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 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 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…
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 August 16th, 2007 at 9:53PM
I’ve done a few things to the MINI lately that haven’t been documented, so let’s get underway.
In this shot of the engine bay, you can see two new additions: a better diverter for the intercooler on top, and a trick piece of carbon fiber that better routes incoming air. Both are measures attempting to get the car running cooler. The diverter seems to be working; totally unscientifically, the intercooler feels cooler after hard runs. It also has a sprayer that sprays water to cool things down.
If nothing else, they both look neat.
Inside, I’ve installed a “CG-Lock” which, when enabled, keeps the lap portion of my seat belt tight, while allowing the shoulder strap to remain loose. For $40 or so shipped, it was a great buy and invaluable for keeping me planted during autocross. Consider it a stop-gap measure until I fork out $150 for a Shroth quickfit harness, k?
Speaking of autocross, this past weekend was my first in awhile. Saturday I drove all the way out to Seneca Army Depot for a test+tune with Finger Lakes Region. It was fun, and the lot was amazing. The course was very long and fast, and the MINI was VERY loose.
On Sunday I returned to ACC to race with MoHud, where I placed an amazing 3rd in SM out of a field of 9. The horrible pavement worked to my advantage:
39.578+1
39.239
39.611
38.337
38.198+1
38.083
First in SM was a 36.520 and FTD was a 36.225. With a bit more HP and some r-compound tires, I could really become competitive. As is, this time around I beat a built 240sx with 275mm Hoosiers. Chalk it up to the condition of the lot, as normally I don’t hold a chance to the guy.
Posted July 28th, 2007 at 8:31PM
Busy month, this weekend is my first one without a race. Just before the first event, I also picked up a used set of Hankook Ventus RS2s, one of the better autox tires out there. After figuring out tire pressures, these things are a huge improvement on my daily drivers. They should last the rest of the season too. And then it’s on to r-compounds next year.
July 8th I drove down to Connecticut to drive with a local club. Went down primarily to mix it up with some other MINIs, which was a blast comparing times and watching them. Turn out was decent, and in SM I took 4th place out of 8. Another MINI was 2nd. Our times were comparable, neck and neck most of the day, but I was cone happy. At the end of the day, I was 4/10ths of a second off of him. I believe my car is better set up handling-wise, but he has the power. Another day!
July 15th and I was at my home SCCA region, MoHud. Here I eventually placed 5th out of a large class of 14. The cars ahead of me were all regulars, and I solidly beat a few others who are making it to a lot of the events. I feel as if I can gain another position, but then I’m SOL until I get a lot better, give the car some more kick, and buy some r-compounds.
July 22nd was back to Ithaca College! Glen region was hosting an event on-campus and I just had to make it to this one. It was a lot of fun being back in Ithaca. My mother and I made it a weekend, but didn’t get to do a whole lot. Ate some decent food. Brought the dog and he behaved wonderfully. Glen is a small region and not super-competitive, which explains why I placed 1st out of 2 entrees in SM. I beat a Chevy Silverado.  Regardless, I’ll take the win. Looking at raw scores, I was also 5th fastest out of a field of 30 (excluding the karts)! Beating me were two Miatas, a Corrado, and an M3. Not bad company, eh? I felt very good about this event, even though I coned my fastest runs. I’m getting used to the sticky tires and can’t wait till the next round.
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