I've been reading the SCCA rulebook, and I want to make sure I have this right before I start looking for new wheels/tires.

I have an '09 MINI...non-S, non-sport package. My wheels are 15's, and the tires are Continental 175/65/15's.

Wheels:

I know I can get another set of 15's, but I need to be concerned with width as well, and mine are 6.5's.

So at the very least, I could get a second set of 15's, no wider than 6.5-inches...is this my ONLY option?

But how about larger diameters?:

I can't remember the details of what other diameter wheels I could have bought with my MINI...I'm pretty sure there were 16, 17, and 18-inch options...is that right? But were they all from the factory? Or were they dealer installed? If they were from the factory, can I buy those bigger size wheels and be HS legal?

Or, did I need to have bought the "sport package", which comes with 16's, to be able to get 16 inch wheels for HS?

Tires:

I know there are more fine details, but basically, I'd could get any tire (including "track" tires) that will fit on any legal wheel, fit within the wheel well, and have more than zero tread depth, correct?

Thanks so much.

 

I don't know about SCCA rules, but I have a non s and I just put on 205/50/17 no problems at all.

 

Yeah, see I think that for a non-S, 17's and 18's might have been a dealer-installed option, making them HS-illegal...only FACTORY-installed options are legal.

And further, since the 16's were only available with the "sport package", a person would have to install ALL the sport package parts, for example (I don't know the particulars) springs, shocks, sway bars (seats?) in order to make 16's legal.

A car cannot be equipped with just SOME of the items from a package...it's got to be all of them, or none of them...but I don't know if that applies to such things as seats...might be only the running gear.

Anyway, this is what I'm trying to figure out.

 

OK, well, after more reading, from a post written 15-March-2007 (and would then include the 2nd Gen MINI's), I found this as the legal HS mods:

• Any Struts - including adjustable damping
• Any FRONT swaybar
• Panel Air Filter
• Cat-back exhaust
• Harnesses (Quick-fit or similar) and C.G. Locks
• Wheels must be stock size and stock offset within 5mm. This means 15x5.5 and 16x6.5 for the MC and 16x6.5 and 17x7 for the MCS.
• R-compound Tires - Hoosier A6, Kumho V710, or similar. Street tires are also acceptable, but won't be very competitive since race tires are permitted in this class.
• Brake pads may be replaced
• Spare tire and tool kit may be removed
• Roll bars or roll cages may be added
• airbags may not be removed

Any ALIGNMENT should be added to this list as well.

So...

In trying to make up a descending list for most bang-for-buck, does this make sense (I really don't know the cost of some of this stuff)?

1) Take out the spare tire and tools.

2) Alignment (but, this would wear your street/performance tires FAST during street driving, right?...if that is the case, this may be a very expensive mod.)

3) Front sway bar.

4) R-compound tires on 16x6.5 wheels...maybe this should be higher on the list as it does more to reduce times than most of the others combined?

5) Adjustable struts.

6) Stickier brake pads.

7) Cat-back exhaust.

 

The cost of adrenalin addiction is infinite

wheels and tires: $500 + $1000
struts $800 or more (some spend $2,000, can not be more than double adjustable btw)
sway bar a few hundred
alignment $150 or so
rear bar and springs from sport suspension?

OR

drive what you got for the rest of this half gone season. You can learn faster on street tires and you can develop a better idea of what you want to accomplish with autocrossing. Then you can start next year on fresh tires.

 

Thanks for the info.

I was looking at the 2009 HS champs...MINI's filled the top spots...I wonder if there is an easy way to find out what mods those guys/gals used...I bet they are very similar.

And yes, of course seat time is the BEST "mod" I can invest in...I'm really just out there for fun anyway...still, be nice to get the most mod out of the MINI that I can.

 

One more question:

Since my MINI did NOT come with the sport package, am I limited to 15-inch wheels/tires unless I buy the complete sport package from MINI?

Thanks...

 

I can't tell you with certainty what was offered in 2009 but I can tell you with certainty that both 16x6.5 wheels and sport suspension are currently offered separately from the sport package, therefore 16" wheels and/or the sport suspension can be added to 2010 models.

Try these forums for setup secrets from national champs:
http://sccaforums.com/Default.aspx

 

Something to consider when upping the diameter of your wheels, is that the weight of the wheels increases when you do that. If your 15s are 6.5, that's a good width, better than the Holies (5.5 I think). So you should be able to find some sweet 225 width tires with a short sidewall.

There are 225-45/15s for Rcomps on Tirerack. Hancook even has Extreme Summer tires in that size for $118/tire (Not bad. IMO). You could move up to 225-50 for more selection, but then you lose the gearing advantage of the 45 series tire.

The other thing is, typically (but not always) when you have larger diameter wheels, the price of the tires goes up. So sticking with 15" wheels can be beneficial there too.

Besides, you're in NM. It's not like you need to worry about snow.

 

It snows in almost all of New Mexico, and from about the middle of the state and north, we get quite a lot...the interstates can get closed for hours and hours at a time due to snow.

Santa Fe is at 7000 feet...we got several snowfalls of 6-12 inches last winter (oh my aching back from shoveling)...a couple were deeper...snow was laying in my front yard (north side of house) continuously from about mid December thru mid April...2 to 3 feet deep...I thought it would never melt.

Santa Fe is one of those "Subaru towns" where many people own them because of the all wheel drive.

 

wsalopek, we average here in my part of Colorado 400 inches so 6-12 is a cake walk we can get as much as 3-4 FEET now thats shoveling. Two winters ago, we were shoveling to get out in the morning and again to drive back in. I took a picture that winter with my 16 and 15 year olds at the time with 8 to 10 feet on either side of the driveway. But with my Nokian RSI I never have a problem best winter tire I have ever had.

 

Thanks for the meteorological lesson. I'll try and let me sarcasm be more clear than .

 

FYI - you probably do not want a front sway bar all that soon, that will stiffen the front and produce more understeer and there is already plenty in the chassis.

I've also heard that the Koni Yellows are the shocks to go for on the MINI in the stock class because they're adjustable. Any opinions?

To prep my car for an event I push the stock TP up to 48 rear, 41 front (prevents the tires rolling over and gives me a little extra rear rotation), take out EVERYTHING (includes tool kit, floor mats, anything I can get my hands on that is loose) and put the rear seats down (lowers the center of gravity, but is so marginal it probably has more of a psycological effect...).

Last event I was about 10% (6 seconds) behind the leaders in C-Stock with no upgrades whatsoever on the car. The two BIGGEST impact mods on your time will be to the tires and to the nut behind the wheel. Fine tuning the performance and balance will only have a consistent impact after you've sorted out the first two





PS if you do run on the street tires in NM, since it gets HOT AS CRAP during the day the tires will heat significantly so check the pressure after every run and watch for graining. Excess pressure will not only hurt your times but may hurt the tire too since max pressure on the tires I run is 51 PSI and I can raise the pressure in the outside rear by ~1-2psi/run.

 

I just discovered that custom valved double-adjustable Penske shocks are now going for $825 EACH. Triple-adjustable, legal in stock if you permanently fix one of the adjusters in postion: $1225 each.

Phooey.