i'm not so sure about that statement rondor. the cobra's can be made sub 2000 lbs with much wider tires, wider track, and much better suspension then the coopers. i've seen them run sub 2:10's at buttonwillow. pro and club race territory, on street tires.... the m3's/993's/996's i run with do this.

cobras with the jag rear end and custom suspension have 4 coilovers in just the rear (total of 6 coilovers with d/a dampners). the car can be made to handle, and with the huge hp and torque, i'm not sure the cooper can hang with that.

what has people's lap times been like with the mcs, modded and unmodded?

for me, i'm building a dedicated track/race car so i'll be looking for as much speed as the rules allow... if pure track, then screw the rules... if race league, then i'll see what i can get away with... hehe

 

Hey mike...where does one locate these minis..

Chris

 

The problem for M3s and DEFINETLY a porshe is if they are truely just twisties and no big straights then the rear wheel drive accually is no good with all that power...a few of the twisties around here (sorry don;t have pics yet) are so tight (180 plus in 25yrds) and steepheading down coming into the turn and changin right at the apex to up) that m3s just wash te back end when half way in the turn...Of course I love hangin the back end out...it's great fun...but if you are lookin for speed quite possible the slowest way through the turn

the front wheel drive alows you to just stomp on it (the suspention compresses and there is no wheel spin) and get yanked out of hte turn ...LOL...

of course driver accounts for alot...but I'd like to find out about that...beyond an m3

 

Mike, just because it suits me! First foreign car I've owned since a 1970 Toyota Corolla I had over 30 years ago. Having a real blast with this thing.Got in to AutoX with it and am starting to do some track too. Motorcycles were my thing until a real bad injury..........non-attentive driver whacked me good. MCS and solo racing is my new found outlet! Even am autoXing my '92 Mustang some just for kicks.

 

Thank you Mr. Hayaku. I totally avoided Rondor's comments for several reasons. 1980 pounds, 55/45 weight ratio at 375 hp. I've done autocrosses and even some time on the Michelin Test track. I've also ridden in a early Mini that was raced (1275cc, webber, cage, brakes, etc.) and it was really fast up to 100 mph and would go around corners like it was glued down. Too much horsepower can be bad (or very difficullt to drive). Autocrosses are just too tight to me. I'm not going to argue that a fast Mini will out run a Cobra on a tight course but at Road Atlanta, you're toast pal. I come out of 4th at 139 shifting to 5th, correct me if I'm wrong but the Mini hits the limiter at 136. If we get enough room to do 140 or 150 I'll be in front before we hit a 100. If you want to do Redlights, sorry you better get some gas (NOS). I'm sure you MCS owners have some good Kill Stories and I can tell a bunch of them. I wouldn't pick on a Mini driver (or owner) but Rice Rockets and Big A$$ wings and Fart Cans? Please.... TOooo Much TV can Be BAD!

There's people who think they've blew me at a red lights. I had a early Firebird leave a light on me this year going out of town and I let him go. We ended up at the last red light going out of town beside each other again and he has a Grin on his face that was big as the passengers window. He yells over to me "Wanna Race Again"? All I said was "Sure". The light turned Green and things kinda happened differently. I let off when I came out of 3rd and he was more than 100 yards back. I didn't think there was any need to tell him we never raced the first time.


To the wrecked Minis
www.copart.com (insurance auctions) and there's a couple most every week on ebay. There's a 2002 with a 100 miles on there now. Yesterday it was at $2000.00. (Front hit, pretty bad.) Also go to Carparts.com you can locate used Mini parts there and get an idea how many are already in wrecking yards across the country. .. Check Robbin's Repairables (on the www) located in NC. Ken Baker has a rear clip in Marion SC.

Mike

 

Because we can!

Just imagine how dull the automotive world would be if everybody just kept their vehicles stock, and how the aftermarket economy would suffer. No, if I buy it, I gotta meddle with it. I don't need to have the fastest MCS around, just one that will uphold my honor from time to time as required.

 

No offence... yes you are wrong...136 is stock...and since we are taling about modding the MCS...well it'll do 160 with the stock tranny and an ecu mod....I have a pic of the speedo of a mini at 140 on it's way down from 150...not exactly safe taking pics while driving 140 + LOL but it had to be done...

no one will deny the cobra is faster than pretty much every car light to light...except maybe the enzo...0-100-0....10 seconds...3 seconds under the cobra.....but I surly do not have $600,000....lol...

WHatever the case this thread sure is interesting...

 

Are we now somehow comparing Cobra kit cars to Mini's? Hopefully were are not getting to the, Don't modify cause you'll just lose to me anyways story.

I think it's safe to say for some of us Mini owners, if we wanted a Cobra, or something faster than a Mini, we would have just bought it.
I agree with Mgcman, gotta meddle too. It's what I enjoy.

 

LOL good point...

MINIs just plain rock...

why make it faster???


WHY NOT?!

 

Mike,

the MINI is a great car and the MCS is a blast. but after my pulley change, i kept saying, "this is how this car is supposed to feel!!!"--and just about everyone that has done a pulley change says the same thing. i wasn't looking for top speed, or to blow ricers off the line, i was looking for SAFE passing and acceleration from 50-85 in 4th gear around slow traffic.
fwiw- toasting a ricer in his $25k Honda Civic with a park bench and NOS was fun
Mods allow you to show some individuality, or to share great ideas like the HAI Andy did, or the glove box organizer.

 

For those of us who don't race it's not about making it faster.....no real need for that on the street since it can hit 130+ right out of the box. It's that we're the 20% who are very tuned in to how the car performs and see ways of improving the quality, comfort, safety and thus, the over-all satisfaction derived from the experience of driving a Mini.

 

I am probably one of the few that has owned both a Cobra and an MCS. For the reasons mentioned above I built a very exacting replica of the 289 "slab side" Cobra. Great kits are available from Hawk Cars of England. Do a search for Hawk 289 and you will find them. The car was AWESOME and not very practicle. It was acurate down to the smallest details. I love both cars and if I own it, it will get moded!

 

The weight of my 289 Cobra was 1940 lbs. I had to get it weighed to register it when new. 360 HP small block. The power to weight ratio scared the crap out of everyone that road in it. Handling was very good with the Bilstein shocks. The braking was unreal.

 

Well let me sum up my opinion.......

Faster = Better

Nuff said....

All joking aside some of us race in autocross or the like and well SPEED WINS, especially when paired with the MINI's handling modified suspension or no.

 

The Cobra was built for $22,000
http://pages.prodigy.net/alantownsley/index.html

 

Now, when you say built..did you build it yourself? Off topic, but some people just don't have the skills to build a kit car..nor the garage space. Is it reasonable to try to compare the two. This is not directed at you but for anyone who has an opinion on it.

P.S. I guess you did build it yourself. I saw the parts with a donor being in the range of 20k Now, how much would the labor cost to assemble it using market priced labor?

 

The Cobra and the MINI are completely different vehicles - both have their merits, but for nostalgia's sake, the Cobra is just plain wicked. I love my MINI, but given the choice between the two, I'd choose the Cobra every time.

Under 2:10 laps at Buttonwillow is impressive for a car that's built on "yesterday's" technology, IMHO...

As far as RWD and 'twisties' are concerned, well, the M3's at our local autocrosses routinely spank everything else that shows up to run, no matter how tight or open the course is... and, I've tried keeping up with good M3 drivers in the twisties and it ain't happening if they know what they are doing.

 

One question concerning M3s, which models are they? E30, E36, E46?

 

It's the E36's the really put down the numbers at our autocrosses... every now and then an E46 will show up, and there are some hardcore E30 M3 drivers, too, but the E36's are always flying.

 

In this case my labor was free As you can see from the web site I have a two-car garage, which also has a room above it for storage of parts during the process.

With regards to skill, the answers to ANY question on how to get things done can be had at my other oft-frequented forum www.ffcobra.com . These guys are friendly, skillful and numerous; over 4,000 builders and climbing. I completed the build, including doing my own painting, in 14 months.

 

I bought an MCS not b/c I love the nostalgia of the old Mini or love the newset "hot car", but b/c I wanted a fast, good-handling, good-looking sports car. With the MCS, a lot of bonuses came with that. It's got some luxury and comfort features not found in 20k sports cars. It is the hot, popular car. It handles better than I could have dreamed (for the price) and the customizing/personalizing ability makes it truly unique. Add to that the whole MINI family and the meets and events are just additional icing.

The only problem with the S, IMO, is it's not fast enough. Really it's not. I know a lot of people think it is but for a sports car it's really, really lacking in grunt (torque). With my mods it's very much to my liking. No check that - it's perfect!

 

This is a fascinating question.
I do agree, "Why Not".
Many agree, "Why Not"
Millions agree, "Because!"

The aftermarket parts market did in excess of $1 Billion in 2003.
And that number increases every year.
People have tried to mae their cars faster since the day cars were invented.

As for MINI vs. anything else...the MINI is what I wanted, and I fall into the category of a tuner, modifier, customizer, whatever you want to call it.
To tell you the truth, whatever I might have bought instead of my MINI, I would have done the same things to it, just to make it faster.

If I wanted to just go fast, I might have bought a WRX. It is ugly, but damn is it fast. However, I have standards and style....so a 4-door just doens't fly with me.

So I leave you with this. It is fun!

 

That's great you are able to build it yourself. But that doesn't mean everyone can do nor has the time to do it. Realistically, although, you paid 22k for the parts, materials, etc., it really cost you a lot more then that and that's the point of it all. A MCS with moderate mods will be nowhere near the cost in time or labor to build a Cobra. Don't get me wrong, the Cobra is great toy/race car but the OP hasn't a valid comparison.

 

The E36 is built up from the factory. It has 8 series brakes and rearend with LSD and has about 100 more hp. Depending on whether you have OBD I/II you can mod it and get 270bhp very easily. Considering a car half the price can get close to the M3 at the track is nothing short of remarkable, don't you think?

I think if I were to do it again and waited to kick some **** I would buy a EVO and mod it. Cheap and very fast and easy to turn 12's with few mods.

 

Ok... OK.... I might do the pulley. I just need to glue this sucker back together first. One more thing I like about the Mini... You guys. I was surprised there's so many stock take-off parts for sale. I actually chose the Mini over a 350Z or a wrecked C5.

Off to the shop!


Mike