I've been watching the Mynes discussion on Sprintex as well and definitely caught my interest. I'm still a bit skeptical about their claims but then again, I'm always skeptical about any manufacturers claims about HP gains. I'm waiting to see what kind of power this thing does in the real world and it looks like I'll be watching your thread to see how much that thing really puts down the ground with the kind of altitude we have here in Colorado. To LB's point, I'd rather not "test" someone's product especially if I'm paying retail for it.

 

Rick, don't you think finding a good used replacement OE blower is a good idea? You could learn some tuning tech as well as get everything you've done to the car in a near finished state - ready for the next step.

The Sprintex looks to be a winner but there's not enough of it. The Rotrex, on the other hand, has been around HERE for a while - I've used a Power Enterprise, Rotrex, with good result & the potential is there - our engines. LB makes a good point.

Bottom line the OE could be a "get the car moving to the next level" without having it sit for months, losing valuable tuning experience, not to mention the use of the car. When the time comes to choose the next level - you'll know a whole bunch more.....

Just a thought,
Steve

Bottom line

 

JEREMEY, I havent pulled the M45 off yet. The blower stoped turning completely, I was able to get it un-stuck, but you can feel a ton of little clicks, and hear the scraping of not having any oil in the blower. So I am going to prematurely say that I poped a seal, ran it out of oil and seised the bearings, I will only know once I pull everything apart. Yes I will limmit my pulls to 3rd gear when the new charger goes on.

EVASIVE, I too am not 100% sure about the HP claims, but I am sure there will be a substantial gain in power. SPRINTEX has been around for a while, and has been using the exact same blower in other kits with great results. The main blower is the same but the only things that make it MINI specific is the locating adapters, the plumbing, the tensioner, and the water pump. Electric water pumps are used on racecars all the time, and arent anything new, theres even street driven MINI's out there now runing electric pumps. So I am not too concerned with any potential relyability isues. It is going to be interesting to see how it's going to work at 6000 feet, and even more so at the top of MT. EVANS (14,000 and some change in altitude!)

The hardest part is going to be geting the money part of the equasion out of the way.

 

Hope you get your car up and running by MITM. Like Steve mentioned above, there's always a stock blower and when you upgrade to Sprintex, you should be able to sell the stock blower for what you bought it for. There's one local to us going for around $500. I'm trying to get a hold of him just so I have a spare around but I'll consider dropping my offer just so you can get yours going.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t/16902/cat/22

I hear you on the electric waterpump. I've been talking to brouwerj about it as he converted to electric. He's working on getting me the details of his setup as I too am looking to convert.

 

Evasive, electric water pumps - they could last 20 years. I have 1 on 1 of my cars 15 years ( not many miles - it still works perfectly ). There's no pulley, belt, to wear out the bearings or seal & they're even better, more realiabl & smaller today.

 

I really dont want to spend even more money on a used stock M45 that is just going to be coming back off by next year. If I cant seem to get enough cash saved up by June though, that might be the route that I need to take. Either way if the car dosen't run, it makes it easyer for me to get this next round of stuff done. Because I cant be tempted just to drive it.

 

Rick, your point has great merit. Although, I'd rather have a car that runs & learn the tuning than have an "occasional table" - I have 1, it's a 1400lb street killer when it's used as a car........ I've been looking for a replacement OE, used, they have been around in the $500 area. It does seem like a waste, in the biger picture it's not - trust me on this, you'll have something to fall back on & a running car. You're buying some valuable time & driving the car is a quality of life thing

If I find something I'll let you know,
Steve

 

Thanks Steve, For now I have my Samurai, and only needing $30.00 worth of E85 a week to run it back and fourth to work, it's not that bad of a DD. Just a little loud and a whole lotta slow. Hey wait a minute, M45+1.3L Suzuki... NA BAD IDEA.

 

I hear ya. Best way to justify an upgrade is to replace a broken part.

 

Thats my train of thought. Always has been, how do you think the zook ended up lifted over a foot, on 33" swampers, with a fully built motor and drivetrain? Who does that?

 

Well since I have been out of work for a couple days (Due to no work at work, I still have my job) I have got a couple things done. I am probably going to skip having my roll bar powder coated and just take it to a buddies shop and paint it. Powder coat is nice but I can get the paint done for FREE, and free is a good price. Then I need to bust out the welder, and make some fishplates for mounting my harnesses. I'm still cleaning goo residue out from under the seats, I need to figgure out how to get the E-brake handle off to take out a small chunk of carpet (If I had it my way it would ALL be gone), and I will have another little surprise with the rear cup holder, as soon as I replace my Dremmel.

 

I got my roll bar droped off at my buddys paint shop, getting a nice coat of matte finish bright silver. I am also having one of my friends mom sew the union jack patches, that I picked up in Iraq, on to the shoulder straps of my 5 point harnesses. Also got a little more prep work done on the interior sheet metal, so I can spray it soon.
Still have a lot of work to do on the interior, then I can start the body work (Making a front splitter, rear diffuser that will work with the AERO KIT, the carbon hood is going to see some major tweaks, plus prep for new paint.) By the time all thats done it shuld be about SPRINTEX time. Then I am not sure if I am going to let TOBZ continue tuning the car, or if I am going to find another tuner with a dyno, or do it myself. I have spent way too much time letting him play with the car and S/W to not have any good results, maby if he would just listen to me and the people who know what to change in the ECU, it would have been done and we would be happy.

 

Well I havent updated in a little while, sorry about that I have been buissy.
I had my seats in to drill the mounting holes in the brackets so that there is no sliders, or any other mechanical extra weight. Man do they look good in the car. (you will see at the end of the post.) This weekend I have spent geting more of the interior ready for paint. I have decided to ditch the headliner and the stuff that goes with it, no more sunvisors, OH $#!T handles, and all the little brackets that hold them on are GONE. I probably lost about 12 pounds off of one of the places of the car that you want as light as possible. Only down side is that I now have more wires to hide, no biggie though its only time and the payoff is worth it to me. I also got the carpet trimed to where I want it, and most of the goo taken out. I think that by next weekend I could be spraying the black in there, but dont hold me to that I never know whats going to pop up.
I am also only about $1500.00 away from slaping on the SPRINTEX blower.

Ok enough talk, heres the pictures.



Sorry no rollbar in when the pic's where taken.

 

And Here's what the interior looks like right now.

Looks kinda empty, I like it.


Take a guess at where my tiny battery goes.






Here is the days parting shot, unusual elivated shot from the roof of the garage, if the house and trash cans wern't in the way, it would be a decent pic.

 

Any suggestions on where to mount a battery switch? All the places I wanted to put it have stuff in the way that I cant really move.

 

Are you talking similar to what pro stock guys do when drag racing? What about using the rear tow hook mount for the switch (below right arrow)?



I guess there is not much of a choice. You're probably gonna have to do some drillin', whatever you decide.

 

Na its too much cable to go all the way to the back of the car again. The battery sits under the passanger seat and I would like to have one insie the car somewhere. I was thinking of the rear cupholder but there is too much stuff for the E-brake right there so its out. I might jut end up fabricating a mount to go next to the center console. For the outside I was going to put it in the driver side coul vent but the wiper linkage is in the way. Right now I'm almost out of options.

 

Ok so I finally got some sandpaper on my sheetmetal interior today. I'm still not too close to spraying the black yet, but progress is progress. I also got my shoulder straps of mt seatbelts back from my buddies mom, WOW did she do an amasing job! The British flags look way better than the G-FORCE logos.

I also did some dri... er, THINKING the other night and had an idea for my battery switch. I'm going to use a carbon fiber hood, that I got from WAY, and I'm going to be cuting into it for various reasons (Stay tuned its coming.). Why not build a switch box onto the intake airbox, and notch out the hood so the battery key sticks out in front of the cowl vent? It seems like a good idea, its almost where I wanted it, my wipers will still work, and it will look sweet. Plus its easyer than puting it in the vent.

Anyhow here's the pic's, remember things always look worse before they get better.







And the days parting shot, Thanks Linda.

 

I got off work early again today, so I went and picked up the hardware for the harnesses. I also made a new and improved latch system for the boot. It's not quite done yet but check this out!

 

The time is geting near to drop an order on the SPRINTEX at BOOSTEC in CO. SPRINGS. Still about $700.00 short.
So I need to get this interior done soon. Yesterday I made the fishplates and mounts for the crotch straps of my harnesses. Everything welded in just fine (The car and garage DIDN'T burn to the ground.) and rven my welds look as good as they where before I left for Iraq.
I am hoping to be spraying the black down this weekend. My job just FIRED 5 employees thismorning, so I might get called in to cover some more of their slack. I just see it as an opportunity to make the $$$ that would of been theirs, and get this thing up and runing again.

 

Here is the production Sprintex kit off of MYNES website. (DROOL)







ROTREX?-EAT ME!!!

 

Well I have been talking to Rick Rimmer at BoosTec and it looks like if my tax return checks come in this week, I will be stoping in at their shop on my way to Ft. Carson next weekend. Problem is I still have a ton of work to do on my interior. I couldn't get anything done this weekend because it's cold and raining, not the best conditions to be laying down paint. I could get the tunnel side harness mounts and battery box fabed up sometime this week, I guess.
I also have a Harley Davidson carb coming in this week for my Suzuki, so needless to say I will be buissy when I'm not at work.

 

I don't think your harnesses are installed in a way that will help you in an accident. You need to attach the back of the shoulder straps to a crossbar on your rollcage at about shoulder level just behind the seat. Just my $.02 tho

 

Ugh they do. The bar was not in the car when the pics where taken, the lower pices of the harnesses weren't even bolted down either. Good call though.

 

Ya I saw that lol sorry. looks like a LOT of fun, and its looking sweet!