475 replies to this topic

[duds100]

Good to see another one out and about & sounding ace to boot!

 

As for Squirming/pulling under acceleration it could be one of a few things. I had loads to start with too but now it is thankfully minimal after fiddling with all the below. Not saying this `the way to do it` at all - this is just what worked for me! Also I have a plate type diff which is more aggressive than a quaife so i`d hope you guys could get it better by tweaking a few things. 

 

This is what I did;

 

- Lowered tyre pressures (+ensuring pressure is exactly the same both sides)

- Reduced wheel offset/scrub radius down to a minimum 

- Modified steering arms to reduce bump steer

- Full geo setup;

 

           - important to dial in the same castor/camber at both front wheels

           - correct front toe (Smidge of toe out)

           - Parallel rear toe (a bit of toe in if you want it to be safer)

 

- Also I went much stiffer on the rear springs to reduce squatting on acceleration (and also to address some of the under steer I had on track)

- I run a raked height too, 1" higher sill lip at the rear over the front. 

- Also I have corner weighted the car with me sat in it after I performed all of the above.

 

Other than equal length drive shafts I can't think of anything else at the moment that could help 

[racerlike]

Had all the suspension and geometry set up by Neil Slark back in March I think it was. I don't mind the torque steer it keeps me focussed! It puts the power down loads better with the LSD as you'd expect really.
Wouldnt say I get much squat either under acceleration. Still feels like a Mini even with the extra power and all those rev and thats what I like about it

It would be quite nice to be a passenger in someone else's Pro-motive mini just to see how they compare and if I could make any improvements.

[racerlike]

Thats not an engine warning light on the dash. It the fuel light. Somehow it works in reverse - it stays on when I have fuel. Its when the light goes out I should start to worry!
To be fair it seems alright on fuel, not worked it out exact but I think between 25-30 maybe at a push. No worse than the Evo and that has a thimble for a fuel tank too.

[duds100]

Good stuff - yours sounds pretty sorted then. Biggest improvement I got for mine was probably tyre pressures, I kept dropping them & it just got better & better. When I was running the Yoko AO32-rs I got down to about 24psi hot & that gave a good balance of longitudinal & lateral grip. Any more than 26 it started to dome the tyre (reduce the contact patch depth) and would scrabble for grip under full acceleration, any less than that & it rolled the sidewalls under hard cornering, which is why I switched to the Avon tyre which I run at 20psi as it has a much stiffer side wall. Win/Win!

 

I only have 1 seat! Where are you based? It would be cool to have a meet up with a few of us somewhere & get some photos & share stories about diff leaks 

[racerlike]

That's low. Running about 28-29 but maybe they have dropped with it being sat for long periods. Will check them next time and see how it handles at a lower psi.
The mini is at my parents place in Andover. Would be good to arrange a meet - maybe next year try and get a few together at a show.
My diff doesn't leak anywhere near as much as it used to. Need to check first it hasnt all leaked out mind but it's not dripping like before.
Was going to take it off and send it back but to be honest I can't be bothered for a 4th time if the leaking is minimal.

[duds100]

I don't think it's particularly low actually. An a-series mini on 10" wheels has a recommended manufacturer pressure of  28PSI front & 26PSI rear. Mine is about 150kg lighter than an A-series equivalent mini so I don't think it needs to be as high as that & i'm finding better performance from dropping them. 

 

I'm up in Warwick which is about 90 miles north of you. Are you planning on tracking your car or just on road? I'll be doing a track day every month next year from about march onwards (when hopefully the good weather starts!) and the specific mini shows I go to are MITP @Santa pod, Castle Combe action day @Castle Combe & Mini Wold live @Rockingham. Be good to have a meet - I'm sure Al would be up for it too so that's 3 

[jonny f]

I don't think it's particularly low actually. An a-series mini on 10" wheels has a recommended manufacturer pressure of  28PSI front & 26PSI rear. Mine is about 150kg lighter than an A-series equivalent mini so I don't think it needs to be as high as that & i'm finding better performance from dropping them. 
 
I'm up in Warwick which is about 90 miles north of you. Are you planning on tracking your car or just on road? I'll be doing a track day every month next year from about march onwards (when hopefully the good weather starts!) and the specific mini shows I go to are MITP @Santa pod, Castle Combe action day @Castle Combe & Mini Wold live @Rockingham. Be good to have a meet - I'm sure Al would be up for it too so that's 3 

What tracks you getting to?

I'm doing a few next year.

[duds100]

 

I don't think it's particularly low actually. An a-series mini on 10" wheels has a recommended manufacturer pressure of  28PSI front & 26PSI rear. Mine is about 150kg lighter than an A-series equivalent mini so I don't think it needs to be as high as that & i'm finding better performance from dropping them. 
 
I'm up in Warwick which is about 90 miles north of you. Are you planning on tracking your car or just on road? I'll be doing a track day every month next year from about march onwards (when hopefully the good weather starts!) and the specific mini shows I go to are MITP @Santa pod, Castle Combe action day @Castle Combe & Mini Wold live @Rockingham. Be good to have a meet - I'm sure Al would be up for it too so that's 3 

What tracks you getting to?

I'm doing a few next year.

 

Cool - where are you thinking?

 

On my list are; Cadwell Park, Oulton Park, Brands Hatch Indy, Rockingham, Donington Park & Caslte Combe

[Baldspeed Racing]

Dudley keep me posted on where n when as I want to do more next year that's for sure dude

[Alan Carruthers]

Very keen.

A

[racerlike]

Mini has been in hibernation the last few months but next week it's MOT time again.
Think I covered just a few hundred miles since last year so hopefully all will be well once I've sorted the exhaust blow underneath.
Going to change the link pipe to a Maniflow twin box to take the edge off the noise - must be getting old!

[racerlike]

Mini has a new mot. Thankfully it wasnt snowing this year. Covered just 340 miles last year so looking to do a bit more this year round.

[racerlike]

Took the mini back down to see Joe at John Holloway Cars which is where the project began all those years ago. After taking forever to get it started it ran faultlessly there and back. Even in 6th theres plenty of power to overtake lorrys without having to change down. Its a very capable engine in a light car.
But I am keen to make some improvements this year. First up is a twin box system to soften the droning. I also need some padding in the doors to stop the carbon door cards from rattling. The headlining has never been great so that needs a rethink as well.

[racerlike]

Been a while since I posted anything on here simply because the mini hasn't been used. At all.
Ive been back home a few times but the weather and wedding planning duties have conspired against me.
Heading back Saturday to prepare it for Beaulieu but again the weather forecast is looking pretty dire.

[racerlike]

Well it didn't make it to beaulieu. Firstly it was raining so that was a no but had it been dry it still wouldnt have made it due to a fault 11 code on the dash. First thing will be the camshaft sensor but from a little research a few other things can bring up this code.