I just want some opinions on a theoretical question.

How much HP is usefull in a mini?

Having seen some incredible numbers with the engine conversions, xflow or 16 valve heads, I really wonder just what is the limit of HPs a mini can take and still be nimble / drivable? (so excluding any dragstrip antics)

I saw a YouTube vid of a clubby eng conversion where it looked as if the front subframe & entire front end seemed to want to part ways with the rest of the car. Trick of the light? Or just a case of too many ponies / torque?

At the wheel if you had no budget to think about what would you aim for?

100 naturally aspirated and drive able around town.

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But he's thriving and striving and hugging the turns.

Over 100 at the wheels would be nice (hopefully I'll get that with my twinky). I figure the power to weight/traction balancing act would get to "unpleasant" with more that 200bhp and 10" wheels. Yes it would be fun but tricky to drive like a mini.

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Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

More than 200bhp in a mini would be near enough useless. Unpleasant is an understatement.

You get people bragging "oh it'll spin the wheels in 3rd" Good on ya, so it's no good then.
People can get power hungry very quickly and end up ruining their car. 100bhp at the wheels in a mini is probably too much to drive it enthusiastically, safely, and legally.
I had a VZ SS Ute. Always wanted a V8 and it was glorious. Only problem was, give it the beans 1st and 2nd, get into 3rd then you'd have to back off.
What are the good things about a mini? It handles like a go-kart, you can drive the arse off them, and they are fun. As soon as you start going BIG HP you lose some of the fun because you can't drive the arse off them, You're not thinking of the best way to keep you're momentum going when you get to a big hill. It's just squeeze the hammer down and ride the torque curve to the top.

Anywho, I'd say between 35 -75BHP at the wheels would be the go without losing the key characteristics of a classic mini

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WD40'll fix it!
If it don't, use a big hammer!

I'm running a bit over 60HP at the wheels and it's a great road car with that kind of power. It gets up and goes when you want it, it's easy to drive and idles happily at the lights. More would be great, but definitely not necessary.

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- Simon -

and I've gotta say, with just shy of 90hp at the wheels, doing that is just glorious, absolutely f*cking glorious

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

I find my NA 1360 with 86.6 ATW @7200rpm is very nice, but 100 would be nicer.

I have hung on in Josh's 200 ATW Starlet Mini and it was torque steery in the dry in a straight line and deadly in the wet. Hardly usable, really.
150 ATW would be a safer bet for road use.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Hardly the same thing..

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I'm with PDJ.

Great, your car will spin the wheels in 4th.

But you have to spend most of your days idling around at 1500rpm otherwise you're speeding.

I think anywhere from 40-70 would be great. Not to say I wouldn't take more if it were thrown at me, but I wouldn't be blowing big bucks to get to triple figures.

To me, driving a mini is about preparing for corners, hills, merging and stopping.
If I wanted to be able to just jam on the brakes when I need to stop and slam my right foot down when I needed to go, regardless of what is infront of me then i'd drive the auto 3L daily.

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You're so square
Baby I don't care

this is largly dependent on suspension setup and how the engine makes its power, but around 150 hp ish is typically when it all starts getting a bit iffy,

I think this it due to being the amount of torque that stuff like the shell and subframe starts to distort and give unpleasant characteristics,

150 at the wheels?

I would expect things to get a bit curly long before then..

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You're so square
Baby I don't care

Where is the option for under 50...???

My Moke and Rover both have under 40HP at the wheels and they keep up with traffic, get me from A to B as quick as anyone else can (given the traffic in Sydney never gets anywhere quickly anyway) and they both look great when parked at the side of the road....

Road car, in my opinion, around 100hp or just over is heaps of fun. No disrespect to anyone elses opinions, but if I'm getting blown off by Hyundai Getz's and Ford Festiva's I'd rather be on the footpath.... But I can appreciate the simple enjoyment of driving a car, as it was and would have been in the 1960's... I just like the challange and fun of modifying things thats all..

If you were going N/A, I would say that around the 100hp mark is the highest you could realistically go without it being to boggy off the cam. If my mini was a daily driver, I would have chosen a tamer cam or I'd advance the cam timing a little more.. Driving something that only starts singing above 2600rpm in traffic gets a little annoying (hence why I only drive my mini on weekends)

Do you intend on driving your car daily or as a weekend fun car?

I think the question we should really be asking, is how much torque is ideal? That afterall is the more important figure for a road car, rather than all out hp's. Its what allows you to accelerate out of a corner in 3rd etc etc.
My opinion anyway.

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As said above torque is the killer, I'm aiming for 130bhp at the wheels in my thing after some money is thrown at the motor but will only have around 100ft lbs of torque from what I can work out and that shoul be ok, Diff setup, gearing, suspension setup and tyre compound can easily fix poor traction on a small level but some of these 250hp things getting around are a bit much..

Each to their own.. But I have a 1275 with a weber, extractors, cam, roller rockers etc and it's pretty underwhelming, not that it's expected to be quick, but it kind of sucks when Barinas can get away quicker.. i think my g13b will be better..

Yay winning at illegal traffic light drags!! ( waits for the usual uproar)