MINI track car, what would you do for $1.5K?

I took the MINI out for its first track day at Toronto Motorsports Park. It was a hoot. I'm now laying out the budget so I can do that at least once a month.

I'm also looking into what I can do the make the car happier on the track. Brakes got pretty spongy every 10 laps or so and required a cool down. Brake fluid recommendations? What pads do you like? Does it make sense to change rotors? What do you like for oil and filters, just the OEM stuff? Any cooling issues I should address?

I also want to invest in a set of dedicated track tires. I have 16 inch alloys to mount them on. What do you like that's affordable? Any sources for used track/race tires in Toronto?

My main focus is to make sure the car can continue it's dual life of DD and track car without issue (or limit the issues).

Thanks,

Jeff

• ATE Typ200 or Wilwood Racing brake fluid
• Hawk DTC 60 race pads
• For $1500 I'd get a set of decent coilovers with good dampers
• I like Nitto NT-01s for HPDEs... predictable and long lasting

can't add much...... I use ATE blue / amber (easier to tell old from new when changing fluid), instead of Hawk I use Carbotech xp10.... + a zillion on spings and dampers.... I've been using Toyo R888's (used) the NT -01's may well be better... though my first new tires will be Toyo RA-1's

TCE has a lot of options for track worthy brake setups: http://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/mini/kits-16/

After that, look at camber plates. The Mini doesn't have enough camber up front and will eat tires w/o camber plates.

The Ground Control coilover setup is a good entry level option that uses a good set of shocks. Or these: http://new.minimania.com/web/Item/NMS3050/InvDetail.cfm or a set of Bilstein coilovers http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-cooper-accessories/suspension/ http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-cooper/mini_cooper_out_motoring_coilovers.html

etc etc

Turner Motorsports also has a lot of goodies for the car: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/t-project-mini.aspx

You definitely want to do suspension and brakes before adding power. For oil, use the usual quality synthetic 5w30 and decrease the intervals. A wix oil filter from NAPA works.

Stick with the known brands and known shops to avoid the johnny-come-lately internet know it alls that know nothing.

Having just spent two days under a customer's MINI, I would check to see what your lower control arm bushings are like. I would then likely put in a set of poly ones since the stockers are really flexy. Also, if you're looking for a really fun way to spend time with your MINI in the area check out the ATTS (Attack the time series). It's a really fun environment and you'll get discounts on toyos just for signing up. It's also one of the cheapest ways to get track time.

$1500 for a track car?

$500 Miata
$500 roll bar
$300 brake upgrade
$200 used R comp or Azenis

$1500, and if you wad it up on track, no big deal.

A $500 Miata that would pass tech inspection with what you listed? Where can i find one, sounds like a good deal to me. And I'm in the rust corner of the country.

i put an i think hotchkis rear bar in a JCW MINI S for customer who tracked it frequently and he seemed to like it. he said it really made the car throttle steerable mid corner.

amg_rx7 wrote: After that, look at camber plates. The Mini doesn't have enough camber up front and will eat tires w/o camber plates.

+1 on additional negative camber up front. I run -1.8 on the street and my tire wear is even now unlike the wear from the stock (-0.5) camber. And you can go easier on the rear sway bar setting.

$1.5k will buy entry level coilovers. KW var2 is more, PSS9 is more. ASTs are more. you may want to try the koni sports or bilstein sp's. Swift just released lowering springs that may work for you. Promini.com has a h&r spring (custom) and bilstein sp bundle. In any case, if you do lower the MINI, lower adjustable rear control arms are needed. Adjustable endlinks are a good idea as well. If the dealer still stocks them, check out the JCW suspension (alledgedly bilstein dampers with eibach springs tuned by MINI).

Change out the tranny fluid as well. Stock is fine. or Redline MTL.

BTW, the RSR team uses the JCW calipers and Performance Friction rotors and Cobalt pads on their Grand-Am MINIs.

What year mini? S or or standard?

Having tracked the crap out of my 2002 MCS, prior to making it much shorter than it was from the factory, I have some advice: Spend $1000 on the Driver and $500 on the car.
1) If its from the first generation, check the rear control arm bushings right now. They break down pretty quickly and will give you some wonderful dynamic toe, this and a sudden lack of ideas, brakes and real estate can turn the vehicle into a 2 seater.
2) For standard HDPE stuff, ATE blue or gold. At a really high speed track, and a very aggressive out breaking style, you can boil ATE Gold and Blue with the stock setup. You will then have to upgrade to Castrol SRF or be less aggressive. Highly aggressive is when you go through 2 sets of front pads and 1 set of rear pads and 4 rotors in a weekend. Think Road A, turn 10 using the OMGWTFBBQ brake marker. Value for money=Panther Pads. Compound choice is up to you.
3) Camber is king, this is the first parts swap you should do. -1.8 sounds good.
4) Rear sway bar is very, very nice. Get an adjustable one, start soft and work your way up.
5) Grab some dedicated track wheels and tires, you can fit them in the Car if you aren't towing it yet. If you are new to HDPE, don't start with R compounds. The squeal of true street tires is a great queue of where the limit is. If you already have that down, go straight to R-Comps.
6) Stop spending money on the car now, spend the rest on the driver. Until you know the car better, all the adjust ability of a tunable suspension just won't matter. You will end up with 64 wrong settings, and 1 right setting. Work first on the loose nut behind the wheel. When you get to the point that you are driving around some suspension limitations, then you will know what to change.

Timeormoney wrote: 6) Stop spending money on the car now, spend the rest on the driver. Until you know the car better, all the adjust ability of a tunable suspension just won't matter. You will end up with 64 wrong settings, and 1 right setting. Work first on the loose nut behind the wheel. When you get to the point that you are driving around some suspension limitations, then you will know what to change.

+1

fwiw, with the stock barrel front springs, -1.8 camber is the most you can get before you run the risk of rubbing.

Timeormoney wrote: What year mini? S or or standard? Having tracked the crap out of my 2002 MCS, prior to making it much shorter than it was from the factory, I have some advice: Spend $1000 on the Driver and $500 on the car. 1) If its from the first generation, check the rear control arm bushings right now. They break down pretty quickly and will give you some wonderful dynamic toe, this and a sudden lack of ideas, brakes and real estate can turn the vehicle into a 2 seater. 2) For standard HDPE stuff, ATE blue or gold. At a really high speed track, and a very aggressive out breaking style, you can boil ATE Gold and Blue with the stock setup. You will then have to upgrade to Castrol SRF or be less aggressive. Highly aggressive is when you go through 2 sets of front pads and 1 set of rear pads and 4 rotors in a weekend. Think Road A, turn 10 using the OMGWTFBBQ brake marker. Value for money=Panther Pads. Compound choice is up to you. 3) Camber is king, this is the first parts swap you should do. -1.8 sounds good. 4) Rear sway bar is very, very nice. Get an adjustable one, start soft and work your way up. 5) Grab some dedicated track wheels and tires, you can fit them in the Car if you aren't towing it yet. If you are new to HDPE, don't start with R compounds. The squeal of true street tires is a great queue of where the limit is. If you already have that down, go straight to R-Comps. 6) Stop spending money on the car now, spend the rest on the driver. Until you know the car better, all the adjust ability of a tunable suspension just won't matter. You will end up with 64 wrong settings, and 1 right setting. Work first on the loose nut behind the wheel. When you get to the point that you are driving around some suspension limitations, then you will know what to change.

It's an 02 MCS, it's stock including the runflats.

So it sounds like camber plates are the first thing to add, plus the brake fluid upgrade. The car has 185K km on it. Should I do suspension when I install the plates?

I've already made room in the budget to go once or twice a month. It's open lapping 9am-5pm for $150 CAD. A hell of a deal.

Thanks

Does anyone have experience with these?

http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-cooper/mini_cooper_Vmaxx_coilovers.html

Jeff wrote: So it sounds like camber plates are the first thing to add, plus the brake fluid upgrade. The car has 185K km on it. Should I do suspension when I install the plates?

If everything is still original, then yes. If the car is still a daily driver, we've had good experience with Koni FSD's combined with Ireland Engineering fixed camber plates and PowerFlex poly front LCA rear bushings.

Jeff wrote: Does anyone have experience with these? http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-cooper/mini_cooper_Vmaxx_coilovers.html

lol - I like that outmotoring left the watermark on the photo they stole from another vendors's site (stratmosphere). Anyway - thanks in part to support by Flyin Miata, VMAXX have become on of the more popular budget coil-over kits for Miata's.

First thing is brake fluid. The second and where the rest of your budget should go is improving the driver.

Then, next season, add 1 thing. Next season 1 more thing. So don't go out and spend a billion dollars on 6 things without getting an idea of how they work on your car and getting used to exploiting it.

Unless it's safety related repair/improvement. If the bushings wear out an cause dynamic toe changes I would call it a safety related repair.

In reply to Jeff:

Jeff,

I have a nice track wheel/tire combo for you (Enkei RPF-01/Nitto NT01) from my '07 MINI. I shot you a PM.

AHA, the 02 MCS. At 185K KM =~115K Miles.

The runflats are too expensive to track, through something cheap and sporty on your spare 16". I ran 15" on mine, because the tires were cheaper.

So tires are a pretty mandatory. If your shocks are original they have been dead for a long long time. You are going to have to pull the struts to put in the camber plates anyway.

Given that, I would suggest you prioritize like this:
1) Tires before the next track day
2) Shocks/Camber Plates/Any Springs but H-Sports
Single Adjustable Koni/Bilsteins (I ran koni's on mine, but they died unusually fast on all the Atlanta Mini's that ran them, no one knows why). The H-sports from the area all failed also, they just sagged all the way down, once again no one knows why. Camber plates, up to you, there should be some pretty good ones out by now. Get ones with markings, makes it easier to swap settings. All of these things come off together. It just makes sense to replace them together.
3) The front sway bar is impossible to install, so don't
4) The rear sway bar is easy to install, add it after you get those shocks swapped.
5) Check your front and rear control arm bushings. There is some sort of crowbar trick no that cuts replacing the fronts form like 8 hours to about 2. We never did figure out how to do the rears. (by the time we knew they were bad, they car was scrapped)

So the only thing you HAVE to do: Brake Fluid (buy a powerbleeder), and tires. Go have fun, keep it under 8/10th's. At this point you only have four settings to get wrong, tire pressures. I started at 38psi cold, and then bled back to that as they heated up. However, Atlanta is not Canada. Typically advice is to start at the max load rating listed in the drivers manual a figure it out from there. Easiest method: Get a tire temp gauge/probe. Have pit crew tire temp (inner,middle,outer) each tire with pressures as you come out of the session. Add pressure to even temps. Until you get camber plates, its gonna be hotter than hell on the outer part of the tires. Your goal is even temps.
When you start pushing it harder, do the spings/shocks/camber/rear sway. Start soft on all settings and work your way to hard. Keep a small log book of settings and your impression of how they worked. Generally you keep the same settings for the entire weekend. Change them at home, and try them for the next weekend.
Once you have all this, I would step up to r-compounds and start the entire process all over again.
There is a reasonable argument that you could start with a set of HARD r-compounds and go from there. Its your call on that. The Mini LOVES r-comps; however without camber plates your could cord the fronts in a single weekend (or cord 4 on the fronts and 2 on the rears on a single weekend).
Crap: IMPORTANT TIP when you swap out the rear springs, you have to get adjustable lower control arms to correct the camber. I think its just the lowers you have to replace.
Other than that, work on the car at home, concentrate 100% on driving at the track. The most dangerous session you will ever do is the last one on Sunday; so don't be afraid to call it early and go home (Panoz racing school advice). Fatigue and track time are bad m'kay? Get some sort of in car instruction, preferably front wheel drive instructor. Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen. If you don't get along with them, politely get a new instructor. I can name the instructor responsible for every single one of my magical laps, its the dude in the mirror that totaled my car.

one thing everyone keeps mentioning is brake fluid .... no one seems to remember pads... OEM pads probably won't last a weekend unless they're brand new... then you might need another set to get home..... assuming they haven't heat soaked and faded you right into a tire barrier .... please don't ask for any details on how I know this

I don't know your track, but when I started driving Road Atlanta at 95%, and GT3s were crashing into concrete, all of the sudden safety came to mind. I bought fixed racing seats, 4 pt roll bar and Schroth 5 pt harnesses, did the research and installed them correctly (very important!).

Do you have a family? After brake fluid and pads, I'd go for safety. And if there's money left over, think about heat - oil cooler, radiator upgrades, etc. Nothing will kill a track car faster than too much heat, except maybe concrete

I think TC Kline has Mini Cooper stuff now, look at his site, he doesn't screw around.

Jeff wrote: Does anyone have experience with these? http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-cooper/mini_cooper_Vmaxx_coilovers.html

Here is a review by a MINI owner. A while back, the same reviewer also tried out BC coilovers (or was it Megans?) but dumped their springs in favor of Swift.

BTW, check the engine mounts as well.

Thanks guys for all the help, I really appreciate it.

Going to do tires and brake fluid/pads. After a few more sessions, we'll see about suspension and camber plates.

Oh, as far as safety goes, the track is about as safe as a track can be. Nothing, I mean nothing, solid to hit.

Thanks again.

Jeff