28 replies to this topic

[Mart!]

What puts you off the s/c gearbox? Cost or noise?

the cost, i dont mind the noise so much. add the s/c gearbox to the rest of the engine costs and i think you're over the cost of a R1 kit... i like the r1 kit better because its so much lighter and the center of gravity seems much lower with it than a mini engine.

i built a regular 1310 from a S engine i pretty much got for free, it still ended up costing me around 5000$ (CAD) for parts and machining, and that's with a gearbox i rebuilt myself (new bearings and baulk rings)... i guess it depends what you start off with... i think i'd just assume any decision you make is going to end up costing a sh!tload, so just try to drive one of each and then make up your mind in what suits you better!

[Rosslin Racing]

If you buy a 1380 with power levels that the R1 has you will be rebuilding it at 50 thousand Km if not before, and its gonna cost £4-8K at least. its not really any better on the road to drive.
the seven port head conversions sound better but how many Kms until the engine needs looking at? these conversion are really done for track days and short trips,
It swings and roundabouts.

[wolfie]

If you buy a 1380 with power levels that the R1 has you will be rebuilding it at 50 thousand Km if not before, and its gonna cost £4-8K at least. its not really any better on the road to drive.
the seven port head conversions sound better but how many Kms until the engine needs looking at? these conversion are really done for track days and short trips,
It swings and roundabouts.

sorry but thats rubbish

A seven port can be what you want, 1275-1430cc carb or injection mild or wild not track days and short trips.

Your clearly trying to belittle something you know nothing about.

Personally i would look at the two this way, if you like the peaky performance and noise of a r1 engined mini and you can maintain and service an r1 engine or afford to pay for it then go for that, If you want a mini engine that any idiot can maintain and service and still be quick without the buzzyness of the r1 engine go for the 7 port.

Having maintained and driven a westfield megablade i would personally choose a car engine over the bike engine, bike engines are great but noisey and tiring, my other issue is that the gearbox in the megablade failed a few times as it was never designed to push a car round even i light one and that would worry me in a bike engined mini even if there had been no failures to date.

[wmc1]

[/quote]

Having maintained and driven a westfield megablade i would personally choose a car engine over the bike engine, bike engines are great but noisey and tiring, my other issue is that the gearbox in the megablade failed a few times as it was never designed to push a car round even i light one and that would worry me in a bike engined mini even if there had been no failures to date.
[/quote]


Totally agree, i think to many people look past a bike engine pushing the weight of a Mini. I'm sure there are related problems, if they are that good why are so many for sale?

[roofless]

According to the promo website, 0-60 is around 4.5 seconds depending on your gearing/tyres etc. This is probably because they're lighter and can rev much higher so you can stay in the power longer.

With a 120bhp 1380 i'd expect 0-60 in around 7-8 seconds, maybe a little less.

Would you be going with carbs or injection on the 7 port? Injection would be better and would help driveability with hotter cams.

would need to be injection!

wow 4.5 seconds that is pretty impressive.

the original demonstrator was faster than that..... My fat bird of a cabriolet is sub 5 seconds on my own..... slower with passengers

its not just 0-60 that is impressive, when cruising 60-90 is in the blink of an eye in 4th gear

[roofless]

Totally agree, i think to many people look past a bike engine pushing the weight of a Mini. I'm sure there are related problems, if they are that good why are so many for sale?

I cant think of any promotives for sale at the moment, I think in the history of 56 kits, there have only ever been 6 or maybe 7 re-sales.
A lot more Z-cars get re-sold, mainly for budgetary reasons I think..... not sure to be honest.......

at the end of the day, if your going to spank this thing hard, and to within an inch of its life every time you take it out...... whatever you use, its gonna break.
treat with a small degree of care and respect, maintain properly, and it'll last just fine.

[Rosslin Racing]

If you buy a 1380 with power levels that the R1 has you will be rebuilding it at 50 thousand Km if not before, and its gonna cost £4-8K at least. its not really any better on the road to drive.
the seven port head conversions sound better but how many Kms until the engine needs looking at? these conversion are really done for track days and short trips,
It swings and roundabouts.

sorry but thats rubbish

A seven port can be what you want, 1275-1430cc carb or injection mild or wild not track days and short trips.

Your clearly trying to belittle something you know nothing about.

wolfie what the hell are you on about?

I have made a view and am not "belittle" anything. fact is a tuned engine will not last as long as a standard.
ie 1380 against R1, R1 are cheaper than 1380s you missed that point of being able to pick up complete engines cheaper than building a new engine.

the seven port comment has nothing to do with the first comment its a question how long will the engine last bearing on mind the head is not for the block?

bet your blade was fun.

[Ethel]

BHP is devised to compare power output, if you're comparing 2 engines for the same car it's as good a figure as any other. Vehicle weight shouldn't make a difference, if you've got the gearing right.

Here, you're comparing a small, high revving engine with a bigger one that produces power at lower rpm. To make similar power they have to consume similar amount of air, so the smaller one needs to spin faster by more or less the same proportion as the difference in the capacities.

Since the smaller engine needs to get to higher rpm it needs more gears to stay in its power band over the same range of road speeds.

5000rpm / 100mph = an extra 50revs for every mph more speed
10,000rpm / 100mph = 100revs/mph

The most noticeable difference on a road car will be that the bigger engine will be able to maintain any given speed with the engine throttled more, as it can produce more power per rev (torque). Pushing the accelerator to the floor will have a more instant effect. The bike engine may be more of a match after you've dropped it a cog or 2, but it's going to be more demanding and frantic keeping it on the power.

As said, just because you've built your A Series into a snorting beast doesn't mean you'll be driving it like one all the time. Chewing up the baulk rings and clutch isn't compulsory, and it's more easily avoided on a relatively low revver with a wider power band. A bike engine tugging around a heavy car will turn more rpm/mile than it would on a bike - it won't be any more stressed, but it will shorten its service life.

[wolfie]

If you buy a 1380 with power levels that the R1 has you will be rebuilding it at 50 thousand Km if not before, and its gonna cost £4-8K at least. its not really any better on the road to drive.
the seven port head conversions sound better but how many Kms until the engine needs looking at? these conversion are really done for track days and short trips,
It swings and roundabouts.

sorry but thats rubbish

A seven port can be what you want, 1275-1430cc carb or injection mild or wild not track days and short trips.

Your clearly trying to belittle something you know nothing about.

wolfie what the hell are you on about?

I have made a view and am not "belittle" anything. fact is a tuned engine will not last as long as a standard.
ie 1380 against R1, R1 are cheaper than 1380s you missed that point of being able to pick up complete engines cheaper than building a new engine.

the seven port comment has nothing to do with the first comment its a question how long will the engine last bearing on mind the head is not for the block?

bet your blade was fun.

What i am on about is your comment with regards to 7 ports being for track days and short trips, a 1275 with standard cam 7 port head and a couple of 40's chucked on is for neither, a 7 port 1430 with a 310 in would be a different matter but to say 7 ports are for track days and short trips is rubbish you just cant generalise like that.

the seven port head conversions sound better but how many Kms until the engine needs looking at? these conversion are really done for track days and short trips,

[giacomo]

would be interesting to see how many people use there 7-porters as daily drives

[Leacho]

would be interesting to see how many people use there 7-porters as daily drives

i know its off topic but "giacomo" what did you use to get your signature picture like that haha

[mini13]

Ive used my 7port turbo as a daily for over a year,

[JoneseyBoy]

erm im going to go with a v-tec turbo its a standard car engine so no mods so as reliable as it was when it came out the factory and they are reliable and you can also have AWD if you wish

[Rosslin Racing]

Wolfie,
if you read the question you would understand context of what I wrote, having a seven port with such high out puts would not be for general use and last long.