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Author: Subject: Newbie alert, spec advice please!!
Poorscousertommy

posted on 20/10/10 at 08:28 AM Reply With Quote
Newbie alert, spec advice please!!

Hi all, been reading for a good while (think i must have covered 80% of the mk threads at least!) and im stll none the wiser as to the age old BEC vs CEC debate... My current thoughts on the matter...

I'm probably going to run my car 60/40 road vs track, so initally looking CEC.. However, couple of q's for those of you with exp..

1.. Thinking of running S2000, or zetec/duratec, budget of £2500.. Can this be done, as ford engine is gonna need a few toys to get to 225hp.any advice wecome!!

2. If i run the above,am i gonna find myself embarrassed on a track by the BEC boys, and

3. Is REC the answer (anyone done this in an indy?), is that in budget, and will i have major reliability issues??


Sorry for the long post, researched all to death and figured i would take the plunge an open pandoras box!!

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Daddylonglegs

posted on 20/10/10 at 08:38 AM Reply With Quote
Welcome to the forum, and prepare yourself for more BEC vs CEC than you can shake a stick at!

BTW, was going to ask your location but the username might be a bit of a giveaway

[Edited on 20/10/10 by Daddylonglegs]





It looks like the Midget is winning at the moment......

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stevegough

posted on 20/10/10 at 08:49 AM Reply With Quote
Greetings, and welcome to the forum! (though it sounds like you've been a 'passive' member for a while?)

I am sorry, but I am not qualified to answer your question directly - I am on my first build, two years in - and close to the big test - IVA.

I am building a CEC - using a 2.0 vauxhall redtop 16v totally standard ignition and induction (vauxhall spent years and quite a few quid sorting this engine, so I decided putting bike carbs on etc would be a bad idea as I'm no mechanic). This kicks out 150bhp and cost me just £300 from ebay.

As to going the BEC route - don't forget the car has to reverse for IVA and the engines don't like weight - however, they are good screaming fun.

You are going the right way, thinking about the build and what you want to do with it etc before you start.

Keep watching this space, there will be lots of help and advice from more knowledgeable locosters along soon.

Duratec - get in touch with Dave (flak monkey) for some info. Also try reading some on the Burtonpower website.

Good luck with whatever you decide and remember we will be expecting photos all the way....!!!





Luego Locost C20XE.
Build start: October 6th 2008.
IVA passed Jan 28th 2011.
First drive Feb 10th 2011.
First show: Stoneleigh 1st/2nd May 2011.
'Used up' first engine may 3rd 2011!
Back on the road with 2nd engine may 24th
First PASA mad drive 26/7/11
Sold to Mike in Methyr Tydvil 19/03/14

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dhutch

posted on 20/10/10 at 08:54 AM Reply With Quote
Have you been out in any cars? Get down to some trackdays/ownermeets and get some people to take you for a spin.
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Poorscousertommy

posted on 20/10/10 at 10:27 AM Reply With Quote
Thak you gentlemen for the warm welcome!! Not looking to build til Jan, so a long wait for photos, but want to get pricing and sourcing of parts well underway! Am thinking of getting across to MK on sat to have a good nose around and chat, do peeps still pop down there now that the weather has taken a turn for the worse??
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hughpinder

posted on 20/10/10 at 12:46 PM Reply With Quote
The usual response to this is to ask what you mean by 'track'. If its a race series rather than track days you need to check the allowed engines e.g 750mc series is ford 1300 xflow iirc as the only engine. Some series are anythig to 2.0l etc, so decide this first, then your choice may be ready made.

Personally I think the mahosive powerful engines are too much in a seven on the road, especially if you haven't driven such a car before. I'd go for a 2.0 duratec - decent power with no tuning, up to 200/240bhp before changing the internals (according to SBD) and more if you want it. Engine/gearbox/ancilleries come in about 160-170 kg I believe, which is about 80 kg more than a bike engine and box.

Regards
Hugh

[Edited on 20/10/10 by hughpinder]

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RK

posted on 20/10/10 at 12:50 PM Reply With Quote
MK was originally designed for a BEC from what I understand. However, they do an MX5 version too. I have one very very similar, but with a Nissan CA18DETurbo engine - estimated HP = 200.

An MX5 based build would be cheapest, as you can do everything from the same modern donor, and sell the bits you don't want off the MX5. You might come out under budget!!

BEC is significantly more money once you add reverse. This is just from my own research, not personal experience.

Go with what is the most common: Zetec, Duratec, MX5, Vauxhall etc. This will significantly reduce your stress. I know this for fact...

[Edited on 20/10/10 by RK]

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jossey

posted on 20/10/10 at 02:36 PM Reply With Quote
BEC :O)

ohhh its not started yet.

let me know when it starts :O)

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adithorp

posted on 20/10/10 at 02:49 PM Reply With Quote
60/40 split road/track is pretty high with regard to track use to be honest for a road registered car.

S2000 won't be embarassed by a BEC, at least not under excelleration. Braking and cornering will be a different matter with the extra wieght.

You can read all there's ever been writen in the BEC/CEC debate and it's all irrelevant untill you have a ride. You'll either love it or hate it. I know where my money is





"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire

http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/

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JimSpencer

posted on 20/10/10 at 03:16 PM Reply With Quote
Hi

They're all quite simply engines.

It's all about Power / Weight & Gearing.

Enough of the former, as little of the middle and getting the latter spot on.

Then if you get all three of those right you're a third of the way there.

Now
Bolt some good tyres on it.
Make it handle properly.
.. and drive it right.
That's the other 2/3rds of the performance sorted



Personaly: -
Once I was happy that the car was going to be suited to (eligible for?) the track use I had in mind. I would then go for the build route that was easy to do, and easy to get bits for when you have to do it again one day

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mcerd1

posted on 20/10/10 at 03:31 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by jossey
BEC :O)

ohhh its not started yet.

let me know when it starts :O)
CEC....
or better yet get a pinto like mine


but seriously: (because I don't think I can convince you to get a pinto )
quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
60/40 split road/track is pretty high with regard to track use to be honest for a road registered car......

You can read all there's ever been writen in the BEC/CEC debate and it's all irrelevant untill you have a ride. You'll either love it or hate it. I know where my money is
that sounds about right to me - have a ride in one of each and make your own mind up, its really the only way to be sure your getting what you want

the s2000 has been done a few times, but they arn't the simplest of engines.... so as stevegough said above if you want that much power ask flak monkey about his supercharged Duratec "273.3bhp and 226.2lbft at the wheels"
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=143937


[Edited on 20/10/2010 by mcerd1]





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PAUL FISHER

posted on 20/10/10 at 04:24 PM Reply With Quote
I am sure if your going down for a visit at MK on Saturday morning, they will give you a run out in both, then just decide which bike engine you want to fit
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snapper

posted on 20/10/10 at 06:30 PM Reply With Quote
quote:

It's all about Power / Weight & Gearing



I would add the race engine builders adage
BHP sells engine, Torque wins races.
Therefore for the same BHP output an engine with more torque will win, I also suggest that a torque curve that peaks early with a long flat delivery high up the rev range will be more drivable and quicker out of the corners than a high revving peaky engine.

Please note that at no time have I mentioned CEC or BEC





I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)

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adithorp

posted on 20/10/10 at 07:12 PM Reply With Quote
"...Therefore for the same BHP output an engine with more torque will win...." except where the car ends up 20%, or more, heavier because it's got an anchor under the bonnet!

See what you've started, newbie!

adrian





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http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/

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austin man

posted on 20/10/10 at 07:23 PM Reply With Quote
For 60% road use thats a hell of a lot of engine screaming oh and then theres the old fuel debate CEC 30mpg BEC 21 MPG

Bike engined cars do have that initial faster acceleration but can be caught up.

personaly I prefer CEC they can sit a 7o with 3000 rpm and you can talk to the passenger. The also have a decent turn of pace. A duratec would give you what your looking for and be a lot stronger unit than a Bike engine. Dont see many CEC owners posting Killed it after track day





Life is like a bowl of fruit, funny how all the weird looking ones are left alone

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Poorscousertommy

posted on 20/10/10 at 07:48 PM Reply With Quote
OK, so none the wiser, although glad I've asked, as some serious food for thought...

Thanks again for the productive thread folks, looks like a trip to MK at the weekend is a must!

Assuming I budget £2 - £2.5k for the drivetrain, (gonna need a gearbox after all... unless I'm tempted to the dark side ), what can I expect - dont want anything too beat up.. figured the F20c would have been the more straightforward install as already designed for RWD and has a direct mating box but hey - thats why I'm here!!

Anybody i can talk to ref sourcing a half decent engine within the price brackets I'm talking about? I've figured Malc from Yorkshire engines is the man to talk to about BEC, anyone similar for CEC? Being new to this lark, I want to keep whatever engine I go for as stock as possible (at least til I get thru SVA in erm.. 'Insert ambitious timeframe here, double it and add a bit', or to buy Crate engine where someone has already done the initial necessary work (throttle bodies or any other quick wins) to take a lot of grief out of the build...

And Adrian, you're bang on the money, the more I thik about it the more its going to be 80/20 road to track - the track will only be track days to learn how to drive the thing properly, and then only on payday haha!! Seriously, one of the key drivers for the build and ambitions is to put the bad boy together and then take it for a thrash round 'the ring', along with a trip to LeMans at some point so its gotta be driveable!

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adithorp

posted on 20/10/10 at 08:31 PM Reply With Quote
I managed a 3000+ mile trip to the Med' via the Alps this year then 2 weeks later did LeMan Classic (500 each way). Don't write of the touring ability of a BEC. All you need is ear plugs ( and you'd want them anyway for the wind noise). Then get on an Alpine pass and use those 4 figure revs

Get a ride and you'll see the light on the dark side.

adrian





"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire

http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/

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mcerd1

posted on 20/10/10 at 09:00 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Poorscousertommy
Assuming I budget £2 - £2.5k for the drivetrain, (gonna need a gearbox after all... unless I'm tempted to the dark side ), what can I expect - dont want anything too beat up.. figured the F20c would have been the more straightforward install as already designed for RWD and has a direct mating box but hey - thats why I'm here!!

the main problem with the F20c is the electronics, the standard ECU can be tricked into working (I beleve it normally wants all kinds of pointless information thats nothing to do with the the engine from sensors all over the car - just so you can turn it on)
most people seem to get aftermarket ECU's to get round this

if you like that sort of thing then its not that big a problem - if your like me you'll run a mile and get something with carbs


also the gearbox is a bit bigger than the likes of a type 9, the engine is quite tall (I know some people have had to dry sump them which isn't cheap) and I think the standard rear axle ratio is some thing like 4.1:1 (lower geared than std 7" diffs come in)
having said that alot of the BEC guys want the 3.38 and 3.14 diffs from the 2.3 diesels which can be like rocking horse poo these days

[Edited on 20/10/2010 by mcerd1]





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Hellfire

posted on 21/10/10 at 12:02 PM Reply With Quote
On a budget of 2K to 2.5K, you'd get better performance straight out of the box, as standard, with a bike engine. Not all BEC's are thirsty and noisy either Just depends how heavy you are with your right foot and how loud you want it to be. Our old Blade engine returned 30+ mpg and pace wasn't too far off the ZX12R, unless on track.

There also seems to be a common misconception that bike engines lack torque but what the majority fail to consider, is that bike engines have a torque multiplier in the form of a primary reduction gear. Therefore BEC torque isn't as low as it appears.

For a fair weather car/toy - BEC all the way.......

Phil

[Edited on 21-10-10 by Hellfire]






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franky

posted on 21/10/10 at 08:41 PM Reply With Quote
Am I allowed to mention a bmw engine they all run with standard ECU's, everything from revvy 4 pots that make 140bhp standard up to an e46 m3 engine with 340ish bhp ITB's as standard and 8000+rpm, oh for under 2k too.
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noc231073

posted on 21/10/10 at 09:21 PM Reply With Quote
the s2000 has it own problems.... i once fitted one to a rally car .... a rather big engine and very high ....to fit to an mk you would have dry sump it and to be honest for what your talking about spending you just wont do it for 2,500..
just a quick break down of some of the cost ....
a good engine on it own will cost you between 2000- 2500
a dry sump kit will cost you between 1000-1500
then figure out how your going to run it ..ie: trottle bodies ...or run the standard injection....... its never ending ...
you would have to spend close to 5k to get the performance out of it

just my 2 cent worth...
Btw I am building a hayabusa indy ...
I have raced minis for years and going to a bike engine car means for the price i paid for my last mini engine rebuild i could have 2 2009 hayabusa engines sitting in my garage and thats money was spent to get just 140 bhp ...and it could go bang at any minute ....
the bike engine to me just seems more bang for buck.....

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Poorscousertommy

posted on 21/10/10 at 10:16 PM Reply With Quote
Aaaargh!! Decisions decisions!! Again, great advice gents, looks like only a ride is going to help me make my mind up! Phil, great build diary, but was frustratrd to find the final month of the build. The link takes you back to tge start so you never do see the finished product.. Did you do that on purpose??
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Hellfire

posted on 22/10/10 at 11:13 AM Reply With Quote
The last month of the build diary used to be there.

I'll get the webmaster to look into it. The build diary does however (sort of) continue in the rebuild diary.

Phil






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theduck

posted on 1/1/11 at 06:32 PM Reply With Quote
Bumping an old thread, the link for the last month of the hellfire page is still wrong, but it is still hosted...

Can be found here http://www.mkhellfire.co.uk/200404.htm

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