picked up a 2006 S with Dinan upgrades, some suspension goodies, etc. Was hoping to get some feedback on some various points as I've never tracked a Mini before. I've run 30+ HPDEs in various cars (most recently supercharged or turbocharged Miatas), but wanted something different.

Specific areas I'm wondering about...

Oil cooler....helpful? I run mostly in TX and it is not uncommon for outside temps of 85-105. I've added these to other cars, but did not know about the Mini. Saw Madness motorworks and a couple others have set ups available.

Alignment suggestions? I've got camber plates and other parts that will allow reasonable flexability. Need to be able to drive to the track (200+ miles) on the alignment. I don't mind getting it alligned back and forth for street/events.

I'd like to run 225/45/15s as I have a few sets from the Miata. Wheels suggestions?

Other track day must haves for Minis in general? I have Schroth 4pt harnesses to keep me in place :-)

Thanks so much for any feedback.

 

What part of Texas?
I'll be at TWS with TDE the 24th & 25th, and H2R with NASA June 30 & July 1.

You know the drill. Make sure it passes tech and bring as is to get a baseline. I can give suggestions from there.

 

I live in Louisiana but run with TDE and others at TWS and MSR Cresson a few times a year. Rarely run in the summer with the heat. I'd love to talk with you about your mini tracking experiences and knowledge. Will PM you

 

Depending on how many laps you get at a time and the type of track, I'd look into improving the brakes. Nothing major, just the appropriate pads that can take the heat and fluid that can take the heat. Those were the big ones for me.

The oil cooler would probably be a good idea, but I don't know for sure. I have the crono pack and I've seen my oil temps pegged although the coolant temp was fine. Since the oil temp is "calculated" on the cron pack, I am guessing that the calculation went "out of range" but I can't say for sure. I never saw any other signs that would back up that the oil had gotten that hot but ... who knows?

 

Generally run 8 20-30 minutes sessions a weekend depending on the group running it and the track. I'll definitely do more aggressive pads and some upgraded fluid. Down the road, when funds allow, I'll likely go to a BBK at least on the front. I've got upgraded SS lines. I'm looking at the oil cooler just as insurance over the long run.

I've also planned to call folks to race Minis like Revolution Moror Works to get their thoughts.

Alan, thanks for the PM and info. Really appreciate it and very helpful

 

welcome to the addiction.

i ran my street car (MINI) without an oil cooler in south florida. i got by, but an oil cooler is probably a good idea. the problem with most is that they block flow to the radiator. when you stack it on top of A/C condenser and radiator, it might be significant. i'm not sure, just speculating out loud.

my race MINI has a rear mounted oil cooler. it works for me, but isn't feasible for a street car.

i think that 225/45 tires will be too tall. they may fit, but they will hurt acceleration. i ran 225/40 Hoosier R6 on the street car.

i ran -2.5* front camber and -1.5* rear camber. it will shorten the life of your tires, but i still got 30k miles out of a set of KDW2s. i did not change settings between track and street. a stiffer rear sway bar is a good addition, if you don't have one.

Fresh brake fluid, rated for track temps, is a must since you have some track time and presumably know how to brake properly. Track only pads only become necessary when running r-comps. this is an easy track-side swap while switching tires. i run TCE/Willwood brakes. i had them on my street car and have the same ones on my race car. Todd is the man. call him if you are looking to do a bbk.

the MINI was the first FWD car that i had tracked. when set up properly, it is great. the car can be rotated with use of the brake and throttle. it is kind of point and shoot. rotate until you are headed the right direction, then mash the loud pedal.

a few words of caution......don't do what i did. i took a really nice street car and made it unstreetable. the prize money for HPDE's isn't very good! if it is a track toy, then go crazy.

good luck,
beaner

edit: on re-reading your original post, i saw that you had 15" tires. they probably aren't too big. i run 17s to clear the bbk.

 

Thanks beaner. I know what you mean with overbuilding a car and taking all the fun out of it on the street. Been there.....3 times :-)

Thanks for everyone's input. Love comments from those who have been out on the track.

 

another quick learner among us! i drove a perfectly good 24k mile 06 into my warehouse and tore it down to a shell.....i then bought a finished race car from someone else who had done the same, but finished......

 

225/45/15 are perfect-- like beaner noted in his edit. They are smaller in diameter than stock, but much wider. TD and 949 make wheels that will clear, you might have some TD's lying around or easily available as its popular with the miata crowd too.

Brake ducts help, and if you're calling rmw, Jan's brakeman brake kit is top notch--it's not cheap, but it's 12.19 inch rotor clears 15 inch wheels due to the calipers low profile. Brakemans pads rock too, and the caliper is so damned stiff I get next to no pad taper,unlike the wilwood kit I had earlier.

I'm in Wisconsin, and an oil cooler can be problematic due to the occasional low temps, but I am planning a water meth kit in the future.

My setup is similar to beaner's, -2.4 no toe up front, -1.6 slight toe in on the rears, I run Nitto 01's, and for an HPDE, they're great out of the box, no need to shave, like R888's.

 

Never had any issues with unshaved R888s.

And NT-01s are the smallest 225s. A 205 R888 is exactly the same width as a 225 NT-01.

 

R888s will squirm unshaved--great for rain, better shaved for dry. They'll last longer shaved in the dry.

It's one of the reasons the Miata crowd got bent out of shape when they were introduced, and demanded the RA1's back.

 

You mean they don't shave the RA-1 for the dry? That's different...

I'm assuming you mean SM.

 

I actually ran 949 racing 6uls with 225/45/15 RA1s and loved them...unfortunately they went with the car. I'm in the process of looking into 14mm to 12mm stud conversion kits to give more wheel options. Mine is a late 2006 with a 14mm ARP stud kit. Unfortunately, that is too large a diameter for the 949 racing wheels (per Emilio). I have a set of Konigs (15x7.5 ET32 with 225 Hankook R-S3s) that fit over my Miata Wilwood BBK, but they also are for a 12mm stud. I'll look at the brake kit you mentioned for down the road. Will likely start with some track oriented pads and get a feel for the car.

You can get them shaved just like the R888s if you wanted.

I have always just had my RA1s heat cycled at full tread, that way I can run them in the wet or dry. The mild improvement I might get with them shaved doesn't outweigh the extra life and flexibility it offers if it rains. Of course I'm just out for fun vs. trying to squeeze out every 10th of a second :-)

 

The Nitto-01's are the same compound as the RA1's (Toyo is Nitto's parent company)--and a bit cheaper, but the prices are getting closer. I heat cycle mine too and don't shave them, they really don't need it, as they start at a pretty shallow tread depth to begin with. Either one is a great tire for HPDE's.

 

Brakes, how much time and money I wasted with the stock ones. Mine is a DD that saw 7-10 events a year until recently. I sold my TCE Wilwood BBK new-in-box when I realized I was going to have a 70m+ commute to a new job and wanted something stock-ish for replacement pads and rotors. Sad, but hey, eating is not underrated.

I bought a set of new 2009s calipers and rotors (~to the 2006 JCWs.) The seller had them replaced with the 2009 JCW ones before taking delivery. I've been happy with them and very stiff pads ever since. The whole thing is affordable and easy to find replacements for. Since they're still OEM, they might fit under the 15s. I'd love to know if they would.

Like bean, I'm FL and understand the temp issues. An oil cooler is on the short list. Someone down here has an oil cooler up front, down low, and I'll be taking his advice and doing the same thing to mine.

@beaner - heard you had a new toy...i know someone else who was eyeing it (not I)...glad to hear it's in good hands

 

Yes, 15's will clear, I had those very brakes for awhile before I upgraded. My TD's cleared without spacers, 949's should clear but will need spacers. There is a list on here somewhere with a few other 15's that will fit--I had a set of Kosei's with a +38 offset that cleared without a spacer, but I can't remember which type they were.