns and slaloms.

In colorado there are also tracks to drive on and if you can get instruction that would also be a good way to learn albeit at a higher speed.

Your MINI is just fine the way it is and you'll need a good helmet that is rated either M2005 or SA2005 (latest rating).

Did you find the Indi blue MINI owners thread yet????

 

Read again!

 

Yeah, what everyone up top said!

Also, another key piece of advice that may come in handy especially for noobs is, if you feel your car cant make the corner, DONT PANIC and slam on the brakes inside the corner like you would instinctinvely want to, but instead turn the steering wheel anyway, and pray, because in most cases, the car WILL make it, and you just don't realise it due to inexperience.

Having said that, both of the tips I have given in this thread are based on the fact that you have already got into hot water, but some of the best advice up top is to know your corners, and always go in at a speed that you are comfortable with, and improve on it slowly the next time you come to that corner. Dont ever ever think that just because you car is small, and that everyone on the internet says it corners great, that you can take any corner ***** to the wall, because you cant. (Lots of dumb EVO owners make this mistake)

I would do an autocross first before a track day event. Autocross would teach you more of the driving tricks you need to be one of the best drivers in your neighbourhood. BMWCCA have good events in Southern Cali where I am, not too sure how good they are in the Denver area, but you are in a great club (5280) those guys should be able to help you out. There is SCCA as well if BMWCCA doesnt do it for you. Goodluck and have fun. You're going to love what your car can do.

 

Ignore those driving schools you found and check out the local chapters of the SCCA and BMWCCA. Like Minihune said, all you need is an approved helmet. You drive your own car. There's classroom instruction as well.

Another great program to do is the motorcycle safety course. Talk about building awareness when there's no steel around ya.

 

I big fat recommendation for the BMWCCA driving skills schools. Along with instruction on the track, most BMWCCA chapters run some sort of car control clinic / skills school in a parking lot. They usually cover braking, lane changes, braking while turning, run a wet skidpad, sometimes a wet figure-8 skidpad, and end the day with an autocross. All with instructors in your car.

Do it! It's cheaper than the BMWCCA track events, safer, and at first you'll probably learn more doing one of the parking lot based schools than a track based school.

Like this one:
http://www.rmcbmwcca.org/DrivingSchool/CCC/ccc.htm

 

Also, for the time being:

http://www.miniusa.com/crm/load_mini...ips&pid=515836

Happy motoring!

 

Classes are a must. But so is practicing every day on the everyday road. You don't have to be a speed demon to get fun out of your Mini. Tooling around town and getting those smiles are almost as fun as driving. I visit Denver every year to see my 80 yr. old aunt and it's a blast on some of the roads into the mts.

 

BMWCCA Drivers' Schools are fantastic.
Like you, I am a woman driver who wanted to utilize the fun factor in the MINI. I am also a bit of a control freak (ok, huge control freak ) and the thought of taking a tight turn at a high speed would panic me. When I went to my first Driver's School last spring, the first thing my instructor asked me was why was I there. My gut response was "Fear!", he cracked up and said it was great that I recognized that and off we went. I was by no means the fastest out there, as a matter of fact it became a point of pride to my instructor that I never passed another car , but that I had learned the line almost perfectly by the end (control freak, moi?). But I had more fun than should be legal and met a great bunch of new track buddies.
I would love to try autocross, but with a husband, 2 kids, 4 dogs, 6 cats, 40 chickens and a 12 acre dog training facility, I had to decide on one. I will try autocross one day, though, I promised myself!
I have also heard that the Audi Club schools are good, so I've signed up for one of those in November as well as another BMW one in October. To give you an idea how addictive it is, I've put a trailer hitch on El Kabong, bought and built a trailer and have assembled an entire "track weekend" set up to haul with me. Set up includes, but not limited to, EZ Up canopy, chairs, track tires, tool box (with fabulous torque wrench) wheel chocks, box to store my car stuff while on the track, and a cooler. All color coordinated to match El Kabong, of course! My husband is in hysterics!
Here's a link that may have some info.
http://www.trackschedule.com/sched.html

Enjoy whichever you do!
Annette

 

ok... since we are being humble and honest here...

My driving has improved greatly after finishing Project Gotham Racing 3 (PGR3) on xbox360. I've always been a fan of the PGR game series. In the earlier games, they had the MINI, the bmw e46 m3 (my other car) and other cars that probably werent considered exotics but were great to practice the physics of driving on.

Things such as weight transfer going into turns and bends and navigating through the summit of a turn are really great fun to play but more so is a zero risk factor in learning how to control your car. Ok so i am sounding geeky but it really has helped me appreciate my car in other ways.

food for thought

 

Back in July, my local MINI club had an announcement that intrigued me. Texas A & M Car club, about 80 miles away, was having a two day autocross practice. For only $20 and 45 minutes of volunteer cone chasing time, you could run all day on their two courses at an abandoned Air Force base. One course was timed and about 45 seconds long, the other was unmanned and about 30 seconds. I got to thrash my car around for several hours, as well as teach some driving techniques to my 18 year old cycling teammate I have taught to drive manual transmissions. What a bargain. Local "official" autocrosses around here offer no more than 6 runs or so after spending 6-8 hours hanging around. This was uncrowded, and it was okay to have passengers, also a no-no at most official functions. Ask around and see if there's anything like this in your area.