Yeah, not a fan of the 4 doors, and it may be too big for me when I see it in person. Electrifying the Classic was going to cost nearly as much as this car would, so for me, it's a no brainer. Porsche of Clifton Park has a base model coming off the truck today, but it is the wrong color and has dead cow skin inside.

 

Yesterday turned out to be an excellent way to start the track season. Temps were in the low 60s by the time SCDA hit the track @ 1. The Lime Rock Club had been running that morning. Glad it wasn't the other way around, as temps got down into the 30s overnight. I drove to the event with my R-comps already on, so they were 'pre-warmed' for the first session, which had 3 laps of yellow just to warm everybody's brain up. That worked for everybody except one car; we were black flagged about 10 minutes in. I didn't see anything on track, and we were back out in just a few minutes to complete the session. Tire pressures were 37 up front and 35 in the rears afterwards. I didn't need to adjust them all day. Sun was out for most of the day, so the track surface was a lot warmer than 60. Second session out was going fine until I spotted a yellow car in my mirrors raising a cloud of dust after the crest of the uphill. I was able to see just enough of his impact into the rubber wall on the inside of the track to know that he went in hard and that it would end our session. It took the crew over 10 minutes to clear things off, but fortunately, most of that time was taken away from the next run group, not ours, as we had just around 5 minutes to go when the accident happened. Third session out was definitely my fastest, and I somehow was not in any traffic for pretty much the entire session. Car felt very good, and I was able to get my entrance speed to the front straight into the upper 80s exiting the downhill. I tried shifting from 4th to 5th under the bridge, which worked nicely. I was shifting from 3rd to 4th on no name straight, which also worked well, allowing me to enter the uphill in the low 80s, with enough torque to maintain speed on the uphill. Final session out was also very good, but I was getting a bit tired by then, so I didn't drive the car as hard.

I was the only MINI there. It looked like a convention of Porsche and Corvette owners. GT3RSs were as common as Camrys on the highway! There was also a very fast low-slung, relatively long Mercedes but I didn't catch the model he sped by me so quickly! Overall, a good day, even when you account for a late pass at West Bend by a Corvette that I didn't point by.

 

I got my 2nd Covid shot yesterday... So I am not sure who had more fun...

Sounds like an ideal day... Glad it was a good decision. Sorry to hear that someone had issues on the Uphill. Too much power with cold tires or tires that didn’t come up to pressure would be my guess. I hope to be getting there soon. We’ll how things progress here.

My experience has been that MINIs have a lot of problems with the GT3s, although I suppose a Corvette or 2 have been known to think they have one up on MINIs. Going into Big Bend and into the Up Hill have been my typical issue areas.

I know that SCDA somewhat discourages late point bys but BMWCCA GVC encourages them. So I am very use to giving them, West Bend is actually a pretty good place for me to do that because it is easy for me to pull a late turn-in and not compromise the corner too much. But, I also understand that the Corvette did it without a point by... There always have to be one who is a crap-head.

Let us know your next planned day... Also, Maybe another run at WGI this season?

 

Correct on all counts, Eddie. Hope your arm isn't too sore. I had no issues with any of the Porsches. Even got a couple of thank you waves as they blurred by on the front straight. More details on the Corvette issue: two were running lead-follow, and I pointed the leader by just after the uphill crest. I clearly did not give a second point by, as the straight is not that long, as you now. I did have a feeling that the follower would pull that move just to stay close to his buddy, so there was no close call as far as contact goes. That corner, as you say, is very forgiving to a late entry, and I was in no danger of running out of track on the exit.

Next event: Palmer in the counterclockwise direction on April 25th, a Saturday, assuming the weather is seasonable. Looking at the WGI event at the very end of August. I have no interest in running the NASCAR track. That event is in May, I believe.

 

So far, only a sore arm. I took a pain killer before going, which may have helped. I have hear/read about people having issues with the second dose, worse than the first. Not here.

With the advanced group, we have the short chute and the downhill as passing zones, which may have alleviate that late pass. Then again, maybe not. Good you saw that coming. Some how you can always tell and nice you got some waves. I will say that Elivan has improved the nature of the events and has “taken care” of some of the “outliers” who have been a problem in the past. It doesn’t take much before everyone gets the message. My last few times have been really good with the other drivers.

Enjoy Palmer. Too much of a drive for me for one day...

 

We were allowed to pass on any straight, so all he had to do was wait for the exit to West Bend before I pointed him by. With respect to Elivan keeping tight control of these outliers, I disagree. I went straight into the pit to report the incident, and Matt (the tech guy) was in pit lane. He said he would contact the driver. I went back out and completed the session, but the Corvette didn't get black flagged. When the session ended, I stopped to ask Matt what the driver said, knowing that he hadn't come in yet. Matt said that Elivan would talk to him. I responded that it made no sense to me given that Elivan specifically requested that incidents like this (or anything else) should be reported DURING the session, not afterwards. I said this to Matt, adding that it also made no sense to me that they waited until after the session to talk to him. I lost time on the track and he didn't. Moreover, I never saw Elivan go over and talk with the guy afterwards. He was parked not too far from me, and I didn't want to go over myself because I was still a little 'hot' from the experience. I plan on emailing Elivan if I don't hear personally from him by the end of today...will keep you posted.

 

Ugh... Sorry to hear that...

And, yeah, good thing not to tell someone their driving needs to be improved... Especially, being a little “hot”.

 

Slinger! Great to hear from you and see you back on the thread you started more than 12 years ago.

 

Have you watched Formula E races? It's weird at first but you get used to it.

Eddie07S: Are Bridgestones still your favorite tires?

 

I just signed up for LRP 4/19, LRP 5/14 and Palmer 6/17. I'll see where we go from there. I'm definitely thinking about WGI in August.

 

No I haven’t but I expect that racing is racing. I did see that Indy cars are testing a hybrid and Tesla is coming out with a S Plaid (?) that has something like a 500 mi range and does 0-60 in something like 2.x seconds. Silent but deadly? Probably not, as the car does everything for the driver.

But the screech of an F1 car will surely be missed if they go electric...

 

Nice! I am a while out before I can get out. Just bought new front shocks and camber/caster plates for the Gray MINI. Also, planning on getting a set of JCW red springs for it. Hopefully, all will be going in this month.

 

Sorry - Missed the Bridgestone question...

No...

Falken 660 is my new fav... I wish I had video and data from that last day out at LRP. The Falkens were none too great in that wet, but in the dry it was like I could do no wrong. I was out with a Lotus Exige and was able to walk away from it with ease. They have a ton of grip, very tolerant of tire pressures and seem to be quite forgiving. Maybe a touch less precise than the RE71Rs, but easy to drive fast. And they are cheap...

 

Interesting. I did due diligence yesterday and I'm down to a choice between the Falkens and Yokos. The Falkens are cheaper and the Advans aren't directional so there's more flexibility in moving them around to stretch out the wear. Both seem to be OK in the wet.

 

Here's something to welcome you back to the thread, Slinger — your signature point-by. I was taking video on no-name straight and you gave the salute.

 

This guy hasn’t had good luck with the Yokos... (link). Not sure how representative this is, though. I would run them on the track. But, for me, they are too expensive, with not much tread depth. Directional only counts in the rain. These directional tires can be run “backwards” in the dry. The Yokos have an inside and outside, so that makes them less flexible in my book. Once the outside wears out, there is no flipping them to get wear on the inside.

 

By the time my outsides are worn there's rarely enough left on the inside to make it worthwhile to flip and rebalance. Of course, I could just stick with the Hankooks — but I like to change things up.

 

I don’t have good front wear like like that. The left front wears badly on the outside. So I do flip mine. More camber would help, but I am not sure I will be able to get “enough” camber with stock size springs.

I think there are better tires than the Hankooks. The RE71Rs, the Yokos are both worth a try. Try the Yokos, they will likely be to your liking. The feel of them is really good, at least that is what I found out about them on the street. Never did make it to the track with them. My issue with the RE71Rs was that they were really sensitive to pressure. Above 39 psi hot and they would wash out. I also think they heat soak and will give up by or before the end of a track session... The Yokos will be fast, maybe the fastest of the bunch. At least that is what I have been told. Hankooks and Dunlop ZIIIs tend to be the choice of endurance racers. Not the fast tires but last the longest.

 

This is just way too much fun to watch, I had to share...

 

If only I had the money for a genuine restored 'S'.

 

Or how about a fully restored S with an engine that makes 120 Hp and revs to 8500 rpm...

 

Even better. Some day I'll look up the details of how they get 120hp out of that engine.

 

Reving it to 8500 rpm is a start.

It would be like a Honda 2000...

 

Had a good shake-off-the-rust day at LRP on Monday. Only a little bit of rain. Classrooms were held outside on the tower upper level and I was glad to see them back. I missed them last year. There was a new Mini driver there, a red R53 from Westchester, NY. I told him about this thread and hope to see him here and at future events. There was also a C8 Corvette parked near me, owned by a SCDA regular, and for the first time I got to take a close look inside and out. A gorgeous car indeed. Originally he was there to meet up with friends but I guess he couldn't resist and signed up on site for a few sessions so I got to follow it for a brief moment from No-Name to West Bend. It sounds as good as it looks — a symphony for anyone like me who savors the V8 sound. Next up for me is LRP on May 14 then Palmer in mid-June.

Veggivet: Note that I removed the garage door opener from my visor.

 

Glad you had a good time.

The looks and sounds of the C8 are starting to grow on me. Car and Driver recently published their Lighting Lap of cars at VIR Grand course. The C8 was something like 4 sec faster than the C7. I guess the change was worth it. Nice picture.

I am looking to go to the NYST with GVC in mid May. Not signed up yet. It is just over an hour away for me, so it seems like it may be a place for me to frequent.

I was in town of Palmer on Sunday to meet up with a MINI guy from the Boston area. He bought the Yokohama tires that I had that didn’t fit so well. If you haven’t been there, the Steaming Tender in Palmer is very worth while for lunch or dinner.

My Gray MINI is getting some upgrades. Nothing dramatic - camber/caster plates, a replacement set of front B8 shocks and a set of MINI JCW red springs. The springs are going to take a while to get, so this will be into June before they are all in.