Vini – the Powerflex V8 Mini
Discussion
With a bare shell and a slightly less bare brief this is where the knowledge, experience and black magic of EDM came in.
I decided that, whilst driving, having both hands on the steering wheel for as long as possible would be a great idea.
Therefore we ruled out a sequential dog box with a lever change and opted to use the originalE92 M3 7 speed dual clutch box.
Advantages – Strong, available, and would be mappable with the ECU we had in mind.
The disadvantage was that it is heavy.
Great, that’s that bit sorted.
Plainly the Mini has no transmission tunnel so we knew that the front bulkhead would need significant attention, to say the least.
We have to get the engine back into the shell and low enough to clear the bonnet.
How do we go about getting this beasty in?
It is at this point that EDM had to stop, sit and think. Measure, guess, stop and think again.
Decisions made now as to engine position and angle would affect everything.
It is no exaggeration to say that a single mistake now could make the whole thing nonviable.
But that mistake might not become apparent for months to come.
The engine has a complex sump with a small clearance gap for the M3 steering rack.
We had to position the engine so that the sump would allow our steering rack to be in that gap.
The position of the rack controls the hub position, but the hub position is controlled by the wheel centre position and that cannot change.
The rack position dictates the wishbone and strut position. So all aspects of the front geometry are controlled by the engine position and height.
The engine angle controls the gearbox centre line, the propshaft and therefore diff position as well as impacting on the rear suspension.
Of course he had to take into consideration the exhaust system and ground clearance.
So it was now time for Eliot to get busy with the can opener.
A fair bit of this bulkead and floor was going to have to go to get the engine as far back as possible and positioned correctly to get the steering rack in place.
|
Well, it's in place ish
See how much further we've been able to get the engine. (when I say "we" I mean the Royal "we")
This is just the engine in situ against the bulkhead
Now we are getting somewhere
So much further back
A fair bit of sheel strength gone already and we haven't started removing the floorpan yet
Very complex and efficient sump. We considered a dry sump system but we weren't convinced it would improve matter but it would add complication.
I decided that, whilst driving, having both hands on the steering wheel for as long as possible would be a great idea.
Therefore we ruled out a sequential dog box with a lever change and opted to use the originalE92 M3 7 speed dual clutch box.
Advantages – Strong, available, and would be mappable with the ECU we had in mind.
The disadvantage was that it is heavy.
Great, that’s that bit sorted.
Plainly the Mini has no transmission tunnel so we knew that the front bulkhead would need significant attention, to say the least.
We have to get the engine back into the shell and low enough to clear the bonnet.
How do we go about getting this beasty in?
It is at this point that EDM had to stop, sit and think. Measure, guess, stop and think again.
Decisions made now as to engine position and angle would affect everything.
It is no exaggeration to say that a single mistake now could make the whole thing nonviable.
But that mistake might not become apparent for months to come.
The engine has a complex sump with a small clearance gap for the M3 steering rack.
We had to position the engine so that the sump would allow our steering rack to be in that gap.
The position of the rack controls the hub position, but the hub position is controlled by the wheel centre position and that cannot change.
The rack position dictates the wishbone and strut position. So all aspects of the front geometry are controlled by the engine position and height.
The engine angle controls the gearbox centre line, the propshaft and therefore diff position as well as impacting on the rear suspension.
Of course he had to take into consideration the exhaust system and ground clearance.
So it was now time for Eliot to get busy with the can opener.
A fair bit of this bulkead and floor was going to have to go to get the engine as far back as possible and positioned correctly to get the steering rack in place.
|Well, it's in place ish
See how much further we've been able to get the engine. (when I say "we" I mean the Royal "we")
This is just the engine in situ against the bulkhead
Now we are getting somewhere
So much further back
A fair bit of sheel strength gone already and we haven't started removing the floorpan yet
Very complex and efficient sump. We considered a dry sump system but we weren't convinced it would improve matter but it would add complication.
rev-erend said:
I've been doing a bit of research for you.
Engine Weight E92 M3 V8 450 lbs R53 Cooper S 300lbs
Gearbox Weight E92 M3 170lbs R53 Cooper S 105lbs
So looks like the front springs will need to be approx 100lbs stronger just to take the additional weight as a starting point.
You need to re-research with the correct car? R56 Cooper SEngine Weight E92 M3 V8 450 lbs R53 Cooper S 300lbs
Gearbox Weight E92 M3 170lbs R53 Cooper S 105lbs
So looks like the front springs will need to be approx 100lbs stronger just to take the additional weight as a starting point.
So to engine positioning.
Having described how critical the location of so many components are at this point, a lot of parts had now to be test fitted in a way that would allow some adjustment.
Trying to guess where the front subframe will go.
Box sections were tacked into place and the Impreza front subframe and steering rack mount secured in a way that the engine could be bolted in and moved around in all three directions.
Such a difficult thing to do with a heavy engine and things like the wheel position relying on the fit of everything else.
Engine mounted on heavily modified subframe
It isn’t easy to find the words to describe how hard this stage was for www.edmotorsport.co.uk
So starting from the wheel centre, the lower wishbone is fitted to the Subaru hub.
Wheel in place for positioning with subframe, rack and lower wishbone
The inner wishbone joint is connected to the subframe and the steering rack is mounted on the subframe.
None of this is adjustable.
These were the fixed control points.
The subframe has to fit in the gap in the sump and the engine has to fit to the subframe.
The engine has to fit in the shell at a height and position to allow the gearbox to be aligned correctly and the drive line from the back of the gearbox has to point somewhere pretty close to where we hope the rear diff might fit.
Plus we need to get the twin exhausts at a height that does not limit ground clearance.
Subframe position reasonably fixed. (box sections will not stay. These are ugly, heavy and only partially fitted for strength)
Having described how critical the location of so many components are at this point, a lot of parts had now to be test fitted in a way that would allow some adjustment.
Trying to guess where the front subframe will go.
Box sections were tacked into place and the Impreza front subframe and steering rack mount secured in a way that the engine could be bolted in and moved around in all three directions.
Such a difficult thing to do with a heavy engine and things like the wheel position relying on the fit of everything else.
Engine mounted on heavily modified subframe
It isn’t easy to find the words to describe how hard this stage was for www.edmotorsport.co.uk
So starting from the wheel centre, the lower wishbone is fitted to the Subaru hub.
Wheel in place for positioning with subframe, rack and lower wishbone
The inner wishbone joint is connected to the subframe and the steering rack is mounted on the subframe.
None of this is adjustable.
These were the fixed control points.
The subframe has to fit in the gap in the sump and the engine has to fit to the subframe.
The engine has to fit in the shell at a height and position to allow the gearbox to be aligned correctly and the drive line from the back of the gearbox has to point somewhere pretty close to where we hope the rear diff might fit.
Plus we need to get the twin exhausts at a height that does not limit ground clearance.
Subframe position reasonably fixed. (box sections will not stay. These are ugly, heavy and only partially fitted for strength)
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