maacodale

I have/had Yokohama S Drives on both of my MINI's. They are now so noisey I can't stand it! They sounds like 40" tall super swampers on a big ol' Chevy 4X4! Well, close to it anyway. It's so bad, I put the run flats on the 07 and they sounded and rode better! I'm in the market too, but I can swear to ya, it won't be S Drives!

Hey DC Gang, I think I'm gonna join up with y'all for your Spring Fling. But...if ya want a little more motoring fun that weekend. us down here at Hampton Roads club MINI also have our Spring Fling that Saturday. Coincidence or fate? We'll head out of

Hey Craig, Only limited experience with the MINI. But I've been autocrossing for over 30 years. Got a closet full of trophies and I was the Solo II chairman for the Old Dominion Region-SCCA for about 15 years.Oh, and Regina is a two time SCCA Divisional Champion. Of course I did the car prep! The son and I ran his stock 07 MCS at events down in Charlotte while he was in school there. He'd run G/S and I ran D/SP. We hate running against each other. With nothing but Hoosier radials, we were both undefeated in 6 events. The biggest thing I tell people, is drive it STOCK as long as you can. Stock cars are harder to drive fast, so it;ll make you a better driver. One thing people do too fast is put on sticky tires. They mask a lot of bad habits. I made Tyler run the his MINI stock for the first year,then we started modding it. And of course, we haven't done an event since! I'd also do tires LAST. I like a bigger rear sway bar to help the car rotate. But be careful there. Springs and shocks are debateable. Lower helps, but if you bottom out the suspension, you'll have your hands full. Likewise stiffer shocks will take some learning. If the car doesn't lean, then the tires absorb the deflection. over load them and they'll slide. On a tuning side remember "Stiff end slides first" Big rear bar, the rear will want to come around faster. Big front bar, it won't want to turn. Same for springs and shocks. Tires are important and make a MAJOR difference, but can be A) expensive or B) mask some bad habits because they forgive more. Up to a point! The biggest adjustable part is the driver. Drive the car, learn the car. Learn it's "quirks". Know what it's gonna do and when it's gonna do it. THAT will make you faster in the long run! Good luck!

Here's a couple of shots of our MINI's The son's 07 MCS is actually Honda S2000 pearl yellow with a good amount of extra pearl in the clear. We call it UN mellow yellow. And our 09 Laser Blue Clubman S.

I gotta agree with Stinker, we made a good choice coming up from Hampton Roads. The event went very well. For something put together fairly quickly, it was great. You'd have thought the planning went of for a good while. (Which it may have and I just do

Sounds like a plan Laura! We have 4 MINI's from Hampton Roads making the trek up your way starting at 6AM. That should give us plenty of time to get there.

Good question. I may have a few donations to bring up the the Hampton Roads area as well.

SSSHHHH! Nobody say RAIN!!!!! Between Helenblitz, MINpalooza and the Dragon I'm about tired of rain!!!!! Come on SUN!!!!

Hey Melissa, I bet Mach V motorsports could handle that easily. try them at http://www.fastmini.net Others may have additional suggestions. Down here in Hampton Roads I"d suggest Atlantic Auto Werks, but that's a ways away.

Everybody has covered most of the things ya need to know so far, so I'll just agree and say we're a two MINI family too. The kid has a 07 pearl yellow MCS and we have a 09 Clubman S. I got ours, because when he went away to college, I lost my fun car. Of course we had to have the F150 totalled to get the MINI, but the stars lined up right and a big ol' Buick found the front of the truck. With the truck paid off, it was MINI search mode "on" and we ordered our Clubby. With the daughter chils getting her license soon, it looks like we might become a three MINI family. Sounds like a good reason to get a Cabrio!

Waiting for more details! It'll be good to actually go north for an event! West and south is getting a little old! Can't wait!

For T shirts try Craig at Evergreen Graphics. He does shirts for a bunch of MINI clubs across the country and has done our shirts for a while. He is absolutely awesome. Give him an idea of what you're looking for and he'll knock your socks off. If you w

Have we decided if we're starting at National Harbor? If so, are there any nice hotels around? I plan on heading up Saturday evening.

We had a NC state trooper escort on part of the MINIpalooza run a couple of weeks ago. Probably 10 miles or so on the highway. That was too cool!

Any chance of getting a police escort for the beltway?

Not that it really matters alot, but here's the link at HR MINI: http://www.hrmini.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,32/topic,3401.0/ I'll do my best to bring a bunch of our guys up there.

This sounds like a blast! Count us in! Wait, I'm an old oval track racer. Please tell me we're doing the outer loop. Not sure I can do right hand turns for that long!

as of right now, that's it. I have a set of springs at the shop waiting to go on once I get off my butt and order a set of Hotchkis lower control arms. The Kids MCS has the ALTA CAI and their Cat back exhaust. I will be getting one for the Clubbie in the near future. His car definitely pulls harder than ours. I know he's lighter, but that shouldn't make that much of a difference. It's gotta be the exhaust.

We have the ALTA CAI on our Clubman, and it's the same as the one we put on the kids 07 MCS. Makes great noise and gives you a seat of the pants feel on acceleration too!

Oh yea, another Laser Blue MINI in the world! We all know Laser Blue is the best!

Hope y'all have fun and wish I could make it. Looking forward to the pictures!

I'm not sure about the UV resistance with electrical tape. Plus, I think it will shrink over time. That's what makes it good on electrical connections. I'd call any shop that sells paint and body supplies. If you have a Mattos up that way they're good. (I spend about 3 grand a week with them!) You can buy 3M tape in several different sizes and probably 60 different colors.

I have this pic with stock wheels taken a while ago at Yorktown Battlefield. We have cannons down here in Hampton Roads too!

This must be a good MINI Saturday! Y'all have your Ice Cream run, Hampton Roads Club MINI has our dinner at the VA Diner with a drive over and a ferry ride back and Tar Heel MINI's has their dinner down in Washington NC. Hope y'all have a good time! M