Hi!
I have read a lot about Locost, but nowhere have I seen anyone say anything about performance. Like what type of performance can be expected from a
100 horsepower engine. 0-100 km/h, top speed... I understand that it depends on many things but a general idea would be great.
How fast are your cars? :-)
Best regards,
You don't measure it in miles per hour or kilometres per hour....
You measure the speed of a Locost by how many boy racers you make look stupid.
Anyone that knows any better, speak up now.....
Hi Nik
Fast enough. Think in terms of bhp per tonne. My car has I would think 100bhp at the rear wheels and weighs around 530kg so has about 188bhp per
tonne. Look at production car figures and work them out for yourself. I rekon a 0-60mph time of 5.5-6.5 seconds is on the cards. Top speed about
115mph (crap aerodynamics).
Chris
I'd agree with that. My XR2k (see right) has 158bhp at the wheels, weighs about 800kg and does 0-60 in about 6 secs. Power to weight is about
200bhp/tonne so I'm aiming for that in my Locost aswell - hopefully fit something with 100bhp at the wheels (1.8 Zetec?) and try and get the car
around (well, under) 500kg.
That sort of speed feels quick enough in a D plate Fiesta so I can imagine what it'll feel like with your arse an inch from the ground in a Locost!
Chris
I have ridden/driven 1300 xflow, pinto, vaux 16v, and bike engined, they range from very swift to balistic, and all out perform with ease the hot
hatch brigade, they are one of the few cars that i would describe as "faster than me" what i am trying to say in that is, they a capable of speeds
quicker than speeds that turn my boxers a muddy coulor, got the point ? oh, and they handle like there on rails to,,,,,
It sounds as if I'd like driving a Locost then. :-)
Best regards,
you will, watch for the flys though, a 100mph fly hurts...... 
I'm gonna be using a head mounted fly and crud deflector.
Also known as my face...
Reminds me of a story told on TOL (The Other List).
Chap driving at speed down a country lane, leaning into the corners, having a great time.
Then his front driver-side wheel went through a soft and squishy cow-pat...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Yum yum.
Bet that made his day...
Ewwwww. 
What about bike powered locosts? From what I've heard they'll even make Porches and the like look like they're standing still.
Correct........
Nailed my number plates on this morning and went for a ride round with Bob the builder,VERY NICE
Taking of preformance and bike engines. If people already havent seen it i know its not exactly a lowcost but its a 7 copy sort of! The new Tiger Z100WR fitted with twin 1200cc Kawasaki ZX12 engines each producing approximately 190bhp. Posted a 0 to 60 mph time of 2.8 seconds and a 0 to 100 mph time of 6.3 seconds using road legal tyres. That should be enough power for anyone!
Why go twin engines, Jon Ison has a single, albeit tuned, 'blade engine capable of 0 - 60 in around 3.2 secs, not that far off the twin Kawasaki job
for a lot less outlay.
Marcus
quote:
Taking of preformance and bike engines. If people already havent seen it i know its not exactly a lowcost but its a 7 copy sort of! The new Tiger Z100WR fitted with twin 1200cc Kawasaki ZX12 engines each producing approximately 190bhp. Posted a 0 to 60 mph time of 2.8 seconds and a 0 to 100 mph time of 6.3 seconds using road legal tyres. That should be enough power for anyone!
Only problem I see with that tiger with twin engines is it handling. It looks set up very soft for quik acceleration. Also quite heavy so would
loose out round the bends.
I think the way to go fast is to make the thing very light and single bike engine.
If money were no object
Carbon monocoque chassis. Total weight of car 300kg
Ducati V-twin engine heavily tuned to 200bhp.
PWR of 667bhp/tonne
Nice
but would prob cost £100k
Better still :
Regular locost : 500Kgs odd
Holeshot racing turbocharged busa : 350 bhp
bhp/tonne : 700
Life of the engine might be a tad questionable though, but that's basically what a Dax rush mc is.
Evo reviewed one a couple of months ago, and described it something along the lines of - Such violent acceleration it's almost painful. More of a
handful in the wet than a Ferrari F40, and they could wheelspin in 5th at 80mph. The quoted 0-60 is 3.7 seconds, but that sounds decidedly
conservative, the biggest imiting factor is going to be the tyre grip.
Kingr
Does it not occur to anyone that some of these cars are just too much to handle for some people. I know we would all like the fastest car on the road
but for some i would imagine some cars would be too quick for the driver resulting in a 6' pine box!!!!!
I was going to go the bike route but decided on bog standard pinto for the time being. To be honest i would not trust myself with such a fast car. I
would probably end up in a ditch somewhere wondering what the hell happened.
I would suggest taking a bike engined car out for a spin and see how you get on.
Now wheres my pipe and slippers.... oh there they are.....i'll just make myself some coco before i have my afternoon nap!
I had the same thought after my ride in the Isonblade - I'd end up either banned or dead!
David
I had the same thought too after riding in a couple of BEC's and got straight down to building one.
I think it's also important to remember than it's not just sbout speed, these things handle unbelievably well, that aspect always amazes me more than
the power.
And with the open cockpit, arse on the floor, it all feels twice as fast.
I know I'm gonna scare the sh*t out of myself plenty - but that's where the fun is!
just wear your brown trousers so no one notices
I think some very good points have been raised here.
quote:Me too - and I've got to drive it with one hand.
I know I'm gonna scare the sh*t out of myself plenty
quote:
I was going to go the bike route but decided on bog standard pinto for the time being. To be honest i would not trust myself with such a fast car. I would probably end up in a ditch somewhere wondering what the hell happened.
only took 1 ride/accident in mk's demo to convince me. I built one straigt away