Mini Cooper SE autocross first impressions

Yeah, buddy! Sounds amazing! You're WAY past my skills! Still want to hear about your experience with modes. Can't find any reason to go with anything other than Sport in the SE, but would like to hear your feedback, sir!

 

Has anyone experienced easy to conjure lift off oversteer?

I have owned 2 GTI's and most recently a GR STI and the combined short wheel base and batteries plus the regenerative braking result in more rotation than any of my previous FWD / AWD cars. After a stiffer rear sway bar my MKV GTI was more willing to rotate at the limit but the Mini rotates from the factory. I would imagine this could be exploited in an autocross parking lot after some trial and error.

 

FWIW, I have seen posts in a Facebook group by a person who autocrosses his SE, and he reported that he actually got faster times with the traction control fully on, thanks to the reduction of wheel spin.

 

For reference, I have 15mm ECS spacers with stock 17" wheels.

 

Yes. That is what he said at the last autocross he drove with the Mini. He had issues with one of the rear wheels. I think it was the inside rear wheel braking when he didnt want it to brake.

 

I thought the only change Sport Mode made to the steering was to make the steering feel heavier. Sport Mode is designed to offer increased performance over Mid Mode, but wouldn't it have to somehow limit the torque to control torque-steer? I don't believe the SE can direct more torque to one front wheel vs the other.

Other than the heavier steering feel, I believed Sport Mode's increased performance was just a re-mapping of the accelerator pedal, as with my Honda Clarity PHEV. However, some forum members have reported quicker 0-60 mph times in Sport Mode, which would require something more than a re-mapping the accelerator pedal. I wish MINI would delegate an engineer to this forum to answer all our questions.

 

I’m not advance like you guys but why in sport mode my right wheel is trying to spin drag a car to right or I’m accelerating a car to hard ? . BMW I 3 as rear drive never get of the road with strange feeling like SE .All my cars where manual front or rear drive never have so weird experience . 50 years of driving experience with any brand of cars .

 

I’m going to try without traction setting I have only 700 miles but this is strange to me anyway .I drove all my cars without ABS ,traction ,like new generation of drivers . I believe I can handle that beast !

 

Mode-comparison reports from fellow forum members appear to bear this out, but what could make the less-powerful Mid Mode exhibit a greater degree of torque-steer than Sport Mode?

 

Unless my SE is an outlier, just compare you car's torque steer yourselves. Mid, and floor it. Sport, and floor it. It's night and day. I'm pretty sure they're not INCREASING torque to wheels, but rather applying subtle changes in braking or fairy dust to make this thing not fight me when I'm trying to have fun. Which is every time I drive it.

 

If the SE is applying the brakes (or a brake) in Sport Mode to control torque-steer, how can the acceleration be quicker in Sport Mode than Mid Mode, as some forum members have observed? To eliminate torque-steer in their 306-hp Civic Type R, Honda changed the steering geometry to reduce the scrub radius, but that's not mode-dependent. If not braking or some kind of magic differential, what other fairy dust could MINI sprinkle on Sport Mode to tame torque-steer? Why wouldn't MINI apply the same fairy dust to the default Mid Mode?

 

Ok, take this down a notch. You mis-took my response without sarcasm. I have NO idea how MINI makes this work, just going for an objective assessment. Just try these comparisons on your own. I'm not actually implying the existence of Fairy Dust. Maybe try the settings I suggested, and then reply. I don't know how MINI modulates steering with driving setting changes. Maybe take it out on them?

 

I think I read here that the steering boost is adjusted in sport mode, sport being firmer. Firmer is less boost I think, but would that firmness provide some resistance to the torque steer transmitted up the steering column, enough for the driver to feel the difference? I would think the opposite, but I dunno... just throwing it out there. Or does the firmness just make it easier to control torque steer, so you don't notice is as much?

 

This was my conclusion too. I'm not sure of all of the details, but there's a torque sensor on the steering column that tells the electric assist motor how much to help.

Depending on the layout of the EPAS motor/sensors and other control details, the car may not be able to tell the difference between steering torque caused by the driver and steering torque caused by power. Mid/green boost the steering assist so could also be boosting the torque steer feedback.

I'm also still convinced the SE is very aggressive with brake application for traction/stability control. I was driving with the windows down the other day and am pretty sure I could hear the brakes being quickly activated as I accelerated out of a turn.

 

Do some folks here regularly drive with DSC “off” (I know, the nannies are always present) in dry conditions?

 

I've tried my commute with DSC off (hold traction switch) just out of curiosity but it was basically no different. I think I noticed some very subtle stability control braking around some corners but it may just be in my head.

Other than that, with DSC off it's very easy to forget just how much torque the SE has and do accidental burnouts!

 

Sometimes I commute in EDLC mode (DSC off) in the summer on my Goodyear Eagle tires, and I think I have a really good feel of the road surface and incredible manoeuvering capabilities.