School me on hillclimbs.

I am thinking of doing a hillclimb event this year. One (Maryhill) is about a 3 1/2 hour drive, others are 6 to 8 hours away. Is it feasible, wise, recommended, to drive my 2011 Mini cooper S daily driver (sort of, we have 4 cars and a dozen bikes) for 500 miles, do a hillclimb, and then drive home?

I currently have Michelin AS3 Plus tires on it, I think they will be good enough.

I don't have a car trailer (yet) and would rather just make a road trip out of it. I was looking at the Hoopa hill climb, Larison Rock, and Bogus basin. I have ridden the road Hoopa, and I may have ridden Larison rock, on my Ducati. I'd love to drive them in the Mini balls out.

It's never wise for a novice to drive balls out at a hillclimb in a vehicle they're depending on to get home.

I've seen a number of first timers making awkward towing calls or even worse, awkward calls to SWMBO informing her of your actions with a vehicle she specifically said shouldn't be a part of such things.

DaveEstey wrote: It's never wise for a novice to drive balls out at a hillclimb in a vehicle they're depending on to get home.

I'm no genius, but this sounds like damn good advice.

A hillclimb car with a license plate will still have to comply with SCCA Solo2 rules which could mean expensive safety modifications. I am not familiar with the light end of the class structure but people I know who run them here for fun have full cages, fire systems and all the rest of the sort of things that might be handy if the hill wins.

I am very interested in Hillclimb. I hope to start prepping to do some by late 2018.

I am very curious about chassis set up. Weight balance. Tires.

As you all may know, there's a very entertaining thread in the Builds and Project Cars forum that may be helpful:

Dennis Clan Shennanigans

As others have suggested, you need to be sure you have the required safety equipment. As a minimum you'll have to have a roll bar. Some clubs require more such as a full cage even for cars running in Solo 2 classes. Most also require a fire extinguisher mounted in the car (or a full fire system) as well as the usual driver gear. Things happen in the mist of competition - cars break and cars go off. I wouldn't count on my 'race car' to get me back home. Hillclimbs are a lot of fun so I encourage you to try one. But get yourself prepared first so that it doesn't turn into a bad experience.

This site should be able to answer most, if not all of your questions: PA Hillclimb Association

An old MINI club friend has been running an RX7 with his brother for years. They recently purchased a rotary powered open wheel car. He is also one of their safety inspectors.

In a nutshell, rules are a mix of SCCA GC and Solo rules. A street car will at minimum require an approved roll bar with harness mounts. Tech is more involved than for a typical Solo event, so it is best to contact the club you plan to run with well in advance of any events you want to attend. Most will be more than happy to "pre-tech" your car in advance to minimize day-of surprises.

Bear in mind, most courses have little to no run-off areas and there are a lot of hard, unforgiving things to hit.

I am going to do my first hillclimb this year, I will be sure to write up the experience.

You will also be required to have a Solo 2 licence as well. And an approved Helmet and full race suit. I used to use my pro rally licence when I used to do it. It is really easy to go off in a hillclimb, and an easy mistake to make if you are new as well. It can and does happen quite often. I'd reconsider doing it in a street car that was your ride home. It is a whole different animal then autocross where you are only really going to run into a cone.

NEHA has a class for street cars. Safe car and a helmet are all that is needed.

They have a class for beginners and then some fam (familiarization) runs.

The do have up grading all the way to full race.

NEHA- New England Hill climb Assoc. Non SCCA

DaveEstey wrote: It's never wise for a novice to drive balls out at a hillclimb in a vehicle they're depending on to get home. I've seen a number of first timers making awkward towing calls or even worse, awkward calls to SWMBO informing her of your actions with a vehicle she specifically said shouldn't be a part of such things.

My wife would be there, maybe even do some driving. I agree though, balls out in a street car is a bad idea in any situation.

It looks like trailering to an event is my wisest choice. Northwest Hillclimb Association has a Street/Touring class. http://www.nhahillclimb.org/NHA-rules.html My car may fit into that, I'll read the rules more closely later tonight.

As far as helmets, driving suit and a hans device, no problem. I have some current and qualifying stuff from motorcycle track days and flying helicopters (nomex) that will work, I can buy whatever else I need.

I might go try some autocross first. See if competing in a car is something my wife and I want to spend time and money doing. We like cars, and we used to have a lot of fun competing in various motorcycle events like trackdays, supermoto, enduro, and just lots of fast sport riding. But, we have had our close calls, lost friends to two wheels, and I don't think my body can take slamming into the ground much more before something gives. We still have bikes, we still ride, but it is at a much slower pace than it used to be.

It seems like quite a few cars show up at the Maryhill Hill climb near Goldendale to race that were driven there. All that is required for beginner/street car/touring class is a safe car, and a helmet. Since this is a close to home event, I think I will go and try it out. I have ridden there on street bikes, rode the road while closed to traffic/one way, at about a 75% pace to avoid mishaps, and had a lot of fun.

In reply to Dogote:

I've been (and will be this year too) in town when the Mt Washington New Hampshire race is going on and see quite a few cars numbered and stickered-up driving to and from the race.

Hill climb is like a track day, you only go as fast as you feel comfortable. Use your head other than carrying your helmet. The difference between the two is that climbs have no run off areas and there are lots of things to run into. Another is that it is harder to learn the hill. All of the turns are marked. To remember the more difficult ones, make a note of them and tape it to your steering wheel. This done by a lot of drivers. Also the road for the climb may not be nearly as smooth as a road course, take note of any bad areas. Get as many fam runs as you can.

Great advice from everyone. I don't see a lot of difference in running a hill climb versus the years of riding sport bikes fast on many of the same roads. You can't run at 100% like on the track, I know that, I learned it the hard way. Even when I was at the Isle of Mann TT on a closed course with no one else around, I held back and didn't die. I think I will drive the Mini to at least a couple this year.

I am about to do some suspension maintenance. I am tempted by BC brand coilovers, they have adjustments. I like adjustment. But I will have to read over some various club rules. I don't want to show up for a hill climb or autocross and be bumped up a class because I put some fancy crap on my car. From the previous owner, it already has an adjustable rear sway bar, a lower chassis stiffening brace, and some silly-cone hose from the intercooler. I don't think any of it gives me any real advantage over a stock Mini Cooper S, but if the rules forbid it in stock street classes, I may have to make it all the way conform to the next class up, or find some stock stuff.

I am going to install some real seat belts. I have 5 points in my Jeep and swear by them. Even without crashing, they give me way more control because I am not holding my body in the seat when I should be steering.