150BHP - 175BHP upgrade.
Discussion
Has anyone done the above? I've a K Series VVC 150BHP Roadsport which I fancy putting through Dave Andrews with the aim of it coming out the other side with ~175BHP.
For under 1.5K fitted, is it worth splashing the cash? I've never upgraded an engine, so I don't really know what jumps in BHP/ torque are noticeable and what aren't. To be honest, I don't know how much the torque will change.
Davith.
For under 1.5K fitted, is it worth splashing the cash? I've never upgraded an engine, so I don't really know what jumps in BHP/ torque are noticeable and what aren't. To be honest, I don't know how much the torque will change.
Davith.
To bring this back up, there is also a 185BHP+ upgrade which has been nagging away at me for £500 more.
I'm using the car daily in what ever weather decides to happen that day. I have been thinking that ~185 would be too much for a daily car, maybe making it too lively in the pissing rain and greasy roads.
Anyone with an R400, R500, 185+ BHP Caterham fancy telling me what it's road manners are like on a cold wet day in the driving rain?
I'm using the car daily in what ever weather decides to happen that day. I have been thinking that ~185 would be too much for a daily car, maybe making it too lively in the pissing rain and greasy roads.
Anyone with an R400, R500, 185+ BHP Caterham fancy telling me what it's road manners are like on a cold wet day in the driving rain?
Gingerbread Man said:
To bring this back up, there is also a 185BHP+ upgrade which has been nagging away at me for £500 more.
I'm using the car daily in what ever weather decides to happen that day. I have been thinking that ~185 would be too much for a daily car, maybe making it too lively in the pissing rain and greasy roads.
Anyone with an R400, R500, 185+ BHP Caterham fancy telling me what it's road manners are like on a cold wet day in the driving rain?
The 220ish I ended up with on my last upgrade is very linear, I have driven it in the rain, snow and ice and it has been fine. Obviously you have to concentrate a bit more but you wil find that if you upgrade wisely you will have a very driveable car, more so than from the factory. I would say the 185 upgrade will be fine, but you wont stop and IME the sweetspot is 200HP, reliable enough and retains the character of the car.I'm using the car daily in what ever weather decides to happen that day. I have been thinking that ~185 would be too much for a daily car, maybe making it too lively in the pissing rain and greasy roads.
Anyone with an R400, R500, 185+ BHP Caterham fancy telling me what it's road manners are like on a cold wet day in the driving rain?
When/if you go for it my advice is dont mess around and fit forged pistons etc straight away, the same with the porting and cams, it will pay you to do it once. If you want more info IM me, I will give you the run down of all my upgrades
yonex said:
Gingerbread Man said:
To bring this back up, there is also a 185BHP+ upgrade which has been nagging away at me for £500 more.
I'm using the car daily in what ever weather decides to happen that day. I have been thinking that ~185 would be too much for a daily car, maybe making it too lively in the pissing rain and greasy roads.
Anyone with an R400, R500, 185+ BHP Caterham fancy telling me what it's road manners are like on a cold wet day in the driving rain?
The 220ish I ended up with on my last upgrade is very linear, I have driven it in the rain, snow and ice and it has been fine. Obviously you have to concentrate a bit more but you wil find that if you upgrade wisely you will have a very driveable car, more so than from the factory. I would say the 185 upgrade will be fine, but you wont stop and IME the sweetspot is 200HP, reliable enough and retains the character of the car.I'm using the car daily in what ever weather decides to happen that day. I have been thinking that ~185 would be too much for a daily car, maybe making it too lively in the pissing rain and greasy roads.
Anyone with an R400, R500, 185+ BHP Caterham fancy telling me what it's road manners are like on a cold wet day in the driving rain?
When/if you go for it my advice is dont mess around and fit forged pistons etc straight away, the same with the porting and cams, it will pay you to do it once. If you want more info IM me, I will give you the run down of all my upgrades
Also, not a biggy, but does the fuel consumption change much?
Oh and too add, Dave Andrews will be doing the work. I'm hoping that he'll build it 100% solid and I won't need to come back to it again in a hurry to change what he has done. Therefore, I'm hoping his choice of needing different pistons etc.. to be mustard.
Edited by Gingerbread Man on Sunday 28th November 20:24
Gingerbread Man said:
Is yours a K series? Has the extra power changed the reliability or the need for often oil changes etc...? Reliability is the key for me due to it's daily use. Having more power, but the car off the road due to a higher stressed engine being unreliable is something I can't have.
Also, not a biggy, but does the fuel consumption change much?
Oh and too add, Dave Andrews will be doing the work. I'm hoping that he'll build it 100% solid and I won't need to come back to it again in a hurry to change what he has done. Therefore, I'm hoping his choice of needing different pistons etc.. to be mustard.
Yes talking K series here. Also, not a biggy, but does the fuel consumption change much?
Oh and too add, Dave Andrews will be doing the work. I'm hoping that he'll build it 100% solid and I won't need to come back to it again in a hurry to change what he has done. Therefore, I'm hoping his choice of needing different pistons etc.. to be mustard.
With daily use I wouldn't go too far. The 185 will be perfect. Whilst I am no fan or Duran Durans they have their place, performance wise I would stay with K rightly or wrongly.
When I was running in I was amazed by the consumption, hard use its a little worse than before but I am guessing it still returns 20 or so!
Go for the forged pistons, not worth the risk, Dave is a good guy I have no hesitation recommending him.
My 226bhp DVA K is just going back to Dave now after 20,000+ miles and 5 sprint/hillclimb seasons (4 of which I drove the car to and from events). There is nothing wrong with the engine but I decided that I've had a good run with it and didn't want to push my luck. I also want another 500 rpm and a few more horses
My brief for the engine was to get 200bhp, I hoped for around 210 and was very pleased with 226. It's a 1900 Scholar block, DVA ported VVC head with BP285H cams, Jenvey DTH throttle bodies (with airbox), a Caterham 4-2-1 SLR exhaust system and Emerald ECU. If you stuck with an 1800 block then this spec should get about 200bhp. You will need single tang con-rods and forged pistons. With the mild cams it's very tractable around town and pulls from 2500rpm - the torque curve is very flat with no holes in it. This means it's easy to drive even in poor conditions. I've changed the oil once a year and not had to do any other special maintenance on it.
You will be fine with the 185bhp upgrade.
My brief for the engine was to get 200bhp, I hoped for around 210 and was very pleased with 226. It's a 1900 Scholar block, DVA ported VVC head with BP285H cams, Jenvey DTH throttle bodies (with airbox), a Caterham 4-2-1 SLR exhaust system and Emerald ECU. If you stuck with an 1800 block then this spec should get about 200bhp. You will need single tang con-rods and forged pistons. With the mild cams it's very tractable around town and pulls from 2500rpm - the torque curve is very flat with no holes in it. This means it's easy to drive even in poor conditions. I've changed the oil once a year and not had to do any other special maintenance on it.
You will be fine with the 185bhp upgrade.
MadHatter7 said:
185 Bhp will be no problem
I never had an issue with 256 Bhp in the rain, the car will tell you what its about to do
I've read that from 180BHP upwards, that I really need to uprate the pistons for long term reliability.I never had an issue with 256 Bhp in the rain, the car will tell you what its about to do
I can see the costs spiralling, so I think (?) I'm going the 175+ route for now and maybe a few other mods like a new exhaust and see how I fair.
Edited by Gingerbread Man on Tuesday 7th December 22:01
redmire said:
Very jealous, haven't finished paying for my car yet!
Would be very keen to 'upgrade' once i have cleared the debt...not sure how manageable 200+ horses are though...?
I find 140 quite savage....
I think part of my problem is that I use the car daily. So I get used to the power quicker than say if it was a weekend toy.Would be very keen to 'upgrade' once i have cleared the debt...not sure how manageable 200+ horses are though...?
I find 140 quite savage....
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