Making car faster without engine mod ?
Discussion
Throw the interior away.
Lightening the flywheel will make it easier to spin thats all oh and thats a significant job getting that out. Rumour has it the bolt is tightened by a 8000lb Gorilla.
Lightening the wheels wont make much difference and I dont know how you would do it.
Nitrous is probably the easiest answer...
Lightening the flywheel will make it easier to spin thats all oh and thats a significant job getting that out. Rumour has it the bolt is tightened by a 8000lb Gorilla.
Lightening the wheels wont make much difference and I dont know how you would do it.
Nitrous is probably the easiest answer...
Removing the sound proofing is an easy weight reduction.
When I took mine out all together it must of weighed about 20Kg
It was a bit wet in places though!!
From what I can make out its just the internals of the engine you don't want to mess with so how about a better flowing exhaust and induction system.
When I took mine out all together it must of weighed about 20Kg
It was a bit wet in places though!!
From what I can make out its just the internals of the engine you don't want to mess with so how about a better flowing exhaust and induction system.
Plotloss said:
Throw the interior away.
Lightening the flywheel will make it easier to spin thats all oh and thats a significant job getting that out. Rumour has it the bolt is tightened by a 8000lb Gorilla.
Lightening the wheels wont make much difference and I dont know how you would do it.
Nitrous is probably the easiest answer...
Lightening both the flywheels and the wheels will give significant gains in the lower gears, especialy on something as light as a mini. The advantage tails off in the higher gears.
The flywheel is easy enough to sort out, you can buy ultralight steel flywheels from several mini specialists (although this is technicaly modifying the engine IMO). The bolt is fairly tight, but the real problems usualy come in trying to remove the flywheel from the crank taper, especialy if someone *hasn't* done the bolt up tightly enough as the resulting movement can actually weld the flywheel to the crank.
The wheels...well, the first thing to note is that the smaller the diameter the better, so ditch the 13" Sportpack items and put 10" magnesium alloys on if you can afford them.
Other weight reduction will help, so ditch the soundproofing, extraneous seats etc. Fit a beam type rear subframe, replace all glass except windscreen with perspex/polycarbonate.
Replacing the 12 bladed fan with a two bladed item will reduce the amount of power absorbed, or even remove the fan altogether and fit an electric item.
After reducing the weight as much as possible you need to define what you mean by 'faster'. Do you mean better acceleration or better speed between corners or a better ultimate top speed.
For most Minis the term 'faster' really means the time taken between corners, which means if you can improve the speed out of the corner you will get a higher terminal speed down any straight.
In which case you MUST set up the suspension and braking systems properly to ensure that your actual speed through and out of the corner is as high as possible. I did post a long thread on Mini Handling a few months ago and this is the key to making a Mini go and feel great to drive. To state the obvious, it's no good having more power and less weight if the handling is not at its very best.
For average road use don't lower the car or set the damping too hard, as most roads are not as smooth as a track surface. Also, try to fit 10" wheels, they really are the best. Don't go too wide with the wheels, the 4.5" or 5" are probably the best.
If you are confident with the handling and the weight is as low as you can get, then you will have a very quick mini without lots of engine mods. Less expensive too!
For most Minis the term 'faster' really means the time taken between corners, which means if you can improve the speed out of the corner you will get a higher terminal speed down any straight.
In which case you MUST set up the suspension and braking systems properly to ensure that your actual speed through and out of the corner is as high as possible. I did post a long thread on Mini Handling a few months ago and this is the key to making a Mini go and feel great to drive. To state the obvious, it's no good having more power and less weight if the handling is not at its very best.
For average road use don't lower the car or set the damping too hard, as most roads are not as smooth as a track surface. Also, try to fit 10" wheels, they really are the best. Don't go too wide with the wheels, the 4.5" or 5" are probably the best.
If you are confident with the handling and the weight is as low as you can get, then you will have a very quick mini without lots of engine mods. Less expensive too!
There is also the issue of what the engine is like at the moment. If it runs like a dog and your girfriend thinks giving it a tune involves dropping sweeties in the top, then a good tune / rolling road session should make the existing engine give better acceleration.
If your enging is already set up and running good, then like everyone else has been suggesting, make it lighter. If you have money (and are willing to spend it) then there are lots of lighter parts to be had. If you dont have money (or are scottish like me and dont want to pour it down the drain) then you can still get rid of a fair amount of weight by ripping stuff out.
Iain
>> Edited by eein on Tuesday 30th September 16:49
If your enging is already set up and running good, then like everyone else has been suggesting, make it lighter. If you have money (and are willing to spend it) then there are lots of lighter parts to be had. If you dont have money (or are scottish like me and dont want to pour it down the drain) then you can still get rid of a fair amount of weight by ripping stuff out.
Iain
>> Edited by eein on Tuesday 30th September 16:49
Plotloss said:
Throw the interior away.
Lightening the flywheel will make it easier to spin thats all oh and thats a significant job getting that out. Rumour has it the bolt is tightened by a 8000lb Gorilla.
Yep that is correct it is called MOWOG and stmps it's name on various parts on the mini. Seeminly at random.
As well as ditching the back seat and sound proofing, you could also ditch the heater (bit of re-plumbing involved) and any stereo system you have if you can live without them.
You can get perspex windows as well which our much lighter but I don't know if there road legal.
Depending on how far you want to go, if you have a girlfreind/partner you could always ditch them
!!, chuck the front passenger seat and seatbelt at the same time. Passangers make mini's lots slower.
You can get perspex windows as well which our much lighter but I don't know if there road legal.
Depending on how far you want to go, if you have a girlfreind/partner you could always ditch them
!!, chuck the front passenger seat and seatbelt at the same time. Passangers make mini's lots slower.
It's amazing how much weight perspex or polycarbonate windows really save. I lifted all the perspex for a mark 1 window set and it seemed really light. Then I picked up the corresponding glass windows. The difference is huge. Not only that, but the fitting of perspex really lowers the Centre-of-Gravity CofG) of the car thus improving the roadholding.
)I've never liked fibreglass (GRP) doors since a co-driver was killed on a rally in a Volvo 122S with GRP door skins. Aluminium door skins were used by competitors for racing and rallying and I'd prefer them. They are hard to find. Fibreglass bonnets and boots are also very good.
My Cooper 'S' rally car weighs in at c.715 kg whilst Chris Spennewyn's ex-works car with ally doors, bonnet and boot plus lightweight seats, no fire extinguishers, non-opening side windows, and only a rear roll-cage weighs c.685 kg. Quite a difference.
My Cooper 'S' rally car weighs in at c.715 kg whilst Chris Spennewyn's ex-works car with ally doors, bonnet and boot plus lightweight seats, no fire extinguishers, non-opening side windows, and only a rear roll-cage weighs c.685 kg. Quite a difference.
Aluminium skinned? As in what these people do? www.minidoor.co.uk/
Thought abouth those, but went with the fibreglass as I was worries about electrolytic corrosion between the steel frame and the ally skin. (And I'd had enough of runsting doors
)
Thought abouth those, but went with the fibreglass as I was worries about electrolytic corrosion between the steel frame and the ally skin. (And I'd had enough of runsting doors
)I think GPR doors are OK if you have a roll cage with door bars.
I do take your point about electrolytic action with steel to ally. You could put a barrier film of plastic sheeting and bath sealer around the steel frame, although I don't think it's worth going that far. It's all a trade-off of weight against future problems and safety. I guess you just make a judgement call and go for what you are happy with.
I've been in some huge rally accidents when I was a semi-professional co-driver including going 'off-the-edge' on a Scotish International Rally and rolling 4 times end-over-end and 70 feet down in a Lotus Cortina. We were lying second overall at the time and really trying hard. This makes you a bit safety equipment concious and I won't rally now without a full roll cage, fire extinguishers, sealed boot/tank area and sealed engine bay with no fresh-air ducting passing into the car. (I'm just a big cissy really, I suppose, but I'm still here!).
I do take your point about electrolytic action with steel to ally. You could put a barrier film of plastic sheeting and bath sealer around the steel frame, although I don't think it's worth going that far. It's all a trade-off of weight against future problems and safety. I guess you just make a judgement call and go for what you are happy with.
I've been in some huge rally accidents when I was a semi-professional co-driver including going 'off-the-edge' on a Scotish International Rally and rolling 4 times end-over-end and 70 feet down in a Lotus Cortina. We were lying second overall at the time and really trying hard. This makes you a bit safety equipment concious and I won't rally now without a full roll cage, fire extinguishers, sealed boot/tank area and sealed engine bay with no fresh-air ducting passing into the car. (I'm just a big cissy really, I suppose, but I'm still here!).
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