Introduction

This book grew out of a series of conversations with new MINI owners like you that we had at various events soon after the introduction of this innovative car. We were impressed with the diversity among the new buyers. They were old as well as young, well-off or living on a budget, and bought the car as primary transportation or a supplementary weekend car. Nevertheless, from them we discovered a common theme. Many owners bought their cars for three very simple reasons: MINIS are practical, cute, and inexpensive.

But as these new owners drove their cars, they discovered something new that they hadn't expected to learn. MINIS are fun to drive for the sheer pleasure of driving. These new buyers were becoming motoring enthusiasts.

As motoring enthusiasts, the new owners had begun to look for more things to do with their MINIS and for ways they could make their Mutts even more fun to drive. Unfortunately, they were discovering that the ways of motoring enthusiasm are often confusing to newcomers. Terminology and principles, whether related to motor sports or to mechanical modifications, can be very difficult to understand. Most of this knowledge was passed on from old hand to novice in conversations in parking lots and track paddocks, and the few books on the topic generally assumed a solid base of car knowledge.

Deeply involved in all aspects of the car hobby, and having been impressed ourselves with this new car and the enthusiasm of its new owners, we decided we could do something about this problem by writing a book specifically about MINIS in motorsports, and write it specifically for new owners who hadn't previously been very involved in motoring.

As you read this book, we hope you'll see the benefit of our approach. We start with the basics of buying and driving a new MINI, and gradually delve more and more deeply into the mechanical aspects of the MINI and into how to drive a MINI better. We're not mooing to assume you know anything about either as we start the book, so we'll try to explain things as we go along.

We just hope that readers who already know something about auto mechanics and competition driving will bear with us as we explain the basics, so everyone will still benefit from the book's later chapters.

As we go along, we'll provide definitions of basic terms and diagrams of basic principles to help you understand the things we're explaining. There is much more to learn, and in one book we can only begin to scratch the surface of questions of car tuning, car handling, and car control. However, we hope that when you've finished, you'll be ready to go more deeply into these topics if you're interested. If you do, there are lots of books, classes, and opportunities to practice that we've listed in the appendices of this book.

Most of all, we hope that as you learn more about your MINI and how it can be improved and used, that you'll continue to find more and more fun behind the wheel and with your new MINI friends. After all, fun is the basic ingredient in true motoring.

Disclaimers

The information presented in this book is, to the best of the knowledge of the authors, accurate and represents the best information available to them at the time of writing. However, the authors emphasize that automobile driving, whether on the road or the track, is inherently dangerous, and therefore neither the authors nor the publishers assume any liabilities and make no warranties, express or implied, regarding the application of any of the information presented in this book, whether it relates to automobile mechanics, modification, or operation. Readers should not rely solely on the information presented in this book for guidance on automobile operation or modification, and should make their own efforts to verify' and expand on the information presented here, taking the advice of experts in motorsports and relying on specialists to carry out the modifications described in this book. The authors and publishers also disclaim all liability for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damage that may result from use of or reliance on any of the examples, instructions, products and brands, or other information presented in this book.

The authors and publishers recognize that some words, model names, and brand names used in this book are the property of other individuals or companies. The authors' and publisher's use of these trade and service marks and brand names is for the purpose of identification only, and is not meant to indicate or imply any endorsement by, or connection, legal or otherwise, with, the authors or publishers of this book.

In particular, there is no connection between the authors and publishers of this hook and the BMW Group, BMW USA or MINI USA.