Hi

What makes a moke a seemingly better prospect for dirt motorkhana recruit?

It is a serious question, it seems there is a tiny , tiny advantage the moke has over the mini?

Is it weight ?.... shouldn't be too disimilar, but distribution?

Gearing... 4.1 / 4.2 common in mokes but I would have thought a couple of purpose built minis would have experimented with low FD

Wheel/ tyre combos ....... 13s fit in a moke and turn and go up and down: often 13s don't do all those things on a mini?

Which has the higher centre of gravity? ......I would have thought moke, which makes it better for handbrake turns but overall???

Is it that the moke driver is used to having a face full of dust and therefore performs better in the test conditions?

Would like to get people's thoughts( serious and otherwise). Cheers Darryl

I think it's a combination of weight (50-90kg lighter), lower centre of gravity (on 10" wheels), and to a lesser extent, gearing.
Most of the weight difference is in the rear, making the arse more chuckaboutable.

_________________
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.

On a side note, why don't you see many if any mokes in rallies?

_________________
Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

I know there were a couple long haul round the world and across Australia rallies but I don't know of any short rally circuit mokes .

_________________
Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

mokes have a definite advantage - a good driver can do really well in a moke, a great driver is unbeatable

weight can be more like 150kg different (homologated weight of a moke is apparently 450kg), they're also a longer wheel base which gives them more stability. They do have a lower centre of gravity by virtue of no roof and 5 less windows worth of glass

12" or 13" wheels make some difference, and with big tyres you can get more speed out of first gear, but Kelvin who won this year is using 12" wheels with A539's which will fit on a mini.

I think they usually use mini diff ratios, a 4.1 or 4.2 diff doesn't give you enough speed without a gear change.

Mokes are also all in the same engine capacity class, so there are no competitive mokes with anything less than a 1275

_________________
did I tell you that I won a trophy?

I dont know ...That Rover Mini that came second would have weighed Heaps , it seemed to do ok For someone who hadnt done hay for at least ten years ..


Beanie

_________________
I am the son of the STIG

HOTBRICKS
http://hotbricks.org.au/

'65 NCF MINI.....
'69 MINIMATIC.... 9 year resto still on the go

Simon is 100% on the money, the biggest advantage is the moke is much much lighter, the last time a mini won Hay was 2007.

Doogie

_________________
I won Hay once, here's the pic to prove it..


Hay, it's not about the car, it's not about the venue, it's about the people that come here. Peter Dwyer, Mayor of Hay NSW.

I have a mate that that used to work at a Leyland dealership (In Orange I think) and his boss (ie owner of the dealership) used to race a moke at catalina amongst other places.

That would have been a private car though

_________________

Thanks for everyone's replies - very useful - fancy me forgetting that windows and roofs weigh a bit and would likely increase Cof G. Those SA blokes and gals have been doing very well lately too Beanie - Group n racing, Hay nationals, , Port Adelaide on top of the ladder in AFL - i think we better test the water down there.....

It must be the fluride in the water down here

And the group N isnt doing so well

_________________
I am the son of the STIG

HOTBRICKS
http://hotbricks.org.au/

'65 NCF MINI.....
'69 MINIMATIC.... 9 year resto still on the go

You ahh - not thinkin' of turning to the dark side eh Darryl?

_________________
Oops what am i doing here?

I don't think i would be anywhere near the top of the leader board whether driving moke, mini, tank, scooter etc.. sadly there are other forces afoot when it comes to my driving,.....but maybe if i had a twin cam bike head on an a series motor.... who knows

Hmm seems rather extreme.

_________________
Oops what am i doing here?

More power isn't always a good thing in Motorkhanas. It becomes way too easy to overdrive and hit the corners with way too much speed. That said, having it is a good thing, using it is the important part. When I first started out, I found having less power helped me drive better, and I still overdrove and probably am still doing so some now. So a bike head, is probably a bit OTT for this type of sport.

Cheers
Aaron

_________________

The last Motokhana that I won (sometime around 1990) I was driving a borrowed UK 998 Clubman which was a big step back from a Cooper S. I found it could get all the power down much easier than the bigger engined cars and that really suited the conditions of the day.

In khanas the most important thing is the driver, most cars can win and most drivers can lose.