Looks like such a fun day!

Wonderful pics and write up, thanks for sharing. I’ve been especially keen on your wheel shots, about to join you in the 225s on 8in club.

 

Thanks for taking the time to drop by and check it all out!

Those 225s are meaty! I look forward to seeing how the work on your ride!

 

ditto comments on castor, I run castor top mounts (greene plates) and castor offset bushings.

I disagree on front bar, in fact going softer in front helped my car rotate, and I do not like that much rear camber either, I want the rear end to slide

I instruct on track, all the instructors I know love it when another instructor gets in the car there's always time to find on track.

 

Different strokes for different folks I suppose. I've lost the rear end a few times and decided I don't like that feeling. For some of the long flat sweepers at Roebling, having the back follow the front was advantageous. I tended to enter T3 at around 90 and gain speed through it, running the cars in front of me down. When I needed rotation, it was there and it was manageable. Maybe my thoughts will change as I gain experience, but for now, I really prefer the heavy front bar paired with a stiff rear bar.

 

This is my other track car, you get used to counter steering. The mini just does it in different places, corner entry and mid corner vs corner exit

 

If I remember correctly, you have stiffer springs in the front. At least, way stiffer than I have with the larger front bar. If that is the case, then you have increased roll stiffness in the front, which is similar to having a larger bar in front. However, as you have also pointed out in other posts, the stiffer bar takes some of the independence away from the left and right side, which the stiffer springs retain. There are trade-offs in anyone’s approach to setting up a car.

 

I switched to softer in front, 8kg/mm front and 9kg/mm rear, rear is a trailing arm so it still ends up softer than the front due to motion ratio / distance from spring to pivot point

 

Like I said, different strokes for different folks.

Losing the rear end at 90 mph is not something I'm eager to do again. For me, the stiffer front bar balances the car and results in a very controllable rotation. Also, keep in mind that the back of my car has been totally stripped. This car drives very differently than it did 2 months ago. I am getting used to a much lower seating position, a stiffer chassis and a very light rear end. For now, I would rather manage a little under steer and wheel spin on corner exit.

One of your VIR or CMP videos would have been more appropriate.

 

more appropriate for what? I instruct and drive both FWD & RWD, there is little difference in going fast I like to go back and forth between cars. Had the r53 at vir this past weekend, my student had a BWM Z3.

I had the same problem you mention on VIR at turn 10, in the right conditions at high speed the rear end gets loose and it's a really scary corner to have the back end drift out to the curbing. added a GP1 wing mounted as high as I could, with a gurney flap. Night and day difference! no change in top speed so there is little aero penalty. Cost me under 400 but the high speed stability is worth every penny.

Changing suspension to deal with this would affect turn in & mid corner far more than I would like, it would be a sacrifice in grip everywhere except that one corner at VIR

 

The discussion was focused on track driving, not auto cross. In my opinion, these are two very different disciplines with different car set up requirements. Maybe its the nuance of typed vs spoken word, but it just didn't seem to fit.

I agree on the aero. Eventually I'm going to need it. At some point next year I'll have Nine Lives Racing construct a wing similar to what is seen in the WTCR series.

 

that video is not a autocross it's a short course session, kind of in-between a full track and an autocross, 10 minute sessions, flagger stations, passing zones. mini's do VERY good at these events, the tight course really favors small cars. I did set the fastest times of the event with the 135i but next time I'm taking the mini

 

I too have taken a slightly conservative route with my setup. I have found track days to be too unpredictable to do otherwise, such as hitting antifreeze at the apex of this turn at 100+ mph (not in this picture), with the gas floored and no chance for recovery from the tail end stepping out.

Watkins Glen approaching T3 apex

 

I am conservative in braking zones because I've gone sideways on antifreeze....

Driving on track involves a lot of trust, trusting your equipment, everyone else's equipment and driving ability. Running in the instructor groups is so much better everyone is predictable, well sorted out equipment, polite and no drama

 

You are right. The more experienced drivers are easier to drive with in a group for all of those reasons. If I remember correctly this occurred in a combined session of instructors and Advance Solo (above Advanced but not instructors). But sh*t happens to the best of them. There were 4 of us who went through that antifreeze. All but one made it through without damage. The 4th had blue guardrail paint on the side of his car. This was a real crap-the-pants moment. Fortunately, it end basically OK.

 

Small update.

I have been chasing an intermittent boost leak for awhile. It was't too noticeable but I was pretty sure it was there. I made a simple tester with a couple valve stems and a PVC pipe cap. After I pressurized the system I sprayed soapy water around hose clamps and the water injection fittings. Sure enough the push connect fittings were leaking like crazy. These fittings have always been suspect to me, I never felt like they were fully seated or secure. I decided I should look into replacing them with compression fittings. After totally striking out at Home Depot, I took a look a local hydraulic supply store. I managed to get 10 fittings and a 90 degree elbow for about $20. Definitely a "duh" moment . If I had know about this place or had thought to actually look at places other than the AdvanceOreillyZone equivalent hardware stores, building the direct port kit would have been so much easier. They also have t-bolt clams and silicon hose/tubing. Like, total face-palm moment.

I think it is probably time to reevaluate the set up and improve it.

Also, it turns out that if you pressurize the system it will suck all of the water out of the tank and dump it into the intercooler. I really lucked out that it didn't leak into the intake runners. Lesson learned .

 

Hey man, so I’ve come back and looked at your last post a bunch for reference.. I’m really digging your hardline direct port WMI setup.

How far do the 90 degree nozzle holders protrude from your intake runners?

I have a single nozzle WMI kit waiting in my shed for me to install, but wanted to make direct port work if at all possible. On my R53, the space for a direct port tap is extremely limited under the TMIC, plus the fuel rail is already sandwiched in there too. Just curious if there’s a glimmer of hope for me haha.

In any case, yours came out great by the look of it.

 

Thanks!

They stick up about 1.25". You could probably get away with something shorter. I found a local hydraulic supply store that has pretty much everything I would need to build another one or modify the existing set up. I wish I had know about it before I pieced this thing together

 

Here's another option for direct-port WMI injection. The jets are all mounted the same as the original Aquamist single jet pre-throttle body set-up, and are holding 30PSI boost.


There are also smaller 90 deg fittings that might be easier to work with.

 

Not a big update.

Finally got the DTC-60s mounted and bedded (front and rear).

Looking forward to a chilly weekend with NASA Southeast at Road Atlanta.

 

I really like doing NASA Southeast events I really like those guys if you can CMP was repaved and it is a really good track for a Mini Cooper

 

Yeah, NASA is a really great group. I missed CMP last month because work had other plans for me. I'm going to try and hit every event on the '21 calendar.

 

I’d love to do Road Atlanta! VIR too. My wife and I been watching the IMSA and Ferrari challenge races that were held there this year. Looks like a good MINI track. A couple of heavy braking zones too. I think the pads will work well for you there.

Side note... Just finished watching Ford vs Ferrari (again ) and the extras that come along with the video, one of which is the making of the movie. They used Road Atlanta and the track in Savannah (Hutchinson Island) for “Le Mans”.

 

Better buy some more brake pads and maybe some rotors, too...

Hey, I tried the Falken 660 200 TW tires and was blown away by their performance, especially for the price. Just a thought for when you are in the market.

 

Yeah! you can really see it as they go under the Motul (Dunlop in the movie) bridge and head into 7 in reverse! When we saw the preview, my wife and I looked at each other and said "that's Road Atlanta" in unison . The track on Hutchinson is tiny. I'm surprised they didn't use Roebling.

 

They wanted the “grown-in” look that Hutchinson has to catch the look of Le Mans in the ‘60s.