it does that in spades

 

Perfect!
again, please let me know when it is available. At time of purchase I will get all the "other modding" info on whats needed to complete the job.

 

The cars runs! It's at Helix. I'm picking it up tomorrow.

Jan's Genie thingy is not behaving (he's spent tons of time trying to talk to 'Dumbsport' about this...thanks d00d!), so it won't be tuned just yet. I'm going to drive it around for the next few weeks without a proper tune (Jan says just not to take it past 5k rpm just yet). I hope to catch Jan in Boston for the dyno day there but can only make it Sunday (the optional day) so I'm waiting to hear back.

 

Congrats! I certainly hope you can get it tuned soon, that way you can fully enjoy your new toy!

 

The car is home. HOLY S$#@ is it powerful. It's not tuned yet, but even untuned it pulls as hard in 6th gear OFF BOOST at 3k rpm as my car used to pull when WOT in 4th with the M7/Cosworth stage II+ crap kit installed.

Full report tomorrow.

 

Aw man!! Tomorrow?! I've been overly anxious to hear about the "Stroker."

 

Congrats on having the new "beast of the east". Take it easy with the break in. Enjoy. Tuning in Boston?

 

Sure hope to! No one has told me if they're going to have dyno time on Sunday or not. I need to know!!!

 

Hope you can get in.

 

The car is EVERYTHING that I wanted. I'll concentrate my analysis right now on three qualities of the car: sound, driveability, and power.

Sound: At idle and around town, the car growls (literally) yet it does not drone on the highway. I'm running the RMW shorty header and the Borla Street, and this combo is PERFECT. The car is louder now, but in a very good way... It actually quiets down as the revs increase and the cam comes on. It reminds me a lot of my father's 911 (my car of course sounds just a bit less refined ). I will try to get some sound clips through my digital camera and see how they turn out. If anyone's in the NJ area and has anything better to use, help a brother out!

Driveability: It is better than stock! This car is not only SICK fast (it will spin my 215 Toyo T1R's in the dry if I lay on the throttle at 3.5k in second gear ), but it is a joy to drive around town. The torque curve and power delivery are extremely linear, even in an untuned state. The driveability really shines down low. The car WILL NOT bog down. This used to be a huge problem with my MCS, both when stock and when "Cosworth." There's a ton more torque down low, and the car accelerates easily in fourth gear around town. But, third gear is its favorite- it's simply AMAZING. I have not really got on it to past 5k yet, though, because it's running around 12.3:1 at WOT at 5k in third gear and I don't want to do so before it's properly tuned. Jan, get me that Genie!
The engine breathes effortlessly, never hesitating with throttle inputs; the throttle response is INSANE for a Mini. Aside from some of the Mini's characteristic drive-by-wire nonsense that remains, this car revs like my buddy's cable-throttle M3. No joke.

Power: The car has oodles of torque everywhere. It feels at least as fast as my dad's 2003 911 Carrera. I cannot wait to get it tuned, because this car is going to break some records with ease. As mentioned above, it will spin the tires at 3.5k in second gear if I go WOT .

 

PS: I owe a HUGE thanks to Jan/RMW and Helix Motorsports (Eric, Matt, and Ralph).
First, Jan- the guy is a treat to deal with and he really went out of his way to get me the engine on time. My M7 parts ruined my original motor, and Jan stepped up and got me the motor on less than a month's lead time. He shipped everything across country by air freight (and even some things overnight). He answered my calls routinely... even the silly ones... and was always gracious.
Next, Helix...thanks to Eric et al for putting this car together given the complexities of getting parts sent across country and for opening the doors yesterday, on the 4th of July, to let me collect it! They not only pulled the install off but did it with care. They rule and I'm extremely lucky to be so close to them.

 

<Salivating incessantly>

 

Whooo!!! I don't know when, but I got to get me one of those engines.

 

You think your car is awesome now, wait till it gets tuned. Jan has a program that makes throttle response a whole new world. It's basically the last thing he adjusts in the tune. He did mine and man is it different. You'll be totally amazed when he is done. I've been at two tuning sessions where guy's got the complete head, cam, header, pulley and exhaust and almost fell over when he was done. Your one lucky guy. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

If you do that, I guarantee he's gonna stroker...

 

 

Didn't I say we need some bibs here?

 

My tires are quickly being melted . The torque in this engine is ridiculous.

So, I drained my initial break-in oil today. Jan recommended that I put 30w HD non-synthetic in and run it for 300 miles (including periods of going WOT up to 5k then lifting off while still in gear to seat the valve seals. He then recommended draining that oil and putting in a 10w40 synthetic; he said that I should run the snot out of it at this point. Terry Dyson recommended a slightly different break in:
1) Fill with 30w HD and run for 1-2 hours, including runs up the revs to seat the valve seals.
2) Drain
3) Re-fill with 30w HD non-synthetic and run for 500 miles (Terry believes that because of the hard metals in this built block it will take more than 300 miles to wear down the surfaces)
4) Drain
5) Fill with 30w HD synthetic RLI oil. This is a special corn oil-based synthetic oil that has flow properties much like a 5w30 synthetic (ie it flows like a 5w when cold but provides the lubrication of a 30w).

Short story, I'm doing what Terry Dyson recommends, after I ran it by Jan and he said that he thought it was ok. I ran my first oil fill 1.5 hours (115 miles) and drained that today. I'm going to run hte oil that I added today for 500 miles, still taking it easy (nothing past 5k rpm) considering that the car is still untuned.

Then, I will run the 30w HD RLI oil for 5k miles and send it in to Terry for oil analysis. He analyzes amongst a myriad of other things the levels of gas, coolant (hope to God not!), and of the various trace metals that are in suspension in the oil and identifies any areas which are wearing. He will then recommend any changes in my oil regimen or in my additives to keep the motor running great for years to come.

I'll keep posting whatever raw data from the analysis that I am allowed to share here as time passes, but I won't be able to share Terry's analysis because it is copyrighted.

 

it sure doesn't feel like a 4cyl any more does it?

 

God am I jealous of you
That has got to be a sweet ride

 

Honestly, no. It feels like my father's 911 (flat 6), just less refined. It's definately at least as quick. I lose traction at like 70% throttle in first at ~3k rpm, and I'm pretty sure that it will chirp third once you've tuned it and I'm done breaking it in .

 

wait til Part 2 comes along

 

How about some info on this new oil. Never heard of it before.

 

So how's that new blowey thing coming along. AKA part 2

 

it's in process