Fun encounter w/ Mini

[EllinikoScooby]

I raced a newer mini today and that this was fast, we were fooling around for awhile and finally got to run, I started in 2nd gear at about 2500rpms and he got an immidiate 2 1/2 car jump on me, I could hear his supercharging whining it was very loud, I finally reeled him in at around 3rd gear, I was completly shocked at how fast it was in a straight line, I knew they were great handlers but its speed shocked me.

I have a v7 swapped WRX and I thought I would blow by him like nothing I was wrong wich leads me to several possible conclusions:

A.) I am a horrible driver and because of that he was that fast. (Not fond of this but it could be.)

B.) He has many many mods to make him that fast.

C.) There is something wrong with my car, and It needs fixing so that doesnt happen again.

Does anyone know about mini's, or what could have possiblly been done to make it so fast?

[Swampdonkey]

I dont think you were in the right powerband but those minis can be modded to be pretty quick because there so light.

[Houstonwrx]

Yea, I don't know all that much, but I know that you could have been in a better part of the band for sure, I would think that you should have been at about 3000-3500, I think that is when they turbo kicks in. I think that would have made a much bigger difference...

[EllinikoScooby]

I know my RPM's were too low but I didnt get really have a choice at the time.

[wrxaddicted]

let me get this straight..... you have a complete jdm V7 swap, including VF36 twinscroll? or just the shortblock?

[wrxaddicted]

<<< *scratches head, waiting for response*

[MyFirstDeuce]

I dont think mini's are that light, ~2850lbs right?

Maybe it's all relative b/c I drive a 2.5RS which is around ~2850lbs. MR2 spyder, now thats light.

[EllinikoScooby]

V8 has the twinscroll, V7 gets a vf30 unless you have a v7 spec which has the 34.

[wrxaddicted]

V8 has the twinscroll, V7 gets a vf30 unless you have a v7 spec which has the 34.

doh..... i'm a moron.... sorry....

[Cheers]

I am surprised at this story...
I had a chance to beat on a Cooper S for 1/2 an hour and it did not "feel" like it could stay with my WRX (stage 1) in a straight line...they do handle like they are on rails though.

I also had a run in with an old dude in a cooper s convertable the other day. I was in my 05 4 runner. He was in the right lane and I was in the left lane, but I wanted to make the on ramp on the right about 1/4 of a mile past the light we were sitting at. I hammered off the light and immediatly jumped out about a "truck length"...he obviously did not expect me to go that hard but immediatly got on it. I could hear that little thing screaming through the open back window, but he was unable to close on me and I made the on ramp much to his disappointment.

I know the conv must be heavier and I am not even sure it was a manual trans...but my 4 runner has to weigh at least 1000 lbs more, I have the 245 hp 265 tq 6 cyl with a 5 spd auto...I thought he would have reeled me back in for sure.

[04wrx4keeps]

Its all the way you were driving man. He gained that instant 2 1/2 cars because of you starting in 2nd at 2500rpms. It takes a good couple seconds for my VF34 to spool from 2500rpms in 2nd if I just floor it, probably like 2-3 seconds. So you basically gave him a 2-3 second head start, in which he probably gained a good 15-20mph advantage on you, and then you managed to close that gap and pass him, doesnt sound out of the ordinary to me, the newer cooper-s will hit high 14's in the low-mid 90mph area, so they arent that slow, even the older ones werent slouches.

Start in 2nd about 40mph (closer to 4k rpm's) and you will probably make him look like he's standing still.

Try break boosting next time (press the gas & breaks so you stay at the same speed but get a few psi on the guage while your waiting for the go) that might help. Or hold down the clutch, rev it up and slip the clutch some till you get going, that would probably work too. Or just try not to start racing in 2nd at like 20mph.

[EllinikoScooby]

Good advice thanks.

[Spectre186]

Theres a couple twin charged minis running around the country...putting out about 250whp

[subaru_crazy]

well he could have at least had the "works" upgrade that gives them 200 hp at the crank and that would have made him much faster, but 2500 rpm was a major disadvantage for you since boost is not there like others have said

[T0rque]

If you think about it its probably right, you werent in the right RPMs for a launch and that mini is supercharged so he is boosting at idle(unless it is a clutch type blower in those) So when he stabs the throttle he is boosting, and with your 2-4 seconds before your boost kicked in he is going to jump a good distance stock or modded. Those little minis are fat little piggies too! Lots of people just do weight reduction.