BuGsBuNnY Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 To answer the BEC question One of the issues for Bike Engines is that they need to be light.... lightness costs money. Most people who build BEC's have a bit of a paranoia about weight, so brakes, uprights, seats, dashboards, wheels, tyres etc tend to be exotic in some way. Fireblades are good value with throw away engines, and on track are great. (£600) Blackbirds do not have the best reputation, although it seems a bit hit and miss... some are great (£800-£1000) Busa's are fantastic, but need dry sumping and have a high engine cost because of it £4.5k including the sump. Probably best BEC/CEC compromise. Heaters are pretty useless, but some people seem to have a predicliction for them.... except BEC's because they add weight. Why do blackbirds have a not so great reputation? Do they tend to go bang? What are the problems associated with them? I thought Mr. Honda's engines were pretty much indestructible... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadrego Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 I was under the impression that Blackbirds were fairly realiable if they have been dry sumped. I think they're a pretty decent compromise, giving good power but they aren't going to cost the earth if they go bang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 in a bike honda reliability is 2nd to none, I would be suprised they would be any different in a car if looked after , blades take some serious abuse and they seem to take it ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 There's enough evidence around to show that Blackbirds have a habit of going bang more in a car than most of the other bike engines, and the evidence points to sump deficiencies when using the standard wet sump, or a modified wet sump... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadrego Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 There's enough evidence around to show that Blackbirds have a habit of going bang more in a car than most of the other bike engines, and the evidence points to sump deficiencies when using the standard wet sump, or a modified wet sump... Could the same not be said of Busa's running wet sumps as well though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomy Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Regarding Xflows, does it cost a fortune to get them near 200 BHP though?.I honestly don't know of any and am even suprised when i read of people who are running them around 150 BHP. It just seems so unusual for them to be over 135/145 BHP, yet the more modern engines all seem to be at the 180/200 end of the scale. I always assumed this was due to cost and reliability issues?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhawkins Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 I honestly don't know of any and am even suprised when i read of people who are running them around 150 BHP. Rob Navin to the boardroom, Rob Navin to the boardroom please... Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadrego Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Regarding Xflows, does it cost a fortune to get them near 200 BHP though?.I honestly don't know of any and am even suprised when i read of people who are running them around 150 BHP. It just seems so unusual for them to be over 135/145 BHP, yet the more modern engines all seem to be at the 180/200 end of the scale. I always assumed this was due to cost and reliability issues?. In fairness, a Xflow starts off as 1600 and I think you're comparing it to a 2 litre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomy Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 I was just trying to show that having an 'older' engine doesn't necessarily preclude you from getting high power figures from it. Aye, i understood what you meant matey, i just wouldn't want anybody to think it was common practice to get Xflows running at those kind of figures. It's a popular engine of that there is no doubt, but there has to be a reason most hover around 135/145, so i assume it is just not worth the expense or effort?. I see quite a few pintos running at higher BHP figures though but for the near 200 BHP brigade it seems the zetecs and VX's are the obvious choice. I admit i'm not that knowledgeable on costs and specs however, but it seems higher BHP zetecs etc are two a penny, big BHP xflows i have seen i can count on one hand!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Navin Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Mine is running at big BHP. At present in 1700cc guise I only know of one other that is up there as developed as it is and that one has just come back from MASS making 208. The answer to why you don't see that many about is that the do cost ! No two ways about it. Last time I checked on a replacment for mine not including carbs, dry sump system, ignition, exhaust or clutch it was just over 8k. I rebuild mine every couple of years sprinting regardless of how many events I do. Its cheaper for a couple of K to freshen up and check than it is to by a new one, and to be honnest I would probably change to BEC power if mine went Bang in a big way. That said there is nothing that sounds better to me than my car bouncing off the rev limiter at 9.5k when I'm having a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 and do the majority of cars come with a heater ? I imagine this would encourage you to go out on the colder days I you can have heat on the feet etc.. Mine has a heater, and although it's not brilliant, it has been just enough to take the real chill off over the winter months. I find wearing my winter bike gear has also helped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morbius Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 My Zetec engined car has a heater (fitted for SVA / windscreen clearing). The engine does not really get hot enough this time of year even without the heater fan running, and with the fan on has trouble staying above 65C on the gauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 I suspect you need to address the overcooling issues that have been discussed at length on here several times. I *strongly* recommend having a shufty in the archives for this. Running your car at below 70 degrees is not good, and there is no reason why it shouldn't be up at 75-80 degrees even in this weather... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 I agree with blatters. My zetec runs at about 85 C with an ambient temp of 5 - 10 C. It does drop to about 80C on long stints about 60 MPH+. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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