more power for my 400

[c j morgan]

*** MESSAGE DELETED ***

[shpub]

Well as they came with a Kand N filter I'd say you car is standard.

As for more power for less than 1000 pnds... I'd start saving for some more dosh. You could get it rechipped (600 pnds ish) but you may get some improvement but it could be an expensive way of getting 2 bhp more! Don't know until its done.

The next sensible engine upgrade (plenum, air flow and rechip is) is 2-3 grand depending on spec etc.

If you want some ideas www.t-v-r-services.co.uk have the details of what they did to my 390.

Alternatively uprate the brakes and suspesnion. That'll make it go faster from A to B. How about some driving tuityion - best and cheapest speed increase there is.

Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk

[tvr350i]

Steve: Raising fuel pressure should do some work on any standard TVR without LAMDA, correct me if i´m wrong ?

[GreenV8s]

quote:
Steve: Raising fuel pressure should do some work on any standard TVR without LAMDA, correct me if i´m wrong ?

Hard to say, it will raise the fuelling everywhere, if it was underfuelling in places then that would help there, but make it worse where it had been OK or overfuelling. So it might be OK at first in terms of absolute power, slightly richer at the top end, more charge cooling and so on. Economy would suffer though, bottom end tractibility and cold starting will probably suffer, and you will find it is harder to keep the plugs clean, increased carbon buildup might lead to hotspots and pinking problems. And of course you can easily go too far and risk blowing pipes and joints. Getting it chipped is far better in that it solves any fuelling problems you may have, without introducing new ones. But if the fuelling was about right anyway, don't expect any radical power gain.

Having spent an absolute fortune on all sorts of upgrades on the V8S, I fully endorse Steve's suggestion that for most people it is better to start with driver training, and then address any limitations you find with the car's handling and brakes rather than simply going for more power. BTW how much of that 1000 pnds have you set aside for increased insurance premiums and running costs?

Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)

[shpub]

quote:
Steve: Raising fuel pressure should do some work on any standard TVR without LAMDA, correct me if i´m wrong ?

Yes but the 400s should have one of those fitted anyway.

Steve

[350matt]

Bit difficult to tune a 400 cheaply as they've already got some go-faster bits already. For more grunt under a grand, I'd look at fitting a mapped igition system they're about 250-300 quid and although they shouldn't give you any more peak power (unless the std system is retarded), they will 'fill' the mid-range and part throttle output quite a lot. With the added bonus of providing more fuel economy and better throttle response. You can also have maps for std 95 unleaded and another map for 98 optimax if you fancy it.
Other than that you could fit a hairier cam (about 150 quid, 60 quid followers 200 quid? fitting) but as the std 400 is quite lumpy already you'd probably just lose torque gain a bit of top-end and end up going no quicker.
If you can find a cheap 2nd hand one (try Rover SD1 racers) a short trumpet base will fill the holes in the power curve and boost top-end. New these are 600 quidish and you'll need a new fuel map. So you'll probably end up going over a grand with the rolling road set-up.

Best of luck

Matt

[c j morgan]

thanks lad s for your help

[wolfgangj]

Did the 400 come with a raising fuel pressure regulator from new. How can I see if one is fitted to mine 400 from 89.
Wolfgang

[phil.cavanagh]

You can try a couple of things for less than a grand, but the first thing to do is baseline your car and find out if it's running correctly in the first place. I had my car on the dyno last week, and the ignition was advancing to far at the top end, so dizzy has to come off and be modded. Fuel pressure was also a bit low. At that dyno session I was going to try some carbon inlet trumpets from ACT (around 300GBP), but you have to get the car running right first before starting to mess with it. Dyno sessions usually run around 50GBP/hour, and are well worth it as long as the operator is experienced with your car / engine type. I'll let you know how I get on in a couple of weeks.

[jvaughan]

My 400SE came with a standard fuel pressure regulator ( the one illustrated in Steve Heath's wedge book ).
For £100 or so, you can replace this with a variable rate fuel regulator. This gives better fuelling throughout the rev range (see Steve Heaths Comments when TowerView fitted one to his Standard 390)
It might not make it more powerful, but it will increase the responsiveness of the engine.

A Cam Swap should cost you about 200 - 400 from a reputable source fitted. the re-profiled 218 Hybrids are good ( I have a US spec much wilder CAM fitted to my 400SE as it suites my driving style, giving harder pull higher in the revvs )

If your going to spend £2000 then why not investigate one of Ray Webb's 4.6 conversions. you can have a 4.6 fitted for about £2000 or so (dont forget to tell your insurance company) They are cross bolted, and if you dont want to change the heads or CAM, you can re-use your origional parts (ok you wont get the best from the engine, but stock power will be increased, as will tuning potential)

Im doing some upgrades at the moment to my 400SE if you would like a chat about what is going on under the bonnet and elsewhere on the car, email me off line for a chat
email= [e-mail]