A question of 'bang for buck'

[MarJay]

I was thinking the other day about Caterfield Hood 7 type cars and the kinds of engines they use. The GKD lot have done one which will take a BMW M3 engine, which is surely approaching the highest power to weight ratio you can get on a road legal car.

Then I thought about which engines are eminently tuneable, and one of the most tuneable is the VAG 1.8T. That got me thinking, has anyone built a Caterfield 7 type car that can take a VAG 1.8T? The question of peakiness and such isn't so much of an issue in a lightweight car, and being a four it shouldn't be too hard to get one into the chassis, should it?

Any ideas, or any suggestions of kits which exist to take the 1.8T?

[EX51GE R]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5SlPqHieEM&fea...

[thinfourth2]

A 7 and turbo are not good bed fellows as the lag is hugely magnified by the fact the car wieghs as much as a crisp packet

If you are determined to go turbo then get a Dax which can take a cosworth 4x4 engine and drivetrain

[FrostyCab]

I always wondered if anyone had used the vr6 engine in a 7 type car, its reasonably light and very compact for a v6!!

[MarJay]

thinfourth2 said:

A 7 and turbo are not good bed fellows as the lag is hugely magnified by the fact the car wieghs as much as a crisp packet

If you are determined to go turbo then get a Dax which can take a cosworth 4x4 engine and drivetrain

Hmm.. Surely it can't be much worse than a BMW M3 engine though? I thought there might be an issue with the fact that its designed for FWD cars and uses a transaxle gearbox instead of a RWD driveshaft box.

I guess the same is true for a VR6, but I reckon a flat four from a Subaru might even be better for a lower centre of gravity...

[Chris_w666]

FrostyCab said:

I always wondered if anyone had used the vr6 engine in a 7 type car, its reasonably light and very compact for a v6!!

I thought the Golf VR6 was slated for being nose heavy?

[FrostyCab]

Chris_w666 said:

FrostyCab said:

I always wondered if anyone had used the vr6 engine in a 7 type car, its reasonably light and very compact for a v6!!

I thought the Golf VR6 was slated for being nose heavy?

More to do with the suspension set up to be honest. the VR6 corrado is simply sublime! Its a great engine and compact enough to fit a mk1. alway wondered if it had been tried thats all.

[RobM77]

MarJay said:

thinfourth2 said:

A 7 and turbo are not good bed fellows as the lag is hugely magnified by the fact the car wieghs as much as a crisp packet

If you are determined to go turbo then get a Dax which can take a cosworth 4x4 engine and drivetrain

Hmm.. Surely it can't be much worse than a BMW M3 engine though? I thought there might be an issue with the fact that its designed for FWD cars and uses a transaxle gearbox instead of a RWD driveshaft box.

I guess the same is true for a VR6, but I reckon a flat four from a Subaru might even be better for a lower centre of gravity...

I'm not sure I understand that. No M3 engine has ever been a turbo - they've all been normally aspirated.

To answer the OP, the VAG engine is very heavy, and isn't actually that powerful in standard tune. To get big power out of one requires a huge amount of boost, and it would be better to just start with a more powerful and performance orientated engine in the first place.

Incidentally, Caterham did make a turbocharged car as standard - it was for sale in the Swiss market.