Jump to content

Caterham R300 supercharged factory test bed


Recommended Posts

Nice.

 

Birkin America now sells a supercharged version of my Duratec. Or just upgrade existing car like mine for abt $4K. Similar spec to the Caterham. In theory, at least, a pretty low cost option as the base motor is $1K at local junkyard, so if blow it up (not that I wld do that), just replace engine with another $1K motor and transfer the supercharger to the new powerplant. A lot less expensive than blowing up your $20K Cosworth or Vauxhall of similar power.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How many days of life can you expect out of the Birkin Duratec supercharged engine package before it blows up? I have heard a few second hand tales about the reliability of this package given its high horsepower (circa 300fwhp). It would be nice to hear the facts from an informed person as it sounds in principle a really neat cost effective solution to more power. Far far cheaper than a cosworth option.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cosworth made a blower for the Miata duratec. I heard it was taken off the market due to reliability issues.

 

Flyin Miata took over the Cosworth blower and worked out the problems. They now have the exclusive rights to it for Miatas and sell the kits.

 

Cosworth bought a lot of Miata owners new engines because of the problems.

 

Mazda had a Whipple type supercharger on the 929 model. I believe it was a Miller cycle engine. The Mazdaspeed Miata was a factory turbocharged car sold in '04 and '05 with a rather anemic 153 WRHP. I bought one of them new when they first came out. It was a disappointing car and I sold it with only 3,500 miles on it. They do make a very good base for the LSx conversions that Flyin Miata does.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...