Hi everyone,

I've posted on here a few times but I figured I may as well keep everything to one thread from now on. Last year I pulled my engine due to what I thought was the engine crapping out however it turned out to be not that big of an issue. Once it was out though, I figured I may as well rebuild it from the ground up.

This is the first of many videos on rebuilding the Mini, starting with the engine internals (there are a few episodes out already of taking the engine out, painting my JCW kit etc but we'll say this is the first!)

The engine has been rebuilt with forged Supertech ceramic coated pistons, pauter rods, Supertech ceramic coated valves, springs and retainers, 10.7 Shrick intake and exhaust cams, ported head so I haven't really left much on the table of things to do inside. The video explains it all, hopefully you find some of my video entertaining and useful.


This build is quite extensive so I'll be posting videos on pretty much everything around the R56 and the "dream" build in my mind.

Thanks for watching!

Alex

 

Glad o see this as I've just been through a similar complete rebuild. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

 

Awesome!

 

Hello friends, I'm planning on posting regular content again, here's last weeks episode on installing the engine and this weeks on the transmission!

 

Great, thanks for the update.

 

Looks impressive! Couple questions ---
-What compression ratio pistons did you choose?
-Did the assembler give you a piston / valve clearance measurement? If so, what is typical?
-What kind of max boost do you plan to achieve?
-Do you have a WMI system installed?
-Who's gonna do the tune?

A word of caution --- high boost and high CR can blow out the top of a cylinder wall, UNLESS there's a Cylinder Support System installed. I noticed on your 1st video that the CSS is not there --- all kinds of water jacket showing. My "Phoenix" thread has pics of this condition, results, and fix. Kinda late to install it now, so I highly recommend you keep boost below 22PSI for OEM CR. Maybe 25PSI for 9.5:1 CR.

I'm not familiar with how your JMTC turbo compares to my Garrett, but my boost doesn't come on 'til about 3500RPM and with a light flywheel (minimum inertia) there is very poor launch capability, even with lotsa clutch slipping. Maybe if I "dropped the clutch" I could spin tires, but probably break an axle doing it (they're still OEM axles). The real beauty of a light flywheel is the awesome acceleration you'll get with your Schrick cams. And be prepared for some scary torque-steering.

Finally, if you get over 300WHP, think about heat range "9" spark plugs. Pricey but worth it --- I've broken a couple 1422's, one with a piston --- due to excessive heat. Added more WMI ports and the "9" plugs during latest re-build for "heat build-up" prevention.

Happy to see your progress. Be sure to let us know about the tune you get and dyno pulls.

 

Thanks oldbrokenwind!

I opted for Supertechs lower compression ratio pistons (CR10) for the reason I'll be cranking up the boost. I'll have to ask him about clearance, I'm also running a thicker head gasket. No idea yet on max boost, it'll depend on my discussions with my tuner.

Yes, got the AEM system going on running out of the windshield washer tank. (video to come on that)

JMTC in Arizona will likely do the first stage, moving to Motec next year which will be tuned by a specialist up in Canada.

I have been advised about this from another poster. My goal isn't absolute power, it's a GT/Time Attack car. I'll see where I stop, if I start running into problems, I'll rip it out, and sleeve it.

The JMTC turbo is based off the same architecture as the Borge Warner, no tests yet but it should kick in around 3000 RPM. I don't typically launch my cars so I'm not really worried about that, it's a great way to destroy stuff. In my preliminary tests, the drivetrain seems to be quite happy.

The Wavetrac diff is amazing, and we'll see about the axles but they are rated up to 450hp.

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into the spark plugs, I'm not entirely sure I'll be going the multiple port system with my WMI. I'm going to be making some decisions on the next steps of the build once I'm done sorting out the current setup this week and go from there. I've got a 3.0 CS I need to give attention to so the Mini has to be sorted out shortly.

I'll keep you posted about the build and dyno results, thanks for the in depth post!