See Appendix C (page 39) from the rule book:

http://www.bmwccaclubracing.com/stat...l_20041204.pdf

Clear as mud...

I see Ada's MCS has changed a bit since I saw it at Helix a year or so ago...

 

Arrrghhhh....

Cars are classed based on Factory Spec Weight / factory spec horsepower

MCS: 2678lbs / 163hp = 16.43
e30 M3: 2733lbs / 192hp = 14.23

J Class range = 14.00 to 16.59

Doh....M3 sneaks in by a smidge and the MCS gets bumped up from K. The problem a stock MINI has is that it is really restricted from the factory by the pulley. If they had used the 15% pulley from the get-go we would have a really competitive car in JS & JP. The 180hp from the factory would give the e30 M3s a run for their money. For racing it really sucks that our cars respond so nicely to simple mods.....thanks BMW!

Plus the MCS gets bumped up to D-Mod because of the supercharger, to me a JCW should have really been a prepared car.

Rules are clear though

Amit

 

Does anybody know if anyone actually enters in L class? Not that I'm anywhere near ready to race my Cooper, or any other car for that matter. But I bet it would be a lot like my local autocrosses where there are very very few entries in the slow class.

Anybody got a link to BMWCCA club racing results postings so I can see how many L-class entries there are? Maybe even NHIS lap times?

 

Doesn't look like anyone is running in L class. Here are are the times from a CR event at NHIS:

http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=106411

Amit

 

I've been looking over the stats of people running the MCS (www.clubracingstats.org) and it looks like they are no where near competitive enough in D-Mod or J-Prepared. There was one guy that ran a couple of J-Stock races last year and managed a 2nd & 3rd place finish in his class. I think that the '05 MCS with revised gearing, additional power, and LSD will be a lot more competitive in J-Stock. I know my '05 is like night-and-day on track compared to the '02 I had.

Amit

 

If you were to run stock class with a highly modified redline (like the new M7 8000+ rpm software), then you would probably be more than competitive power-wise. Software modifications are allowed in stock class, as long as they are not piggy-back ECUs.

So - for a stock-class MCS:

- M7 8k+ RPM software
- New Webb Exhaust
- Light wheels and some 215 or 225 width tires
- Something like H&R Springs & Konis (coilovers not allowed in Stock classes)
- Add camber plates and tune the heck out of the camber and suspension settings
- Strip out the rear seats and airbags, as well as replacing the front seats
- Add a cage
- Add a small (but functional) front splitter (no more than 1" past front bumper)
- Route the belting past the A/C compressor (if possible) for added HP

You could have a pretty competitive MINI. The suspension design on the MINI is more advanced than the E30s, and the MINI is lighter, so you have a handling advantage.

Really, your money would be best spent in learning to drive. My brother races J-Stock in an E30 M3, and regularly beats cars in classes above his (J-Prepared, D-Modified). His car isn't faster than theirs, it's just that he's a REALLY good driver.

See http://www.bmwccaclubracing.com/_Upl...005results.pdf

My brother is #042, and is driving a J-Stock car. The cars behind him are (in order) C-Modified, H-Prepared, H-Prepared, J-Stock, J-Prepared, C-Modified, I-Prepared, J-Prepared, J-Prepared, J-Stock, etc. There are even more modified cars behind that.

The C-Modified cars could be fully race prepared E36 and E46 M3s, or anything with an engine between 2981cc and 3499cc (even de-stroked V8s, such as the #66 car right behind my brother - an E36 with a 3.49l V8 )

H-Prepared cars include the E-36 M3 LTW, the M-Coupe, the E39 M5 (none of those), and the E46 M3, and those are in PREPARED form. More power, lots of good suspension stuff.

J-Prepared include all the same J-class cars, but with more goodies.

I-Prepared include the E36 M3, the older M Coupe and M Roadsters, and others. Also better power-to-weight than a measly J-Stock E30 M3.

The point is, you can have a competitive car (which my brother doesn't, actually), but the driver is what really makes the difference in Club Racing. Concentrating on driving consistency will win you more races than concentrating on having the most competitive car.

 

By the way, in qualifying for these races, my brother beat the track record for his class by about 2 seconds.

 

Strom,

You have a really intersting point actually. I didn't realize that ECU flashes were legal for Stock. I run a '05 with factory LSD. Would the LSD still put me in Stock?

Thinking about it an '05-'06 would definitely be competitive in J-Stock
LSD
MTH ecu flash - 10hp
Exhaust 10hp
Revised Gearing
plus the "Stock" Class mods you mentioned.

You've got a 185-190hp car ('05 has 170hp stock) on 2678lbs, about the same power to weight ratio as a e30 M3, plus handles better.

In my '02 w/out LSD it was pretty tough getting the power down out of the corners. The '05 is just magic.

Amit

 

You can have an LSD in stock as long as it is the factory LSD.

 

My Co-driver Jason Aranha & I have just proven that the Mini has potential in the DM class.
We just returned from Roebling Road for the last club event for the year.
We were quite competitive, running 3rd or 4th overall all weekend out of 25cars. Jason qualified on pole for class twice, 3rd overall again, we finished 2nd in class for the sprint as well as the enduro.
Ada was plauged with bad luck and car problems therefore she never completed a race. My car is not twin charges and was much faster.
There is still plenty potential to exteract from this little car
Regards,
Paulo Steven Diniz, #53 MCS D-Modified

 

Paulo, Supper job!

Would love to learn about your car.
Any tips you could share would be GREAT. This is what this section of this forum is all about, racing the Mini and just how to do it successfully.

Feel bad for Ada. Was it the twin charged system that was giving her trouble?

Greg V

 

My car as well as Ada Cheung's are now in D-Modified. We both chose this option after my car was demed illegal for JP due to the pulley. Everything on my car was according to the rule book however, there is no mention anywhere in the rules anything about forced induction cars or superchargers.
I was competitive in JP until I qualified on pole for clas at TWS, the E-30 M3's were not happy....They came down on me and questioned all mods on the car, at that point my option wasto switch to D-Mod or not race.
Since D-mod has no weight restrictions and you can just about anything, I chose that rout.
Engine displacement is limited to 2890cc I believe, the 1.6 even with the multiplier is only 2.4...lot's a room for increase.
Gotta go, I'll fill you in with more details later.
Regards,
Paulo

 

It seemed at first that the manifold between the throttle body and supercharger had cracked and produced a leak. I thought she had it fixed when her co-driver Bookie, brought a new part.
That did not seem to fix the gremlins, we never got to compare our cars on the track except once and that time I pased her on the main straight like she was coasting.
I'm skeptical about the twin-charged set-up, speak with George from Mini-Madness, he has helped me develope my car from day one.
We got the weight on my car down to 2400 lbs. but it's still not enough...anothe 200 lbs. less will help.
Being competitive in the Mini is not all in the set-up, you gotta be a good driver and know how to slide the Mini around. Jason and I are still tuning the suspenson to get the car even looser. You must have it set up so that if you lift, it will spin. Therefore, DON"T LIFT!
There were only two C-Mod cars that were significantly faster than us(out of 25 cars), these cars had High-dollar Euro-Spec M3 engines de-stroked do slip under the 2899cc limit.
We feel we can still extract more performance from my car, we will be experimenting our next BMWCCA race.
For pictures of the car visit
: www.spiderspeed.com or www.mini-madness.com
Regards,
Paulo

 

MINI really being competitive and successful in cca racing is a big task... I would suggest that Paulo is right, getting the car to rotate, is what is needed, and working on car control and full throttle application would make it most competitive in the JS class. However, K class is where the S needs to be with no pully reduciton, I think. FWD is a disadvantage, and CCA needs to realize that, and not just go on power to weight ratio's, etc..


Hey Paulo, did you use to work up at HMS motorsports?? or that another Paulo?/

 

To be fast in JP without a pulley will be difficult unless the car is at min. allowed weight, setup perfectly to rotate, point & go and you have to have great brakes. You normaly can out brakes most cars in wiyh the Mini.
The E-30 M3's are fast when well driven. We were in D-Mod at Roebling Road last weekend and Don Kid was only about 1sec slower with his JP E-30 very well prepared M3. My DM Mini however could pull away on the straights.
That must be another Paulo, I'm in Louisiana. Paulo is my first name, Steven is my middle name...I go by Steve Diniz
You can see pics of my car at : www.spiderspeed.com or at :www.mini-madness.com
Regards,
Paulo

Hey Paulo, did you use to work up at HMS motorsports?? or that another Paulo?/[/quote]

 

Paulo, now that you are DM in BMWCCA, where is that putting you in SCCA? ITE?
Thanks so much for your photos. Will really look at them this evening.

 

As of now, I don't think SCCA has a place more modified Cooper S's...Last year at Barber (Still in JP form) they would not let me run in ITE or ITS not even in SPU. They put me in SPO with Nascar cars, 600HP Vettes & Vipers, 5.0 liter Mustangs and modified RX-7's etc... You get the picture. I could keep up with the Mustangs & beat the RX-7's & Panoz cars.
I've read about a new class called T-3, which allows turbo cars such as the Dodge SRT-4, Subaru WRX's etc... Did not see the Mini on the list.
I think showroom stock "C" is kind of stupid, no mods allowed, all that weight from pasenger & rear seats.
That's why I still think the BMWCCA is a better venue besides, they enforce the 13/13 rule. Scca allows bumping & rubbing. If you value your car and plan to race on a limited budget, BMWCCA is the place.
I might consider doing the Targa Newfoundland next year if I get tired of road racing.
As for now, we are still working towards some class wins in D-Mod.
Regards,
Paulo
ps: which photos did you see?

 

Actually, I was coasting when you passed me... We were having some handling/grip issues and the car was never comfortable in the high speed sweepers that make up most of that track. Didn't have enough track time to fix it. The gasket between the supercharger and the intake tube was broken and our trackside repair did not hold up. Moral of the story: bring more spares!

I don't think the MCS without a pulley stands a chance in JP. You can put on a cam (no head or pistons), exhaust, ECU flash (no piggyback), and injectors. Without a pulley, that combo might be at 180 whp or so. Minimum weight is 2571 with the driver. Compare that to an E30 M3 with a minimum weight of 2624, the advantage of rear-wheel drive and a "prepared" engine making 250 whp (so I've been told). No way to catch Don Kidd with a pulley-less MCS.

 

Here's a thought: Why not get enough folks involved to have our own class(s) like they do in the UK? MCS, Cooper's and Classics running together but in different classes. Won't embarass the bimmers and we get to run against our own kind and be competative with each other. How does one get that ball rolling, although I'm sure it's already been tried?

 

I guess the biggest problem at this time is numbers. How many MINI's compete in the BMWCCA CLUB RACING. Every Roundel or Sports Car mag. that shows the results of these races is lucky to show one MINI entered in the event. Until the MINI crowd as a whole petitions BMWCCA I don't think you'll ever see a change. It's all about the numbers. If changes aren't made you'll see only limited numbers of MINI's. Trust me the higher ups are scared that the big brother will get stepped on. I've run around a lot of BMW's at club HPDE events. Inclueding club racer's in lower classes. The MINI crowd has to speak out in numbers for any change. Trust me.

 

This is definitely not true - I've heard of MANY people bending and outright breaking rules because "everyone does it".

Next time you're at a race where they weigh Bruce Weinstein's J-Stock E30 M3, check to see if he gets out of the car when they write down the weight.

 

And if you had been at TWS or the Motorsport Ranch you would wonder how Luis Marques's E-30 J-Stock M3 Was faster than most JP cars, he is a an excellent driver but, even we had a hard time staying ahead of him in the MINI.
Paulo

 

Of course it would be great to get more MINIs involved.
However. ittakes people like Ada Cheung and myself who believe that the MINI is the best new car off the showroom floor suitable for racing, affordble, fast, easy to modify and a terror when driven as they should be. The Mini's are reliable , strong and have great potential on the track. In two years I have won 4 races, placed 2nd in at least 4, and now see potential to beat 6cylider BMW's in D-Mod class.
But only Ada & I will not do much for exposure, I read about a lot of people wishing to road race, just do it, don't just think about it.
You can go the showroom stock "c" route or BMWCCA or both.
Weneed to se more MINIs out there. E-30 M3's are easy competition, pretty soon Minis could dominate BMWCCA classes.
Regards,
Paulo

 

check out #53 beating the 993, video is at www.Mini-madness.com under testimonials. You can see both videos, From the Mini & from the Porsche.
Paulo

 

Whats not true? Just wondering if you think that breaking the rules means it's OK to do? My quote above is from the rule book so to 'me' it is very clear.