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This MINI’s Gone to SEMA Oct 30, 2002
The Cooper S has left the building. Joe and the car are currently on the way to Las Vegas' SEMA Show, perhaps the biggest automotive trade show in the U.S. Look for them somewhere along I-10 during the next few days. We'll try to keep you posted.
Before leaving, we finished Stage I of our transformation, installing a pair of Sparco Milano seats as well as several products from BMP Design: gauge cluster, upper strut bar, cold-air intake and Supersprint exhaust system. The car also received a visual transformation, receiving some graphics; our own J.G. did the design, while Tim at Hawkeye Signs & Graphics cut and applied the vinyl.
SEMA Nov 12, 2002
Joe and the Cooper S made it to the floor of the SEMA Show with time to spare, and we were happy to see the car attracting a fair amount of attention, perhaps even overshadowing the Panoz LMP racer parked beside it. It was cool to see people digging our humble, little project car. A public thank you to MINI USA for allowing us to prep a car for the show. The process was a little harried, but the end result was totally worth it.
Joe is currently on his way back from the Las Vegas show with the Cooper S, and we have more plans in the work. Plus we still need to race it.
Preparing for Track Days Nov 21, 2002
We've decided to develop this MINI into a fun track-day car. We will be heading up to Kirk Racing for a full cage install, complete with Schroth belts to help us stay in the Sparcos. The car will then be heading to the PRI show in Indianapolis on December 5-7. Look for the car in the HMS booth.
The interior of the Cooper S has now been completely stripped of all door panels, carpeting, headliner and the stereo system. We removed a total of 157 lbs from the Cooper, bringing the weight from 2619 to 2463 (full tank of gas). The weight loss has helped the 0-60 times, dropping them from the low sevens to the mid 6's. Some of that weight will be returning in the form of a welded-in rollcage, which will be built early next week.
It looks like the MINI Cooper S will be placed in BMW CCA's J Prepared class, we'll be attending a CCA driver's school on December 12-13th at Savannah Georgia's Roebling Road.
MINI’s on the road Dec 11, 2002
Our MINI Cooper S made it to the PRI show in Indianapolis and back to Florida in one piece. We've finished up the installation of the Schroth Hybrid harnesses and the other required safety gear for our first outing on track with the BMW Car Club of America. This week, we will be attending the BMW CCA driver's school at Roebling Road and then competing in the CCA club race on Saturday.
Since we changed gears on this project, we went from the reclining Sparcos to more traditional one-piece Sparco Evo.
We have been noticing that the newly lowered suspension still has a considerable amount of understeer built in. To counter this, we installed a Rossier Dyno Research rear anti-rollbar. The bar has three endlink mounting positions. We chose the middle setting so we have room to play, firmer or softer, depending on how the car feels at speed.
The BBS 17x7" wheels have been rewrapped with a new set of Kumho ECSTA V700s. This will be our track tire for the car, the stock run-flat Goodyears will be handle our daily chores.
MINI’s on the track Dec 17, 2002
We survived our first official track event in the MINI Cooper S. Per attended the BMW CCA school on Thursday and Friday, while Rennie ran the enduro and sprint race on Saturday and Sunday. The only major problem that we encountered was quickly wearing front tires, especially the outside edge. This was due to a lack of negative camber on the front, and will be remedied before our next track outing.