Bike Engined Cars?
Discussion
Hello,
A somewhat far away dream of mine (since first seeing and hearing a bike engined classic mini) is to one day own a track car with a bike engine - also retaining the car to look completely standard from the exterior to give an element of surprise.
I have had a look around and have seen things like the ZCar mini's (http://www.zcars.org.uk/) etc, but just wondering if anyone here actually owns a bike engined car? Also what engines are the most commonly used (R1/Hayabusa)? Can any actually be fitted in an engine bay of a small car? Would these require much more maintenance than a normal track car?
And finally any idea of how much at an estimate you would be looking to pay for fitting one?
Cheers
A somewhat far away dream of mine (since first seeing and hearing a bike engined classic mini) is to one day own a track car with a bike engine - also retaining the car to look completely standard from the exterior to give an element of surprise.
I have had a look around and have seen things like the ZCar mini's (http://www.zcars.org.uk/) etc, but just wondering if anyone here actually owns a bike engined car? Also what engines are the most commonly used (R1/Hayabusa)? Can any actually be fitted in an engine bay of a small car? Would these require much more maintenance than a normal track car?
And finally any idea of how much at an estimate you would be looking to pay for fitting one?
Cheers
Yes, KitCar or Caterham forum. Opinions are somewhat (ok, a lot) polarised, but I would say most Caterham BEC owners (Fireblade, Blackbird and Hayabusa) are happy with their choice.
As a trackday car they are quite fun. Roads are....interesting. Can be frustrating, but similarly 12,500rpm on the right road on the right day is a hell of an experience
I think they work "best" in cars that are already fairly compromised. The Minis and Smarts that are BECed are a great concept, and well engineered, but the gap between what they were before and what they become is much greater than the lighter, less car-y, cars. If that makes sense. There is BEC van knocking about. Amusing, but ....why !
As a trackday car they are quite fun. Roads are....interesting. Can be frustrating, but similarly 12,500rpm on the right road on the right day is a hell of an experience
I think they work "best" in cars that are already fairly compromised. The Minis and Smarts that are BECed are a great concept, and well engineered, but the gap between what they were before and what they become is much greater than the lighter, less car-y, cars. If that makes sense. There is BEC van knocking about. Amusing, but ....why !
The Z cars command a whopping price, but we did have a member here who had one, I believe his had a GSXR engine. Well, it did, until the engine died when a rod exited the block. The suspension set up at the rear is dinosauric too. They are quite cool, but I wouldn't be paying for one, I'd rather have a Seven style car, or something even more extreme in terms of lightness if I were going for a bike engine.
I've got a 08 R1 in my 7, I've only had it on the road a week, but so far it's fantastic.
If you want to keep it discreet, your biggest problem is going to be noise, depending on what diff ratio you have, mine does 1000 revs per 10 mph in top gear, so at 70 mph it's doing 7K revs. So you would be heard a mile off.
I'm not sure how much minis weight, but you need to make sure you get it as light as poss. But saying that my 7 weighted 560 kg with a full tank of fuel and a large driver. I had a drive the other day with a largish mate and the performance was still there.
Yes the R1/zx12 and hyabusa are the most common and reliable.
And as said a BEC won't be as durable as it would car engined.
But seriously the performance is truly ridiculous, once you get moving and into the 10k - 13k rev band, if feels like a f
king jet fighter!!
Don't listen to the only for the track brigade. I'm loving mine on the road, ok it's a tad noisy, but some ear plugs solve this, and the sequential shift is great. (ok if you live in London a BEC may not be great, but if you live in the country it's fantastic)
Just my 2 pence.
If you want to keep it discreet, your biggest problem is going to be noise, depending on what diff ratio you have, mine does 1000 revs per 10 mph in top gear, so at 70 mph it's doing 7K revs. So you would be heard a mile off.
I'm not sure how much minis weight, but you need to make sure you get it as light as poss. But saying that my 7 weighted 560 kg with a full tank of fuel and a large driver. I had a drive the other day with a largish mate and the performance was still there.
Yes the R1/zx12 and hyabusa are the most common and reliable.
And as said a BEC won't be as durable as it would car engined.
But seriously the performance is truly ridiculous, once you get moving and into the 10k - 13k rev band, if feels like a f
king jet fighter!! Don't listen to the only for the track brigade. I'm loving mine on the road, ok it's a tad noisy, but some ear plugs solve this, and the sequential shift is great. (ok if you live in London a BEC may not be great, but if you live in the country it's fantastic)
Just my 2 pence.
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