hi
am now very close to spending money on upgrading my rv8
i seem to have two main options, either mild mods to give me around 180bhp
or more expensive mods to give me around 260bhp (but then running on premium unleaded only)
obviously the higher power sounds more fun, but not if it makes it a bit of a handful to drive (she's pretty good now to be honest!)
my question is, is it too much power for a road kitcar (luego viento). the nearest track is some 200 miles away so probably not take it there
there must be others out there with similar or higher power outputs, how do they behave on the road?
thanks for any advice/info
I think alot of locosters tune their little four pots to over 200hp and the rv8 is heavier(?). I shouldn't think 260 would be too bad and you should get used to it pretty quickly.
Hmm how to put this politely. The Viento isn't down there with the lightest kit cars and you have the V8 in there so I don't personally see
you'd have too much issue with handling the power/torque. Obviously somewhat dictated by your driving style and control of your right foot 
Get some driver coaching if you are lacking confidence. I have and it helped me hugely with car control.
FYI my Striker was 550 kg and had a supercharged 1.6 with 267BHP and 195 lbs ft. Biggest difference would be that you have significantly more low down
torque but also weight over the wheels to aid traction.
It is suprising how quickly you get used to the extra power and I can guarantee if you choose to go for the lower power mods you will regret it and
then look at modding it again. 250bhp on a lightweight road car is good fun and you will love it. 
I have 321bhp in my viento from my 2L turbo nissan and its feckin mental
do it
bugga!
that's the answer i wanted
aim for 220 ish; 180 is notig
So what do you have in the pipeline to get 260bhp?
That's (roughly) my eventual target also, so would be interested to hear what you have planned!
[Edited on 22/11/10 by AdamR]
isn't it expensive to get decent power out of a RV8? How about putting in an Alfa lump?
standard TVR 4litre 240Bhp actual on mine 223BHP
4.3,4.5,5.0 more than that. So not so difficult
quote:
Originally posted by AdamR
So what do you have in the pipeline to get 260bhp?
That's (roughly) my eventual target also, so would be interested to hear what you have planned!
[Edited on 22/11/10 by AdamR]
quote:
Originally posted by AdamR
So what do you have in the pipeline to get 260bhp?
That's (roughly) my eventual target also, so would be interested to hear what you have planned!
[Edited on 22/11/10 by AdamR]
quote:
Originally posted by bimbleuk
Hmm how to put this politely. The Viento isn't down there with the lightest kit cars and you have the V8 in there so I don't personally see you'd have too much issue with handling the power/torque. Obviously somewhat dictated by your driving style and control of your right foot
quote:
Originally posted by bimbleuk
Get some driver coaching if you are lacking confidence. I have and it helped me hugely with car control.
Unless you've got some magic then getting 260 out of an RV8 is quite expensive. I don't know how much you are thinking of spending, but I personally would be toying with the idea on american V8 if I was looking for more power. There comes a point where it's cheaper to go for a Chevy 5.7 than to upgrade an RV8, and the gearbox could be an issue which ever way you gom if you've got the LT77 at present.
quote:
Originally posted by interestedparty
Unless you've got some magic then getting 260 out of an RV8 is quite expensive. I don't know how much you are thinking of spending, but I personally would be toying with the idea on american V8 if I was looking for more power. There comes a point where it's cheaper to go for a Chevy 5.7 than to upgrade an RV8, and the gearbox could be an issue which ever way you gom if you've got the LT77 at present.
A bloke I did some work for is fitting this in an MX5. 
(Lexus 4L)
(pic stolen off the MX5 forum)
Paul G
Lexus 4L
quote:
Originally posted by bimbleuk
quote:
Originally posted by interestedparty
Unless you've got some magic then getting 260 out of an RV8 is quite expensive. I don't know how much you are thinking of spending, but I personally would be toying with the idea on american V8 if I was looking for more power. There comes a point where it's cheaper to go for a Chevy 5.7 than to upgrade an RV8, and the gearbox could be an issue which ever way you gom if you've got the LT77 at present.
If weight was not an issue then the 5.3L iron block LSx based engines used in the GM pickups/trucks are a great source for a 300BHP+ standard engine. The Vortec 5300 engines in particular but they are in demand as a limited few are actually all alloy. I do hear of people buying them for $1000 in the states but one big draw back (to me anyway) is the auto box they come with, no manual option.
quote:
Originally posted by 907
A bloke I did some work for is fitting this in an MX5.
(pic stolen off the MX5 forum)
Paul G
Sorry if this thread has drifted a bit from the RV8 but I found this picture a simple way to show one of the reasons the SBC Chevy V8s are used
widely. You can see how much more easily it can be made to fit in tighter spaces.
Wow! When you see the size comparison the Small Block Chevy enging looks tiny - almost BEC material
quote:
Originally posted by RazMan
Wow! When you see the size comparison the Small Block Chevy enging looks tiny - almost BEC material
The 1uz is a good engine and will give you all the power you want with a few mods. It has some major disadvantages though- it's quite big (about
400mm square with no transmission) and there is no manual transmission that will bolt straight on, or flywheels.
Apparently the engine in stock form is good to about 500bhp with some careful forced inducting.