12 replies to this topic

[ford_man_mini_fan]

Hi guys.

I've done a bit of a search and have noticed the nissan micra engines are a popular conversion but haven't really found anything been done with an SR20 or FJ20... Any real reasons as to why the sr20 hasn't been stuffed into the front of a mini, to me in turbo form I would have thought this would be a great conversion??? Even in n/a form...

Just thought I'd ask anyway...

[charie t]

not really as available as other rover/honda/vauxhall

[Spiffingly Good]

The Micra engine fits very tightly into the mini engine bay, I think when they convert micras to take sr20 engine, they have to do alot of chopping to fit it in, and again is a very tight fit in the micra.

So this would be alot of work to get into a mini, then starts the debate of wether there is better engine options out there if your going to do so much work, availabilty of engine/power/cost etc

[ford_man_mini_fan]

its a little different here in australia.... SR20's are dime a dozen at any Jap Wrecker but finding a Micra... altho out there, by far less popular as we get a LOT of imported silvia's etc hence why i thought i would ask about the SR20 but i did think availability over there in the UK might not be the same as they are here..... hence not as popular

I was also guesstimating that the SR20 might be around the same size at a Vtech engine.

I just know they are a great engine, especially if going the turbo route.... but im still stuck on a suzuki GTI conversion for now.... but never hurts to ask the question i guess huh

[fuzzy-hair-man]

If you are after an engine with more poke than the Micra the Toyota 4EFTE is a well trodden path here in Australia, just have a look on Ausmini. It's difficult to get the whole thing in the front of a round nose as the radiator generally ends up in the boot. The 4efte is an import motor though and usually sells for 2000 - 3000 for a front cut.

Australia's engine replacement laws are more strict than the UK's AFAIK the limit for a mini a is 1.6 turboed and a 2.0 litre NA if you were to register it. The 1.3 Honda conversions have also been done in Australia.

The latest model engine I've seen mentioned as a possibility is the VVTi engine out of a Yaris, but I think you'd be amongst the first to go down this route.

I'm doing the MIcra CG13DE into a round nose so far so good with the subframe basically made, must see an engineer soon though....
We only got the 1.3 Micra and the larger gearbox which makes the conversion somewhat harder but still entirely doable.

So options would seem an easier fitment go the Micra (there are a fair few about), if you want more power but NA the Honda engines seem popular, if you want a turbo or more power the 4EFTE seems very popular and seems to be the most popular engine conversion I've seen and fit well into a clubman.

[l_jonez]

The main reason people go for the micra engine is because it's a cheap modern reliable engine with a 5 speed box and pretty good economy, most ain't interested power.

The Sr20 is much bigger and if you might as well fit a vtec/vaux for the same amount of effort.

I've fitted both vtec and micra and the micra engine is such a nice fit. Ive seen a lot of people moan about the "larger gearbox" and I just don't see what their on about it fits no problem.

[bigchief3679]

The only SR build i have ever seen is this one on 16vmini:

http://www.16vminicl...ead.php?t=20148

And it is pretty extensive.
That engine, although alloy, is extremely heavy and wide.
Both intake manifolds [lowport or highport] are very bulky as well, the sump is huge and the diff casing is pretty big as well.
I think shoe-horning such an engine in would take away too much from the driving experience of the mini, in our car we have gone from a CG13de [alloy] to the Toyota 4EFTE and the difference in weight shows up in the handling characteristics of the car.

[ford_man_mini_fan]

thanks for the replys guys AND sharing the info on other options. I know what im write is going to go a little off topic but it might come come back on topic in a way....

A mate of mine has a micra (now undergoing a rebuild full of Pulsar GTIR 4wd running gear).... and years ago when he 1st got it, at the same time i had a G200 Daihatsu Charade with the 1.3 EFI motor. Anyway, back when we were young and bulletproof, we used to drag race each other all the time and because both cars were bone stock, the performance between the 2 were almost identical. only time the charade would beat the micra was in 3rd gear and the charade would pull away so i assume it was just a gear ratio difference.... guess what im getting at is if i was to look at a micra conversion, i would look at the Daihatsu engine also.... and i know how good those G200 1.3 engines are, had a few charades in my day and those little engines take a beating and just keep going, plus the Daihatsu's also had a similar engine as a 1.6.... So options!

Fuzzy.... where in Oz are you mate?? im near brisbane myself

[fuzzy-hair-man]

I'm in Moss Vale 1.5hrs south of Sydney, the mini is in Armidale northern NSW.

The Micra engine's power is reportedly pretty easy to improve over stock, the bottom end is solid, so better inlet and exhaust manifolds help quite a bit, throttle bodies from larger nissan engines are also reasonably easily adapted.
After that cams and ECU seem to be the next steps.

I'm looking to get both after market extractors and a different inlet manifold (like L_jones was going to do originally) so this should improve things somewhat. The inlet is so I don't have to modify the firewall which is generally not a good thing if you're going to get it through the engineering process.

Unfortunately a lot of the go fast bits for Micra's seem to be japan or UK based making them harder and more expensive to get.

BigChief can you expand on the differences between driving your 4EFTE and CG13DE conversions? Obviously power goes to the 4EFTE but how about other differences? Your comment has me excited because I was starting to double guess myself and think I should have gone for a more powerful engine but maintaining the mini's good handling was always my priority.

[bigchief3679]

As you stated, the CG13 stands to gain alot from intake and exhaust mods, it has a bullet-proof bottom end which loves to revv.
I have been fortunate enough to drive many minis with japanese conversions and the CG cars strike me as the most balanced of them, with a great mix of agility, performance and fuel economy.
With regards to the direct comparison between 4EFTE and CG13DE they are both very different 1.3 engines.
The CG13 [as i mentioned] is easy to redline comfortably and has nice linear power delivery, alot of low-end power aiding early gear changes and comfortable cruising.
The 4EFTE. even though in stock form is a beast when the turbo comes in, but kinda gutless below 2500 rpm [I expect because of its low 8.2 : 1 compression ratio] It pulls healthily toward its 7200 rpm.
There are many occasions where you have to gear down with the Toyota to accelerate but not with the Nissan, but then again, there are times when the Toyota is 'the gift that keeps on giving' but there would be need for a gear change with the Nissan.
Fuel economy, the Nissan [even in turbo'd guise] wins hands down.
Driveability, Nissan wins again.
Ease of installation, Nissan. [on the 4efte we relocated the Turbo, alternator, Oil filter AND used a different gearbox]
Cost of installation, Nissan [you can buy maybe 2.5 CGs for the price of an EFTE.
Potential for mods: Toyota [a simple turbo upgrade will make the world of difference]
Bragging Rights: Toyota.
Smile factor [for me its a tie].

I guess it all depends on what you are after, most of our customers love the minimal work required to get a Nissan engine in and the fact that the car retains it's ' mini feel ' when delivered.
Sorry for the long post, I began to ramble a long while ago.....

[fuzzy-hair-man]

I have been fortunate enough to drive many minis with japanese conversions and the CG cars strike me as the most balanced of them, with a great mix of agility, performance and fuel economy.

Thanks BigChief that's exactly what I was after, I haven't driven a lot of high performance turbos but waiting for them to get on to boost gives me the s%$ts, (I think I'm a NA kinda guy) sounds like I made the right decision for me then
Think I'll get it running and if after that I want some more look at cams, and maybe increasing the compression ratio with the CG10 pistons... Matt Humphris runs a Micra rally car with some reasonably conservative engine mods so I figure if it's enough for that it should be enough for a mini weighing 3/4 the weight.

[rids]

I'm in Moss Vale 1.5hrs south of Sydney, the mini is in Armidale northern NSW.

The Micra engine's power is reportedly pretty easy to improve over stock, the bottom end is solid, so better inlet and exhaust manifolds help quite a bit, throttle bodies from larger nissan engines are also reasonably easily adapted.
After that cams and ECU seem to be the next steps.

I'm looking to get both after market extractors and a different inlet manifold (like L_jones was going to do originally) so this should improve things somewhat. The inlet is so I don't have to modify the firewall which is generally not a good thing if you're going to get it through the engineering process.

Unfortunately a lot of the go fast bits for Micra's seem to be japan or UK based making them harder and more expensive to get.

BigChief can you expand on the differences between driving your 4EFTE and CG13DE conversions? Obviously power goes to the 4EFTE but how about other differences? Your comment has me excited because I was starting to double guess myself and think I should have gone for a more powerful engine but maintaining the mini's good handling was always my priority.

heres my inlet manifold, no body mods and flow charts were kindly worked out by james_1 and posted on my build thread been on the car about a year now and working well

Edited by rids, 18 March 2012 - 09:42 AM.

[fuzzy-hair-man]

Thanks Rids, I know your build thread well That will be my 2nd option, I'm hoping to get something with longer inlet runners to increase the torque and because if it looks like you've taken the inlet and sometimes exhaust side of things away from standard we need to get an emissions test done, if I get a factory manifold welded on I might just get away with it...
The finished manifold if I can get one (They seem hard to come by at the moment) makes something similar to a Mullholland inlet manifold for the Micra (Mullholland is a tuning company in Japan) so I figure the grafted on manifold should work pretty well.