LOL heres another Nick - both are me though. I just reformatted my computer which I do every 6 months or so just to get it running nice and fast again. Only problem was I lost all my cookies and logins and passwords, the lot. Hence the new login.
I think the best way to settle this one will be as dash said, once mines on the road, Ill be posting regular updates on it, but at this stage Im certain its gonna be a solid conversion. If I didnt think so I wouldnt do it.
Anyway, regarding turbo vs NA power...a lot of you remember when I first blew the thing up and was thinking of all kinds of crazy schemes as the next stage of Clio power, something to better my times from this year. Id pretty much decided on a fully rebuilt, lightened and balanced bottom end, a pair of 285 Willy cams (as far as I could go without resorting to solid lifters)in my already-worked 1.8 head with verniers, all running through Weber Alpha throttle bodies and management. Now I have no doubt this would have got me the power I wanted, but the more I thought about it the more a turbo made sense - instead of say a 185bhp peak at 7000-7500 revs and not a whacking great difference anywhere else in the revs , a turbo gives huge increases in torque AND power from low down and doesnt stop pulling all the way to the top of the revs. Now I cant speak for other kinds of turbos in other motors, but the readouts from BBs turbo F7P looked like the exact sort of power I wanted. To be honest I think youd have to be mental to want to stick to lumpy idling NA power *in a road car* when you could have something that will breeze through an MOT emissions test and idle like a factory valver one minute and then go out and run 0-60 in well under 6 seconds without even breaking a sweat.
Now Im not one to go on just graphs and hearsay, I try things out before commenting on them, and I have driven the BB turbo myself and it is quick - damn quick. I honestly cant see any downsides to the turbo, if you want big power you cant complain and say oh itll wear everything out quicker...if youre worried about that then get something slower. If you want to wait all day for the power at the top of the revs in a narrow band, and have to lug it the rest of the time, stirring the gearbox like youre rowing a boat, just to keep it on the boil, then thats your call - Ive done that for years and its fun but there comes a time when youve got to move onto the next thing. The only thing that is a bummer is the price. But then Ive always found that you really do get what you pay for. It was time to put a stop to piecemeal pocket money mods and get serious.
