Best engine for your Griffith wish list?

[panic]

If you could drop in a wish list basket all the best parts to put together the best RV8 engine possible for your Griffith, what would you choose?

...And for ''Best''I mean: more powerful RV8 while still streetable.

[spend]

Wildcat & cam to suit yourself I would think.

[Mark UB]

If my rover goes pop it will be replaced by a LS.

Best option IMHO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2adcxYeXVqM&fea...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QnzBZUYug4

loads of power, loads of reliability.

Edited by Mark UB on Monday 12th October 11:09

[900T-R]

Depends whether you go the supercharged route or stay normally aspirated. Both approaches have their merits. In either case I'd start with a 4.6 rather than a 5.0+ and do the whole bottom end hog - forged pistons, balanced & lightened rotated assembly, improved fasteners, oil & coolant flow mods. The heads in BV (c.q.) guise are pretty much the max for valve sizing and porting as Rover catings go; in fact in anything they're over-ported (my engine builder put some material back in the ports to get the inner radii right I think). No experience with Merlin or Wildcat heads but in fairness before you need them, there's a few other parts on your car that need careful consideration! Same goes for the LS option, which starts to make sense near the 400 bhp level, which in turn doesn't make so much sense in a roadgoing RV8 TVR in my opinion.

[dbv8]

900T-R said:

In either case I'd start with a 4.6 rather than a 5.0+ and do the whole bottom end hog - forged pistons, balanced & lightened rotated assembly, improved fasteners, oil & coolant flow mods. The heads in BV (c.q.) guise...

+1 + nitrous.

[cinquecento]

I'd put in a LS7. and then put on a Rover/TVR badge..

[450Nick]

I would think one of the proper Wildcat Race engines such as is used in Carl Hansen's Tuscan in NZ. Proper sorted bespoke castings for both heads and block at around 6L IIRC and N/A I think Carl's is running somewhere in the region of 600bhp on a full Motec ECU. Not cheap I suspect but it's almost certainly the ultimate Rover based engine...


http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=129&i=784...

[900T-R]

If the head castings aren't RV8, the block casting isn't RV8 and the internals all of us have been using in RV8s haven't been original Rover (except for the cranks, sort of) for a long while anymore - can we still describe that one as a Rover V8 (based) engine or simply one that fills an RV8-shaped hole?

[450Nick]

Well presumably it sounds like an RV8, and it looks like an RV8... So its better than an LS engine for a swap! I would think of it just as a very trick RV8, even if it is a bit of a Trig's broom!

[rev-erend]

900T-R said:

If the head castings aren't RV8, the block casting isn't RV8 and the internals all of us have been using in RV8s haven't been original Rover (except for the cranks, sort of) for a long while anymore - can we still describe that one as a Rover V8 (based) engine or simply one that fills an RV8-shaped hole?

They are bespoke heads but the block was and is RV8.

OK - it was for the record breaking MGF car and there are difference like the 6 bolts per cylinder but it's RV8 block. I think the block alone is 4K.

[GreenV8S]

panic said:

If you could drop in a wish list basket all the best parts to put together the best RV8 engine possible for your Griffith, what would you choose?

I wouldn't try to spec it myself, I would talk to JED and V8D and tell them what I wanted and what my budget was and listen to their advice.

[steve-V8s]

450Nick said:

I would think one of the proper Wildcat Race engines such as is used in Carl Hansen's Tuscan in NZ. Proper sorted bespoke castings for both heads and block at around 6L IIRC and N/A I think Carl's is running somewhere in the region of 600bhp on a full Motec ECU. Not cheap I suspect but it's almost certainly the ultimate Rover based engine...


http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=129&i=784...

Way off topic but in the picture what is the bar over the wheel with three sensors attached ?. Tyre temperature perhaps.

Back on topic. The starting point has to be you deciding on what you want to do with the car. If you want to race it but still be able to drive it to the meeting it will need a different spec to a car you want to drive on the road but sometimes race ?
Most impressive N/A RV8 variant I have seen is a wildcat built beast running a flat plane crank and throttle bodies. In this case fitted to a Morgan race car.

[450Nick]

Yup, those are tyre temp sensors...

[spend]

900T-R said:

If the head castings aren't RV8, the block casting isn't RV8 and the internals all of us have been using in RV8s haven't been original Rover (except for the cranks, sort of) for a long while anymore - can we still describe that one as a Rover V8 (based) engine or simply one that fills an RV8-shaped hole?

Are we going to say cars with Merlin heads aren't RV8's- I don't think so. Are we going to say cars with TopHat liners aren't...

Similar outer dimensions and mounts is good enough for me

But seriously Wildcat do offer quite a range, only the extremes have been highlighted here(6.0 litre + heads... IIRC)

[rev-erend]

450Nick said:

Yup, those are tyre temp sensors...

I think they are water squirters..

to make the handling even more interesting than 600bhp already does

[dbv8]

They are propane jets that warm the tyres on the fly

[900T-R]

spend said:

900T-R said:

If the head castings aren't RV8, the block casting isn't RV8 and the internals all of us have been using in RV8s haven't been original Rover (except for the cranks, sort of) for a long while anymore - can we still describe that one as a Rover V8 (based) engine or simply one that fills an RV8-shaped hole?

Are we going to say cars with Merlin heads aren't RV8's- I don't think so. Are we going to say cars with TopHat liners aren't...

Hmmm, say I started tuning, well, re-engineering an existing engine. At some point, I've chucked all the internals in the bin, then I started to cast my own heads according to my own design, then I'm casting my own blocks to my own design. At that point, I'd have all the right in the world to call it 'my' engine - granted, it's loosely based on my starting point but apart from that there are no common parts to speak of anymore.

I don't think anyone would call a 2000s Saab B235R lump a 'Triumph/Ricardo' engine either...

[spend]

900T-R said:

...then I'm casting my own blocks to my own design....

You really mean like CosCast?

Doubt you would utter the tiniest squeak in protest at one of those being labeled an RV8

I believe you personally have pistons, rods and crank that are not really std RV8 items. You still have an RV8 though.

Wilcats are made around key RV8 dimensions, so I can't see the problem calling the RV8's apart from possible jealousy? Whilst not everyones cup of tea or within their budgets they are still pretty much the ultimate derivative of the RV8, which as far as I can tell is what the OP asked? Now if only someone would start reproducing the Repco top / front ends...

[panic]

Sooo...we have Wildcats heads and other parts (BTW I didn't understand if the build and sell full engine anyway...) and LS Chevy engines swaps on the other side.

Why a new gen inj engine if the old gen carbed engines give you the cheapest (and maybe most reliable) engines around? I mean I could buy a state of the art ''American speed'' 450hp SB engine for less then 8.000 Euros tested, dinoed and delivered...

The problem is how to fit it in the Griff chassis isn't it? And what about matching it to the T5 trans?

[hiltonig]

900T-R said:

Depends whether you go the supercharged route or stay normally aspirated. Both approaches have their merits. In either case I'd start with a 4.6 rather than a 5.0+ and do the whole bottom end hog - forged pistons, balanced & lightened rotated assembly, improved fasteners, oil & coolant flow mods. The heads in BV (c.q.) guise are pretty much the max for valve sizing and porting as Rover catings go; in fact in anything they're over-ported (my engine builder put some material back in the ports to get the inner radii right I think). No experience with Merlin or Wildcat heads but in fairness before you need them, there's a few other parts on your car that need careful consideration! Same goes for the LS option, which starts to make sense near the 400 bhp level, which in turn doesn't make so much sense in a roadgoing RV8 TVR in my opinion.

from this do you mean you dont want 400 bhp ???