Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Performance Upgrades on Plus 4 - Recommendations ?

thanks for all the responses so far. I have to say I am now more confused than before but in a good way :-)

I was assuming that because people like SBD and Cosworth had fitted these upgrades to the same engines in similar cars (Caterham...I know this will get a reaction but think engine compartment and bonnet not 100 years of history !) then the kits will be proven. However I feel I need to be a competent engine tuner to really understand this or go somewhere that they have done this before ?

So my questions now are:-

1. Should I really go to a specialist tuner to get the best out of these ?
2. Are they really competition parts with the associated fragility of use/constant tuning ?
3. Should I just go on a diet to get similar performance upgrade ?

Answers to 1 and 2 welcomed

Dieting will not affect reliability (of the car), and is guaranteed to deliver increased performance..........

It's also the cheapest option.

I had a feeling which comment would attract attention..just going to get my supper now and already feeling guilty.

It always amazes me why car owners want more power on an already powerful vehicle when the speed limits are 110 kmph top and 50 every-ware else unless marked otherwise?
Noisy exhausts are fun and give the illusion of speed, even if one is under the limit.
Turns heads if that is required, even the boys in blue.
If you are going to get into racing, then buy a purpose built car for the job, and dont waste your dough on countless upgrades to compete with the pro's.
Rally-cars are built for the job, but there are plenty of wannabes out there. A drive down to the paper shop on a Sunday morning will confirm your suspicions?
But dont forget that the tuning industry employs a lot of people and that is good for the economy isn't it? so does the advertising industry, giving us something interesting to watch between the shows on TV.
I was going to plough the north field today, but it's raining, so I think that I will spend some time on the internet.......

I don't like noisy exhausts, maybe I'm too old, but you can never have enough power, simply because however much you have, a bit more would be nice . In the UK, more power allows safe overtaking on A & B roads. MrsW's Diesel Polo (70bhp) is nowhere near as safe as the Morgan when overtaking (for example).

good point Dave.
overtaking is probably the most dangerous manoeuvre in driving.
Mark Webber had that prob and drove right over the car in front, not recommended for the faint hearted!

Q1 - This level of job is not something I would recommend you attempt at home. You will get the most out of the kit if you go somewhere that has experience of this transplant, unfortunately in many cases they are not Morgan experienced... so you will have to be exact in your quality installation requirements and as a job it may not suit many race prep companies as they are about function over form. Look for people Jenvey or Webcon recommend as installers ideally those who have a rolling road as your ignition and fueling will need to be re-mapped.

You will need to budget for:

2 x throttle bodies (Jenvey Type that require no manifold)
Engineering work on the Head & Intake to port match
4 x Injectors
1 x Fuel Rail
1 x ECU possibly (may need to piggy back the stock ECU for fuel control)
4 x Air Horn's
1 x Air Box + Cone Filter
100mm Ducting (pipe)
100mm Funnel/Opening

~12 Hrs labor
2-3Hrs on the rolling road

Q2 - No, should be quite easy to use, once set-up

Q3 - Now this is an interesting one, which I've thought about a lot before and it goes like this..... so you spend £1 on food.. you then spend £5 on purchasing parts to make your car lighter by the amount you added to yourself for £1... you then decide to do something about the extra you put on yourself.. having already spent £6 you end up spending £10 to join a gym you never go to and end up spending £16 in total... still heavier in all places but the wallet!!??

But inevitably, in the power to weight or Torque to weight game, removing weight given the weight of the Morgan will pay dividends.

Thanks Cerealsurfer really great feedback as ever

I am going to look into this a bit more so will keep the forum in the know as to what the outcome is and how it goes. Everything I have read is that the Duratec can be tweaked quite simply upto 200BHP without any affect on the reliability of engine. I think a 200BHP Plus 4 will be a lot of fun.

Will start a food versus performance upgrade calculator..I like the idea of the post christmas challenge.

I'm putting weight on just thinking about Christmas...

Public Transport is my Gym..................