Turbo daily driver
Turbo Mini Forums

I am wanting to turbo my mini but i am worried it wont be a good idea because i will be using the car everyday for my job, so my question is do any of you use yours everyday?

if so what sort of set up are you running and bhp?

cheers
nick

Wil_h on here has a turbo'd 998 which he used everyday. Believe he was knocking out 80-90bhp and was getting 40mpg+

I don't see any reason why you couldn't have a nice 100-120bhp turbo lump as a daily keeping helical box & drops as long as you drive with some sympathy and everything is in good con.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

If I was doing things all over again, I would emulate wil-h's car. It really has the best of everything and isn't at a power level where you start to run into transmission issues etc.

On 12th Nov, 2009 Paul S said:

I think Gary OS has taken over my role as the forum smart arse

would it still work fine on a 1275?

could somebody please link me to his thread if he has one

cheers

The principal would be fine on a 1275. Here is the link.

http://www.turbo-mini.com/62147.html

Bear in mind that this was built to prove a point, which it did. But a daily turbo is fine, but be careful boost is addictive.

http://www.twin-turbo.co.uk
http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/default.asp

A man without a project is like a like a woman without a shopping list.

The 998 daily ran perfectly for 8000 miles before rust got the better of it.

I'm currently building a new daily 998 turbo for a GRP kit car (no more rust) this should have over 100bhp and hopfully return 40+mpg.

This would work just as well on a 1275.

Original build

current build

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

I used mine everyday for over a year.

In the 13's at last!.. Just

cheers guys so with luck i will be able to put a turbo on and not have do anything to the gearbox (the gearbox is very good anyway)

would i have any problems if i put a stage 3 head on as well?

Not if you are sensible with the boost/power/torque levels.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Stage 3 head doesn't really mean anything. There is a lot of variance in head specs. Once the CR is suitable for the intended boost then putting a different head on shouldn't cause any problems

On 12th Nov, 2009 Paul S said:

I think Gary OS has taken over my role as the forum smart arse

i would be more than happy with around about 100bhp, then when i have more money saved up in a few months i will do the gearbox so it can take more power.

where is the best place to source parts other than ebay?

Just to re-itterate what Gary has said. Turbo heads are quite specific, as they generally have large combustion chambers and there is a limit on valve size to avoid cracking.

So you can't buy an off-the-shelf stage 3 head really.

Benross or Turbo Phil on here are the people to ask.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

A wanted ad on here sometimes isn't a bad place to start.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

ok cheers, so what type of turbo should i be looking into getting?

If you're looking for a 100 hp engine, then a rebuilt engine with standard turbo set up with mapped ignition and an intercooler should meet the requirements.

i would like to rebuild the engine but not yet maybe if something goes wrong i will, i will just have to take it easy most of the time till i do rebuild it.

standard turbo? im new to this so what would be classed as a standard turbo t3? t2?

cheers

I assume Metro turbo setup is the best start power wise and availability wise if you ar not after the finest of all ...

(read more !)

Rusty by nature

You have come at this the right way, you know what engine you want and what power. Now have search around for the answers you want. Most are already answered and if not having a search will allow you yo tailor your questions better.

For my money though I would be looking at a T2 or GT15 on a metro manifold with a decent intercooler. Compression about 9ish:1. What about the cam though? Lots of words there to put in a search....

http://www.twin-turbo.co.uk
http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/default.asp

A man without a project is like a like a woman without a shopping list.

And after searching, you will stumble upon so many ideas that your wallet will be empty before you can say "forged pistons, Billet crank, straight cut gearbox, mappable ignition, k-head!"

In the 13's at last!.. Just

lol i dont think my wallet will like this turbo idea one bit!

basically where do i start with this, shall i just get everything i need them put it together and if i feel i need to upgrade the pistons and gearbox i will just strip it back down (which i will be doing anyway when money allows it)

I always tend to slowly gather stuff whe it turns up at the right price (usually takes 2 or 3 months).

I had a budget of £1500, but spent more like 2k, bu this is still pretty good I reckon.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

Yeah my budget at the moment is around £1500, i have seen a T2 turbo on ebay but it says T28 whats the difference?

Is it the fact its a hybrid?

heres the link http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RENAULT-5-GT-TURBO-U...4a#ht_500wt_956

For the easiest solution I would try to emulate the standard Metro turbo setup, with a small intercooler and low ish boost level. Your 100bhp will be easily available whilst retaining something that is reasonably reliable.

So you would use the standard Metro T3 garrett turbo, on your existing engine. It would be wise to have the head chambers enlarged to lower the CR a touch. Other than that I'd leave the rest of it alone.

cheers tom i have seen a few t3 turbos on ebay.

where can i get a small intercooler from? or second hand off other cars?

cheers for the help so far

ebay is a good bet for intercoolers, basically have a look at the room you have and find one that looks like it will fit,
R5 & RS turbo ones are a good bet