Camera Shy Sep 6, 2002
Our Cooper S is still a little camera shy, but it will make its grand appearance online soon. Truth be know, the car's original 16-inch wheels are currently being used on our red Cooper, so the "S" is sporting some, well, not very flattering wheels that we pulled from our private stash. Unfortunately, they're not exactly the coolest-looking wheels ever available. However, the car should be on normal-looking wheels in the next few days; look for photos soon after.
We have been working on our plans for the car, and things are starting to take shape. As originally stated, it will be a Street Mod beast, while we'd also like to do some prep work that would be suitable for track days. (We're currently working on a feature story about track days, on-track driver schools and the like, and we have a feeling that a few cars in the GRM stable will be receiving roll bars soon.)
Our performance benchmark for the car is going to be the current BMW M3. Can BMW Group's most humble offering run with their top dog?
Preparing for SEMA Sep 25, 2002
The SEMA Show is quickly coming up, and we have been busy ordering parts so we can prepare our Cooper S for autocross as well as track events. The idea here is to show people how to properly use a MINI--some may consider the car to be cute, but it can haul, too.
The UPS man has already delivered several cool parts, and they'll be on the car soon: UUC Motorwerks exhaust, 17x8-inch BBS RK wheels, H&R springs and a BMP Design gauge cluster. Kumho tires are on the way, along with some other cool items. Once we have what we need, we'll be doing some dyno and track testing.
Our Cooper S has already served as a parts car of sorts, donating its Sport seats to our Cooper. Since the same Sport seats are an option on the Cooper, this modification is legal for SCCA Stock class autocrossing. The Sport seats may be a little heavier, but the support is worth the extra bucks.
Our car is no longer camera shy, and can be easily seen, it's a Pure Silver model featuring black mirrors and roof. It's also a very early production model, as its date of birth is Sept., 2001. Options on the car include Dynamic Stability Control ($500), fog lamps ($140) and the metallic paint ($400). (However, our favorite option is the no-cost cassette deck.)
Baseline Testing our 2002 MINI Oct 13, 2002
We did some baseline testing this past Friday, running several laps at Central Florida's Ocala Gran Prix, a 6/10-mile kart track featuring speeds and turns much like those found at an autocross. In bone-stock, as-delivered condition, Per turned consistent 40-second laps in the Cooper S--about a full second quicker than some modified Porsches you'll read about in our December issue. (Per drove the Porsches, too, and the conditions were similar.)
The brakes and power steering did start to go soft after about half a dozen laps, however, so they'll be needing some attention, too. While the stock Goodyear run-flats are hard, they did prove to be consistent.
Big Pile o’ Parts Oct 21, 2002
Parts for the Cooper S have been arriving at our office from Kumho, BBS, Mini Mania, BMP Design, Supersprint, UUC Motorwerks, Koni, H&R as well as Sparco, and we'll be performing some suspension surgery tomorrow. Graphics are already in the works, and soon we'll be taking the car to the dyno, too.
Our first round of suspension mods have been completed, as the car now rides on H&R sport springs and Koni Sport shock absorbers.
While the car now sits a little lower, ride quality didn't change much at all. Will the new setup yield faster lap times and increases in drive confidence?
Shaving tenths Oct 23, 2002
Competition Tire South just mounted our 215/45R17 Kumho Ecsta MX tires onto a set of 17x7-inch BBS RK wheels, so we're making some more progress. So we're heading back to Ocala GP for some more testing. We'll also keep an eye on the tires to see if our initial alignment settings are in the ballpark: about -1 degree camber all around along with 0 toe front and rear.
Looks like our new setup shaved a few tenths and made the car much more stable at the limit, but we're thinking a larger rear anti-roll bar is what we need to tie everything together. More details to come soon, as we're not quite done with the suspension.