Car Dilemna

Andy916 · Post by **Andy916** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 4:26 pm

ps. the rationale behind the bike-engined thing is that you can have 200bhp from a standardish motor that costs a grand to replace, in a 500kg car.

Tk · Post by Tk » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:47 pm

id say stick with it as its a stunning car and very capable, i know how you feel i nearly threw the towel in on mine when the bottom end went.

do i remember you saying you got fuel surge (cut out when cornering) on sunday as this could have caused your engine problem ?

whatever you decide you know you wont be happy unless your competing in some form of motorsport

ScoobieWRX · Post by **ScoobieWRX** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:07 pm

I hear the 2.2 closed deck block from a 22b is the one to go for. Apparently they can handle huge amounts of power (Roger Clark Motorsport use one in their TA Car @ 700/800bhp), the crank case is Nitrided making the cylinders burst proof and once you have properly forged internals they are almost indestructible. Not cheap but a great way of keeping you on the road.

Maybe having something that's well over engineered is the way to stop you worrying about breaking it so you can just go out and have fun!!

Gerry H · Post by **Gerry H** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:28 pm

Even that little lot will suffer from oil starvation if surge occurs and with the same consequences.

It's not so much bombproof that's needed as foolproof!

Where's Stu? It's time for one of his sage thoughts 8)

ScoobieWRX · Post by **ScoobieWRX** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:16 pm

I'd have said if you spend that much money on an engine to go competing you would make sure it was all done properly so as not to incur damage from oil surge or anything else that could potentially go wrong.

Admittedly even the best laid plans go wrong once in a blue moon and nothing is 100% bombproof or foolproof, but i would have said money well spent is probably going to give you decent reliability warding off any gremlins that could spoil your fun.

I think there are plenty of Time Attackers on here that take care of things like oil surge no matter what they spend!

Post by **Stuart** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 9:57 pm

Logan, my old buddy..........here we are again my friend

I think the only real options are examine the damage suffered and

a) rebuild it sensibly and sell it on and buy yourself a well specced EVO

b) rebuild it and get it protected against any and all forms of surging (fuel and oil) and keep the car that you love.

I see the attraction of both ideas, each has there merits. I think at the sorts of power levels you want to run, both marques can be reliable. Rather than screw yourself up about the 'maybe's' perhaps you should concentrate on the 'realities'.........how much time and money does each option represent?

I know how important this years sprint campaign is to you, and hand on heart, I think your best option is to dig deep, get the Scoob really well prepped with all of the worst case scenarios catered for and go and win your class. Fixing, selling and rebuying another car will take too long and you may well end up back where you started anyway.

Best of luck buddy. Whatever decision you go for, go for it and never look back. Onwards and upwards :thumb:

James Breadvan · Post by **James Breadvan** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:16 pm

If you want to try racing what about the elise series/trophy whatever they call it.

I'd fix the car and sell it. Never did like Imprezas*

Get a bike and track it, thats what my plan is when the breadvan is gone.

*maybe not the 22b

blacky · Post by **blacky** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:13 am

ScoobieWRX wrote:I'd have said if you spend that much money on an engine to go competing you would make sure it was all done properly so as not to incur damage from oil surge or anything else that could potentially go wrong.

Admittedly even the best laid plans go wrong once in a blue moon and nothing is 100% bombproof or foolproof, but i would have said money well spent is probably going to give you decent reliability warding off any gremlins that could spoil your fun.

I think there are plenty of Time Attackers on here that take care of things like oil surge no matter what they spend!

All sounds hunky dory in hindsight, but ask how many other people running in Sprints on road tyres are using Group N baffled sumps etc. From info from decent tuners etc I "shouldn't" need a fancy sump at my level, but as said, something has gone wrong, it may not even be oil starvation, who knows, will find out when its apart what the cause is hopefully.

The engine as it stands is capable of 450-500bhp, and I am only running 320bhp on the standard turbo, as said by Mike at Area 52 I not even doing my engine justice with the VF28! But the car goes very well on the power and I think sometimes people can loose sight when pushing for extra power, you have to be able to drive it properly first :!:

One things for sure is if I keep it I will ensure all bases are covered on any potential issues.

blacky · Post by **blacky** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:21 am

stuart wrote:Logan, my old buddy..........here we are again my friend

I think the only real options are examine the damage suffered and

a) rebuild it sensibly and sell it on and buy yourself a well specced EVO

b) rebuild it and get it protected against any and all forms of surging (fuel and oil) and keep the car that you love.

I see the attraction of both ideas, each has there merits. I think at the sorts of power levels you want to run, both marques can be reliable. Rather than screw yourself up about the 'maybe's' perhaps you should concentrate on the 'realities'.........how much time and money does each option represent?

I know how important this years sprint campaign is to you, and hand on heart, I think your best option is to dig deep, get the Scoob really well prepped with all of the worst case scenarios catered for and go and win your class. Fixing, selling and rebuying another car will take too long and you may well end up back where you started anyway.

Best of luck buddy. Whatever decision you go for, go for it and never look back. Onwards and upwards :thumb:

Your right Stu, those are my 2 options really. Not sure what I can do about fuel surge tho unless I go swirl pot etc etc, and then I need a proper sealed box in the boot, it all starts to get a bit serious!

I have enquired about a 2003 Spec C for sale (must be mad), was going to maybe go see it and drive it to get a more balanced view of where my car is at in comparison...

On selling and buying a specced Evo, well tehy don't come along often in the sort of spec I would want, and really I would have to sell mine first, which I think would take a while as not everyone wants a car with a cage etc, unless I sold it for peanuts....

Basically all I want to do is go out and compete, and be competitive, without the worry of the car breaking all the time. In a weird way i think if I got another car then it would be a fresh start and it would clear my head of all the doubts that I now have with my car if you know what I mean.

If budget wasn't a mjor concern then all this would be irrelevant, shame almost all of us have that hassle.

ScoobieWRX · Post by **ScoobieWRX** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:43 am

blacky wrote:
ScoobieWRX wrote:I'd have said if you spend that much money on an engine to go competing you would make sure it was all done properly so as not to incur damage from oil surge or anything else that could potentially go wrong.

Admittedly even the best laid plans go wrong once in a blue moon and nothing is 100% bombproof or foolproof, but i would have said money well spent is probably going to give you decent reliability warding off any gremlins that could spoil your fun.

I think there are plenty of Time Attackers on here that take care of things like oil surge no matter what they spend!

All sounds hunky dory in hindsight, but ask how many other people running in Sprints on road tyres are using Group N baffled sumps etc. From info from decent tuners etc I "shouldn't" need a fancy sump at my level, but as said, something has gone wrong, it may not even be oil starvation, who knows, will find out when its apart what the cause is hopefully.

The engine as it stands is capable of 450-500bhp, and I am only running 320bhp on the standard turbo, as said by Mike at Area 52 I not even doing my engine justice with the VF28! But the car goes very well on the power and I think sometimes people can loose sight when pushing for extra power, you have to be able to drive it properly first :!:

One things for sure is if I keep it I will ensure all bases are covered on any potential issues.

Was your engine sporting a modified oil pump? I think that was one of the main reasons why the ends have gone on mine. The little plunger/piston on the pump regulates oil pressure and it's very possible/probable mine stuck. I wasn't even on a bend when it happened, straight road!! Apparently this is not uncommon on scoobs at high revs for this to happen. The new 2008 STi has this modified plunger straight from the factory, not sure about 06/07 cars. The stuck plunger causes pressure to drop massively although not enough to switch the oil light on, and bingo, Bang Bang!! IT wouldn't matter then if you had a baffle on your sump as that is more for oil surge due to vehicle inertia moving the oil in the sump away from the oil pickup(sorry to state the obvious)

Just a thought, and i bet you already run a modified oil pump in any case

Good luck on your decision. If i had the dosh i would be sticking with the scooby. It's as good as anything else out there!! :thumb: