Acceleration of entry-level 7 kits?
Discussion
My Marlin Roadster is heavier than a 7esque car (it'll be >800kg dry) and it has an optimistic 55/60bhp at the rear wheels. I can happily get sub 8seconds with me in a fully wet car so I'd imagine you'd be looking at significantly better than that in a 7. As for getting to 100mph, well I've never been able to do it legally so never even tried. At 70mph I'm already going at a comfort vmax anyway 
The point of a 7 is about cornering anyway, if you are on a straight capable of getting your car to 100mph from a standstill, it's too long
The point of a 7 is about cornering anyway, if you are on a straight capable of getting your car to 100mph from a standstill, it's too long
That sounds cool, I was just worried about it feeling a bit pedestrian, but the actual performance sounds spot on and I'm sure in terms of perceived performance it will be quicker still.
One other question, I'm 6'3", (skinny as a rake though), is that going to limit my choice of kit?
One other question, I'm 6'3", (skinny as a rake though), is that going to limit my choice of kit?
In my case my backside is about 3" from the ground and I look up to every other car on the road (the highest point on my car is only 4ft and thats the top of the rollover bar/windscreen surround. The reason I mention this - the percieved speed is much greater than what you expect.
Don't get me wrong, a executive saloon is often quicker than my car, but I feel as if I'm doing double his speed
I know nothing about the different body sizes of 7's, but I know that I stuggle to fit in my Marlin and I'm 6'.
Don't get me wrong, a executive saloon is often quicker than my car, but I feel as if I'm doing double his speed
I know nothing about the different body sizes of 7's, but I know that I stuggle to fit in my Marlin and I'm 6'.
I'm 6' and I didn't have much trouble fitting in any of the Seven kits I've sat in height wise. They can be a bit narrow though, but I'm not exactly skinny as a rake so it might not bother you. In fact I was sat too far back in the Striker demo car to be completely comfortable when I tested it.
As for acceleration, its certainly 'adequate'
As for acceleration, its certainly 'adequate'
Great stuff. My current steed is something of a one-trick pony, it makes a lot of horsepower and goes very fast in a straight line while consuming vast amounts of money! My enjoyment at driving it is always tempered by the fact that I might get nicked doing 150mph, and that I really can't afford to spend £60 every 140 miles filling it up with petrol
What I'm after is low-budget fun; don't care about extreme cornering limits or sub-4s to sixty. I don't want such large maintenance or fuel costs, but I do want lots of opportunity to tinker with the oily bits during the winter, and a massive smiles-per-£ ratio during the summer.
I'm thinking of a basic Pinto or Xflow powered 7, something like a Robin Hood 2B? Would like to keep the budget to 3k but could go to 4k if required. Does this all sound realistic so far?
What I'm after is low-budget fun; don't care about extreme cornering limits or sub-4s to sixty. I don't want such large maintenance or fuel costs, but I do want lots of opportunity to tinker with the oily bits during the winter, and a massive smiles-per-£ ratio during the summer.
I'm thinking of a basic Pinto or Xflow powered 7, something like a Robin Hood 2B? Would like to keep the budget to 3k but could go to 4k if required. Does this all sound realistic so far?
An average se7en with 130 ish bhp will be pretty quick to 60 probably throw it there in around 5 seconds, you are looking at a car that weighs about 600+ kilos at the end of the day.
My STM locoblade weighs approx 450kgs with similar power and will hit 60 in less than 4 secs but that is bike territory for you.
You will not hear many good reports on the Robin Hoods but plenty of positive opinions on Tiger and MK as well as Stuart Taylor
probably throw it there in around 5 seconds, you are looking at a car that weighs about 600+ kilos at the end of the day. My STM locoblade weighs approx 450kgs with similar power and will hit 60 in less than 4 secs
but that is bike territory for you. You will not hear many good reports on the Robin Hoods but plenty of positive opinions on Tiger and MK as well as Stuart Taylor
Mikey G said:
An average se7en with 130 ish bhp will be pretty quick to 60
My STM locoblade weighs approx 450kgs with similar power and will hit 60 in less than 4 secs
You will not hear many good reports on the Robin Hoods but plenty of positive opinions on Tiger and MK as well as Stuart Taylor
I think these figures might be a tad optomistic.
A Caterham Seven Roadsport gives 0-60 in 6.2 seconds with 115 bhp and 5.3 seconds with 140 bhp, is quite a bit lighter than anything with a Pinto in it (especially a Robin Hood!), and has top-notch supension and tyres to put the power down with!
I'd suggest that a 130bhp Pinto engined Robin hood would be closer to 7 seconds to 60, realistically.
You would struggle to buy or build any Seven type kit to a decent standard for £3K, I'm afraid, but you might be lucky! Sub 5-seconds in any car requires bloody good tyres and either very light weight or very big power.
And don't believe anything they tell you without the timing slip to prove it!
Mutant Rat said:
And don't believe anything they tell you without the timing slip to prove it!
My digi speedo was GPS verified and has a 0-60 calculator in it, it was just 4 seconds and the car was fitted with sticky tyres
Yeah 5 seconds was a bit optimistic for a pinto i suppose, a screaming crossflow maybe? and you definatly wont do that in a heavy hood
Mutant Rat said:
My digi speedo was GPS verified and has a 0-60 calculator in it
PMSL...on that basis, my Griffith can do 0-60 in about 1 second flat...I believe it's called 'wheelspin!
I havent enough torque for wheelspin
Not wishing to critisise your knowledge but have you actually been in a BEC? i'm sure a few Bike engined car owners will agree with me that a well setup se7en type car with a good bike engine will pull figures in the sub 4-5 second region, it all goes a bit downhill after 60 though....
Yeah, I wasn't questioning the time for your car, Mikey - I'm guessing there would have been a couple of gearchanges in there, too, so wheelspin wouldn't be a factor...I just had this vision of being able to set record-breaking 0-60 times by dumping the clutch in 2nd and not actually moving anywhere!
Yes, I've driven several BEC's and if I did a lot of track days, I'd definitely buy one, purely for track use.
I must admit that I can't quite get my head round them, though. I've no doubt that they can quite easily hit sub 5-second 0-60 times and they sound as if they are going absolutely ballistic, but they feel as if they aren't accelerating significantly faster than my car-engined Sylva. They don't feel to give you as much of a thump in the back as the big V8 in the Griffith does, even though, in reality, they must be...maybe it's just that the acceleration feels less impressive because the engine note is (literally) screaming out a lack of torque and I make a mental connection that high revs = low torque = less acceleration.
For the record, I've also driven 1100 cc Jedi and Megapin bike-engined hillclimb single seaters which, whilst stunningly quick even by the standards of BEC Sevens, somehow still don't feel quite as quick as you expect them to.
For road use, even for 'sprint' trips, I prefer CEC's. The Crossflow in the Sylva is getting a bit long in the tooth, but I quite fancy another Sylva with maybe a supercharged Toyota Twin Cam in it.
On the other hand - despite having a 5 litre V8 amongst my collection - I'm not a fan of big, ultra-torquey engines, either; I think they corrupt the poise and balance of the car - the Griffith is a lorry, quite frankly!
The happy medium for me would be about 250 bhp with good torque spread, in a light, supple chassis. A supercharged Elise might come close...
>> Edited by Mutant Rat on Monday 22 August 23:20
Yes, I've driven several BEC's and if I did a lot of track days, I'd definitely buy one, purely for track use.
I must admit that I can't quite get my head round them, though. I've no doubt that they can quite easily hit sub 5-second 0-60 times and they sound as if they are going absolutely ballistic, but they feel as if they aren't accelerating significantly faster than my car-engined Sylva. They don't feel to give you as much of a thump in the back as the big V8 in the Griffith does, even though, in reality, they must be...maybe it's just that the acceleration feels less impressive because the engine note is (literally) screaming out a lack of torque and I make a mental connection that high revs = low torque = less acceleration.
For the record, I've also driven 1100 cc Jedi and Megapin bike-engined hillclimb single seaters which, whilst stunningly quick even by the standards of BEC Sevens, somehow still don't feel quite as quick as you expect them to.
For road use, even for 'sprint' trips, I prefer CEC's. The Crossflow in the Sylva is getting a bit long in the tooth, but I quite fancy another Sylva with maybe a supercharged Toyota Twin Cam in it.
On the other hand - despite having a 5 litre V8 amongst my collection - I'm not a fan of big, ultra-torquey engines, either; I think they corrupt the poise and balance of the car - the Griffith is a lorry, quite frankly!
The happy medium for me would be about 250 bhp with good torque spread, in a light, supple chassis. A supercharged Elise might come close...
>> Edited by Mutant Rat on Monday 22 August 23:20
All good info, thanks. Like I said, I've already done the whole "extreme performance" thing so even 7s to 60 would be adequate. I'm not going to be drag racing the car so it's pretty irrelevant, just using that figure as a guide to it's on road, in-gear type acceleration. I don't mind if I don't get a ballistic car, just so long as it's not so slow it feels pedestrian (ie 12s to 60 or similar).
The Robin Hood was the only name I recognised round here from my days of reading Which Kit etc 8 or 9 years ago . . . I see from trawling this forum that the game has moved on and they appear to have been left behind. The MK Indy looks pretty nice, will have to keep shopping around and see what's out there. I would be happy to get a nice car with a weak engine (even if it was a 1.3 Xflow or something!), as that can always be upgraded later, but obviously most builders with the budget for a nice chassis have specced a decent lump for it, so the price goes up accordingly.
I'm a decent mechanic/fabricator, would I save any cash by looking for a tired, older car and overhauling it? I could also go for an unfinished project, although they don't seem to be the bargains that they once were. I have plenty of garage space and equipment, and don't mind spending the time on it, I just don't want to get sucked into another expensive project as I know how easily the bills can add up!
>> Edited by aww999 on Tuesday 23 August 09:53
The Robin Hood was the only name I recognised round here from my days of reading Which Kit etc 8 or 9 years ago . . . I see from trawling this forum that the game has moved on and they appear to have been left behind. The MK Indy looks pretty nice, will have to keep shopping around and see what's out there. I would be happy to get a nice car with a weak engine (even if it was a 1.3 Xflow or something!), as that can always be upgraded later, but obviously most builders with the budget for a nice chassis have specced a decent lump for it, so the price goes up accordingly.
I'm a decent mechanic/fabricator, would I save any cash by looking for a tired, older car and overhauling it? I could also go for an unfinished project, although they don't seem to be the bargains that they once were. I have plenty of garage space and equipment, and don't mind spending the time on it, I just don't want to get sucked into another expensive project as I know how easily the bills can add up!
>> Edited by aww999 on Tuesday 23 August 09:53
Morning!
Where abouts are you?
I have a fisher fury, that I may have to sell, although I'll warn you now, it is purple
www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/48858.htm
I may be willing to drop a little, if you're interested.
Cheers,
John
Where abouts are you?
I have a fisher fury, that I may have to sell, although I'll warn you now, it is purple
www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/48858.htm
I may be willing to drop a little, if you're interested.
Cheers,
John
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