I guess this means that the TVS900 will be bigger than what I can afford

 

I'm just glad to see there will be more options out in the market. Good to see R53 engine developement continues on a strong pace. Competition brings market prices down and quality usually up.

 

I made a mistake by making an announcement....... I was very excited and acted in good faith..... I think I admitted that back a few posts ago that I should not have posted......was this really necessary

 

On the up side, people that were about to dump a lot of money going a different route can hold off and wait for the M62 as now they know it is in development before they rule it out as a choice.

 

Thank you

 

SpiderX
I really don't think you made a mistake. If it wasn't for you, I think a lot of what has taken place would still be on the back burner. Few people would have done what you did to get this project going. I congratulate you for your efforts and honesty during all this.

BE4TNUT - you beat me to it.

 

A few comments:

Any new development of additional options for our cars is a good thing. Competing options can only help us, the consumer.

Denigrating other people's development efforts, especially during them, is uncalled for (this includes insinuations, which DMH is apparently fond of). Highjacking other threads (see M62) to promote your own ideas is equally so. Multiple development ideas can coexist and are a good thing, obviously.

Because one group of developers has had a certain set of results (see BBR), it doesn't preclude another group from either improving or simply obtaining different results when working on similar systems. DDM has extensive experience fitting the M62 to Miatas. Their expertise (and that of other tuners from tuner communities beyond the MINI) will only augment the existing knowledge base and bring in new ideas from outside out little world.

Being an early adopter of any new technology carries with it inherent risks and pitfalls. You have to have a certain amount of faith in the developer to be involved. There are always going to be growing pains until the project matures.

No development effort of this sort is either quick or cheap. Unless, of course, you want the results to be equally quick and cheap.


The TVS supercharger sounds like an excellent improvement. I wish you GL in your development efforts, Don. I'm as excited at its prospects as anybody else and will follow your efforts as chronicled here closely.

 

Thank You

 

Very well stated Mini Fireman.

 

The cost issue will be a big one. As we cut up the very small pie of Mini enthusiasts even further the total number of any one item gets smaller and the cost to produce higher.. At this point we have twin charge, turbo only, M62 and now a possible new entrant to mod roulette. This of course is added to the number of owners that are modding but not changing their type of induction. Unless we as a market establish one good way to go we will never generate any decent number for a manufacturer to be able to get his and then our prices down. By encouraging the builders to jump on every new idea out there we are really going to keep paying thru the nose .

 

Nice.
The TVS is not my idea and the M62 is not a new idea (or reality) as it has been up and running for years now. I just put a Wegner head on one earlier this month. There is no development that needs to be done as BBR has done it already. As I have been saying from the start, it's eay to bolt on parts. The hard part is the tuning.
If you care to look at my writing in another way you might see that I am actually trying to help NAMers by injecting my experience into the arena.
Please don't expect anything from me regarding the TVS any time soon. We'll be working on it when it becomes available. For those who are intereseted in turbos, John at Lucky Dog has a good setup that has been up and running for a while now. I've ridden in it and I call tell you that it is quite impressive.

 

I hereby vow not to look at this thread for another six months!

 

I am not sure what you are referring to but if you are referring to the economics you are incorrect. The Mini pie is very small and the more people who are interested in modifying their car but who choose the wrong route the first go-round will likely not have the funds to try to do it right the next time. And none of these parts are produced in any quantity to have much an effect on the pricing. Thus, when deciding to spend thousands on a project such as heads, headers, superchargers, or turbos, choose wisely.

 

Let me be clear. I, for one, appreciate that you've brought your experience to the MINI community. It's clear to me you have much to add. I consider the products you offer to be on the short list of those I'd consider.

I also agree with trackster that it will be beneficial to have a shakeout at some point to thin the field of higher boost options. Either way, GL on the TVS development Don.

 

There certainly could be a shakeout and one is probably underway already in the turbo/twin-charge market. I don't think the twin-charge setups work that well thus the turbo from Lucky Dog seems a better choice. For those of us who like superchargers the TVS supercharger is more efficient than the M series but we’ll have to wait for product availability from Eaton.
Pricing, though, will probably not be all that affected due to very low volume of sales.

 

I have no financial incenive in this but,.......... I am sure that DDM will look at the TVS and in the mean time the 62 is getting very close.

I'm going for a drive in the mts. ... leaving in a about 1/2 hr..... need to clear my head and it usually works

 

Enjoy!

 

Ok, What result will this kind of speculation, name calling and eventually “mines better than yours” produce”?
SpyderX, Bob, even though he is not completely involved with the “M62” project, meaning he is not doing all the development himself with the help of others, but volunteered his car as a development vehicle so that, someday, other Mini owners may have another performance option, not to say he hasn’t paid his dues, he's paid plenty. This is not a new concept as DMH has pointed out. For the US market there is more criteria involved in the certification of such a product, liability ( BIG ) for one and is, almost, solely on the vendor. I’m sure that Bob will tell you this is a steep learning curve that hasn’t ended & for most it never does. Above all this product needs to be a “one size fits all” & cost effective to be a success.
DMH, Don, with this thread has presented the newest Eaton evolution the TVS. Nothing more. Many are excited about the prospect that this new blower will be developed for the Mini as it will offer better performance than the OE unit. Development for such a product will require more time than the M62, IMHO, as there will be the need to fabricate & manage many OE components as well as new ones. Not an easy task. Again this would need to be a “one size fits all” product.
Not that long ago you could build your own. Go to the “junk yard”, no longer PC correct, get a good shell car, used today as demo derby cars, and select the components you needed to build a street fighter. A 53 – 54 Ford would make a good shell, a 401 Buick Wildcat or J2 Olds would be a couple of good choices for motors, a 37 LaSalle gear box would be nice ( hard to find ) and the rest was up to you. Easy, right? Not. Lots of stuff to do… could take a couple of years….even with all your friends. Today, unless you are building an off road vehicle there are so many standards that must be met, the average hot rodder is a dyeing breed. Sure you can still build a street legal hot rod today, a one off, laptop controlled street killer, at great cost, even greater cost for the Mini. Today’s hot rod is not the hard core, no frills, no creature comfort, ***** to the wall, no real stopping power, no emissions, low cost, owner built, straight pipe from the header, out the side, better yet a big collector in the front wheel well, as loud as you could stand while driving, with “Farmer” on the front quarter panel, as some would say, donor wagon, but a much more sophisticated refined street car.
For the Mini, being a very small market, it takes more money than most, if not all, other marks to get what some expect. Development of performance parts for Mini is even smaller, but growing. Without the contributions of people like Don & Bob, first time visitors, to NAM, would not be interested.
There are many knowledgeable people here on NAM. Pushing each others buttons doesn’t amount to jack.
A new year is in a couple of days. Bob, your project should be a success & here's hoping it ends sooner than later so you can test those round black thinglets on the front of the car. Don, I’m sure what ever you do with the new Eaton TVS will be well thought out. Knowing what you expect from everything you sell, it will be a success.

 

Interesting post stevecars60. The future of performance and hot-rodding is evolving for sure...

I, and I know there are others (Dr O included), truly believe that electric power is the next major step. With the instant torque that we are already seeing, the capability looks very promising. 0-60 in 3 to 4 seconds is happening today...

Mod'ing in the future will be radically different. And, there won't be any more need for dorking-around with oil, oil filters, spark plugs/wires, radiators & fluid, blowers, turbos, ICs, pressures (boost or oil), O2 sensors, air/fuel ratios...

A trip to Fry's Electronics to get mods might not be so uncommon!

 

Capacitive start electric motors here we come.......

Time to start buddying up to all your slot car and RC buddies. If anyone knows how to amp up an electric motor they do

 

onasled is huge in RC boat racing I believe... Anxiously awaiting the release of the Tesla next Summer! I can envision electric conversion kits for cars as being big business, with perks, incentives, and rebates, etc...

 

 

OT, Now we are talking motors not the same as engines
Used to buy balanced motor armatures after I rewound a couple, put ball bearings in the case, shim the magnets and advance the commutator and wish I could afford a Globe motor at age 14-15.
Treat my sanded down tires with wintergreen oil and alcohol till they were sticky.

 

What the heck is that pic.

 

Yes, we are truely looking at some pretty exciting time to come. Comming 2007 there should be a next gen Hyb vehicle using deisel just to generate electric for 4 electric motors for a small SUV. Honda has a fuel cell vehicle for 2010 3 electric motors. Ford & BMW may have something sooner. People that remember the sound of a SB V8 high winder won't miss it. Electric is the way to go. The big plus is the police won't hear us, neighbors won't complain... no emmission testing, this could be the best time ever for building hot rods. The draw back is we need to do something about tire squeel.......