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Summit Point Main HPDE


[Click here if the movie doesn’t load.]

I spent the weekend of September 23-24 on the Main Circuit at Summit Point, WV. This was the third class I’ve done with the National Capital Chapter BMW CCA and I highly recommend attending one if you have never been on the track before. This was also my first session on my new shaved competition tires.

Saturday started out rainy and slick. The morning sessions I completed with my Goodyear street tires. This was the first time I’ve really pressed these tires and they performed extremely well even though my R90 wheels are a bit on the heavy side at 20 lbs. each. In the afternoon I put on the Hankooks (225/45R16 Ventus RS2 Z212s shaved to 4/32 inch) with my Kosei wheels and the car really came to life.

On Sunday, I was “signed-off” by my instructor to solo. That was both exciting and a bit intimidating — in fact, I was sweating like one of Dick Cheney’s hunting companions. Once I got over the initial shock, I found it quite relaxing. It was odd to only have my own voice in my head, but quickly found a rhythm and really enjoyed the session. Also the car was quite a bit faster without the added weight of a passenger.

We also did a “no-brakes” session in the afternoon. This was the first time I’ve done one of these. The goal is to lap the circuit without using your brakes. You have to find ways to bleed off speed and learn entry/exit speeds for the corners. You start out very tentatively, afraid to exceed the entry speed, but quickly realize you have lots of options to scrub off speed. I found that after the session there were a couple of places where I had previously been braking that now all I had to do was lift and that my entry speeds went up a bit. Unfortunately it started to rain again at the start of the final session so I didn’t get to really see how it affected my overall lap times. But then again, this is not a race — so no wagering.

Screamin’ Demon

I finished the ignition upgrade last night. The latest performance project for the MINI was to improve the ignition system to match the improvements in airflow in and out of the engine. Because the smaller pulley produces more boost, the induction air is a bit hotter than stock. Since the air is hotter, the spark plug is one step cooler. Because the air/fuel mixture has more potential energy, the coil is upgraded to produce a stronger spark. To get that stronger spark to the cooler plug more efficiently, a plug-wire with lower resistance is used. This all doesn’t add up to more horesepower directly, but should reduce horsepower loss due to system inefficiencies, if that makes sense. The net result is a smoother running engine and actually better fuel economy.

The combination I used included MSD 8.5mm wires and a Screamin’ Demon Coilpack (like the MSD coilpack) and NGK Iridium Plugs.

stock MINI plugs

I was actually surprised by the condition of the old plugs. My MINI now has over 60,000 miles in less than 3 years of motoring. These are the original plugs. They’re rated to 100,000 miles and would probably make it. (An even tan color is good.) I’m used to plugs that wouldn’t last 10,000 miles let alone 60. Interesting to note that this is only the second part (after the brake caliper) that I’ve found that says “BMW” on it.

Alta Exhaust MINI DIY

This past long weekend I picked up a new Alta Performance Exhaust. The cat-back exhaust is a relatively simple DIY project if you don’t mind getting under the car. If you have a lift or a pit, I’d say it could easily be done in a couple of hours.

The exhaust ships in two boxes. The larger square box has the rear exhaust section and a longer box with the mid-pipe and first muffler. It might fit in your MINI with seats folded, but I took the Volvo to get it. The first thing you’ll notice about it is that it’s beautiful. Not something you usually associate with mufflers and exhaust systems, especially if you take a look at the one that just came off the car. The stock Cooper S exhaust is actually one very long pipe with a resonator on one side and a muffler on the other in a single path. Although it flows fairly well, its heavy and not particularly sporty.

old_exhaust

It wasn’t until I got the old exhaust off of the car that I realized that the coke-can tips were hiding some rather small pipes. The stock exhaust also goes from small to larger sized pipes a couple of times in it’s rather long length which I’m sure can’t be good for exhaust flow. Without the brackets which I hopelessly mangled during the removal, it has a weight of 46 lbs, with the majority of the weight at the rear. The new system had two parts each weighing 16 lbs. That’s a loss of 14 lbs. plus a shift forward in the center of mass of the car. Plus it looks really cool. That’s got to be good for 5 VHP (visual horse-power).

end_pipe

Instructions came in the box and you can download them from the Alta website. You can also find several good guides online if you search in the usual places. Here are a couple of tips I didn’t find listed in any of the instructions I found:

  • Working without a lift is a real pain in the neck. No really. My neck was killing me. I had the car on ramps in the front and jack stands in the rear. Working with about 15 inches of clearance I was contorted and twisted but was able to maneuver where I needed to be.
  • The Alta Exhaust now ships with two sets of gaskets and bolts as well as adjusdtable brackets for 02-04 and 05-06 cars. Make sure the orientation of the clamps match the brackets you are using on your car.
  • The brackets I had used a retaining clamp that requires a 7/64th allen wrench. Check to see if you have it before you start. The ones on the rear muffler are actually 1/8th inch.
  • Extra jack stands, jacks or just plain boxes are handy to balance and hold the exhaust when you are removing the old one and installing the new one. Make sure you have enough adjustment that you can actually position and center the new exhaust before you tighten everything down. This helps center the system.
  • If you plan to reuse the stock exhaust bushings, have a plan B. You will rip one of them.
  • And finally, before you start, check the condition of the bolts to the OEM exhaust right where it comes off of the cat. After three Mid-Atlantic winters, mine were severely corroded. The lower nut had lost so much mass it was almost 1mm smaller than the other one. It looked rounded and stripped before I event put a wrench to it. Be sure you have plenty of PB Blaster, WD-40 and a stripped nut extractor before you start.

rusty

Impressions: It is louder than stock, but doesn’t drone or sound like a certain unnamed cars. I had to bend some of the heat insulation away to avoid rattles at certain RPMs and the battery tray skid shield won’t fit back on without lots of modification. The car seems to rev even more freely and has a very pleasant burble upon deceleration. I’m very pleased with the outcome and look forward to seeing (and hearing) how it does on the track.

2006 Historics

We just got back from our annual trip to California. This year it was all about good food, beaches, historic automobile racing, and deck building. This year Cooper race cars were the featured Many MINIsmarque along with a tribute to Jack Brabham. Once again we enjoyed the hospitality of the Golden Gate and Central California Chapters of the BMWCCA at their Festorics tent. The weekend was also the kick-off for MINI Takes the States and the first delivery of the special edition JCW GP cars. You can listen to that over at White Roof Radio. Unfortunately all we had with us was our trusty Hertz rental car — all of the MINIs present got to drive a parade lap during lunch. There were so many they completely lapped the course. I really enjoyed the historic F1 cars. Toyota also had their current F1 car there with Ricardo Zonta their test driver. He set a new lap record (for noise as well as speed.) Some day I’ll make it out to Laguna Seca for a track day. For now I’ll just enjoy watching the old timers.

Here’s the deck:

New Redwood Deck

New Seat Covers for BMW 325iC

New Seat Covers

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. The E30 convertible is pretty well sorted out now. I think I have one, maybe two more projects to do on it this summer but as a daily driver it’s all set. Work to date:

Strut Bar

I have the parts to replace the rotors and brake pads. Now I just need the time to do it. The stress bar has really eliminated much of the cowl shake, but I still need to replace the struts and should probably replace the springs while I’m at it. Once that’s all done, I can turn my attention to a new headliner for the hard top and then (hopefully) get the car painted in the Spring.

All of that work and the parts I already have on hand brings me to about $4,800 invested. With a decent paint job and some new suspension work I will have exceeded my $5,000 budget, but we’ll have a pretty decent car.

New Seat Covers