Okay I am about to drop a bombshell all up in this *****. During MTTS I talked to the US distributer of Duell while in San Fran. Duell is currently working on a race engine for the n14 followed shortly by the n18. It is slated to debuted at SEMA this year.

Okay now that I have dropped that here are some more of the specifics regarding the n14 and n18 engines. The engine block can not be bored or stroked. There is absolutely no room for increase in displacement. The positive side is that the engine blocks are extremely strong and able to handle a high amount of power. The weak part of these motors is the head. It is like a limp noodle that happens to be attached to the top of an engine block. They are in the process of building a race engine that is going to be capable of 400+hp reliably because this build is for the 25hr of Thunderhill. I know most of your thoughts is that "yeah thats great but, about the tuning to get it to work" well they are working on that too. As of talking to him about it a month ago was that Duell is trying to keep this kit as cheap as possible and is aiming at the $5-6k range which is about the same price as a brand new n14 from MINI. I will see if he has the time to come onto NAM and explain it more.

 

That'd be highly interesting if they made the parts available outside of the entire engine. AS you say the head is the weak link, so perhaps offer a "race" head as a separate part?

Either way that's extremely good news after a few years of people turning their back to the MINI community. Seems more shops are opening up to us, which is always beneficial.

 

Apparently the parts used in the head are from another engine that just so happen to drop right in are either titanium or some other high quality metal.

 

Is it the head's flow capability or valve train stability or? I wonder if they are keeping valvetronic

 

To tell you the truth I don't know the flaws of the head. I asked him to come on here and further explain it but, he runs a business that caters to some high end customers and is pretty busy. So it is going to be a couple of days before I here back from him.

 

Lol....I remember when people said that about the Tritec (R53) motor.

Sorry, but the head isn't the limiting factor of the Prince engine...sure there are definite gains to be had, but its the bottom end thats a POS. Any engine builder worth a damn can build you a fine "race" motor for your N14....no "bombshell" here.

 

Definitely true. The challenge is to see what they can come up with for $5-6k.

 

can't wait to hear more.

 

Wow you apparently know everything now don't you? Like I stated I want him to come on here to explain it further and last time I checked there aren't many companies building the n14/n18 into race engines.

 

There are already several people making approx. 400 - 450 BHP with the R56. 9.5:1 pistons, Carillo or Pauter rods, head work/cam, injectors, water/meth, 28 psi and your in the ballpark with the right tune. Not cheap and not daily drivers but it's been done. Checkout John Callison's R58 JCW at 455 HP or Xarula's R56 at 411 HP.

On stroking the R56, block clearance might be an issue. Two CM increased crank stroke, 22 mm shorter rods and custom pistons to correct quench gap would net 2.0 liters. Custom rods with inverted bolts will give you more block clearance but it might not be enough and the rod geometry might put too much side load on the piston. I've got an N18 sitting on the engine stand right now waiting on CP pistons and custom rods. I'll try and get a pic of the crank clearance once the case is split and bedplate removed.

 

I don't know if you really need to increase the displacement. What would be preferable is a valve train/cams and turbo that support power up to 7k and beyond. Pedestrian sohc hondas make awesome power but they rev really high.

 

Never said that did I?

There aren't many because people aren't willing to pay for it. Can't wait to see what a $5k "race" motor gets you though....

 

Porthos, You might have reached your end of knowledge....

 

Daaaamn dood

 

Everyone is bashing Porthos when it's clear in his initial post that the information stated was relayed to him by Duell and he was in the process of getting someone from Duell to come on here and explain it better so everyone understands or can ask questions.

Quit bashing a guy who is simply relaying information and taking the time to try and get the company on here to further explain and answer inquiries.

 

Theres always going to be someone that pisses in your cheerios. Thats why theres the saying haters gonna hate.

 

You know I get multiple warnings for saying some off color comments on this **** hole website then get turned around a bashed for relaying some information from the source. At no time was I speaking of my own personal knowledge of anything. This is the second ****ing time someone has called me out like this. Obviously all of your are ****ing MINI master techs and if anyone comes on here with any information other than what you know to be the gospel they are wrong. So this whole thing that I have been complaining about with this website of haters slowing down everything that the MINI has come full circle and with that,

 

**** yeah on another MINI site they don't give a **** if you ****ing use expletives. For **** sake were not a bunch of ****ing three year olds were adults and if you get offended you sons of ******* have got something ****ing wrong with you.

How's that Pothos!

By the way Peugeot bought out their 270hp RCZ R maybe we could buy that head along with the bigger turbo and exhaust manifold?

 

I think the important thing to note is that thanks to Porthos we know Duell AG is continuing to develop for our platform. Their products are not cheap but you can't deny the quality it top notch. $4K to $5K will build a nice short block so it will be interesting to see exactly what their working on.

 

Hmm, you just made me wonder if their race engine will be street legal or meant for track use only. Let's hope the CARB people okay it for street use.

Sent from my iPhone using NAMotoring

 

Come to think of it, $4-5k for engine upgrade sounds like a deal from DuelL since I think I remember their full body kit cost more than that. Perhaps the guy that got his MCS the full kit can chime in on it.

Sent from my iPhone using NAMotoring

 

Porthoe , thanks for the info . Well I guess its sit back and wait to see what they have coming out.

 

 

DuelL AG North America has been working on this for quite some time already. Vince and I were talking about it last year when they first started to investigate the possibilities of offering such a service. Stay tuned to what DuelL AG North America has to offer. They are going to make a real mark in MINI performance.

 

+1

Especially if the whole thing is aiming for $5-6k maybe the head would be reasonable for an individual-piece (or smaller package) upgrade.