320/340chimps

[351CLEVELAND]

After years of drivng american muscle cars i am now thinking about a big old 5 litre chimaera. Some i have seen advertised as 340 bhp but i thought they were all rated @ 320? If there is a 340 version what is the difference? cam profile?

[GasBlaster]

The V8 5 litre engine is alleged to have put out 340bhp until late 1997 when it was detuned to 320 bhp. Some engines had 'HC' stamps but this doesn't mean anything as all 5 litre engines are HC spec. V8s are pretty much hand built and there is a wide variation in actual outputs, even for the same spec engine. A TVR Power engineer told me that they put out "a good 300" bhp, but the only real way to tell is to put your machine onto a rolling road.

[JonRB]

"Oh no, here we go again". Cue perennial heated discussion of the claimed vs. actual outputs of TVR engines.

[stig]

The original 5 litre engines were allegedly 340bhp. TVR smoothed out the cam when they went to serpentine belted engines to make slow driving less lumpy. These engines were supposedly down to 320bhp. In reality, as with all engines, once drivetrain loss is factored in you'll get a lot less. I've heard of 5 litre Griffs which only put out 165bhp when tested! However, with so much torque at your disposal it's still collosally powerful. http://www.locost-racing.com Car No. 13