FYI here's a closeup of the GRS horn adapter. It is amazingly complex and *hand made*. I will point out that it smoothly and evenly transitions from the oval shape of the horns to the round shapes of the tubes. No right angles anywhere in the air path. Now *that's* art.
Do you think they remember how to make it? I would love to have a front mount intercooler. Could be too loud though. I know you cannot make a noise comparison because of the turbo in there. Anyway, I tend to need my a/c from time to time, so I cannot give up the condenser for a large front mount intercooler. Those pipes going over the radiator had to have require cutting the hood or grill. My Aeroquip lines for my oil cooler barely make it through there.
Since I'm guessing that you spend a fair amount of time on the track, I'm curious what your experience and analytical nature have to say about brakes and tires. What do you use to stop all that horsepower? Do you have any issues with brake cooling? Favorite pads? Dual brake cooling hoses like the Challenge cars? What are your favorite tires to run? Any thoughts on tire pressures in different weather and track layouts?
I primarily run on tracks in Texas mainly due to time constraints. But I'm hoping to travel a bit farther afield this year. I'd love to hear suggestions on tracks people enjoy around the country....
BMW CCA's Oktoberfest is going to be at Road America in 2010. Got room on the trailer for 2 MINIs? It's only an 18 hour drive from Dallas... 4 mile natural road course. One of the great road racing tracks in the world. Just saying...
Very good questions. Here's some initial thoughts: Generally I like to use 225-width tires on 7.5" wide rims. That width gives me plenty of grip without sacrificing tight cornering. I'm currently running 225/45 R16's. For R-comp tires, I'm currently running Toyo Proxies R888. I've only run them so far during my fairly brief test & tune time, but so far they seem to have excellent grip even when it's a bit damp. I've also run BF Goodrich g-Force R1's. They had *unbelievable* grip, but they only had 225/50 R16's, which was a bit tall for the Mini. They also lasted a long time. I actually never ran out of tread on them, but with so many heat cycles the rubber started to change. I knew it was time to replace them when I spun out twice in one run! For brakes, I'm running Detroit Tune's BBK. They use Outlaw calipers. They work great - no fade, warping, etc. I think the Wilwood's are equally good. But actually for most people I think the best choice are the JCW brakes+disks & after-market pads. I do have molded brake ducts similar to the old JCW Challenge cars. But with a good brake setup, I don't think these are critical. I haven't tried many different pads yet. From what I have tried, I prefer the Ferodo pads. I don't like the Hawks. Braided brake lines are a *must*. A lot of the fade occurs when the rubber hoses start to soften & expand. Keep the back pads soft. It's very easy to get the back wheels locking up before the front's. This causes the ABS to kick in too early. Switching back to a softer rear pads fixed this & made the car feel much more settled under heavy breaking. Hope this helps.
2nd that, Elkhart Lake is a fantastic place to run..... But closer to home (for you) is Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Al and of course, Road Atlanta. Both fantastic venues...... If you go north, don't miss running at Watkins Glen, that track has huge elevation changes, long sweeping esses and is in a beautiful part of upstate New York. As long as you're in the NE, another "don't miss it" track is Lime Rock Park - a short track by comparison but huge fun to run on and perfect for a MINI. Lastly, VIR is a privately owned track off in the Virginia hills, and one of my favorites with its long backstraight, uphill esses and classic Oak Tree corner.
Yup, definitely helps, thanks. I was cobbling together a brake setup last season that was mostly a reactive effort, so it's helpful to take stock of all the little observations of others, like softer rear pads. Do you track any metrics unrelated to engine performance, or does GPS cover all the bases? I run TSW's MDM kit (with the Outlaw calipers), but I agree with the JCW/R56 caliper assessment. Don't quote me on this 'cause I don't trust my eyes all the time, but the JCW pads look like they have a larger swept area. I wouldn't trade the alu fixed calipers for anything, but it looks like the JCW's use the whole rotor. VIR is awesome in a MINI; it could be unreal with the HP to keep up on the long straights. Uphill esses, 5th on the floor, are what I dream about when it's freezing in January.
Actually, VIR is pretty awesome fun even in a stock MINI S, let alone in something with both HP and brakes! ;-) So is the Glen, tho. The last time I was there last october there were several MINIs in various states of moddom, they all were having a ton o fun. I was driving (of all things ) a Saturn coupe, and even tho it crawled up the toe of the boot, it was still a blast, especially the long uphill esses where I was flat out from the exit of turn one till I got to the bus stop! Yeehaw!
Thanks for the great track suggestions! I really enjoy locations with a bit of scenery...and elevation changes . FYI I should have some interesting updates next week: I'm replacing the battery with a lightweight unit in preparation for the straight-back exhaust. And I should start receiving the first "aerodynamic" pieces. As with everything else my approach is a bit...err....unorthodox.
Oh and BTW, there is a thread here on MA about the ATI Super Damper, and it seems like a quality product. Are you running something other than stock for a crank damper?
Another small update with pics I installed the lightweight battery and reorganized the cabling a bit: I'm going to the track tomorrow for some more tuning time, so I should have another update in a few days... BTW, here's a couple of sneak peeks at the next bits: As the saying goes "you aint seen nuthin' yet!"
I have been running a non-dampened lightweight crank pulley for about 25,000 miles without incident. But given that so much of the internals of my engine are non-stock, I'm not sure my situation is comparable to others. I think a slight weight reduction is definitely beneficial. And keeping with a dampened solution is definitely safer. Moreover it certainly looks like the Super Damper is a good product.