|
|
 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 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.
Posted June 12th, 2007 at 12:08PM
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. It’s hard driving a MINI in SM. The results for June 3rd’s autocross are finally up. Here are everyone’s fastest times in the class:
36.250 seconds
36.572
36.600
38.367
38.437
38.672 (moi)
39.140
40.284
42.154
44.431
That was my second run. My third run was a 37.764 but I bagged two cones in the process. And the second heat of the day (our last three runs) were in the rain / on wet pavement, so there wasn’t much room for improvement. I need to work on consistency. I can be ‘fast.’ It just takes me way too much time to get there. New tires should help. And seat time, seat time, seat time.
Here’s some video from the event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OIrb6JfYzE
And a few weekends back I made it to an event with Southern New York region, but they’ve never uploaded the results so it looks like I’ll never blog about it. It’s just as well, I came in DFL* in SM.
* Dead Fucking Last… 
Posted May 7th, 2007 at 4:25PM
Yesterday’s autocross was a lot of fun. Glen region is small, there were only 41 drivers. I placed 2nd out of 4 in SM with the following times:
48.993
47.911+1
56.519
48.497
46.901
56.300
I don’t have any pictures right now, but there was a photographer there so some photos ought to appear sometime soon. A Honda Prelude beat me, by .14 seconds. The two 56 second times, I nearly missed a gate and had to back up. (And the second time, I completely stalled it!). I could have improved. Oh well. I was 11th fastest, not including the karts. I’m in good company.
I got some numbers!
|
Tags: 
