11 replies to this topic

[Rob.Finney]

Hi guys,

1999 1275mpi with Stage 1 kit.

Since the exchange rate between €/£ is good it's the perfect time for me to buy a new head, but the question is, is it worth the money? Sames applies as i also want the SW5-07 cam with 1.5 rockers etc...

MPI's are 63bhp and apparently go up to around 85-90bhp pretty simply. is having the car at 90bhp worth the money to get it there? or am i going to do it and feel like i've wasted my money?

NB: I really want to leave the final drive ratio as standard for the moment... if i'm not satisfied with the head and the cam then i'd consider changing it.

All opinions/encouragement much appreciated!

[tony kenobi]

Hi rob, give me a month or less and ill tell ya, as im just setting it all up. I had a standard MPI but went with a MED stage 3/4 head, swi cam, high lift rollers, 3.4final drive,52mm tb,custom manifold,lcb etc tec, you get the picture.

Ive only driven it about ten minutes, not being able to get over 3000rpm at the moment due to fueling problems (i hope). So ill let you know when its sorted. Where bouts in Ireland are ya?

edit...ive just noticed, your in Dublin. Good to see more minis in Ireland.

Edited by tony kenobi, 31 December 2008 - 05:27 PM.

[Rob.Finney]

Hi rob, give me a month or less and ill tell ya, as im just setting it all up. I had a standard MPI but went with a MED stage 3/4 head, swi cam, high lift rollers, 3.4final drive,52mm tb,custom manifold,lcb etc tec, you get the picture.

Ive only driven it about ten minutes, not being able to get over 3000rpm at the moment due to fueling problems (i hope). So ill let you know when its sorted. Where bouts in Ireland are ya?

edit...ive just noticed, your in Dublin. Good to see more minis in Ireland.

Cheers Tony,

Yea that's pretty much what i'm looking at doing but for all the cost of it i'd like a bit of a "wow factor" when i put the pedal to the floor once in a while...

Dunno about going fo a 3.4 final drive though (and i know this is going to sound ridiculous given my final drive is something like 2.76) as i dont feel i'm getting much pull out of the gears as it is... but i'll see what the stage 3 head does anyway, it wont be too big though as you said.

Let me know how that final drive feels when you've got it all sorted and you might persuade me round to a 3.2 or something similar...

Cheers

[chudley]

Hi guys,

1999 1275mpi with Stage 1 kit.

Since the exchange rate between €/£ is good it's the perfect time for me to buy a new head, but the question is, is it worth the money? Sames applies as i also want the SW5-07 cam with 1.5 rockers etc...

MPI's are 63bhp and apparently go up to around 85-90bhp pretty simply. is having the car at 90bhp worth the money to get it there? or am i going to do it and feel like i've wasted my money?

NB: I really want to leave the final drive ratio as standard for the moment... if i'm not satisfied with the head and the cam then i'd consider changing it.

All opinions/encouragement much appreciated!

hi i have put big valve mg head , maniflow exhaust, 1.5 non roller rockers, and kand n cone filter on my cooper spi the power increase was very good a lot more torque got all stuff of ebay over a 6 month period all second hand apart from exhaust costing 300 quid so if you want to save a bit its worth fishing about hope that helps you.

[sir Jake the brit]

Hi guys,

1999 1275mpi with Stage 1 kit.

Since the exchange rate between €/£ is good it's the perfect time for me to buy a new head, but the question is, is it worth the money? Sames applies as i also want the SW5-07 cam with 1.5 rockers etc...

MPI's are 63bhp and apparently go up to around 85-90bhp pretty simply. is having the car at 90bhp worth the money to get it there? or am i going to do it and feel like i've wasted my money?

NB: I really want to leave the final drive ratio as standard for the moment... if i'm not satisfied with the head and the cam then i'd consider changing it.

All opinions/encouragement much appreciated!

the works kit is very good, 90bhp (wink!) but when i fitted the sw5 camshaft i ran out of fuel at 5k??!!! so i dunno if the cam will be needed!
unless (like me!) you want to really push the boat out with your spec, mines getting silly for an mpi but i will need a new ecu when its done!

erm you'll feel a difference with 90bhp over 60 as your 0-60 will be a good 2.5 seconds quicker12.5 down to 9 or 10

ONE MAJOR QUESTION I SHALL ASK YOU THOUGH!!!!
do you find your gear box has a problem and sometimes you 2nd gear jumps out when slowing down in gear??? i had that problem and the works garage noted it when i had my kit fitted
4 months max later and my synchromesh colapsed and i had to have the box re-built!!!

[Rob.Finney]

Hi guys,

1999 1275mpi with Stage 1 kit.

Since the exchange rate between €/£ is good it's the perfect time for me to buy a new head, but the question is, is it worth the money? Sames applies as i also want the SW5-07 cam with 1.5 rockers etc...

MPI's are 63bhp and apparently go up to around 85-90bhp pretty simply. is having the car at 90bhp worth the money to get it there? or am i going to do it and feel like i've wasted my money?

NB: I really want to leave the final drive ratio as standard for the moment... if i'm not satisfied with the head and the cam then i'd consider changing it.

All opinions/encouragement much appreciated!

the works kit is very good, 90bhp (wink!) but when i fitted the sw5 camshaft i ran out of fuel at 5k??!!! so i dunno if the cam will be needed!
unless (like me!) you want to really push the boat out with your spec, mines getting silly for an mpi but i will need a new ecu when its done!

erm you'll feel a difference with 90bhp over 60 as your 0-60 will be a good 2.5 seconds quicker12.5 down to 9 or 10

ONE MAJOR QUESTION I SHALL ASK YOU THOUGH!!!!
do you find your gear box has a problem and sometimes you 2nd gear jumps out when slowing down in gear??? i had that problem and the works garage noted it when i had my kit fitted
4 months max later and my synchromesh colapsed and i had to have the box re-built!!!

Sounds good, i've been told the gearbox should be fine up to the 90bhp (wink) mark, obviously it'll wear a bit quicker but i've been told it's not going to REALLY strain it. Car is 12.5K miles old and i hear the gearbox becomes an issue around 35 - 40k?

When a gearbox goes, what part actually breaks normally? Can any mechanic rebuild it or is it a specialist job?

[sir Jake the brit]

Sounds good, i've been told the gearbox should be fine up to the 90bhp (wink) mark, obviously it'll wear a bit quicker but i've been told it's not going to REALLY strain it. Car is 12.5K miles old and i hear the gearbox becomes an issue around 35 - 40k?

When a gearbox goes, what part actually breaks normally? Can any mechanic rebuild it or is it a specialist job?

well you'd know if you had this silly problem!!
i got the car off my mother (18th b-daypressie )
and she had it from about 300miles it had always had the problem, so i assume the works kit and me driving it properly!! killed it off!!
i'm not mechanically minded so i couldn't do the re-build but i suppose if you know a bit it wouldn't be too hard.

and it was the sychromesh that went on mine.

that said if you do ever re-buildit, put another final drive in it the standard one is really long (the fact you can hit 90 in 3rd an the car only does about 95!!! lol)

[Dylan8660]

Hi Rob, A stage 3 of the type you describe is well worth it, mine has a JCW head, SW5i cam, modified inlet and air box, RC40 and LCB (lambda in the collector). I also took my final drive down to 2.9 to give me a more usable car on national roads as well as motorway which given the mpi's reputation for torque I find is an excellent compramise. I had to have re-built gearbox put in a while back and took the opportunity to do the cam and have a quaiff diff put in as well. If you are going to do the cam then consider your gearbox at the same time while the engine is out but at the very least put an X-pin diff in it.

[Guess-Works.com]

The bit that breaks is the diff pin, with all the mods you mention, you would be a fool not to put an x-pin in the box if you intend on keeping the 2.7 ( or infact a 2.9 )... I can forecast the diff exiting out the back of the box within a year of upgrading the engine and leaving the gearbox as standard.

Another thing which will be subject to extra load will be the layshaft, however, if the box is currently in good service and condition then you should be ok.

[sir Jake the brit]

The bit that breaks is the diff pin, with all the mods you mention, you would be a fool not to put an x-pin in the box if you intend on keeping the 2.7 ( or infact a 2.9 )... I can forecast the diff exiting out the back of the box within a year of upgrading the engine and leaving the gearbox as standard.

Another thing which will be subject to extra load will be the layshaft, however, if the box is currently in good service and condition then you should be ok.

surely the gear box will cope fine (if its healthy anyway!) to what is pretty much the cooper works spec?
as they fitted it to a standard box as a tickable extra when new?

[Rob.Finney]

The bit that breaks is the diff pin, with all the mods you mention, you would be a fool not to put an x-pin in the box if you intend on keeping the 2.7 ( or infact a 2.9 )... I can forecast the diff exiting out the back of the box within a year of upgrading the engine and leaving the gearbox as standard.

Another thing which will be subject to extra load will be the layshaft, however, if the box is currently in good service and condition then you should be ok.

Well I suppose i could change over to a 3.1 final drive.

What options do i have for making the gearbox more reliable while doing the cam, with say a budget of approx £400, shopping lists would be excellent as i know nothing about gearboxes...

Cheers!

[Dylan8660]

A good engine steady should also be on your list as it will also stop it jumping out of 2nd if it hasn't started already.