Thoughts On A Mini Cooper For RallyX

An early Mini (2001 to 2006) might fit into my 3k “budget”. But I don’t know if I would physically fit in a Mini.

So my questions are:

Would I want one for RX?

Are they reliable or are they fragile / finicky?

engines are fragile. Check out the b-spec cars... they're running through 2-3 engines a season. Handle great, lots of room in there but man..... 

We had someone in our region running one, and I seem to recall it did well, when it was running.  Can't remember if it was a first or second generation MINI, though.  Didn't first gens have issues with strut towers mushrooming?  I'd think that could be made much worse on a rally course.

In reply to eastsideTim :

First gens suffered the mushrooming. A set of plates can fix that. The early R50s had the Midlands transmission which isn't very robust. The later R50s had a stronger Getrag unit like the R53. The cars are fairly low so I'd run a skid plate to protect the lower radiator area and the electric fan for the power steering. I can't speak to the second generation cars. I love my R53 but they aren't cheap cars to fix. If I were going rallycrossing I'd be looking at a Miata or some cheap throwaway car, like a Hyundai/Kia..........

Friend of mine started to set one up and just the parts cost got to him before he got done. Finished on gen maintenance and ended up dailying it and getting a beater corolla iirc.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Dem's fightin' werds! But yeah.... I always thought the 01-06 Elantra 05-09 Spectra would mmake a good rallyx car. long-ish travel macstruts, torquey midrange engine. Decent structural rigidity (as long as its bought south of the mason dixon line).

In reply to L5wolvesf :

They're pretty roomy inside, just the back seat is a joke.

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

In reply to eastsideTim :

First gens suffered the mushrooming. A set of plates can fix that.

It's been a while since I have read the rulebook, but that might move a car straight into Modified class.

In reply to eastsideTim :

That would be unfortunate. They'll mushroom from street driving.

In reply to eastsideTim :

You can fix it in prepared by installing a strut bar with anti-mushrooming plates.

ojannen said:

In reply to eastsideTim :

You can fix it in prepared by installing a strut bar with anti-mushrooming plates.

That sounds like a good workaround.

eastsideTim said:

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

In reply to eastsideTim :

First gens suffered the mushrooming. A set of plates can fix that.

It's been a while since I have read the rulebook, but that might move a car straight into Modified class.

Modified would be a no go for this project. And even if it just bumped up to Prepared it would be a problem since my region (AZ) does not run Prepared class. 

Thanks for the info guys. Looks like a Mini isn't really workable for what I want.

eastsideTim said:

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

In reply to eastsideTim :

First gens suffered the mushrooming. A set of plates can fix that.

It's been a while since I have read the rulebook, but that might move a car straight into Modified class.

Protective equipment that provides no performance advantage, legal in Stock.  So legal that they are expressly called out in the text as an example of what is allowable.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

I stand corrected.  For some reason, the protective equipment part was making me think just skid plates.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

eastsideTim said:

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

In reply to eastsideTim :

First gens suffered the mushrooming. A set of plates can fix that.

It's been a while since I have read the rulebook, but that might move a car straight into Modified class.

Protective equipment that provides no performance advantage, legal in Stock.  So legal that they are expressly called out in the text as an example of what is allowable.

Yes, plates do look to be allowed in Stock - "strut caps to prevent failure of strut mounts". But a strut bar probably not if I read the rule correctly a.k.a. as intended.

In reply to L5wolvesf :

Exactly.

I have a feeling that the strut caps were specifically called out in the rules after the incident where someone protested a certain Stock class R53 at nationals in... um... 2016? 2015?  because it had the caps.  Everyone agreed, yeah that is chassis protective equipment, who cares, we don't want people to have to break their cars just to be legal, we want people to be able to keep coming back for more.

Now, the rally tires that had European "DOT" stamps on them.... that was a much bigger issue

Yes, rallycross all things!

Seconding everything said here

I just came here to say this:

In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :

Nice. Feel free to say more.

L5wolvesf said:

In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :

Nice. Feel free to say more.

Not mine, but I have met them with North Texas Rallycross a couple times. It is modified with a wider track, but I don't remember what else they have done to it. It always looks like they are having fun driving it though.

In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :

Needs more front bumper and a 5 lug conversion