77 replies to this topic

[ACDodd]

Physics, 80ftlb/litre. If you have 1.3 litres you have more torque. More torque equals more shove!

Ac

[MiniMonty]

998, good head, twin carbs and well tuned says goodbye 911's and Ferraris off the line, good bye 1275 Minis for 200 yards,
then the bhp takes over - BUT by then HERE's a corner and we start again....
Power to weight is everything. Tune a 998 to death it will beat a lazy 1275 day in and day out.

Don't look after any engine and it will disappoint you time and again.

As for ACDodd and his Physics.... Well, if physics was king he would have to give up on "love" and "oooh"
and the enormous grin on his face when he drives his Mini rather than a calculator or telescope.

Oh and don't forget nerves (when he races me) and don't forget driver failure (when he races me).]

Blah blah bleet...

Get a 998 clean and well sorted and it will give any 1275 a run for it's money.

[CHUNKY365]

i would disagree with that.. i love well tuned 998s. small block power! and they keep up with the bigger boys rather well... especially the standard 1275s. heck they give a few euro boxes a jump at the lights too... in short... i got ruined by one in my cooper on the way back from beaulie ulast year :)

Thats not an achievement on the behalf of the 998, considering they came with what 40bhp and a MPI came with 62 as standard. Add 12 years to your car and your down to lets say, 55bhp at best. Assuming there was even 62 at the start.

A slightly tuned 998 is nocking on the door of 50-60bhp. Can you see where this is going?

Yep. This is going to the age old quote of 'wait till you get in mine Noah'

This arguement goes on and on and on and on.....

Mab01uk pretty much summed it up.

The 998 is a pretty robust reliable little engine.

It doesn't take a fortune to tune it (if you know what to do and what bits to use).

The only problem is the parts. Tuning parts for 998s are getting harder to find as opposed to 1275 bits. Hence why its getting more expensive.

But normally the people wheo scream 'fit a 1275' haven't had the pleasure of driving a nicely tuned 998 and founding out it can be a much more fun engine to drive, more economical to drive and more robust to drive.

Tuned 998 all the way. Mine certainly had no trouble keeping up and often passing the 1275 boys in the Club and then returned a good MPG when being driven to work. The only reason I haven't got the engine in at the moment is because I pulled it out for a refresh and just haven't had chance to put it back together.

[MrBounce]

My brother's 998 traveller was a lovely engine. Came out of an 89 Sky/Rose and had a Minisport Stage 3 head with twin 1 1/4" SUs but had a standard cam. Gave 55 at the fly with similar torque and was tractable EVERYWHERE. It's now in Japan.

Intriguingly I have never actually owned a Mini with a 1275cc engine. Mine have been as follows: 998; 998; 1330; 998; 998; 1301 and now the Midas has a 1293 block ready to go in.

[Tamworthbay]

If displacement is everything, why aren't we all driving big yank V8s? The reality is that driving experience is down to many things. A well sorted 998 with decent suspension upgrades and grippy tyres will run rings round a worn out 1275 on forty year old shocks, Teflon tyres and a muppet behind the wheel. It's all relative, if you enjoy it,then screw anyone who argues with you. (But I do have a 1275 in mid rebuild to replace my 998, so who am I to talk).

[oli8925]

I agree with the above. Even if a slightly tuned 998 isn't quite as fast as a standard 1275, if it's tuned well it will be that much more fun to drive. And being honest what is a Mini about, is it going fast or having fun? 1275s aren't fast, they're just slightly quicker. Either way, I don't think you'll be beating 911s or Ferraris anywhere

[kappa]

I agree with the above. Even if a slightly tuned 998 isn't quite as fast as a standard 1275, if it's tuned well it will be that much more fun to drive. And being honest what is a Mini about, is it going fast or having fun? 1275s aren't fast, they're just slightly quicker. Either way, I don't think you'll be beating 911s or Ferraris anywhere

You will beat 911 and Ferrari with a turbo bolted on

[Sfuller1275gt]

Really can't see a 20 year old a series tuned beating a 911 or Ferrari full stop

[iMurray]

as you can see OP there are alot of small block fans here :) please do it, and ignore noah yelling at me all damn night Yes my engine needs a refresh, yes its most definitely lost power... but the 998 that i was driving with was so very well tuned :)

[Radleigh]

I loved my stage 1 998! Not massively fast but SERIOUSLY fun!!

[fattail95]

Torque>BHP.

Get a 1275.

I have to agree. I've driven 998s and 1275s, and while you unarguably can get excellent top end power from a 998, sometimes enough to keep up with tiring 1275s, it really is gutless low down in the rev range. I chose my 1275 MPI in the end because it has excellent low end torque. From as little as 1800-2000RPM, if you put your foot down it gets a move on which is really great for general driving. I rarely need to go above 4.5k if I want power, especially considering the torque is there lower down.

That was my greatest surprise overall with the 1275, it felt very much like a diesel in terms of low end torque, I've driven many other petrol cars, often their torque comes in around 3k which is not very helpful, as they drive like slouches unless you rev them. As holmsey said, there really is no replacement for displacement and getting good torque from a 998 is unfeasible.

Hope that helps!

[blacktulip]

i will be putting my original 998 engine back into Blacktulip when it had been rebuilt with a few mods. i do like the 1275 in there now but i think it would be more pleasing to have the original engine back as i am a big fan on "inkeeping". i wonder how many people have had a 1275 originally and swapped to a 998? (i.e a sprite owner swapping to a 998)

[iMurray]

from this point of view i agree fully... my MPI is a great car to drive daily, and you get plenty of low end pull. im very very rarely seen over 4.5k and i've never revved higher than i'd say 5k


but my egine needs a good refurb... which costos mucho de mondos unless someone can do it for me on the cheap:P

[iMurray]

Torque>BHP.

Get a 1275.

I have to agree. I've driven 998s and 1275s, and while you unarguably can get excellent top end power from a 998, sometimes enough to keep up with tiring 1275s, it really is gutless low down in the rev range. I chose my 1275 MPI in the end because it has excellent low end torque. From as little as 1800-2000RPM, if you put your foot down it gets a move on which is really great for general driving. I rarely need to go above 4.5k if I want power, especially considering the torque is there lower down.

That was my greatest surprise overall with the 1275, it felt very much like a diesel in terms of low end torque, I've driven many other petrol cars, often their torque comes in around 3k which is not very helpful, as they drive like slouches unless you rev them. As holmsey said, there really is no replacement for displacement and getting good torque from a 998 is unfeasible.

Hope that helps!

[fattail95]

A lot of arguments in this thread really annoy me as they don't make much sense. Sure, a tuned 998 will give a standard 1275 a run for its money, but to make this a fair test, you have to do the same to both engines. At the end of the day, the same mods to both will have the 1275 running hoops around the 998, the same mods will create near enough the same percentage increase and as such the 998 still loses. There is no replacement for displacement.