Style-D Piana

[Rob Dobie]

I tried a Piana once but couldn't get the notes in the right order. 

[Big Al]

Mini's stop just fine when you fit 7.5" or 8.4" discs up front. Later drum brake cars were okay too, but you needed to keep the shoes well adjusted.

The a-series is still a fairly efficient design, and if tuned for economy will give many a modern lump a run for its money. It's main fault was the siamese inlet ports, where the outer cylinders which had a longer and more tortuous path to the combustion chamber would have to be set for a richer mixture than the inners as a result of increased wall wetting. This meant the inner cylinders got an overly rich mixture affecting both power and economy.

The answer is individual cylinder porting, which does make a big difference. Some creative individuals got around the fuel distribution issue by fuel injecting and some clever mapping to inject more fuel into the outers, and less for the inners. That deals with the power issue but not the economy.

Comparing a mini with a Smart is not entirely fair. The latter has to comply with modern day crash regulations and also market expectations of comfort and trim.  The mini was very close to optimal for a steel bodied car- it's extremely difficult to lighten one significantly whilst retaining a civilized vehicle.

We agree to differ in Mini brakes, I did drive them hard. The better availability of 7 and 8 port heads is interesting, isn't it. Very easy to get carried away with loads of extra power. But equally the better breathing could be used to increase efficiency at the expense of flat out performance. Round here a Mini that approached 100 mph would be a complete waste of space. Its the bung-ability that is important. But modern tuners seem to be really into trying to impress, rather than find outright driving balance for best a to b times. Fine, its there hobby, but the potential, I think you will agree, is there, if you chose to make a fairly large investment.

What can I say about crash protection and Smart. The stunning 70 mile test where the doors still worked shows its tough. I can only say if you have a Mini have a classic crash, not a modern one!

[AndyL]

Minis never really had the legs for sustained high speed cruising, and the 5 speed gearboxes from Jack Knight aren't exactly bombproof, especially for the higher power motors.

BMW K1000 bike head conversion is a popular mod, and transforms the A-series into a true 100bhp per litre lump. It's quite cost effective too when compared with a port and flowed 5-port head, provided you do most of the conversion yourself.

I don't really agree with what you said about modern tuners, sure there some comedians out there, but the information and parts available today are light years ahead of what you could get years ago.