Muscular 5.2 Engine upgrade for Chimaera/griffith
Discussion
Has anyone some experience upgrading his engine with the 5.2 engine from V8 developments (www.v8developments.co.uk/).
I'd like to upgrade my 4.0 HC Chim with some real muscle stuff. Last year I met a nice bloke in Zolder who showed me his 5.2 upgrades chim. He told me that it took him 6 monthes to have this engine running correctly and that one of his friend had his Chim that had caught fire after the same conversion !!! Very appealing.
Regards
Phil
Brussels
I'd like to upgrade my 4.0 HC Chim with some real muscle stuff. Last year I met a nice bloke in Zolder who showed me his 5.2 upgrades chim. He told me that it took him 6 monthes to have this engine running correctly and that one of his friend had his Chim that had caught fire after the same conversion !!! Very appealing.
Regards
Phil
Brussels
quote:
Has anyone some experience upgrading his engine with the 5.2 engine from V8 developments (www.v8developments.co.uk/).
What these people *don't* tell you is, installing and setting up the engine costs more than the engine, so double or trebble the prices they gave you. Then remember the cost of upgrading the rest of the car to take the power reliably and safely will likely be at least twice the cost of the engine mods. So multiply the RPI/V8 costs by a factor of six and see if you still think it is viable, compared to jusy trading up to a standard 500. Oh and I didn't mention spiralling insurance and maintenance costs did I? Or the lack of any increase in resale value.
Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)
Been there. Done that. Wiped out the bank balance. Actually using John Eales as my engine builder who built the engine to my spec. Currently getting the next power hike into 400+ bhp territory. If you want the car to go faster first upgrade the brakes and suspension and then the engine.
Upgrading the driver works well by getting some tuition.
Dropping a 5.2 takes some serious engineering if you want the car to be reliable. You will need to look at clutches, cooling, fuel pumps, drive train etc etc. Some of these parts will become consumables. Running costs become a joke.
Next month there should be the detailed story of what it took to fit the 5.2 monsta engine into the Wedge and exactly what had to be done. The engine was delivered shrinkwrapped and ready to rumble. Also be prepared for some pretty horrendous running costs e.g. single figure MPG, tyres that last a few weeks, clutches that need replacing every few months, oil changes every couple of weeks and so on. It is also very expensive.
If the car is an early Chim then there is even more work to be done. Rough rule of thumb is that the cost is twice what the engine costs.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
Upgrading the driver works well by getting some tuition.
Dropping a 5.2 takes some serious engineering if you want the car to be reliable. You will need to look at clutches, cooling, fuel pumps, drive train etc etc. Some of these parts will become consumables. Running costs become a joke.
Next month there should be the detailed story of what it took to fit the 5.2 monsta engine into the Wedge and exactly what had to be done. The engine was delivered shrinkwrapped and ready to rumble. Also be prepared for some pretty horrendous running costs e.g. single figure MPG, tyres that last a few weeks, clutches that need replacing every few months, oil changes every couple of weeks and so on. It is also very expensive.
If the car is an early Chim then there is even more work to be done. Rough rule of thumb is that the cost is twice what the engine costs.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
This is all a bit of a blow. I too have a 400HC.
I've decided to hang onto it for good (I've had it from new)and want to look at uprating /improving along the way.
What IS the most cost effective power upgrade(s) I can do to this engine before I'm into F1 engine maintenance schedules as seem to be required on the 5.2 ?
I've decided to hang onto it for good (I've had it from new)and want to look at uprating /improving along the way.
What IS the most cost effective power upgrade(s) I can do to this engine before I'm into F1 engine maintenance schedules as seem to be required on the 5.2 ?
quote:
What IS the most cost effective power upgrade(s) I can do to this engine before I'm into F1 engine maintenance schedules as seem to be required on the 5.2 ?
Swap it for a 500 or get some driving tuition!
Big throttle body plenums, bigger airflow meters, bigger injectors and a rechip will give about 20-30 bhp but be warned the insurance companies don't like this unless you've also uprated brakes and suspension.
So the 2-3 grand engine upgrade quickly doubles in cost.
I went into this big time in Sprint a couple of issues ago. Basic conclusion was from an economic view, changing the car to a bigger engine version was the easiest and cheapest way. Beyond that you can spend money but you won't add value to the car and may even make it harder to sell.
There are some examples of various upgrades on Tower View's web site. www.t-v-r-services.co.uk including how we got Griff 500 ish power out of a 3.9!
I personally do like the big plenum/rechip/new air flow upgrade. It has been done to my Griff 500 shopping trolley and the car now has a genuine 300 bhp without the need for F1 maintainance. It also runs on UL fine which saves a penny of two. Although the previous owner didn't so it, the car does need better brakes when pushed hard so 300mm fronts with Wilwood 4 pots is going on fairly soon (when the new brakes for the 520 arrive and free up the Wilwoods).
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
13k, that's only just run in! They get better with age. Mine is faster with 45k on the clock than when I got it with 15k on the clock.
Take it for a rolling road tune/possibly a rechip - you might (read: probably will) find quite a bit of power without making any mechanical changes.
T/.
Take it for a rolling road tune/possibly a rechip - you might (read: probably will) find quite a bit of power without making any mechanical changes.
T/.
Steve,
thanks for having answered me on Pistonheads forum subject "MUSCULAR 5.2 ENGINE UPGRADE FOR CHIMAERA/GRIFFITH". It confirms that a 5.2 upgrade is something I do not want because it would be cheaper to trade my car for a cerbie 4.5 ! Then my idea is to go for a 500 conversion or someting else. An important point you have to know is that I have a LHD chim (I live in Brussels) and trading up for a 500 is not so easy on the continent (small choice, almost imossible to find the right color/trim combination etc). Furthermore I have already made a brake upgrade (Tower view bigger disks with later spec calipers, steel brake pipe, Leven Tech aluminium handbrake, button etc). An al ot of small annoying things have been fixed on my chim. This means my chim is a car that suits my "maniac" needs for perfections. Marc the belgian importer is actually converting a 4.0 HC to a 500 engine. He is planning a budget of about £5000 for the whole job (car ready to go). He buys all the needed upgrade parts from TVR.
1./ First question : do you know a supplier cheaper than TVR that can provide 500 engine parts. All V8 specialists focus on 4.6, 4.9, 5.2 engine but never on 5.0
2./ I have thoroughly read www.rpiv8.com web site and I have an idea for a cheap conversion. My chim is A 4.0 HC sept 95. What if I bought a balanced short 4.6 engine from rpiv8 (about £1600) and I reuse all other parts form my 4.0 HC (all means heads, admission, chip, etc). Don't you think it should give me an engine that is somewhere between an actual 4.5 TVR and a 500 (closer to a 500 than the actual 450 since my 4.0 HC has more or less the same torque/bhp figure as a new 4.5 chim), all this for half the cost of a 500 conversion. What do you think of it ?
Regards
Phil
Brussels
thanks for having answered me on Pistonheads forum subject "MUSCULAR 5.2 ENGINE UPGRADE FOR CHIMAERA/GRIFFITH". It confirms that a 5.2 upgrade is something I do not want because it would be cheaper to trade my car for a cerbie 4.5 ! Then my idea is to go for a 500 conversion or someting else. An important point you have to know is that I have a LHD chim (I live in Brussels) and trading up for a 500 is not so easy on the continent (small choice, almost imossible to find the right color/trim combination etc). Furthermore I have already made a brake upgrade (Tower view bigger disks with later spec calipers, steel brake pipe, Leven Tech aluminium handbrake, button etc). An al ot of small annoying things have been fixed on my chim. This means my chim is a car that suits my "maniac" needs for perfections. Marc the belgian importer is actually converting a 4.0 HC to a 500 engine. He is planning a budget of about £5000 for the whole job (car ready to go). He buys all the needed upgrade parts from TVR.
1./ First question : do you know a supplier cheaper than TVR that can provide 500 engine parts. All V8 specialists focus on 4.6, 4.9, 5.2 engine but never on 5.0
2./ I have thoroughly read www.rpiv8.com web site and I have an idea for a cheap conversion. My chim is A 4.0 HC sept 95. What if I bought a balanced short 4.6 engine from rpiv8 (about £1600) and I reuse all other parts form my 4.0 HC (all means heads, admission, chip, etc). Don't you think it should give me an engine that is somewhere between an actual 4.5 TVR and a 500 (closer to a 500 than the actual 450 since my 4.0 HC has more or less the same torque/bhp figure as a new 4.5 chim), all this for half the cost of a 500 conversion. What do you think of it ?
Regards
Phil
Brussels
To pens :
--------------------------
I run a 4.6 in my chimp with stage 3 heads etc
excellent power / torque for 1/2 5.2 money !!
--------------------------
1./ How much were you total conversion costs ?
2./ Where did you have the converson made ?
3./ What mpg do you have now (road, city traffic etc)
Regards
Phil
--------------------------
I run a 4.6 in my chimp with stage 3 heads etc
excellent power / torque for 1/2 5.2 money !!
--------------------------
1./ How much were you total conversion costs ?
2./ Where did you have the converson made ?
3./ What mpg do you have now (road, city traffic etc)
Regards
Phil
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