So I have a 2003 MCS with around 130k miles on it. I bought it used for a fun daily driver. I am now looking for a little more fun though. I know it has high miles but it was well maintained. I want to get into local autocross events and this is where I have questions. I want to do acouple of events during the summer but am a little worried about my car. Anyone autocross with over 100k miles? Anything I want to look for? like anything that would maybe get missed in an inspection?

I also was wondering what you guys think, I want to get a 15% pulley and probably more after that. I do a lot of driving so a more HP would make it even better, not that it is not fun at all. I know that with this mod that I would be jumped to street mod. I know that with just that I won't be any competition, I just want to have some fun. Do you think that I should try autocrossing stock vs getting the pulley mod?

the reason I am interested in autocross is because I have a friend who plans on auto crossing in his 05 golf with his brother who drives a e46 m3.

Thank you all for your input especially anyone from Milwaukee area and I look forward to possibly having some extra fun during this summer.

 

I've only gone out once, but from what I experienced the only components that are really stressed are the brakes, suspension and tires. I ran the whole course in second gear and never really got too close to the redline.

I would make sure you get the brakes, tires, wheels and suspension inspected to make sure they're all in good shape. Also make sure that you raise the tire pressures above stock so the tires don't roll onto the sidewalls while you're running - I ran 43 PSI front and 39 PSI rear in the stock Dunlop run-flats and it was a little too low. I'll boost that next time I go out. I saw people out there in all sorts of cars (young and old) so I wouldn't worry about the mileage so long as it has been well maintained.

If you do start doing it seriously it is worth getting a second set of tires and wheels that you can use only for autocross, that way you don't wail on the street tires too much.

As far as the classing goes I know there are a couple of guys on here who have run cars in ST classes. I don't really know how competitive they were but the driver makes a HUGE impact in autocross. I was about 5 seconds quicker than a friend of mine in a 600hp Cobra and a 500hp GTO.

I would get everything checked, then go out and talk to some of the locals about what they recommend. I'm sure there are some guys running MINIs out at your local spot, MINIs get everywhere!!

For a start you can also check out this thread: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ttle-help.html

Thats the one I started before I went out for the first time. Let us know how it goes!!

 

Thanks for your advice. I read your thread and congrats on the win! I am just wondering if I should wait to do the pulley mod and try auto crossing stock or just go in SM and have fun. Any thoughts?

I have had my brakes, suspension, and tires looked at where my mother works and they were all good. I'll check my next local event that I can attend and ask around and see what they say. Hopefully there will be a couple MINIs running about!

Again, thanks for your input and advice!

 

Another tip. When you are on the grid between runs? Do not apply your hand brake. Your rotors are likely hot form the run you just finished, and applying the hand brake when you get back to the grid might cause uneven cooling on the rotor, and contribute to warping. Turn off the engine and pop it in gear. Restart when your line starts to move again.

 

I say hold off on mods until you've autocrossed at least a few times. The experience could bring forth the competitive side that you never knew you had. Where I am, being in DS means that I get to play where the MINIs play, and the friendly competition is a big part of the fun.

If you still find yourself wanting to improve the car, you'll likely end up with a better product as your understanding of the basic design's good and not-so-good points will be much greater. More power with the stock suspension is not a direction in which I would personally want to go (no offense C Stockers).

As to the high mileage of your car: Your shocks were good when they were new, but they must be getting tired by this point. The font suspension lower control arm bushing is a known weak spot. They've been known to fail even at low mileage on cars driven hard on sticky tires. If the original parts are sill in your car, they may go quickly if they haven't seen this kind of treatment before.

 

How rude!!! Just kidding... How does that bridgestone commercial go? "Power is nothing without control."..? All I did with the extra JCW power when I first ran was shred the tires and understeer.

I don't have the cash to spend on crazy mods right now but my first change would be anything to try and get the rear end to rotate better. You can't go unless you're unwinding the wheel and you can't unwind the wheel unless you're facing the right direction!

Read all the advice you can find online (there's a lot of it), develop a driving style and then decide what YOU need from the car to make you faster. It will be different depending on how you drive.

Two things that I learned (the hard way) - TAKE SUN SCREEN and get a list of times at the end of the day so you can compare how you did.

Also - talk to everyone you can find at the event. there are some great folks there and they all seemed to be willing to help a rookie!

 

Definitely do your first event stock. I'm on my 3rd year of autocross and doing it actually stopped me from modding because I am still extracting performance out of a stock car. That and the fact that I would be completely noncompetitive in street mod. But now with R32's, 135's showing up and running against me it's not as much fun.

That said my local AutoX club just opened a SM Front class, so it will be interesting to see how the MINI does against other modded front wheel drive cars when I start modding.

3 years in and I dont think AutoX has made my car much worse for wear, just worn my brakes and my clutch a bit faster (although the clutch is my own fault).

 

And tires. I think I put FAR more wear on the clutch during my commute to work in stop and go traffic. Probably on the brakes too. Gotta love that DC traffic!

 

Without a doubt, you will erase tires more than any other component on the car. I gave up trying to have one set of tires for autox and daily driving. I just put a set of Yokohamas on the Mini strictly for daily use, and am saving for a set of dedicated autox tires and rims.

 

Thank you all for your advice. I plan on trying auto crossing stock and see how it goes. Also maybe get some new tires so I can drive home... It will be some time before I can go but I will keep you in updated when I do. Again, thank you for all your advice! Motor on.

 

Definitely start off stock and with street tires. This will quickly teach you traction management. After the first year add better tires, such as the new Hankook Ventus R-S3, some Koni Sport adjustable shocks and better brake pads. This will still keep you in stock class and more competitive.

Talk to people at the event. Ask questions about tire pressure recommendations. Most of the time people are very friendly at these events.

Other components to check would be the bushings on the lower front control arm. With that many miles they will most likely be shot. Also ball joints while you have the front apart. The bushings that hold the steering rack get softer with age and might need replacing. Changing all of these will help to sharpen the steering and keep you going where you point it.

Just my $0.02

 

Where are you from? I run my region of the SCCA. I'd be glad to get in touch with whoever you need to speak with locally to be sure you get all your questions answered and have a fun time!

 

I live near Milwaukee, WI. So I would be in the Milwaukee region and I heard they might have event tomorrow (got to check on that) so I might go down there to check it out, not race but to check it out and ask some more questions.

I want to take my car in one more time to check everything before I race an event.

If you know anyone that races in my region( especially if they are a mini owner) , I would like to ask them some questions and possibly maybe get a ride as a passenger on a fun lap or two.

 

If you go tomorrow, talk to Robert Bomkamp. He doesn't drive a Mini, he's in a new silver Miata. Tell him Dave from Cincinnati region sent you over. I'd highly recommend checking that event out, very cool stuff. They put on a good show there.

As far as the car, I wouldnt stress about it. I've autocrossed high mileage cars for quite some time. My Z4 had 160k miles on it, with probably 100 autocrosses and 20 track days on it. No major catastrophes. My R50 that I purchased in october just crossed 80k and already has 15 autocrosses on it. Still going strong

 

Alright, thanks for your help. I am planning on going tomorrow unless something comes up. Yea, like I said, I still want to check my car out one more time before I autocross. I will keep an eye out for him and make sure to pick his brain. Thanks again.

 

if you really want to know, get a good shop to do a leak down test on the top end...

but don't ask questions if you aren't ready to face the answers...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-hard-way.html

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I was unable to go to the event today due to me forgetting about some plans with my father for Father's Day, and Happy Father's day to any fathers that may of gave me your advice so far in this thread.

cmt52663- I am prepared to face any answers. I know my car may end up to be unable to handle autocross but I know in good time and maybe a couple years, I will have a car that will be able to. I just am interested in it now and am looking for input. I got the car as a daily driver with a fun factor to it.

I am looking forward to making it to the next event so I can talk to some of the locals and should be taking my car in once again for a check up to make sure everything is perfect. I still want to go to one event before I race.

thanks again for everyone input.

 

With neutral rear toe and camber minimized (via the stock LCA eccentric bolts) I feel that the car rotates quite well (sometimes too well for my abilities). I had 1/16" toe out for a while and found the car to be too loose for my liking.

The MINI is very responsive to tire pressure changes. You will need to determine the best pressure for maximum grip (different for every tire on every car). This is what chalk on the sidewall is meant to be helpful for. Much better to become friendly with someone with a pyrometer, or to use a portable device that measures lateral g. I recommend keeping front and back pressures the same while you are figuring this out. Once you're there, add or remove pressure from the rear tires to achieve the balance that you want. Note that the front-to-back differential will vary greatly depending on the tire. You may need an extra 10psi in tire X, where a tire with a narrower tuning envelope may respond to an extra 2psi.

Corner exit requires patience in any FWD car. Until the car settles, you're not going anywhere (quickly anyway)

Manage your expectations if you go this route. While I think an SMF MINI would be lots of fun on course and as a street car, it's going to be '80s Civic fodder given the suspension and engine allowances. The '88 Hatches that rule ST are sub-2.000lbs, have a superior front suspension, and have good options engine swap-wise.

+1. Launching at about 3,500-4,000rpm will give enough wheelspin to keep your clutch happy in the event that your course designer has chosen not to forgo the drag race start.

 

I ran the front higher than the rear last time which may have had something to do with it!! Next time (this weekend!!) I'm going to switch that up and see if I can avoid graining the run flats after 2 runs. The advice I got from a more experienced mini driver was to put the rears as high as you can to get them to loose grip more easily.

I did think about the toe out route but I use the car as a daily driver and I DO NOT want the car trying to rotate if I have to make an evasive maneuver at 60mph!! Its all about compromise :-)

I tried getting my iPhone to measure lateral G but I have no good (or accurate) measurements as yet. Its a fun toy but not really a precision instrument. I'm learning the best investments you can make in autocross are a helment (loaners are NASTY if you're last to run on a hot day) and a GOOD tire pressure guage.

 

I ran on the Pirelli Euforias for my first season. They seemed to have a very broad sweet-spot pressure-wise, so once you find the pressure that gives the best grip, you're likely to need much more (or less) at the rear to affect balance. I seem to recall using 36psi front, 39psi rear on good to fair asphalt with factory alignment. (I don't like a car as loose as some prefer). The wear got better as the tread blocks got shorter, and they gripped much better by the end of the season (very sketchy on the interstate in the rain though).

A little bit of toe out in front helps with turn-in at the expense of increased tire wear. Zero toe in the rear has been a good compromise for me. My MINI is a year-round, New England daily driver.

Getting your own helmet is a must. A cheap tire pressure gauge is just fine so long as the numbers are repeatable and you use the same one every time. Also nice to have: a good floor jack and a battery impact wrench (even if you're running on your street tires, as you will need to rotate them much more often to keep the wear even).

 

FYI

my starting point for tire pressures are 38f, 48r

that's TW 140 rubber, 205/40-15 or 225/45-15 on 15x7 rims

in general my approach is

1. get as much grip from the front tires as possible (use GTech, pyrometer, tire pressure guage, patience, and don't forget to repeat [A - B - A] to prove that a change is really better)

2. set the rears to facilitate rotation, with the aim of mid-corner balance.

I've explored going low on the rear to balance the car, but it just makes the handling sloppy (particularly in slaloms) where the rear won't take a set for a fraction of a second during transitions.

YMMV,

Charlie

 

what do you guys think about theses wheels. For daily driving and a little autocross once or twice. I am thinking about team dynamic and maybe going with falken tires.

https://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coo...-pro-race.html

also, what color do you think will go best with my DS/B mini. Thanks.

 

OK I started my search this morning trying to find out the best starting point for tire pressures for AX.
One post says (guitar) I ran 43 PSI front and 39 PSI rear in the stock Dunlop run-flats.
and just a post of so up says the complete opposite on better rubber. my starting point for tire pressures are 38f, 48r

that's TW 140 rubber, 205/40-15 or 225/45-15 on 15x7 rims


What gives with the huge disparity? Please forgive me as my normal ride is a F125 Shifter kart. Just got this 07 MCS for the wife and got the silly idea to run the cones with it.

 

And always remember, concerning corners.

In slow, out fast.
In fast, out backwards.