I took my 07 Cooper S assisted by a Frankenturbo to Lime Rock on Thursday, and the turbo was a success. I have some mods but the car is hardly finished and where the stock turbo ends the Frankenturbo keeps going. I wont try to give Horse power numbers but an 07 jcw driver said he could tell I was using a bigger turbo and I could stay in 6th gear and launch off the uphill nicely in fact the torque is nice enough that I could stay in 6th all day. I didn’t even notice that the over boost was off, in the straights I was over 110 and if I could get trail braking down I think I could get into the turn better.
I got to pass and almost lap a brand new Lamborghini but that’s really a bit sad. I did apologize for passing a corvette. On the street the turbo is different at the lower end but not slower just not in the sweet spot until about 3000 rpm after that it just keeps going. At present I have the car so low it gets a bit of shaft wobble until 30mph so It requires a light touch. Before lowering I did on occasion drop the clutch just right and get a good kick but I don’t have the launch down and its a bit touchy and wont always work as well. At present the car is running stock ECU and Stock intake, the mods are a Frankenturbo, performance down cat, some porting, 2 catch cans, a solid lightened flywheel, upgraded connecting rods and forged pistons, on the suspension there is an adjustable rear roll bar, coil overs with camber plates adjustable rear bottom link and an LSD, Wilwood front brakes and Hawk DT60 pads . I think the Frankenturbo is a fun mod that has worked for me. Oh on a side note I was running on 205/45 17 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires I like them a lot, good grip even when they give a bit of ground, precise, good road feel without being harsh. Not squirrely in the transition after a few miles on them, no they are not slicks but they held there own on the track.

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(OK I went out to do some data logging got real slow in third and dropped the pedal this is not where I would be driving normaly, I would have been at a higher rpm and follwed the engines power with my foot, sort of anyway, the engine was a bit off but I didnt lift my foot and kept going, my fault, some week link under the heat shield has decided to put me back in my place. I had to try to create this situation so my oppinion of the turbo stands its a great mod but of course as with all mods you need to use some common sense. Plus you will be getting into remaps and boost controllers anyway because thats what they are for)

After Confering with Doug of Frankenturbo He is sure I didnt get surge so I will patch things up and figure out where Im at and post up when I do get the data.
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(It turns out I made an even better mistake which is my fault I decided to use cap screws as studs to mount the down pipe so it would be easier to remove, bad move they dont hold that way and I even think I have tried this before many years ago. Well it seems the valve cover will need replacing but the wiring is fine and the cylinder head is ok. knock on wood. So I guess I get to try a valve cover hack. THE TURBO IS FINE)

 

specs on the turbo? You should hit a dyno asap to get real numbers

 

I will go to the dyno as soon as I raise the car back up for the road. The shaft wobble is annoying and would not be great for dynoing, but the set up is great for the track, next time I will try to go lower and get some reverse angle on the shafts but I will need skid plates and a custom bumper. here is the map

 

Thanks for posting that review! What software are you running? It looks as though you didn't re-map the car's ECU for the changed turbo. If that's the case, any issues of drivability in everyday driving? And no overboost issues?

 

What is this about shaft wobble, drive shafts? Also how does the single mass flywheel feel when engaging clutch wise?

 

Quick answer: about turbo surge, with my set up (stock ECU but not for long) I have not yet had surge, I have also been making changes to my car during break in on the new build so cant cover all situations.

Long answer: First caution, you must have clean intakes, clean combustion chamber, clean exhaust valves. This is a bigger turbo that bolts right in where the stock turbo lived so be careful with stock engines. from 0-3000 rpm's you will most likely have to play around a bit with remaps and or boost controllers, this is good. will this turbo be like the stock turbo no. The stock turbo is great at stop lights and intersections. But the Mini does not stay in this range if you drive spiritedly, and if you are in slow stop and go you don't need boost.

It is possible to change out turbos and down pipes on our cars in an afternoon once you know what you are doing. But I would recommend learning to take off the front. Yes you will break some panel fasteners but that is how they work. It is possible to lay down the front without disconnecting the AC but if you can stop by a shop and have it vacuumed it is best. Now you will have full access to the front of the engine and can work in ease and more importantly you will understand the Mini so much better and you are now only a few steps from an engine pull should you go that route in the future. I will be getting a second Engine and trans to mix things up.

Oh by the way our crank case ventilation system PCV is not good. I am pulling out an old valve cover and figuring something out. This comes into play because bigger turbo means more blow by which is again good but also bad, it may also be possible to add a Morso crank case pump and get some more power but that is a project

Oh Again while you have the front off clean and or upgrade your intercooler and add some catch cans to help keep your intakes clean.

 

About Shaft Wobble: My car is so low my shafts are straight so until they spin up if they get much torque you get some wobble which goes away, is this good no, how bad is it I dont know but I cant leave my car at this height long for road use, but it is great for the track I will just have to learn to do my alignment myself. If I go lower I will get angle on the shafts again but it will be lower than low at that point, so skid plates will be a must. There were some posts on MINI TORQUE about it.

About The Clutch Flywheel: I went with JM turbo Cooper's 30% clutch plate, segmented Kevlar disc, Aluminum lightened flywheel. The clutch is great, good grip, not excessive in pedal pressure at all, and fine for street or track.

The lightened solid flywheel is fine but you have to understand our engines are direct injection like a diesel and at idle will now sound like a diesel this is good, our intake valves at idle don't open until about 33 deg ATDC and the injectors are only giving the tiniest amount of gas to keep the engine spinning. On top of this our connecting rod to crank shaft ratio is about 16.1 or so and are torque monsters really (this is why you can track in 6th gear). I like it, but you have to get it first. now that you have removed the offending dual mass which has plastic centrifugal throw out arms, you will get some gear noise and other sounds which on a new build are exciting to say the least but once they fall into place they are musical in there own way. just watch the down hill in low gear off the throttle, if you are not being spirited just take it out of gear I now run Motul 75 90 which I got with the Wave Trac LSD, and in the engine I run Redline 5w50.

 

Who did you run with at LRP - SCDA? And what run group? What suspension settings? Any idea of you your lap times? I suppose having the mechanical LSD helps a lot with the power that you will be making. Just curious as that is a track that some of us run pretty regularly and this would make an interesting comparison to some other MINIs. I will be there with BMWCCA on the 4th, next Saturday.

Did you really run the whole track in 6th? That seems like it would be too tall for big bend and the esses where you would be at about 2500 rpm and not producing much power. For comparison, I run 4th down the front (just under 110 at the end of the straight) and 3rd through big bend and the esses, and back up to 4th on no name.

It would be fun to see you there someday, but Saturday is the end of the season for me, so maybe next year...

 

I went with the SCDA. Ian now has a 1st gen mini which he was driving for the first time and raced this passed weekend. I hope he did well and likes it, stock brakes, race pads, for the class though, I watched as they drilled holes in the shock tower to move the strut.

I am totally a novice my lines have a ways to go but the car was set up well enough that I had no worries going a bit passed the limit. Saturday would be nice but I have some things to Iron out There is an october date scda that I would like to try.

I was running lower in the front a bit the front scratch pad was is about an inch off the ground, rear camber 2.1 toe 0 28' front camber 1.3 toe 0 18' rear sway bar on the middle adjustment Megan Racing coilovers set at 8 front 9 rear Enki Rpf1's with the 205 45 17 pilot sport A/S 3's yes that is A/S and the Wavetrac LSD

yes 6th is way tall the turbo hits the spot just right and torque doesnt start to trail off until in the 6000's. Add in our short crank to rod ratio and the torque was enough that changing gears will need to be super fast to make up for the throttle down time at least until I can take consistent lines and know where it will help better. If I was in a honda hatch even with good hp I would have had to shift but then building for high rpms is easier so you could keep winding we would have to add another gear to catch them at some point but straights are only so long, hp for us isn't to bad either thanks to direct injection but rpms how do we add those safely? Oh I dont mean to give the impression I had torque to spare just that there was enough

 

I love your screen name - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler_spiral
This is the way that you need to make all of your turns...progressively turning in before the apex and progressively unwinding as you exit the turn.

As for driving in general, I hope you had an instructor and, better yet, a great one. That is the best way to learn. As you progress, the instructors that you have should take you from a "safe line" to the "fast line". As for learning LRP and the best line around it, I think a lot of drivers are trying to figure that out and I have yet to find one who has it down and perfect. This is done by the one guy who has it about the best of anyone... ...there is a lot of info in this short video

You could add a bit more front camber. I have -1.5 and drive the car on the street without excessive tire wear. This may not be a big factor with the tires that you have, but if you go with sticker tires you will want more camber up front.

If you are running 6th all the way around and only hitting a little over 110 on the front, you have plenty of rpm left to have been running 5th all the way around. But all of this is all dependent on what you are comfortable with when you are out there. Just something to think about.

Hope you don't mind another suggestion - That is to get a set of CG Locks for your safety belts and/or get a set of Schroth Quick Fit harnesses for you and your instructor (you need to have the same setup for your instructor as you have). Either of these will make your trip around the track more enjoyable. But, I suggest both as some instructors don't like the 4-point harnesses, like the Quick Fit.

Let us know how your next trip out goes.

 

That is a great video thanks. My instructor was fantastic and I did get to go on a drive with my him so thats how I know how bad my lines were but at points I hit things. I think its quite fun that it will take time to figure out. What tires do you run? the tires I have are not race tires I have used the street slicks and I still consider these to have good grip its the side wall construction of tires that has been getting my attention lately and these are so far the best in that regard and all around balance. yes suggestions are great thank you for taking the time. I was thinking at some point better seats would be nice. I will be trying to figure out shift points my next trip. I did try fifth and hit the rpm limiter before I shifted so lost the groove I dont know how fast that was. I think it was my amazement that I could still be in 6th in so many different situations and have the engine still pulling with the Frankenturbo set up that prompted me to want to share that bit, Im sure there are better ways to get around the track it will be so much fun finding them. Oh tire temperatures do you use a real tire pyrometer?

 

For tires, the Dunlop ZIIs are really good for a street tire and they are really good in the rain. Also they are not too expensive. I run these for "rain" tires. For the dry, I run Toyo R888s. I don't use a tire pyrometer as I don't have enough camber to even out the temperatures, especially the left front on a track like LRP. I run by feel and where the wear is in relationship to the tire tread edge markers.

For now I wouldn't bother with seats, just get the Quick Fit harness. If you get seats with a fixed back you should get a roll cage and 5 point harness too. The quick fit harness is easy and less expensive and you don't have to worry about the cops looking to pull you over because you are wearing a racing harness in racing seats instead of the factor safety belts in stock seats.

Something doesn't seem right about your gearing. 5th is good for ~135 mph...you said you were hitting a little over 110 on the straights in 6th. How is it you were running out of RPM in 5th? Unless you are making buckets of power and were really doing 135 mph...

If you are doing 135 mph in a MINI, I would be looking at putting in full crash cage, 5 point harness and a Hanns device. An accident at that speed or faster in a MINI (or any other car for that matter) would not be pretty. LRP is unforgiving and notorious for destroying cars.

 

I had a lot of fun at the track and didnt want to get too carried away with my comments. I only watched my speed once or twice and was sure about being over 110 so left it at that. I only ran the straight in 5th the once and didnt catch my speed I think I saw the rpms up there but perhaps it was a glitch and not the rev limiter. The Down Hill turn is fun but looking at the rubber patch at the bottom held me back a bit, then once in the the straight I was looking at Big Bend and trying to decide when to brake and how to get into the turn. I have had more powerful engines but the power band on the mini is great and matches the handling. I am working on a valve cover hack to see if I can improve the breather system I will try to get to a dyno next week to fill in the gaps.

 

I have not forgotten that I would go to a Dyno, but I am always trying something and got caught up in a valve cover redo and some heatshield work, and I wanted to go to the dyno with a couple of different ECU files to compare to the stock. I have been working with E-Tuners http://e-tuners.com/ , Stelios is an engineer and has a 207 that he has done some neat stuff with and he really knows our cars, Turbos, and direct injection. I know numbers are important but with the last file I uploaded the Mini is so smooth and pulls nice and strong the first new file was cat like but now its Puma like LOL. I so want to get to the track again to try it out and maybe chase a Lotus. I know everyone gets stuff done faster I just have so many projects. Does any one have opinions on water meth systems I am still on stock intercooler because I started a new carbon fiber intake manifold that is just going to take a bit longer to finish?

 

One way or the other you are going to need increased capacity for charge-air cooling. Boost temperatures are up along with the actual airmass flowing through the hardware. You'll soak the stock intercooler quickly.

 

Aquamist HFS4 is nice. The U.S. distributor is Howerton Engineering. It is pricy but the quality and customer service is hands down the best.

 

The Aquamist HFS-4 is a very high quality water/meth injection system that will lower your intake air temps (IAT) and help with knock suppression, together will a larger intercooler will help out with the added heat being generating especially after a custom tune. I'm interested in your new turbos specs.