thinking of buying a kit car
Discussion
Its all down to power and weight. A bike engine being smaller and lighter and fairly powerfull for its size is a good option 
But saying that Caterham are doing well with there R400, R500 etc as the number is due to its power to weight ratio and they are using K series engines.
Its all down to how much you are looking to spend
But saying that Caterham are doing well with there R400, R500 etc as the number is due to its power to weight ratio and they are using K series engines.
Its all down to how much you are looking to spend
martin320 said:
hi all, new to kit cars thinking of buying either a vauxhall 16v powered or bike engined powered car. will the vauxhall say 190 horse be as quick as the bike engine.and what does a Q prefix reg mean on kit cars. cheers martin
1) Depends which bike engine and what car you put it in. For a superbike engine (Honda Fireblade of above) in a light car (Seven-type), almost certainly not, but it would be much more driveable. Bike Engined Cars get at least part of their phenomenal performance from low gearing, so at motorway speeds the engine is screaming away at 8000 rpm or more and top speed is often surprisingly low - depending on the diff. ratio they can be bouncing off the rev. limiter (at 12,000+ rpm) at as little as 110mph.
2) Q-plate means 'indeterminate year of manufacture'; in a kit car's case, because it uses major components from a range of sources. If you can prove that you used all ned components when you built it, or that most of the major components came from a single donor vehicle of known age, you will be given a normal age-related number plate. There is a points scoring system (so many points for engine, so many for chassis, etc.) which dictates what type of registration plate is awarded.
martin320 said:
will the vauxhall say 190 horse be as quick as the bike engine.
To add to the others' replies, the car engine will give more torque, but at the expense of a lot more weight. Don't forget this will have a fairly dramatic effect on cornering, braking and longevity of tyres/brakes as well as acceleration.
Although they have low torque figures (? about 70 lb ft for a Blade) bike engined cars feel much more tractable than you'd expect and can easily pootle around town at 2-3k rpm.
Don't forget also that the bike engine has an integral 6 speed, sequential close ratio gearbox. You can also do clutchless changes with these. You've got to experience going through the gearbox changing up at 11k+ RPM to appreciate it!
Check out some of Graeme Finlayson's in car video
As has been pointed out, Caterham have done quite well with their tuned K series motors in the R400/R500, but check out the pricing!
Also check out the longevity of these engine units - as I understand it they don't go for very long between 'refreshes' at fairly huge expense. If my Blade engine goes pop I'll expect to replace it for £1k or less (the original cost me £500). An R400 is around £30k, my Westfield Megablade cost me about £11k all in as a new build. One more thing - I get in the upper twenties of mpg from my Megablade, doubt you'd get that from a tuned Vx. Even on track it's not far short of 20mpg (compared to 7mpg in my Evo
) Bike engines aren't for everyone, as has been pointed out they're noisy and relatively low geared (mine will pull about 130 in top). And every time I go out in mine I try to remember to remind myself it's not good for me taking it out on the road! It seems to put me in full on hooligan mode!
A friend's 200bhp Vx Westie (SPD 204 kit) is pretty much on a par with another friend's Megabusa for in-gear acceleration, certainly quicker than my Locost blade in a straight line.
Ultimate track pace the BEC with equivalent acceleration will be quicker round a circuit because of gains in cornering and braking, but a well driven Vx car with 180-200bhp is no slouch by any means.
I would say that if you're planning on primarily road use, then go for a car engine, but for mainly track the bike engine comes into its own. If you want maximum performance for the money then blades / R1s / ZX9s etc can't be beaten, busa's need dry sumping and cost more to start with but are the ultimate BEC engine if you can afford em.
Chris
Ultimate track pace the BEC with equivalent acceleration will be quicker round a circuit because of gains in cornering and braking, but a well driven Vx car with 180-200bhp is no slouch by any means.
I would say that if you're planning on primarily road use, then go for a car engine, but for mainly track the bike engine comes into its own. If you want maximum performance for the money then blades / R1s / ZX9s etc can't be beaten, busa's need dry sumping and cost more to start with but are the ultimate BEC engine if you can afford em.
Chris
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