TCE Performance Chat Transcript

Thanks to Todd from TCE Performance and all of you who came out tonight for the 6th Motoring Fun MINI Club ìvirtualĂ® meet. We covered quite a bit on brake upgrades for your MINI. If you missed it – where were you? No worries – we have the transcript available so you can catch up. You may have another opportunity to chat with Todd because he has agreed to come back for another chat in the future to answer even more questions we may have.

As promised, here is the transcript from tonightĂ­s chatĂ– Enjoy and hope to see you in the chat room soon!

Continue reading TCE Performance Chat Transcript

Live Chat With TCE Performance – April 24, 2007 9pmEST / 6pmPST

Just a reminder that Tonight, April 24th at 9pm EST / 6pm PST, Todd from TCE Performance will be discussing your stopping needs in the MotoringFun chat room! Looking for a BBK? Want to know what a BBK is?? Well join us in the chat room for this most informative event! Make sure to post your questions in the comments section ahead of time so we can assemble them for our question/answer queue.

[ MotoringFun.com Chat Room ]

MC2 Exclusive: US MINI Spec Race Series Possible For 2008!

ItĂ­s been three years in the works say a few of our sources, but the reality of a US MINI spec racing series is getting closer as this summer progresses. ItĂ­s likely a matter of sponsorships, how significant the race venues will be, and just how many ready-to-race units the factory can have orders on globally, we at MC2 Magazine believe, so we started asking questions of US and European MINI personnel, as well as a production friend of ours in the auto industry.

Some of the catches to the production may be the as-yet-unknown quantity that can be sold globally into the other national series, as the target price is $42,000 say friends in MINI racing. Some high-profile names from the music and movie business, as well as some US MINI dealers and present GP and SCCA MINI racers are known to be ready to drive in this series. ItĂ­s possibly marketed as a pre-race event to major national or international races, somewhat like the Toyotas in GP races or the US road race events, says one source.

The major blockage at this time is the Oxford factory and how to integrate this into the production line and how it would interrupt that day or two of production. ìItís the automation that actually gets in the way,î states our automotive production specialist. Itís not easy to make FIA-legal race cars on a production line that makes street cars, as theyíll not be shipping these off to Italy as they did the GP last year.

Just how they will be sold in the USA, if it be specific MINI dealers or all MINI dealers isnĂ­t known yet, so donĂ­t talk with your dealer, as they know nothing of this.

For the rest of the story, you can read the next issue of MC2 magazine thatĂ­s mailing April 27 to all subscribers and should be on newsstands like Books A Million and others May 10-15.

Meanwhile, we would like your input on our forum about this topic at www.mc2magazine.com. And if youĂ­re a serious buyer for one of these MINIs, you can contact us at publisher@mc2magazine.com.

[ MC2 Magazine Forum ]

RSR MINI Finishes 15th In Iowa Grand-Am Race

The # 197 RSR MINI driven by Randy Smalley and Craig Hansen had a much better showing Saturday at Iowa Speedway compared to the past 2 races at Daytona and Homestead. The RSR MINI proved competitive, despite a 40mph headwind blowing down the long straightaway and a fuel pump failure which apparently caused a lot of the problems last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The time spent diagnosing and repairing the problem cost the team 3 laps, but a lot was learned and the car still managed to finish 15th. If you have not been following the RSR MINI in the Grand-Am KONI Challenge, I encourage you to check out the Grand-Am website where you can get live lap times and stats for each race. Take a moment and post a comment of encouragement in the comments section to Randy and his crew. Keep up the good work guys!

RSR MINI Cooper - Grand-Am KONI Series

[ Grand-Am KONI Challenge – Iowa Speedway Results ]
[ RSR MINI Desktop Wallpaper ]

Suspension Project – Part 1: Brakes, Wheels and Tires

If you saw the Minspeed (formerly MyMini) Dyno Day articles and the Minspeed pulley review, you know that I have made some engine performance upgrades to my 2006 MINI Cooper S. What you may not know is that I have also been working on upgrading the way my MINI handles as well. Over the past few months I have upgraded various parts of the MINI’s suspension (from brakes to coilovers). I plan to cover these upgrades in a series we will call – “The MotoringFun Suspension Project”. For this first article, I will cover the first 3 changes that were made – brakes, wheels and tires.

MotoringFun Suspension Project

Continue reading Suspension Project – Part 1: Brakes, Wheels and Tires

MINI Challenge 2007: Germany

Here is the official MINI Press Release on the 2007 MINI Challenge. How cool would it be to have this here in the US?

MINI Challenge 2007

In 2007 the MINI CHALLENGE will be held on no less than eight racing weekends with a total of 15 races for the title. And even the very first race is a genuine highlight, with 38 MINI Cooper S battling it out at Hockenheimring on the occasion of the DTM German Touring Car Masters. Then the teams will also be enjoying a spectacular backdrop at two races held on the occasion of major Formula 1 events, the German Grand Prix at N¸rburgring and the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, where the MINI Cooper S is bound to thrill a large crowd of enthusiasts.

The MINI CHALLENGE will then enjoy international flair on the Dutch race track in Zandvoort, where the local races will be the sporting highlight of the MINI United Festival, the meeting of MINI fans from all over the world.
Continue reading MINI Challenge 2007: Germany

MINI Clubman Spy Video On The ‘Ring

Check out this video of the new MINI Clubman undergoing final track testing at the ‘Ring’ in Germany. I must say that it does look pretty sharp out there on the track. If I can ever convince my wife to stop driving a minivan, this would be a great addition to my current 1-MINI household! Have any ideas on how I can convince her? I am open to suggestions :).

[ MINI Clubman ‘Ring’ Video @ Auto Express ]