StanS Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Possibly wrong section but wondered as per title. Any comments/advice/personalpreferences please. Thinking of mainly road use but want a solid/reliable lump that will take say 10 track days /year driven to the max. Relative costs to get say 240BHP, are they still reliable at that power, much weight difference, etc etc. Originally wanted a V8 and still fancy one, but am now thinking a 4 pot would be less expensive to repair/rebuild if the car I buy has an engine problem. Thought a Duratec would be the one to look for as they are light and seem tuneable without costing a fortune. Confused of Norfolk ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speed Freak Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 getting 240hp out of either engine is going to require quite a lot of modifications and money. If either go bang it will end up costing you quite a lot of money to replace. A more cost effective route would be perhaps a relatively standard engine that's supercharged-that way if the engine goes bang you can swap over the charger, and simply get yourself another standard engine. Which engine you should choose I wouldn't like to say, as there are many to choose from- ideas---maybe a stock duratec with charger??? you can pick up a std duratec for something like 700quid, make a few charger mods, it would be a cost effective engine, and Im sure would get you considerably more hp than 240... ive got an s2000 in mine which isn't too far away from the power you want, but wouldn't recommend it for track use, as torque is a little low for the tight bends... unless you got urself some tb's and a nice gearbox to go with it, etc etc etc but that wouldn't be cost effective! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander72 Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 I'd get a solid reliable x-flow and take weight off the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanS Posted May 20, 2013 Author Share Posted May 20, 2013 Thanks for the info Timmeh . Heard somewhere that 240 was "easy" from std Duratec for about £2400 ?? So maybe 240 is higher than the optimum reliability/performance level (not familiar with these engines - last 14 years playing with Scoobies). Dont want to go turbo or blower prefer simple, NA engine but will take a fair amount of "abuse" ! Alexander - had a Xflow 1600 in the S3 7, thought I'd now go up to 2 litre. Maybe I should stick to a fairly std engine (200bhp ish). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas12v Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 If I were building a car now I would fit a Duratec, Jenvey TBs, cams and management. Good for 200hp for around £2.5k. Or keep an eye on eBay etc for one with everything above included. It's the most modern engine out of them all and tough. Basically the modern red top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander72 Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Stan, it was tongue in cheek mate . Martin (Gunplumber) has a nice DuratecR and Mark MK has one too i believe. someone will be along in a minute to help :-) cheers james Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Maybe I should stick to a fairly std engine (200bhp ish). yup at that bhp it will be plenty quick enough and you will be able to cane it as much as you like within reason my standard duratec has just over 180 bhp, goes pretty well and has taken all that I can throw at it without complaint so far I have looked into the NMS 230/240 upgrade and it costs around the 4k mark - would be a cracking car though but you then have to consider issues with gearbox weakness (depending upon what the car has fitted already) Everything just wears out quicker As is usual you might be best off buying the car that fits the bill that somebody has already spent the money on IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanS Posted May 20, 2013 Author Share Posted May 20, 2013 Stan, it was tongue in cheek mate . Martin (Gunplumber) has a nice DuratecR and Mark MK has one too i believe. someone will be along in a minute to help :-) cheers james At ny current level of ignorance and knowing some people like the 'old" engines in preference to later ones i took it as your personal preference ! Having spent several fortunes on my last 2 Scoobies I want to avoid spending much at all on the Westie and hope to find one that someone had spent money on so I don't have to. I realise its a slippery slope as upgrading one thing usually means something else is then under critical stress and needs upgrading etc etc. I'm leaning towards a mildly tweaked Duratec .....I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 to get 240bhp from a n/a duratec you need to change rods and pistons as you need to rev them higher and up the compression for the bigger cams to work, but for not a lot more you can go to the next step to the 260/270 bhp + spec which is what ive just done with my car. however if you upgrade the cams and light headwork on a standard duratec you will see around 210bhp which is what I had prior to my upgrade its plenty enough to keep you entertained and prob close to perfect in my opinion , standard duratec motors are out there now for £400 now from Mondeos and standard motor with supercharger will run at 240bhp and be bomb proof as they dont need to rev , depends on budget and how much power you feel you need,after running a scooby you could be underwhelmed by 140bhp, I know a lot of people run sevens and suggest that power kills the driving experience (more so in the caterham camp) but I dont subscribe to that theory! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanS Posted May 20, 2013 Author Share Posted May 20, 2013 Thanks. I think I would need to find an already supercharged one as the conversion cost would cause WW3 with the passenger ! I am still leaning towards keeping it fairly simple/reliable. But good to hear all the possibilities ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 ps, for around 200bhp 2.0 zetec also worth considering too and if as your avatar "your looking for the right car" will come in on a cheaper budget than a duratec leaving more funds to upgrade . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Finding the extra power in a Duratec or XE costs a reasonable amount, you then have to add to that the costs to beef up the Clutch, gearbox, tyres, diff and many other parts. 10 trackdays a year will take it's toll on your car, there will be breakages, I'm finding that out recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Stan, if you get a standard Duratec car and let, say, Paul Dunnell do his magic for about 240 bhp and you do not abuse it it should give good service. With 10 trackdays a year you'll probably need a refresh every 2 years, ask Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speed Freak Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 ive harped on about this in other threads before. but....- I really would recommend the st170 engine. The rods and pistons are forged/steel as standard.. good enough to take you up to 250hp... meaning that youll only need to do head work and cams-where as with the duratec youll need to strengthen the bottom end. speak to ric wood at cncheads, he knows his stuff. youd need his head and cam setup, mated to a dta ecu-and he can guarantee (that's his quote) that with a decent exhaust youll have 250hp! worth a look into-although I don't know exactly what your budget is!? to get 240hp+ I cant see you having any spare change this side of 6k.. and more realistic would be nearer 8k- its all the little bits and bobs that add up- the cheapest big power you can get is probably the Honda s2000 engine, but its a bit heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhc Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 ive harped on about this in other threads before. but....- I really would recommend the st170 engine. The rods and pistons are forged/steel as standard.. good enough to take you up to 250hp... meaning that youll only need to do head work and cams-where as with the duratec youll need to strengthen the bottom end. speak to ric wood at cncheads, he knows his stuff. youd need his head and cam setup, mated to a dta ecu-and he can guarantee (that's his quote) that with a decent exhaust youll have 250hp! worth a look into-although I don't know exactly what your budget is!? to get 240hp+ I cant see you having any spare change this side of 6k.. and more realistic would be nearer 8k- its all the little bits and bobs that add up- the cheapest big power you can get is probably the Honda s2000 engine, but its a bit heavy. Sorry to contradict you Tim but the S2000 is not big or heavy for a 2 litre engine revving to 9200 and 240+ bhp in standard form. The engine weighs 90 kgs dressed, and its just a different shape to an XE or Duratec. Its the Honda gearbox thats big and heavy and a useless addition to a 7 type car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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