4 replies to this topic

[miniman86]

im soon to be buying a mini cooper engine for my van as the existing engine is dyingand the other engine ive been offeres is cheap, but the problem is im running 10" wheels on my van and someone said because the coopers ran 12" wheels i will need to take the diff out of my existing engine, but its apparantly alot of effort, but i want to stick to 10". any ideas?

[pikey7]

it has nothing to do with wheel size, just the performance of the engine. The crownwheel on the diff changes the final drive ratio and changes if the car accelerates better, or has a higher top speed. IMHO, stick with the one in the cooper motor.

[miniman86]

so will i have to change anything in the gearbox or is it just a case of dropping it in and thats it? what will it be like along the motorway, my mate said it will top out around 60 mph because im running 10"?

[pikey7]

is your mate the same guy who told you about the alternator? shoot him!

the wheel size will have very little effect on the top speed of the car. the rolling diameter (the outer diameter of the tyre) is similar on 12" and 10" tyres. this is what determines the top speed along with the diff ratio. the diff ratio in the cooper is suited to that engine, and will give the same performance when fitten in a mk1, mk7, pickup or van.

[miniman86]

no 2 different mates! haha! ok thanks alot for that, ill just chuck it in and have fun!! woohoo! (in legal places of course)