Ditto. The tighter and twistier, the longer the list of smokins and eatins becomes. I think the deal with the pickups was more to do with drivers who thought ridin the little cars butt was a good idea, even though I was not "under the limit" by any means.

 

Not a race guy but my brothers got a GT, same year as my MCS and it is faster.

 

How fast are we? Well, at the last Phil Wicks @ VIR, there were previous gen V8 Camaro Z28 and Mustang GT and they were getting there butt's handed to them by the Minis, even on the straights! There was also a late model Mustang Shelby GT500, and though it was faster on the straights, after just a few short laps, he had to pull into the paddock because his brakes were on fire. Meanwhile, the Mini's continued on.

Personally, i think that in terms of 0 - 60, our numbers aren't super impressive because we simply can't put the power down. Now that I have a cam and header on the JCW, I CANNOT give it full power in first gear or I simply smoke my tires, I have to gently apply throttle, hitting WOT just before shifting at redline. Surley I'm losing a few thenths off the line, but......starting in second gear up to around 110 (on a track of course, where aerodynamics come into play), I can give many faster cars some factor!

 

Common problem: can't get full power to the road in all of 1st (1000-7500rpm), and some of second (4000-5000rpm)

 

Mine don't use no pulley!

 

The Mini really suprises me. As stated by many, I don't think it is that fast from say 0-60 - but a modded one really hauls after 70-80mph! It's pretty crazy to think this is only a 4 cylinder 1.6 motor.

 

Whoops... yeah I meant 1.8.

The guy had all kinds of suspension mods. I'm not quite sure what all he had under the hood (I didn't get to peak), but I'm pretty sure he didn't have a bigger turbo. I do think he had a FMIC, but it might have been one of those feaux FMIC's. I've seen a few Mitsu Lancers running around town with those.

Sorry, I guess I think of heavily modded in a different way. I'm not all that into turning my daily driver into a race car. "Tons more mods than my stock R56" would've been less misleading. You're right, I've known some VW kids that put bigger turbos and such. "Heavily modified" might be a little misleading. It's not like it was track car. IMO it was heavily modded for a daily driver, though. My bad! I'll be more specific next time!

Again, we have different ideas. I think most of which come from my whole deal of not turning a DD into a race car. Eventually, we'll get on the same page!

 

I think the R56 is faster than the R53. Though probably not enough that it would "smoke" a GT. I'm thinking after a CAI, FMIC, and a catback, I might at least be able to keep up.

I'd also like to state for the record that I've done some drag racing at our local strip, and it get's really old. There's only so much "good driving" involved. After that it's pretty much all about dumping cash into your car. With that said, I think a road course is a much better and truer test of a car's performance.

 

ive been waiting for this thread.

i feel that our mini is like the smallest kid in class and always gets picked on

so with that being said my 06 jcw took an annoying *** wrx sti from the dig by a nose twice!!! i can see through his tint that he was supprised.
i couldnt belive it that i took him twice...is this possible??

any one with a 350z or a g35 experience?

 

First of all... SWEEEEEET! (on the STi)

Second... the G35 weighs more than the Z, I believe. I know a couple of folks here that have Z's I may have to see if they want to have a go (legally, of course ). If it'll keep up with the Z, the G35 should be kids play.

 

I would like to assume that it was either a WRX slapped with a STI sticker or the guy doesn't know how to shift. I've driven my friend's stock 07 STI on the highway. Merging onto the highway from 15 MPH to 65 MPH was enough to tell me that car is in another league. I hate to say it but if everything is stock, comparing a MCS even JCW to a STI isn't even fair.

 

Might I ask what year GT? Surely you jest about embrassing a new edge-present(1999-present)? I have (well, had and sold 2 months back) a 2003 GT with 3.73s, Stg. 2+ SPEC clutch/AF, Steed Tri-ax, BBK pullies, PP 75mmTB & plenum, C&L Intake, Bosch Plat. +4 plugs, Comp cams, Diablo(custom tune),and SLP LT+ LM II exhaust and was hanging with E46 M3s, Camaro SS, Impala SS, among others on the highway/from a dig/a roll...So if you can do that with a JCW with only a 15 % pulley and a tune?? You a bad ***** I wanna see some of these MINIs smoking these Stangs, STIs, modded 1.8ts, and such....The MINI "feels" that fast, but without a bit of work done, I doubt your "smoking" those cars....unless the driver can't drive I would gladly go to the strip with one of the said MINIs with my 01 Wolfsburg, or better yet my Marauder !!!

 

STI > MINI all there is too it when it comes to straight line speed. There is a kid at my ex-highschool that drives a WRX that has been riced out to look like an STI, I wouldn't be surprised if you saw the same type of thing.

 

I am proud to have started it and gotten such a great discussion going. I was thinking that very experience on the way home tonight as I was pacing a G35 on the freeway. Would be interesting.

Love the analogy about the small kid in class.

 

I think a lot of it does have to do with the driver. Regardless the MINI is a pretty quick car. I mean if people around here are getting the quarter mile times they say they are, then they're really not much slower some of these other cars. I mean a GT only runs about 14.4-ish on the quarter (stock). There are people with only three or four engine mods that I've heard of that run that low in their MINI. (MCS runs about 14.9 stock.)

I think you are greatly underestimating how great of a car this is. Not to mention that - as my friend Brandon (who drives an M3) put it - "MINI's murder on an autocross course.

 

2003 Mini Cooper, Manual 8.3 16.6 (C&D July 02)
2003 Mini Cooper S, Manual 7.2 15.3 (MT April 04)
2003 Mini Cooper S, John Cooper Works, 6.2 14.5 (MT April 04)
2004 Mini Cooper S, 6-speed Manual 7.2 15.3 (MT Oct 04)
2005 Mini Cooper S, Convertible 6.6 15.2 (C&D June 05)

from
http://www.albeedigital.com/supercou...0-60times.html

Mini excels in turns, not really in straight line. If someones car is at 250-300+hp they "should" take you.

 

according to the VW website, the GTI's numbers are slightly lower than those on the MINI site.

I know someone who just got a MS3 and he reports that the torque steer makes it really difficult to drive. What the point of power you can't use?

 

well as far as street racing i dont do much, the mini is an extreamly fun car but i was rather stupid with it when i first got it

civics are a waste of time and gas , usually some punk kid who thinks a
180db muffler adds 50whp

most trucks a waste of time and gas althjough fun cause they look embarrased when you wave at them while passing

i do have a friend who drives and s2k and runs 14.1 on the track, but he cant shake me to save his life on a highway run starting at a 10mph roll so id say we do very well on a straight for what it is

keep in mind im fairly modded, with 17%, CAI, header, exhaust and plugs,

 

Where be the R56 times?

Also, don't forget that horsepower isn't everything. You also have to consider weight. Thus, why the Ford Lightning (400+ bhp) is only about as fast (a little slower, actually) than a Mustang GT.

 

Man, I make mince meat out of my supervisor's 415 hp Mercury Marauder everytime at the track. Now, everybody in the crew I roll with stomps my ****, but then we're dealing with 600 hp Vettes and 400 hp F bodies. I have always been impressed with my MINIs performance. Even my old R50 was good at mopping up the Scions and other econo boxes. But in reality, I'm highly impressed with BMW. I mean, they gave the cars just enough horsepower to have fun in the car. The MS3 might be ***** to the walls with power, but some how I would think Mazda over did it in the power department. Plus the few I've seen around town have some of the most arrogant drivers.

 

HUGE issue I noticed when test driving one. Even with the standard LSD, it was a squirrely little beast. Fast...but not controlled. My '05 with LSD lets me put down the power and it keeps pretty damn straight.

 

For real?

I own a '99 Accord V6 and it feels faster to 60 than my S does. C&D puts the Accord V6 at 5.9 to 7 for 0 to 60, depending on year and coupe or 4-door.

I don't care which is faster, but think they are probably pretty darn close.

Now, smokin' 'em through the twistes is a whole 'nuhter thang.

 

Two years ago I ran with a stock convertible 350Z straight line and won. I only had a 15% and an intake at the time. Heaviest of the Z's and stock so it was the worst case scenario for him.

Off the top of my head I've had success with:

MB230K (straight line)
IS250 (straight line)
e36 M3 (road course)
S2000 (straight line)
Civic Si (straight line)
Cayman (road course)
Stang GT (road course)

Kept up with:
MS3
GTI MK

Got creamed by:
Many, many cars.

This all depends so much on the driver and conditions that the comparisons are usually meaningless except for the specific moment.


Oh, and even though now laws were broken within the information in this post: IB4TL

 

Great compilation! Thanks for the info.
I especially like the MB and E36.....since I live in Encino, MBZ and BMW capital of the US I think

[/quote]
MB230K (straight line)
IS250 (straight line)
e36 M3 (road course)
S2000 (straight line)
Civic Si (straight line)
Cayman (road course)
Stang GT (road course)

Kept up with:
MS3
GTI MK

Got creamed by:
Many, many cars.

This all depends so much on the driver and conditions that the comparisons are usually meaningless except for the specific moment.


Oh, and even though now laws were broken within the information in this post: IB4TL[/quote]

 

Straight line, the best way to compare is 1/4 mile numbers. And one of the easiest places to compare is the www.dragtimes.com site.
Here's what it comes up with for comparing any MINI (included modded) against stock Mustangs.
http://www.dragtimes.com/compare2.ph...onName=Compare!

You can also click on the link for each car to bring up the list of mods that were on it (pulley, injectors, etc) as long as the person who posted the times entered it. Note that any high power V8 will likely have similar traction problems off the line and be feathering power to get a good hook-up, just like we have to with our FWD MINIs (follow the link to each car to see whether they had drag radials and a custom clutch - makes a huge difference on getting power to the ground).
I sold my C5 Corvette (MN6) when I bought my JCW, and there are WORLDS of difference in acceleration at all speeds. The Corvette will also be quicker on any wide-turn track. It sucks at the tight turns of a parking lot auto-X track though, so you'll see it lose out to Subaru wagons. But, if you and your MINI smoke or even keep even with a 1998+ Corvette in a straight line, it's either out of tune, the driver is a total doofus, or he's simply trying to make sure he doesn't get a racing ticket.

I have a 2004 GTI VR6, and I'd say it's about the same feel and actual perforamnce as my JCW if both cars only have the driver in them. If you have a passenger in both, the GTI is quicker in a straight line. The MINI's suspension is much better though, so on the track, the MINI will beat out the GTI.

I also have a 350Z (actually, 2 - his and hers) and once the weather warms up I'll see how it compares to the JCW. Seat of the pants, the JCW "Feels" faster, but my guess is that in the cold, hard light of the day, the 350Z's numbers will be better, both from a stop and from a rolling start. It's all a matter of staying in the power band.