MINI SE On Track (One Lap)

  • Thread starter Thread starter KyleConner
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KyleConner

KyleConner

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I had the new electric MINI at the track this week and made a One Lap video with it (one lap of the track in any vehicle).

Thought you all would like to see how the MINI does when you turn it up to 11. Here to answer any questions about how this car handles in dynamic situations, I was able to spend quite a bit of time near the limit with the car this week.

Kyle

 
So many years after the i3 was released it's disappointing that the MINI Cooper SE doesn't offer sufficient cooling to deliver more than a single full-power lap.

I remember MINI publicizing the how the SE lapped the Nurburgring without using its brakes. I never found out how long that 12.9-mile lap took. Did they just putt around that course at 35 mph?

Oh well, as long as my SE can give me full power to get away from the few stoplights on Main St. I'll be happy. If I ever get my SE, that is. Now back to watch the video again and imagine what it would be like.
 
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insightman said:
So many years after the i3 was released it's disappointing that the MINI Cooper SE doesn't offer sufficient cooling to deliver a single full-power lap. As long as it can give me full power to get away from the few stoplights on Main St. I'll be happy.
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I agree - I drove it hard on the street nailing it at every opportunity and there was no hint of power cut. I had filmed this one lap right after multiple drag races and one medium paced lap... still nothing extreme but it’s no track car. Great for a back road or autox!
 
KyleConner said:
I agree - I drove it hard on the street nailing it at every opportunity and there was no hint of power cut. I had filmed this one lap right after multiple drag races and one medium paced lap... still nothing extreme but it’s no track car. Great for a back road or autox!
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@KyleConner, can you explain why the MINI Cooper SE would exhibit so much understeer when it supposedly has 50/50 weight distribution, which would place less weight on the front wheels than the thermal MINIs you've driven before? Would the stouter suspension (from a bigger MINI, I believe I read) installed to compensate for the battery weight have anything to do with it?
 
insightman said:
@KyleConner, can you explain why the MINI Cooper SE would exhibit so much understeer when it supposedly has 50/50 weight distribution, which would place less weight on the front wheels than the thermal MINIs you've driven before? Would the stouter suspension (from a bigger MINI, I believe I read) installed to compensate for the battery weight have anything to do with it?
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I am pretty sure the weight distribution is 58% front biased but all MINIs push from the factory. A stiffer rear sway bar usually solves most of the problems. There are so many variables with suspension design that I couldn't begin to understand it all so I can't comment on the exact reason it pushes so much.
 
Rough comparison of RWD EV's you've driven like i3, Tesla SR+ (or MR or LR) RWD?
No need to compare to Smart ED lol, but since you and I have the same Smart ED year, perhaps that too LOL!
 
SmartElectric said:
Rough comparison of RWD EV's you've driven like i3, Tesla SR+ (or MR or LR) RWD?
No need to compare to Smart ED lol, but since you and I have the same Smart ED year, perhaps that too LOL!
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It's very different - definitely more eager to get pushed hard than i3 (maybe not i3S I haven't driven one). Model 3 is much more capable in any configuration, no comparison.

I'll put it this way... It's the first time a FWD EV hasn't bothered me... But I still believe if there's only going to be one motor it should be on the back axle.

Kyle
 
You need to drive it a lot more aggressively to get rotation entering corners, then steer it with your foot. Mine has an extra 0.5° front camber and a modified S rear sway bar. The aftermarket F56 bars are too stiff for this car and stock suspension. The biggest upgrade was 200TWs on 15" wheels. I attend some autocross events at NCCAR in mine. It is indeed a great autocrossing car, though limited in GS by stock wheel width. The Speed3s, Gtis and Civics are hard to keep up with.
 
Track racing a FWD car also requires a different technique to a RWD car. If you drive the same as RWD you will get hideous understeer. You need to brake through the corner to load the front wheels, and turn while braking. This is normally a nono for RWD cars. It is called trail braking. When properly done, you can eliminate most understeer, and even induce lift off oversteer. If you look at inboard from racing minis, you can see them using this technique. This is one of the most common complaints about FWD cars - now you know how to fix it :)
 
vader said:
Track racing a FWD car also requires a different technique to a RWD car. If you drive the same as RWD you will get hideous understeer. You need to brake through the corner to load the front wheels, and turn while braking. This is normally a nono for RWD cars. It is called trail braking. When properly done, you can eliminate most understeer, and even induce lift off oversteer. If you look at inboard from racing minis, you can see them using this technique. This is one of the most common complaints about FWD cars - now you know how to fix it :)
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This make so much sense. I was at a BMW driver event (having mostly only driven the Mini EV, and other front wheel drive vehicles), and my technique for driving the rear drive BMW's was abysmal. At one point we hit some cones and the the instructor informed me I had entered "crash mode." I was told turning while braking was a no-no. I couldn't understand how I had done okay with the Mini, and using a similar technique (turning with some braking) with these other cars was such a disaster. Thank you!
 
I mean it's all a little more subtle than that. The front end of a fwd car does everything - brake, steer, accelerate so your timing and touch of everything matters. Need to blend and hand off one task to the other deftly.

Trail braking, or staying on the brakes a bit at corner entry, is a difficult technique to master, but it is very rewarding to use well. It's not magic and won't turn any fwd car into a drift machine, but weight transfer can shift grip around enough to make huge changes in a car's balance.

With a rear bar and sticky tires, my car will step the rear end out like a 1980s Porsche 911 with a hard lift on a cloverleaf. The right amount of lift, though, will tuck the front down and tighten the line beautifully. Once at the apex, you then start feeding in throttle as you unwind the steering balancing the maximum grip between those.

Rwd cars you have to worry about all 4 tires.
 
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