My thought was to ditch the std diffs and fit independent suspension, LSD diffs....or something like that. But if the trany dosn't match the speed of the other drive shaft it would not work.
mickmini no, the idea is to stay away from the issues of running two engines, different power out puts, uneven cooling, uneven tunes, what happens if one engine fail bad at high speeds etc etc. Basically I want the closest to even weight distribution and AWD either through a constant AWD system or a constantly engaged 4WD system (moded to suit).
Or like blue_deluxe said eirler an extra idler/drop gear in the system would solve the problem.

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Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

Suzuki Ignis / Holden Cruze.
1.3 or 1.5L
5 speed manual
AWD
East west engine
Could be a good donor car...
Has anyone got more details on these cars?

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i reckon SX4 woud be nicer

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Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do...



“A turbo: exhaust gasses go into the turbocharger and spin it, witchcraft happens and you go faster.” - Jeremy Clarkson

There is a mob in the states that are working on an awd mini. The donor is a Honda CRV.

http://superfastminis.com/AWD_MINI.htm

Is this what you are looking for?

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Cheers
Alec
1275LS - July 78 - XNFAD18Y/102918

I was thinking of a cheap and more available donor vehicle. Plus these Suzuki Ignis / Holden Cruze have a very small engine bay.
Looking at the transfer case on them it's rather small roughly 150 tall and a 300 long (around 250 wide including shafts). It could easily be adapted to most FWD cars that have an off center diff so the trany can sit in the center of the car/exhaust tunnel.
Might be possible to convert a Starlet mini to an AWD mini.

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Im toying with the idea of turning my starlet mini into awd (if it ever gets finished). Im planning to use a nissan pulsar gtir rear cradle, the only problem is the transfer case and modifying the starlet gearbox to a suitable output shaft for the transfer case.

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Simplify and add lightness

Have a look at one of these, I havn't found any pics on the net of one yet. They simply join into the one side of the front diff and the driveshaft continues on the other side of the trany. The only thing I can think of being an isue is if the trany sits too low .

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Thats something like i was thinking of, the only issue i can think of it might give interesting feedback through the steering wheel. As the drivers side front wheel would be constantly loaded, as its powering the rears and the fronts.
Im a bit sketchy on diffs though, so welcome to correction.

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Simplify and add lightness

live axle back-end... no IRS

I reckon Honda Civic AWD is the best one.... slowly slowly

Simply make a rear cradle to hold a subie or commodore independent rear diff, so long as it has the same ratio as the std Ignis rear your laughing. All we really want out of the Ignis is the engine and front drive train set up. The suspension, hubs, brakes and rear diff can be gathered from anywhere mostly re-use the mini items where possible.

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For a mid-mount, if had the money, and if it was just a track car, this is the powerplant I would use:
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=19975

The new Ariel Atom V8 engine, which produces 500hp and weighs just 90kg's.
Mated to the new Sadev 6-speed sequential gearbox - this combo would be just balls-to-the-wall exciting to say the least.

Cheers,
Tricky

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"Not Speeding Officer..........Qualifying"

why not use a ep95 starlet AWD setup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GKCuY6rY0I Daren

I guess most transversely mounted AWD systems have a power distribution concentrated to the front? At least the Honda works this way; it only sends power to the rear if the front axle looses grip.

But the real fun is the other way round... And that's realy HUGE fun! Sh!tloads of grip & all the funny adavantges of RWD Most fun I've had in the snow for a while. And that was only a 99HP diesel Pajero-copy from Hyundai (only RWD didn't move at all...)

So if I was to build a AWD Mini, I'd be looking for a setup that puts most power to the rear in the first place

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Yeah that did cross my mind but the problem of having all the weight on one side of the car was my issue. I guess if you tilt the engine back over the top of the diff that would center the weight.
So long as the engine can run at full knock on an angle like that + cornering will enhance the the oil level/surge issue.

Has got me thinking again though .

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Why not go for something like this

Put a diff in all 3 centres, or spools if your built like a gorilla.
Not road legal but its what im planning to build as a track special.

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Simplify and add lightness