565 replies to this topic

[markrally]

Only joking!!!!! What was the total weight minus youself??

Also what is the general consensus on front brake caliper choice???
Cast iron metro's or somethin alloy? KAD, AP Or the black units for sale on minispeed?? I know brake performance will be the same as they all use the same pad but were on a weight Mission by the sounds of it at the moment

What has everone else fitted to their Z-Cars Mini's?

Mark :wales:

[The Matt]

If you can afford it, go for the KAD alloy four pots! They are lush! :grin:

[markrally]

Hmm........ I think it would be silly to buy Kad's this early on in the project.
I think i might go for cast metro items and upgrade when the car is on the road and most of the expense has been done, any way i bet the R1 boys are all on Kad's anyway but sod it, the busa has the grunt to keep up for now!!

Mark :wales:

[R1minimagic]

I got the KAD 4 pots, very light! :tongue: :tongue:

[R1minimagic]

The total without me in the car was 515Kg, weighed it at 520Kg on the bathroom scales...

A few more bits have come off the car since then. Also, my new tyres are 1Kg lighter each :tongue: :gasp:

[markrally]

The total without me in the car was 515Kg, weighed it at 520Kg on the bathroom scales...

A few more bits have come off the car since then. Also, my new tyres are 1Kg lighter each :tongue: :gasp:

Allright.......You are obviously serious about the bathroom scales thing!!!!!!

What do you do one corner at a time? Or a borrow a few sets off the neighbours and sit it on them???

Mark :wales:

[R1minimagic]

My technicians dad runs an engineering course where the students build there own racing cars. He lent me his scales to weigh the car. They are just normal bathroom scales from B&Q. I tried different ways of weighing the car but as long as all the wheels are roughly the same height off the ground you can get an accurate measurement just using a single scale (ie bits of wood under the other 3 tyres)

I have a scale that goes up to 150Kg which is required for the drivers side rear as that is too heavy for a normal set (120Kg?). Dont tell the wife though!!!

[markrally]

Ahh...........Makes sense now.
Just checked ours, only the 120 version, Will checkout the mother in laws in the week, bound to be the 150kg set

Mark :wales:

[pete]

i bet the R1 boys are all on Kad's anyway

Me and Ade are using metro 4 pots. Didn't even consider weight when we brought them, just price :grin: . But then again with Ade behind the wheel maybe he should have :cheese: .

Once the cars are built Chris has offered to set up all our suspension including corner weights. Suppose then we will find out how heavy they are.

Pete

[gadgets23]

just to clear summit up ... which im sure of ! but would still like it cleared up for 100% !!

to get the metro 4 pots on, all ya need is of course the 4 pots, the hose conversion, and the metro hubs and discs
and then the important bit diferent moutain bolts ...
yes is that all ... ?? ... cheers Mick ...

[markrally]

just to clear summit up ... which im sure of ! but would still like it cleared up for 100% !!

to get the metro 4 pots on, all ya need is of course the 4 pots, the hose conversion, and the metro hubs and discs
and then the important bit diferent moutain bolts ...
yes is that all ... ?? ... cheers Mick ...

You can use the mini hubs as the only difference is the diameter of the disc mounting holes, mini are 3/8" and metro are 10mm, soopen them up and jobs a goo un! plus the metro hubs also have a slightly wider offset on the wheel flange side which can cause problems if you are using wide wheels already. This info was straight from the guy's a KAD so they know what there on about. :smartass:
Hope that helps.......?

Mark :wales:

[F1 Mini]

Those 1 kgs Wilwood 4 pots are only £80 each.....Just have to make up some brackets, but must be worth the effort.... Can anyone here wieght the standard metro caliper ?

Ps I sold all my removed parts on E bay and got bakc the £400 I spent on the car.....

[Dick Dastardly]

I've done my dry build based on Metro 4 pots with a servo, just to get me under way. When I've had a chance to assess them, I may consider the lighter options.

Having talked to the guy from Huddersfield mini spares a while back, he told me he'd ditched the servo with his setup, as it made the front very prone to locking-up, and lacked the feel he reckoned you need, but I can't remeber what calipers he was using. Anyone know?

I must admit to being tempted by nice shiney anodised ally calipers, but it's an expense that will have to wait as I'm facing a paint-job bill well in excess of a grand at the mo'!

I'm not too concerned about the straight-line performance aspect of my mini, more about how it handles, looks and sounds.

Went round Donington last year, in the white R1 engined Z-car (as a passenger) and was left a little concerned about the handling. We had a spin at Redgate, but didn't seem to be going that quick at the time. Anyone got any experience of the handling characteristics of the z-cars minis?

Cheers! D*ck

[R1minimagic]

After reading and hearing a lot of stories about the handling of these bike engined minis myself, I was also a little concerned and wondering whether I had done the right thing buying the Z cars kit.

However, after driving the car around Curborough, I was pleasantly surprised that the only problem seemed to be getting the power down coming out of the tighter bends which was put down to the tyres that i had fitted had gone off. Handling wise it seemed pretty good. I also have a lotus elise which i have driven on a few circuits, so I know what a proper handling RWD car should be like..

I remember thinking at Curborough that the handling felt almost like the lotus with the exception of having to put a lot more power down through skinnier, hard tyres. The power to weight ratio is ~ 350bhp/ton vs 165bhp/ton so quite a difference.

I have quite a good smooth test road near where I live which is a very fast sweeping right hander. In the lotus in the dry i can get about 95mph going around the bend. In the R1 mini i could get about 85mph before having Z cars set up the suspension. After setting up i can get 90mph easily and maybe 95mph if i am feeling brave! Also, after the setup the lightness in the steering has disappeared which was another one of my concerns about lack of steering feel. That has gone now and the steering feels very good. I think with my new Yoko A048's there should be even more improvement.

So, overall, if you get a decent set of tyres and a proper suspension setup then the handling should be very good.

PS When did you go round Donnington?? I saw Lee Oliver at Cadwell and he said the car was handling very well...

[Dom]

Wow this project is coming along well.

Keep up the good work