Mini Cooper SE autocross first impressions

Just curious, what is your autocross history, and with what car? I am a very casual autocross-er over the last 4 years, and while I was using a fantastic 2017 m240i usually finished in the bottom quartile of racers in my class with no mods. I had an absolute blast every single time I did it, and have only my meager skills to blame for my performance. The one time I took someone's advice prior to race and had my tire shop alter the camber I did marginally better. Not worth the time and effort, but interesting.

Driving the SE around town and on spirited twisties, I can honestly say the experience is happily on-par with the fun I had in the m240i. Without the noise. I always start off in Sport mode, but initially the couple times I forgot to change it and punched it while in Mid, I was reminded of the shocking torque-steer this thing creates (my last FWD was a 2001 VW Jetta turbo; fun, but not like this!). Sport mode obviously does a great deal to nearly cancel out the torque-steer, and while it probably doesn't give much benefit in actual speed, it makes punching less like a wrestling match with the steering wheel. I can't imagine driving this thing on an Autocross in anything other than Sport, unless you're looking for an arm workout. I coded to start in Sport after the second time I forgot to switch manually, and have never even considered another mode.

Probably 150 autocross runs and 50 hours track time. I had a "STX" BRZ in the past which was awesome in autocross.
 
Probably 150 autocross runs and 50 hours track time. I had a "STX" BRZ in the past which was awesome in autocross.
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.
 
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!

Sport steering seems slightly stiffer on the highway, but I don’t notice a difference in autocross. Hardly any torque steer unless road surface is uneven. The power ramps up faster, but I think all modes have been compared and there’s not much difference in acceleration (except Green+).
 
Spacers can be a pain to figure out.

From my experience, 3mm spacers to ~10mm spacers will not work because the bore on the wheels will not end up touching the hub. This would mean the hub is no longer centering the wheel and most likely will result in significant vibrations at speed or other damage.

ECS tuning 10mm MINI specific spacers do work with the stock wheels by matching the taper on the wheel bore but most likely will not work with aftermarket wheels.

3mm spacers do (barely) work with my OZ wheels but do not work with the stock wheels. (OZ wheels have a smaller chamfer on the bore)

12mm and larger can likely use universal spacers as long as they match the bolt pattern and hub size.

You will also need longer wheel bolts to match the size of your spacer (which is a nightmare to find if your aftermarket wheels use ball seats like OZ... )

For reference, I have 15mm ECS spacers with stock 17" wheels.
 
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.
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.
 
Sport mode obviously does a great deal to nearly cancel out the torque-steer
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 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.

Modes outside of "sport" seem to take longer to ramp up the power after quickly going from 0-100% pedal.
 
Modes outside of "sport" seem to take longer to ramp up the power after quickly going from 0-100% pedal.
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 !
 
Modes outside of "sport" seem to take longer to ramp up the power after quickly going from 0-100% pedal.
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.
 
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?
 
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?
 
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!
 
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