danvuquoc

Not yet, I'm going today (Sunday)

vtechnique

my friend wants to go but he doesnt know how to drive stick. do they have auto minis there?

Auto Innovations

they are all automatic

danvuquoc

You get 2 runs with one of the automatic Minis.

They were all automatic unless you wanted to get the $20 package. With that you get to drive the manual minis for 2 laps and a ride along for two laps with one of the SCCA drivers and a T-Shirt. Not worth it considering that course is 2nd gear nearly all the way. They kept saying no launches etc etc & the $20 fund went to new clutches, so I figured the clutches were giving way.

I found the cars surprisingly responsive, I didn't get to drive a regular cooper S with the AD08s, instead I got the Clubman S with S-drives. Surprisingly sharp turn-in with the aftermarket suspension, but you could still feel the weight of the car. Brakes were good, traction was so so. I did however HATE the turbo lag, I could count "one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand" before I got any gas, so I ended up left foot braking to get the car to rotate through the turns and had the throttle pinned nearly all the time.

Was it a fun car? Sure! Would I buy one over some other comparably priced cars on the market like the Mazda Speed 3? Probably not.

nick the quick

Was fun to test the mini's, even if the turns were short. Can't complain about free seat time. But the main thing I got from the experience is to soldify how much more fun and rewarding a true rwd sports car like the s2000 is to drive. Sure the mini may be some what fast, easier to drive, since can yank the steering wheel more abruptly without adverse consequences. But autoxing, the S is just so much more fun, since you have to be so aware of the balance of the car, keeping all the weight transfers smooth, and carefully correcting oversteer and understeer when it occurs. And theres something special about being able to adust the angle your car tacks through a turn by playing with the gas pedal.

sf_firestarter

went sunday am. only about 30 of us. paid the $20 and skipped the line, got in 4, 2 lap sets = 8 laps in about 1.5 hours.

i too hated the turbo lag with the auto...

was a great way to start the day.

that was one of the better run events i've been to auto related or not.

one girl there was by far the worst driver (if you were there you know who she was)...she took out multiple cones every lap...the co-driver looked so scared when she got it a few of us in line started laughing.

Voodoo_S2K

Saturday PM was crowded. We waited easily over an hour to get our two runs in.

Having driven a regular Mini, which I was disappointed in, the modded Mini S was definitely an improvement.

rob-2

Well run event.

I felt the auto detracted from an otherwise well made car.

Little miffed as to comparing the tires though. Left wondering what tire I drove and what the differences were. Must have been hard for Yokohama to sell tires from this event.

Good fun.

Voo had the most smoke
I suspect I was the slowest
Some dude we don't know took out the most cones, 6 or so
Some other people had the most packed car, with 4 people in there (including driver).

I probably wouldn't be in a hurry to do it again. Lots of waiting. Since I'm in need of new tires I would seriously have enjoyed feeling the differences.

hirev

Thanks to whomever posted this, it was a blast. and i saw allot of S2000s in the parkig area, wanted to bring mine but i had to cart around two friends so i took my acura.

fun cars, i poped for the $20 extra and drove a stick cooper works car and then a clubman S, different cars, and i liked them both.

what i don't like about minis.....dealer in sf, san jose, that's it. too much style getting in the way of function, swtiches, guages etc...seats wereonly soso....and cost to trick out is excessive unless you go with aftermarket and not mini,

what i do like is handling, no torque steer at all, decent mileage, exterior looks, diversity of types offered(convertible, clubman, soon mini suv, coup, works, S, etc..) the way they drive and handle, decent power in S and above, rear area room is also decent, size of car.

thanks again.

arrrmand

had a great time on sunday morning. there wasn't much of a crowd there and got my 4 runs in by 11:15ish (registered at 9:15). like everyone says, i was impressed with the handling and felt that I was able to toss it a lot more than the S (at least without the repercussions of unsettling it greatly). the automatic and mushy tires were definitely frustrating, but even so, i felt that i was able to flog it pretty well and keep it under control. got to drive the clubman first and then the mini next and only noticed that the regular mini was slightly more tossable than the clubman.

i'd probably have an issue if i did track days in a mini vs. just autocrosses, as it feels a lot more rewarding in the tight stuff, and the price point definitely hurts, but all in all, i thought it was a great car.