newbie with questions
Turbo Mini Forums

hi, i'm new to all this mini turbo stuff and have a few questions.

i'm currently looking at putting a metro turbo engine into my roundnose mini.
i have already aquired a complete metro turbo as my donor for this.
before i install the engine into my mini i would like to give it a re-build to make sure it lasts, and maybe make a few tweaks to it aswell.
what would be the best thing for me to do, rebuild using standard components (bearings, pistons etc), or use uprated ones to make it sronger and incase i want to tune it in the future.
what would be the difference in cost between a std and uprated rebuild aprox?

i am going to be replacing the turbo aswell,
in the same respect as the rebuild, would i be best getting a recon turbo, or an uprated one, in which case what would be best and what sort of money are we talking about, and where from.

the engine i have is currently fitted with a DV, which i would like to remove, is it okay for me to just bung up the hole where the DV was, or is there a better way of doing this,

at what sort of stage in tuning, should i look at installing an intercooler, or is now the best time to? which one would be best?

i'm sure i'll have more questions, but these are all i can think of at the moment.


Thanks, Matt.

The standard bottom end has been used in reliable builds pushing out around 150bhp, as we dont need to rev a turbo a'series to get good bhp, cross drilling and lightening etc is'nt neccessary. Again a standard rebuilt turbo is capable of supplying the boost required but depends on how far you wish to go power wise?

Alot of info can be found using the search button, pretty much everything has been covered on this site so you beable to find the answers you need. Good luck with your turbo project:)

-MINI CLUBMAN 1380 TURBO-

this website link is pretty good for a good concise overview for someone new to the turbo A series

http://www.turbo-mini.com

but searching on turbominis will give you more in depth info.

with regards to your intercooler question i would run one as matter of course even if you keep it stock, at least you are assured that your charge temp is low :) a good intercooler to use is the 2wd cosworth one u can get em on ebay quite easily. i believe a stock mg turbo runs 4psi boost and you get around 90bhp, if it were me and i wasnt looking for serious bannanas (bhp) i would run stock put a cooler on and maybe consider a cross pin diff and sc drops........the diff and the drops are some of the weak points on the engine you mentioned tweaks, you could possibly consider a billet actuator and or phase 2 cam (there will be millions of opinions on this thread)

you can also use the search facility on this forum for FAQs


ps welcome to the most definative turbo minis web page in the world !!!!! hope you get all the answers to your questions


Richie

______________________________________________________
TRADER HALL OF FAME
BENROSS...MINIMARK..WOLFIE (comic genius).....CARL....MARTPAUL.......AXEL
______________________________________________________
TRADERS OF SHAME
1 user....pm me 4 details

LEGENDS
MikeRace, Mini13

Edited by GTB on 21st Jul, 2006.

Have read around the site I think there a few pic's of the remains of a minisport 4 pin somewhere on hear.

Apparently the one to have is the mini spares item

We don't fit s/c drops for the fun of it, for a turbo engine of any state of tune above standard they are bordering on essential to keep the unit reliable.

As for cross pin diffs, the MiniSPORT item is junk, as proved recently by a chap called "Carl" on this forum. The one you want is the MiniSPARES item, much stronger and a well proved well designed piece of kit.

As for diff ratio, you must decide that for yourself based on what you will use the car for. There is no "best" FD ratio, everyone has different ideas, and most people on here will give you good reasoning behind whatever choice. I know of people using everything from 2.95:1 right through to 3.9:1.

thanks for the heads up on the diff.

why do the s/c make such a difference?

MAtt.

The standard helical gears by the way they are designed side load the transfer gear casing when the transmission is under load. In a normally aspirated engine this is acceptable up to a point, however the massive torque surge caused by a turbo engine coming on boost side loads these gears to a much larger degree, causing problems. Using straight cuts eliminates this side loading.

Don't get me wrong, if driven on a mild tune engine, and driven CAREFULLY then they may last for a while, however in order to extract maximum performance from a tuned engine, either these will need changing, or you will have to limit your boost pressure (and hence power output) because of the drop gears.

Alex B has recently had to limit his engine to 11psi boost and around 140bhp for this reason, with s/c drops then it should be good for over 160bhp with enough boost. He will tell you first hand how frustrating this is, and he is saving up for s/c drops as we speak.

its the whine that puts me off see,
its going to be my daily driver, and i dont know if i could manage the whine all the time.
and i'm going for stealth aswell.

is 140ish the max output that the std gears will take, or is it mainly the boost level which determins when they die so to speak.

140bhp was just a level that the guys setting the car up at the rolling road felt was safe. How long they last remains to be seen, maybe they'll last forever.

As with a lot of things to do with Mini Turbos, there is no exact answer. However, if you look at the vast majority of turbo minis on this site you will find them running s/c drop gears.

how much am i looking at to convert to s/c then?
and which kit would you recommend?

The side-loads on the idlers are actually pretty small.
If the axis of the gears were in a straight-line, the side-loads would be ZERO!!!

I keep saying I'll do some analysis - and I will - one day!
I do believe that if you were to fit the Torrington idler bearings onto a set of perfect condition drop gears, along with a filtered oil-fed bearing layout, you could put a massive amount of power through them...

A trial for the furure maybe?

Torringtons are just heavy-duty needle bearings that can be used instead of 'budget' (traditional) ones...







Best thing you can do though is to run filtered oil into each bearing and do the job properly!

Edited by turbodave16v on 22nd Jul, 2006.

i think a much quieter & robust set up would be the stock helical set up with the idler machined out & timkin roller, with stub shaft fitted
Oil or none fed
iam going to get hold of the bearing from my bearing man and see my pet machinist friend,

he owes me many as a got him the best job in the world!

just a thought