ABF or VR6 in mk2 track car?

Not forgotten, I mentioned it way back on page 2. You could blow all your money on a great engine and shell but still have a poo time cos you might not have any money left for the chassis.

 

Motorhead - My car was converted to be a 2.0 16v with 180+bhp back in 1991, and has had no issues.
its now done 110k on that engine, and doesnt smoke, doesnt rattle.. and still feels fresh to drive.
so yes, they can be driven hard and be reliable.

 

Let me have it and I bet it wont last more than 6 months

If a 16v with about 200bhp is so reliable then why do so many chew up and spit the gearboxs out, if your has lasted so long then your not driving it hard enough or the engine not producing 180bhp

this is what a VR will stand.....every day of the 6 year i had it.
vid 1
vid 2
vid 3
Vids are not dial up friendly

 

I'll tell you how much power its making soon enough, its going on the rollers on the 8th of august!

ahh well, i can see this argument never ending

 

Can anyone spell "narrow minded".
Christ...If this is advice I won't ever ask.
Is there no-one here that drives a car but can accept that there are better ways to go.

I would love a 4wd 1.8t 20v Mk2. Running at about 350bhp.
Is it going to happen? Not this decade!

Both the 16v and the VR6 are suitable for ragging round a track. Personally I think both engines leave a lot to be desired and are not perfect by any mean.

Until someone shows me the weight differential between a VR6 and and ABF I am not convinced that a back yard converter couldn't get a good weight split front to rear with a bit of ingenuity even with a "20 ton" VR6 engine in the front.

In the right hands a VR6 with 200bhp is going to beat a 180bhp 16v.

In the end it is going to be easier to find a decent 2.0 block and 16v head because there are more around.
You might even strike it lucky and pick up a heavily/lightly modified one as someone moves up to 1.8t

Its your choice and depends on availability and budget.
Anything is possible with enough cash

 

good driving btw!

 

The VR engine is 55kg's heavier (thats including all its ancilaries)

 

That's the best post on this thread.

 

i bought mine for 750

took it on track about two months later at donny

car was std apart from different (std size) discs and pads on the front, and eibach rear arb



had loads of fun, car was quicker than a lot of much much more expensive machinery, and i learnt a great deal about car control

 

Not a bad idea



Edited by: motorhead

 

Yeah, i have owned a Mk2 VR6 and Mk2 ABF. I know which i preferred for outright power from the word go. The VR6.

But he obviously has enough cash to do either, or he wouldnt have asked.

 

so, that a 12 year old kid about, right? can't say i'd ever be able to tell the difference between having a 12 year old in that car and not...but then they wouldn't have been sitting under the bonnet.

 

I'll try it with my 2 kids, ones 7 and ones 2. Can anyone lend me a 3 year old??

 

i do try

back to engine weights so a vr6 is 8.5 stone heavier, wow i never realised it was that much

buy 2 big sacks of potatos and strap them to the bumper on your valvers for a comparison

this engine weight stuff is pretty meaningless, look at how well Dazs 'rado and phattys actually go.

I would get a basic solid valver, get another set of wheels just for the track, rebush the worn bits fit 280s and just get stuck in. spend any cash you have left on instruction by Ian Carvell or chris Eyre or one of thoses gurus.

that is my plan for the old atlas grey valver, once the 20vt one is finished.

 

spot on mate,

thanks to everyone for posting it is helping. But yeah i'm not going to pretend to be anything other than an amateur.

I've been told of an ABF locally with 70k on for 350 which sounds good.

But someone also threw up another spanner to add to the works. What would be better, a 2.0l ABF or a Mk2 Valver with a 2l bottom end? Obviously the second would be easier but would the benefits of an ABF make the swap worthwhile?

 

If the ABF is complete & has a genuine 70K, then it would be sensible to use it complete..

I think im right in saying that the K-Jet system is easier to tune than digi (no-remaps etc etc) which would make a 9a conversion more desirable...

The fact that an ABF is a tall block means you may have problems fitting a strut brace too...although I believe Barny has overcome this with his mk2...

I think the fact that you are a self confessed amateur lends weight to the 16v route. A Cheap & cheerful 16v track car will be easy to maintain & run, & give you all the fun you need

If you do get serious, then a 16v can be a giant killer with the right mix of mods. There are a number of people on the forum who run them too, so advice/help is only a click away!!

 

You can run the ABF on k-jet. The ABF comes with decent head and good cams unlike the 9a so there is no need to do anything with the head.

Standard ABF in a decatted Mk2 should put out between 165-170bhp, just as mine does.

 

i just had a thought on the 'vr6 too heavy' front...why not balance it out by lightening the car at the front end, by getting stuff such as a kevlar/fibreglass/carbon composite bonnet? i mean thats gotta save a fair bit of weight?

 

With a well set up car, you wouldnt need to go to those extremes.