A trailer for what? Just drive the MINI up and into the bed of that thing. Maybe if you put them in sideways you could get 2 MINIs in...

Sorry, couldn't resist, but that is a big truck. How's the car coming? Any updates?

 

The interesting thing is that Dunlop has already discontinued the ZIIs and is replacing them with a ZII Star Spec. Don't know why. The ZIIs seem really nice. People seem to like them better than the BF Goodrich Rivals or the RE11 replacements.

As for the brakes, I guess I will see. It didn't seem that the guy I took it to could undo what he did. So I took it to Keeler and they had to reprogram the whole ecu. I will see when I take it to WGI in 2 weeks. With the way Keeler left it I can get a little inside wheel spin. So I think they left it as the BBK setting. If they did, then I might get a Quaife LSD installed.

 

2004 Chevy duramax.......eBay Texas truck. RUST FREE!

 

Nice

For those who are interested here is a listing of more than 50 brake fluids and their mfg specs. It is a nicely done list that is sortable:
http://www.lelandwest.com/brake-flui...ow=1&SF=1&ST=1

 

S driver, i am with Eddie on this one, just drive your mini onto the truck bed and you don't need a trailer. It might be big enough.

When are your next track days?

 

Anyone seen veggivet lately? He seems MIA.

 

I have no track days planned this year. No sense until the cars track worthy. We'll see what happens sometime this summer...


But I may end up at G52 in October driving that Spec 350Z again...


I will be at the Continental Tires Sportscar race at Laguna Seca in 2 weeks, helping out Liam during the race at driver change. I'll be suited up and over the wall! Also will be attending the SVRA race at Indy in June, and the SVRA event at COTA in October. Sherman is coming up for a few SCCA Major races in May/June/July that I'll try and help out at as well.

 

I am going to be in indy in late june as well. In northern indy, not at the track. When are you going to be there?

Say hi to schao when you see him.

 

I ran open wheels at laguna five years ago. That is a fantastic track, my favorite.

 

I've been in Email contact with him. Asked him about tires for the track. Nittos, but I think I will stay with the Toyos.

Slinger - I'm not sure that a MINI with 10" wide wheels will fit in the bed of any truck; even one as big as that one...

S-Driver - wow what a busy schedule.

 

First week of June.....


Will do, will pass on your greetings.

 

Thanks and have fun at Indy.

 

Well I am back from 3 great track days at WGI. The weather was so-so but better than expected; mostly it was just cold. It took me most of the first 2 days to get my driving legs under me. But on Sunday, I was more comfortable with the car and me. No, no particular changes to the car. Just a change of wheels to get the track tire to fit better (no more rubbing) and I got a new set of "rain" tires, which performed ok in the dry. Also, over the winter I had the DTC (traction control and eLSD) reset for the big brake kit and it helped with the over-braking problem that I had last year. So, for now, I am putting that issue behind me. The car did well, all in all, but it may get a Quaife in the future.

I did crack a rotor that turned out to be residual problem from last year's issues with the DTC. I missed the potential problem with it on my pre-track inspection of the car, but when it happened it looked to be the same as the other rotor I cracked last year. I lucked out as someone had a spare set of rotors that fit the Wilwood hats and I was able to run the last day. This may have been a fortuitous as I got to try a smaller rotor that will allow me to use 15" wheels. These rotors are also less expensive by about 1/3 and they look to be better built than the Wilwoods. By the end of the last day the pads settled into the the rotors and I was pulling 0.8 - 0.9g on the corners where I brake hard. Being able to use 15" wheels will mean less expensive wheels and tires than the 17" I am running now, without a significant loss of performance - this is what Sdriver ran on his MINI. This will also lower my roll center by 1" from where I am currently at.

I ran the solo group (now call Group 1, how bad is that???) with some amazing cars. Everything from a very fast 127 hp Miata to 600-700 Hp BMW full race car. Then there were also some mixed sessions with the instructors. That was exciting. The Miata and I were a good match. I was slightly faster on the straights and he was better at braking and in the corners. We did a nice bit of lead-follow. The solo group is small, 20 to 25 cars and we each had "coach" (not instructor) and class room sessions were "debriefs". All good because it is all centered on learning and improving.

My data said I did really well, but I am skeptical. It said I was taking most corners at 1.0+gs and my top speeds where high (~120 on the back straight), all of which were higher than what I have done before but my lap times were off by 2 seconds. I need to take a closer look at it when I have a minute or 2...LOL None the less, I receive no complaints about being slow and there were a lot of cars I never saw on the track, which I think was because they were not particularly any faster than me. Oh, also they switched the track on Friday afternoon from the long course to the NASCAR course. That was really neat and entering T10 at that speed was exciting to say the least. Coming out of the outer loop was tough with the MINI as it feels like the track is falling away as you track out. But my speeds were about 110 mph before hitting the brakes for T10. No wonder the NASCAR people want all of that runoff area there. I had thought that it might not be that much fun, but it was. I do have some video that I will post; will let you know when I do.

As for tires, I am still running on the Toyo R888 which I really like and will get again. My "rain" tires are the Dunlop ZIIs. These are a good tire for the track in most respects but I think they will get overheated quickly if pushed or on a hot day. I thought that they were loosing grip by the end of the sessions I used them in and I am not hard on tires. They seem to have good turn-in and side wall stiffness and really good cold traction. So, good for a rain tire on the track. On the road, these tires feel great. With a lower tire pressure they were reasonably comfortable on the road but they were noisy. However, they are a blast to push a bit in corners.

 

Sounds like a good weekend. A three-day event must be exhausting -- tough on the car, too. What non-MINI brake caliper will fit in a 15" wheel?

 

It was tiring; yes exhausting. The car did well, though. I am finding that street cars are self limiting. After about 20-25 minutes of pushing, the car just seems to tire out. The brakes get soft, the tire's grip drops. I am running a Wilwood BBK with race pads and Toyo R888s, pretty good stuff, but still it gets "tired". And that is the point I get tired too. So I come in. The thing is, don't push it. WGI is a tough track on cars in general so it is good to watch and feel how things are going. I think LRP and NJMP are easier on the cars. Harry's lap timer said I did a 2:28 lap and a lot of laps under 2:30. I had a lot of corners at 1.0+g and braking at 0.8-0.9 g. My guess it the 2:28 was not recorded right as I have done quicker lap but with lower corner g's and lower top speeds. But, I guess my point is, that those conditions are not easy on the car or driver.

The Wilwood 11.17 Track BBK is supposed to fit 15" wheels. I think that is what S-driver ran on his MINI. This is what I am trying out.

 

11.75" rotor...

Anybody going to LRP for the IMSA/Continental races???

 

Ooops - my typo...yes the 11.75" rotor.

BTW - S-Driver - You ran 15" wheels with those, right? Do you remember what wheels they were and what their offset was? I am finding that with the 225 mm wide tires I am running I have to be careful of the offset and that may affect whether a 15" wheel will fit.

Those races are on 5/23 & 24? I could consider one day or the other. I have that Friday open for right now.

 

I have a set of 949 Racing 15 x 7.5" with a +34 offset and I also ran a 5mm spacer. The spacer had to do with the shock body design and how it flared out at the top. The lower adj nut would be what came in contact if no spacer was used. Don't believe +34 is available anymore and now its +36 I think.


And yes, practice/qualifying on Friday, race Saturday morning.


http://www.imsa.com/races/lime-rock-park-0


The ST race is at 9:10 am!!

 

Hey, just signed up for WGI in August with GVC - Anyone else interested?

What about LRP in July? Looks like SCDA has a couple of days; 2/29 is an afternoon and unmuffled.

 

NASA is running at LRP 4th/5th of July if anyone interested. I'll be there supporting Liam who is driving his Spec Z.

 

S-driver - I am thinking about going LRP but for only one day, either the 4th or the 5th. Which would be the better day to go?

Well, I have been looking at 15" wheels to fit my Wilwoods. It looks like not has been published about this, especially with a near-stock offset. If I want to go to a 36 ET and 20mm spacer the Enkei PF01s will fit. But I don't think the tires will be inside the wheel wells of a second Gen MINI. I also measured the clearance with my 17" PF01s and there was only 1 or 2 mm beyond 1" clearance. There was no clearance at the wheel weights. So my guess is 15" wheel with a 40+mm ET won't fit and I am off to re-stock my 17" track rubber.

Lastly - I am still looking at going to LRP with SCDA for the 16th and/or 29th and looking for anyone else to go.

 

I will be there one of both of the days. Will know more in the next day or two.

I went to the inaugural SCDA day at Thompson today. The consensus was: Not as good as LRP but better than New Hampshire. I never did New Hampshire because I always heard bad things and it's a long ride to be disappointed so I can only compare to LRP, and it's no LRP. But what is?

That said, it's better for MINIs, WRX's, GTI's and STI's than for 500HP Mustang GTs. The one significant straight is longer than LRP but I never was able to enter it at the speed I get out of Turn 7 at LRP so my top speed was about the same as at LRP.

The fly in the ointment is Turn 4. It's a very tight hairpin and the camber works against you as you make the turn. The surface was being eaten up from all the cars understeering. By the end of the day there was so much gravel on the turn that I was down to 25-30MPH and still having problems. Very, very bad.

The transitions into and out of the Thompson NASCAR oval are also a tad rough, which I hear is also a problem at New Hampshire. But not awful (in a FWD car).

Bottom line: It could be a fun track with a few relatively small fixes. The 3-turn sequence leading into the straight is by far the most interesting section of the track. Much trickier than it appears on a track map. It will be interesting to see how SCCA drivers handle that section and a few other corners.

 

Not sure which day would be better Eddie......and at this point if no other Spec Z's sign up Liam won't go as it's too far to travel to race against yourself. Supposed to be a couple other Z's but he hasn't gotten any confirmation yet.


On my 15" 949's I have to have the wheel weights mounted just so otherwise they get knocked off leaving the pits! Must use the flat weights and they had to mounted on the angled part of the rim, inside of the outer lip directly over the outside edge of the caliper.

 

I had seen a video of Thompson and was not impressed. There was a lack of corner curbing that was noticeable, no edge lines and a drop-off from the track surface to the ground around. It seemed those issues would not be overly forgiving and would require extra attention to avoid which would also take fun away from the driving experience. For me, with a 2 1/2 hour drive and an overnight stay, this doesn't seem to be worth it.

I thought this might be the case and the wheels, for me, would be a little more inboard which might present more of an issue. I figure I am not that hard on tires, so, while they are more expensive, they will last a while and I won't have to contend with any issues. Even so, I will probably keep my eye out for a used set of 15" wheels to "play" with. That way I could probably get rid of them for what I paid for them if they don't fit.

 

Hey...
Just signed up for 7/16 at LRP with SCDA...
Any other takers?