12 replies to this topic

[garyshoose]

Hi there. Hoping you guys can offer a little advice. I have a front engined Vauxhall Redtop Mini. It has an SBD 208bhp throttle body setup and is finished to a very high standard (Joe Toakly's old car for those of you who may know it). It's new underwear time when it looses traction, even with the LSD. I've half heartedly put it up for sale, but hopefully if no-one buys it. I'm considering changing it to a Mid Engine set up same as the Zcars Vtecs.

Question is as title. . . . . How do mini's behave with the power at the back end. Bearing in mind it's turning out around 200bhp similar to those Honda menaces.

Cheers, Gary

[koss]

RWD is best IMO they go in a straight line on the launch. But be careful one the exits.

[garyshoose]

RWD is best IMO they go in a straight line on the launch. But be careful one the exits.

What I'm thinking ^^^ I've owned lots of RWD "powerfull" cars and to be honest I think they are more controlable. BUT, they were fairly "long" in comparrison to a mini. Hence my question, Mini's are so short that I'm just concerned over the results of a lot of power at the back wheels, and whether it would be worth the swap from front, to back.

Thanks. G

Edited by garyshoose, 04 September 2008 - 05:30 PM.

[brandon7]

Ive been in Vtec mini and its got more grip than any front wheel drive mini ive been in as well as carrying more speed in and throught bends. You'll no doubt be faster on the track if you put a nice light Vtec motor in a mini(vauxhall=heavy). That short wheel base just adds the the fun of the mini! Thats why we are here right?....

If your car is bugging you take the plunge, you will at least rid of your torque steer you are no doubt getting and youll be able to keep the same underware on for the day...

Simple answer in my opinion... If you were happy with your mini as it is then maybe the answer would be different

Cheers

[AllanMcD]

What are you doing here Gary This is the site for the boys that have gone a step to far
My car wont go in a streght line with deep dish wheels like yours I think you need to try new front wheels.
Allan
Ps next year I may have a busa mini

[z cars chris]

i know im biased but to be fair we have plenty of minis out there now on the road and racing and we consistantly perform better than the opposition such as caterhams etc in the dry and wet which is where there would be a big problem if the cars didnt work
i was 14th on the grid at croft last sunday having been out qualified by the bigger powered cars in the dry
it then rained for the race i was alongside a subaru impretza with 450 bhp and not only beat him to the corner but was 9 seconds a lap faster in the race
i eventually won outright but if you had told anyone what we were racing against and in what conditions they wouldnt have bet on the mini
never underestimate a mini!!!
if you want to experiance how they go just come for a factory visit and demo even if you dont want to buy a car ill still take you out
chris

[crispy]

Hmm, thanks for putting this thread up. I was also curious, I'm thinking of building a Z-Cars Mini in a couple years (university, you know how it is). I was thinking also that the huge power and the short wheelbase would get you turned around really easy, but being 18 I'd have that as the goal anyway...

Z Cars will probably be getting a nice big 10k pound (anybody know where the pound sign is hiding on a Canadian/US keyboard?) cheque with my name on the top a few years down the road lol

Oh, small question, has anybody fit wrinkle wall slicks on a RWD Mini? Did it pop the front wheels off the ground? (Assuming the thing hooked up of course, hence the wrinkle walls)

~Chris

[z cars chris]

i have some on board footage of a race at croft last year when i got the perfect start and the front popped up with no wheelspin it just went i cant tell weather or not the wheels left the ground but from on board it looks like it did
chris

[miRon]

how does the steering etc feel?
very light id guess?

[z cars chris]

an often assumption is that our minis will understeer into a bend then snap into oversteer without warning
they dont understeer at all this is down to a phenomonon known as the polar moment of inertia
in laymans terms a normal car has its engine over the front wheels when you turn the steering wheel it takes a small amount of time for the wheels to start and move the weight of the engine towards the new direction you want to go
its a bit like starting to push a car from rst the first second or two take more effort once its moving it gets easier
a Z Cars mini has less weight over the front end so will turn in instantly thats one of the reasons i can brake very very late when racing and go round the outside of other cars
as for the rear we run more weight on the rear wheels than a normal car proportionally so theres more grip plus the design of our suspension gives more grip, this means you can apply more throttle through the bend and get a good slingshot up the next straight
you will see this at tracks such as oulton park at the hairpin or croft where i get better drive off the bend even in the wet
the only thing that stops me winning more races outright is that im up against cars with much bigger power than my mini and they can take time out of me onthe straights
roll on next year when i put a 2008 hayabusa motor into the car 10% more power!!!
seriously get into your cars and hae a factory trip and demo you wont be sorry
we have been doing open days at z cars for tvr and lotus club and the like we should maybe have a mini owners club day i will do a topic onthe main forum
chris

[R1minimagic]

On the
track I find that my mini handles pretty much like my lotus elise except you can provoke oversteer much more easily on exit of a bend by throttle application, you just need to learn to control the throttle a bit more thats all.

In terms of steering I did find the feel very light with the original mini front subframe but that was taken care of after setting up the suspension, the weight returned. However, now I have got the Z cars front subframe I find that although the steering weight is ok there isn't much feel at all until you get up to speed, say 40-50mph or above....not sure if there are any mods to cure this? Chris did recommend a quick rack when i last spoke to him about 2 years ago but not used the car since then!!

Cheers
Dale

PS also found on the track that it is quite sensitive to tyre pressures, can make the difference between understeer and oversteer on certain bends.

Edited by R1minimagic, 18 November 2008 - 08:45 PM.

[dying2live06]

if your worrying bout the short wheel base base go for a van, estate, pickup Ive heard of a few vans being done. i know they run they rear ride hight quite low. ie to low for a normal road car that will help alot aswell. aslong as it oversteer is controlable and progressive it will be ok. ( oh and having the skills is a major help aswell

[Blitz-Voodoo]

I've a RWD mini engined blitz Buggy