412 replies to this topic

[Dick Dastardly]

Pics of painted shell soon.........
....should be done by the time I get back from Spain on the 27th. Can't wait!

In the meantime here's a pic of the sump windage plate going in (it's cnc'd ally) . Don't like the sound of it breaking up much, but I don't really understand how it can as it's not exactly a stressed member. Unlike me now!

Anyone got any further info on the sump baffle scenario?

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[R1mini]

R1 Minimagic

I have fitted and now removed the AllBikes baffle plate, I need to refit the sump properly with new gasket, I will overfill slightly this seems fine for people and will be fine for a track mini

R1 Mini

[R1minimagic]

Dickk

Have you had the bottom of your engine casing welded up??

[pauldixonuk]

Wow! Those mini's look so awesome.

Well done on the R1 construction. What made you decide on this motor, as most seem to opt for the hyabusa? Also I see you have the engine up front, as most seem to be in the rear. Do you prefer this weight balance? Will it be more forgiving on the limit? Also your dampers look like beasts! Does this give you a lot more travel than the standard car?

That honda conversion above looks amazing too. I wonder if having that much weight near the back will be a handful?

I'm new to this mini caper but am really thinking about getting something similar. What are the general opinions on bike engine torque, rebuilds, front verses mid engine layouts? I would want a road car that can match the pace of my prodrive impreza easily.

P.S only ever driven a sportpack cooper, and my only ever RWD car was a 111R elise.

[Dick Dastardly]

R1 mini, what was the reason for removing the Allbikes baffle? Have you heard of them breaking up? If so, in what applications? I thought these things were used in sidecar racing where lateral G's and engine loadings will far exceed anything we're likely to see.

I'm now left in 2 minds. The whole reason for fitting the baffle was peace of mind, an insurance policy against oil surge, but now it seems the baffle itself could cause problems. I need facts...........

Well spotted R1minimagic. I didn't have the casing welded- it was like that when I bought it (although I didn't spot it at the time!). It looks like a small area of the casing was chipped off, no doubt while the power ranger was heading towards a hospital visit, but its been welded, and then re-machined on the sealing face. Everything is oil tight, so should be ok, but if it isn't the cost of a new engine pails into insignificance compared to everything else so far :sad:

Paul, I would argue that most people opt for the R1 conversion on the grounds of cost. R1 engine = £800 to £1000, Hyabusa = £2,500 to £3,000. The 'busa has a higher power and torque output though.

I too once owned an Elise back in '98 (S1), and found it rather unforgiving on the limit! I also owned an Impreza P1 which was just about the quickest thing going in the real World, on real roads. I am not expecting the mini to match the pace of the Impreza, as this is unrealistic. If we're talking straight line, smooth road speed (up to 110mph) then maybe, but I cannot see the mini being as quick, sure footed and benign as the Scooby on wet, bumpy, typically British roads. Outright speed, and limpit-like grip aren't everything though if it means you've got to drive at ridiculous speeds to make the car come alive. IMO It's no good if you've got to be doing 120 everywhere just to have fun, I'd rather be having fun at any speed- hence the mini :grin: You should contact Chris Allonson at Z-cars, and arrange a test dirve!...

[R1mini]

Dickk

There has a few of these plates fracture in road/track use due to the high frequency vibrations I suppose, then the fraqments have been sucked into the oil system destroying the engine.

I think it's quite a long term thing so it wouldn't normally affect a race motor

Cheers
David

[Dick Dastardly]

Thanks David. I think I'm gonna leave it in for now, pending more investigation. I just hope it doesn't turn into one of those "told you so" scenarios!!

It's really easy to inspect/remove the baffle, and having had the sump on and off more times than I care to recount recently (note: change ALL the O-rings while the sump's off, as they cost pence and save the hassle of finding leaks after it's all gone back together!) it's getting to be quite a quick job as well!

Mine's not an Allbikes baffle, but is based on their pattern. Was the Allbikes baffle made from Aluminium or steel?

Cheers.
D.D.

[R1mini]

Dickk

It alloy, I think but check this that the alloy ones that have the problem

Cheers
David

I'm 99% certain

[R1minimagic]

Refitted a standard R1 airbox last night and did a quick noise test....98-99dBA at 7500rpm, so hopefully, i will be ok for CC on Saturday!! Fingers xxdd

[Dick Dastardly]

So, did you go to Castle Combe then? How was it?

I'm dying to know......

D.D.

[R1minimagic]

Yes I went to Castle Combe!!

First good news was that I actually passed the noise test! It was with a standard R1 airbox fitted and gave 102.6dBa.

First outing onto the track I could immediately tell that there was a big loss of power with the R1 airbox. The engine really struggled to rev for the first few laps but then got a bit better. Not sure why, maybe the ecu adjusting itself??

I changed back to the normal TTS foam filter which is quite a bit louder but my performance was back again!!

Was struggling with the braking as the car was very squirmish under moderate braking so I had to brake very early and for a relatively long time before each bend, giving other cars chance to catch up and overtake me, doh!!

Harder braking made the back lock up and the car wanted to spin round. I now realise that the sierra calipers require much less pressure than the normal mini drum brakes as the area of the pistons is 4-5 times bigger than a mini drum brake cylinder piston. Hence, I require a bias valve to reduce the pressure down.

I thought the handling was good compared to other minis, so no worries there. My front suspension is still at standard ride height, so I intend to drop it about 11/2" which should improve stability.

The next realisation was that i wasn't getting full throttle!! More like 3/4 throttle actually. So a quick mod was to remove the accelerator pedal stop at the cable end which allowed the pedal to come up higher and i could then adjust the cable to give more movement. Problem now is the pedal is a bit too high for my foot so i need to modify the pedal!

Driving out onto the track in 2nd gear, i floored it and couldnt believe the extra power i had!! The car was sideways under power!! Yippeeeeee!

I was becoming more confident and getting quicker and quicker but still very much hampered in the braking department. Also, i felt that i definately needed the gear indicator to be working. On many occassions I knocked it into neutral thinking that i was going from 3rd to 2nd gear but actually already in 2nd! The problem then is it tends to clonk quite a bit getting it back into 2nd gear at 30-40mph which cant be good for the box.

Overall though a very good day, the car came back in one piece (A048's are well bedded in now!) and i know how to make improvements. Very pleased with it for the 1st proper outing.

I dont think there will be any more events this year, car is back on the trailer in the garage. I have 2 other minis to work on anyway!!


PS Took David out in the car, maybe he can add some unbiased comments?! :fear: :fear:

[Dick Dastardly]

Sounds like fun!

Thanks for the feedback- it really helps with the setup of everyone else's cars I reckon.

Are you using a servo on your brakes? I know this won't affect the pressure distribution, but I'm interested to know whether the pedal effort required was about right, or whether you felt it was over-assisted.

Do you have to run twin master cylinders to fit a brake bias valve, or is there a method of running one with more or less standard circuits?

Almost forgot- what front calipers are you using?

Thanks again!

D.D.

[R1mini]

Yes it was good day at Castle Combe with R1minimagic.

This might sound strange but for all it's very heavy modifications it still feels like a mini, but with loads of acceleration!

I was wondering at the time why Dale was braking so early, this is where some people, not many got past, on the straights it was a different story.

A lot of people who don't know any better *woman of ill repute* off the handling of the ZCars minis, but I found it to be fine, much better than I thought it would be, in the corners it was as quick as other minis just braking early was the only problem.

Overall, first time out proper for the car, first time at Castle Combe for Dale, it all went very well.



Cheers
David

[maph2]

R1, DD,

just been up to Zcars this morning for a chat and demo in the busa mini - BLIMEY - i nearly eartha kitt'ed my self!

have to say the handling was brilliant - felt just like a normal mini. the brakes were mtero 4pot vented with race pads up front (needed warming up). rears were zcars standard fitment.

after this morning, i am definitely Zcar-ing my mini next year.

DD - is the offer open to come over this weekend?

matt

[R1minimagic]

DD

I have got the standard, later type, mini servo fitted. The front discs are crossdrilled but not vented (lighter!), greenstuff pads, KAD 4 pot calipers. I want to junk the servo if i can as i think it is not required, the brakes feel very powerful but could do with some more feel as they feel like they would lock up very easily if you press them reasonably hard.

You dont have to run twin masters to fit a bias valve, just insert it into the rear line. In fact using twin masters means that the pedal movement will be greater for the same amount of braking force as you halve the actual fluid pressure for a given pedal effort in each system. Also, bleeding the brakes becomes a 3 man job, as a front and rear wheel have to be done simultaneously. This is because any properly designed balance bar has another function - it will only skew so far before locking solid in its pivot to give braking on one pair of wheels should the other circuit fail.