4.0 / 4.0 hc difference

[wacjac]

can any1 enlighten me to the differnce in bhp. the salesman at tvr dealership told me i wouldnt be able to tell any difference.was this because he had no h/c's??
cheers in advance

[TheHobbit]

IIRC, On paper, as claimed by TVR the standard 4 litre has 240bhp whereas the HC has 275bhp. It should be stressed that these figures are known to be a little, erm, optimistic.....

[shnozz]

i agree with the salesman. couldnt notice any difference in the ones I test drove.

[TheHobbit]

Mines a HC and when I've been out for a run including other 4 litre cars, there is no noticable difference in the real world. I didn't even know mine was a HC until after I had bought it (I didn't trust the badge on the plenum, they are easy to change)!

Buy based on condition, not on whether its a HC or not.

All IMHO of course.....

Cheers,

Karl

[MikeyT]

Don't think the difference is that noticebale if any ... you just get the cache of having an HC as opposed to not having one - bit rarer - like a 4.3.

Don't *think* there is any premium for them on the used market ...

[TheHobbit]

MikeyT said:

Don't think the difference is that noticebale if any ... you just get the cache of having an HC as opposed to not having one - bit rarer - like a 4.3. Don't *think* there is any premium for them on the used market ...

Agreed... we bought ours from a dealer, and I'm sure if a premium was being charged for them, dealers would be top of the list..... ours was advertised as a 4 litre... no mention of the HC, and I'm sure a dealer would have been just as capable of checking the history and verifying the validity of the badge as I was, after we bought it.

[shortlad]

Mines a HC. Didn't go looking specifically but the way I looked at it was that it must have more BHP. Would be interesting if anyone has done back-to-back dyno runs on standard cars 4.0 and 4.0HC.

I read all of the tuning threads and people are happy with uping their power output by 20-30 BHP. TVR claimed a difference of 35 BHP so should you notice this? If not is it really worth trying to release extra BHP by tuning if you're not going to notice it on the road.

Know this may get a few people going so excuse me if talking out of my ! Never done any tuning what so ever so just a thought.

[jonnyb]

This is the offical line from TVR Power who built the engines when I asked this very question:

4ltr is the mild tune, 4ltr hc as larger camshaft with pistons pocketed (better spec engine).

I does make a difference to the engine dyno readings (but maybe not 35bhp!) as long as you take them at the flywheel. As for on the road, you could lose any difference in a worn diff or having different tyres fitted etc...

I would echo what has already been said, buy on condition, not on weather it a 4.0 or a 4.0HC.

[N17 TVR]

I just assumed that HC meant Heterosexual Car when i bought mine.....

[plunkett]

I have an HC and apart from the Badge on the Plenum housing it also states HC in the Owners Hand Book.

[M@H]

wacjac said:

can any1 enlighten me to the differnce in bhp.

it will feel more powerful than some normal 4.0's and slightly less powerful than other normal 4.0's.. each car is different.

>> Edited by M@H on Wednesday 24th March 11:59

[HarryW]

What jonnyb states is pretty much how I understood it, I have been around this buoy before.
The engine in my V8S was used pretty much as a test mule for this upgrade by TVR Power, AFAIK. One offset for being the tester is that it was fully dynamically balanced as well . As for power it really doesn't make a jot, beleive me I have seen 'standard' 4ltrs put out more ponies, every car is differnet so drive them and go for the best overaul package still applies IMHO. The HC suffix should not add a penny to the value IMHO, interst yes, value no.
My Vin plate and the engine block also carry the HC suffix on the engine serial number, but its not on the V5 .

Harry

[ssc1]

so in the end go for a 4.3 cos it feels more like a 4.5.

[HarryW]

ssc1 said:

so in the end go for a 4.3 cos it feels more like a 4.5.

Personal prefernce now, but I feel the 4.3 is the best engine variant if you can find one. Particulary in a pre-cat Griff guise. About the only rag top Tiv I'd change the V8S for.


Harry

[the dodger]

HarryW said:

ssc1 said: so in the end go for a 4.3 cos it feels more like a 4.5. Personal prefernce now, but I feel the 4.3 is the best engine variant if you can find one. Particulary in a pre-cat Griff guise. About the only rag top Tiv I'd change the V8S for. Harry

('ear 'ear) Harry!
You may be able to buy mine when I sell it. Keep saving!

[wacjac]

bought a 4.3. quite nippy!!!!

[the dodger]

Joe, did you take my advice then?

OH - Coathanger grin on the way!

I can't get to my e-mail - server problems or some techie problem at that end.

[HarryW]

the dodger said:

HarryW said: ssc1 said: so in the end go for a 4.3 cos it feels more like a 4.5. Personal prefernce now, but I feel the 4.3 is the best engine variant if you can find one. Particulary in a pre-cat Griff guise. About the only rag top Tiv I'd change the V8S for. Harry ('ear 'ear) Harry! You may be able to buy mine when I sell it. Keep saving!

not a matter of saving, just a matter of getting a return in the enjoyment stakes from the not insignificant investment I've made in the V8S:roleyes:. As I said probably the only rag top Tiv I'd have to replace it with, however the tin top Cerb may win next time round.

Harry

[wacjac]

dodger,
how could i not buy it!!!

[the dodger]

Well done wacjac!

Will you be at PistonFest? We can have a together.

Harry - tin-top?