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MINIs, MINIs, MINIs everywhere... That was the start to a great day at LRP yesterday. This was the most MINIs I have seen at event in a long time. And the first time I have seen a Coupe on the track. There was a lone Gen II JCW and our little group of 3 MINIs and a BMW. Wool jackets and windbreakers were the order of the day when outside of the car. 50 deg and rain when we got there and 50 deg and wind when the day ended. We were fortunate to have our track day coincide with the remnants of hurricane Delta coming through the area... We had a couple of pop up shelters to huddle under and stay dry and a couple of tarps to block the wind. Not like being indoors, but better than some. And there was the great company of zre, veggivet, gkp and their friends.
I got to try out a new set of tires. Well, not exactly new. These are the Falken 660 215-45x17s I had on the JCW for 3 days up at WGI. Now I put them on Smokey, the Gray S, which has been my track car for the last 8 years, and most recently has had Bridgestone RE71R 205-50x15. So, unlike the JCW which was the first time ever on the track, I have a lot of experience with Smokey with a number of tires. So this was a really good review of them.
In comparison, in the cold and wet the Falkens had little grip, but were very predictable. A little on-throttle in a turn and the front would push and slide. A little lift off the throttle would make the back slide. While I have never had the ‘Stones out in the cold and wet like this, they would likely have been better given my other experiences with them in the wet.
We had dry track in the afternoon, but still cold (50 deg). Right out of the gate, the Falkens had grip which just built up with successive laps. These tires are amazing in the dry. Very easy to drive fast and their limit of adhesion was higher that I was willing to explore, and yet I was taking several corners (West Bend, and the Down Hill) faster than I have with the ‘Stones. Ok, no real data, but I wasn’t slowing as much for them as I had been. It is hard to describe, but the Falkens would do whatever I requested of them with no drama. They were very secure in their feel, but there was a level of compliance that made them easy and relaxing to drive fast with. Predictable would also describe them. I had a cold right rear break away on me in the only left turn on the track (other tires had warmed up) and the slide was not abrupt and was easily caught by the DSC (yes, I run with that on)
The last 2 sessions, which were also the dry secessions, I spent the time lapping the track with a Lotus Exige. The driver and I were very closely matched. I was surprised that my Cooper S was able to match its speed on the front straight where I would have expected it to pull away from me with it having more Hp and better aero. The second of the 2 session we went out with the intention of doing lead-follows with each other, in part so he could learn the track. Between sessions he explained that he has limit experience with the track and the car. I had a grand time doing this as I rarely have a car and driver so closely matched to me and I attribute a large part of this fun to the comfortable abilities of the Falken tires to be driven fast.
It is the end of the season for me. Despite the issues of this year I had a really good season with 6 track days. I have plans for Smokey over the winter, one of which is to find the clunk in the front end that comes about while running on the track and seems to go away by the time I get home... What? Then there will be caster/camber plates, shocks (B8s again) and JCW springs with the 10mm lowering. At least that is the plan. For the JCW, I will be looking for a set of wheels and tires that will fit it without tearing up the rear wheel well liner when at WGI.
It sure was a day of rapidly changing track conditions. I'm really glad I didn't leave after the first session, when it felt like my directional street tires (Direzza 102s) were installed in the wrong direction. Once the rain stopped and the track dried, changing over to the Nitto NT 01s made it feel like I was driving a totally different car. The car felt almost as quick as it would've on a late afternoon sunny summer day, when the track is at its warmest. 'Almost' being the key word, of course, as the air temp was 50 and though the track was grippy, it wasn't warm by any means. The two extra sessions I was able to get allowed me to essentially have a full track day on the R comps. Really glad I brought them, thanks to the advice of the sharp drivers on this board (they know who they are). This will wrap things up for me, unless October 24th is an unusually warm day. Next years' tires are in the basement so they won't be exposed to sub-freezing temps, and the car is approaching hibernation mode. Very happy with the dates I ran this season and the cars' setup overall. My major project for the winter is to put arrows where the jackpoints are so I can get those tire changes into F1 time territory...😉
And thanks to Eddie07S and zre we had a serious basecamp set up with rain and wind protection, a heater that ALMOST heated, donuts, brownies, the works! It sure made it easier to endure the bad weather.
Given the number of brake-related adventures I've had over the years, you would think I pounded on them like S-Driver. Here's the latest:
I took the car out of the garage today to wash off the schmutz from Monday's LRP track day and switch to my all-season tires. While washing the RR wheel I saw the paint inside the wheel was peeling off. (See left photo) Then, after washing, I went to pull the car back into the garage and — YIKES! — the brake pedal went straight to the floor.
You guessed it — there was a brake fluid leak in the caliper. It looks like maybe an ounce or two leaked out. It must have started on Monday while on the track or on the way home. The centrifugal force created a nice coating on the inside of the wheel and over the past week, while it was parked in the garage, the fluid peeled the paint. Moral of the story: You never know how close you are to an on-track misadventure.
Eddie07S — One of your recent posts mentioned having trouble getting brake rebuild parts for your calipers. Were you looking for the internal parts like the pistons and rings?
Given the number of brake-related adventures I've had over the years, you would think I pounded on them like S-Driver. Here's the latest:
I took the car out of the garage today to wash off the schmutz from Monday's LRP track day and switch to my all-season tires. While washing the RR wheel I saw the paint inside the wheel was peeling off. (See left photo) Then, after washing, I went to pull the car back into the garage and — YIKES! — the brake pedal went straight to the floor.
You guessed it — there was a brake fluid leak in the caliper. It looks like maybe an ounce or two leaked out. It must have started on Monday while on the track or on the way home. The centrifugal force created a nice coating on the inside of the wheel and over the past week, while it was parked in the garage, the fluid peeled the paint. Moral of the story: You never know how close you are to an on-track misadventure.
Eddie07S — One of your recent posts mentioned having trouble getting brake rebuild parts for your calipers. Were you looking for the internal parts like the pistons and rings?
Ugh! What a mess...
I actually carry a rebuild kit for my Wilwoods. Without dust boots crap gets in between the piston and caliper bore. This can take out seals. Those need to be cleaned periodically. I also found that over time the piston bores in the calipers become slightly worn with the side loading the piston takes. I think that causes wear on the piston, which then wears out the seals. Before I got my oversized set of calipers I was rebuilding my original ones about once a season after a few years of use. My new ones are doing ok - so far.
Let us know how you make out with yours. Oh, unfortunately, with the pedal going to the floor, there is likely air in the ABS assembly which is a PIA to get out.
GKP - I am looking for dust boots for the rear brakes on the JCW. I am also looking for SS pistons for the front calipers. The pistons MINI uses are made out of some material that crumbles and disintegrates over time. Here is a good picture of what they look like when they fail. So far, I can’t find anything for them.
If it is small and it has failed before, I carry it.
Are your pistons SS or aluminum? If they are aluminum, you might want to switch them to SS. TCE carries them, at least for some of the Wilwood calipers. I don’t know if the SS ones accept dust boots, though.
Yes, those MINI caliper pistons are ugly. I am surprised there has not been a class action lawsuit over them failing. And I am surprised that it is so hard to find parts for them.
Are your pistons SS or aluminum? If they are aluminum, you might want to switch them to SS. TCE carries them, at least for some of the Wilwood calipers. I don’t know if the SS ones accept dust boots, though.
My rear calipers? They are MINI OEM. I'm "rebuilding" both for $12 — the cost of the replacement seals and boots. As far as I know, MINI doesn't sell the pistons as a separate part. I have replacement pistons for my Wilwood front calipers as a result of last winter's discovery that for years I had been running mismatched calipers on the front.
It's hard to tell exactly but under pressure it's getting past the inner seal somewhere. I'm not going to mess with it any more. Once I take it off again I'll do a close inspection and see what I can see.
It's hard to tell exactly but under pressure it's getting past the inner seal somewhere. I'm not going to mess with it any more. Once I take it off again I'll do a close inspection and see what I can see.
Looks like you need to get this fixed... SCDA has another track day at LRP - 11/20, open track. Be there or be square... and bring snow tires along with extra fuel...
I am done for this season. I had a good time this year. I hope everyone else did, too. I am working on new set wheels for the JCW. More to come on that...
If I wasn't already scheduled to work yesterday I would've gone. What a gorgeous unreal November day. Something tells me the odds of that happening again on the 20th are pretty slim...
10-13-2020, 08:40 AM
to have our track day coincide with the remnants of hurricane Delta coming through the area... 
We had a couple of pop up shelters to huddle under and stay dry and a couple of tarps to block the wind. Not like being indoors, but better than some. And there was the great company of zre, veggivet, gkp and their friends.
Then there will be caster/camber plates, shocks (B8s again) and JCW springs with the 10mm lowering. At least that is the plan. For the JCW, I will be looking for a set of wheels and tires that will fit it without tearing up the rear wheel well liner when at WGI.
Here's the latest:
Then, after washing, I went to pull the car back into the garage and — YIKES! — the brake pedal went straight to the floor. 
