One choice for 2015 is to fir a close ratio gear set. The first thought was to fit the Quaife gear set but to do that I have to use their LSD which means bye bye Gripper LSD. The cost of the Quaife set is $6000 which is way off my budget even if I sell the Gripper LSD. I would figure about 2 years of selling stuff in CR to reach $6000. Also this gear set is dog engagement which is not exactly good for a daily driver. Another option is a gear set from RSX race solutions. They do the set that would fit the Gripper LSD and final drive and still use the Mini Cooper synchro's so I'll be able to drive to work. Why straight cut? Straight cut gears vs helical | Automotive Thinker - Discussing the finer points of automobiles as you can see the straight cut set will be less loading on the MA box bearings and casing. Seeing as I replace the bearings around every 2 rallies I'm hoping the gear set should save me time and money. The RSX set is around 1295 euro so I'm working with them to get a good deal later this year. Another chance is to have the Reiger suspension off the RMW R50 rally Mini. The owner is thinking to build a WRC type set up for his R50 leaving his current set up up for grabs. Again this might be later this year. Once both of these projects are done I think the Mini will be super competitive.
One thing I noticed was I did not have the gear set ratios. They sent them to me, I did the calculations and found out with my 5:1 final drive 5th would be good for 82mph at 7000rpm! all the gears are super close together but 82mph is not going to be much good seeing as I'm doing 110mph on some straights. I need to get the Gripper 4:2 final drive to get 98mph which still might be a little short. Just the pro's and con's of the set up.
This is what a straight cut gear set sounds like. 5 speed reverse gear sound! [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUJvpWwLmHM"]straight cut gearbox mini - YouTube[/ame]
good news on the suspension, a rally buddy suggested this place. rallyracingsuspension.com - WRX STI Struts they revalve the front street struts to gravel for $520. I still have to buy the Reiger rears though.
Yeah I agree listen to this box. I hope my daily driver sound in the future! [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmJH84FnQa8"]Straight Cut Gears - YouTube[/ame]
The gear box casing is cleaned and packed in my check in bag. I have the M7 aluminium side plates and wing. The wing has the same casting all the way through so I think I can cut a few inches off , re-tap the threads and attach the side plates to the rear hatch.
It was so cold today I had to use a portable heater to keep me warm while I boxed up the wing, rear wheel arch moldings, end plates and spice rack shelving unit. AH yes I take everything down there! I'm looking forward to escaping the cold and hopefully get some work done on the Mini. They did mention some dates for the 5 rallies but I'm sure I'm going to miss a few of them as the Mini is not going to stages without good suspension. I'm excited to have the gearbox rebuilt with straight gears in a few months depending on the IRS! LOL
Been quiet down here! I've not done much this visit as I'm stuck with an electrical problem. I had lights after the accident but after the painting nothing up front except 1 side light. I think a ground is bad somewhere as I only have 5.67V at the connector blocks. aarrrrrrgggggghh Also I'm enjoying the fabulous weather! I did order the gear set and Gripper are going to do an exchange final drive. I have a spare 4:9 which I will swap for a straight cut 4:2 . I hope by April to have the box rebuilt. Fingers crossed the Peugoet gears fit the Mini synchro's.
Glad all is well with you Chris, been wondering where you've been. I don't know what it is about body shops, but it seems to me anytime a car enters a body shop it comes out looking great with some sort of electrical fault??? It's a wonderment for sure. Good luck finding the fault. Maybe you just need an infusion of this stuff.
Yes the guys did a good job but I think it will take me a while to get the mini back to the way it was. Just little things but they add up in time. hahaha on the smoke.
bloody hell it's cold here! and I forgot to bring my winter coat from CR. So I must have looked tough in my short sleeves at the Boston airport early this morning! I finally managed to fix my trolley jack with a o ring from work. Then I was able to jack up the Mini to look for the strange steering issue. Bingo! Both ball joints were shot. The passenger ball joint had about 5mm+ of play!!! lucky I didn't drive around as it was ready to pop out. I'll be returning in 2 weeks with new ones.
I forget to post these photo's, the casing gave the customs guy a scare when he looked inside my checked bags..lol notice how clean the casing is....pots and pans setting...hahaha M7 wing will be modified to fit the rear hatch. Next visit I hope to replace the gearbox with the straight cut set which I got for a steal due to the Euro exchange rate.
drat and double drat! the licence plate sticker that was destroyed when they swapped the front screen is needed to avoid the car being impounded if caught driving on the street. I did drive around but a few short trips so i was lucky. Now I need to get a lawyer to fix the issue because when I imported the Mini I used a passport that has since expired with the new one having a different number. Just another CR gem to deal with. Well I suppose that gives me time to fit the checker decals etc. I know the checker decals are not everyone's choice but hey do protect the paint and give that WRC look.
The Spanish gear set showed up today. a very nice quality straight cut gear set. The gears are so small. I'll shoot some photos soon.
Here's the difference. First problem is the Mini 5th synchro ID is smaller so I might have to swap to Peugeot synchro's
I hope so. Once I get down to CR...Volcano permiting. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptIRa_-sDAY"]Costa Rica volcano spews ash in most powerful eruption in 20 years - YouTube[/ame] I can check the large selection of Mini synchro's to see what need. Interesting is this kit is cheaper than buying the gears from Mini. Might have to clean some ash of the Mini too! How many other Mini owners have that to do?