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Oh Ya - I forgot about the flat spotted tires. That was quite noticeable especially with the JCW Pro suspension and run flat tires. TPMS worked just fine. One tire at 28 psi; the others were at about 30. This was after driving for a while so clearly not much heat was going into those things when it is zero deg F out…
I will say the heated seats and the car’s heat in general are great. No issues with me being warm enough.
Today will be better. It is already 20F out early this morning. Eventually I’ll get out and check the battery and the electrical. The Dash Command app might be able to help with that; read the code that was thrown and maybe record some data.
Last edited by Eddie07S; 02-05-2023 at 04:18 AM.
Reason: Edit
After an exhaustive tear down, test and rebuild of the entire electrical system in Albert… I could find nothing wrong…
Hmmmm????
In reality I waited for the air temp to rise into the high 30s, got out my VOM and found that the battery voltage was 12.2v after having sat over night. Starting the car the voltage dropped to about 9.8v and then, once started, it went up to about 11.5v and then to about 14.6v once the alternator kicked in. Not a hint of issue when I started the car. Just normal
Then I drove it far enough to get the oil and water temps up to normal. Turned it off - no warnings - Restarted it. Turned it off. Maybe restarted it and turned it off a 3rd time. The check engine light cleared itself.
During the drive I recorded data on Dash Command. Saw nothing unusual, including for the voltage.
I did read the code that was thrown… P00BD - mass air flow too high. I think something froze.
I think Albert was just telling me it was too fluffing cold out and no sane person or car should be out in this…
Our weather is soon going to turn back to gray, rain and then snow. Unfortunately, Albert took a ride on a bunch of salt dust covered roads. I don’t like running him in the winter, let alone in salt, but at least it was dry and the dust hopefully doesn’t have the penetrating and destructive power of brine.
Today was low 40s and clear out. Time for a bath….
Our local DIY car wash
Why a DIY car wash? Glad you askied…. The last time I used one of those high pressure, automated car washes on one of our MINIs, it came out minus a rear middle stop light and the rear MINI medallion. Gone… Ripped off as clean as could be.
So a light spray, some suds, a wash mitt, a microfiber dry and here we have a nice shiny Albert. While at it, a red w/black roof, 2011 MINI Cooper S came over to chat a bit. Really nicely maintained.
As for the white pickup. Really nicely lifted model that I could have driven under….
^^^ Agreed on avoiding salted roads - wet or dry. Sadly, ADOT uses same stuff here in AZ when enough snow that town truck plows can't easily clear. I'm one who shops ahead to ensure no need to drive jeep or truck during such while the R53 also stays in the garage parked on stall mats. When warm enough day, I'll be jacking up the R53 to boat brush the bottom surfaces from Monsoon storm residue last season. Clearly, mine had never been driven in rain (never in snow) until that day. Not much by NY standards, however more snow coming here soon...
Snow is pretty much gone around here and stick season is ending with an explosion of buds on the trees.
85 deg right now.
Took the winter weight off Albert….
Changed out the OEM wheels and really crap-tastic OEM Hankook AS RFT tires for the more civil NM wheels and Conti DW tires. Oh what a relief it is…. I will probably say this every time I make this change, but, who at MINI thought that their wheel and tire package was the “right” thing for their top of the line performance MINI? Who?
Found another useful thing at Harbor Freight:
Wheel pins
Inexpensive and they work. Doesn’t get better than that.
The GT40 has been my dream car ever since I read about them in the ‘60. There was even a Road & Track article about a road going street version that was claimed to have gone 244 mph with Le Mans gearing, but was done up for “only” 190 on the street. Crazy!
Since I have gotten into taking my MINIs to the track, I have come to realize how truly insane it was to race these cars at speeds well over 200 mph. I got to see a duplicate GT40 at LRP a few years ago, complete with the period 15” wheels and disc brakes that fit within.. These brakes were hardly different from 11.75” Wilwoods that I run on my R56 MINI. 200+ mph and basically no brakes…
^^^ That was thrilling to watch! One of the very first races I attended as a then young SCCA turnworker was the 1967 Stardust GP (F1), wherein I was able to go up to the top of the comm tower. Who was up there being interviewed as I watched? Yes, Stirling Moss. Where have the decades gone...
Have you ever wondered what is the performance relationship between tire width to wheel width? Well wonder no more. Tire Rack did a test to answer this exact question. And they tested the wheel size and tire sizes we would love to put on our MINIs…17” dia tires (the ‘Stone RE72RS) in 215, 225, & 245 widths on 7”, 8” and 9” wheel widths.
An interesting evaluation, however was surprised "contact patch" affected by ratio of tire width to wheel width plus specific PSI to achieve maximum footprint wasn't mentioned (perhaps I missed that). I like the old "chalk test" by scribing a line across the tread, then driving a very short distance to determine whether the chalk wears off uniformly or center first (overinflated) or outside edges first (underinflated).
An interesting evaluation, however was surprised "contact patch" affected by ratio of tire width to wheel width plus specific PSI to achieve maximum footprint wasn't mentioned (perhaps I missed that). I like the old "chalk test" by scribing a line across the tread, then driving a very short distance to determine whether the chalk wears off uniformly or center first (overinflated) or outside edges first (underinflated).
Thanks for the alternate link. It is odd that the YouTube link in my post doesn’t work in the tread, but it does work when in edit mode… Odd.
None the less, for anyone interested in viewing this test, click the link in the MCS4FUN post, and that will take you to the TR web page and then scroll down to video about tire width and wheel width.
As for what you noted, you are correct. That info wasn’t given, and there are comments to the video posted on YouTube making the same points. It was also interesting to see that the Tyre Review guy commented that he was looking to do this same test and was glad TR had performed it.
I should note that I run 215-45x17 tires on 7” wide wheels on my R56 MINI, and the same size tires on 7.5” wide wheels on my F56 JCW. Even though the R56 has a number of suspension upgrades to make it more track worthy (sway bars, camber plates, bushings) than the JCW (basically stock, with the JCW Pro suspension), the JCW handles about the same and tire wear is much better on the JCW. In particular the tire wear indicates that there is less tire roll on the JCW, even though it has much less camber. As for tire pressures, I run the same on both cars, but I did find that the tires on the JCW were more tolerate of being over pressure than the same tires on the F56. This all had surprised me. Now I may have an answer as to why all of this would be; the wheel width is better suited to the tires.
I pulled into the driveway yesterday and noticed that Albert had turned over exactly 18,000 miles. And, your are right, I don’t drive it much. I do love driving it and it is a great track car.
On another fun note…
Another 200TW tire review, but it is aimed a bit at long term track use (racing) with an evaluation of heat capacity. that is how many laps before times fall off and what happens after that.
Well, not quite, but off to the race track. Last Friday, at Lime Rock Park for a HPDE event with SCDA to be exact. A beautiful day, clear blue sky with puffy white clouds mixed in. A bit of a breeze that picked up in the afternoon as it warmed up. Nothing too warm, though.
Albert was shod with one of his favorite tires, THE RE71R ‘Stones. And I went back to the iSweep 4000 brake pads in the front with the Carbotech XP12s in the rear. The thought was to try the iSweep pads in a less brake intensive venue.
Albert got a wash and a quick shine prior to leaving and was packed up with the requisite tools, spare tire, gas and canopy for a day in the Park. Little did I know that the 10+ year ongoing repair project on the bridge over the Hudson had progressed to the point where the deck is being redone with new concrete and I drove across it while it was being flood with water for the curing process. So much for the wash and polish.
At the entrance to LRP I found out that they have instituted a new “touch less” waiver process. Perfect now that Covid has been declared “over”.
Once on the grounds I met up with ZRE a former MINI owner and a friend of his (with a Subaru… That’s ok… ). Check in, tech and setup all went off without a hitch and not long after arriving it was time to hit the track.
And Albert performed pretty flawlessly, as usual. It took the driver the first session to get the cobwebs cleared. As the laps accumulated Albert and driver got into stride together. There are some very fast cars in the Advanced group and ability to manage traffic is a must. The new Supra is amazingly fast. There were also some “slower” (in relative terms) cars with which Albert was able to run; a spec Miata and a newer MX5. While Albert has the HP over these cars which showed in the straights, Miatas are know for their handling and this was evident in the twisty bits. A lot of fun working to keep up with them.
Once home, tires and brake pads were changed. You would think that with LRP being, all but one, right turns that the most worn tire would be the front left. It came as a bit of a surprise that, on Albert, the inside of the right front tire was the most worn. Cause? The eDLC, otherwise known as MINI/BMW cheeping out by not offering a LSD and using the front brakes instead. In a right turn the right tire is lightly loaded and has a propensity to spin. And the brakes are less good at controlling that spin than is a good mechanical LSD. Well it is what it is.
What did I think of the iSweep 4000 pad (Their top of the line race pad)? No change from my previous reviews. They formed lumpies when heated up and their bite was mediocre. Same as I experienced at WGI with them. No more iSweep. I am sticking with the Carbotechs. And, oh, it should come as no surprise that they were mismatch to the rear pads. This created some “interesting” car action at times. Nothing that wasn’t easily handled, just that it could have been better.
Lastly, I had the dealer flush the brake system when I had Albert in for his annual State inspection. I did this as I felt that it needed to have the ABS pumps cycled to ensure there was no air in them. This was suspected in my last outing at WGI last year when I experienced some poor brake performance. Their (the BMW/MINI) brake fluid has a respectable dry boiling temperature, at about 460 deg, but it is quite a bit lower than the 595 degF of the Motul 600. Even so, it performed flawlessly.
LRP events always pull a bevy of great cars. This one was no exception.
Albert in all of his splendor with ZRE’s BMW
Corvette row and there were others
And the Supra row
Hmmmm… A ZRII Corvette
That is what it says
A baby Ferrari
Nothing says “Ground Pounder” like a race Corvette with wonderful sounding side pipes
When a 911 Porsche isn’t fast enough, turbo charge it. And do you think the lime green BMW has enough front and rear tire camber? And, no, that isn’t a camera lens effect.
A mid-engine Alfa 4C (I think). Yes, I looked in the back just to make sure it was a mid-engine
Thanks for taking us along, vicariously! Your commentary and pics of other competitors are always a fun read...
My pleasure…
Glad you enjoyed…
A little tidbit:
LRP is an old track, back to the late ‘50. The ‘60s and ‘70s Trans Am series (Camaros, Mustangs, etc) and SCCA raced there. It was in the early ‘70s that Sam Posey broke the 1 minute lap mark and that was in a Porsche 911 turbo. I grew up reading about these cars and thought they were fast. Now a well driven Spec Miata with all of about 110 hp will turn slightly under a 1:01, just shy of what that Porsche was able to do. The last lap time I measured in any of my MINIs was about 1:05 in street tires. Those Corvettes and Supras are turning under 1 minute, if driven well. If not, then I am passing them…. I am constantly amazed at how far automotive engineering has come.
Nope, never did the Quaife on Albert. I’ve thought about it, though. Part of the problem is I have not had a place I could trust to do the work. Now that the car is out of warranty, maybe the dealer would do it. But, honestly, Albert sees few track days each year and I have been reluctant to fund that project. Also, I believe the functionality of the MINI system is somewhat dependent on the brake pads. I think the iSweep pads allowed too much slip and, if I remember correctly, the Carbotech pads worked better. At least at WGI. I know, different track. But the Toe of the Boot is a nasty uphill corkscrew that really unweights the front right tire and the Carbotech pads seemed to work well there.
Last edited by Eddie07S; 05-20-2023 at 05:15 AM.
Reason: Fix typo
Anyway, these new engines run so well, wilingness to rev but still are comfortable at 1800rpm .My '19JCW is also my fourth MINI and compared to the two R56S' and the F56S that I previously owned, the JCW engine doesn't flatten out at 4000 rpm.
The F56 JCW’s willingness to rev has caught me off guard at times in 1st gear and have missed the point of needing shift. It doesn’t have that power trail-off of my R56S. And hitting the rev limiter just results in a big loss of power…. What’s happening? Oh, yah… Rev limiter…. Doh And not having a useable tach doesn’t help; old rant.
On a fun note…. Yesterday was a perfect clear blue sky day in the low 70s and Albert took use for a ride to a nearby place called Thatcher Park. It is on a cliff overlooking the junction of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers in east central NY. The view from there is pretty spectacular, with the ability to see the Green Mtns of VT and everything in between.
Albert got a quick spritz shine and was looking all spiffy.
Albert looking spiffy
And, a young guy walking with his parents at the overlook made my day when he saw Albert and exclaimed “Look, it’s a MINI!”. A fan! Yes!
Almost everyone who does any wrenching on their MINI, even to just rotate tires, owns a Harbor Freight “aluminum” racing hydraulic jack.
HF Racing Jack
And, why not. They are inexpensive and generally they work well. Generally…
I would also guess that some those people have thrown away at least one of those jack because it stopped working.
Well, I am one of those people who owns this jack. In fact I own 4 of those jacks, not because any have failed, but because at one point I thought it would be a bright idea to lift the car at all 4 jack points to change the tires. I have moved on from that idea (another story).
The last one of those jacks I purchased came with a curious set of instructions. How to put Jack oil in and to try this before returning the jack to the store as being defective when, the first time using it, it would stop lifting the car at about one inch. This is clearly HF’s back door way of saying they are too lazy and/or cheap to properly fill them at the factory.
However, at least one of my jacks has stopped working after a while of owning and using it. Yes it was low on fluid. Filling it helped a lot. But recently I had one that stopped working and, when I pulled the plug, it was “full”. Hmmmm, according to this YouTube post, it may have not been full…
It seem that there are 2 plugs that need to be pulled in order properly fill these things. One fill plug and a vent plug. I did not know that and it appears I was “filling” through the vent plug.
I also found out, from reading some of the comments, that you should have the jack handle down as far as it will go before putting the plugs back in. Something about fluid space.
So, likely that jack that you threw away (or is sitting unused in the garage) was/is likely not broken, just not properly filled by HF. However, that said, don’t curse HF too harshly. Just remember why you bought it in the first place. You didn’t want to spend the $300-ish to buy a name brand jack and generally these work the way they are supposed to. Sometimes you pay a price for not paying a price….
This has been you public service announcement. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. And hope this helps.
And I am off to change tires, again. The curse of having a car that is fun to drive on the track…
Here in the NE tracks like WGI and LRP are much less forgiving that VIR. I’ll stick with my setup with a touch of understeer vs pinballing up through the esses at WGI…
02-05-2023, 04:16 AM
I will probably say this every time I make this change, but, who at MINI thought that their wheel and tire package was the “right” thing for their top of the line performance MINI? Who?
So much for the wash and polish.
