17 replies to this topic

[AC&SONS]

I am thinking of fitting a stage 1 kit to my son's 1977 Mini 1000. The car has done a genuine 44,000 miles and the engine is in a good state of health.

Just looking for a few tips or advice as to the pros and cons of fitting and setting up.

Any help will be appreciated

Cheers

[freshairmini]

Not really any cons I can think of. Potentially lesser fuel efficiency, but saying that my 1275 with a "stage 1" set-up does about 41mpg.

Pro's are you going to get a reasonable and normally very noticeable increase of power. I believe that the "stage 1" items will give you the most amount of power increase over all the other mods you can do.

[BritishRacingGreen]

The only con's really are the amount it's going to cost (~£320 depending on which kit and which rolling road you go to) and that you've lost some originality.

If set up correctly you can actually see an improvement in mpg. (though this depends on how you drive it of course..)

[wile e coyote]

It's worth checking with the insurers whether they'll allow without it costing more....

[KernowCooper]

Good mod without doubt, car will be nicer to drive with more torque and driven correctly do more mpg

[MiniElliott]

I fitted the minispares stage 1 kit (twin box RC40) to my '78 1000. I didn't have it set up on a rolling road so I didn't really notice much difference at first. I then took it on some fast roads (50 MPH +) and immediately noticed a difference. It felt more responsive and had a noticeable amount of torque increase.

Well worth the money in my opinion.
Depending on your sons age you may have to consider the insurance premium. Mine didn't increase and I was 18 so you might be OK.

Elliott

[jaydee]

The cons are:
- you need someone REALLY able to set up the car, its plenty of badly tuned kits out there
- disappointed by the so little improvement, you'll soon spend some other money looking for performance increase, once you started, you'll never stop.

[Cooperman]

Thed key to all BMC A-series engine power improvement is to have a head which will flow more mixture. A so-called 'Stage 1' kit, which in practice means little as not all 'Stage 1' kits are the same, may well allow for greater flow in & out, but the really limiting factor is always the poor head design.
What is really needed for a 998 is a 12G295 cylinder head with the compression ratio set to about 10:1 combined with a better inlet manifold and a freeflow exhaust manifold. Now that really would make a noticeable difference.

Edited by Cooperman, 19 December 2012 - 06:25 PM.

[tommo10]

which stage 1 kits do you recommend? and which should we stay away from? thanks

[Cooperman]

I don't recommend any as I always take the head off and improve it as the first step, then re-fit it with new manifolds, etc.

[AVV IT]

which stage 1 kits do you recommend? and which should we stay away from? thanks

The Minispares and Somerford offerings are well developed decent kits with decent components. The main difference between the two being that the MInispares kit contains the RC40 exhaust system, whereas the kit from Somerford has a maniflow system instead. Both use the direct replacement K&N element filter that goes inside your existing air filter box, as opposed to the noisier cone filter that comes with some of the cheaper kits on the market.

The ones to avoid are the cheaper kits offered by some of the other classic mini suppliers out there. These usually consist of unbranded, or own brand components, specifically selected to make the kit competitively priced, not for their performance enhancing qualities.

[freshairmini]

Speak to maniflow, they should be able to sort you out with a good exhaust system. I've had two from them and both been brilliant quality. Great customer service as well. Then it's just up to you to source the filter element or cone or foam filter.

Though I would strongly recommend getting you mini Rolling road set up after in a view to get a properly profiled needle. Made a missive difference after fitting the "stage 1" items on my mini. Also if you do go make sure all your service items, especially ignition items have been changed recently to ensure the best results.

[AVV IT]

Speak to maniflow, they should be able to sort you out with a good exhaust system. I've had two from them and both been brilliant quality. Great customer service as well. Then it's just up to you to source the filter element or cone or foam filter.

.........don't forget the inlet, uprated needle and carb/manifold gaskets as well!!

Buying individual components isn't necessarily the best option though. Firstly it tends to be more expensive, as most suppliers will supply the complete kit at a discounted price over what it costs to buy the parts individually. Secondly a well developed kit should consist of components selected because they work well together, something you may not achieve by handpicking your own parts.

[jakejakejake1]

To be fair there isn't a 'one kit suits all solution' but most people will agree that you cant go wrong with the minispares "stage one" kit with twin box rc-40, then rolling road tune at your local mini friendly place

[freshairmini]

Speak to maniflow, they should be able to sort you out with a good exhaust system. I've had two from them and both been brilliant quality. Great customer service as well. Then it's just up to you to source the filter element or cone or foam filter.

.........don't forget the inlet, uprated needle and carb/manifold gaskets as well!!

Buying individual components isn't necessarily the best option though. Firstly it tends to be more expensive, as most suppliers will supply the complete kit at a discounted price over what it costs to buy the parts individually. Secondly a well developed kit should consist of components selected because they work well together, something you may not achieve by handpicking your own parts.

I got everything but the airfilter from maniflow. I believe they use the same inlets as minispares. Plus the needle you get isnt always the best anyway hence why I suggested a RR set anyway.