Indian Sports Cars I4 v6 v8 Conversions and Modifications.
First, lets start off with introductions as I feel it appropriate to do so. My name is Tushar. Having grown up in a Indian car family surrounding my every day life observing my friends work on cars since day one, I did not have any interest in cars until I went out and bought my own. Although I bought the alternate to a Indian sports car, I did go with a Mitsubish Lancer GLX.
My automobile passion is the same as my friends Rohan Patil : modifying the car, looking under the hood, figuring out what to do next. It's always a pleasure going to car community events and I found that I am welcomed to British car community events even with the lack of Lucas Ignition and SU carbs.
After doing all I could to "that little 4 cylinder that could", I opted for an engine conversion which allows me to share the experience of modifying just about any vehicle as well as observing the pit falls and triumph's (no pun intended) of engine conversions.
Throughout this article I want to share some thoughts I have about any modifications you may consider and be able to get somewhat of a external view to the inside world of modifying your British pride and joy. Today we will focus on driveline alterations, having a mild focus on any modifications and conversions but will point towards indian car community as we continue. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!
The Big Conversion and Modification Decision
Converting your sports car's engine and driveline is a fun, yet interesting task. You desire a reliable sports car and perhaps adding a few extra horses under the hood. Some long for the reliability of today's new technology and want to find out more about engine modifications and conversions as an alternate, so we want to break the barriers and do a side by side (as unbiased as you can get) comparison of your options.
The End Goal
Besides continuing to run with the standard engine in your car, either keeping it stock or modifying it until the cows come home lets look at some modifications and conversions. It's fun to think about swapping an engine; perhaps adding a few more cylinders with a drop-in v6 engine, to a full blown supercharged street stalking v8. Really, It comes down to your end goals for your vehicle and the cost/time involved to get to that goal.
What To Evaluate
This is your car. This is your pride and joy. The first thing to question is what do you want to spend for time and money, and if it is worth it. The more aggressive modifications you do to stock components, the more likely you will be spending more time away from family and be spending additional money maintaining components that are above factory specs. I like to call these issues "hiccups". From changing spark plugs to adding superchargers: Any and all alterations requires close attention to detail and a quality job so these need to be top priority.
Horsepower: More Then a Simple Number
Isn't it amazing that some of these newer small displacement engines come out with high horsepower figures? We think so. But when you look at it further, they lack the torque to back up that horsepower figure. And as you know, torque is the real number to look at. Torque is what you actually "feel" and what puts you back in your seat when you put the pedal to the metal.
Power To Weight
A vehicles weight also dictates how fast you get up to speed. Just because someone installs an engine with 25% more displacement then yours doesn't reflect the percentage distance they will be ahead in a drag race. A simple way to think of it is the total weight of the vehicle and the power it has to back it up. Bigger engines typically bring extra horsepower, but some of that power is lost due to extra weight of the many larger engines.
Mileage
It's a sports car. If you chew threw a gallon of gas every 15 miles, that's not so bad, right? We want to remind you: This is your project. The more weight and additional power the closer you might be to a gas-guzzler. Of course this all matters on many law of physics; but this has been the concern of even the weekend driver. Enjoying your ride is the end goal and if your too concerned with going through fuel fast, keep this in mind.
Cost
This is not just dollars and cents. This is blood and sweat. Your time and energy. This is your ride undergoing surgery. Something that can be very personal for some. You need to make a decision on what sort of cost involvement you want to put in and be prepared for the unknown costs of less documented alterations and conversions.
What To Watch For
When doing any alteration, or heck, for that matter anything that needs replacement, repair or restoration you need to be cautious about using lower quality products and services. This is THEE reason any modification get a bad rap.
There are resources out there for most modifications and conversions, so make sure to listen to the expert in their area of specialty. It's never fun being half way through a project only to be held up because of an incorrect part of procedure that you thought would save you time and money. The specialists have already found the best way to do the process the right way and are actually saving you time and money when you go directly to the source.
Engine Options
Ohh where to start! There are as many options as there are engines out there. We are going to keep it simple and go with the popular options that people have found work successfully (and even not so successfully). This is a HUGE decision and just because a lot of people go one direction or the other doesn't mean you have to be a follower.
First, lets start off with introductions as I feel it appropriate to do so. My name is Tushar. Having grown up in a Indian car family surrounding my every day life observing my friends work on cars since day one, I did not have any interest in cars until I went out and bought my own. Although I bought the alternate to a Indian sports car, I did go with a Mitsubish Lancer GLX.
My automobile passion is the same as my friends Rohan Patil : modifying the car, looking under the hood, figuring out what to do next. It's always a pleasure going to car community events and I found that I am welcomed to British car community events even with the lack of Lucas Ignition and SU carbs.
After doing all I could to "that little 4 cylinder that could", I opted for an engine conversion which allows me to share the experience of modifying just about any vehicle as well as observing the pit falls and triumph's (no pun intended) of engine conversions.
Throughout this article I want to share some thoughts I have about any modifications you may consider and be able to get somewhat of a external view to the inside world of modifying your British pride and joy. Today we will focus on driveline alterations, having a mild focus on any modifications and conversions but will point towards indian car community as we continue. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!
The Big Conversion and Modification Decision
Converting your sports car's engine and driveline is a fun, yet interesting task. You desire a reliable sports car and perhaps adding a few extra horses under the hood. Some long for the reliability of today's new technology and want to find out more about engine modifications and conversions as an alternate, so we want to break the barriers and do a side by side (as unbiased as you can get) comparison of your options.
The End Goal
Besides continuing to run with the standard engine in your car, either keeping it stock or modifying it until the cows come home lets look at some modifications and conversions. It's fun to think about swapping an engine; perhaps adding a few more cylinders with a drop-in v6 engine, to a full blown supercharged street stalking v8. Really, It comes down to your end goals for your vehicle and the cost/time involved to get to that goal.
What To Evaluate
This is your car. This is your pride and joy. The first thing to question is what do you want to spend for time and money, and if it is worth it. The more aggressive modifications you do to stock components, the more likely you will be spending more time away from family and be spending additional money maintaining components that are above factory specs. I like to call these issues "hiccups". From changing spark plugs to adding superchargers: Any and all alterations requires close attention to detail and a quality job so these need to be top priority.
Horsepower: More Then a Simple Number
Isn't it amazing that some of these newer small displacement engines come out with high horsepower figures? We think so. But when you look at it further, they lack the torque to back up that horsepower figure. And as you know, torque is the real number to look at. Torque is what you actually "feel" and what puts you back in your seat when you put the pedal to the metal.
Power To Weight
A vehicles weight also dictates how fast you get up to speed. Just because someone installs an engine with 25% more displacement then yours doesn't reflect the percentage distance they will be ahead in a drag race. A simple way to think of it is the total weight of the vehicle and the power it has to back it up. Bigger engines typically bring extra horsepower, but some of that power is lost due to extra weight of the many larger engines.
Mileage
It's a sports car. If you chew threw a gallon of gas every 15 miles, that's not so bad, right? We want to remind you: This is your project. The more weight and additional power the closer you might be to a gas-guzzler. Of course this all matters on many law of physics; but this has been the concern of even the weekend driver. Enjoying your ride is the end goal and if your too concerned with going through fuel fast, keep this in mind.
Cost
This is not just dollars and cents. This is blood and sweat. Your time and energy. This is your ride undergoing surgery. Something that can be very personal for some. You need to make a decision on what sort of cost involvement you want to put in and be prepared for the unknown costs of less documented alterations and conversions.
What To Watch For
When doing any alteration, or heck, for that matter anything that needs replacement, repair or restoration you need to be cautious about using lower quality products and services. This is THEE reason any modification get a bad rap.
There are resources out there for most modifications and conversions, so make sure to listen to the expert in their area of specialty. It's never fun being half way through a project only to be held up because of an incorrect part of procedure that you thought would save you time and money. The specialists have already found the best way to do the process the right way and are actually saving you time and money when you go directly to the source.
Engine Options
Ohh where to start! There are as many options as there are engines out there. We are going to keep it simple and go with the popular options that people have found work successfully (and even not so successfully). This is a HUGE decision and just because a lot of people go one direction or the other doesn't mean you have to be a follower.
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