MeteorMotorsport
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| posted on 4/5/14 at 06:17 PM |
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Would there be any interest in new production MNR reverse boxes.
Hi All
I don't wish to start off by having my first post deleted for advertising. Its not what is intended.
I am working with MNR on trying to reduce production costs for the box which I believe is supposed to be the best.
Seeing how it works inside I can certainly see why.
I run a 201bhp 'Busa Caterham and my current box is just to loud. Space is tight in the 7 compared to some of the chassis you Gus work with so
electric is more difficult to install.
So I am trying to gauge interest to see if it is worth producing.
At present we do not have a cost but it is going to have to be RRP of £795.00 min.
Any feed back would be appreciated.
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ReMan
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| posted on 4/5/14 at 10:26 PM |
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Any Feedback?
OK
You need to aim at £500 max for the box IMHO
Noisey is an odd issue to have, what is your current reverse box?
[Edited on 5/5/14 by ReMan]
www.plusnine.co.uk
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sdh2903
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| posted on 4/5/14 at 10:48 PM |
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If your looking at 795 now. Then inevitably that's going to go up which will make it too expensive in my opinion.
I had an MNR box on my old car and I felt it was an expensive outlay paying 400 for a used one. Yes it worked well but was still a touch agricultural
to engage. A mechanical reverse was a necessity on my car as my driveway is on a steep slope and an electric reverse just wouldn't cut it.
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daniel mason
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| posted on 4/5/14 at 11:06 PM |
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for those that dont know,simon rogers and darren .luke are 2 of the fastest guys around on the 7 sprint scene. ive bought busa triangulated mounts
from meteor which were perfect. and had 2x mnrs who i cant recommend highly enough. sounds to me like a match made in heaven and at £800 i have no
doubts it will be a better unit than the quaife! good luck!
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Matt21
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| posted on 5/5/14 at 06:32 AM |
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I think the price needs looking at too
For £800 I wouldn't quite happily get out and push, I'd even risk ordering my girlfriend to push....
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Duncan36
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| posted on 5/5/14 at 06:51 AM |
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It's cheap when you compare it to the Quaife made Radical reversing diff at £2400 + vat
www.acorn-printing.co.uk
www.tshirtuk.com
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renetom
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| posted on 5/5/14 at 08:18 AM |
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Hi
We paid £600 odd for our direct fro MNR
although working well now, has been back twice to
MNR for repairs.
We thought that it was expensive then, but it was given
such good press.
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Wheels244
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| posted on 5/5/14 at 08:41 AM |
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Just because something can be expensive shouldn't mean it has to be.
The development and production costs with a reasonable level of profit should dictate the price, not comparison with other products or peoples ability
to pay.
With a reasonable price tag attached I'm sure they will sell - but there have been a few posts on here regarding reliability which will need
addressing if there are issues with them.
Build Blog: http://wheels244.wordpress.com/
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richmars
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| posted on 5/5/14 at 08:59 AM |
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The problem with something like this is that it's very hard to gauge how many you'll sell.
Just doing some sums in my head, you could easily spend £10-15k in time and bits before you can sell anything. Given the production bits could cost
£200-300, over how many units to you try and recoup your costs?
Say you sell 50 units, that's £300 per unit to pay r+d, plus £200 bits, and then some profit. And you're around the £600-800 mark.
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ReMan
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| posted on 5/5/14 at 09:46 AM |
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Having read again beer free, I see a bit of a contradiction
You say you are working with MNR to reduce production costs on the best box.
My understanding is that MNR boxes are/were approx £600 but you are saying a min of £800.
From posts of late it seems that the MNR box has been withdrawn from production, presumably due to reliability issues.
So again your going to have to work very hard to reduce costs and improve reliability on something that was already the best
As said In my first post by the time you've added another £3-400 of propshafts, with the exception of the applications where a strong reverse is
a must, the electric route is looking much more attractive on cost despite the difficulties in fitting ( which if understood at the outset could be
better catered for in chassis design) and easier to remove post IVA if not essential
But good luck
www.plusnine.co.uk
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MeteorMotorsport
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| posted on 5/5/14 at 10:16 AM |
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Thanks for the responses.
Dan I owe you a pint 
Just to be clear. The MNR box has not been produced for the past few years. Production costs rose to much and priced it out of the market.
Remember this is small volume production and costs reflect this. There is absolutely no way it's going to be viable at £500/600!
My research told me that this was the box of choice when I was building my busa. I was just a little to late to get a new one.
I have now agreed with Chris at MNR if I can get it produced for less than together or by agreement we will produce the box again.
I have now seen a new unused completed one with a friend and have to say that there was simply no backlash at all in forward and very little in
reverse but who is bothered about that. Spinning it by had it was silent!!!!
It was stiff/awkward to engage reverse or forward but that was with two chaps trying to hold it on a bench.
My current box has to be moving before it will swap gears also. They have to be moving unless you are lucky enough to get a dog or gear -however your
works exactly in line with a gap space opposite.
I won't say which box I have currently as I just think it's a Friday afternoon item. Been back for rebuild and it's just the same.
I have sold this same box to customers with no adverse comments.
You may see from Meteor's website that we don't do budget we simply invest in quality products.
I now have the parts of an MNR box and seeing how it works is very clever and it was as described - no gears involved in forward drive. It is a very
well designed solution.
It may be that there were issues and I'd like to know the actual faults. If you don't wish to post on here please email me.
There is another box described in posts here as direct drive from LusoMotors but there is very little info available. Anyone use one?
[Edited on 5/5/14 by MeteorMotorsport]
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HappyFather
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| posted on 6/5/14 at 08:26 PM |
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I think the LusoMotors was just a proof of concept.
Regarding price, I'm served wit a MNR box for less than 600GBP new.
If I was to buy now, for more money than both Quaife and Nova, and with the reliability issues people have mentioned, I would go for another brand.
Either it was cheaper (to be worth the risk) or I would rather pay Nova, that I have read no bad press.
But this is my opinion, and I repeat that I'm not on the market for a box.
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DANMAN
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| posted on 7/5/14 at 11:07 AM |
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All I want is a bloody reverse box that doesn't sound like a box full of bloody spanners in a blender. It seems the quaife has a horrible amount
of backlash and the planetary gears sit there rattling their tits off at either light throttle or when backing off, it also adds to the horrid clunks
when changing gear etc.
I am really starting to think about going for an electric reverse using a starter motor mounted off the engine with a ring gear sandwiched between the
output flange and front porop shaft flange.
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phelix
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| posted on 7/5/14 at 11:44 AM |
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Hello Simon.
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rdodger
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| posted on 7/5/14 at 12:41 PM |
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If it's a new build wouldn't the Elite combined diff (MX200IL) and reverse make more sense?
Weight about the same as a Sierra diff. Costs £2000 inc LSD. So if a quaife LSD and reverse box have a combined total of around £1600 plus the cost of
a sierra diff you aren't that far apart and save the weight of the reverse box.
It has the ability to change the drop gear to alter the ratio.
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ReMan
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| posted on 7/5/14 at 12:54 PM |
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Yea but £2000!! 
"Cough" Locostbuilders "Cough"
www.plusnine.co.uk
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scootz
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| posted on 7/5/14 at 05:02 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Duncan36
It's cheap when you compare it to the Quaife made Radical reversing diff at £2400 + vat
You're comparing apples and oranges!
The equivalent Quaife reverse diff to what's being discussed in this thread is £795 + VAT.
It's Evolution Baby!
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franky
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| posted on 7/5/14 at 07:21 PM |
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I don't see how you'll sell something at a higher cost when the same model Quaife is the same price, seems to be just as reliable given
all the issues that MNR R boxes have, Faster turn around with Quaife also.
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MeteorMotorsport
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| posted on 7/5/14 at 09:49 PM |
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Hi Felix
For all the comments regarding the Issues with the MNR box I have only been contacted by one builder to actually describe the issue.
Seeing how the box actually works and engages it is completely different to all the others.
Without giving the secrets away you really want to be engaging forward far more carefully. With very very slow rotation / movement. Not at all like a
dog box which will just slot in at some point. The design is very simple.
I am now in talks with the actual designer and fabricator and may well take over the service and repair of them in the near future.
I can see why they are quite in forward as there are actually no moving parts in contact with each other.
Anyway if those with actual issues contact me in confidence then hopefully any inherent design issues if there are any can be built out.
Just do not force that change from reverse to forward!
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phelix
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| posted on 26/5/14 at 06:57 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MeteorMotorsport
Just do not force that change from reverse to forward!
Indeed - having removed the lid from my box I would say the following:
When in forward mode engage reverse as and when required but with the car stationary and the clutch fully depressed.
When in reverse mode engage forward mode with the clutch fully depressed and the car stationary. If the lever does not move all the way keep the
clutch pedal fully depressed and move the car either forward or backward slightly until forward mode engages. Rocking forward or backward in your seat
should do the trick as will very slow rolling on a gradient. DO NOT release the clutch pedal until you are confident that forward mode has been
engaged. I realise there's a bit of a catch-22 here - you don't really know if forward mode has been engaged until you let the clutch out.
But some practice with the engine off should get you the experience/feel you need to confirm that forward has been fully engaged.
Letting the clutch out before forward has been engaged will result in undesirable self-machining of the internals. The trade-off for no backlash is
the slight difficulty in engaging forward drive. As the car spends much more time going forward than backward the trade-off seems like an OK one to
me.
I've added this information as I received no instructions with my MNR box. Comments/critique welcome.
[Edited on 26/5/14 by phelix]
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