2nd Gen Most liked posts in thread: R56 Pepper White Street / STX Autocross Build Thread

Brakes installed, and refurbed.

Got everything I needed from JC Whitney. Crazy great prices on the pads. They have a button named "make offer", so I just offered $75 for each set, and that reduced the price significantly. The downside, they didn't have the upgraded rear discs that had the hats and interiors powdercoated. While I was in there, I decided to paint the calipers the same orange as the orange dot in my logo:



The devil is in the details.

Here's the layout:



The rear discs needed to be painted. So, I masked them with blue tape and sprayed them up. I used High Heat Engine enamel.



Much better:


In the meantime, it was time to clean and refurb the front calipers. This is where I started:



Calipers pulled, bungee corded out of the way, cleaned, and flipped over. The painting begins:



Rears ready for pad install:



3 coats of orange, 3 coats of clear later, all buttoned up and installed. The orange looks pretty fluorescent in this picture, but it's not quite that neon in real life:



Hiding behind the wheel:



EBC Warning...



...which I promptly ignored and raced the next day at a local PCA event. EBC brakes have a special coating which scores and beds the new discs. Because of that, they heat up VERY quickly. So, my new rotors are a bit blue now. But that just makes them faster. I'll report back on the pads when they are properly bedded.

 

Car was BRILLIANT yesterday.

300 Miles of twisty, mountain, San Diego roads with the West Coast Mini club. The car was flawless, and the suspension felt fantastic. I was worried it would be too harsh on the roads, but I don't feel much of a comfort difference from stock. Maybe I just like stiff cars.

Current settings are H-Sport rear sway bar set to "middle" (3 stiffness options available), from Koni shocks FULL soft, and rear Konis set to 3/4 of a turn from stiff. (2 1/2 full rotations from soft to stiff. I sure wish they would index them.)

Here's a shot from the run yesterday. Tough place I live in.



3 autocrosses (PCA, BMWCCA, SCCA) in the next two weekends, so the real test begins soon.

 

Finally Made a Phase I Suspension Decision.

After poring over many, many, many threads, youtube videos, and drawing on past experience, my phase I suspension is going to be a set of Koni Yellows with Swift Spec-R springs. (With Vorshlag Camber Plates) They are affordable, offer limited adjustment, and are all very quality pieces. I still haven't found a "build vendor" yet, but I'm hoping to partner with one for this project.

I'll keep you posted on the suspension. Next up...LSD.

 

I needed a way to mount my iPhone for Data Acquisition and GPS

So, I went down to Marshall's and bought a spare iPhone case, stuck some industrial velcro on it, and stuck the other side to the bottom half of my (not used thanks to the stereo upgrade) speedo. Worked great.

 

The Wheel Gap Had To Go...

If I was to be competitive in STX (Where the Mini is an underdog), the car needed to get lower, more adjustable, and stiffer in the rear. As a "phase 1" suspension upgrade, I called on the old autocross standby, Koni yellows. After much research, I decided a set of Swift Spec R Race springs would mate up perfectly, and give me the lower CG and responsiveness I needed. One great thing about this journey is how I learn something new about this car every single time I work on it. I've now messed with suspension, electronics, exhaust, and wheels/tires, and I've had it for exactly one month.

Here was the previous wheel gap. Three fingers (for her pleasure):



Out with the old, in with the new. (anyone need an R56 suspension?):



Midway through. The yellow looks nice poking out of there:



I can't quite get a finger in there now without angling it up. Here's the before and after. It's actually sitting at a weird angle in my driveway, so it's actually a bit lower than it looks in this pic:



And the final shot. I have to say...the preliminary drive was SURPRISING to say the least. Despite being about 4x stiffer, it's MUCH smoother than the factory ride. I can't say enough about these Koni dampers. They are SO much better than the asian aftermarket cheapo stuff. It's these, THEN you step up to JRZ or something fancier when you reach that level.



My next steps are to fix my crummy exhaust (long story) and get a set of F + R EBC red pads...my warning light is on, so I don't have long before I've got to replace them. And I'm racing next weekend, so time is of the essence.

At this point, I'll have to replace that "DS" with "STX", cause there's no going back.

Stay tuned!

 

I've realized how long it's been since I've updated this thread. The truth is, I've been running a lot of events. Enough that my Star Specs are almost completely bald. I'm considering trying out a set of Hankooks next.

In the last few months, I've been focusing on another car build I have, but in the meantime, installed this pretty piece of hardware:



OS Giken LSD has really transformed the car, but also exposed some inadequacies in my suspension setup. Primarily, my lack of camber plates.

We took my tire temps after a few runs yesterday, and my outside edge is 10 degrees hotter than the center. So, I desperately need more negative camber. I'll be ordering some Vordschlag camber plates, but there's currently a supply issue.

I installed these custom adjusters today to adjust the koni yellows:



They are REALLY hard to adjust, because it's hard to get a hand back there and get leverage. But, it's easier than pulling the shocks every time!



I ran a BMW autocross this weekend. Had about 9 minis in class. I managed to squeeze a bit more camber out of the stock slots while in the pits, and the car felt great!



I'll check in after I do the camber plates and get some tires.

 

Wow. What grip those Dunlop Direzza DII's have. It's ridiculous.

Here they are on the car:



I think they look phenomenal...but now I need some big brakes! Those rears look funny!

Wheels: Neuspeed RSe05. Ordered them on Tuesday, had them Wednesday! Fantastic Service!

Tires: Dunlop Direzza DII 215/45-17. Only available at Tirerack.com. I opted for 45 versus 40 for slightly taller gearing while autocrossing.

 

Dave...that's great info. I'll make a run at RMW soon. I have to be in LA next week.

BTW...I'm from Yardley, which is in Bucks County. That's my hometown.

 

Right on. We were neighbors at some point. My bro used to work at College Pro Painters in West Chester.

 

Alright...pads and rotors ordered. I might paint the calipers while I'm at it. Just because.

 

Data Acquisition

I've decided to invest in some data acquisition software/hardware.

After doing some research, here's what I landed on:

Harry's Lap Timer (iOS Version)
Dual XGPS 160 (10 mhz) GPS device
Go Pro Hero 3 Silver +
Simvalley ELM327 WIFI OBD2 Scanner.

I'm still waiting on the OBD2 Scanner, but I've now done 2 events with Harry's Lap Timer. It's quite remarkable. It instantly integrated with the GPS unit and the Go Pro.

Here's my setup:

 

Interesting Dave...didn't know that. I'll investigate. Thanks!

 

Back to the days when I actually had a developed car:



We'll be there again soon.

 

Thought I'd document the process of installing my podcast's graphics in case you ever want to install any.

First, lay out and measure your placement, and secure with blue tape. Use a tape measure to be precise about it. Once you get it where you want it, use a long strip of tape to "split it in half", like this:



Now, pull one side off, leaving the tape in the middle of the vinyl. Peel off the backing, and cut it off with a razor blade. I taped mine in the right upper corder to temporarily hold it while I cut the backing off:



1/2 the backing cut off, with the blue tape securing it's place on the car:



Now, starting from the middle (near the blue tape) gently work your way from the inside to the outside, adhering the graphic as you go along. You want to "roll" inch by inch, so that you don't inadvertently adhere the graphic and cause a big crease. I hold the graphic taut with my left hand while my right hand works it's way down. Then, half is on. Since that half is holding the graphic in place, you can remove the tape, peel back the other backing, and repeat the process from inside out. You'll be left with this:



If you have letters that span the door gap, gently push the graphics so you can see the crease of the door, then cut with a razor blade. Open the door and stick the vinyl.



Now that it's on, your car DEFINITELY has at least 5 more HP. Go enjoy your notoriety as a famous race car driver (Or Podcaster):

 

Finishing the Vinyl. This is exactly what I designed in Adobe Illustrator months ago...long before I had a mini. Vision board material, I guess. Now I get lots of conversation about it. My next choice is springs/shocks, or LSD.