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 Posted June 24th, 2009 at 10:54AM
So my MINI survived its first National Tour and second event at Watkins Glen International. Hurray!
On June 13-14, Finger Lakes Region hosted a National Tour at Seneca Army Depot. I was the sole entrant in SMF, the supplemental front wheel drive street mod class. So I won. I wasn’t very fast though. On Saturday there was a light drizzle for all of our runs. I think my Kumhos are starting to feel their age, as I couldn’t get any heat into the tires and the car was super loose all day. I spun during my last run, and the problem with National Tours is that you only get three runs per day, with your best run from each day added up to give you your cumulative time. So I was sloppy all day Saturday and way behind the pace.
Sunday was drier and warmer, so I was on pace with G-Stock (where my car would play if it was stock). I know I’m not a nationally competitive driver, so I’m not heartbroken that my modified car wasn’t any faster. It’s great to get the yardstick out and compare yourself to the national guys, though. Number one in GS, Savini, was still a second and a half faster than me on Sunday. Pretty quick guy. I nearly spun on my last run, recovered it, but the damage to my time was already done. It was feeling fast. I’m fairly confident that I could have driven faster than GS on Sunday, Savini included, given my 50+ HP advantage and suspension set-up. With more runs. *shrug*
June 15-16 was when the real fun began: two days at Watkins Glen International with Patroon BMWCCA. After getting on the track, I could care less about how fast I can drive around pylons in parking lots. I picked up a lot of speed my second time at Watkins Glen, and word is I’ll be running in the intermediate group my next time with Patroon (not sure if this counts if I go somewhere like Calabogie, or with another track group, but still). There were half a dozen other MINIs running, and I parked and hung out with them. Having my parents with the truck made lunch easy both days.
There was a MINI off-track excursion, right in front of me requiring some emergency braking in the toe of the boot (turn 7), but it wasn’t bad and I’m glad it happened early Monday since I wasn’t pushing the car hard. Emergency maneuvering in the toe closer to the limit could have been interesting!
I am now seeing 120MPH on the back straight, and 100 on the front. I shift into 5th gear in the flat transition area between turns 3 and 4 heading towards the back straight. And I short-shift into 5th on the front; otherwise, I’m right at the rev limiter by the end of the straight, and I feel sorry for my car. The only place I downshift into third is before the toe, turn 7, otherwise I leave it in 4th the rest of the time and the car never feels dogged.
Traffic was not a big issue with the Patroon school, especially on Tuesday after I discovered the secret of running in the beginner run group – to get out first.  During my last two sessions on Tuesday, I might have given two or three point-bys, and received a few more than that in return. At one point I had the chance to run down a Viper — always satisfying in a MINI! The driver was parked next to us, and a very friendly guy.
While the driving is very different, I credit my autocross experience to my quick learning on-track. The basic fundamentals of car control are the same, and I’m familiar with my car’s handling and how to make small, incremental adjustments. The physics are the same. I’m also quick to listen to my instructor, and aware of mistakes as I make them. By the end of the day on Tuesday, our classroom sessions were missing more than half of the students. Their loss. I assume these are the people less interested in gaining speed, and more interested in just being able to say they’ve been there.
The cars weren’t quite as exotic as at the Trackmasters event. I knew plenty of the guys though as they’re all the same MoHudders I’ve been autocrossing with. I wish I could get to the Calabogie event next month, but with no money it’s just not in the cards.
I’m feeling more inclined to fully track-out the MINI with roll cage, seats, and harnesses — instead of buying a cheaper car (think e30 BMW) that I wouldn’t feel gutted tossing into a tire wall at 100+. After all, the car I already own is cheaper than the one I’d have to buy, and I’ve invested enough so that I know the car and all of its handling / mechanical issues and idiosyncrasies. For now, it’s all the speed I need.
Posted June 6th, 2009 at 10:28AM
So last Sunday was the second local autocross of the season, and I predictably took 3rd in Street Mod out of a field of seven:
- 49.362+DNF — 47.474+DNF — 48.057 — 47.394+1 — 47.482 — 46.956
- 49.636 — 49.303 — 48.870 — 53.135+DNF — 48.589 — 49.310
- 50.242+2 — 49.461+3 — 47.768+1 — 48.475+2 — 52.069+5 — 47.256+2
Last season I placed 3rd at every event, besides one 1st place and a 4th place (the NE Divisionals where competition was hot and heavy). I can take both good and bad away from this past week’s results. Firstly, I was more cone happy than ever, not getting a clean run during the event. That’s always disappointing, but as a consolation, I took two fun runs and ran clean 47s both times, so I believe my times are accurately reflected in the results – ie., those cones I were hitting weren’t giving me optimistic times. So really, I was quicker than number two.
But full disclosure? Number two was running the car that wasn’t competitive last season (his Subie wagon as opposed to his monster STi), and he’s still on street tires. And not just street tires, but Azenis, which are by now obsolete and a good second off of today’s top street tire contenders.
So I still have two competitors who are clearly faster drivers. The Evo is better prepared, while the Subie driver gets closer and closer to better prepared. I can’t wait till he finally breaks down and gets the r-compounds. 
My 47 second times (w/o cone-age) were good for 2nd in raw times; there were only four of us getting sub-48 times out of a field of 51. So considering the ways in which the deck is stacked against me*, I am OK with the results.
June 13-14 is the National Tour stop at Seneca Army Depot, which I’ll be attending. Next local autocross is end of June.
* – I’m still on my V710s that I used all of last season (still plenty of life!!).
- I still have less experience than the people I’m nipping at the heels of.
- The MINI was insanely loose, partly because of the wet conditions in the AM, but mostly because I’ve played with the ride height and I believe I’m probably running random toe out at all four corners. I need to get an alignment soon.
- I’m still down two drive wheels and a few hundred horsies from the people I’m competing against. 
I’m wondering about actually keeping some slight toe out up front, if indeed that was part of the looseness, because DAMN the car was turning in. A lot of the cones I hit were because the car turned in better than expected. But I still want the thing to behave safely on-track, so I’ll probably stick with zero toe up front and slight toe in in the rear. We’ll see.
Posted May 5th, 2009 at 12:57PM
(Photo courtesy of ‘Dannyboy’, full 500 image photoset available here)
April 25th was my first chance to autocross this season, at our old site at Adirondack Community College. We were unable to run there last season because of construction. But most of the lot was repaved, so conditions were better than ever except for a few rough spots.
Saturday the 25th was a test & tune, where I got the chance to see if my Kumho V710s still had life left. Turns out they do…
Sunday the 26th was MoHud’s first points event. Final results for Street Mod following (best times in bold, yours truly italicized):
- 50.561+1 — 49.626+1 — 49.819+1 — 49.576 — 52.753+1
- 51.776+DNF — 53.557 — 52.304 — 51.544 — 51.856
- 53.557+1 — 54.052+DNF — 54.558 — 53.228 — 53.123
- 56.806+1 — 55.736+2 — 55.157+1 — 54.574 — 54.613+1
- 61.098 — 60.068 — 59.121+DNF — 56.165+DNF — 57.106+1
- 65.341+DNF — 59.838 — 59.256 — 60.432 — 60.654
- 83.224+DNF — 63.529 — 62.749+DNF
So I took a class win, off to a good start for the season. But the bigger accomplishment for me was taking FTD (fastest time of the day), by 6/10ths of a second. That’s a decent margin of victory, but of course I can’t take all the credit. Among my usual competition for top time of the day…
- The Evo was having teething issues with it’s new set-up, forcing him back onto street tires
- The STi did not make an appearance
- The green mod mk1 GTI wasn’t there; the driver had his (also prepped) ’94 Integra (EP class, ended up with the 2nd fastest time of 50.187)
And numerous others (like the CSP CRX Si) were simply off of their top game. And I was on mine. So it was a fun two days with good courses, and I ran well. What more can you ask for? (Stay tuned for the answer to that rhetorical question.)
Posted October 27th, 2008 at 4:15PM
So we ended up having a bonus 7th event on October 19th at a new location in Clifton Park. It’s a very small parking lot and I’m not sure how many events we’ll hold there in the future. Cramped.
I finished 3rd, as usual. Didn’t bring the r-compound tires since it was a cold Sunday and I wasn’t even in the mood to go. As far as the season, it looks like…. I finished 2nd in Street Mod, 3rd in the overall street class. This is due to the STi missing a few events. If I was truly interested in year end trophies, I should have stayed in G-Stock. Especially now that there’s a new R56 MINI making it to most of the events, which would make for a good benchmark. But I’m not that interested, I’m just there for fun.
What’s next for the old MINI Coop? I still really want to get a header and cam, and then re-tune early next year. I’m also looking around for some race buckets to better grip my rear-end, but that’s on the back burner ($$$). Mostly, I’m looking forward to getting to the track next year, which means saving for entry fees and wear items like brake pads and tires.
Looks like I’ve lined up alternative transportation through the winter months, so I won’t be driving the MINI through salty, icy sludge. Thank jebus!
Posted August 27th, 2008 at 9:58AM
(image courtesy of Jane Quinn, full photoset available here)
So I went to the NE Divisionals earlier this month (Aug. 9th-10th). This was a two-day autocross at Seneca Army Depot in Romulus, NY. I camped with my parents, and it almost felt like a homecoming being back in the finger lakes region (Romulus is in between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes). The event was hosted by Mohawk-Hudson and also a points event for our regional championships.
The location (an abandoned airstrip) is the best pavement available and allows for long and fast courses, quite a deviation from what I’m used to at smaller local events. The combination of an interesting course, fast competition, and clear weather made for a great event. (It rained both nights, but somehow cleared up during the days for our runs!)
I placed 4th in SM, behind the three nationally competitive drivers, and ahead of “everyone else.” I was curious if my Evo competition would be quicker on the faster wide open course, but I kept ahead of him (barely), mostly because of his worn shoddy tires which have since been replaced.
The best runs of each day were added up to form a total:
1st in SM — 113.254 seconds
2nd — 113.705
3rd — 120.138
4th — 120.782 (moi)
5th — 121.258
6th — 121.719
7th — 123.521
8th — 129.925
I was pretty damn close to third (which would have been a trophy), but not because I was a comparable driver. Third was the wife(?) co-driver of the guy who placed 2nd. Their car began running on limp mode during the second day. She was able to borrow the other SM Honda Civic (who’s driver placed 1st). So her times were slower in the (slightly) unfamiliar car.
It was a fun event and a good introduction to larger, national level events. There are a ton of pics here, even a few of my dirty car. I should mention also in attendance were about half a dozen other MINIs, running in stock and street tire classes. Everyone was friendly, fast, and.. uhm. Furious?
Few events in September, I might be able to catch something in October, and then it’s the cold, dreary winter off-season. I need to find an ice racer!
Posted July 24th, 2008 at 9:17AM
I know everyone has been on the edges of their seats, sitting with bated breath, waiting to hear of my latest autocross escapades. The reason for the long delay is because we still do not have results from the June 15th autocross at Columbia-Green Community College. I believe I placed 1st in SM, but wanted to verify that, as well as see how my times compared to the rest of the field. I believe I was up there, placing 3rd-5th in raw times out of a field of about 70-80. But now it’s anyone’s guess as to whether we’ll ever get results from the event. Sucks for me.
This past weekend (July 20th) was the 3rd points event with MoHud, back at McCarty lot in Albany. The usual suspects were there, and SM was filled with 9 competitive entrants. My 7 runs were as follows…
- 25.746
- 25.330
- 24.471+1
- 24.502+4
- 24.587+1
- 24.449
- 24.364+5
Two things are readily apparent. I was pretty cone crazy, but also consistent, improving throughout the day. I took out cones at the finish box on my 4th and 7th runs. For comparison, the fastest raw time was a 23.837, and best time in SM was a 24.174. Second was a 24.290, and I captured third place. Although I was solidly beat by the end of the day, I was winning SM at the end of the morning session (first four runs, excluding conage). My main competition at this point is the same pesky blue Evo as ever, and now (once again) an 05-06 STi. Last season, I was consistently running a few tenths behind the STi’s main driver, and a few tenths ahead of the co-driver. At that time we were both on street tires, and the Scoob was a good benchmark. I expected to be ahead of him this season as he’s still on streets (another set of Falken Azenis). But apparently he’s fitted gobs more rubber underneath the car and is a lot quicker. I need to talk to him and see what else is different, because the car hauls now. Both Evo and STi are more seasoned drivers. Well, and they both probably have close to double the horsies.
So? The MINI fawking rocks, at least on a regional level. I’m getting closer and closer to getting it completely dialed in, if there is such a thing. Chances are I’ll add a few more “powuh” mods and continue to fine tune the suspension over the coming months.
August 9th and 10th is the North East Divisionals at Seneca Army Depot, which I’ll be attending. Should be a good event.
Posted June 25th, 2008 at 5:52PM
For posterity’s sake:
Went to an event on the 8th in Hartford, CT, and placed 2nd in SM out of a field of 5. My best time was a 28.824 which was 0.296 off of first (an Evo, of course). Third place was another SM MINI who had whupped me at the two previous CART events I had made it to, when he had an advantage tire-wise.
I was inconsistent, but had that one good run. Still could have improved a lot. This event in Connecticut was basically preparation for the MoHud points event on 6/15 at Columbia-Green Community College. I think I took 1st at this one, but I’m waiting for official results before posting.
No pictures. No MINI love. But I did have a picture in the latest (July ’08) edition of the “Knock Off,” MoHud’s monthly newsletter. A small “woot” is warranted, I suppose.
I should create a sub-category solely for autocross…
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