meeni wrote:
dont take this the wrong way and this is a question not a stab but why would you bother?.. it seems an extreme expense, alot of engineering and alot of time designing for the sake of using a mini gearbox.. id rather engineer a subframe and have more power, plus a reliable 5 or 6 speed gearbox..
discussion is fun!
No problem Meeni,,, the fact is that there really is an enormous amount of work , time, money effort etc needed on all the many modifications, parts, design, fabricating etc for the average Jap engine conversion,,, obviously
It really is quite a major opperation no matter what engine you choose,,, & as can be seen by the numerous transplants that are still in the process of being built/produced,,, some of them have taken years & years & years to get running & others are still not finished... the ones that are just thrown together are obviously not as good as the ones that take their time & spend more money etc,,, & most of the "thrown together" ones have regretted doing so
but either way... they`re all very heavy,,,, very time consuming,,,, very costly,,, Very complicated,,, & to be honest i`ve never been happy with any of them,,, they simply don`t make the mini a very well "Balanced" car anymore... it`s all good & well having 500hp turbo charged V-tec or what-ever..., but i`d rather have less hp & have my car handle , turn, stop & accelerate far better because the "Package" is far better balanced
Small capacity multi-valve Bike engines have been producing over 200hp for years & years now,,, but they`re not a very torquey engine,,, the Hyabusa being the torquey-est & the R1 being the lightest & most compact ... i`m just adding some capacity to the lightest & most compact one to get some decent torque,,, it`s quite simple really
& besides that,,, 2nd hand R1`s are everywhere & cheap-as-chips to buy
the world is now flooded with myriads of CNC machining equipment that makes production time & costs of billet items much easier & cheaper to make than ever before so i`m just grabbing the chance while i can
If people like Manx, KAD, Jack Knight, Scat, Falconer & H1 & (& many many others) didn`t take the path they did,,, if F1 & Moto-GP didn`t evolve through all this CNC machining age/era,,, new designs & improved engineering practices ,,, new ideas,,, well we wouldn`t have hybrid cars, we wouldn`t have i-pods,,, we wouldn`t have the internet, we wouldn`t have fuel injection,,,, heck if none of us thought up anything new then we wouldn`t have the sewage plumbed out of our homes & we`d still be living in the dark
yes,,, this new engine is a fair bit of work,,, yes this new engine is going to cost a bucket-load,,, yes it`s not for everyone,,,, so what i`m going to have one for myself,,, That`s what i`m doing it for
However--> if someone else wants one,,, & maybe another fella is rich enough & wants to be just as silly as me,,, & maybe then a couple more people wake up & smell the roses,,, then it`ll all end up being a bit more cost effective for everyone right?
& as for the gear-box goes,,, never fear,,, there is a bigger picture being painted by a number of people/companies that will improve that part of the equation before long so i`m not worried about it at this stage... the mini box isn`t such a bad thing ,,, & certainly isn`t as bad as "Some" people say.... if they`re built well & the right bits are used, then there really isn`t an issue with 180hp-ish over extended periods ,,, & as you should all well know,,,, we are not always driving our 200hp minis at full noise """"All-THE-TIME""",,, mostly we are just puttering around ,,,going to work & back... & to the shops,,,, & maybe the occasional run down the coast or to mini meetings right??? who uses 200hp All-The-Time?????
Just because "Some" people have worn-out gearboxes , or have been "Thrown-Together" by some dork who only "THINKS" he knows what he`s doing &/or they are to tight / stingey to fix them properly,,, doesn`t mean that "Every" mini gearbox is like theirs
you can go out & buy a V8 Hyabusa engine right now, complete with trans-axle assy & everything,,, (if you were filthy rich that is) they`re all ready for over 400hp & BIG BAGS of torque in N/A form.... imagine twin turbos on that thing yeah???
.... but,,, funny enough ,,, it doesn`t fit into a STD round nosed mini body---> does it???
My design is quite simple really,,, there`s not that much to do once the 2 main big bits are made,,, the homework is done,,, the alloy is being machined,,, i`ll have a crank made after that & we`ll go on from there
i`m sure there will be road-blocks &/or Mountains to climb (isn`t there always?) but,,, then sometimes we need those road-blocks as a break to recover & re-group,,,
& the view from the top of those mountains is just breath-taking isn`t it ???
Just picture this for a moment---> an absolutely stunningly beautifully prepared ,,,, totally & absolutely Stock-Standard looking , clean as a whistle mini 850,,, parked outside a coffee shop somewhere (doesn`t matter where really) absolutely nothing changed from factory except for maybe one of those early wood-grain dash fitted,,, ok???
just cute as a button right???,,, tell me right now who of you wouldn`t stop to admire such a thing yeah???
sitting in the engine bay is a nice & quiet, smooth, pump fuel, 200hp 20v, alloy, 5-main
& whenever you want , you can just throw the std 850 power-unit back in there with no body or frame mods at all, just remove the piggy-back wiring loom & fuel swirl tank/pump etc & it`s back to absolutely totally std within a days work
now,,, would that be such a terrible thing??????????