petefoster Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Two questions for YGPOBC *wavey* I am wanting to swop my ex academy and get myself a bike engined caternail so: Which of the busa, blackbird and fireblade varieties is best or some guidance on the liveability of each would be good, I am looking to continue with the sprinting [or in my case try and start sprinting *confused* ], a few trackdays and some road use Secondly, I have no idea what's mine worth 😳 so any guidance would be greatly appreciated see attached here and spec: Black and aluminium, 2006 1600 K series, 7000 miles, oil & filter changed every 1000 miles with 0-50 fully synthetic oil 52mm throttle body 4-1 exhaust [with CAT] Titan LSD Anti-cavitation tank Caterham adjustable rear anti roll bar, orange and red front anti roll bars Adjustable platforms on bilstein shocks [flat floored for 14 ½ stone] Front undertray [to prevent stones flicking up into engine bay] Caterham silicon hoses Relocated oil pressure sender Full cage [although this could be changed to FIA Rollbar] 15” Caterham Anthracites shod with 205/50 rear and 195/50 front Stunner Scudo’s Half doors and bespoke fitted tonneau Black pack heated windscreen Caterham Tillet seats Lowered drivers floor Removable Momo steering wheel LED rear lights and 5 ½ Headlights Keyless ignition Power Cut-off and plumbed in fire extinguisher Oil / Water Temperature switch Triple 12v power socket 6 point drivers, 4 point passenger harnesses DRE Shiftlights Cheers Pete Edited by - petefoster on 7 Sep 2011 16:05:45 Edited by - petefoster on 7 Sep 2011 16:44:17 Edited by - petefoster on 9 Sep 2011 15:55:33 Edited by - petefoster on 9 Sep 2011 16:47:47 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Wilson Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 An ex academy car - did you build it yourself, Pete? Any reason why you don't want to convert your own car to bike power? I've just gotten started doing the same - you can keep tabs on my progress at projectblackbird.co.uk. I'm also intending to take it sprinting but I haven't done any competition before. Looking at the classes, I'm wondering if I shouldn't have gone for a Fireblade or a 'busa. Looks like my Blackbird will be a smaller engine in its class but the right parts came up at the right price, at the right time. My decision was practically made for me! Feel free to blatmail me. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petefoster Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 Hi Laurence Yes I did consider an engine swop but decided by the time I had sourced an engine tinkered with it and found all the bits to make it work I may as well sell the academy and get a BEC built from the off, although there is an attraction to getting all the tools out and building it up myself, that was the original idea when I got the Caterham, but a good deal came along and I bought a factory built one. Ideally I would like to get someone with a BEC who wants to swop for a a rover engined motor as that would involve less hassle.....hmmmm me thinks I am getting old and lazy 😬 😬 😬 Pete Edited by - petefoster on 7 Sep 2011 16:44:45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Peter - having had a converted K-Busa here are a few thoughts in terms of 1. hillclimbing - perfect and in the right hands the right car for the job 2. trackdays - to be honest I haven't done too many - suspect it is going to be great 3. road use - it is fine, not done too many road miles, but it will be very tiresome on longer runs I would have thought, but just as bad as bird or blade... In all aspects I would have thought the busa is preferrable to blackbird to a fireblade, although on the later the though of 13,000 rpm does appeal :) there are not many around busa's but there is a very interesting spec on on pistonheads that has just been reduced in price. Whether it is worth that I am not sure as a lot of it is very bespoke You could of course just get your current car modified to a busa as laurence says, I had mine done my Ian Dayson at Force racing and cannot recommend working with him high or the quality of his work enough. Feel free to drop me an email offline to discuss busa conversion stuff Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metal mickey Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Busa. Std 1300's are good and bigger cc ones just get better 😬 1400cc is a very nice spec and good all rounder. Some early sprint cars were built with solid engine mounts a la single seaters - DO NOT DO THIS for anything otherthan an out and out comp car. It is possible to make engine mounts to pick up on std caterham donut mounts or use metalastic bushes. Properly set up and mapped they are perfectly useable on the road but make sure whoever maps it pays attention to the lower rev range - 4 to 6.5k as thats where the cruising speed is on the road and it makes a big difference to driveability. With full throttle upshifts and clutchless downshifts they are addictive ❗ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue-Lines Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Hi Pete. I don’t think there is a best. It depends on how the car has been setup, what you want from it and what your budget is i think. What i will say is that my blade is very forgiving to drive on the limit but at the same time really requires a deft touch to get the very best out of it - something i am still working on!! When compared to my old man’s crossflow 7 it feels like you drive it with your tiptoes and fingertips. The steering and pedals are so light in comparison. In short it might not be to everyone’s liking as it is a bit noisy and clunky at low speeds on the road for example but clutchless upshifts @ 11k it is FUN and it definitely subscribes to Chapman philosophy of “less is more” IMHO. I often wonder what my car would be like with a 2010 blade engine in it...185bhp in a circa 400kg car Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSL Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Very simple, having had one of each, Blade / Blackbird / Busa the only answer is Busa power if you are embarking on a new build. Anything else is a halfway house & will lead to regret at a later date, however if the right price second hand car with a Black bird or even blade comes up buy it enjoy it & upgrade it to Busa in the future when it breaks or you want more thrust 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pikey Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 After asking the same question I decided on a K8 onwards Busa was the way to go. Stock they have 200bhp after the gearbox. They are quite torquey for a bike engine so they are very drivable too. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davedlr Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 I've toyed with this idea as well - changing the VX2.0 in my live axle car to a Busa. I know the James Whiting fireblades were live axled - has anyone built a busa powered live axle car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racing Snake Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Busa has to be the outright choice, cracking engine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 the one up on Pistonheads is live axle i think, although heavily modded in that area rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petefoster Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 Thanks to all for comments on which BEC, now anybody gonna take a guess at what mines worth so I can prepare SWMBO for the difference *eek* Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davedlr Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Pete - depending on the state of the bodywork I think you will be looking at 11-12.5 for your car - IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petefoster Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 thanks dave just put it up on PH at 12999 Cheers Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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