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 Posted October 1st, 2010 at 12:22PM
So despite either off-courses or coned runs on every try, I was having a blast at the new Fortitech site during the September 19 autocross. Until my fifth run when I broke another axle.
I had replaced both driver’s side and passenger’s side axles on the car in the previous week, to “level 0″ axles from the Drive Shaft Shop. This after the clamp on my “level 2″ loosened and began spitting grease again, and the other side exhibiting perhaps interesting clicks and clunks. So I changed them both, and the driver’s side broke again.
I ran around like a chicken on Monday, inquiring as to the status of my Level 2 (which had been sent back for re-clamping and a check over) and ordering a stock replacement from Keeler in case the Level 2 did not come back to me in time. The Drive Shaft Shop agreed to repair the level 0 given that I had it on the car less than a week, and sent the refurbed level 2 back to me in no time at all.
When I tried to put the OEM replacement axle in, I could not for the life of me get it to snap in. The circlip, grind, and everything else looked identical. It just wouldn’t go in. So I threw the level 2 back in, clicking easily into place.
The car ran without fault at Monticello that Friday, September 24. I had a blast, but two other MINIs were not able to run that day. One went into limp mode on the drive down, while the other discovered a torn CV boot. I offered to give him my spare (I had an extra for both sides that day), but he left early.
I was signed off to solo and enjoy possibly the last two hours I’ll ever have on the Monticello Motor Club full course configuration. I enjoyed myself. This was the first track event hosted by MoHud SCCA in a long time, and by all accounts it was pretty successful.
Oh, I also bought a 2004 WRX. But that’s another story altogether. Come on, snow!
Posted July 27th, 2010 at 2:12PM
I had Sunday morning free, so I made the first heat at the McCarty Ave autocross. My first of my three runs was the fastest, a 37.1 followed by a 37.3 and then a 37.79.
That 37.1 was pretty respectable, the fastest street tire time as far as I can tell and earning me 2nd place in the three car SM class. Of interest this time around is that I recorded all of my runs and then reviewed the video that evening. It’s clear where I lost a lot of time pushing wide – a sweeper leading into the final WOT section. I’m hoping to actually begin uploading these videos, since I have a computer that can process the files now.
I also splurged for the $6.99 Trackmaster app for my android phone. I had some technical difficulties since it was a last moment decision, and I didn’t have a well-thought out place to stick the phone. The app requires you to tap the screen to begin logging, so it had to be accessible, but also someplace where it wouldn’t slide around the car. To make a boring story short, I ended up with data from only my last run, so most of the use of the data (comparing runs) went down the drain. Still, I definitely see potential in the program.
The developer of the app has solved one of the biggest problems with phone DAQ – low refresh rates. The phone’s 1hz GPS is not very accurate. Adding a bluetooth external GPS and another phone app will allow collected data to be 5hz. Maybe higher? I have to investigate. But I believe it holds promise.
Combining the video and data is still a long way off though.
Posted June 10th, 2010 at 12:00PM
Going back to street tires has been an adjustment I’m still working on. I’ve found myself seriously blowing some corners, and I believe it’s my expectations of instant turn-in from the r-comps clouding my judgement. The XS have high levels of grip, evidenced by the times I can still post, but they can’t be pitched into the corners like the V710.
At the first official event of the season, I placed 3rd in class, three-tenths of a second behind an e36 M3 on r-compound tires that I could still be beating with better driving on my part (the local, tight courses favor the MINI’s size and bulk). I was nearly two seconds off the blue EVO and the FTD winning CP Mustang, but posted the quickest times on street tires, for what that’s worth. I have video of all six runs, should be posting it to YouTube someday.
June 6th was our second event, and it alternated between blue skies and torrential downpours spiked with lightening. Things had to be shut down twice but with the low turn-out everyone still got their six runs. Conditions were disparate between run groups and morning and afternoon heats, but I was able to post the fastest time in the morning as the r-compound shod could not generate grip due to conditions (curious, since our last runs in the morning were pretty dry). In the afternoon I forgot how to drive entirely. I was nearly a second and a half slower than the EVO by the end, and the SSM CRX coned away a run with a similar time. His best clean was a tenth better than mine. So I had the third fastest raw time, but due bragging rights for this event go to the GS club racing prepped Dodge Neon .04 seconds off of me. I recorded my last three runs, which unfortunately showcase some lamer driving. Although one has me pegging a cone just under the camera and dragging it, with a course worker running up and snagging it finally at the finish. Worth a few laughs, hopefully they’ll be posted at some point.
A ton of photos were uploaded to Flickr of the June 6th event, with quite a few of the MINI I’ll need to sort through. Here’s one teaser. All of these pics of the car under load are suggesting to me that higher spring rates are in order.
Posted September 28th, 2009 at 2:27PM
I snagged another 2nd in class at MoHud’s second to last event of the year, at McCarty Ave on September 20th. FTD was a 27.2, my best clean run was a 28.555 although I improved to an honest 28.1 by the end of the day, with 1 clipped cone in the process. If that bugger had stayed in the box, I’d have tied for 4th in raw time, out of a field of 57.
I’ve noticed some wear on one of the V710s. It looks like little patches of the top rubber compound have been chewed out, exposing the next layer down with a suspicious cord-pattern to it. Guess I’ll run that guy on the rear next time around, and wait till I’ve got nothing for the front. If I burn them up good at the last autocross, maybe I’ll mount the new Kumho XS on those wheels afterall.
Did a bunch of driving yesterday, up scenic Route 9N. Traffic is still not bad, but the leaves are really popping. It was pretty wet all day and the bald Azenis weren’t the best option.
Stainless steel brake lines are on the car and the fluid has been fully bled to Motul RBF600. Unfortunate that I’ve only got one event for such good fluid, before the winter months when the car will be stored.
Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 11:55AM
This past Sunday was MoHud’s 6th autocross of the season, nearby in the Wilton Mall parking lot. The location is not stellar – quite a bit of traffic and paddock is shared with mall-goers – but it was smooth pavement and the course made the most of what we had. I placed 2nd in SM, 1.4 seconds behind first and .034 seconds ahead of third. If I want to keep up, I’m going to have to make some changes to the car. But most of the stuff I’m really itching to have (like safety equipment and data acquisition) won’t make the car faster. So I’ll just concentrate on the driving and drop a few positions. Especially if I do end up running street tires after the V710s cord.
We also just got done pouring the concrete floor in the garage. It came out pretty damn nice and will be so much more convenient to wrench on than packed dirt. Might post some pics soon.
Posted August 17th, 2009 at 12:53PM
Yesterday was another local autocross, this time behind the Boscov’s at Clifton Park Center. This was the first time we ran at this lot (last season, we had a smaller lot in a different location at CPC) and I was fairly impressed. From what I felt, there were none of the crashing bumps that reveal themselves at speed at our Adirondack Community College or McCarty Ave. parking lots. Small, but then I drive a small car, so I can’t complain about that too much.
Unfortunately, the MINI failed in spectacular fashion. First run of the day: I come into a single-cone turnaround pretty quick, brake, smooth downshift to first, coming out of it, time to apply some throttle…. Nope, somebody replaced the go-pedal with a “bag of rocks” pedal. The driver’s side axle I replaced in May broke, the outer joint shearing out of the socket, spraying ball joints across the parking lot.
I’m not entirely sure I got to apply any throttle at all. It was a vicious 180* turnaround, and the axle might have given loose as a result of the downshift adding a bunch of revs in the middle of the tight turn.
It had been clicking for a bit, becoming more noticeable after the last autocross and throughout my trip to Calabogie last month. My bad, shoulda been more proactive. I’m honoring the lifetime warranty, at least until I find or can afford something more robust.
Fortunately I was able to use AAA to get the car home, and it looks like I’ll only be out S&H on the replacement axle. Oh, and I might as well buy that large 30-something MM socket, as it looks like I’ll be doing this job more than once…
So without a single run, I finished DFL and DNF in Street Mod. Behind three Volvos!
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.
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