horsepower vs chuckability
Turbo Mini Forums

I have no experience of highpower turbo minis so in your opinion does it ruin how a mini drives when you exceed a certain BHP?

I love thrashing mine on twisty backlanes on club runs etc, just don't want to venture into something and regret it later as I have spent alot on my suspension and having the car corner weighted etc.

Sorry for all the questions lol just researching and your experiences are invaluable :)

TTFN Pete

main thing to look out for is the boost coming on halfway around a corner its enough to make the car go straight on

a slight adaptation on how you use your throttle and you wont be able to stop smiling, boost is addictive though

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

What kills it, is how the power is put down and how it comes on power, my car now isn't as fun around the back road as the N/A 1380 was!

Best 1/4 mile 13.2 seconds @116 mph
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on a carb?
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on Injection?

http://www.mattwoodsphotography.com

can it still be driven in anger down a back road though?

I want something that will give the wifes CodeRed tuned Focus ST a suprise at the lights but still feel like a mini on the backlanes..

Maybe I want too much lol

TTFN Pete

is it not a level of spec'ing the engine and turbo to suit what you want to do with the engine?

this is the only thing im worrying slightly about, well not so much worrying but anxious about, hoping its still going to be able to bomb around a roundabout without too much trouble and hoping i can still run rings over my mates mk2 golf down the backroads.

Having a boosted Mini certaintly makes you learn throttle control around the bends!!

I hope I don't offeend here, but I think Pete has a good point, chasing horespower does not make a userfriendly car.

I think Matt's car would be hard work knowing how it delivers it's power. Also, Jim's car is at it's best at 10 psi rather than 25.

150bhp with a nice small turbo would be well balanced I think. even at 150 bhp you've potentially got upwards of 220bhp/ton.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

i rarely use over 12 psi on the rd ,thats about 170 to 180 bhp ,and in the wet leave it on 5.5 psi (the stock saab wastegate setting) ,then its totally chuckable ,and has about 130 to 140 bhp .

its not really the bhp as much as the torque ,if you look at the dyno shoot out graphs ,the torque, and where it is in the rev range is much more effective for wheelspin ,and can vary quite a lot ,i have my car set up to create its torque higher up in the rev band ,and to make less torque than bhp ,so reducing wheelspin .engines designed to make a bucket load of torque in the lower end of the rev range will be worse for spin ,also if using a low diff ratio .




see how mark has much higher torque than mine low down ,this makes for a much more instantaneous power delivery .good in the dry with lots of grip ,harder to use in the wet ...but exciting !:)

Edited by robert on 17th Feb, 2010.

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

thanks guys, maybe 150bhp is more fitting for how the car is used.

If I get a bleed valve does that mean you can up the boost for fast A-roads but turn it down for blasting about the country side?

Does fuelling not become an issue in that scenario?

TTFN Pete

If you use a bleed valve to have a low and high boost, fueling will be set for the high boost. So when on low boost it will run rich. Leave it set to high and control boost with the right foot!

maybe less horsepower will suit my car better, although it doesn't feel right saying it lol

TTFN Pete

I have mine set to 8psi at the moment and its undrivable if you boot it, it will easily light the front wheels in 2nd.

if you wind it all the way up in 2nd you could easily find yourself torque steering into an oncoming car at about 70. although an amount of that is due to the wheels and suspension setup.

see I'm running a real good suspension set up and 10x7 image splits with a032r's?

This is all so confusing lol

TTFN Pete

For everyday driving...I thought the standard Meccy Turbo was fun.

Robert seems to suggest that my car has loads of wheel spin.. to be honest if i plant my foot down in 1st 2nd and 3rd it will spin the wheels.. but to some extent i would in my Honda i drive on a daily basis!

To me low down torque is a bonus and makes the power very usable, drive using your right foot wisely and you don’t have an issue.

at 170bhp its not really road friendly but i normally keep the boost to 10psi lowering the power and it makes a great road car, very quick is a given but you can also chuck it about when it gets twisty!

great, thanks for your input :)

TTFN Pete

I would go moderate power and spend cash on suspension for a road car.

Wheels
10x7 Image Split Rims
Yokohama A032R tyres

Suspension
Spax "Red" Short shocks (adjustable)
hi-lo's
1.5degree negative camber arms
heavy duty tie-bars
polybushes

Brakes
Minisport 7.9 upgrade
alloy 4pot callipers
mintex pads
vented and grooved discs
braided hoses
minifins with uprated shows and linings

My current chassis spec, soon to be running rear camber brackets and KAD radius arms too

TTFN Pete

Yes i would say 150 brake makes a nice motor. I can drive mind around the small roads on low boost, but it's so laggy and then to much power on low for bends when i comes in, if you get it wrong you have no power to pull you round the bend, said that mine is a bad example due to the lag, a loss laggy car could well be nicer, but i wouldn't know.

Best 1/4 mile 13.2 seconds @116 mph
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on a carb?
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on Injection?

http://www.mattwoodsphotography.com

Sounds like you have the same dilema as I did. I had a sweet handling mini on 10s with a normal 1380 and 100ish powers. Great fun on the road, but felt under powered on the track. I made the jump to turbo having the same reservations as you. It had 150ish powers. Whilst it was faster in a straight line, for me, the handling and balance was worse. Granted I was on a T3 with lots of lag, but the low down and more sudden torque wasn't my cup of tea.

I sold the turbo lump and built a BMW 16v headed engine. For me, this is perfect. You get 130-160 powers, progressive torque and a great sound.

I would strongly recommend driving a turbo mini to see if it's to your liking as it's a very personal thing.

Nick.

that's a good point Nick.

Best 1/4 mile 13.2 seconds @116 mph
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on a carb?
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on Injection?

http://www.mattwoodsphotography.com

Anything over 10psi (150 bhp) on mine is completely undrivable on a single carriage road.

150bhp and a good suspension setup and you'll have a great laugh without worrying about darting accross the road.

Make sure you choose your wheels/offset wisely as this dramatically effects how well you can get the power to the ground.

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www.fusionfabs.co.uk



1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi