From what I read here the failure was just a matter of time. It seems that assembly was not so carefully done...unless you were running too much timing! 12,5° @6500 is as high as it can get without meth. If you were running more than that, your EGTs were very high.

Anyway, good luck with your new project. And a little advice from me: don't do the same mistakes as before if you want a trouble free engine. Lower your expectations to start with and work your way up the power band cautiously.

 

Thanks. Good advice for anyone. If it weren't for the cascade effect from the bearing failure I'm sure I'd still be happily motoring along. Timing usually ran 12 to 12.2, occasionally reaching 12.5 under max load, and EGT's were good throughout. Never saw timing pulled on map A or map B so I was really looking forward to map C with the meth kit. Other than the few data log pulls Tigger didn't get pushed very much. There's too many police and I'm too old and paranoid to drive crazy on the street. Was really looking forward to some track time with the car but alas that shall never be.

 

K I have a novice question, aren't the stock valves sodium filled? If you had installed the aquamist kit, would it have been ctastrophic to have water introduces to sodium? If I remember right you changed the valves correct?

Also what CAI system did you go with and did you have a front strut bar with it?

 

The valve stems are sealed.

 

Nevermind I was speaking hypothetically about a meth/sodium reaction in event of a failed valve like you had.

Any update on the source for new internals on the n18? I spoke with the guys at 1320mini in an email and are hopeful to start working on a valve train and piston/rod kit.

Mahles site only lists .50 over pistons and no rods. Uprated internals in the only thing I'm having trouble pinning down, wish everything came from the same company. Might have to call Mahle about custom work...

And race quality axles not found any of those yet either.

 

Stock valves are sodium filled.

 

Figures the blurry photo would post. Well, you can kinda see were the hole is in the stem were the sodium used to be.

 

High end internals won't come from one company. Tell ya how tough CP pistons are. I run 100% meth injection. Direct port system. S shot of nitrous. And about 8oz of nitro in the 2 gallons of meth. I don't recommend that as you'll see and here. I hit it all to see how it would handle it. In about 2 seconds this happened to the valve. The piston never got hurt. I fixed the valves. Did a valve job at work. Back going next week. Even if I used super tech valves. That would have still happened. The stock valves are also inconel I believe. That's why I didn't bother with after market valves. My combo is cp pistons. Carillo rods. Stock bearings but polished with 6000 grit paper. That damn thing is tough. I've done every mistake you could do far.

 

N14 and N18 pistons and rods are the dimensionally the same. For axles check out www.driveshaftshop.com. They will custom build you a set. That's who used to build them for RMW before Jan started making them in house.

 

I was thinking they're nitride coated stainless but I could be wrong. When I get a chance I'll check them with an Eddy Current machine and post findings.

 

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So how did things shake out? Did the engine builder stand behind their work? Does Tigger once again live? For the short answer read the following: "They will get future business from me when ice skating lessons are offered in hell." Their idea of warranty included covering the labor and miscellaneous parts necessary to R&R the engine. That's it, so I said the fine, whatever I'll buy the engine myself.

After looking far and wide I was able to find a 2011 Countryman S with 15,700 miles that was being parted out in Canada. A bit of negotiations netted the complete engine with turbo. Delivery took forever but it finally arrived and Tigger was once again mine. During the drive home I noted the long term fuel trims were a little high and found a loose clamp on the intake hose that was causing an air leak. Went through everything else with a fine tooth comb and all was good. Following this I couldn't resist driving him for week to get reacquainted. This also gave me a chance to ensure no codes or other issues existed and that the engine was solid.

Unfortunately, I can not keep him (que my wife's voice concerning the extra car payment) so he's going on autotrader for what's owed on the title. Leaving in all the upgrades like DDMWork RIS intake, Forge IC, Magnaflow exhaust, Rota rims, Toyo 235/40 tires, EBC Reds, slotted/drilled rotors, SS brake lines etc... Probably even throw in the JB+. I'm seriously going to miss this car but I really do prefer the stick shift on Vlad. Plus as an added bonus my hand eye co-ordination has gotten much better lately. Re-learning to shift while drinking coffee and talking on phone at the same time will do that for you.

 

Too bad it's Vlad to autotrader. The fJCW Coupe is maybe the coolest Mini of all time, and you put a lot of work into that car. I'll keep mine for awhile that you very much. Mine even looks a lot like Vlad!

 

Hmm I can see where I should have been a bit more clear. Vlad is staying and Tigger is looking for a new home. Haven't even received the OZ rims and RE-11's I ordered for Vlad yet. Then there's the CravenSpeed short shifter, Koni's, Fosgate speaker and amp, etc..

I wonder if there's a 12 step program for serial modders? If so its probably 27 steps by now.

 

You're adding a Fosgate speaker and amp to Vlad?

 

LMAO Yep just the one. It's the latest craze in high end eco friendly audio design. It wastes less resources and uses less power. I think it's called mono

 

very cool!

How many blades is your 51x compressor wheel?

I have a 5+5 50mm compressor wheel with a 12 blade 44.5mm turbine wheel, I wonder how my turbo will perform compared to yours?

 

Nice! It’s good to see others not afraid of a larger turbo. Our 51x66mm wheel is a 5x5 design. We tried an 11 blade design but the extra weight was too slow in spooling for our application. Just not enough mass in the exhaust on these 1.6 liters. Not sure of the specs on the 50mm wheel you have but if the exducer is ~63mm and the turbine is 12 blade you should get good initial spooling. With the smaller compressor exducer you will have more wheel slip at high boost so output temps will be higher. We noted the same with our 50mm. Always trade offs in engineering. Gotta love’em.

A 12 blade turbine is inherently more efficient than a 9 blade design only a little heavier. The increased efficiency will cancel out the extra weight so expect good initial spooling. You will pay a penalty though when it comes to pressure differential. Expect a pretty good increase in back pressure at high boost which with valve overlap will result in more hot exhaust gas left in the cylinder during the intake phase.

 

Nice! Thanks for the info The compressor is an "extended tip" 50mmx65mm, the turbine wheel is 44.5x50mm. About when do you see full boost with the 51x?

What do you do to combat the high back pressure? Did you port your exhaust housing at all?

 

My exhaust manifold is ported and port matched to the exhaust housing but the housing itself is not ported. Unless you can port all the way into the snail porting makes very little difference. When I swapped turbo's the manifold was cracked and I had a ported one laying around, hence the port matching.

Between the turbine wheel and the exhaust housing the turbine wheel is by far the larger source of back pressure. It has to convert the air mass and heat energy into mechanical energy to turn the compressor which requires more and more energy as boost levels rise.

We decided on a more free flowing turbine wheel but in your case since you already have the turbine wheel I'm going to recommend something that I'm not normally in support of and that is clipping the turbine wheel. That will reduce your back pressure. Yes you will lose some efficiency but that is far better than pre-ignition at high boost. Owens Development chose the same route for their design.

 

Thank for the tip on the turbine, I'll have to do that. Will that also reduce mass? Maybe helping with spool? I'm not too familiar with clipping turbine wheels.

 

Do you know is the Wavetrac will work with the ALL4? I hoping the front diff is the same on the AWD and FWD, so that the wavetrac will work.

 

While it will reduce mass, the reduced efficiency will slow the spool some. In essence your trading low rpm efficiency for high RPM flow. Think of it as installing a camshaft with longer duration. You move the powerband to the right.

I checked my dealer info on the Wavetrac which indicates it fits the 01 thru 14 6MT. No specific reference to the ALL4 though. Both transmissions are Getrag G253's but are GS6-53BG vs GS6X53BG. I haven't disassembled an ALL4 trans so I'm not sure how the PTO is interfaced but it should work. I'll reach out to Wavetrac and ask though.

 

Very cool thank you. It would be neat if that diff works well with the ALL4.


With the 12 blade turbine do you think low end will be better than the 47mm? I Had noticed you ran a 45mm before, I imagine they perform similar.

I wonder at what RPM the top end will held back/affected by the restriction of the 12 blade?

 

The 45mm I used before had a 50x42mm turbine and choked at anything over about 20.5 psi as I recall. Not sure if your 50 will be slower than the 47. If I remember the GTD specs right your 50 mm inducer and exducer are both larger, but I think the GTD compressor is cast not machined billet. It’s surprising how much weight you can save on a 5 axis as compared to casting. Weighing both compressor wheels will give you a better idea.