Are there any more motorsport or technical oriented Mini forums out there. NAM just doesn't see to be the place for me. Most members appear to be more concerned about vinyl stripes than the mechanical aspects of owning an enthusiast car. For example in a breakin discussion I counted at least 5 "read the manual" instead of the usual heated debate on engine breakin. When discussing legality of modifications they are mostly clueless and had never heard of the Clean Air Act. This place is way to light on performance oriented owners and to full of "Look at me I own a mini BMW, and feel superior" idiots. I know guys that are autocrossing their Mini's don't fall in that category and are more technical and performance oriented. Any really good technical forums for Mini owners?

 

bwahahaha. Come on man, ask a question, you might be suprised at the knowledge/response. Although, with the post above, you might want to make a new thread. ;-)

 

It's like any large board..the only good sections are the ones that cater to the racers.

 

While I don't completely disagree with you, I think I could have found a more tactful way of putting it.

There is a lot of bling talk that takes place, but I’ve also see very insightful and technical posts as well. It might be nice to have a more technically oriented forum included in NAM.

My 2 cents.

 

It just seems there are 10 guys that know anything and the rest just want to make their Mini cuter. I posted in the autocross forum because I figured the wanna be enthusiats would think to come in here.

 

I'm guessing you must be either blind or illiterate. There are a lot of enthusiasts here. Not just people who want to race or make their car go faster. Calling people who love their car and want to make it "cuter" not enthusiasts. Thats just about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You're missing the whole point of NAM, NAM is great because everyone wants something different for their car. If we all wanted the same thing this would be pretty boring. SO YES GO SOMEWHERE ELSE PLEASE. The last thing we need is someone who is ignorant and wants to be just like everyone else.

 

Thank you. I'm a part of what is prolly the largest group on here. I want my car to perform better and look better. The only problem is that performance is usually harder to obtain and more expensive. That's why the small "this looks pretty sweet" stuff happens before the bigger stuff, ie-wheels, sway bar, so on happens. Yes, I've done both. I changed the wheels out for larger diameter and lighter wheels, but there is almost no chrome on my car. It now has no back seat. It has aftermarket pads and rotors on all 4 corners. But, I also blacked out the grille and marker lights. This is, IMO, one of the most diverse groups of car people.

 

I'm speechless. Or, did you mean to say "wouldn't think to come in here"? I sure hope so, otherwise, your kinda calling us wanna be's which isn't cool IMO. ;-)

Remember though, to a certain extent, looks are important as well. How many potential sponsors want to sponsor a car that is fugly? lol My motto is, performance 1st, looks 2nd, comfort 3rd. ;-)

 

I've been reading Hot Rod, Car Craft, Popular Hot Rodding, various Mopar magazines, import mags, bike mags, Truck magazines, all of that since I was probably 13. I spent 20k going to a trade school. I'm only 21. I've turned wrenches. I've gotten dirty and bloody with my cars. I've gotten dirt and bloody with my friends on their cars. I helped my dad build 2 musclecars. I know that I don't know everything but you sound like some *** who thinks that he does. I would put my knowledge up against you any day and twice on Sunday. There is a huge contigent of people on here who I would put money on that could talk you into the ground.

 

Meant "wouldn't" just type to fast.

 

Ahh, thats what I figured. Well, you came to the correct section of NAM then. This is the only place on the forum where you can get real good solid performance input IMO from most every person that posts.

 

Let's compare E penises. I have been working on race cars since I was old enough to hold a wrench, been racing in one form or another when I have the time for 3 decades, worked on and owned 28 different cars from 5 different countries. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...etc, etc.

The point is, even when you come across a thread which is somewhat technical, the same 5-10 guys, mostly Oasis and Munndane (sp) answer all the questions. Just seems to be lacking of any real gearhead, engineering type discussions in NAM with those exceptions. If you want forums about racing stripes and sunroof decals, that's fine, but I'm asking the Motorsports guys, in the Motorsports area, if there are any more technical Mini forums out there, because I can't find them.

 

None that I am aware of, I think NAM Motorsports section is about it.

 

I just thought there were more guys campaigning Mini's and there would be tons of guys pushing the limit. I guess the Japanese car aftermarket has spoiled me. You can get an opensource program to edit code in the ECU of almost any Japanese car now a days and we would all pool resouces to pool, buy and test exhausts, tires, swaybars, coatings, wraps, etc. Alot of the aftermarket manufactures were heavily involved in the community too. With the Mini's motorsport heritage and HS/GS dominance, I figured the performance following would be huge. I have enjoyed the HS/GS sections though.

 

Are there many Mini guys in the SCCA forums? I try to only go there to down load Fast Tracks, too political.

 

I don't believe so at SCCA.com. However, for non-Mini specific info, go to SCCAForums.com, there is a vast expanse of knowledge there I believe. If you ever want specific info on something, post it up there, and, there would be a good chance someone might have the answer, but, again, its not a Mini specific forum. This is about it I think. I guess you could go to Helix13.com or WebbMotorsports.com and they have a smallish forum on there, but, there isn't much activity the last I checked.

 

Thanks, I'll check out helix and Webb.

 

It might help if you asked a question. Do you expect people to just start spitting out all the knowledge they have? :D

Ask an intelligent question, and you'll probably get an intelligent answer (along with 4 or 5 bad answers). But, you sound like someone smart enough to figure out which answer is which.

Can we lock this flamebait thread soon?

 

Most people haven't flamed and been helpful. I can take a little flame, I have thick skin

It's not just about asking a question. Surfing the forum is a good way to get ideas. I also find that when you do find a technical subject, the absolute miss information I have seen given is just astounding, again, with the exception of a few. And what is more annoying, is the obviously clueless want to argue the most. This is just my opinion after joining this forum recently and being a member of many different forums. I think the main reason is the duality of the Mini's nature. It isn't soley designed to cater to performance enthusiast and can appeal to a wide variety of people. I guess that really surprised me. A majority of posts in a Vette, Mustang, Subaru, Mitsu, Porsche, etc forum are related to performance. I was even surprised at the depth in the MB camp. I guess I will just confine myself to the motorsports section, because that's where my interests are. When it comes down to it, it's my preconceived notions of the Mini community, not NAM that is the problem. I guess I was expecting a different type of forum, but as many have said, that was narrow minded.

 

I'm still very new to Minis, but what do you want to know. We can research it together. We can discuss this while you ride with me this weekend. Being on the touring tires means I will be going slow enough to have a nice casual conversation on course.

I need to read more in the auto-x/track section, but it moves a little slower than I had hoped. I loved reading the track section over on bimmerforums. There's lots of racing going on with those guys and lots of knowledge to be had. That stuff applies to the roadster, but not the Mini.

Some friends of Mini picked up a '07 MCS and will be exapnding their prodominantly subaru business into Minis and auto-x them. You know Clint and Tony on nasioc as TiC (www.turninconcepts.com)

 

Yea, I tested camber plates for them last year autocrossing the STi. That's great if they are getting into Mini's. I really can't wait to see what the Mini will do this weekend, but Gainsville is probably better for high hp cars with lots of neg camber. I went undefeated at Gainsville and St. Augustine last year in the STi in STU. Whitehouse was a different story. RIP or whitehouse would favor the Mini.

 

For somebody that has sooo much experience, I would think you would realize how not to come off as a d1ck. Try and ask if there is a more hardcore Mini forum, maybe dedicated to just racing. Do you know why there isn't as many hardcore racers on here? They are just like you. "When I have the time." They aren't going to spend every hour of every day adjusting spring rates and strut dampening rates. They have families and jobs, other vehicles, full lives to live. Instead of going out in the driveway and changing their alignment, they may take 20 minutes and change a set of lights out, or take maybe an hour to install fog lights. Not get involved in a 3-5 hour suspension change. The people who do that do it everyday so its nothing new to them. Welcome to the NAM.

 

And there's people like me...

I'm in my third season autcrossing / track driving. I know I have a huge amount still to learn. I had never done much work on cars before this. I still don't do a whole lot.

I try not to say things I am unsure about without making it clear that I am unsure. So, I tend not to say a whole lot. I don't want to be "that guy" - the one who talks a lot better than they drive.

There aren't that many tech questions that get asked that do not get answered. Yes, there's not a ton of discussion that goes on about track setup and such, but when someone asks a question, a good answer usually appears... or people say "we don't know, try it and tell us what you find out".

It is a small pool of people. But a good pool.

The best way to get more tech info on here is to ask some questions and provide answers when you have them. (duh)

You do need to learn how to filter out the "more power / dyno queen / biggest list of mods wins" crowd, though.

 

How can we help you SilverArrow? Was there something in particular?

 

Posted another thread about GS/HS R comp life. Try to figure out tire budget and see if I will run STX in a used MCS or just buy a new MC and do HS. Really comes down to budget and how many people I will have to play with. STX is a really popular class where I run, but the new fast track makes most of them illegal due to the cel fix issue. I know I can get 10-11 events out of a set of Advans or RE01R's in STX and 8,000 miles of DD, but won't be much fun if I don't have anyone to play with. On the other hand a new MC appeals to me because I can order it exactly the way I want, but want to see how much I need for a tire budget and still have to overcome the lack of HS cars in my area. If both classes become sparsely populated, I will end up choosing which ever is cheaper in the long run.

If I run STX, I plan on using camber bolts, slotting or plates to get more neg camber, alignment and a larger rear sway if needed and keep it stock otherwise.

If HS, I'll order a MC with sport suspension, do alignment and R comps, that's it. Not looking for a run at Nationals, just a good local car.