V8 Developments 5.5 litre Engine - Any info?

[mackempete]

I've been doing a whole load of research for an engine upgrade to my Chim and I've come across this engine from V8 developments. I was speaking to Shaun at V8D last week and I've emailed topsparks as he's had it fitted, but i thought id stick a post up see if anyone on here had any experience with it?

[v8 racing]

peter you probably struggle for a response on here as i have only fitted 3 in tvr's!

[daxtojeiro]

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=8&t=282432&p=1
see this post
Phil

[topsparks]

My one is going great guns,left my mates £90K Vantage for dead @LeMans.Don't bother trying to make the ancient 14 CUX injection to work with a 5.5 I got ripped off for nearly £2K before switching over to an Emeralld fully mapped system which has transformed the car you can poddle around roundabouts in 5th gear doing 25mph with no shunting(404M cam) and the car is a joy to drive.I have used my car to develop a new plug and play complete engine loom to make this a more easy job ,let me know if you need any more info.

Edited by topsparks on Monday 10th July 22:39

[mackempete]

topsparks:
Can i ask how much the Emeralld System cost? Are you still using standard running gear? Oh and who is you insurance with I'm having trouble getting a quote with these mods?
V8 racing:
I remember reading a thread on here where shrub said his 520 needed rebuilding every 6 months and clutches were only lasting around a 1000 miles. Does this mean this engine will be even worse?

thanks
Pete

[RichardD]

mackempete said:

topsparks:
Can i ask how much the Emeralld System cost? ...

I remember reading a thread on here where shrub said his 520 needed rebuilding every 6 months and clutches were only lasting around a 1000 miles. Does this mean this engine will be even worse?

thanks
Pete

Emerald - http://trackcarsolutions.net/shop/ind
Obviously plus specific tinkering to any installation....

Shpub uses his Wedge as a track car. I don't know if his clutch is standard, but would guess the transmission may a bit stretched with a 5.5 engine on a Rover gearbox (used before the T5 took over).

Have another look at the original 5.5 thread for the spec of the engine, I'd imagine its even better than standard due to quality of components?
With more power less revs would be needed for similar progress anyway

[mackempete]

Thanks Richard. Do you know if that price is fitted, or is that just for the ECU?

So this engine should be as or possibly more reliable than the standard Engine? Just need a reasonable insurance quote now then i can take the plunge!

Pete

[apache]

topsparks said:

My one is going great guns,left my mates £90K Vantage for dead @LeMans.Don't bother trying to make the ancient 14 CUX injection to work with a 5.5 I got ripped off for nearly £2K before switching over to an Emeralld fully mapped system which has transformed the car you can poddle around roundabouts in 5th gear doing 25mph with no shunting(404M cam) and the car is a joy to drive.I have used my car to develop a new plug and play complete engine loom to make this a more easy job ,let me know if you need any more info.

Edited by topsparks on Monday 10th July 22:39

blimey, what's the numbers?

[mackempete]

apache said:

topsparks said:

My one is going great guns,left my mates £90K Vantage for dead @LeMans.Don't bother trying to make the ancient 14 CUX injection to work with a 5.5 I got ripped off for nearly £2K before switching over to an Emeralld fully mapped system which has transformed the car you can poddle around roundabouts in 5th gear doing 25mph with no shunting(404M cam) and the car is a joy to drive.I have used my car to develop a new plug and play complete engine loom to make this a more easy job ,let me know if you need any more info.

Edited by topsparks on Monday 10th July 22:39

blimey, what's the numbers?

Very good if i remember rightly from the previous post it was 398bhp and over 400 for torque. Mind you that was on V8D's dyno with special manifolds. I've just got my insurance quote, so a visit to the bank and a call to V8D awaits...

[shpub]

mackempete said:

topsparks:

I remember reading a thread on here where shrub said his 520 needed rebuilding every 6 months and clutches were only lasting around a 1000 miles. Does this mean this engine will be even worse?

thanks
Pete

Yes but the 520 spec engine is about as far as you can go N/A. Yes it did eat clutches - now running a triple plate jobby good enough for about 600lb/ft of torque. Yes gearboxes became consumables but I had a custom close ratio Lt77 box built. Yes the engine does get rebuilt frequently but that is more of a preventitive maintenance rather than the other option of waiting till something goes bang and a big bill. State of the art engines are not cheap and it pays to treat them well if you want them to be reliable. The 520's engine has done about 45k miles with no problem and was extremely clean with almost no wear when John Eales stripped it prior to the supercharger mods so the regime is paying dividends, especially as the engine really does get hammered.

In the end, it all depends on how extreme the engine is, how hard it is used and not necessarily on the capacity.

[daxtojeiro]

RichardD said:

mackempete said:

topsparks:
Can i ask how much the Emeralld System cost? ...

I remember reading a thread on here where shrub said his 520 needed rebuilding every 6 months and clutches were only lasting around a 1000 miles. Does this mean this engine will be even worse?

thanks
Pete

Emerald - http://trackcarsolutions.net/shop/ind
Obviously plus specific tinkering to any installation....

thats a lot of money!!!!!!! You could buy nearly 3 MS ECU's for that price!!!!!
Phil

[rev-erend]

Yes - but that is mapped ignition too..

[mackempete]

So which would you recommend for this type of project?

[mongoose]

mackempete said:

So which would you recommend for this type of project?

I think you'll find that when you go to V8D,they will probably recommend the Omex system.The 710 is the same price as the Emerald,but has a higher spec,and can do more things you might need in the future.I know Shaun is quite a fan of the Omex,and thats how i ended up having mine,very pleased with it too



e&oe:-just in case the Emerald spec has changed

[trackcar]

the emrald pointed to on my site is the cerbera version, it's cerbera-specific and comes with an adaptor loom aswell to make it plug and play so to speak. the emeralds for the rv8 will be cheaper, i can't think how much but around 550-600 pounds?

[mongoose]

trackcar said:

the emrald pointed to on my site is the cerbera version, it's cerbera-specific and comes with an adaptor loom aswell to make it plug and play so to speak. the emeralds for the rv8 will be cheaper, i can't think how much but around 550-600 pounds?

Thats a very fair price,cant understand why more people dont buy alternative ecu's when theyre this cheap for a good one?
Joo,did you get my cheque?

[daxtojeiro]

rev-erend said:

Yes - but that is mapped ignition too..

I should hope so too, I guess thats with 4 spark outputs for wasted spark on a V8? thats what I assumed it was when comparing prices, as thats what the 3 MS's would have, if its simply a single spark output then youll get loads of change after buying 3
Phil

[trackcar]

mongoose said:

trackcar said:

the emrald pointed to on my site is the cerbera version, it's cerbera-specific and comes with an adaptor loom aswell to make it plug and play so to speak. the emeralds for the rv8 will be cheaper, i can't think how much but around 550-600 pounds?

Thats a very fair price,cant understand why more people dont buy alternative ecu's when theyre this cheap for a good one?
Joo,did you get my cheque?

yups got it thanks. see you at back home?

[mongoose]

trackcar said:

....yups got it thanks. see you at back home?

Afraid i wont be at back home,the growl isn't far away though....
I'm currently panicking that the Griff wont replicate my last dyno result,when i do the power run at the growl(hoping for 1 or 2 more horses).I'm re-mapping for a different fuel pressure regulator at the mo,and it's been interesting-wifes doing the mapping whilst i drive again -.....

[v8 racing]

mackempete said:

topsparks:
Can i ask how much the Emeralld System cost? Are you still using standard running gear? Oh and who is you insurance with I'm having trouble getting a quote with these mods?
V8 racing:
I remember reading a thread on here where shrub said his 520 needed rebuilding every 6 months and clutches were only lasting around a 1000 miles. Does this mean this engine will be even worse?

thanks
Pete

Basically no the engine wont need rebuilding hopefully! there is a big difference between a road engine and a race engine, not so much the physical engine but more the abuse a race engine suffers, as sh has said he has engine checked just to make sure everything is all ok in there as opposed to it needing a rebuild, as for clutches and drivetrain etc... quite frankly i dont see an issue a good organinc clutch such as ap or helix ones are fine, any kind of paddle clutch or twin/tripple clucth stay clear of for a road car, they are great for racers but the moment you start pulling away gently with them you will just wear them straight out, all the internals of all our big short engine are much stronger than stock, it would be almost impossible to break it on the road/track unless you are doing something very silly!