Caterham upgrade

[prs]

So what's the feeling about the latest offer from Caterham in low Flying. I've got a 1.6SS and to upgrade to a 1.8 Supersport R with Roller Barrels costs £3245 or thereabouts, power increase goes to 160BHP is this worth it? Would it be better to spend that amount at say DA's and what would I get for that amount.

Phil *cool*oh for a sunny day

[F355GTS]

prs

 

sounds a lot of money for 22BHP. For less money than that you ought to be able to get an Emerald, big valve head, cams, verniers and TB's from DVA, not sure on a 1.6 but on a 1.8 you would to be looking around 210 to 230BHP

 

Mark

[SteveP]

A lot of it depends on whether you want to remain within a factory spec (and hence factory supported), which is important if you come to sell it on via Caterham or perhaps trade it in against another model.

 

 

SteveP

[V7 SLR]

This has been discussed in much detail many times before. The upshot has to be whether or not you think it is a worthwhile investment. You have to weigh up the offers from both company's (and others) and then decide how much you want to spend for what performance gain, and then whether or not (or how much) you care how it would affect your resale value.

 

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[Richard J Darnell]

I also saw this upgrade in low flying.

It seems too expensive to me despite the advert suggesting a limited period only low price.

At the moment I'm still thinking the DVA route is the way to go.

The only question I have is what the engine is actaully like to use - it's not just about power - I aslo want a linear power delivery, good throttle response, reliability etc

 

I assume the supersport R engine is basically the R300 engine.

Anyone compared an R300 engine with a DVA modified engine?

[scooby dooby doo]

The RB TBs are reckoned by most to be very expensive for a modest improvement in peak power operation (which may not be measurable unless some way over 200 bhp) and significantly less good operation at part throttle.

 

Emerald / DVA do a kit that will give you 160 bhp in an afternoon for half this or 170 if you let them have the head to port it.

 

The problem is that they're so busy it might take a while to get a place in the queue....

 

look here

 

 

 

HOOPY 500 kg R706KGU

[V7 SLR]

Richard, which DVA engine? He does a whole menu of options. Mine would compare favourably with an R300 engine, but that wouldn't be a fair comparison.

 

I think anyone contemplating either route ought to speak with someone who's already gone that way.

 

Anyone thinking of a DVA conversion is welcome to call me, pop round or email direct. I'll be glad to discuss any aspect.

 

I still think that the biggest consideration has to be whether or not you may ever want to sell your car. If you will, then a non-Caterham modified car may not be welcome by Caterham.

 

 

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[Johnty Lyons]

Nig has it in one the main consideration [in fact the only consideration] is wether you wish to leave the factory fold any non factory addition or modification means at car change time you will NOT be welcome at Caterham.

So you pays your money and takes your choice. Me I went the DVA way back in 98 and havent regretted it I started with a 1.6 and now have a 1.8 with all the toys best move I ever made, but SAZ will never darken Caterhams door again ☹️

 

jj

N.I. L7C AO.

Membership No.3927.

[Richard J Darnell]

Like Phil, I have a 1.6SS

The 160bhp DVA option (including fitting + VAT) comes in at £1,860

 

The Caterham option costs an extra £1,435 for which you get the same power but the engine is converted to a 1.8 (more torque?) and gets roller-barrel throttle bodies (which may or may not be a good thing).

 

Ignoring the resale point, which option would result in the "better" 160bhp engine? ie. if you tried one engine followed by the other what differences might you notice?

 

[Johnty Lyons]

It'snot as simple as that it depends if you want to go any further With the DVA conversion your managment will allow you to continue the quest for power beyond the 160 mark, however the Caterham option will allow you to trade the car in for a more powerfull car but you can go no further with their managment.

IMHO Engine managment on a K is the key once you have taken the plunge and gone for aftermarket managment the world is your oyster, with the Factory upgrades you have an easily resellable car but limited options for bolt on upgrades. In my foolish past I ordered my car with a Supersport option which was a blind alley I eventually sold it for next to nothing and fitted an aftermarket ECU which has over the years allowed me to persue at my own pace a slow climb up the power ladder.

 

jj

N.I. L7C AO.

Membership No.3927.

[Steve Brown]

Isn't the MBE ecu reprogrammable? (See the thread on R400 mapping).

 

If this is the case then surely you could still go down the porting / new cams route at a future date in search of more power.

[SteveP]

The MBE is remappable, but is password protected by Caterham so that the end user doesn't have a go at it

 

 

SteveP

[V7 SLR]

Richard, the "better" one doesn't take into account price. You say that the Caterham one costs 1400 odd quid more, yet achieves the same power. The 1.8 may add more torque but may not. You'd be surprised by what a simple ECU swap can bring.

 

We now have a lot of people with DVA conversions to both 1.6 and 1.8 engines. You really ought to speak with Dave Andrews himself to get an assessment of what torque a 160bhp 1.6 can produce, but if you are concerned enough to know which is better despite there being a 1400 quid difference, does this mean you actually have that 1400 quid extra to spend? Because if you do, I'd spend it at DVA's door, knowing that you'll end up with a far better setup, albeit less "sellable" back to Caterham.

 

Roller TBs look fancy, but in practice offer nothing over a set of Jenvey's at 1/3rd of the price. I also have concerns over the roller TB's at part throttle and the fact that the throttle plate appears to be further away from the engine than in a set of Jenvey's. In theory the fully open throttle of the rollers wins the max bhp claim, but in theory their part throttle air flow and throttle response should mean the winner is the Jenvey's.

 

All theory. In practice I believe there's the square root of bugger all in it, so why spend 3 times the price on the same solution?

 

The rollers look the part though. Have to admit that.

 

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