122 replies to this topic

[stumpyRS4]

The Mini and R26® can be modded relatively easily up to c250-270bhp. The weight is low but of course no wehere near as low as the VX (875kgs vs c1100kgs). That gives you an idea of performance. Good but not mega.

[The Batman]

but then you have 5 seats! if it is just a track car you want get an sc vx! i would say r500 but was disapointed with them after friday

[NickB787]

Have you been in Duncan's car? If not hopefully he'll be there and can show you a properly fast (turbo powered) car tee hee

Though, of course, there's always the danger that NickB777 might turn up and show everybody what a properly fast Harrop'd car can do.

a guy at silverstone who bought a top of the range exige 260 cup who spent like 70 odd grand on it! was gutted when i went flying past him with a pax and a full boot

Shame I wasn't there he would have been suicidal

[spuk87]

Though, of course, there's always the danger that NickB777 might turn up and show everybody what a properly fast Harrop'd car can do.

Damn! Forgot about Nick's million bhp harrop! 1-0 to SC then

Only if DG's finished showing West Midlands Police just how 'properly fast' his car is!!!

ROFL what's happened there then? "sorry officer, I only accelerated to get out of your way as you seemed to be in a rush."

You sure? A majority of the extra tubby weight is in the engine block, at the back of the car; hence the weight over the front is barely any different AFAIK.

What youve said there is actually the exact opposite of the truth lol. The additional weight is behind you but it's relatively high up hence you get this sensation of the car tipping as you go into corners. I can only assume that the NA you drove had some issues with the suspension as they should be totally pin sharp.

Haha, I stand corrected . I never thought about the height actually, extra roll would make sense in that case. I was really quite surprised by the NA handling, but as I said at the time my car was on 6000 miles and the NA was maybe 50,000 (can't remember)? No idea if the shocks had ever been changed etc. so chances are that was why.

I have been in it yes! It is quick, evidently quicker than mine but that's only what I'd expect after the money he's spent on it!!

Yeah fair enough , you could probably buy 2 NAs and supercharge them for that much.



OK fine, I admit it, I want a supercharger!

Edited by spuk87, 09 May 2010 - 09:45 AM.

[NickB787]

Mind you we will need to do some more development work when NEV gets his 420bhp turbo up and running

[Winstar]

dont get why people dont just get the turbo though

Power delivery + NA handling = win

Ask any of the soupercharger boys if they would swap theirs for a turbo

Ask any of the high powered turbo boys if they'd swap for an N/A!

I'd rather have a high powered tubby ANY DAY!!!

Actually I owned both a stg 4 vxt with all the extras and my old NA at the same time. Once the inital thrill of stight line acceleration wore off then I found that the throttel response, and to a lesser extent the turn in inertia, ruined the experience of driving the VX. Also Guy182 said he'd have gone the SC route rather than stg 4 after being in MAXR's car. However I think the key is to look howmany people sell a SC VX compared to a stg 4 turbo.

The other thing to consider is that the SC is comparable to a stg 3 vxt as it has charge cooling so you won't get heat soak and a drop in power under hard track use.

Edited by Winstar, 09 May 2010 - 09:54 AM.

[techieboy]

OK fine, I admit it, I want a supercharger!

Don't worry Simon. A tubbie at stage 2 or 3 is probably quicker in day to day road driving than a regular stage 2 SC car. You guys have got a decent wodge of extra torque that makes overtaking so easy (assuming you're in the right gear anyway) in the real world. The more bends you through into the equation though, the more the balance swings towards the SC'd car.

Driven at 9/10ths (or 11/10ths in Cliffie's case) on track and I think all but the most blinkered turbo owner would say the SC car probably makes more sense.

Horses for courses. They're both exceedingly quick cars that shouldn't be dismissed by lots of more expensive machinery.

[Crazyfrog (Fab)]

a very good ib's set up will be faster than a s/c 2
can be proven and you get the sound xtra

Edited by FAB VX, 09 May 2010 - 10:19 AM.

[The Batman]

sorry fab.... but its just not gonna be as quick... vocky's car maybe... but not anyone else unless you spend serious money on it!

[techieboy]

a very good ib's set up will be faster than a s/c 2
can be proven and you get the sound xtra

Only in your dreams Fab. It'll cost you three times as much for the necessary engine work and then you'll need to spend another £2k to fit a new 6-speed gearbox to get comparable performance. Then all an SC'd car needs to do is to stick a cheap Zafira gearbox on and blow you back into the weeds again. Remember each of those engine mods you have to do, can then optionally be done on an SC'd car to increase the power differential.

Get back to sorting out the suspension refresh.

[Crazyfrog (Fab)]

sorry fab.... but its just not gonna be as quick... vocky's car maybe... but not anyone else unless you spend serious money on it!

who said i canno't spend my money

so far two years i am working on it and starting to rip the enjoyment of the mods..i know it is slow but only for the purist

Edited by FAB VX, 09 May 2010 - 10:43 AM.

[Z.I.]

or a vxr astra

pure torque steering rubbishness

[Crazyfrog (Fab)]

Get back to sorting out the suspension refresh.

we are doing mine next week and i am not truying to compete with soupacharger and iam developing mine slowly
there is no rush yet:lol:
and i wouldn't give a toss who pass me on track i track for myself only and love following people this is fab

[SteveA]

At Silverstone on Friday joe_589's SC VX was destroying EVERYTHING on track!

Caterham R500s

Obviously a lame driver there then. R500's have 250 bhp and weight 460, Thats 552 bhp/ton

An SC VX would need 500bhp to compete and even with that power the cornering speeds would be significantly slower as the R500 weighs half as much.


I've personally seen an R500 out accelerate a Yamaha R1!

Edited by SteveA, 09 May 2010 - 04:17 PM.

[The Batman]

maybe they both where lame drivers, although he didnt pull away in the straights.... i dont know was a good day which i enjoyed

[MMSB]

maybe they both where lame drivers, although he didnt pull away in the straights.... i dont know was a good day which i enjoyed

Yeah, power to weight is not the most important in the straights.

Power and aerodynamics make a big difference as long as you are travelling at some speed, and caterhams obviously have slightly worse aerodynamics (than a large brick)

[old codger]

Lap times? What does that matter?!

All you need to know is it goes like stink but weighs less than a tubby (crucial). Keep the rev limit sensible and its fine. From what I saw detonated engines have been on over revved or on track cars where oil starvation may have been to blame. Keep away from sticky tyres!

Yes the lap times are to try and understand what difference the s/c conversion means in real terms. I have never been in a s/c vx and wonder what difference there is.As with all things its nice to have a better understanding, especially if you are spending £££s. But the opinion seems to favour the s/c route because of the n/a handling, and weight saving. All is becoming clearer.

[vocky]

I'm interested iin the VX NA SC route, but not ever having seen one thrashed around track it's hard for me to understand how well they perform against things like Minis/R26Rs and the like.

My wife has a Mini Cooper S turbo, it's a very quick car, my 2.2 with throttle bodies is in a totally different league.
I would compare them like this: the Mini would be a 1.4 astra and the vx220 an astra vxr

[The Knobs]

I cant wait to see how my striker accelerates against a s/c monster vx. No doubt will see at the national As long as its dry of course.

[VXT Tim]

ROFL what's happened there then? "sorry officer, I only accelerated to get out of your way as you seemed to be in a rush."

hopefully they didn't stop him for chucking flames at them!