14 replies to this topic

[HarrysMini]

Hi,

I was wondering, instead of spending lots of time and money trying to find and install a Three-Clock setup, could I just go without a rev counter?

I'm going to have a 998 so obviously I need to rev high in order to achieve the engine's full power. But how high is too high? I understand the red line on the MPi rev counters I've seen is at about 6000 RPM. 

Thanks in advance for your help.
Harry

Edited by HarrysMini, 12 August 2014 - 12:31 PM.

[james.c94]

You should just change gear when you feel the power drop off. You won't know how many revs you're doing but you should be able to feel when you need to change up

[Cunnymonster]

Or youll hear it, After driving the car for a while youll start to notice when you need to change without looking at the rev counter.

[Gulfclubby]

You're unlikely to nuke your engine by accidentally overrevving it, unless you're deaf or competing on a track. Even an untuned engine will make a lot of noise and rattle once it reaches its peak rpm. Plus if you're using all four gears on your car, you'd be exceeding the speed limit by far already anyway before getting to the red zone. A rev counter is nice and a must if racing, but for normal road use, it's really not necessary on a car like a mini where you will have no problems at all judging the revs roughly by both sound and vibration going through the car.

That said, fitting one is a simple job and they're not expensive.

[HarrysMini]

Am I right in saying that the noise level should stay the same and there will be no more increase in speed when it's time to change up?

Harry

[HarrysMini]

That said, fitting one is a simple job and they're not expensive.

True, but it's not fitting the counter that's worrying me, it's the fact that they're so damn hard to find, as I would preferably want one in magnolia to match the other clocks.

H

[jaydee]

Over revving a standard 998 engine means going above 7k rpm all the time and i doubt you can do that with a bog standard engine....
Anyhow a rev counter is a nice addition, just get an RVC type so you'll be safe if you want to upgrade to leccy ignition

[iwatkins]

How about just an adjustable shift light? Spin dial on back to set rev level to trigger light, job done.

I'm the same. Got a 2-clock dash and 3-clock dashes are expensive. My plan anyway.

Cheers

Ian

[Gulfclubby]

Again, how are you driving the car? In normal road driving, unless you're pulling a Michael Schuhmacher, you're hardly ever going to spin it up to even 6000rpm. If you have a bog standard 4 synchro gearbox with a 3.44 final drive on 10" wheels, you will hit the highest UK speed limit in fourth gear before you even reach 5000rpm.
Most of your driving is going to take place between 2500-4000rpm without even making an effort. If you start pushing the engine so far that you can actually feel the power bottoming out, you're already going really wild in it.

Enter your data here: http://www.guess-wor.../Tech/ratio.htm and that will tell you how many rpm you're running at any given speed and gear combination. You will find that normal and legal driving is well within the limits of the cars rev range.

[Cooperman]

Some Minis never had a tacho as standard anyway, only the later models. Even the Mk.1 Cooper & 'S' didn't have a tacho as standard. If you know how to drive properly a tacho is unnecessary unless the engine is well modified. An oil pressure gauge is much more important.

[dklawson]

Out of curiosity, do/did the later cars retain the practice of having shift marks on the speedometer?

For those unfamiliar with what I am talking about see the picture below. You will notice the marks around the inner scale at 60, 95, & 130 KPH. Those marks are the change-up points to stay safely below the red-line with standard gearing.

[HarrysMini]

Right, thanks for all your information guys, much appreciated!

Here's my plan. I'm going to buy the centre Three-Clock binnacle like on the first Minis as these are cheaper and easer to find than the MPi style version.
I will then build a dashboard so I can put a Tacho directly in front of me maybe with a couple small clocks to either side of it. Including an oil pressure gauge, as you said Cooperman.

I'm thinking it would be quite useful to have a tacho but I definitely won't be trying to bring it to the red line every time I shift up. I'm not a yobo.

I agree completely about what you are all saying that you will be able to feel when to change up.

Again, thanks for the help

Harry



EDIT: Just realised the three-clock binnacle already has an oil pressure gauge.

Edited by HarrysMini, 26 March 2013 - 05:19 PM.

[Pete649]

You should just change gear when you feel the power drop off.

...and/or when the valves bounce

[Spud_133]

Like above, you don't need a rev counter and I never have had one in my cars. A 998 will valve bounce long before anything goes pop.

Also, I only ever use a tell-tale rev counter in my race cars to see if we need to change the gearing, but they're only really good in the dry where it's less likely to spin up and over rev.

[jime17]

I never had a tach in a car for the first 6 cars I owned. Including the first which was a mini 1100 clubman. As long as you know how to drive properly you'll know when to change gear without over revving. On the road anyway.

you'd go deaf anyway in a mini before you did any damage