Kit car show Donnington - Views

[aph]

not sure what you mean? why would a cushdrive affect the handling?

[smeagol]

ultimaandy, whilst rear wheel locking can happen its very very rare. Mostly caused by the engine seizing the and chain not breaking.

As for the fragility of BEC, IMHO if you are building the car for everyday use, then the longevity is in question, simply because no-one has done it yet. The japanese bikes are very reliable but the idea of using them in a lightweight car is very new (about 2 years I believe). Certainly the first few BEC did have problems but IMHO this was due to either not ensuring the engine gets oil/correct cooling or being over reved (ala Tiff needels incident). Certainly looking at the DAX and Westfield a lot of very clever engineering has taken place since then.

In my opinion a well looked after BEC will be as reliable as a car engined version. A lot of anti-BEC people will talk about the weight difference etc. but all you have to do is look at the power delivery of the engines to realise that they are more than capable for the job. The rest of the engineering is the same as a normal car (brakes, suspension, steering etc.)

New technology always will have its skeptics but I personally think its the way to go for lightweight fun.

[joost]

Nice one!!!!

quote:
New technology always will have its skeptics but I personally think its the way to go for lightweight fun.

[ultimaandy]

SMEAGOL
I think we are in agreement???

almost

Now don't agree with you on the "last as long as cars" as you won't find many fireblades having done over 100k, and cars have always been playing catchup with bike technology on the production line.

I'm not a sceptic, I love the idea of a 11000rpm screeming mid engined 2 seater and I will probably have one when the if's and maybe's have been resolved..............maybe

[juansolo]

Hmm... they fit R1 engines into F1 sidecars (the right way around) that do not lean and all they do is fit a windage tray and modify the pickup in the sump. Those things produce very, very silly cornering forces and don't go pop. Like I say, vfm-wise it's seems a cracking engine.

[smeagol]

The oil sump I saw on the MK was standard. As you say they modify the sump and pickup on sidecars to stop them going bang from oil deprevation. Don't forget also F1 sidecar outfits change engine quite often. As Steve said there are several methods to prevent oil surge. I personally would choose dry sumping as you know where you stand.

The point is on a BEC you certainly can't just throw the engine in standard form (whichever way round) and hope that the oil level stays okay.

>> Edited by smeagol on Thursday 26th September 00:54

[smeagol]

quote:
Now don't agree with you on the "last as long as cars" as you won't find many fireblades having done over 100k.

Actually I never said that I said that a well maintained BEC will be as reliable as a car engine. That is different from longevity, but in the same argument how many sevens do 100k?

These kinds of cars (whatever type of engine used) are designed for fun, not going to the moon and back.

[dern]

quote:Now don't agree with you on the "last as long as cars" as you won't find many fireblades having done over 100k, and cars have always been playing catchup with bike technology on the production line.

This is only because owners tend to run their fireblades in the summer only so will never hit those mileages. There are, however, many blades that have gone well over 100K including one I saw on tv that it's owner had ridden around the world a few times - it looked terrible but had around 200k on it and had no major problems.

Mark