Engine up grade

[masiwn]

I am thinking of up grading my standard 1.8kserries engine my car is standard 1998

with flared wings. I am looking for advise really below are 2quotes I've had, there is a big difference in price I don't now much about engines so your opinion will be appreciated

Thanks Aled

 

 

The kit would be a cost effective upgrade. The kit could be fitted in a day together with an apollo if you got here early enough.

 

Costs would be

 

kit exchange £800

Ftiing kit £125

Fit kit to Cat 7 £325

supply and fit verniers £220

Supply and fit 52mmTB £130

 

Fit Apollo tank £220

 

Oil £25

filter £9

 

option 2

Depending on your budget and use we recommend the following.

As you probably already know with the k series, the engine management system ecu can operate upto around 140bhp, above this level the ecu will need to be replaced with an aftermarket one otherwise the mixture will run too lean.

To run an engine at or above 160bhp will require the fitting of forged pistons for reliability otherwise there is a risk of piston failure.

Our recommended upgrade path is the following :-

4-2-1 Caterham manifold / system

52mm throttle body

Modified big valve cylinder head / fast road hydraulic cams

Forged pistons / aftermarket ecu.

 

Hellier HPR1-E conversion

170bhp @ 7000rpm 135lbft torque @ 5000rpm

120lbft from 2000-7000rpm

consists of

modified big valve cylinder head, fast road hydraulic cams

head gasket set, head bolt set, forged pistons, new cylinder liners, bottom engine gasket set, 52mm throttle body, EFI Euro1 ecu, wired to loom, balance crankshaft / conrods, 4-2-1 Caterham system,cambelt and tensioner, alternator belt.

Remove engine from car, strip, balance crankshaft,conrods fit forged pistons, rebuild engine, fit modified head, time cams,fit to car, fit 4-2-1 (cut sideskin), trailer car to rolling road for running in mapping.

Cost £4950.00 inc vat

(breakdown parts £3500 labour £1450

options for above, recommend for track use

fit Apollo tank £280

fit R500 flywheel / clutch

The leadtime for the work is 3-4 weeks

Thanks for your enquiry, if you have any questions please don't hesitate in contacting me

 

[CageyH]

The first option looks like it is from DVA - highly recommended

The second is from Hellier - Also highly recommended

 

It is a question of how much you want to spend, and how much power you want.

Both will do a good job.

[Bob Corb]

Another option is to get a supersport-R upgrade from the factory, at least you'd have full dealer support afterwards which is always a bonus if you are unsure about anything. As your car is standard you may want to keep in a factory approved state?

 

I think this upgrade would cost about £3000 and give 160PS leaving you some money to look into other things such as a dry sump system, the apollo is a bit of a half baked solution...

[Jenson Button]

What does the DVA kit include? Most importantly, what are you looking to achieve and with what purpose in mind (road or track?). IMHO, £5k is a HUGE amount of money to blow on upgrading any car and I could never justify it. You'd be better off selling and buying something with the 'right' stuff already on it. If I'm not mistaken, 160bhp would be an achievable figure for a lot less. As an example, DVA's K03 kit is as follows:

 

Pair Piper fast-road cams

Emerald 32bit M3DK ECU

Porting work to your cylinder head

Appropriate oil seals, sealants etc.

Heavy duty head gasket, head bolts and manifold gaskets

 

Price £1550

 

Fitting above kit to Caterham seven - £350

 

You may want to add forged pistons (which will be getting on for £1k if you're paying to get them fitted) and I would certainly add an apollo as a bare minimum if not a dry sump depending on your use and how sticky the tyres are that you intend to use.

 

Alternatively, you could achieve a similar power output without the ported head but using throttle bodies instead - a different route to a similar result. Of course, if you combined both, you'd get even more power (180+ bhp), but you'd definitely need forged pistons then (this would be DVA's K05 kit plus forged pistons)

 

Both DVA and Hellier have excellent reputations with the K-series so you can't really go wrong. You just need to decide what you want to achieve and how much money you want to throw at it...

 

 

 

[caterhamnut]

You need to examine what is included in each, and look at the detail stuff - which can really add up. They are not presented in a representative way as you have listed - you need to know the cost of the 'option 2' package in addition to the first costs listed - ie: exhaust system, forged pistons etc

Mapping and rolling road sessions add up - one includes these.

Do both quotes include removal from car, crank balancing, exhaust fitting etc etc.

It is hard to compare as written. I suspect that you will find the 2 quotes much closer if you comapre like for like?

 

But as CT says, what are you looking for - more torque? higher bhp figure? higher revs? track/road drivability?

Both Hellier and DVA are helpful, and should be more than willing to discuss what you are wanting to achieve.

 

 

 

www.mycaterham.com

here

88,500 miles -1st 1.6k Supersport, '95 Motor Show car

[masiwn]

Thanks for all the replies I was hoping for more power manly for road use &dave powers quote was more like the money I was looking to spend but i am confused as hellier say I need a new ecu over 140bhp dave power seem to suggest 150bhp without if the dave power up grade would make a noticeable difference I go with that