Hmmm...well, from all the comments it looks like the non-S with sports seats
& "sport plus" suspension (same as on the S), and as few other options (I.E.
weight) as humanly possible would be the way to go, and it's a good $2K
cheaper than a similarly equipped S. I'll have to pester the local dealers
and try to find an S to test drive to be sure...
Alan, you want to co-drive next season if I get one? ;-)
-Carl
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alan Gruner [mailto:algruner@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 1:29 PM
> To: Thana, Peter {High~Palo Alto}; 'james creasy'; 'Carl Merritt';
> ba-autox@autox.team.net
> Subject: RE: Let's Talk Minis...
>
>
> It is hard enough to keep up with the Focuses. I've
> been thinking about retiring my Civic from HS at the
> end of this season. This is helping me make up my
> mind.
>
> On paper it looks like a good competition. The 5th
> generation Civic Si is officially listed as 2326 lbs
> and has 125 hp. Unfortunately, it only came with those
> wonderful Honda spec 14x5 wheels and "Sport"
> suspension that is sporty by 70's Renault standards.
>
> Alan
>
> --- "Thana, Peter {High~Palo Alto}"
> <PETER.THANA@ROCHE.COM> wrote:
> > 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
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