Dyno Day!

We have often been asked how our Nissan engine conversion compares to a ‘normal’ Midget engine, which is a fair question to ask and one we wanted to know ourselves. As we are all too aware, rolling road figures can vary massively due to differences in calibration, correction factor and general levels of fudgery. To overcome this, we took our two Midgets – one standard, one with our Nissan CG conversion – for back-to-back testing at DC Performance and Tuning in Funtington to see the difference.

For setting a benchmark: our 1970 Midget, ‘Ruby’. Sporting a rebuilt 1275 A-Series with just 7000 miles on the clock and with marginally improved breathing over standard with a K&N filter and an LCB exhaust manifold, it fits the bill perfectly. We thoroughly checked and serviced the engine for good measure before testing.

On this particular rolling road it produced 52.4hp at 4300rpm and 77.3lb.ft at 2900rpm at the wheels. The SU’s did a great job keeping a steady 12.5:1 air fuel ratio over the range. Torque is actually better than the book figures for the flywheel but we did notice peak power was a bit lower down the rev range than we would have hoped for. We would expect flywheel numbers to be 15 – 20% greater, allowing for transmission losses.

Now it’s time to see how our Nissan CG powered 1963 Midget ‘Nidget’ compares. The engine is a 1275 CG13 from a 1994 Micra. With over 100k miles on the clock it’s no spring chicken and is internally standard. It breathes through Mikuni carburettors, our 4-1 tubular manifold and a 42mm exhaust.

79.4hp at 5400rpm and 85.8lb.ft at 3000rpm. With a 50% increase in power over the A-Series it’s little wonder that it flies!

Throw into the mix a near 50kg weight saving and you have a dramatic improvement in performance, all the while retaining the drivability of a Japanese hatchback. To put the weight saving into perspective, to get the same power-to-weight ratio from an A-Series Midget an additional 6hp is needed at the wheels to match the Nissan CG, even more so with a lardy 1500!

We are very happy with the results and feel it clearly demonstrates the benefits of our bolt-in Nissan CG engine conversions. Get in touch if you’re interested in finding out more or ordering a kit.