whats the suspension on the mini?
i seem to recall the CRX had double wishbone on all four corners... quite a
nice performance feature on an inexpensive car.
-james c
OSP - Onerous Suspension Performance
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thana, Peter {High~Palo Alto}" <PETER.THANA@ROCHE.COM>
To: "'james creasy'" <Black94PGT@pacbell.net>; "'Carl Merritt'"
<CMerritt@luminous.com>; <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 11:32 AM
Subject: RE: Let's Talk Minis...
> According to Mark Chiles, who just bought one, the owners manual quotes
> weight for the base Cooper as 2480 with a full tank of gas and a driver of
> unspecified weight. That should equate to a full tank weight of ~2300 and
a
> fighting weight a good bit under that.
>
> For reference the second gen CRX Si had a curb weight of 2178 lbs and 108
> hp. And that car is classed in GS. The light one was the first gen,
which
> weighed ~1900lbs but had only 91hp. All three cars are quoted as 8.5
> seconds 0-60, and I bet you could take off a few tenths from that with
those
> rubber band Hoosiers.
>
> As long as Brake Assist or other funky BMW technology doesn't up screw the
> car up for autox, it actually matches up decently with some of the proven
> speed maintenance cars in GS like the CRX and the old Celica ST. Of
course
> it's too early to tell, but all indications look like it should be a great
> bet for HS, maybe too good!
>
> Peter
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: james creasy [mailto:Black94PGT@pacbell.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 9:54 AM
> To: Thana, Peter {High~Palo Alto}; 'Carl Merritt';
> ba-autox@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: Let's Talk Minis...
>
>
> >It's sort of like a modern day CRX, light and nimble but without a
> > lot of power.
>
> the mini cooper as a modern day CRX? words i thought id never hear!!! :)
> its quite a bit heavier though.
>
> sounds like a super h-stock car.
>
> -james c
> OSP - Overbearing Snake Presence
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Thana, Peter {High~Palo Alto}" <PETER.THANA@ROCHE.COM>
> To: "'Carl Merritt'" <CMerritt@luminous.com>; <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Monday, April 08, 2002 11:42 AM
> Subject: RE: Let's Talk Minis...
>
>
> > Hi Carl,
> >
> > Sean O'Boyle and I had a chance to drive a Cooper at Mini of Mt. View
last
> > week. They are neat little cars, and pretty much everything you've
heard
> > about the handling is true so far- very responsive steering and a solid
> > chassis. We felt the Cooper was a bit underpowered, especially in the
low
> > end. Granted we had 3 people in the car, but pulling away from normal
> > right-turn-on-green speed in 2nd gear resulted in... bog. Our
conclusion
> > was that for the street you might be better off with the S, although
they
> > are not giving out test drives in them yet.
> >
> > Autox is a different story. I still believe after driving the car that
> the
> > base Cooper will be the car to have for HS. I've heard weight figures
> > closer to 23xx pounds for the base Cooper. With the optional Sport
> > Suspension Plus, the car will have much stiffer springs than anything in
> its
> > class. The Cooper is not available with 17" wheels as a factory option,
> but
> > comes standard with 15s and has optional 16x6.5 rims. Shod those with
the
> > current 205 Kumhos or the new 215/40/16 Hoosiers and you have a wheel
tire
> > package superior to anything in GS, let alone HS. An additional bonus
is
> > that the rubber band Hoosiers will dramatically shorten the gearing,
which
> > is something the car desperately needs.
> >
> > The Cooper S will be a big unknown for DS until someone sets one up and
> > tries it. The chassis has great potential, but that class is already
full
> > of very strong cars like the Integra Type R and the IS300.
> >
> > I really wanted to love the base Cooper, because I've always had good
luck
> > with the lesser of two models (Z3 2.8 Coupe vs. the ///M and my
non-turbo
> > MR2). It's sort of like a modern day CRX, light and nimble but without
a
> > lot of power. Also while the MSRP spread of the 2 models isn't that
> large,
> > it will be much harder/more expensive to buy a Cooper S for the next
year
> at
> > least. Having driven just the Cooper, I'd have to say that the S has
more
> > fun potential for day to day driving though. The Cooper may be a better
> bet
> > for stock class autox, but then again if it is too good I can see that
car
> > getting bumped to GS before year's end.
> >
> > Peter
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Carl Merritt [mailto:CMerritt@luminous.com]
> > Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2002 9:50 PM
> > To: 'ba-autox@autox.team.net'
> > Subject: Let's Talk Minis...
> >
> >
> > So I'm seriously thinking about selling my Golf TDI for a new Mini.
> Anybody
> > have one yet or have one on order? Anybody seen any come out to play
at
> an
> > Autocross yet? Any guesses on weather the NA or S version will be more
> > competitive in their respective classes?
> >
> > For reference, the normally aspirated Mini has a 115HP/110ft-lb motor
and
> > weighs 2500lbs, and according to MiniUSA does a 0-60 in 8.5 seconds.
The
> S
> > is 163HP/155ft-lbs and 2700lbs, and goes to 60 in 6.9 seconds. They
both
> > have the same wheel options available (17x7 being the largest), same
sport
> > suspension and seat options, but the S has a 6-speed. The S is in
> D-Stock,
> > the NA is in H-Stock.
> >
> > More food for thought here: http://www.miniusa.com/
> >
> > Anybody?
> >
> > -Carl
|