cost of Superlight ownership

[ROC]

In another topic on R500s for the road - click here the engine life expectancy before rebuild was suggested at about 20K. As a newbie buying a 1600 Superlight that is primarily for road use - what might I reasonably expectquestion.gif

 

I saw somewhere else that tyres life might be around the 3K mark though I suspect that was with a lot of track use and perhaps a more potent machine.

 

Is my toy really going to be so needy of attention? eek.gif

Are there any other shocks or is the rest biggrin.gifquestion.gif

 

Looking on the bright side, I guess that losing ones virginity in any sphere is full of ups and downs.

 

 

Edited by - rupe on 1 Aug 2001 12:11:35 ]here

 

Edited by - rupe on 1 Aug 2001 12:13:20

 

Edited by - Rupe on 1 Aug 2001 12:15:24

[Brad Tipp]

Rupe, I've had my Superlight 1600 for 2 1/2 years and it's has two services at a few hundred quid each time and a new set of ACB10's every 3000 miles or so. If you arn't on ACB10's the from waht I have read elsewhere it seems like standard road tyres last forever. Even with frequent track days.

If you can leave the engine alone* (i.e. I'll just add TB's or change the cams, gas flow head...) then I don't think it will need any major attention for years.

 

Remember a 7 Isn't a "normal" road car so it needs lots of love and care (like retorquing the suspension bolts after a track day), doesn't need a lot of money spent on it to maintain it.

 

*Unfortunately this is not possible and you'll spend loads upgrading it :-)

[Peter Carmichael]

That is 3k *road* miles for a set of ACB10s. Yoko A032R are hardly any better.

 

Dry track day miles brings it down to ~1200.

[ROC]

Thanks for the feedback guys

 

The engine is good news smile.gif. As for upgrades I guess that I will have the fastest car in Sri Lanka as it is - even on the tracks. The classes are very open below 1000cc, 1300, 1600 and above 1600. However I like tinkering and probably will end up doing odd things as you suggested.

 

As for the tyres I might see if I can get some more normal road tyres as I may want to save the ACBs for track days. Otherwise I will have to get them imported specially on a regular basis.

 

[domster]

There are people on this forum who know better than me, but as far as my knowledge goes:

 

Do not compare or confuse an R500 engine with that of a 1.6 Superlight, or even the 1.8 Superlight R. The 1.6 has a mildly tuned engine running less than 100 bhp per litre (138 bhp if I remember), whereas the VHPD engine in the SLR is over 100 bhp per litre and the R500 engine is considerably more so.

 

Therefore, the 1.6 lump is pretty standard road car fare, but the VHPD engine isn't (unless you drive an M3 or Ferrari 355 whcih have equally high specific litre engine outputs) and the R500 is something else altogether. The R500 is basically a racing engine, and racing engines need to be treated with the utmost care and attention. Reliability will be virtually 100% in the 1.6, may creep downwards for the 1.8 VHPD and will definitely plummet in the R500 unless you run the engine *exactly* as Minister intended. You need the right water temp all the time, plus the right oil temp all the time, plus the right oil changed at the right time, plus a rebuild every year.

 

Therefore, don't worry about the engine if it's a 1.6...

 

Tyre wear is proportional to grip, so 3000 on sticky tyres is about right. If you fancy saving some money, go for 'normal' Yoko A520s or whatever, and you'll probably treble that figure. Not as much fun on roundabouts, though!

 

Rgds

Domster

(Awaiting Roger K to dish out some real engine knowledge, as he is the guru!)