What kit car do I buy?
Discussion
JERRYCO said:
For used. Im not over keen on the fury thats just going on looks. should i go for a large engine or small? power to weight ratio and all that. Ive had TVRs before with lots of power but you see Caterhams fying around!!
The sensation is very different in a lighter, less torquey car, but, like you say, power-to-weight ratio is key; particularly at road speeds where aerodynamic drag (which does require sheer power to overcome) isn't that significant.It's important to bear in mind just how much lighter they are. Most Caterfields are around half the weight of a Rover V8 era Tiv - and they're not exactly heavyweights - and many have somewhat further developed suspension geometry, so they tend to feel a lot more nimble and responsive. Steering feel is usually a lot better than PAS-equipped TVRs too (I say that as an ex-TVR owner!)
In general if you go for a lightweight design like a Seven I'd avoid heavy engines. They have a reputation for making lightweight designs (intended for small, light 4-cylinders) feel rather nose heavy and ponderous, which kind of defeats the whole object.
I guess the main question is 'what type of car do you want?' You can get everything from genuinely usable coupes to 350kg road legal single seaters in the kit industry.
Chris71 said:
The sensation is very different in a lighter, less torquey car, but, like you say, power-to-weight ratio is key; particularly at road speeds where aerodynamic drag (which does require sheer power to overcome) isn't that significant.
The drag on typical LSIS and exoskeleton cars is very significant at legal road speeds!Mr2Mike said:
Chris71 said:
The sensation is very different in a lighter, less torquey car, but, like you say, power-to-weight ratio is key; particularly at road speeds where aerodynamic drag (which does require sheer power to overcome) isn't that significant.
The drag on typical LSIS and exoskeleton cars is very significant at legal road speeds!I think the main thing I meant to get at was that however light you make a car of a given drag coefficient ultimately you'll need more power to make it go faster. That's why a car of 200hp and 1 ton will always reach a higher top speed than a car of 100hp and half a ton, given the same drag coefficient; in the end there really is no replacement for displacement (or at least power).
Chris71 said:
I think the main thing I meant to get at was that however light you make a car of a given drag coefficient ultimately you'll need more power to make it go faster. That's why a car of 200hp and 1 ton will always reach a higher top speed than a car of 100hp and half a ton, given the same drag coefficient; in the end there really is no replacement for displacement (or at least power).
The question is though... Where are you going to be using the car and what sort of speeds are you going to be able to run? There's not many places you can get over 150mph including many tracks. The fun is to be had at the lower speeds on the twisty bits. The long straights are really pretty boring places.If it's a road car, well if you do much more than 95 you can kiss your licence goodbye if you're caught.
So ask yourself where are you going to driving the car and how often?
jason61c said:
Is that 12k for a used car for for a kit?
its a good budget either way so just get what suits you the most, there's a nice turbo r1 fury on here for well under your budget.
Went to see the r1 turbo fury, you couldn't use it on the road. Sump was barely off the floor, nice car but was very track focussed with a number plate. If it was to race or hillclimb though it'd be ideal.its a good budget either way so just get what suits you the most, there's a nice turbo r1 fury on here for well under your budget.
qdos said:
Chris71 said:
I think the main thing I meant to get at was that however light you make a car of a given drag coefficient ultimately you'll need more power to make it go faster. That's why a car of 200hp and 1 ton will always reach a higher top speed than a car of 100hp and half a ton, given the same drag coefficient; in the end there really is no replacement for displacement (or at least power).
The question is though... Where are you going to be using the car and what sort of speeds are you going to be able to run? There's not many places you can get over 150mph including many tracks. The fun is to be had at the lower speeds on the twisty bits. The long straights are really pretty boring places.If it's a road car, well if you do much more than 95 you can kiss your licence goodbye if you're caught.
So ask yourself where are you going to driving the car and how often?
I live next to the B158, so a Caterham with all the aerodynamic finesse of a house brick works for me just fine. If I lived next to Spa I might be tempted by a Sylva Phoenix or something instead.
Yazza54 said:
Went to see the r1 turbo fury, you couldn't use it on the road. Sump was barely off the floor, nice car but was very track focussed with a number plate. If it was to race or hillclimb though it'd be ideal.
How did you find it? Did it drive nicely? Responsive or laggy? Sorry for the rel of questions but I'm curious 
Red16 said:
Yazza54 said:
Went to see the r1 turbo fury, you couldn't use it on the road. Sump was barely off the floor, nice car but was very track focussed with a number plate. If it was to race or hillclimb though it'd be ideal.
How did you find it? Did it drive nicely? Responsive or laggy? Sorry for the rel of questions but I'm curious He said it was insane in it's current tune, which was low boost circa 190bhp (to run the motor in). Probably capable of 240bhp at your peril! Sounded nice though.
Like I say, drawbacks being the sump and it wasn't the tidiest (if you want a mint road car)...but would make an awesome track weapon.
Edited by Yazza54 on Friday 1st October 22:55
Fair enough, nice of you to not bother pushing the test drive when you found out you weren't interested in buying, not many people like that around! 
it looks a lovely car from the advert.
The reason I'm curious is I'm building a turbo BEC but was after another opinion of how turbo bike engines drive/perform in a car. As other peoples opinions is all I have to go on at the moment with my car being far from finished.
it looks a lovely car from the advert.The reason I'm curious is I'm building a turbo BEC but was after another opinion of how turbo bike engines drive/perform in a car. As other peoples opinions is all I have to go on at the moment with my car being far from finished.
Red16 said:
Fair enough, nice of you to not bother pushing the test drive when you found out you weren't interested in buying, not many people like that around! it looks a lovely car from the advert.
The reason I'm curious is I'm building a turbo BEC but was after another opinion of how turbo bike engines drive/perform in a car. As other peoples opinions is all I have to go on at the moment with my car being far from finished.
Well, from what he had to say, it didn't like going slow and it scared him a few times! it looks a lovely car from the advert.The reason I'm curious is I'm building a turbo BEC but was after another opinion of how turbo bike engines drive/perform in a car. As other peoples opinions is all I have to go on at the moment with my car being far from finished.
I think I'd stick n/a but maybe a busa or zx12 if more power was needed. Though it probably wouldnt be needed.
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