69 replies to this topic

[minimole]

now dont get me wrong and think of me what you will. but i am a firm beliver in that a mini should have an a series engine. with regards to your a series comment while a vtec/vauxhall engine will always more reliable than an a series engine i for one neither have the inclination or finances to perform such a conversion. there are a fair amount of people that have a series engines that are creating in excess of 130 bhp and alot with more power. of these people there are some that dont use their mini alot but others that do and the ones that do say that they are reliable to a certian extent anyway.

i appreciate your comments but please appreciate my and other peoples choice to use the a series engine.

[16v]

now dont get me wrong and think of me what you will. but i am a firm beliver in that a mini should have an a series engine. with regards to your a series comment while a vtec/vauxhall engine will always more reliable than an a series engine i for one neither have the inclination or finances to perform such a conversion. there are a fair amount of people that have a series engines that are creating in excess of 130 bhp and alot with more power. of these people there are some that dont use their mini alot but others that do and the ones that do say that they are reliable to a certian extent anyway.

i appreciate your comments but please appreciate my and other peoples choice to use the a series engine.

when A mini goes over 100 bhp/100 lb/ft it become unreliable in my opinion. Mainly becuase of the associated wear you get on the gearbox. Engine can take it, gearbox can't. Put it this way, for the cost of a decent MED head and bottom end, I bought an engine, that produces 140bhp before it even comes on boost :)In the long run you are worse off rebuilding the A series all the time, mainly due to the expense.

[Guess-Works.com]

I personally believe the A series is the heart and soul of a mini, I've nothing against conversions, and as you rightly point out, it is a quick way to open the doors for more power. The next problem then is getting that power onto the tarmac...

There is an alternative, to replacing the engine in the mini, and that is replacing the complete car for something different.. which will probably be even cheaper than the conversion, so it's horses for courses.

The gearbox on a mini, if well built, is perfectly capable of handling over 100hp.

I like to see alternate power units in Minis, not only from a performance point of view, but also things like diesels, 4wd etc etc... it all adds to a healthy, broad spectrum of owners and desires.

[Jimmyarm]

Isn't half the fun of owning a mini the fact that it is unreliable and you have to fix it regularly ?

Like Guessworks said, might as well just buy another car !

See that Mini1701 has thrown his toys out of the pram and deleted his posts !

Just one question, surely if companies such as Minisport are selling the Roller Rockers as a 'bolt on' upgrade, they should be advising if any other amendments are required ?

Does it say anything in the literature that comes with the rockers ?

Jimmy

[neil_g]

indeed, i also prefer the a-series. becides this thread is about parts for the mini engine not swapping it out for one of the trendy alternatives.

i disagree about over 100bhp being unreliable, mine puts out 108@fly measured at longmans and its a daily driver (or rather WAS before the shell was stripped back in prep for a rebuild). gearbox is fine with that sort of power providing its built to cope.

16v you seem to have wandered into a thread thats about one thing and started talking about something completely different.

[Jammy]

The websters both have A series engines that produce over 150bhp and both are everyday cars I believe.

16v, I'm happy to split this topic, and create a new one discussing the point you have raised above? If you so wish, otherwise can we keep the rest of the thread about rockers please?

[16v]

The websters both have A series engines that produce over 150bhp and both are everyday cars I believe.

16v, I'm happy to split this topic, and create a new one discussing the point you have raised above? If you so wish, otherwise can we keep the rest of the thread about rockers please?

If you wish... but....

I'm only quoting something AC dodd mentioned to me about 4/5 years ago. When I say everyday I mean day in, day out, thrashed, not driven out and polished and parked away at night. My gearbox which adrian rebuilt lasted 6000 miles on my GT turbo. 130 lb/ft and 110 bhp rings a bell. It didn't wear either, it failed, the mainshaft snapped. I don't consider that particularly reliable, it was used everday in all weathers, and usually used on high boost most days. Same can be said of the rockers, I have seen titan sets in his workshop, shagged after only 10000 miles, roller pins worn, arms worn on the bushes for the rocker shaft.

I don't consider that reliable, I'm not about VW sort of reliabilty, But I thrash my old van day in day out (griffin badge, guess LOL) Makes 193bhp@ 7900 rpm, still on the same clutch/gearbox/engine etc since I built it about 18 months ago.I know thats modern technology, minis are 50 years old, but some of this modern parts (ie roller tips) could be better designed to cope with a touch longer life. But then, most mini shops just like flashy adverts and banging out C**p to make a profit.... its good business.

[Guess-Works.com]

I think there are very few on here which fit into the "Polish and trailer" club. I personally ran my 1330 for 30k miles before I popped the gearbox, and that was the case which went rather than anything else ( stress fracture through a know weakspot in the A series - which as it happens was cured in the newer A+, also the shaft was enlarged to get over the problem you seem to have experienced )

Maybe you were just unlucky...

[neil_g]

The websters both have A series engines that produce over 150bhp and both are everyday cars I believe.

16v, I'm happy to split this topic, and create a new one discussing the point you have raised above? If you so wish, otherwise can we keep the rest of the thread about rockers please?

If you wish... but....

I'm only quoting something AC dodd mentioned to me about 4/5 years ago. When I say everyday I mean day in, day out, thrashed, not driven out and polished and parked away at night. My gearbox which adrian rebuilt lasted 6000 miles on my GT turbo. 130 lb/ft and 110 bhp rings a bell. It didn't wear either, it failed, the mainshaft snapped. I don't consider that particularly reliable, it was used everday in all weathers, and usually used on high boost most days. Same can be said of the rockers, I have seen titan sets in his workshop, shagged after only 10000 miles, roller pins worn, arms worn on the bushes for the rocker shaft.

I don't consider that reliable, I'm not about VW sort of reliabilty, But I thrash my old van day in day out (griffin badge, guess LOL) Makes 193bhp@ 7900 rpm, still on the same clutch/gearbox/engine etc since I built it about 18 months ago.I know thats modern technology, minis are 50 years old, but some of this modern parts (ie roller tips) could be better designed to cope with a touch longer life. But then, most mini shops just like flashy adverts and banging out C**p to make a profit.... its good business.

again, you seem to be on a completely different subject.

to get a gearbox to fail after only 6k either it wasnt build right (im not slating anyones handywork), there was some sort of quality issue with the part to fail or the clutch has been dumped on every gear change (im also not slating anyones driving).

mine was a daily driver pre the start of the project with near identical power and a touch less torque and before i took it off the road i did 20k odd hassle free miles. and it didnt get the easiest of lives either.

like guessworks said you were probably unlucky and had a dodgy part.

[Wil_h]

This is really a non argument. Modern engines ARE more reliable and have better longevity than an A-series; especially when you start producing big power.

My old Subaru had 160K on the clock and still ran sweet, and that had 200bhp and 200lbft and got thrashed by me for 60K of its life trouble free. NO A-series will ever do that.

But would I put a modern engine in a Mini?

Well for the hillclimber I can't (regulatiuons) so I'm interested in getting the most out of an A-series. But ofcoures I wouldn't expect it to last 160K miles!!.

But for my everyday commuter Mini I'm seriously considering it, but not with the intent of performance, more longevity and MPG.