How easy is it to supercharge a Mini?
Discussion
I've had my Mini a few weeks now and I'd like a tiny bit more power.
How easy are they to supercharge?
I've noticed a kit that you can buy for about £1100, but there are several superchargers from new minis on ebay for about £150 and I was wondering if there's any way to attach one to an original Mini lump?
Answers on a postcard....
How easy are they to supercharge?
I've noticed a kit that you can buy for about £1100, but there are several superchargers from new minis on ebay for about £150 and I was wondering if there's any way to attach one to an original Mini lump?
Answers on a postcard....
I've always thought supercharging to be better than turbo-charging. After all the famous Spitfire aircraft had supercharging and there was not much wrong with that baby!
The best supercharger for a Mini used to be the Shorrock unit. Although I've never fited one, I did do some work on a 1275 Sprite with a Shorrock unit. There is a Shorrock web-site with lots of useful information. All the info to fit one to a Mini already exists and the gearing up from crack pulley to supercharger pulley should be 1:1 for a 1000 c unit and 1.2:1 (or thereabouts) for a 1275 lump. Remember that the comp ratio must be reduced, but all that info is on the web-links to 'Shorrock Superchargers'.
With modern tooth-belt technology the old problem of belt slip in the wet no longer exists and you can buy toothed belts and pulleys from Fenner Ltd. You may need to build a tensioner, but you could probably just modify an existing cam belt tensioner to do the job.
The best supercharger for a Mini used to be the Shorrock unit. Although I've never fited one, I did do some work on a 1275 Sprite with a Shorrock unit. There is a Shorrock web-site with lots of useful information. All the info to fit one to a Mini already exists and the gearing up from crack pulley to supercharger pulley should be 1:1 for a 1000 c unit and 1.2:1 (or thereabouts) for a 1275 lump. Remember that the comp ratio must be reduced, but all that info is on the web-links to 'Shorrock Superchargers'.
With modern tooth-belt technology the old problem of belt slip in the wet no longer exists and you can buy toothed belts and pulleys from Fenner Ltd. You may need to build a tensioner, but you could probably just modify an existing cam belt tensioner to do the job.
shorrock superchargers are a waste of time. they work (when new) on 850's ok, but on 1275s they are terrible as you have to get them spinning so fast that they just become inefficiant.
the other problem (apart from sourcing the manifolds) is that they are all worn out now and cannot be rebuilt without some massive cost. its virtually impossible to rebuild the vanes and rebalance the shaft.
due to the problems with wear any car fitted with one will smoke like the red arrows on startup due to the oil leaking and collecting in the chamber of the supercharger.
a mate of mine built a really nice shorrocks supercharged 850 woody a few years ago and we got very involved in the stripping and servicing of the chargers, i think we went through about five or so before we found one that was anything like half as good as it should have been!
in the end he got so fed up with the smoking and the lacklustre performance he sold it and retailed the rest of the kits we had through ebay.
of course, to strip them we had to make a full set of service tools and sacrifice a good few just to get the spares.
not recomended unless you are a 1960's accsessory annorack!
the bmw charger is fairly good, but i think it only works with the injection set up, i know a few people who run the carbed versions and they all suffer from carb icing and pinking problems.
the other problem (apart from sourcing the manifolds) is that they are all worn out now and cannot be rebuilt without some massive cost. its virtually impossible to rebuild the vanes and rebalance the shaft.
due to the problems with wear any car fitted with one will smoke like the red arrows on startup due to the oil leaking and collecting in the chamber of the supercharger.
a mate of mine built a really nice shorrocks supercharged 850 woody a few years ago and we got very involved in the stripping and servicing of the chargers, i think we went through about five or so before we found one that was anything like half as good as it should have been!
in the end he got so fed up with the smoking and the lacklustre performance he sold it and retailed the rest of the kits we had through ebay.
of course, to strip them we had to make a full set of service tools and sacrifice a good few just to get the spares.
not recomended unless you are a 1960's accsessory annorack!
the bmw charger is fairly good, but i think it only works with the injection set up, i know a few people who run the carbed versions and they all suffer from carb icing and pinking problems.
Just some food for thought, in that unless you make your pants soggy over the A-series sound? why spend £1100 + (and it will be + lots to get it right) tuning a fat, old, inefficient engine that will not put out more than 120 bhp reliably if at all?
Really if it has to be an "A" then go desired CC with twin SU's and single box exhaust = good noise and some poke.
If you want much over 120bhp and some real fun then it has to be a convertion to: Rover K? Vauxhall C16? Honda B16? or even FWD Bike engine from Pro-Motive OR super scarey rear drive Busa ZCars-esq?
Not a sour puss but definatley worth adding up the cost against the results.
FYI I run a 998 with a single SU on a K&N Pancake and the RC40 twin box exhaust, I had it rolling road tuned just for optimum drivability and now she is a dream
Really if it has to be an "A" then go desired CC with twin SU's and single box exhaust = good noise and some poke.
If you want much over 120bhp and some real fun then it has to be a convertion to: Rover K? Vauxhall C16? Honda B16? or even FWD Bike engine from Pro-Motive OR super scarey rear drive Busa ZCars-esq?
Not a sour puss but definatley worth adding up the cost against the results.
FYI I run a 998 with a single SU on a K&N Pancake and the RC40 twin box exhaust, I had it rolling road tuned just for optimum drivability and now she is a dream
Wise words.
I just fancied having a supercharged car again and thought that if the bits were readily available it might be a reasonably easy way to make the Mini a tad faster....
The mods list as follows:
1330cc (+0.060" overbore)
Stage 3 cylinder head
Kent 266 fast road cam
1 3/4" HIF carb
K&N filter
Stage 1 exhaust & manifolds
Electronic ignition distributor
3.44:1 final drive
Fast road clutch.
Spax 28 point adjustable shocks.
Rear roll cage
Bucket seats
3 point harnesses
How could I improve it further without an engine transplant?
BTW - I've got a TVR Cerbera and a GSXR750 for the high speed stuff, just looking to get the Mini to 60 a bit quicker really.....
I just fancied having a supercharged car again and thought that if the bits were readily available it might be a reasonably easy way to make the Mini a tad faster....
The mods list as follows:
1330cc (+0.060" overbore)
Stage 3 cylinder head
Kent 266 fast road cam
1 3/4" HIF carb
K&N filter
Stage 1 exhaust & manifolds
Electronic ignition distributor
3.44:1 final drive
Fast road clutch.
Spax 28 point adjustable shocks.
Rear roll cage
Bucket seats
3 point harnesses
How could I improve it further without an engine transplant?
BTW - I've got a TVR Cerbera and a GSXR750 for the high speed stuff, just looking to get the Mini to 60 a bit quicker really.....
3.65:1 final drive out of dead 1.0L Metro will get you to 60 faster - the car will come on the Cam quicker as a result too. It'll make a 1330cc Mini feel very lively - it'll just not break that magic three figures (do you want to if you've got a TVR for that?)
If you really have got your heart set on a s/charger conversions try Avonbar or Minispeed for kits using the Eaton M45 Bini blower... A latest copy of Miniworld will give you indicative costs.
If you really have got your heart set on a s/charger conversions try Avonbar or Minispeed for kits using the Eaton M45 Bini blower... A latest copy of Miniworld will give you indicative costs.
nicklouse said:
Ben Magoo said:
Really if it has to be an "A" then go desired CC with twin SU's and single box exhaust = good noise and some poke.
why go twin SU's when you get more power from a single? there are very few twin carb set ups that i would put on an A. and they are not from SU.thats not really true.
a pair of, say twin 1 1/2"s will out perform a single 1 3/4 any day of the week. where you gain with the single 1 3/4 (particually if its a hif44) is economy, both buying it and fuel use, ease of fitment and tuneability for the average man on the street.
twins will always perform better due to the relative (when compared to the single) movement of the needles, dashpot etc etc. its a very complicated area of mini tuning and i think a lot of people miss understand the workings of twins (and sus in general).
i think on a average road car 1380 a single (good condition) hif44 will be more than enough for the user, but i bet money that if you had two identical cars that the one with a correctly needled and springed pair of twins would show the edge.
the only other 'twin carbs' i can thing that would fit a mini with relative ease are strombergs - which are a complete no brainer!, unless you are thinking of a single weber (which isnt really a twin carb, rather a twin choked single carb) in which case i would argue that for the average road car it would come well behind either a single hiff44 or a pair of 1 1/2's for practicality on the road.
interestingly enough my racer (single 'proper' new weber 45) gave roughly the same power as my mates racer (same engine, give or take) running twin 1 1/2's, if anything the s.u's actually had the edge at low revs, it was only once the revs climed up past 6 that the weber came onto its own.
even more interstingly is that my road car (detuned version of my racer) runs twin 1 1/2s and ive always felt that its far more progessive and gives a much better throttle response than the 45, which can only really be tuned for either low revs or high revs, not both.
nicklouse said:
Guru sorry i beg to differ. having done both all and the rest. a single 1 3/4 on a GOOD inlet manifold, will piss all over twin 1 1/2's.
But each to there own.
No it won't and that's that. We are talking about proper tuning here, where you need the flow.But each to there own.
Having tried my 286 1380 on a single, it strangled the hell out of it. 1/1/2" x2 were much more like it.
Scrooloose said:
Wise words.
I just fancied having a supercharged car again and thought that if the bits were readily available it might be a reasonably easy way to make the Mini a tad faster....
The mods list as follows:
1330cc (+0.060" overbore)
Stage 3 cylinder head
Kent 266 fast road cam
1 3/4" HIF carb
K&N filter
Stage 1 exhaust & manifolds
Electronic ignition distributor
3.44:1 final drive
Fast road clutch.
Spax 28 point adjustable shocks.
Rear roll cage
Bucket seats
3 point harnesses
How could I improve it further without an engine transplant?
I'd say supercharging is the way forward. My engine was exactly the same spec as yours apart from the Kent 286 cam I had fitted, I recently fitted a supercharger to mine and have never looked back. The power is now so much more accessible and you can't beat a supercharger whining away under the bonnet!I just fancied having a supercharged car again and thought that if the bits were readily available it might be a reasonably easy way to make the Mini a tad faster....
The mods list as follows:
1330cc (+0.060" overbore)
Stage 3 cylinder head
Kent 266 fast road cam
1 3/4" HIF carb
K&N filter
Stage 1 exhaust & manifolds
Electronic ignition distributor
3.44:1 final drive
Fast road clutch.
Spax 28 point adjustable shocks.
Rear roll cage
Bucket seats
3 point harnesses
How could I improve it further without an engine transplant?
I fitted an Eaton M45 and knocked the manifold up myself, I also fitted a Metro turbo cam and Megajolt at the same time, although I think you'll be all right sticking with the Kent 266 cam.
guru_1071 said:
the bmw charger is fairly good, but i think it only works with the injection set up, i know a few people who run the carbed versions and they all suffer from carb icing and pinking problems.
No problems with pinking her, its worth fitting MegaJolt though as you have much more accurate ignition timing control. I've had the supercharger fitted for 4 months now and not had a problem with carb icing, although I do run with the half the grill covered during winter.Gentlemen, may I refer you to this link:
http://www.vmaxscart.co.uk/supercharger.html
Saw the feature in this month's (May 08) issue of Mini Magazine and have since decided it is what I'll be saving for, sounds the business if a bit pricey! Why bark when you can get a dog to do it for you! So to speak...
http://www.vmaxscart.co.uk/supercharger.html
Saw the feature in this month's (May 08) issue of Mini Magazine and have since decided it is what I'll be saving for, sounds the business if a bit pricey! Why bark when you can get a dog to do it for you! So to speak...
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