best comp engine

[nibbles]

i've got a 3.4 high revving (9K) v8 with a 3 speed auto with full reverse valve kit, its great you get to change like a manual (when you want) but can do it quicker due to no clutch. and as it is an auto less strain on other components. also with this setup i found you are in more control of the car.

[Steve Hiatt]

Interesting the 'kinder on the transmission argument' As you have a higher peak torque with an auto are you really saying that shock loads are higher with a manual cos mad dog behind the wheel has the mechical sympathy of a lump hammer?

Bill, I can't back it up with science but most 4x4 transmissions have a fair degree of slack in the drivetrain which is induced and taken up with each gearchange. An auto tends to keep enough tension on the drivetrain and takes out the bangs.

[plasticbadger]

Back to the serious answer of the original question:

Buy what you can afford. Petrol will be cheaper than diesel to buy, but need more money to make it challenge proof - i.e. waterproofing. If you can afford a V8 and Megasquirt then the extra power, wider torque band and the sound have got to be worth it.

Auto or Manual. Well, as ^^^^ above, everybody has their own views, but I've just changed from manual to auto hoping that the smooth, seamless power delivery will enable me to drive further before winching and once winching the free hand while drive assisting will give better control of the winch.

[bobtail 26]

v8 r.bates has a comp 3.5 with holly carb on it and a comp gearbox which i dont think he wants silly money for send him a pm its up for sale

[landroversforever]

I cannot really help with the comp stuff, but i have only ever driven a manual (206)... and i strangly like changing gear, i dont want something doing it for me!

[TomG]

Could a voting option (engine choice and transmission choice) be added to this post? Would be interesting to see the consensus!

[filthy boy]

International 2.8, stage 2 ZF 4HP24 from Ashcroft, TC from a 4.6 (thats the only V8 bit you need!), LT 230 (best thing LR ever made).

Done.

Tim

[white90]

Could a voting option (engine choice and transmission choice) be added to this post? Would be interesting to see the consensus!

Done

if you need more options say and I'll add them

[timmymac]

thats the sort of thing i was looking for a simple voting idea although it is good to hear reason for the choices to, also it doesnt link what setup people are using for example 3.5 v8, auto, lt230

cheers tim

[Bill Shurvinton]

There is at least one case of someone racing with a T16 turbo. If you can build engines or know a good builder they have certain advantages (esp in the sub 3.5 class where you should be 100HP up on everyone else).

I love V6s and have a couple I would love to try in a truck. The nissan/renault 3.5 is nice as you can get Th350 adaptors. The GM 3800 is cheap as chips, but would need a special adaptor. iron block, but the supercharged ones have a good power curve. 3 litre ford/mazda/jag is another option. If only I had playtime...

Having said all that, if vapour mode was off and I was doing it for real I would have a hard job not doing exactly what SteveH did.

[FridgeFreezer]

International 2.8, stage 2 ZF 4HP24 from Ashcroft, TC from a 4.6

Not exactly budget, is it? Unless you pick up the TGV for silly money you've just spent the same amount as buying an LSx and appropriate gearbox, which would give you very roughly twice as much of everything out of the box, be waterproof, and significantly stronger seeing as the 2.8's seem to be lumpy enough to grenade anything Land Rover you put them in front of.

Edit to add: I'm not sure the voting buttons make it any easier, what do you do if the most popular engine is an LSx but the most popular gearbox is an LT77?

Best VFM setup IMHO is a 'squirted 3.9 V8 bolted to a late LT77 or R380 - cheap, plentiful, waterproof, point-and-shoot and makes the right noise.

[TomG]

Couple of plus points for auto as i see them:

Constant torque when powering up hills (if a constant speed can't be maintained due to trees, obstacles half way up). with a manual changing gear it's torque...no torque...torque, etc. if traction is borderline then easy to loose traction or dig down and come to a stop.

Crawling up large rocks, steps, stumps, holding it on the balance point. Not really a problem with a manual and good clutch control but with the revs up can't can't help thinking of the clutch getting cooked alive! Auto can feather the torque from standstill with perfect control.

Brake to forward movement is easy on an auto (if half way up a step), with no rollback, tricky on a manual and a requires a perfect working handbrake.

Engine braking? no neeed! that's what the other pedal is for reminds me, not a fan of the 'feet off all the pedals' school of descent either!

Part of the problem i think is that the hydraulically shifted boxes are a bit dumb.. shift points don't necessarily end up at the right place for the driving style / conditions and end up a compromise. It's the engine equivalent of carburettors!

P38 HP24 boxes are getting cheap and more readily available, Compushift and similar are a very nice plug and play solution but a bit on the spendy side.

Megasquirt for electro auto boxes.. it's in development: http://www.msgpio.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=4

[Bill Shurvinton]

Megasquirt for electro auto boxes.. it's in development: http://www.msgpio.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=4

thats going nowhere, but we do have code on microsquirt for auto boxes. currently written for the GM range, but some squirreling going on in the background to make it work with the ZF boxes as well.

for GM boxes I do have the code for the factory ECU and you can tweak shift points using that very easily. You have to burn eproms, but the ECUs are cheap. (like £10)

[bobtail84]

Best VFM setup IMHO is a 'squirted 3.9 V8 bolted to a late LT77 - cheap, plentiful, waterproof, point-and-shoot and makes the right noise.

This is what I'm running and it floats my boat. B)

Jeff.

[mwncidur]

If its a comp safari set up you want, i am currently helping out (though i seem to do most) on building a rear engined indy. This has a BMW evo M3 engine (360something bhp) and a 6 speed sequential

My personal choice would be a honda type r engine and a sequential.

[nibbles]

this set up would be good but it all depends who you want to race with as each club has there own rules. as i have a ALRC spec car it gives me the scope to race with anyone.

[jules]

Is this for Racing, Challenging or Trailing?

A race engine is about as much use as a chocolate tea pot in a challenge truck and vice versa...

[Mark]

ok sorry about that i agree a bit vague in areas

it will be in a beginner challenge vehicle with light road use very light

and the meaning of best ( better than the others) The ability to cope with water relatively well, enough power to pull through thick mud, not a maintenance nightmare so reliability and most of all FUN

plus a resonable price i dont have £10.000 to spend just a normal budget

[plasticbadger]

I take back my previous V8 comments. Today I received the Dyno print outs from the new modified 4.2 Toyota diesel engine my company is fitting to a boat. How about a 4.2 Litre diesel with 390 bhp? Not impressed? How about a completely flat torque curve from 2000 to 4300 rpm, at 510 lb/ft

If only I could afford the £30,000 price tag for my Land Rover

[landmannnn]

4.76% of the votes have been for 2.25 petrol/diesel.

What kind of competition are they thinking of?

Perhaps slowest ever 0-60? longest serving 1930's engine?

[FridgeFreezer]

4.76% of the votes have been for 2.25 petrol/diesel.

2.25 Diesel is the only sensible option, if you run the numbers:

Cost to buy: £0

Reliability: Good

MPG: Good (and you can run on veg oil, margarine, mud, sticks, etc.)

Choice of gearbox: Anything LR 4-pot

Likelihood of breaking drivetrain components: 0

Likelihood of speeding ticket: 0

Ease of maintenance: Good

Cost of parts: Very low

Insurance: Cheap

On the BHP/£ calculations it achieves approximately infinite value, which is pretty hard to beat. It loses out on the BHP/Kg a tad but the rest of the numbers are strong.

[Hamish Grundy]

I'm curious as to why you'd need a 3.9 top end given that there's naff all difference between the two? Granted you get hi-Z injectors on the hotwire, which is nicer, but apart from that I'm struggling on this one.

Edit: Oh yes, definitely MANUAL

i was led to believe 3.9 cams are different and valves are bigger, is this not true?? personly i think transmission choice is a matter of opinion, there are good and bad points for both.

[FridgeFreezer]

i was led to believe 3.9 cams are different and valves are bigger, is this not true?? personly i think transmission choice is a matter of opinion, there are good and bad points for both.

3.9 cams are different, it depends if you're counting the cam as being part of the 3.5 block or the 3.9 top end you were going to use really. The 3.9 heads are a different part number, as are the 3.9 exhaust valves (inlet are the same), but exactly how much better that is I've no idea. The heads are the same casting and frankly I doubt there's much in it that would warrant the hassle of swapping.

[protoprincess]

and finally....

what do you do with your left leg?

[nicks90]

as above - best is dependant on how big and full your wallet is.

ferdie in our club has been helping to build and race a tube buggy thing for his boss over the past couple of years. Started off with an engine from a BMW M5 (which blew up) and it now has a td5 producing almost 300bhp. engine only lasts one event and needs rebuilding each time.