Realized I didn't include these so here's a few photos of the ethanol and fuel pressure sensor installation in the engine bay.

Just a general overview.


Little closer shot of the 5/16 to AN6 quick connect adapter.


Here you can see the ethanol sensor on the left and the fuel pressure sensor on the right as well as the 3/8 to AN6 quick connect adapter.




And with it all put back together.

 

Really nice work.

 

 

Generally speaking the factory coils are very good units and pretty reliable. But like any mechanical or electrical device they are subject to failure. For stock boost levels they work great. The energy level is a little low when you start raising charge density, especially when adding meth. The 0.024" gap of the NGK 1422's helps with that. Another reason we recommend them. So for most that combination is sufficient.

Where you start to see a difference is at higher charge density and higher rpm where the coils have less dwell time. Thats where the IP and Okada coils start to show a small benefit. At 6800 to 7000 rpm you won't notice a single misfire or even multiple ones since each cylinder is firing 56 to 58 times a second. The Okada branded ones in my opinion are too expensive for the benefit. In addition, the lower priced N14 IP coils work just as well in an N18 application as the N18 IP coils but at a lower cost. Since the Mini N18 and N14 coil part numbers were the same I ordered the IP N14 coils for the N18 with no issue. Also, since I'm running meth with 25 lbs of boost, and planning on more later they make sense for me.

One item of interest to note is that Mini updated the coil part number in July of last year. As of yet I haven't heard anything about what Delphi may have changed though.

 

I love this thread.

What did you upgrade in the engine to run 25 lbs of boost?

 

Right now the only internal upgrades are the ARP rod bolts and head studs. I'm running pretty safe timing up top and bring the Aquamist in fairly early as well. Since he's my daily I have to make sure he stays healthy while I tinker with the builder motor.
Tinker as in "Save my pennies and buy stuff without the wife noticing."

 

Nice! I want to push to 25psi. I'm Manic Stg. 3, Map C. I want a little more out of the car. But I'm sure I'll need the meth/water injection. I may just do water injection, if that's good enough to control temps.

 

Water will control the temps but your going to start running out of fuel so you'll need the meth as a fuel source. Something else to consider is your cylinder pressures and effective compression ratio at 25 psi. I recommend meth anytime your ECR goes over 16:1. With 10:1 pistons @ 25 psi you'd be at 16.43:1 at sea level, and with 10.5:1 you'd be upwards of 17.3:1. Rapidly compressing air induces quite a bit of heat which can lead to pre-ignition of the intake charge while the piston is on the up stroke. Knock is bad. Pre-ignition can destroy even a built motor real quick. So to keep your happy motoring quotient high I would highly recommend meth injection if you do decide to take the boost that high. Plus you can take advantage with a little more timing.

Every thing else being equal, one pound of boost translates to approximately 10 HP but each degree of timing equals 10 ft/lbs of torque. HP = (Torque x RPM) / 5252. So at 6800 rpm that degree of timing is worth 13 HP. Add boost plus timing and you can quickly see why meth is so well liked by those that run it.

 

I learned the hard way about these calculations. Tried 10.5:1 CR with 30PSI and promptly blew out a cylinder wall, even using 80 - 20 WMI. Back down to 9.0:1 and feeling a lot better about it.

 

Good point OBW because I didn't address peak cylinder pressure above, plus I left out the effect of cam duration for simplicity. Cam duration can have a marked impact on effective or dynamic compression ratio. Longer duration cams have increased overlap and the intake valve is open longer after BDC. To calculate completely you need bore, stroke, rod length, static compression, boost, baro pressure and the point after BDC when the intake valve closes. Adding VVT via vanos to the mix can give you a headache lol.

At the same time the amount of timing applied will have a large impact on peak cylinder pressure. More timing means peak cylinder pressure will be higher and meth certainly allows that. However, as OBW rightly pointed out it is most definitely possible to raise the peak cylinder pressure to the point that the factory liners in an open deck configuration will fail. I'd have to mic the liners on the motor in the garage but off the top of my head I dont believe they are more than 0.100" to 0.125" thick and then supported by maybe 0.200" of aluminum. Once you get to that high of a level of performance a cylinder support system or Darton mid sleeve is a really good idea. My current plan is to have Mazworx which is up near Orlando install the sleeves. You can reduce timing to lower peak pressure but then your EGT climbs. If you remember OBW Id be curious as to what kind of timing you were running up top when it let go?

 

One of the first things on my "to do" list, after a quick break-in, is a datalog --- haven't done one of those in a long time. But, of course, first I gotta get it running again. Probably won't be 'til January or so --- I'm slowing down with age. I'll be sure to post it late in my next thread, to be started by next week in this Builds forum.

 

I know it's been a while since you posted this, just wondering what the BHP is? Does the FWD have a 15% drivetrain loss?

 

Our drivetrains are actually pretty efficient. DTL for the manual is at 12%. I haven't seen posted numbers on the auto but general consensus is about 13%. Using 12% would put Vlad at 330 bhp.

 

Oh wow that's pretty dang good. 330hp is pretty solid! What is your turbo capable of? Around 380hp?

I wonder what the AWD drivetrain is. I heard around 18%, but I have no idea.

 

Minimum design goal was 42 lbs/min for 420 bhp but nobody has pushed it that far... yet

 

Holy cow! That's crazy and cool. How did you land on 42 lbs/min? Is that the average of what the turbine can flow and the compressor?

I know you have a unique turbine, does that design compared to the other typical 12 blades help raise the potential HP?

 

One the cold side its a combination of blade design (efficiency), inducer diameter (flow potential) and exducer diameter (pressure potential) minus flow restriction of the 90 degree compressor housing. On the hot side its the flow and efficiency of the turbine wheel in relation to the capacity of the housing. Finally its the difference of the flow and efficiency between hot and cold side. It helps to have a friend that works at Honeywell

 

Whoa. I wouldn't even know where to begin with all that. How big is your compressor exducer?

I wonder if a smaller inducer (around 44mm to 47mm) and bigger exducer (74mm), with a similar turbine to yours, would net some super fast spool and still have decent HP potential? Maybe around the 360-400hp range?

 

The exducer is 66mm. The overall idea was to land somewhere between a 2860 and 2867 as far as flow and pressure ratio but with a spool time less than a 2860. The main benefit of a large exducer is reduced wheel slip so efficiency at higher boost increases. A smaller wheel slips more and therefore generates more heat. After a certain point however exducer size has a negative impact on spool. Moment equals weight times arm so a larger diameter wheel requires more torque to accelerate. That torque comes from the turbine wheel. Torque is a function of the turbine inducer diameter which were limited by due to the housing. Flow and efficiency on the turbine side is dictated by the housing which again were limited on and exducer diameter, blade count and design. Its all about balance. Did you ever get a chance to put your hybrid together. It sounded pretty promising.

Not sure on the All4 drivetrain loss but Ill see what I can find. With BMW's ocd on drivetrain efficiency I'd be surprised if its as high as 18%. It's possible though. Im never 100% happy with the results when I tune a Countryman or Paceman All4. Meth helps a lot but the extra weight and DTL certainly has an effect.

 

Thats some good info right there. Thank you! I haven't had a chance to build it yet. it's actually because of what I'm going to ask next that held me back. I was wondering if there was a way to improve the compressor design.

Do you think that the current exducer size is perfect as is? Could it possibly be bigger?

I ask (I know it's not the best comparison since these cars run 35+ psi and race gas) because I was looking at a WRC car's turbo specs and found some interesting info. The compressor is 42mm x 70mm, 36 trim, 5 blade and the turbine is a 50mm x 60mm, 9 blade. I was looking into those turbos since they are known to spool quick, even when people run them on standard street cars. I wonder if running a similar setup that is properly sized for our K03/4 turbos would be of any value?

The ALL4 does come pretty heavy, I'm glad I've been able to get it down to around 2920lbs. I think I can still squeeze another 20 to 30 lbs off without sacrificing driving comfort. Trying to get that power to weight ratio better. I was also reading about what you said about exhaust size. I run a full 3" from DP back right now. I may go back to 2.5". Since there may not really big a huge gain over the 3" I figured clearance under the car would improve (I can lower my car more) and also cut a bit of weight down too.

 

The WRC turbos are bit of a different beast for a couple of reasons. Their compressor wheels are magnesium which is lighter and the inducer blade height is higher. By making the inlet blade height higher you can increase blade area and flow without increasing diameter as much. The lighter material smaller inlet reduces spool time. Having dealt with magnesium alloys on aircraft for years I'm not sure its appropriate outside of a racing environment. While it is light and strong it is also more brittle than aluminum and much more prone to corrosion.

 

Ah. that makes sense. Seems like magnesium would also be costly!

Do you think a 70mm to 74mm compressor exducer for our turbos would be too big/heavy?

 

Yes. I could be wrong but I believe that size is only used on the 2.0l WRC cars.

Something else Ive noticed now that I can datalog the low side fuel pressure. Our LPFP sucks when it comes to flow. Minimum low side fuel pressure is set at 5 bar (72 psi) and mine normally is around 5.5 bar at idle. All good so far but once I get into it not so much. Even though the ecu asks for 7 bar under heavy load our pumps just can't keep up. I have the alarm set to flash when the low side hits 60 psi and every WOT run will trip the alarm around 4000 rpm. I need to look into that. Unfortunately on the R58 the only way to get to the LPFP or filter is to drop the tank. Ugh.

 

Oh interesting. You think some sort of upgraded pump will need to installed?

I wonder if there are any aftermarket solutions around.

 

This is a 74mm exducer in the MINI turbo.... probably way too big?