turbo convertion
Turbo Mini Forums

hello,
I have a 1997 1275 mpi and am thinking of putting a turbo in it and i have a few questions.

which is best the Mg metro engine swap or the mirage t2 turbo kit??
Also with the mirage kit what would have to be done to the stock
engine to allow it to take the added power reliabley?

Could the original injection system be used or would a carb convertion be needed?
What sort of problems could i be facing doing this upgrade?

what sort of power would i be looking at with the mirage and t2 turbo?

Would a super charger be a better idea?
Iv been told by mini specalists to steer clear of a turbo unit?? what are the main problems with the and are they reliable?

sorry to rack your brains so much but i like to know what im getting my self into.

thanks paul

ps sorry for the 3 vote posts, pressed the wrong button.

Have a dig around the site first and you'll find a lot of questions already answered. basically ditch the injection and go with a turbo build like you'll find suggested many times

Problems with passing emmisions tests if you go back to a carb are what i'm thinking as the biggest problem initially....

you'd have to get a pre '92 engine to exempt yourself from the tighter MOT emmissions i guess.

As said above get an engine used pre 92. The mot test specs depends on the age of the engine, so by fitting an older one means you only have to pass the older emmisions standard.

There is nothing really that special about the MG turbo unit. They have bigger gear box input shaft bearing and sodium cooled valves in the head. Getting hold of a complete metro turbo engine complete with fuel system is still probably the cheapest option if you intended to fit a mirage kit as you would get the carb, plenum and other bits. However any late 80's early 90's A+ can be used as a basis. No matter what you start out with you really want to budget to do a proper rebuild on it.

Ive had turbo blocks that are cracked between cylinder 2 an 3.

No way that injection can be used.

turbo v supercharger down to preference really. Supercharger is less efficient (varies with type), but gives power increase from low revs. Turbo is more efficient, but does have a degree of lag.

A mirage kitted car on vmax's rolling road recently was said to be capable of 170bhp with a little more time on the rollers. That was with our small T2 hydrid unit.