Allspeed Engineering Ltd

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this information, Allspeed Engineering Ltd.accept no liability or responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided.
The information provided is based on the use of Allspeed products only, gathered through considerable experience and popular questions asked

The following are typical questions asked by mini enthusiasts considering an engine conversion.
Please take the time to read through to see if your question is answered before emailing or phoning your questions.
Q. Which engine should I choose ?

A. Considerations to help with your decision.
How much power are you wanting, be realistic with you requirements. Ie. 100-110 bhp from a modern reliable standard engine with 5 speed gearbox can be quite ample as a daily driver.
What is the mini to be used for, daily driver, weekend fun road car, road and track day, track day, outright competition, sprint/hillclimb/rally etc. For competition, check regulations , this may narrow now what is allowed.

Q. Will a 20xe red top fit in a standard round nose ?

A. All Allspeed conversions will fit standard round nose applications, some with greater or lesser complications than others. The main consideration with the red top is room for an adequate exhaust manifold and radiator, a removable front will also ease the installation. A bonnet bulge will be needed to clear the front os corner of the cam belt cover.

Q. Why do 20xe redtop minis have a reputation for chronic torque steer ?

A. 99% of torque steer issues are due to poor setup, any of the conversions will give torque steer problems with poor setup but the redtop highlites the probem to a greater degree because it usually offers more power and torque than most other engine conversions. Another consideration is to be sensible with wheel widths, if using 13’s 6in wide will give optimal road driving please, 7in can be considered for more serious road driving or competion/track day, where a degree of torque steer can be more tolerated due to the improved tyre support offered by 7’s.

Q. What is a good suspension geometry setup to start with ?

A. Most suspension settings are down to personal preference, most important is to ensure both sides of the car are set the same, but as a starting guide :
FRONT
Camber. 0.5 to 1.5 deg neg. the need for more than 1.5 deg. points to another problem.
Caster. 3 to 6 deg. the need for more than 6.0 deg. points to another problem.
Toe out to a minimum but not straight ahead or toeing in.
REAR
Camber 0.0 to 0.5 deg neg.
Standard toe in

Essential is to corner weight the car, this cannot be stressed enough, if the corner weighting is incorrect the car will never pull in a straight line.

Q. What is best. Coilovers , Rubber donuts or coil replacements for donuts ?

A. We don’t recommend coilovers on the front with mini suspension geometry, typical issues include a hard enough spring rate to handle ok will lead to lifting off the spring over bumpy roads or under hard acceleration giving vague and or torque steer feel, a soft spring rate will rectify that problem but handling will be poor. A soft spring rate and use of an anti roll bar can give satisfactory results but its unlikely the car will handle any better than just using stock rubber donuts. Coilovers can work fine on the back but again offer little advantage over a stock rubber donut. Donuts will work very well combined with a quality damper, the usual complaint would be a harsh ride, where the coil spring replacement would come in to its own offering a more compliant ride.

Q.What sort of performance can I expect for my mini ?

A. Very difficult to give a definitive answer as perfomance is dependant on so many factors such as : suspension setup / tyres / differential used / weather etc. As a guide an entry level 1.4 8v mpi vauxhall conversion offers improved performance and reliability over an average 1380 a series, a 1.6 8v mpi vauxhall gives average gti performance through to the honda and large block vauxhall conversion giving more serious performance.

Q. What sort of power do each of the engines offer ?

A. Approximate figures :
Vauxhall
1.4 8v mpi standard 90 bhp 85 ftlbs
1.6 8v mpi standard 100-110 bhp 105 ftlbs
2.0 8v mpi sri 130. 130bhp
2.0 16v ( redtop ) 150-300 bhp 150-200 ft lbs
Honda
1.6 vtec standard 160 bhp 106 ftlbs
1.8 vtec standard 180-200 bhp

Q. Will the redtop standard injection fit ?

A. Only with some serious bulkhead mods and minor changes to the phlenum chamber. If using standard injection components,most popular is to make your own phlenum using the standard throttle body..
Q. What other options for fueling are ther for the redtop if not using the standard injection system ?
A. Twin 45 carbs / motorbike carbs / Independent throttle bodies. All alternative systems will require some means of controlling the ignition system from a basic dizzy conversion to a full stand alone ecu. The standard ecu cannot be used.

Q. Could you tell me the driveshaft lengths please as i want to cut and shut/ make my own.

A. Cut and shut driveshafts can be succesfull if done correctly, some are nervous about doing this and indeed if they do break, it can be a very dangerous situation and also cause much damage. But the info is freely available.

All overall lengths in mm :

Small block vaux to mini cv 22t to 19 t. 295 and 595
Large block vaux to Allspeed hd cv 25t to 25t. 268 and 333
Large block vaux to mini cv 25t to 19t.288 and 353
Vtec to allspeed hd cv 32t to 25t. 267 and 267
Vtec to mini cv 32t to 19t. 287 and 287

Allspeed Engineering Ltd. continues to be the number 1 choice for the right engineering solution !

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