500 out off puff turns into 500 upgrade - opinions invited
Discussion
Only meeeeee !
I bought a chim 500 because the right T car didnt turn up. I set out to end up with 300+bhp/tonne and that hasn't changed.
So.... my revs being somehow limited to 5250 (still a mystery issue) poking about in the engine is pretty much inevitable.
TVR Power dyno and diagnosis session booked for 5th July. I'm bound to go all doey eyed when I'm in the Power works and give Dom the opportunity to scratch my 300+/tonne itch even if my fault turns out to be a duff ECU.
So, to cut to the chase:
Assuming my car has a healthy 285 already
The "cheapest" route is to go cam, big bore plenum, fuel pressure, chip etc, right ? Anyone done all of this ? what bhp did you begin with then end up with ?
however, by the time you total that lot up, would Taraka + be better value ? Again, Taraka + owners (Griff or chim), same questions. What I particularly like about the Taraka (at least my perception of it) is that it's a comprehensive package and warranty'd. Any extras I'd need on top to make the best job of it ?
As far as I know, Dom won't guarantee the supercharged installation, which puts me off it. Any opinions on that ?
Any other options I've missed ?
I expect they'll be a lot of opinions on this.
Those of you that care to respond, please qualify whether you opinions are based on hearsay/friends or personal direct experience.
cheers
I bought a chim 500 because the right T car didnt turn up. I set out to end up with 300+bhp/tonne and that hasn't changed.
So.... my revs being somehow limited to 5250 (still a mystery issue) poking about in the engine is pretty much inevitable.
TVR Power dyno and diagnosis session booked for 5th July. I'm bound to go all doey eyed when I'm in the Power works and give Dom the opportunity to scratch my 300+/tonne itch even if my fault turns out to be a duff ECU.
So, to cut to the chase:
Assuming my car has a healthy 285 already
The "cheapest" route is to go cam, big bore plenum, fuel pressure, chip etc, right ? Anyone done all of this ? what bhp did you begin with then end up with ?
however, by the time you total that lot up, would Taraka + be better value ? Again, Taraka + owners (Griff or chim), same questions. What I particularly like about the Taraka (at least my perception of it) is that it's a comprehensive package and warranty'd. Any extras I'd need on top to make the best job of it ?
As far as I know, Dom won't guarantee the supercharged installation, which puts me off it. Any opinions on that ?
Any other options I've missed ?
I expect they'll be a lot of opinions on this.
Those of you that care to respond, please qualify whether you opinions are based on hearsay/friends or personal direct experience.
cheers
Jammie Dodger said:
Only meeeeee !
I bought a chim 500 because the right T car didnt turn up. I set out to end up with 300+bhp/tonne and that hasn't changed.
So.... my revs being somehow limited to 5250 (still a mystery issue) poking about in the engine is pretty much inevitable.
TVR Power dyno and diagnosis session booked for 5th July. I'm bound to go all doey eyed when I'm in the Power works and give Dom the opportunity to scratch my 300+/tonne itch even if my fault turns out to be a duff ECU.
So, to cut to the chase:
Assuming my car has a healthy 285 already
The "cheapest" route is to go cam, big bore plenum, fuel pressure, chip etc, right ? Anyone done all of this ? what bhp did you begin with then end up with ?
however, by the time you total that lot up, would Taraka + be better value ? Again, Taraka + owners (Griff or chim), same questions. What I particularly like about the Taraka (at least my perception of it) is that it's a comprehensive package and warranty'd. Any extras I'd need on top to make the best job of it ?
As far as I know, Dom won't guarantee the supercharged installation, which puts me off it. Any opinions on that ?
Any other options I've missed ?
I expect they'll be a lot of opinions on this.
Those of you that care to respond, please qualify whether you opinions are based on hearsay/friends or personal direct experience.
cheers
I'd look at the supercharger option if you can afford it; it really puts the car in a different league. I guess Dom won't guarantee it as it can be tricky to get the fuelling right on the stock ECU. If you are looking at SC, I would definitely also budget for an aftermarket ECU, Nitrons and a decent set of brakes. MUCH faster than a taraka though, or any T car/Cerbera for that matter!I bought a chim 500 because the right T car didnt turn up. I set out to end up with 300+bhp/tonne and that hasn't changed.
So.... my revs being somehow limited to 5250 (still a mystery issue) poking about in the engine is pretty much inevitable.
TVR Power dyno and diagnosis session booked for 5th July. I'm bound to go all doey eyed when I'm in the Power works and give Dom the opportunity to scratch my 300+/tonne itch even if my fault turns out to be a duff ECU.
So, to cut to the chase:
Assuming my car has a healthy 285 already
The "cheapest" route is to go cam, big bore plenum, fuel pressure, chip etc, right ? Anyone done all of this ? what bhp did you begin with then end up with ?
however, by the time you total that lot up, would Taraka + be better value ? Again, Taraka + owners (Griff or chim), same questions. What I particularly like about the Taraka (at least my perception of it) is that it's a comprehensive package and warranty'd. Any extras I'd need on top to make the best job of it ?
As far as I know, Dom won't guarantee the supercharged installation, which puts me off it. Any opinions on that ?
Any other options I've missed ?
I expect they'll be a lot of opinions on this.
Those of you that care to respond, please qualify whether you opinions are based on hearsay/friends or personal direct experience.
cheers
The best thing you can do is have a chat with owner that have already been down the upgrade path and work out what best suits your requirements and budget.
Taraka is a good option if you want to simply get the best out of what you already have, it does not give you a big increase in power however.
If you want big power like Nick said the SC route is a good option. Also have a look down the N/A route. The likes for Rob at V8B, Jamie at Castle Race and John Eales can all build you a 380BHP motor with good road manners. Just bear in mind that you will need an aftermarket ECU with mapped spark to get the best out of either the S/C or N/A route.
Personally speaking I would not entertain any serious power increase without looking at the suspension and brakes first.
Taraka is a good option if you want to simply get the best out of what you already have, it does not give you a big increase in power however.
If you want big power like Nick said the SC route is a good option. Also have a look down the N/A route. The likes for Rob at V8B, Jamie at Castle Race and John Eales can all build you a 380BHP motor with good road manners. Just bear in mind that you will need an aftermarket ECU with mapped spark to get the best out of either the S/C or N/A route.
Personally speaking I would not entertain any serious power increase without looking at the suspension and brakes first.
Before you do anything have a good think about what you want from the car. Do you want a track focused car or one that you can use for burbling down to the pub on a sunny Sunday ? it is difficult to have both if you stay with normally aspirated. Supercharging seems a good option but is definitely not a route I would follow with the 5l engine.
Once you start seeking power you need to have a cam that moves the power band higher up the rev range. When you do that you will find the tick over and light throttle low rpm driveability is compromised. You may be happy to accept a bit of bad manners from the engine but it is a very subjective thing and annoys a lot of people. Ditching the distributor and using a more modern ECU can tame a ragged cam slightly. You can get some improvements to performance using the standard cam by fitting different induction pipes, improved inlet manifolds, improved plenums but if you really want to seek power you need to fit a more radical cam and the induction bits, the more radical it is the less agreeable it will be to drive. If you increase the capacity you can gain a bit more power and keep the drivability but that gets expensive.
Ultimately to get a decent amount of power and derivability you will need to spend a lot of money. You will probably end up with increased capacity, modern ECU, individual throttle bodies and loads of exotic parts inside the engine and some fairly special heads. Here is the problem however, you will progress well beyond 300bhp still want more.
As others have said the first thing to do is to look carefully at the suspension before seeking power. After that if you really want to go faster take a look at loosing some weight which in performance terms is the same thing. It easy to shed 30Kg off the car. Then think about what you really want the car to do.
Once you start seeking power you need to have a cam that moves the power band higher up the rev range. When you do that you will find the tick over and light throttle low rpm driveability is compromised. You may be happy to accept a bit of bad manners from the engine but it is a very subjective thing and annoys a lot of people. Ditching the distributor and using a more modern ECU can tame a ragged cam slightly. You can get some improvements to performance using the standard cam by fitting different induction pipes, improved inlet manifolds, improved plenums but if you really want to seek power you need to fit a more radical cam and the induction bits, the more radical it is the less agreeable it will be to drive. If you increase the capacity you can gain a bit more power and keep the drivability but that gets expensive.
Ultimately to get a decent amount of power and derivability you will need to spend a lot of money. You will probably end up with increased capacity, modern ECU, individual throttle bodies and loads of exotic parts inside the engine and some fairly special heads. Here is the problem however, you will progress well beyond 300bhp still want more.
As others have said the first thing to do is to look carefully at the suspension before seeking power. After that if you really want to go faster take a look at loosing some weight which in performance terms is the same thing. It easy to shed 30Kg off the car. Then think about what you really want the car to do.
My new rebuilt engine cost less than a super charger kit !and i have 340bhp which is enough power for me..Seems alot more for your money..Its drives comfortable at 30mph in fith gear so it`s nice to drive around town..Put your foot down and it`s a animal.
I woud give V8D a call.
I woud give V8D a call.Edited by SILICONEKID340HP on Friday 10th June 12:56
Fast road car use, no budget (or time - 2 yr old twins) for track use.
Not interested in dump-clutch launch times, nor donuts (save that cr*p for hire cars !), just optimum in gear times between 50-150mph.
Nitrons & leven drop links going on next week. Rear discs too. I wanted to do that even for the standard output car.
What I'd like from the car is at least the performance the factory publicised in the first place. I also want a car that stays within the micro-market of "standard" (ish) chimaeras (or at least market-recognised mods), because I won't keep it for ever, which might rule out stripping it. Notwithstanding that, a couple of aquaplaning Lotii I had when i was younger gave me the idea that for an all weather car, lightness brings another set of compromises.
I "should" have probably hung on for a Tamora/T350/400/430T but bought the chim (second I've owned) as wanted/needed a second car then and there.
It needs to have traffic/town manners, combined with a proper shove in the chest when I want it.
I don't think I fancy as much as 380bhp in a chimaera, although V8ndy's project is one to dream about.
Not interested in dump-clutch launch times, nor donuts (save that cr*p for hire cars !), just optimum in gear times between 50-150mph.
Nitrons & leven drop links going on next week. Rear discs too. I wanted to do that even for the standard output car.
What I'd like from the car is at least the performance the factory publicised in the first place. I also want a car that stays within the micro-market of "standard" (ish) chimaeras (or at least market-recognised mods), because I won't keep it for ever, which might rule out stripping it. Notwithstanding that, a couple of aquaplaning Lotii I had when i was younger gave me the idea that for an all weather car, lightness brings another set of compromises.
I "should" have probably hung on for a Tamora/T350/400/430T but bought the chim (second I've owned) as wanted/needed a second car then and there.
It needs to have traffic/town manners, combined with a proper shove in the chest when I want it.
I don't think I fancy as much as 380bhp in a chimaera, although V8ndy's project is one to dream about.
Edited by Jammie Dodger on Friday 10th June 13:07
Regardless of mechanical modifications to the car (heads, exhausts, manifolds plenum, cam etc) the key to extracting all the available ponies from the engine is fuelling and ignition. I say this on the basis of common sense and lots of experience with different engines, and would look at an engine management system that can optimise both of these regardless of what modifications or changes to modifications you might make to the car. If you can't get fuelling and ignition spot on then alot of the mechanical mods will have been a waste of money IMHO.
Chilliman said:
Regardless of mechanical modifications to the car (heads, exhausts, manifolds plenum, cam etc) the key to extracting all the available ponies from the engine is fuelling and ignition.
Yeah, I realise. And to do all that on top of everything else makes it a financial labour of love. I'm not sure on reflection that a chim with £10k worth of mods is the way forward, unless it's a forever keeper.Perhaps it would make more sense to just keep it fettled to the best of the current set-up's potential, run it a year maybe two, get more or less my money back and then seek out something designed with and for the grunt in the first place.... recurring theme.... T350/400/430/450
We'll see what's what when we get to dyno on the 5th
M@H said:
... you're not assuming its 1000kg are you!?) 
My Griff500 was digitally corner weighted recently by Adrian Venn and the results were pretty amazing:Front/Rear = 51% : 49%
Left/Right = 50.8% : 49.2%
Total weight = 1057kg (with half tank of fuel)
What's the book weight - 1050 right?! You've got 315bhp to hit I reckon.
df
SILICONEKID340HP said:
My new rebuilt engine cost less than a super charger kit !and i have 340bhp which is enough power for me..Seems alot more for your money..Its drives comfortable at 30mph in fith gear so it`s nice to drive around town..Put your foot down and it`s a animal.I woud give V8D a call.
Get a Super charger kit as well Daz then we can see even bigger graphs I woud give V8D a call.Edited by SILICONEKID340HP on Friday 10th June 12:56
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