r1 advantages and disadvantages

[rbaldwinef]

after wanting a mini for years i finally got a 71 with a 1275 in it. I was thinking the 1275 would keep me content for awhile but i was wrong, being around motorcycles/dirtbikes all my life i decided that i would put a hayabusa engine in it. after doing some research i found that it is too big to install without extending the wings or making it rwd and putting it in the back which is totally outa the question so i found this website where it seems pretty common for the yamaha r1 engines to be installed into the front with no serious body mods. so over the past few days ive ben reading as much on the builds as i can and i still have some questions that are unanswered. Is this a practical swap to do if i still wanna carry a passenger and is it actually gunna be fast and pull hard? i do intend building the engine after its installed turbo cams head porting altering the gear ratios for what i want ect.... also i intend in making my own chain diff outa of a honda trans axle trans cuz the quaife is just way to expensive for me and hybrid axles will also be made. sorry for the life story i just tried to answer all question before they were asked! thanks in advance for the help

[cooper_mark]

what website was that....??
this site do r1/huyabusa FWD conversions
http://www.pro-motive.co.uk/index.html

[The Mighty Mallott]

I personally don't like bike engines for daily drivers, too much hard work! yes it will be blisteringly quick, but you will need to thrash it like mad. for a track car- awesome. if you can keep the weight down to an extreme minimum it will be better, including passengers!

hth Mat

[Owen]

I'm with Mallot. In my mind a bike engine is designed to pull a bike - very light weight, only a single wheel. This said, they can be made to work well in certain situations, but for a daily drive use it would get on my nerves. Especially the lack of reverse! (unless you go electric, but even then it's "on" or "off").

IMO, there's "no replacement for displacement" and the R1 engine is only 1000cc :? .


EDIT: on the plus side the engine is small, compact and light, so your handling should benefit :).

Why don't you go front engine rear wheel drive?

[DarrenW]

Saw a pro-motive converted mini at MITP at the weekend.

Personally I would love one, but it would have to have the reverse issue sorted out.

Sounds great, and of course will be quickish.

Would not go for rar engine as, I need family seats and minis are noisey enough with the engine up front. :lol: :lol:

[rbaldwinef]

what website was that....??
this site do r1/huyabusa FWD conversions
http://www.pro-motive.co.uk/index.html

i was referring this site.

[rbaldwinef]

Why don't you go front engine rear wheel drive?[/quote]
well i have considered it its just if i dont end up liking it then i have probably destroyed/hacked up the shell and fire wall i kno it can be put back but not like it was. it would be very nice though having a street bike engine turned with the counter shaft to the rear bc clutch changes could be done through the grille also you would have WAY more room for turbo and intake manifolds beside the engine. the only problem i could think of is having a drive shaft that small stretch such a long distance. i mean it would be going from the the counter shaft of the engine to a independent suspension diff in the rear. but it also allows for lots of breaking options in the rear. and you would have to fabricate custom control arms. What are the +&- about fwd and rwd. and having no reverse doesn't bother me at all unless i were to park against a downhill curb, i just want a car that launches VERY hard top speed isnt too much of an issue 125ish would be plenty, i think???thanks for the help

[jiminwatford]

on the plus side the engine is small, compact and light, so fit two! :).


:lol:

[bodgeit]

www.miniexvo.com :D

[Andy_S]

Crikey that MiniExvo is stupidly expensive for a FWD conversion. At £5999 (or £8000 drive in drive out) plus £500ish for a motor you could have a KAD 16V head fitted to an decent A-Series & use the spare money for the annual rebuild of the G'box & Big End.

Surely you'll struggle to get the wheels to bite with 150 horsies over the front wheels & such a light engine. They only weigh 80kgs (ish) with the g'box fitted so you'll need to add bricks to the engine bay to gain some friction.

IMHO a Bike engined conversion is sensible if you want RWD where there are huge gains in mechanical grip and it is advantageous to have a lightweight drivertrain.

[DarrenW]

The promotive yellowish mini is in Miniworld this month and he quotes 0-60 in under 5 secs :? :shock:

Its got quite a nice ford ka(well the outside of the dash) dash in it

[Andy_S]

The promotive yellowish mini is in Miniworld this month and he quotes 0-60 in under 5 secs :? :shock:

WOW - That drops my theory into a bucket of piss. :?

Must have some seriously sticky tyres on there ................ :shock:

Or the driver was sat on the bonnet instead of the drivers seat. :lol:

[alexcrosse]

i commute in a promotive R1 mini every day,

if you have a look on the pro motive site mine is half way down under customer cars, blue with gp2 wide arches.

I drive 80 miles a day and its great, hell of alot better than an A series! LOL

There is ALOT of rubbish about 'they are designed to pull bikes' which is just not the way to look at it. With any engine you look at what is coming out of the output shaft, 160bhp and 80lb ft of torque. Now... believe me, 80 lb ft is ample! and its very drivable with this much, right from the bottom end, you dont have to rev it much atall, just cruise round at 4-5000rpm. But if you feel like giving it beans itll go right up to 12,500-13,000rpm.

Also, you have a 6 speed sequential box as standard, engines can be got from £400+ and i do 0-60 in under 5 seconds. Grip is only a problem when cornering because i need an anti roll bar and more droop in the front suspension.

I havnt, but my friend martin (roofless) has kept his back seats, and often drops his kids off at school in it.

Ive never needed to reverse it deperately! at work i drive though one parking space into the next one so im pointing forwards. And remember these engines weigh NOTHING! me and my mate lifted the entire subframe, engine, cooling system, hubs, upper and lower arms, EVERYTHING even with oil in the engine and it wasnt an effort atall, amazing. So pushing this car backwards isnt difficult =p LOL

I was at castle combe, not sure if anyone saw me:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p120/wolfys_mini01/castle%20combe%20miniworld%20action%20day%202008/CastleCombeMIniworldActionDay200-17.jpg

was on the track, and the only person who passed me was the nutter on this forum in that delicious black clubby 2 litre red top! I did have to throttle back after 4 laps though, since my water temp got a little on the hot side to say the least!!! if you saw me however, you may have noticed not only did i have a passenger, but the wheels were spinning when coming out of every corner, blood body roll!

All in all, great mini, great commuter, great track car, great company, great support! cant say enough good about darren grasby and phil jennings @ promotive, and i would reccomend this kit to anyone!

Nothing quite sounds like 12,000rpm while shifting through 6 gears in a mini :D

But i do have 4 too many valves to be properly on this forum :( hence why i have spyed on here but not really talked much

Cheers guys!!

Any questions, send em my way!

Alex


p.s. they have been known to beat rwd zcars r1's. Martin did this at IMM holand in a drag race.

[imported_2many]

Thanks for your input Alex. It's great to hear from someone who actually drives a bike engined mini daily.

Very informative. Cheers!