Engine Choice?

[JonLeeper]

Just been told that I have to take a six month break from my project to have a "hot and sandy holiday" on work : so have been thinking about a number of things. The most important is my choice of engine, hence the post! I currently have two 2.7 l Honda v6’s, from Rover 800’s, sitting in the garage and was going to use them but now with another six months I am not so sure. They were an impulse e-bay purchase and condition is unknown.

So the question is this what engine?

Criteria:

1. Not to concerned about number of cylinders or engine manufacturer but must make about 200 BHP, or be able to with minimal mods, minimal being defined as removing power steering, removal of cat, etc not full rebuild.

2. Must be as light as possible, it is going to sit behind the rear wheels on a Beetle transaxle, and therefore as compact as possible!

3. Must be readily available and not cost the earth, read “cheap as chips” here!

That’s about it! Any suggestions?

Jon

[Mave]

To get as light as possible, you're looking at a bike engine aren't you? Alternatively, something relatively small and maybe turbocharged, rather than the unstressed rover V6?

[denisb]

I went for a Nissan VQ30DE. This is a 3 litre Nissan V6 weighing around 140-150Kg and putting out 190-210BHP standard.

Being a 60 degree V6 means it is fairly narrow but about the same height and length as the typical 4 cylinder.

[deltafox]

denisb said:

I went for a Nissan VQ30DE. This is a 3 litre Nissan V6 weighing around 140-150Kg and putting out 190-210BHP standard.

Being a 60 degree V6 means it is fairly narrow but about the same height and length as the typical 4 cylinder.

Those VQ 30de's; Are they alloy blocked?

[ringram]

Chevrolet LS1 every time!

[JonLeeper]

Many thanks for the responces, and I would love to put in a V8, if only for the noise and to fulfil a long held dream to own one, but the weight is just too much. I have thought hard about a rover V8 but there seems to be such a range of weights quoted that I am not sure. I have seen the weight stated as "about 100 kg without gearbox or exhaust" but others seem to think that 200 kg is still a bit light! At 100 kg it is about the same as the original VW air cooled boxer but at 200 kg it is to heavy. The Nissan V6 sounds good and they are available and cheep, eBay motors with a couple of months MOT for under £500! There seems to be a good deal of tuning kit out there as well. I was also toying with Alfa engines, both the boxer and V6. The Boxer 1.7l 16v would seem to be a good choice, but there seems to be limited tuning kit available and the V6 is quite tall, but would probably fit.

Any other suggestions?

Jon

[deltafox]

JonLeeper said:

Many thanks for the responces, and I would love to put in a V8, if only for the noise and to fulfil a long held dream to own one, but the weight is just too much. I have thought hard about a rover V8 but there seems to be such a range of weights quoted that I am not sure. I have seen the weight stated as "about 100 kg without gearbox or exhaust" but others seem to think that 200 kg is still a bit light! At 100 kg it is about the same as the original VW air cooled boxer but at 200 kg it is to heavy. The Nissan V6 sounds good and they are available and cheep, eBay motors with a couple of months MOT for under £500! There seems to be a good deal of tuning kit out there as well. I was also toying with Alfa engines, both the boxer and V6. The Boxer 1.7l 16v would seem to be a good choice, but there seems to be limited tuning kit available and the V6 is quite tall, but would probably fit.

Any other suggestions?

Jon

Toyota 1mzfe. 200bhp, 3000cc, 24 valves alloy block.....etc etc..

[leorest]

JonLeeper said:

...I have seen the weight stated as "about 100 kg without gearbox or exhaust" but others seem to think that 200 kg is still a bit light! At 100 kg it is about the same as the original VW air cooled boxer but at 200 kg it is to heavy...

I think an RV8 will be too weighty for your application. It seems hard to get definitive figures but from my googling armchair research I recon 170kg ish for dry engine and I'm hoping ancilleries plus a rover 5 speed box will come in under 250kg total, as that it the weight limit of the hoist I intend to use!

[LotusNova]

Jon,

Are you mid-mounting, or rear-mounting (your post says one, profile says the other). I'm not clear whrether you have the Beetle transaxle or not.

If you're rear-mounting (where weight is more critical) one option is an air-cooled Beetle engine? I'm using a mid-mounted 2.0L Zetec on mine, although not on a Beetle chassis. You'd need to tune either for 200bhp.

[Jonleeper]

Hi Jon,

I am using the original VW transaxle and mounting the engine out the back. I got the SS without an engine and had the rover units in the garage from another project and when I saw Ben’s setup I thought that I would copy that. I still could but with the timelines getting extended I thought that I would see if there was a better option rather than using the engines that I just had lying around!

I could go for an air cooled lump but the cost of getting a reliable 200 bhp is just prohibitive. The same goes for the Porsche units, great engines and an easy fit but just so expensive.

I like the sound of both the Nissan and Toyota engines they seem to be affordable, eBay <£500 for a running vehicle, relatively light and fairly compact. I had not thought about a bike engine but the SS will not be that featherweight and I am not sure that a bike setup will cope. I could be very wrong, I normally am, but …….

Many thanks for all the suggestion, and keep them coming,

Jon

[denisb]

deltafox said:

denisb said:

I went for a Nissan VQ30DE. This is a 3 litre Nissan V6 weighing around 140-150Kg and putting out 190-210BHP standard.

Being a 60 degree V6 means it is fairly narrow but about the same height and length as the typical 4 cylinder.

Those VQ 30de's; Are they alloy blocked?

Yes. The earlier V6 (300ZX etc) it replaced was cast iron, weighed a lot more and was much larger.

[GravelBen]

For rear-mounting a Subaru motor may be an option, being a boxer engine I believe they're quite popular for beetle transplants. Not sure of cost where you are though, and for 200+bhp you'll be wanting a turbo which bring added complication of intercooler location. 300+ bhp is pretty easily gained though if you get power-hungry.

[Mr2Mike]

Toyota 3SGTE (MR2 Turbo, Celica GT4 etc.). Anything from 200 to 245bhp in stock form depending on year and application, with plenty more available with a simple boost increase. Not exactly feather weight (has an iron block) but not stupidly heavy either.

Alternatievly the C20LET Vauxhall engine from e.g. Cavalier and Calibre Turbo. Again it's iron blocked, but a strong and powerful engine.