I was going to wait a while before starting this thread, but my friends seem to enjoy the carnage, so I thought I would share it with the MA faithful. The car started life as a nicely optioned 06 MCS. I did the usual first mods. 15% pulley, CAI, rear sway bar, camber plates, coilovers, bbk, rear control arms, etc. I added a few cosmetic changes. JCW wing, body colored aero kit, cf bonnet, tint, HRE wheels and more. I got hooked on DEs and made more changes. Track wheels, race pads, Hoosier r-comps. Now I was getting fast and decided to add some safety features to the mix. Custom roll/harness bar, Cobra race seats and 6-pt harnesses. It was about this time that I lost my mind. I rented a warehouse bay with 1200 sq ft. I drove the car in and started tearing things apart. It looks something like this today...
What is your goal for this project, the ultimate street fighter or are you going to actually take it to the track? Which series will you compete in?
Just a few extra parts and wires... the car will be built to BMWCCA D-Mod specs. This will allow significant changes to the stock configuration. There will be fewer oem parts than aftermarket parts. I hope you enjoy the process. Greg
I chose not to address the issue. As the stock seatbelts were no longer functional, I removed them. With a 6-pt harness on, I felt comfortable ignoring the warning lights. Others on another forum have successfully integrated the weight sensor to aftermarket seats.
i guess that i am due for an update. a major accompllishment was getting the car to a single part number! a word of warning to those that may attempt this......remove the engine before taking out the fuel tank. when i removed it, the car did a slow roll forward and ended up balanced on the front jackstands and the oil pan! a bit scary, but funny afterwards. the car looks very similar at first glance, but i have spent a lot of time and effort to get the weight out. other than the upcoming dip/strip, i've gone about as far as i can go. a few brackets remain that i will use when fabricating cf body parts. fun with the hole saw: the cutoff wheel is pretty useful too: before after i thought that these looked pretty heavy: off they came: guess that they really weren't that heavy, but every ounce counts: i also removed a lot of useless bracketry and the battery box. i really don't see where else i can cut weight, but let me know if you see something i missed! i've spent quite a bit of time on weight reduction, as it is the one thing that helps acceleration, handling and braking. nothing else will as much effect on overall vehicle performance. next up is finishing my rotisserie, so that i can transport the shell to the dipper and the cage builder.
Just to be a Devil's advocate, did you have an engineer help with where to drill all those holes? I ask because when I used to be a turn marshal with SCCA, a guy did his own engineering on his formula 440 cage and ended up breaking his back in three places when he left the track and tumbled through my turn one sunny Florida afternoon. You could hear him screaming for the entire 45 minutes it took to get him out of the twisted wreck that used to be his car. Just make sure you have everything you need structurally, because it is a life and death thing and if you don't, it makes things that are already deadly even more so. Not trying to tell you how to do things, but just want to make sure you don't end up hurt or worse. Looks very cool, btw! Keep the updates coming.
If the cage is done right it shouldn't be a problem. Robispec here in Hesperia cuts out all of the interior inner metal to shave weight and then uses the cage to support the outer skin and he preps cars for time attack and other competitions. It was cool to have him show what he does.
I suggest you dress the edges of those holes (looks like you used a hole saw). If not.... and you get yourself in a situation where you arms and hands are flapping around, it might be like being inside a cheese grater.
carbonized: no cage yet. i need to finish welding my rotisserie so that i can transport the shell to the dipper/stripper, then to the cage builder. johngo: no engineering studies done. the holes that i made won't have any effect on the chassis once a 10-pt cage is welded in and the shell is seam welded. the result will be much stronger than anything that MINI designed. i have done a lot of research on cage design, but i'm leaving the final design and execution to a professional. i appreciate the feedback. metalman: yes, the holes need to be dressed, but not of them have any potential to come into contact with any part of my body. the holes in the top will be covered by a new skin on the outside and by part of the cage in the interior. the holes on the dash cannot possibly be reached by my hands when strapped into a driving position. i am moving the seat and pedals rearward. greg
Nice project!! Looks very cool, and can't wait to see the cage installed. Most of the strength will be in the cage, and when welded up and the body seams welded I can imagine that thing would roll around in a tumble dryer all day... Bravo!
Hey Beaner, did you remove all that plastic stuff around the radiator? and those extentions from the sub frame? I've been removing stuff today and can't how much weight this stuff weighs.