Michael Jackman Posted September 6, 2000 Share Posted September 6, 2000 I hope to build another Caterham Seven in the next year or so, and I am keen to use the Vauxhall 2.0 16v engine that Caterham Cars once offered as an option. I would like to hear other peoples views on this engine option and also weather or not there is a 'prefered' version of the engine. Thanks, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red SLR Posted September 6, 2000 Share Posted September 6, 2000 I would consider all options, I personaly don't like the 2000cc VX. Reason, I prefer the origional idea that the caterham is to be light as possible with a small engine, this points me towards the K series, but also the newer bike lumps such as the blade or busa. You will have to decide what is the best engine for your application. Simon. X777CAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper man Posted September 6, 2000 Share Posted September 6, 2000 Yeah, the only good Vauxhall is one that's been replaced with a K-series. Ow! don't hit me Alex!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red SLR Posted September 6, 2000 Share Posted September 6, 2000 Wow I am an Archangel now - any way I would get a K series 1600 if I was you. Simon. X777CAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted September 6, 2000 Share Posted September 6, 2000 Don't listen to the sheep. You are not a number, you are a free man! I'm biased I know. I love the Vx engine. I see it as the best Cosworth designed engine for the seven although I love BD's as well. Never tried one though (a BD that is). It's just that BD cam cover that gets me. The Vx engine is heavy and it is not as revvy as it's Rover sibling. What it does have in it's favour is durability, seemingly endless upgrade options up to 280BHP (and then you can turbocharge or supercharge it if you are so inclined), good backup in the form of QED and SBD, and torque. I don't want to cover too much old ground here (see Vx vs K-series) but you can pick up a decent 2nd hand Vx engine for about 600GBP. Have a look at QED's website for the fully built uprated versions they sell (can't remember the URL but it's on my website - http://alexwong.net) Alternatively, you can get a second hand engine and a Q450 kit from QED and build yourself a 230BHP engine for about 3000GBP. (I wouldn't advise this unless you've had some experience in engine building before though!) Mine is a Q420 engine but I wish I'd gone for the Q450 now and will probably make the cam changes when I can. The honest truth is this. The K-series cars are brilliant. They are more revvy and more agile making them more responsive and less prone to understeer. They're also more economical and just as reliable. It's also pretty difficult to sell a Vx car as everybody wants K cars. They just lack character to me but that's not everyone else's priority! I love the "slingshot out of the corner" feel that only the Vx engine can give from low revs right up to 7800rpm in my case. I'm extremely sentimental about my car and would never dream of robbing it of it's soul by putting a K-series engine in it. I also think K cars are harder to drive fast but I think we've covered this on another thread..... This is a personal and minority opinion. But 7 owners are all slightly eccentric aren't they? Keith, which have you replaced more frequently? Your 7's or your slippers? I know you wouldn't get all slushy about your 7 the way I do about mine, but then again, mine went quicker than yours! tongue.gif Alex Wong alex.wong@lotus7club.co.uk www.alexwong.net Home : 44-(0)121-440 6972 Fax : 44-(0)121-440 4601 Edited by - Alex Wong on 7 Sep 2000 00:10:52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted September 6, 2000 Share Posted September 6, 2000 Michael, I guess I don't have to answer your e-mail now! Cheers, Alex Wong alex.wong@lotus7club.co.uk www.alexwong.net Home : 44-(0)121-440 6972 Fax : 44-(0)121-440 4601 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Russell Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 Michael, I have stayed out of the Vx-v-K thread in this forum as simply everything I wanted to say had been expressed so eloquently by Alex, before I could reach the keypad! The Vx XE engine is simply a wonderful piece of kit and certainly provides the 7 with a more than adequate source of POWER and TORQUE. Yes, it is a different beast to the K engined car and handles differently but that is no bad thing. Go back a few years and read up on road tests of the old Vx race series cars to see how highly they were rated. The feeling of solidity and grunt is simply awesome and as can be sensed from Alex's comments, they are ADDICTIVE! Don't waiver, just get it built, and join the MUSCLE 7 CLUB. Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Green Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 I think we're all going down the wrong track with all this K vs Vx nonsense. I think we should be testing Sparco race boots vs Keith's slippers. Are they FIA approved, Keith? This could be the trick MS and Ferrari need to catch Mr H. Does anyone else have this fetish, or is our secretary in a minority of one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper man Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 I can't see anything wrong with my slippers - I think they are a great style statement. The problem is the rest of the world's views.... I thought your comments surprisingly balanced this time Alex. Except that my car beat yours (when Gordon was driving) despite my car having an extra 50kilos of (very stylish!!) ballast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Richens Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 Keith, where do you buy your Nomex slippers ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 Addicted to Vauxhall, too. K´s are great engine and maybe I would go for one but from terms of available service/parts/tuning there´s no engine like the VX. Just ask Fast Arnie if a Vauxhall can have grunt... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chairman Roger Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 I don't know what it is about Team Members but That ex Team stalwart and Curborough Sprint commentator Neil Backwith insists on wearing the left shoe of a red pair of trainers and the right shoe of a yellow pair ( he also has a spare pair !) Lols (tank taped) race boots can also play the piano in the bar at Potiers on their own (a neat trick and very funny after a bevy or two ) My shoes ... whatever are nearest the door ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Russell Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 SBD have got a summer sale on, another good reason for Vx engines! At the end of the day, what is important to us all, squabbling apart, is that whatever engine we settle upon, we all still have the best car on four wheels! And some of us have good taste in footwear! Me? Vx powered Momo race boots! Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Ranson Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 > The Vx engine is heavy and it is not as revvy as it's Rover sibling. 'Quite heavy'. Not as more heavy as a passenger. And if you're dedicated there's the alloy block option from QED. If you add up the weight of a windscreen/wipers/carpets/soft seats/heater/spare tyre (both sorts)/cast iron 5 speed gearbox casings I think you quickly get into the same order as the nominal Vx/K difference. The big problem is that the K is current, the classic Vx isn't. As for 'revvy'ness it all depends.... I find the standard 1.8K to be very lethargic, a 1.6K SS to be quite revvy and a tuned 1.6K to be very revvy. But a monster raving looney Vauxhall will be even revvier. And there's no substitute for cubic centimetres. Or something. But given that healthy members of society don't drive even a 1.6K hard on the road..... Paul Edited by - Paul Ranson on 7 Sep 2000 12:01:09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Johnson Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 I have never driven any Caterham, except my 2.0 ltr vauxhall & I love it. The great thing is that when the Mrs wants a visit to the coast I can drive it on the torque & if not bumble then at least not scare her & when I want to take it out for a blast it does that even better. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 Keith wrote : "I thought your comments surprisingly balanced this time Alex. Except that my car beat yours (when Gordon was driving) despite my car having an extra 50kilos of (very stylish!!) ballast." I was being deliberately provocative on the Vx vs. K series thread, but it worked!!! Being short and rotund makes for good balance. cool.gif Gordon was just following team orders not not show me up this time!! - and anyway, I don't think you had any extra ballast compared to me in my car. wink.gif It must be those slippers that kept you ahead of Gordon. I can see it now. OMP charged a premium for their inside out gloves just because Ayrton Senna wore his inside out. What about Lotus 7 Club Moccasins (endorsed by the Club Sec)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 Hay what about the zetec. Am I the only one out there who likes the Zetec. I guess in many ways it's similar to a vx. Good power lots of torque and cheap. I'm beginning to feel a bit on my own here. Has the whole of the seven world gone vx and K mad..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Green Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 Now there's an idea, Keith. You could try wearing your slippers inside-out. That way you could simultaneously polish your pedals with the fluffy woollen lining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Rexia Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 He does wear them inside out - thinks it's cool cool.gif Dread to think what he wears at home if he'll wear those in a seven! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Mears Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 Zetec supporter club is well and alive. I am a new convert and love it. Crisp sound and great torque. Dont knock it until you try it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Green Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 I suggest we go no further on this subject - I don't want to know what Mr Jecks gets up to in privacy of his own home, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big daddy Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 Anna, Every time I log onto this site there are at least half a dozen postings from your good self. Do you do nothing else? I guess you don't stop for lunch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Mupferit Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 I'm with you on the Zetec Steve. Great engine and the true descendant of BDR'S etc unlike all these pretenders to the throne,Vx and K series .......Pah!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 Hurrah I'm not alone. I was beginning to wonder. Zetec owners of the world unite. Stand-up against the might of the Vx and K. Don't get me started on the sound . I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Russell Posted September 7, 2000 Share Posted September 7, 2000 Brent, Re true descendant.... I seem to recall that the Zetec was 'designed' to some degree by Yamaha, whereas the Vx XE was by Cosworth........therefore I would say the lineage to the BD series is probably more with the Vx than the Ford!! IMO... Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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