More power to a Cooper

Yes, regardless of how much hp the car has, not being smooth will upset the balance of the car. It's actually easier to be smooth with less hp, but it will affect it nonetheless. When driving hard, they say you're either on the gas or the brake, otherwise you're just floating around. The trick if you have less hp is to use less brake and more gas. Be smooth coming off the brake and you can get on the gas faster. Use less brake and you'll need less gas to come out of the corners hard. You should be able to overwhelm the tires on your MINI without any HP mods.

Sometimes you'll hear schools say, slow in, fast out. What you really want to do is fast in, fast out. Maximize your grip at all points of the turn and you can carry more speed. If you're thinking about using gas and brake going into the turn, instead try just a little brake, and then on the gas earlier. You might spin out, but that's what practice is for. Experience will teach you how to carry more entry speed through a corner, using less brake, so you can generate more exit speed.

On the other hand, there are mechanical things you can do to maximize grip in your car. In any class, that means stickier tires. Stock classes can use R-compounds, and street tire classes let you upgrade your springs and swaybars.

Next time you're at an autocross, talk to people and see if you can catch a ride. In my experience most people are friendly and willing to help. There are benefits to riding shotgun - you can watch someone's footwork for an entire run, for example.

 

Ben, before I read all this, does it apply to the R-56 too? :lol:

Jim

 

Nope. Don't read it. :lol:

 

Kidding aside, do read it. It's good (although I also hesitate to read so much text. How the hell you supposed to know what you are saying without pictures).

The first thing to do is to get comfortable switching to left foot braking. Practice on the street to get the feel, and then use it at auto x. When I ran our Cooper, I would often keep the throttle floored, and apply the brakes at the same time to settle the car into a corner. The hard part is to get the feel of smooth applications of brakes with your clutch leg: you tend to stab the brake too hard at first.

 

Two weeks till I go to the track, two weeks till I go to the track, two weeks till I go to the track...

 

Actually, I read it anyway Ben and found it very interesting. I also liked the one you did about how to do "heel & toe", as I found it helpful.

Jim

 

Glad I can be of some use to you, Jim. =)

Heel and toe is fun, and I'm still trying to get good at it. Left food braking is another animal entirely. It's a technique actually developed rallying MINIs in the '60's, but it allows you to control the balance of the car while applying power. I always thought it worked best on RWD cars - brake with the front wheels and apply power with the rear wheels. One example is an off-camber curve, where you want to keep the car from understeering. But I'm sure it could help in autocross since you're rarely using the clutch. Eric seems to have a handle on it.

 

Ben, if you are going to MOTD this year......"SHOTGUN".

Jim

 

The thing with a Cooper is you are driving a momentum car. The most important thing to do is to slow down as little as possible once you are going. On the AutoX course it is critical to learn how fast you can get through a turn and get back on the gas as soon as possible.

 

Yes, practice practice practice. It's the only thing that will make you better. Use your feet and get good at left foot braking - it's another tool that you can use to your advantage. Also practice looking through turns. As you approach a corner, look all the way through the corner and as far down the street as you can. Brake, turn in, and follow the line you plotted with your eyes. We tend to look straight ahead when we're braking, but good drivers know you have to keep your eyes one step ahead. Physically turn your head and force your eyes to move ahead. Of course, be safe on the street and don't forget to check your mirrors and oncoming traffic, but practice keeping your eyes moving. That's another skill that translates well from track to street and vice versa.

 

I would left foot brake til the cows came home on my older automatic car. I got used to it and my left foot was sensitive enough that I would do it almost 100% of the time anyway. I can no longer do it in my 6 spd Mini though, my left foot is only good for the clutch. But i can heel toe fairly well so it sort of makes up for it in my head.

With regards to smoothness, I agree with everything BThayer said. My boss tells students to imagine a bowl with a ping pong ball on the dashboard. Use the car to walk the ball around the edge of the bowl but don't let the ball fall out. Also, if you're new to the track, he recommends you imagine your wallet taped to the dashboard to keep you from pushing beyond your skill level. Auto-x is a great place to push yourself and explore, but a track day is a learning experience and not a "race."

Slow in, fast out is how you start....but really it's fast in, faster out.

For a momentum car like an R50, it's fast in, fast out.

- andrew

 

FWIW I just put one of the over sized gas pedals on mine and heel & toe has greatly improved.

Jim