As usual, El Profe, you're right. I didn't think much about the situation...I merely said, "I'd like an air horn." The big red clown horns are the direct result of not thinking that through before speaking. I saw the horn of which you spoke and it is quite small and does sound, at least on line, just like an air horn.

Live and learn.

 

That depends...Norman states he's still got some "bugs" to work out. A flight to Royston was necessary at minimum to sign paper work, get explanations on how things work, etc. My schedule for work dictated now or never. So, as long as the bugs get worked out by Thursday, I'm driving it back over a course of ten days. I'm looking to stop in Monument Valley, Moab area, etc. If it's a NO GO, I may take it to the Dragon but if Norman says that's a NO GO too, then I'll just tool around Royston and go tractor tipping or something. I'll ship it back if need be.

I have a big bag of lenses so I'll be sure to get some photos back to this thread on either account.

Norman's driving report stated, "It rides nice...got torque for days...you can drive it around in 5th gear." Whatever that means; I may know next week.

Cesare - you were the sales person on the idea to drive it back - I hadn't really leaned that direction until you put it that way a month ago.

 

I imagine that norman was saying it has so much torque you can just leave it in a high gear and it'll still pull from low revs. Just think of it as a Big Block mini.

Hopefully you'll be able to drive it back as you'll certainly learn alot about your K-mini on the long drive home. Just dont forget to bring a few simple tools, fuses and a flashlight just in case. And get prepared for all the thumbs up and stares you'll get too

Good luck Meno and keep us posted.

 

Smells like poultry!

The car is quick for certain - torque steer not bad at all - tomorrow I'll get an opportunity in a B18 so I will be able to have a reference point.

Steering wheel is tiny - this will take some getting used to - feels like the size of a medium to small paper plate - it's like typing.on this blackberry!!!

Car is not ready - a "temporary" axle is installed because the óne designed by Norman hasn't arrived yet - hit +110 through some turns though and it did fine.

We meet tomorrow to discuss options - likely to be at the dragon on Saturday.

I'm in Ty Cobb country!

 

Well I'm back home and have had some time to digest the happenings.

In summary, car wasn't ready when arrived but I took it to the dragon and had the best driving experiences of my life (better than autobahn & German twisties past with my Uncle's M3). In the abstract, I would have never thought it possible to run with Japanese street bikes down the Dragon, especially with my driving skill level...tis not so! The bikes didn't have enough straight to pull me or they were holding back and their turns, despite one foot across the double yellows, were much slower than what I wanted to do. Very, very, very fun - the car was much better than I hoped.

Here's the dyno results:



Not very impressive sooooooooooooooooo, I ordered a Jackson Racing Supercharger from Moss Sports. It already arrived at MiniTec and they are in the process of installing. This should take the "soft" out of fourth gear. The waiting game has commenced again.

 

El Profe - for the record - 4400 RPM at 80 MPH...it didn't seem to buzz too much even if its a daily driver but time will tell.

 

I was wondering what happend!? A supercharger allready!? Gone all power hungry i see

What K-series engine is it that you have Meno? Is it a K20A2(RSX-S/200hp)or a K20A3(160hp) from the Civic? I would have thought you'd have investigated some good bolt on's before jumping right into a supercharger. I know of a few great shops here in the SF bay area that specialize in K20 upgrades. It does not take much for a K20A2 to put out 200+hp@ the wheels with basic tuning and bolt ons.

I'd love to hear more of your initial thoughts on the "K"-mini as im really thinking of pulling the trigger on one this year.

 

Cesare - I hear you but if you knew me well this makes sense.

For the record, K20A3 - though I've been stating for six months K20A2...my apologies.

Norman describes the "K" as a Cadillac - yeah, it's hyperbole but the coil over springs and redesign of the chassis adds for a substantial difference in "feel" - bumps and the like. It actually rides quite nice. The other aspect of the K that Norman has expressed to me is the smootheness or usefulness of the power band...it's not so "angry" when it comes to power...so perhaps more usable.

Norman Holley is likely to forget more about Minis than I'll ever know and he's truly passionate about his work; he loves to create stuff. For example, I watched him fabricate some crossover mounts for my Focal separates (speakers) on the CAD / Plasma cutter...he really, really likes making things. As such I like and trust him; it' exciting to watch him work. So when I said the power wasn't enough and he said he's been toying with the idea of putting a Jackson Racing Supercharger on a K, I appropriately responded, "Me, me, me, me, me!"

The way I figure it, a local (SF is still reasonably local to me) tuner might well be able to make the thing work BUT there are likely some considerations about fitting (will a supercharger fit under a Mini hood, for example) and other design issues that Norman is experienced in understanding / foreseeing. Also I learned from my last fun car that I'd end up wanting the biggest step I could take without screwing with drivability...this is what I hope I'm getting.

I had an 11.8 second Grand National some time ago and my K is about 1 to 1.5 seconds slower than that - now the K will never be a 1/4 mile car but the fun of a 11.8 car wasn't at the track for me...it was the access to power on demand.

Arrived Thursday, talked about the supercharger option that night, drove the dragon all weekend (in the rain too), ordered the supercharger on Tuesday.

Here's the link: http://www.supercharger.com/Shop/Vie...44&SortOrder=3

I'll be in The City on Memorial Day Weekend HOPEFULLY with the car...we shall see. If so, perhaps we can connect.

Here's a sample DYNO of the new potential numbers:



Be good.

 

 

YOU ARE INSANE IF YOU WANT MORE POWER!!!!!!
mY BUDDY'S ALL motor vtec mini puts out 165whp and that's hard to control.

What's next, twin charge? after that blower!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Ahh, so you have the "A3" K-motor, that explains the dyno. I guess not too bad considering they are rated at 160hp at the crank. But i hear you on getting used to big power like your Grand National had. Same thing here as i had a supercharged fox body mustang set up for road racing and i miss the power. But to tell you the truth, i had a JR supercharger on a CRX with only 165whp for 8 years and it was one of the funnest cars i've ever owned. Awesome handling on the track and would keep up to much faster cars as it was so light. Thats why the VTEC Mini is so appealing to me, such a great power to weight ratio.And you wont see one on every corner, thats for sure.

Also, was there much in the way of torque steer? I'm wondering if thats an issue with the K motor setup. Your gonna be buying lots of front tires with that blower i'll tell you that

If you get the car in time for Memorial day weekend, definitely let me know as i'm only 5 mins from SFO and can meet you wherever.

 

K3 Mini shows better HP numbers than the stock Civic K3 on account of no smog, K&N, Hondata Race ECU.

The Honda powered Mini is the most fun car I've driven and the dragon is the best playground in which I've ever played. My favorite car that I've owned prior the K was my scirocco - slow by modern standards for SURE but fun. The K (no intended reference to Iacocca) is Grand National meets Scirocco.

Torque steer, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, isn't part of the K equation on account of equal length axles. Torque steer is the result of one axle spinning at more revolutions than the other so the car pulls that direction under acceleration. What I believe I am experiencing in the K is the limited slip differential hooking left then right then left then right and so on.

Check this, I did my gas mileage from my receipts and unless I had written the wrong odometer readings at the time of my refills, I was getting over 40 MPG - that's not on the freeway either.

Tires? Yup, tires. Crash safety, storage and tires are the downside...but the upside is worth it for me.

If the car comes, we'll connect in SF.

 

Meno, Bro!

Simpatoco doesn't begin to describe it !

What a righteous ride, dude! Mr, Lebowski would be proud ! Sorry that phone connection in LA was sub-optimal; back in the "D"; ready for VTEC download. Franknmini runnibg better than ever, with knowldege that sibling is running strong.

I'm in the D for a few days, back off to Chi-town and LA to make Spongebob a resort of his own.

 

I guess you have the stock LSD in it if i'm right? Mabye an aftermarket LSD (Quaife?) would help the situation if so. Man, if your getting 40mpg thats as good as some of the hybrid cars out there. Maybe Minitec should advertise the K-minis as a prius alternative, but just a bit faster By the way, what tires do you have on the Mini? I know they are 13's, but i was wondering which ones as it looks as there are not alot of options in 13" size that will fit on a mini.

I look forward to checking out your K-Mini Meno, and i hope you get it in time to enjoy the long Memorial day weekend.

 

Coach K,

It should be me who apologizes for the cell connection - I really doubt it was on your end. Since I was no where near NASCAR in Georgia, my Nextel was about as useful as a bra on a man. Sorry we kept getting cut. I was busy all day with family events today and thought of you on that account and just Vtech smack that needs to be reviewed.

I will give you a buzz tomorrow in California's PM - I think you need to chime in here though about torque steer...I'm sure you have some input that would lend good perspective. And how's your gas mileage?

Cesare - no on stock & no on Quaife...the name has left me...when I think of it I will send to the thread. Norman's take is this: (Imagine a heavy Georgian draw as you read the following) "Guys ask me about the RSX-R limited slip but it's too much for the Mini (really hold on to the "n" and last "i") - the car's so light that the RSX-R hooks too hard and makes it really rough at WOT and the car doesn't need it. The Mini is half the weight so a standard clutch is already engineered for double the load. Same thing with the LSD. It's the weight that creates the strain, not so much the power." Paraphrased from Norman Holley.

He'll put in whatever the customer wants, but he'll do his best to talk you out of it. Best I can tell, he's right. It was like the six speed offering of the K - that's what I told him what I wanted. He said, "Nah, too close of ratio and with the 13" wheels you'd just be shiftin' all day." Sure enough, first gear for me is almost useless except for driving in front of a traffic cop. For 1/4 mile launches I think 2nd would be best; we shall see.

I asked for a ridiculously tall final drive gear and he said it would cost too much to make one so I was denied...best I can tell. The final drive he used for the B series upgrade (see options page) I understood to come out of another Honda model which ended up working well enough to satisfy his goal which was around 4K at 80 MPH (The B series with the final drive upgrade installed). My car with the 5 speed is doing 4.4K at 80 MPH. The stock B series is doing 4.8K at 80 MPH. So until he gets a bunch of complaints / request or finds an OEM switch, I'm stuck. I was and still am willing to pay for something really high...I'd like to be way under 4K though Norman told that wouldn't be right either...he's probably right.

Be good gents.

Sponge Bob?

 

Yeah, i can see how the stock LSD would be a problem with the mini being so much lighter than the honda. Be interesting to see which LSD they used. And yeah, 4.4k seems a bit high at 80mph. You did get the long ratio final drive option too, right? I guess you can get the final drive ratio and calculate your top speed, or just find out the old fashion way...

 

Cesare - don't you sleep?

Currently there is no long ratio for the K series by MiniTec. If I understood the big Georgian correctly, Norman has yet to find one off another existing version of the K series drivetrains and it was going to cost too much to get just one made (said he'd need to order many, like 20 or something of that sort). I was really willing to pay too to have it right. He did say that my K without a change of final drive was only 400 RPM higher than the B18 with the higher final drive. Driving it didn't seem inordinately low geared at 80 MPH.

I suppose I'm on my own for this. Perhaps now would be a good time to get a Honda tuner's opinion on options and/or some reputable gear head. Any ideas?

As far as doing math, I have a degree in English so that dog don't hunt...old fashioned it is.

Keith - we art thou?

 

Well, when something is as cool as the K-mini, i tend to get a bit amped up over it i guess

And as to Honda tuners, i know of a really good one in my area that i'm sure could help. I'll pm you with the details meno.

 

Spoke to BJ, Norman & Patrick today. All looks promising...it's the most definative completion date I've ever heard. It appears it will be done and shipping May 29 - which may mean a week or two in "transit". Real world ETA based on this information: June 8th, 2007 + or - a couple of days.

So Frisco on Memorial Day will be in the date car, not the Mini.

I forgot to ask the name of the LSD - sorry Cesare. Perhaps Keith knows. Keith?

They have been working on a bunch of "punch list" items - knit noise stuff. The supercharger has not been mounted as they didn't want the car to be down while doing knit noise since the Hondata tuner is out all this week, they intend to do that next week.

I hope that thing sounds good...other than some of the intake fuel pump noise (knit noise item) I was hearing, the exhaust was music! Hopefully I'll get a hint of the supercharger whine in there.

Looks like the first Mini event I might be able to attend is the MiniMania gig on June 2nd (that will require a small miracle or perfect follow through though) or the British Car gig in Tahoe on the weekend of June 8th or (if the car still isn't in my grubby little clutches) some MEME event in July or August.

:impatient

Be good.

 

Phantom Grip!!!

The brain just came on - it's a Phantom limited slip differential...

See Cesare, it just takes a little red wine and my own lucas wired brain arcs to success.

Okay, I'm done.

 

Well BJ sent some photos of the blower mounted - it hasn't been run best I understand from his email though he's not a man of many words on emails. I'm hoping their tuner is scheduled for Monday.:impatient

Keith - Now it is ridiculously obvious I had no idea where that thing mounted.

 

Got word from Norman a few minutes ago:

Hopefully we'll hear the dyno numbers tomorrow...

 

i guess next will be an upgrade to a K24 with the JR blower! =P



http://www.mrrocket.com/ep3.htm

 

No, it will end up with a JATO rocket by the end of this thread

Ahh, Phantom Grip is it then. I've heard of them just not too familiar with the company.

The k-mini is indeed looking crazy cool meno and hopefully you'll be driving that beast real soon. From the looks of it, it'll probably be able to smoke the tires in any gear and shock those pesky 'vette drivers

 

After following this thread for a while, my feelings abut VTEC Minis have gone from "WTF?" to "That's insane/scary!" to "Budding interest" to "Deepening interest" straight through to "happy in the pants" and now to "add to list of things I must own before I die."

The car is lovely and looks to be a true double handful to drive - but so, so fun. Very rarely in my life have I said it, but I am indeed envious of you, sir. Hopefully we'll meet on the Dragon some time (with me driving a similarly powered pocket rocket).