A Bit Of A Rant
Turbo Mini Forums

Minisport

Been busy with the dry buld on the engine. I bought a new 'C retaining washer for the tail of the crank. Looked at it and thought 'what a piece of crap!' anyway, I have had a new rear bush fitted to the primary gear to get it within tollerence on the reconditioned and hardened Minisport crank. Even with the new bush and the thickest primary gear thrust washer available, clearance is still at the high end limit. That is using a good used genuine retaining washer and 'C' washer rather than the peice of crap Minisport C washer, which is a considerable bit thinner than the genuine part, is a very tight fit on the crank, and, this is the bit that fucks me off, its not even surface ground flat!!!

No point complaining as they obviously don't give a shit, so i'm just having a bit of a rant to clear it from by mind.

So, a crank that has a thinner tail and has a larger primary gear end float than standard, to the point that the primary needs rebushing and the largest thrust washer is only marginaly thick enough. The C washer is the wrong thickness and not ground flat and if I had used this the primary gear end float would have been miles out with the thickest available thrust washer.

What the fuck are they playing at? I can understand cleaning up the tail of the crank, but a 0.007" running clearance on a standard primary gear bush! I think not!

I get the feeling that Minisport are thinking the way an average garage do when they work on Minis, and that is 'its only a mini' as if to say that it doesn t really matter if things are not quite right, because its a Mini

you read about so many new builds just not lasting most people just don't have the skill to check all these measurments I know they should but you do as a consumer have some right to expect for parts to be made correctly in the first place?

I run a supercharger and I don't care the TB is on the wrong side.
VEMS + 12 PSI + Liquid Intercooler = Small Bore FUN!

Charge High, Ineptitude, Never Again,

WWW.FORCE-RACING.CO.UK PLEASE CLICK HERE

I don't know how minisport have got away with it for so long.

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.

they let me down 3 times (every time i have used them)
they sent me a fitting kit but had to wait 2 months for the subframe,
sent one order to someone else
and took absolutely ages for my brakes to be made ( even though they was 'in stock' when i bought them)
i only used them because they has masive sales on but i steer clear usualy
(they put the prices up at shows too)

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

They were a shite to me too. Although in a different way.

Brought 4 revo's off them, turned up a week later than they said. on arrival one had curb damage, rang them, they didnt give a shit, i sent them pictures and ask for a new wheel.

They eventually said yes, we'll pick the wheel up and deliver your new one at the same time, i said ok, took a day off work. Did anything turn up? Did it fuck. So rang them they said they didnt have one in stock, and i said they could have informed me off that as i've lost a days wages. In then end they gave me a £25 credit note.

Bastards, wont be buying anything from them again.

I know their customer service is not what it should be, but what I am talking about is actual quality of parts that are identified by a genuine part number. As far as I am concerned, if it uses the same part number tha Austin Rover gave it, it should at least be the same part like for like!!, otherwise give it a different part number!!!!

Well, I just had a look on Minisports web site at this C washer, and the picture clearly shows a surface ground C washer. Not what I recieved!!



To add insult to injury, Minispares list the same part number, but their picture shows something more like what I recieved from Minisport, with not surface grinding.



I am not just winging for the sake of it, this washer is not flat!!, not does it feel like it is hardedned like the Genuine 22A319 part is.

These parts wear even when flat and hardedned, what will they be like un hardened and ceratainly not flat?!

Is this another case of changing the final specification of a part due to the cost, without any real thought involved as to why said part was originaly made as such?

I am fed up with all this, what is in essence cheap shite, only to be paying a high price !! (not in the case of Minisport as they are just cheap anyway)

perhaps it is time for someone to start building quality parts at reasonable, affordable prices

I've started thickening up old ones with weld and linishing them back to flat.

In our defence that is a very old picture, they are in fact ground flat and supplied by Rover (we bought all of the remaining stock) hence why we use the original number. I'll update the picture today.

Phil, the price I can put up with as long as the part in question is to specification.

Since Rover went under, Quality went with them. Minispares try thier best to source what can be considered genuine parts from the original manufacturers, but i get the sense that Minisport don't give a flying fook.

i see an awful lot of this in the aerospace industry, machining and parts are shipped out to cheap companies so procurement can save money and when we get them, we either have to scrap them or fix them costing more money!! that one from minispares is just pressed, i would like to do a material test on it!!

im actually working in an area doing rapid prototyping with titanium, trying to think up useful things i can get made on the side, any suggestions?

LOL

On 22nd Jul, 2010 Sprocket said:

On 22nd Jul, 2010 gavin@minispares.com said:
In our defence that is a very old picture, they are in fact ground flat and supplied by Rover (we bought all of the remaining stock) hence why we use the original number. I'll update the picture today.

Gav, send your old picture to Minisport so they can update their website

I am now considering not using the gearbox bearing kit I also bought from Minisport. I certainly wasn't going to use the Chinese diff bearings that are in the kit, but I have no idea who manufactured any of the un packaged lay shaft and main shaft bearings. I really do not want to be putting sub standard parts in an already fragile transmission.

I really do think that I have to just buy everything from Minispares to be at least assured that if a genuine part is available, that is what it will be.

Of to abuse the credit card for another gearbox bearing kit :(

Edited by Sprocket on 22nd Jul, 2010.

Not being funny Colin,

But what the fuck did you expect!?

you know they only have about two good products.

Don't take this the wrong way, but we're all aware that minisport's customer service is poor and at times their quality isn't what it could be. Why do you keep going back to them?

For these reasons, I always use minispares and on the whole have a very good experiance. Occasionally I'll use minits if minispares can't help.

Some of there stuff is alright but most of it's diabolical. I'd much rather spend money with min-its or minispares

surprised fastcarl dont do titanium ones lol