The bad news: I wasn't in it at the time. I co-drove with an excellent driver who beat me by over 2 seconds in my car. A very nice win in a group of 11 cars. Man, do I have a lot to learn.

 

That's great!!
Its nice to know that MINIs (and especially your own car) can be competitive in SM. So what was the field on competitors like, what did your friend beat?

 

The top gun this year is an early-90's civic hatch that's highly modified and stripped to the bone. Off the top of my head there were was another modded Cooper-S, a Supra, a 300 hp Mustang, a WRX-Sti, an Audi of some sort, an older BMW M3 and some others.

 

Great to hear that.

What it shows is that mechanically you have what it takes to win and compete at a high level.

Keep working on the skill to balance out the "man" and machine equation.

I'd suggest going for fun run rides with your co-driver to see how it feels to go 2 seconds faster than you are currently doing.

For me, 2 seconds difference feels way faster, attacking all parts of the track from corners to straights and barely missing cones. Or perhaps it might also feel smoother with less wasted effort/motion.

 

Just for reference in my area the top SM driver (out of about 12 to 18 each month)is a 90's civic hatch, modded and stripped with 14" wheels and Kumho V710 225/50-14 tires. He's an excellent driver and been at autocrossing a number of years.

I managed 3 wins out of the last 8 events or so in SM and I have an MCS similar to Veni but without:
Alta crank pulley, GIAC,VGS mod, JCW injectors, Screamin' Demon coil, Spec Stage 3 clutch, & Spec light flywheel.

Veni,
What wheels and tires do you run with?

 

I'm currently running Kosei K-1 15's with 205 Victoracers. They're pretty much kaput so I'm upgrading to 225's.

I rode with my codriver for the first 3 runs. The main difference (that I can see) is that he just doesn't brake as much as I do. Sundays course had 2 Chicago boxes back to back facing opposite directions. Where I braked, he just lifted and flew through. For some reason I just couldn't make myself do it.

 

Veni_Vidi_Vici,
You have to drive like a "Crazy Man!!!!"

But do it smoothly.

Keep trying. Braking too much happens to me as well. It's critical to use other methods to control speed besides (hard) braking, ease up on the throttle a bit might be enough or a light tap on the brakes to settle the car and even out the weight on all corners.

If you have fun runs you can try different styles. Accelerate hard and brake hard or accelerate but not overly then tap on the brake to slow then accelerate hard coming out of a turn into the straight. You'll have to see where the cruicial straights are (most important for high speed) then go backwards to set up the turn just before the straight to enter at optimal speed. Faster speed into the straight means faster speed at the end of the straight. "Straight" meaning any part of the course (even with elements) that allows for greater speed comparatively.

Kosei K1 Racing 15x7" rims?
I've used-
Kumho Victoracer V700 205/50-15
Kumho V710 205/50-15
Michelin Pilot sport cup 205/50-15
And I just got
Avon Tech Ra 225/45-15

For the 15x7 rims you could use 225/50-15 but I have been trying to keep the tire diameter down to 23" and not let it get larger to help with gearing.
So I favor 225/45-15 and when I heard that the Avons came in Ra for autocross I bought a set. I'm still using the Kumho V710s probably a few more events on my 15x7 rims before rotating them to stock 15x5.5" rims as back up.

To give you some idea of wear rates:
If the V710 (or Hoosiers) last for 6-10 heat cycles,
The Avons last for twice that and
The Kumho victoracers last for three times that.

Keep in mind that for autocross my tire temps have only gotten to about 135 degrees on pyrometer. Maybe this summer a tad more. On the track for lapping they can be hot but not for the short one minute runs for autocross. Keep in mind that most of these competition tires are designed to run in the 160-220 degree range for optimal traction. I am using autocross compounds in an effort to use softer rubber that performs at lower tire temps.

 

Thanks for the tips, Minihune. THere's a very subtle difference between fast and out-of control driving that I have to learn.

I'd be interested in hearing your experience with the Avons. Do you race on blacktop or concrete? From what I understand, concrete is harder on tires. I also have to deal with summer temps on the blacktop At Beaverun. In July/August when ambient temps are pushing 90 the balacktop really warms up. At times I actually spray the tires with water after a run.

 

Here's a cool pic that the guys from Eurostyles East took at the event. Check out the right, rear wheel in the air, even with a passenger.