Been looking at the MEV Rocket http://www.mevltd.co.uk/

I have a feeling the rocket might make a decent hill climber but I would want more grunt than I could cope with

What car engines give over say 250BHP either as standard or with not a lot of effort/expense? (not turbo ideally)

In order to be competitive I will need well over 250BHP

I think the Duratec V6 gives about 250BHP but what does it take to up this to say 300?



Any thoughts?

Cheers

Mark

you can get these engines well over 300bhp...
just speak to NOBLE
(noble M400 = 425 bhp with a couple of small roller bearing turbo's!)

i would almost dare say there are NO old 250+ bhp front wheel drive cars, newer ones like r32 golfs etc are going to be very expensive - and probably 4wd anyway! There is always the audi v8 option, but that is still going to cost a whack. Turbo widens your choices somewhat due to the easy tuning, but its not ideal for a short hillclimb.

If it was me, i would stick in a 5 pot volvo turbo and just get used to it!

Autocar run a ariel atom with a supercharged type r lump for the indoor speed record... full bore launch in 4th GEAR and it was still wheel spinning
still hit the magic 60 in under 5 sec's though
(not as fast as Phil coopers autograss racer i might add)

Honda Type-R engine? FWD 2.0 VTEC with 200ish bhp, chip should up that to what you want.
Or the Accord has a couple of vtec engines you could breath on for not much more.
You have to have an ASBO just to test drive a type r or integra, so there must be some out there that've been bent round lamposts with engine intact.
Check this <link> for starters. Expensive as low milage, but you get the picture.

You would have to go for the 3 litre Duratec to get close to 250bhp (my 2.5 litre only managed 202bhp) but if you strap a turbo or two on them they get really interesting. I am looking at putting a Vortrex blower on mine in the future - loads of air for such a small unit and it should give me 300bhp without too much pain (financially)

All alloy, 24v gives 220bhp. Easy to achieve 250 or even 300 without turbo.

Very popular in Italy for hill climbs and produce in excess of 400 bhp.

Also sounds great!!!

The Vauxhall 3.2L V6 out of the Omega is listed as 217 BHP @6000 rpm as Standard would ave thought TB's and a good exhaust would see you near the magical 250 BHP

Should imagine they could be converted to FWD with the Calibra 4wd gearbox (transfers blanked off) so it could then be put in the rear.

There's also the Alfa V6's to consider

Use a supercharger instead of a turbo? No lag

Use 2 bike engines like I did!
You could have around 350 bhp with no tuning!

quote:

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Originally posted by akumabito
Use a supercharger instead of a turbo? No lag

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quote:

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Originally posted by chockymonster
pah, compound charge it Small SC for low revs, big turbos for higher up

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Thanks for the suggestions guys.

it might have to be a v6 24 all alloy - I like the sound of the Alfa motor

Still not sure about the turbo stuff though, it needs to be a smooth power delivery throughout the rev range and I bet the V6's are pretty torquey too.

If I can work out how to put a windscreen with wipers on it I can compete in the road going kitcar class. I'll be up against westies and caterhams but it might be quite close with 300 BHP and the weight in the right place

Cheers

Mark

Don't forget the Subaru GT range. There are 250hp models there back in the mid 90's. And, currently used in very sucessful cars e.g. http://www.saker.co.nz/ relatively cheap engines here in NZ due to certain elements in society tending to steal and crash them. Jap imports sometimes have 2wd gearboxes which are handy for a midi build. I know this is no use to most readers but here a link to a dealer with two similar engines for sale at about US$1,500 each. http://www.engineimports.co.nz/petrol_engines.cfm

Book a testdrive in the westfield xtr4 with the 280bhp audi 1.8 turbo. Or with a Donkervoort with the same engine.

I'm not a good driver by anybodies standard but things like turbo lag simply doesn't exist in this engine. I samples the 180bhp version in a seven and in terms of powerdelivery I've never driven a smoother seven.

280bhp still comes with full factory guarantee and if you know a good audi breaker you can match and mix with different gearbox options to give you exactly the right gearratio's.

Downside is that the engine is quite heavy but I think that the extra torque makes up for that. Other downside is the lack of a limited diff. You need an aftermarket one if you want one.

On the other side; living in Italy I have seen some of these tuned alfa's. Never driven one but the sound is fantastic and the engine is simple beautifull to look at....

Goodluck with your choice!

been round goodwood in an s2 elise with a supercharged k20a (300bhp), no lag and loads of torque, very very quick.

other than that 3ltr duratec or 3.2 vw/audi v6's for the power you're after if they fit and aren't too heavy?

Ned.

[Edited on 10/1/07 by ned]

...Mazda rotary engine?

quote:

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Originally posted by akumabito
...Mazda rotary engine?

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I'm using an Alfa V6 too, a 192bhp 12v from a 164 (same as that very smart blue one I think).

They're a good choice if you want:
*Loads of torque
*Amazing sound
*Very simple wiring (the 164 has a seperate loom for the engine unlike many other cars, so you can can get it running on the original ecu very easily and without half a tonne of wiring.)
*Lots of weight (don't be fooled by the "all-alloy" marketing hype, its a robust engine and box, together, with ancillaries & exhaust manifolds mine weighed 250kg (measured with a super accurate strain gauge)
*Something a bit different to the usual rover V8's, Zetecs, K-series etc

On the other hand if you want an easy and cheap 300bhp it would have to be a turbo engine I guess. Subaru flat 4 would be hard to beat if you can use a north-south layout with a transaxle. STi engine has forged internals and has 270-odd Bhp standard, but built with lots more in mind. 400Bhp on stock internals is common. Very light engine too, around 100kg (engine only). I have a fire damaged STi engine in my shed if you want any dimensions!

How much are 1UZFE Toyota motor's in the UK?
Here in Australia, they're fairly cheap, I was trying to work out why they're not used more over there.
Check out: www.1uzfe.com
They give 250 to 1000 bhp depending upon how much you want to spend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x9YV4SN-Kw


[Edited on 12/1/07 by Doug68]

1UFZEs are plentiful in the states, and their upward potential is well documented. The problem is by the time you get the standalone, jump through the necessary hoops to make the thing work with a manual transmission, and do the mods necessary to extract the additional performance from the engine, it's no longer a cheap engine. Pitty. I'd love little more than to get a boosted one, or go with the QuadcamsNZ individual throttle body setup, some good cams and a chip. Oh well.

Mitsi EVO bolts straight up to the Lancer/Galant fwd box - 300-360bhp with no turbo lag.

To quote Mr Clarkson
"So for the 360 they’ve taken the idea of the 400 but reined it all back a bit. Disappointing? Not at all. It’ll still get from 0 to 60 nearly a full second faster than a Porsche 911 Carrera S, but it’s all so much more driveable than the car it replaces. Actually, it’s much more driveable than pretty much anything.

At first it’s scary, but as you get to know it and you start to realise that it won’t fly off the road, everything — the grip, the handling and the unbelievable, seamless barrel of torque and power — becomes almost hysterical. "

And don't forget the Mitsi FTO MIVEC V6 200bhp from 2 litres, or 275 from the 2.5 litre Galant VR4 Turbo. Genuinely light and compact!

I think It has been mentioned before, but at present the 1.8 T VAG is also a very nice engine. It has been "replaced" with the new TFSI range engines. These engins will go up to 265 bhp factory settings (s3). The turbo in combination with the fsi fuel injection give you absoluut no lag.
Marc.

Given the application has not been defined it is difficult to comment too much, but I found the engine was not the major consideration in chosing the drivetrain. There were plenty of V6 engines capable of the power, but gearbox/diff/clutch issues dominated my choice. Mind you locally this engine choice is largely japanese based and the european engines are available, they are not common.
I chose the Mitsubishi engine, not because of its power, as with a thick wall iron block it is actually quite heavy and with this in mind Nissan's excellent VQ35 engine would have been a etter choice. The problem is that both toyota and nissan manual FWD V6 gearboxes do not have a good reputation for torque capacity and the miti one was slightly better. In addition the Miti box was close ratio, with LSD available and different drive ratio's...all of which I deemed important.
Of course were I to do a longitudinal conversion and spend the 6K pounds to do so properly, then the issues and choices would be different.
So perhaps rather than speaking only of the engine it might be worth considering the whole driveline package?

I think Volvorsport needs to get in here as I don't think the Volvo T5 engine has been mentioned. Seems like a good choice if it will fit.

or the Volvo 4.4 V8

But that Volvo V8 engine is designed by Yamaha as are the Lexus/Toyota V8's

Japanese blocks have 1 very big advantage over every other alloy V8
6 bolt main crankbearing caps AS STANDARD! you will not find enough boost anywhere to break that, twin turbo ultima put 921rwhp on stock cranck and caps that way. drag folk put 1500hp through it without blowing up

grtz Thomas

These engines may have been designed by Yamaha but the development was done by Ricardo (at least on the latest generation)

http://www.ricardo.com/download/pdf/New_Engine_News.pdf

Look at the laundry list of companies they've done work for. It makes it very hard to say where and individual engine comes from.

The "Volvo" V8 is not only designed by Yamaha, they also make it.
Nice engine, anyway.

Ok one from out side the usual candidates, dont know if it would fit, But Hill climbing in mind the grunt of this engine might be worth while

A Chevy 4.3 90 deg V6 and build up to the spec as fitted in the GMC Typhoon I run (Also known as a Syclone Engine)

Ok its an Iron block but Lighter than the Chevy V8's and Stronger too.

Its a nice short Stubby block and as it shares many parts with the V8 the bits are dirt Cheap, plus the gear box mounting is the same

The Typhoons engine.... Which is turbocharged by a single Mitsubishi turbo and with a Charge Cooler kicks out 300bhp (underrated from the factory at 280 to make the Covette of the day look good) and 360Lbft.

This is a Yank 91 octain Tune and runs 14.3 Psi of boost.

In near stock form it gives the Typhoon a 0-60 in Less than 4.9 Seconds...... And this is an SUV!!! (Was the quickest 1/4 mile SUV untill very recently)


Im currently upping the Boost to a conservative 18psi.... So should be a bit more fun and Im going for a Mid 12s Run on the 1/4 mile.....In an SUV

Some of the guys in the stated are running 24psi and over all day long....

Lag isnt really a problem as the big capacity and style of the V produces 200 bhp with out boost

You can pick up these engines in none turbo Vortex version for very little money. And £1000 of performance parts could see you in the Big performance figures

quote:

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Originally posted by JoelP
i would almost dare say there are NO old 250+ bhp front wheel drive cars, newer ones like r32 golfs etc are going to be very expensive - and probably 4wd anyway!

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Accord Type R motor?

Add a supercharger and you're looking at the best part of 450bhp, maybe cost around £4k for that spec tho, so might have to live with 212bhp for a while...

2000cc Duratec turbo 320 bhp now available. I'm putting one in a MEV ROCKET just for a laugh, expensive though at around £9500 by the time all the bits are on. But with 640 bhp per ton I reckon it will be worth it .
Regards Stig Mills