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Author: Subject: Newbie looking for bec
Kes205

posted on 13/10/18 at 01:24 PM Reply With Quote
Newbie looking for bec

Hi all. I have been wanting to get a bec for a number of years and think it's time I do it as you only live once. I just wondered whether there was a buying guide or what should I look out for when viewing. I did initially have the intention of buying a kit and then building one but after reading about the headache of iva and the amount of time I have I think buying a built one and then doing any bits and pieces I need suits me better.

I am looking for a Bec as my daily driver is an evo 6 so wanted something completely different and the videos I have been watching make the bike engines sounds insane and look rather rapid. I am thinking spending about 8k ish and like the look of an mk indy but wondered what the best bike engine for reliability is. I have done some reading and it's seems people rate the r1 engine and busa but think the busa is out of my price range. Just wondered what the main things I should look out for.

Cheers

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perksy

posted on 13/10/18 at 01:49 PM Reply With Quote
Welcome

It would be worth posting your location as it might be that someone with a bec will live near you and let you have a sit and a chat about them?

Have you been out in a bec 7 before as their a lot different to one with a car engine ?

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Kes205

posted on 13/10/18 at 02:06 PM Reply With Quote
No I haven't been in a bec only one with a car engine that my mate used to have and just loved how open and raw it felt. But love the idea of a high reving engine and they sound amazing. Plus thought the bec would be more different from my other car. I am from the south east near canterbury.
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jossey

posted on 13/10/18 at 04:25 PM Reply With Quote
I'll await the barrage of abuse but bec cars used for thrashing in a car are not reliable.

I went for the Cbr900 as the engines cost under 300 quid. Stock pile them. Me and a mate swapped one out over lunch like 1 hour from dead to running.

But they are a little old in the tooth now.

But the way any decent engine kit car will be totally different to your evo. Even a zetec tiger or westfield. But for laughs the 11500 rpm of a bike engine is amazing.


Cbr1000 and the r1 still seem pretty reliable.

You need to find a good base car really.

Good suspension, diff, wheels and engine.

If it's mainly a track car and you can pull a trailer you can save a lot on a non registered one.

If it's for sunny days on road then get one with a decent diff ratio like 3
14 etc.

I know people on here have had bomb proof engines but the norm is not this IMHO

Good luck with the search.

Mnr cars look amazing
Westfield are the higher end cars and great
Tiger avons not really designed not bike engines
Mk I really liked the busa one I drove but fell out with them so won't comment as they have a new owner.
If your looking for monster quick then zzr1400 all day long.

Try make sure it has a cage this is better for resale value and you feel a lot safer. I would not drive a rollbar one ever again.



[Edited on 13/10/18 by jossey]





Thanks



David Johnson

Building my tiger avon slowly but surely.

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AdamR20

posted on 13/10/18 at 05:32 PM Reply With Quote
MNR is the best of the bunch by miles (I've had a few different kits), a couple on eBay at the moment...

Nowt wrong with a bike engine as long as its fitted with the right bits and in the right way, and you don't have fists of ham

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Kes205

posted on 13/10/18 at 06:47 PM Reply With Quote
Thanks for the replies it's really helpful. The car will mostly be for driving on the road on a nice day well a non wet one anyway. I dont have a massive urge to go on track days but maybe that will change in the future. Just want something thats ok to cruise about in and also put up with spirited driving without being beyond unreliable. But then again do like spending some time with a spanner tinkering.

That's beyond impressive changing engine in an hour not sure I would be able to do that.

Its good to know about the mnr I have to admit I have seen a few of those for sale but was not so keen on the front end in comparison to the other lotus 7 types cars. But maybe I need to rethink if the quality of the kit is really good.

I definetly think the bike engine is my preference over car engine. Shall have a look what is around.

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PAUL FISHER

posted on 13/10/18 at 07:01 PM Reply With Quote
Sean Smith is the new owner of Mk Sportscars, he is not only a real kitcar enthusiast and a top bloke, but is a expert when it comes to Mk's, he loves Bike engined kits, and will guide you though the best options, he is also located in Braintree Essex, so not too far away for you to to travel, for help and support, he has various demo cars to take you out for a drive to help you decide what to buy😎
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CosKev3

posted on 13/10/18 at 07:07 PM Reply With Quote
You can get a normal seven type nose from MNR,or you can cut out the slats on the normal nose, or paint them black

I've been running my car with a R1 engine for 4 summer's and 12k miles but this winter I'm changing it over to a car engine.

The bike engines with the sequential clutchless gearchange are awesome if you are going out for a spirited drive on nice quiet roads, but in traffic and driving at slower speeds threw built up areas etc they are quite hard work and I've got fed up of the clanking and clacking of the gearbox as you go on or off the power at lower revs/part throttle etc.
As above ref diff ratio,try and find one with a 3.38 or 3.14 ratio.
With my R1 on the common 3.62 ratio cruising revs were too high,70mph was 7000rpm in 6th gear.
It gets boring very quickly if you get on some longer straight roads!

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Kes205

posted on 13/10/18 at 07:47 PM Reply With Quote
That's good to know about the mnr front end as that really was the only thing putting me off. Stupid really but just not to my taste.

I have to admit most of the driving will hopefully not be in traffic as have a few nice country backroads but but that's good to know about bec can be a little tiresome in traffic. But probably still worthwhile just for the high revs.

Great to know you have got 4 summers worth of driving out of the engine. I have to admit I was a little worried about reliability of the bike engines in a car trying to pull along alot more weight than it was originally designed. But seems reliability is possible if you regularly look after them

I didnt realise mk was quite close to me. Would be great idea to have a look.

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M@rk

posted on 15/10/18 at 02:45 PM Reply With Quote
Just took the plunge into BEC ownership myself. I've got an S2 Exige as my track car and will be keeping that. This BEC is a bit of an extravagance but after attending a track day at Cadwell Park, watching a few BEC 7 style cars flying past the viewing point at the cafe, I left there thinking I had to have one! It felt as though you could see the lightness of them, the way they changed direction and cornered. And how frantic they seem, 12k + revs, the sequential box. So applied some man maths and determined a BEC would be different enough to the Exige to warrant it! And my intention is to use it for sprints, maybe a race series and track days (occasional road maybe)

In regards to what BEC I went for, I can tell you what steered me. I've had a few not run of the mill cars over the years and one of the biggest pains for me what availability of parts and specialists. So high up my priority list was a make that was well established. I'm also paranoid about depreciation, after all, that just eats into my car pool fund and limits my next purchase ) Caterhams seemed to do very well at holding their value, with Westfields not far behind. Although you pay a premium initially for them, I always consider the cost of a car as the difference between what you bought it for and what you can sell it for, not just the initial purchase cost.

I discounted Caterhams, as a BEC was more likely to reduce the value. So next in line was Westfield. So many places do aftermarket parts for them, Westfield have been around since the beginning of time and will probably out live me. So my headache of getting parts was solved. Residuals good and plenty of BEC Westfields. I preferred the look of Westfields over MK (the rear) I like the MNR, even the nose cone and wouldn't have turned one down.

Good luck with the search. As you would no doubt have already heard, build quality is the most important thing. You could get a brand new, Megabusa that's been bunged together, that will give you a worse and more expensive ownership experience than a 10yr old car that was put together well. If I was to do this again, I'd probably line up a number of viewings in one day and pay someone like Andy Bates from AB Performance to come along with me.

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