which car engine for 200bhpsdh2903 - 11/7/13 at 06:06 PM
I'm not building anything at the minute but am always on the mooch for a project. I have my eye on a couple of things at present that are
tempting and this got me thinking about engine choice. Which car engines are best at the minute?
Must be N/a or supercharged, not a huge fan of turbo power for lightweight applications.
Must be around the 200bhp mark
Pretty light
Not cost the earth say a hypothetical budget of 2k?
For the projects in mind 4 cyl only, possibly compact v6
My thoughts were:
2.0 zetec + headwork+ cams + throttlebodies maybe 180bhp
2.0 duratec + throttle bodies maybe 190 ish
S2000 240 bhp standard but expensive and bit more pricey to get running
Civic type r engine If you can get a suitable box?
Anyone have any further options/opinions? all info gratefully received!
Steve
Ian Jones - 11/7/13 at 06:09 PM
a charged mx5?
rodgling - 11/7/13 at 06:13 PM
Rover K series will do nearly 200, at least for a short while? GKD's supercharger kit for the BMW 4-cylinders will do about 200 I think,
expensive way to achieve that result though.
Flat 6 from an older Boxster? Stretches the budget a little bit but would be awesome in a lightweight car?
mark chandler - 11/7/13 at 06:22 PM
Scrap A V6 S type jag, they come in manual form as well so a matched gearbox donor
240bhp I think, although will have lost some in time
[Edited on 11/7/13 by mark chandler]
daniel mason - 11/7/13 at 06:26 PM
id go for the 2.0 ford duratec probably. nice and light too!
2.0 Duratec, bike throttle bodies and megasquirt and will do it for less than 2k
coozer - 11/7/13 at 06:34 PM
Volvo 6 pot..
eddie99 - 11/7/13 at 06:34 PM
+1 for Duratec
DIY Si - 11/7/13 at 07:11 PM
KLDE V6. Tiny little engine and 205 or sp BHP on ITBs. Mine's going in a Sprite.
britishtrident - 11/7/13 at 07:12 PM
Keep the weight in mind in a light car saving 40 kg is worth a lot of HP and handling.
Poorscousertommy - 11/7/13 at 07:34 PM
After throttle bodies, what would the collective suggest to tip a duratec over the 200 mark for least £££?? Fast road cam??
sdh2903 - 11/7/13 at 07:37 PM
Cheers for the suggestions. The BMW m42/m43 is out due to the canted over engine although the supercharger is an interesting option as I believe it
runs a standard ecu.
I have seen the couple of kl v6 builds and love the noise of the thing, I would need to finalise my plans to get measurements to see if one would fit.
Good point about the weight BT so how do the various options stack up weight wise, Is the Duratec the lightest option? and what's realistically
needed to get to the 200bhp mark?
SPYDER - 11/7/13 at 08:02 PM
What about the 3SGE 2 litre Toyota in VVT-i format from a Jap import Lexus Altezza.
208 hp. NA. Six speed box.
Drawbacks are iron block and they are a bit tall, but no more so than the S2000 motor.
3sge interesting leftfield option but I'm guessing rare but will look into it.
Unijacko whats a realistic estimate of getting the s2k lump in and running?
sdh2903 - 11/7/13 at 09:23 PM
Seems there's a fair few 3sge engines on the bay pretty cheap too. Hmmm interesting.
unijacko67 - 11/7/13 at 09:51 PM
Unijacko whats a realistic estimate of getting the s2k lump in and running?
I bought a damaged full car 07 AP2 for £4500 and have had more than that back for the parts. don't get me wrong its lots of time and work and you
do need space to keep it under cover. So I've got engine, gearbox, switches, ecu, sensors and loom for my labours. Lots of work stripping loom
back, but again can be done on the cheap. Even doing it like that I've spent far more than I ever expected, I've had to make loads of the
bits myself on the build and stopped adding it all up when it got to 12k. Just been out in it tonight and its awesome.
theduck - 11/7/13 at 10:07 PM
Renault F4R from a renaultsport Clio? Though gearbox is the issue there.
SPYDER - 11/7/13 at 10:26 PM
quote:Originally posted by sdh2903
Seems there's a fair few 3sge engines on the bay pretty cheap too. Hmmm interesting.
Make sure that it is the RWD version that you are looking at. Most 3SGE engines on ebay are from Celica or MR2 and are difficult to convert to RWD
layout. Ask me how I know!
silky16v - 11/7/13 at 11:16 PM
Hi a toyota 3sge for me....bullet proof but a bit heavy on itb"s and megasquirt mine does just shy of 200bhp and goes like stink set up by Bailey
Performance......Gordon
loggyboy - 12/7/13 at 07:38 AM
Redtop would be my choice.
INDY BIRD - 12/7/13 at 08:01 AM
Rover k series light and revive,
My friend just bought a mg 160bhp engine and had the head ported by scholar and a set of mild cams it made 206 bhp on the rollers engine cost £560
head work was £700 ish and 400 for the cams that's good cheap bhp he did the write up in pc magazine as it was fitted in a Caterham,
The 160 engines are stronger as have better pistons so can rev to around 8k above that you will need to get stronger valve springs and piston upgrades
he will have the car on track with me this weekend at Woodbridge,
That's cheap power,
And lots of spares for then
Mine makes 185 bhp and with more to come
Good luck and also they are very light so power to weight of the engine is better than most for 200 bhp
gaz_gaz - 12/7/13 at 08:43 AM
Renisis RX8 engine.
Compact and Lightweight. 230bhp ish. If you get past the horror stories there great.
There also a doddle to rebuild
adithorp - 12/7/13 at 08:57 AM
quote:Originally posted by theduck
Renault F4R from a renaultsport Clio? Though gearbox is the issue there.
I think I've seen a Renault to type9 bell-housing on the GBS stand at shows.
jossey - 12/7/13 at 09:33 AM
Them new 1.6 turbo zetec things what will they do with a big turbo.?
ianm67 - 12/7/13 at 10:05 AM
Corvette LS1, 5.7 V8......
Aaron_n_Sim - 12/7/13 at 10:30 AM
quote:Originally posted by ianm67
Corvette LS1, 5.7 V8......
loggyboy - 12/7/13 at 10:53 AM
quote:Originally posted by adithorp
quote:Originally posted by theduck
Renault F4R from a renaultsport Clio? Though gearbox is the issue there.
I think I've seen a Renault to type9 bell-housing on the GBS stand at shows.
Would be interesting to see a 197/200 lump (or 172/182) in a kit as they are very revy lil engines.
loggyboy - 12/7/13 at 10:54 AM
quote:Originally posted by jossey
Them new 1.6 turbo zetec things what will they do with a big turbo.?
Do you mean the ecoboost? Nothing much to do with a Zetec.
iank - 12/7/13 at 11:56 AM
Surprised no-one has suggested Vauxhall XE, known, cheap and reliable to 200bhp with just throttle bodies and a decent exhaust.
Only downside it it's a bit heavy and getting harder to find.
I'd think you can get an early s2k for 3k now, as a running vehicle, if you don't mind it being a cat c or d... That's all that's
mines worth. It seems to be accepted that they're worth more as parts. As has been said, depends how much time you have, as money.
Oh yes they have......
MRLuke - 12/7/13 at 12:34 PM
quote:Originally posted by INDY BIRD
Rover k series light and revive,
My friend just bought a mg 160bhp engine and had the head ported by scholar and a set of mild cams it made 206 bhp on the rollers engine cost £560
head work was £700 ish and 400 for the cams that's good cheap bhp he did the write up in pc magazine as it was fitted in a Caterham,
The 160 engines are stronger as have better pistons so can rev to around 8k above that you will need to get stronger valve springs and piston upgrades
he will have the car on track with me this weekend at Woodbridge,
That's cheap power,
And lots of spares for then
Mine makes 185 bhp and with more to come
Good luck and also they are very light so power to weight of the engine is better than most for 200 bhp
Thats not cheap at all! My engine setup cost £600 including gearbox and wiring and should make 250-300bhp.
I would put a +1 on the 3SGE Beams engine over 200bhp out of the box, though as mentioned make sure you get one in RWD setup unless you are going for
mid engined.
Turbo is the way to go for cheap power, you can pickup an Sr20det with all the gubbins, gearbox, turbo etc for less than £1k which will make 220bhp
out of the box and nudge 300 before it starts to get expensive.
jossey - 12/7/13 at 02:39 PM
quote:Originally posted by loggyboy
quote:Originally posted by jossey
Them new 1.6 turbo zetec things what will they do with a big turbo.?
Do you mean the ecoboost? Nothing much to do with a Zetec.
Ye that's the one....
You knew what I meant :-)
iank - 12/7/13 at 03:36 PM
quote:Originally posted by MRLuke
quote:Originally posted by INDY BIRD
...
Turbo is the way to go for cheap power, you can pickup an Sr20det with all the gubbins, gearbox, turbo etc for less than £1k which will make 220bhp
out of the box and nudge 300 before it starts to get expensive.
Turbo is good for big power numbers, but a poor idea for going quickly in a lightweight RWD sports car.
iank - 12/7/13 at 03:37 PM
Have they? not in this thread as far as I can tell...
I mentioned Redtop quite early on.
That's why it didn't turn up when searching for XE or Vaux then INDY BIRD - 13/7/13 at 07:33 PM
You don't need 200 bhp,
Just did a track day in my striker with 185bhp and when was there was some people I know and they had a caterhams with a zetec 200 bhp and another
with 207 bhp another with 205 bhp and a r400 d with 230 bhp,
Guess who was in front. Yep me, I could easily keep ahead of them even pulling away from the cars apart from the r400d on the straights but when I was
behind them aswell really couldn't over take them too,
The zetec car was easy to whoop even on the straights and it had a dunnel zetec engine
So very evenly matched cars a great day with 5 cars out on track we had a hoot,
I would say get all the drive train a gearbox wright and this can make up for bhp
I could max out about 130 mph @ 7100 rpm and pulled there easily,
So get this wright aswell,
Oh and ps they all had slicks I was on khunmos v70
Go for the k series its a great revvy engine,
Only my thoughts after a great day
sdh2903 - 13/7/13 at 08:43 PM
Indy bird, I see your point but this engine may well not be going in a 7, in a car weighing maybe 7-800 kgs so I think 200bhp is a fair shout to keep
performance interesting. With regards your tussles with higher power cars surely there must be a leveller somewhere with your car being lighter,
better geared or you have more ability. A car with 20 bhp more of same weight and gearing surely shouldnt struggle?
One thing I learnt from my build is build to the best spec first time, its cheaper than doing it twice!
I am tempted by the s2k lump and I really enjoy stripping donors but I'm not sure I can get the initial outlay together.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys, much reading and research to do!
Steve
franky - 13/7/13 at 08:46 PM
quote:Originally posted by sdh2903
Indy bird, I see your point but this engine may well not be going in a 7, in a car weighing maybe 7-800 kgs so I think 200bhp is a fair shout to keep
performance interesting. With regards your tussles with higher power cars surely there must be a leveller somewhere with your car being lighter,
better geared or you have more ability. A car with 20 bhp more of same weight and gearing surely shouldnt struggle?
One thing I learnt from my build is build to the best spec first time, its cheaper than doing it twice!
I am tempted by the s2k lump and I really enjoy stripping donors but I'm not sure I can get the initial outlay together.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys, much reading and research to do!
Steve
Also you don't want a rover engine do you!?
It might be worth buying a whole car on some plastic, you could get all of your money back or most of it?
Thats not cheap at all! My engine setup cost £600 including gearbox and wiring and should make 250-300bhp. 
