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 Posted May 7th, 2009 at 11:40AM
So this past weekend, I drove down to Watkins Glen International for two days of a HPDE (High Performance Driving Event). These schools have become an increasingly popular avenue for budding drivers to get real track time in a low cost, safety conscious way. Laps are not timed and in-car instructors are provided. Eventually, with experience, one is allowed to drive solo, and this can be a springboard toward competitive events like time trials or club racing.
The organizing body for this weekend was Trackmasters, and as a first event I could scarcely ask for anything more. The schedule was the same for both Saturday and Sunday; alternating 30 minute blocks of track time and classroom discussion. So each day: two hours on-track, 2.5 hours of class, plus a half hour as passenger in our instructor’s car. My instructor drove a ’99 Porsche 911 Carrera.
As far as experiences go, driving on the track is one of those things that can’t be conveyed in words or images. I studied track maps and watched plenty of WGI in-car video in preparation beforehand, but still spent much of Saturday flubbing braking points since I was never sure of the corner I was entering (or approximately how much speed I could carry). But by Sunday I was able to relax and actually enjoy myself lap after lap. I even began to appreciate the view of Lake Seneca, as you hurtle toward turn 1 on the front straight. For a moment…
My instructor came away impressed with my initial abilities, and that of my car. He began our first session by explaining that he had never instructed in a MINI Coop, but stressed the short wheelbase point (which can really bite you in the ass, should you do something dumb like lift off the throttle suddenly mid-corner). Coming into the weekend with 3 years of autocross experience, and understanding most of the fundamental concepts in driving on the track, I had an edge over some of the other first-timers. I wasn’t fast, but I picked up a consistent line, found my braking, turn in, and track out points, and demonstrated an ability to realize and correct mistakes.
This isn’t to say that everything I learned autocrossing was applicable. One of my first issues to deal with was braking smoothness. Specifically; lifting up, as you turn in, settle the car, and prepare to add throttle back in and apex. I’ve gotten used to using my brakes as an on/off switch autocrossing, which actually isn’t best there either. But it’s a downright dangerous habit on-track, so we fixed that right off the bat.
But concepts like creating the widest radius arc, and looking ahead into the corner, and how we’re best able to use the grip that god and Falken Tires gave us… All of this was a great help.
So I had a blast, right up until I started experiencing a horrible shudder in the steering wheel under heavy braking. It happened five minutes before the end of the last session on Sunday, so I limped the car in, and eventually found my driver’s side outer CV joint boot torn apart, with grease splayed throughout the inside of the wheel.
I tried to limp the car the 250 miles home, but curiously only made it 100 miles before the joint gave out, leaving me temporarily stranded on I-88. Fun fun fun. I called family, and we were able to rent a dolly and get the car home on Monday. I’m now working on figuring out the best replacement option for the half axle, and plan on doing the work myself. Guess you have to pay to play.
 
Posted May 28th, 2008 at 3:20PM
I had my brakes replaced under warranty at about this time last year, after getting the car inspected and told the brakes were barely legal. Apparently Keeler only replaced the front pads, as about two months ago my idiot brake light came on. Determined to do the job myself and avoid expensive OE mark-up, I looked into various options you might call a “stage one” brake upgrade. Pads, rotors, and fluid. Originally I wanted to include stainless steel brake lines and metal caliper bushings, but with a tight budget and both of these upgrades being more about feel and less about actual performance, I skipped them for the time being.
After a bit of searching, I finally went with Carbotech Bobcat 1521 pads and the Texas Speedwerks rotors (along with Motul RBF600). This combination promised better initial and overall bite than stock with less fade, and was available from a prominent MINI vendor, AutoXCooper.com.
(Unlike many,) I had always been fairly content with the stock brakes. I thought they were adequate for autocross, although I had experienced fade on the streets during more “spirited” runs. But after running this new brake combo for several weeks, I have to say that it’s a significant improvement. The difference is especially appreciable during autocross, where I’m able to brake harder and later, shaving off valuable tenths / hundredths of a second.
May 11th was Mother’s Day and the first home points event with MoHud. The event was held at the McCarty Parking Lot in Albany, an odd little lot sandwiched between highways. There were 48 entries and the recent upgrades to the MINI (aforementioned brake upgrade, coilovers, tune, Schroth Quickfit harness) have made my little car extremely more competitive. I had the 5th fastest raw time and placed 3rd out of 11 entries in SM. I was beaten by the same car with two drivers (with the co-driver beating the owner). I was .119 seconds off of second place and .182 off of first. This was a car that I was consistently a second and a half (or more) slower last season. Granted he’s running old tires, but I feel as if this season will be much more interesting than last year where I placed 4th-5th on a good day. I was running sloppy and could have made up the difference given a few more runs.
The next event is June 15th, Father’s Day, which will be at Columbia-Green Community College. We’ll be running the event in conjunction with the Poughkeepsie Sports Car Club. I’m looking forward to this one because it sounds like the lot is in good shape and I might have convinced a few more MINIs to show, including another in SM who provides a good benchmark (this will be the first time we’re both running dedicated autox r-comps, Kumho V710 vs Hoosier A6).
And then I need to decide whether to make the trek to Divisionals at Seneca Army Depot, a two day event in August. Because of our shortened season it’s being considered a points event for MoHud (we’re hosting). I assume the year end awards will be decided by who will and won’t be able to make it. It’s a four hour drive and you’re there all weekend. I’m not sure whether I should bother chasing points this year (never have before), but the June event will help me figure that out. If things are still looking rosy, I’ll be at Divisionals.
This has been a really dense post so I’ll leave it at that, but I still haven’t said more than two words about my new Schroth Quickfit harness, a really significant upgrade for the loose nut behind the steering wheel (literally).
And I’m not sure if I’ll be sinking more money into the car any time soon, but if I did, it’d be for a Revolution Mini Works header and cam, plus tune should Jan be in the area. The cam is being shown to be good for 10 more horsepower and pounds-torque on a stock head car, with the header probably producing the same (or more, if I replaced my leaky, rattle-prone cat-back) and the tune making the sky the limit. I’m not sure if I’ve seen a MINI with “everything but the head” as new RMW products are introduced daily and it’s possible you could be seeing 220-230+whp cars with the stock head running around spanking cars with 2x, 3x the displacement. Which is amazing since fully built MINIs were barely breaking 200whp a few years ago, unless you went twincharged or turbo-only.
On the other hand, whenever I sneak a peak at the R56 forums (2007 model year and newer MINIs), I see huge, fat torque curves and whimper. Turbo is still the way to go for producing way too much power than your front wheels will ever be able to handle. I don’t see it happening however, with loans and $4/gal gas over my head.
Posted April 16th, 2008 at 7:14AM
Went to the first autocross of the season last Sunday and nabbed 4th place out of a Street Mod field of 10. I was 2.5 seconds off of first and 1 second off of third, which was a similarly prepped MINI running RA1s. I picked up a set of Azenis, which have proven to be very nice, grippy tires. (And you’ve got to love the tread pattern on them.)
My times listed on the website are a little off (the first run, for instance, was not supposed to count as I got a re-run.):
77.442+OFF
63.882
62.780
60.889
I could have broken 60 if I had a few more runs. As is, I received three re-runs though, so I certainly can’t complain. That 4th place was good for a trophy, but I didn’t stick around since I didn’t realize my last run was that strong. Plus it was a long drive home and I was beat.
But even more exciting than the first autocross, is the fact that I have a set of Kumho V710s coming to me in the mail. They’re 215/40/16 tires which I’ll be mounting to my Kosei K1 wheels. I’m excited as these are my first set of r-comps, and should help me become a wee bit more competitive in SM. They’re used, but only barely scrubbed in, and have a pretty recent production date, so they’re probably fresher than if I ordered new from Tire Rack.
My next priority is getting an alignment before I blow through the Azenis. I’ve found a place nearby that should be just the ticket. Stay tuned, ladies and gents.
Posted April 3rd, 2008 at 6:35PM
This news is three weeks late, but it’s a big upgrade for the MINI so I can’t possibly skip it. I took the suspension to the next level with BC Racing BR series coilovers. Wee!
Before, I was running lowering springs, Koni Yellows, and front Helix/RDR camber plates. The coilovers replace all of that, and I’ve sold the springs and camber plates (still trying to find a buyer for the Yellows at this point).
For their price, the BC coilovers are a tremendous deal. You get integrated camber plates, 30-way adjustable dampening / rebound, flexible rear adjusters to adjust dampening without removing them from the car, and height adjustment independent of travel. I replaced the front springs that came with the BCs with some Skunk2s, and am now running linear 2.5″ ID 6kg springs at all four corners.
The install went smoothly. I had to cut 2″ holes above each rear coilover for the flexible adjusters, and now I can adjust dampening through the rear cubbies.
So how are they? Pretty flipping sweet. The dampening rates are quality and the 6kg springs are livable on the street. The range from softest to firmest is very wide and being able to quickly adjust will be a godsend once autocross starts up. The only drawback is, as a few others have mentioned, that they sometimes feel a bit “bouncy” over undulating pavement. With three or four people in the car, however, the ride is smoother than ever.
They feel a lot better and I bet they net a significant performance gain.
One big reason for both the comfort and performance improvements is because I finally have some suspension travel back. MINI Coopers are suspension travel-impaired stock, and throwing lowering springs worsens things.
I need to get some 5mm spacers for my Kosei wheels to clear the coilover tubes (slightly wider diameter than stock), and I’ll probably spring for a stud kit too for easier wheel changes.
But for now, here are pictures with my 15″ steelies and bald Blizzaks!
Posted February 19th, 2008 at 3:17PM
About two months ago, I snagged a really good deal on a “rear seat delete” for the MINI, so I had to buy it. Used, but in perfect shape, for less than half of what they go for new. It’s originally from RearSeatDelete.com.
I wasn’t using my rear seats most of the time, and ditching them saves 40 pounds. I plan on replacing the front seats with some aftermarket racing buckets which should net me another odd 60lbs. I’m still undecided on whether to sell the stock seats as a set, or to save them in case I ever sell the car.
Oh, and with all this talk about weight savings, I’ve also lost 10lbs 15lbs over the past two months. Faster autocross times, here I come!
Posted January 26th, 2008 at 3:28PM
Earlier this month, I installed a new serpentine belt (NAPA #060535) to ensure I had that last Nth of performance that a slipping belt causes you to loose, and changed my injectors from the stock 340cc units to up-rated 380cc ones. Why?
In preparation for being tuned by the master, Jan Brueggemann from Revolution Mini Works. He came for a week-long tuning session at Helix Minisports in Philadelphia. I was scheduled for Tuesday the 22nd.
We rushed down (it’s a 4.5hr trip to Philly), ate some food, waited, and then my car was strapped on the dyno. The wonky alignment caused the car to act dangerous on the dyno, but dialing back the camber (and going from toe out to toe in) solved that problem. The car pulled strong numbers right off the bat, but the dyno kept “creeping down” and the numbers got worse, even with the tune. After countless pulls and probably close to three hours on the dyno, going back and forth from stock to tuned maps, Jan was finally happy with the results. He made sure they were repeatable and safe.
With the new-found power comes a revolutionary level of refinement and silky smoothness. MINI left a lot on the table with their stock tuning, and with the modifications it was a bear to drive smoothly. This tune brought refinement, AND made DSC (traction control) less intrusive.
It turns out the car was running lean when cold. I was surprised, considering how rich it ran the rest of the time. The car is also mercifully getting better gas mileage, which plummeted for the week that I had the injectors installed but no tune. I averaged 24.6 mpg going down at an average of 80mph. It was 29 mpg coming back at the same speed. I should be doing consistent 30s come summertime again.
Where are the dyno plots, you ask? Why, right here! Notice the 15-20 lb-tq gain down low, and the 15 whp gain up high. The “area under the curve” is expressed as the averages on the lower right-hand corner. Run 2 is before and run 1 is after. The gains are great. MINIs never used to hit 200whp without serious work like a head – and this is all on an inertia-type Mustang dyno, not some seedily optimistic dynojet. I am quite satisfied power-wise for the time being.
(Click to make bigger.)
Posted December 27th, 2007 at 7:15PM
News flash: I’m still in love with my car.
Since installing new shocks and springs (see previous post in the motoring category), I had this really infuriating grinding noise coming from the rear-end. It sounded like metal on metal, like the entire subframe was about to drop off as I motored down the highway. But I drove it anyway, and nothing ever fell off. (I checked and retightened all related bolts and nuts, so I wasn’t quite as reckless as it sounds.)
Today I set about to figure out what the hell the sound was, because it got louder with the colder weather. I went about disassembling the suspension, step by step, isolating the noise. Removing the strut did nothing, so next up was the sway bar. And bingo, it turned out to be the sway bar bushings. Now I had expected these to need re-lubing eventually. What I didn’t expect was for it to sound so atrocious. The bushings are polyurethane, and this noise definitely sounded like metal on metal.
Anyway, a quick stop at NAPA to pick up some lube, and the rest of the day spent disassembling / reassembling, and I’m good to go. The suspension is once again quiet, and the car once again feels like a solid German automobile. (Not a Korean econobox.)
I’ve got some miscellaneous photos on my camera, but I’ll need to go to a wifi spot to upload them to Flickr. Some time.
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