RE: Driven: Caterham Ecoboost

[MarJay]

clonmult said:

I've seen this a few times of late. Where the frack has it come from?

Days of Thunder?

[Captain Muppet]

clonmult said:

Captain Muppet said:

PHMatt said:

rpms

:sigh:

Revolutions per minutes?

I've seen this a few times of late. Where the frack has it come from?

It was all over the place when I worked in the states, and when I came back it was over here too. Maybe I'm a carrier. Or maybe it's because of the "torques" Clarksonism.

Maybe ignorance is fashionable all of a sudden. Dunno. [/irony]

[SturdyHSV]

So out of interest how much does the engine weigh?

£4,500 for a crate engine gets you this, which seems a lot more fun?

http://www.roadcraftuk.co.uk/index.php?route=produ...

[ohtari]

SturdyHSV said:

So out of interest how much does the engine weigh?

£4,500 for a crate engine gets you this, which seems a lot more fun?

http://www.roadcraftuk.co.uk/index.php?route=produ...

97kg apparently

[SystemParanoia]

SturdyHSV said:

So out of interest how much does the engine weigh?

£4,500 for a crate engine gets you this, which seems a lot more fun?

http://www.roadcraftuk.co.uk/index.php?route=produ...

sold!

[MrFrodo]

dme123 said:

No comment on throttle response and adjustability? That's my biggest concern with a turbocharged (and presumably DBW) engine in a Caterham.

Mine too.

I've driven very few turbo units with the sort of throttle response I'd like in a Seven. I'm not against forced induction per se, but I think a Caterham needs to be a real live wire - responsive and fun to thrash - which isn't easy to do.

Keen to see my former colleagues at Dunton pull it off, though.

[GranCab]

doogz said:

The poorer thermal conductivity of the iron block means it heats up quicker.

This isn't tricky. Aluminium will dissipate heat much quicker.

Ever tried welding aluminium?

Aluminium is difficult to weld because the surface oxide melts at a far higher temperature than the aluminium itself - hence the best way is to use a tig welder using alternating current to draw away the oxide layer.

[dog man]

If it sounds anything like the Triumph 3 cylinder engine it will make a very nice sounding car!

[JontyR]

SturdyHSV said:

So out of interest how much does the engine weigh?

£4,500 for a crate engine gets you this, which seems a lot more fun?

http://www.roadcraftuk.co.uk/index.php?route=produ...

The money doesnt just include the engine...there are a lot of other parts included with the cost...one of which is the ECU.

[GranCab]

doogz said:

GranCab said:

Aluminium is difficult to weld because the surface oxide melts at a far higher temperature than the aluminium itself - hence the best way is to use a tig welder using alternating current to draw away the oxide layer.

I was referring to the fact that you'd need to use a much higher current/voltage than you would for a similar thickness of steel, due to the higher thermal conductivity. The heat dissipates much quicker.

Granted, aluminium is 3 times more thermally conductive than iron but that isn't the main reason that it is difficult to weld. The aluminium oxide layer on the surface melts at approx. 2040 degrees C, aluminium melts at approx. 650 degrees C

Here endeth the lesson

[ohtari]

JontyR said:

SturdyHSV said:

So out of interest how much does the engine weigh?

£4,500 for a crate engine gets you this, which seems a lot more fun?

http://www.roadcraftuk.co.uk/index.php?route=produ...

The money doesnt just include the engine...there are a lot of other parts included with the cost...one of which is the ECU.

Not to mention a turbo, IC and all the other bits required

[va1o]

I can't get my head round why it's so much more expensive, £4500 vs £1700 for the 1.6 seems ridiculous. Surely capacity aside the turbocharger can't add that much onto the production cost? Does go some way to explaining the high-ish prices of cars fitted with that engine though...

[smartarse93]

Why not just put the 1600 ecoboost in the caterham, all aluminium and 160bhp? although some of our prototype engines have seen 170bhp+ apparently

[ohtari]

va1o said:

I can't get my head round why it's so much more expensive, £4500 vs £1700 for the 1.6 seems ridiculous. Surely capacity aside the turbocharger can't add that much onto the production cost? Does go some way to explaining the high-ish prices of cars fitted with that engine though...

Okay, then consider this. The sigma is many years old, with millions of units produced. All development costs were accounted for yonks ago. Production lines have been honed to near-as perfection, and so they can be produced and sold cheap.

Considering the costs involved in designing, testing and building a new engine line, it's no wonder that initial costs are high. Besides, weren't the costs for crate engines? Why would ford want to sell their new baby for a premium, whilst keeping the costs down on their own cars?

[ohtari]

smartarse93 said:

Why not just put the 1600 ecoboost in the caterham, all aluminium and 160bhp? although some of our prototype engines have seen 170bhp+ apparently

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyI...
What, like that perhaps?

[BFG TERRANO]

2 of these welded together to create a V6 would be interesting.

[kambites]

ohtari said:

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyI...
What, like that perhaps?

That's the 1.0 using the turbo from the 1.6. The current FFs have the 1.6 though, I think.

[SystemParanoia]

i'd like to think this was all done due to pistonheads comments

[80085]

SystemParanoia said:

i'd like to think this was all done due to pistonheads comments

Heavier then the old 1•6? That's dissapointing to be honest, the 1.6 could be tuned up to 180bhp n/a and be lighter and better suited to super lightweight track cars, I am beginning to not like this engine, heavier than than the four pot 1.6 it replaces is not good enough imo, doubt it will last as long either, secondhand buyers will be facing large bills in the future I reckon.

[SystemParanoia]

this 1.0 eco boost can be tuned to over 200bhp with just a bigger turbo and a remap.

surely that's cheaper than N/A tuning