Let Engine

[so1o]

I've heard so many horror stories about the Let engine that I want one and dont want one.

Do the Lets really cause that many problems? can these take a daily thrashing like xe engines or not?

[peester]

ide say its possible. my mate has a cav turbo; that saw thru daily raggin no probs. kept mainly standard and not too much rev-limiter time (you don't really need to push that hard the engine has soooo much grunt from the off.) i say get it; you'll only keep wanting it. its worth it too. so good.

[Rick Draper]

I've heard so many horror stories about the Let engine that I want one and dont want one.

Do the Lets really cause that many problems? can these take a daily thrashing like xe engines or not?

Been in a position to answer this i would say your main problem will not be the engine keeping up with daily thrashings but the F20 gearbox, these are right on the threshold with a LET so fitting the F28 shud be your primary job.

The LET engine itself aint a bad engine but it aint the best, as soon as you start fitting high phase/Vmex chips if the engine aint been properly maintained it will go wrong.

Rick

[so1o]

Peester yeah know what your saying, will have the power there with having to floor it.

Rick just say I had a six speed box, engine was standard. Would I be looking at to many problems. I have a valver at the moment and i did get a few "to many problems" from people,unreliable, always mess up etc but to be honest so far its worked like a dream apart from a few minor things which were due to wear and tear or teething problems.

[Rick Draper]

Well IMHO my XE was far more user friendly than my LET has been, for the first few month of LET ownership i wished i had kept my XE engine in my nova. Still sort of feal the same now as my LET hardly gets used now where as with my XE i used it everyday to get to work and it never let me down once. Rick

[so1o]

lmao there it is again, someone else who wanted to keep there xe. I have been thinking, turbo or throttlebodies, it should make more sense to me come nearer the time.

[dan16v]

if your thinking of tb's id go for the let, tb's are to much money for the torque you gain imo
let can be as easy or as hard as you make it myne hasnt been run yet so as for drivability i cant comment, how ever my friend has a cav turbo and seems to be fixing it every wk end :lol: hes got to the point where hes so fed up with the engine managment light coming on hes thinking of removing the bulb :lol:

[so1o]

That is the dilemma Im facing, to be honest Im not a very car minded person, well not for the complicated matters anyway. I work so much plus going to start a computer course very soon so havent really got time to mess about with cars hence the reliabilty issue :( . Then again always wanted a turbo :D. Throttlebodies have they any reliabilty issues or does engine work well as before tb's were put on?

Let vs tb'd xe, which is faster?

[peester]

i started to race (from what i could tell in the early stages in rear view mirror) a rover 200 tonite coming back from a mad day at work. (sold loads) anyway, this...rover thing..really started to pull me in then just as i started to see what was going on it was in front and gone with an airplane-like whooosh and a tttshh (dump).
This thing was sat on its arse all the way down the carriageway looking awesome i have to say. it was a 220 turbo nutter bastard thing with a jap exhaust and it made me cry. not for the car...the power, the noise. WHEN i can afford turbo no-ones gonna stop me trying. when, in what i dunno. like jeans mate; never go out of fashion. twin carbs? supercharger? tb's? nos? nar: turbo mate. :D

[CP]

Its a good question. Putting a LET in a Nova is something of a mantra for peeps on these bulletin boards. Dont get me wrong, turbo power is awesome. The kick in the back and sheer raw torque they give when on boost is an unbeatable thrill.

BUT

Disads:
1. Relatively difficult to fit re: intercooler, air intake etc
2. Usual probs with weight off a 2.0 made a bit worse by extra add ons of turbo etc.
3. Its a helluva lot of power/weight in a small car. Personally I would spend a lot of time strengthening the suspension and body if I had one and a roll cage would be a must.
4. They are a bit over 200hp as std which is easily achievable by a well tuned XE.(Chris T's car has easily the legs to match a std LET.) Tuning the LET's up for 300 plus hp is relatively easy and not too expensive but is likely to give reliabilty probs. In any event is 300 + hp really useable in a road going Nova? Do you want wheel spin in 4th gear?
5. Being a in a small car problems of on/off boost is exacerbated and wheel spin in the first 3 gears is always likely when nailing it. It makes for hectic and unsettled driving and high speed cornering is deterimentally affected. You've got extra wieght induced understeer added to off boost understeer followed by on boost over steer if you get it wrong = off into a ditch
6. You really need to fit the F28 as Rick says which is more grief as its needs modding.
7. You will need to run 16's or 17's to get big enough brakes to cope with any prolonged high speed work.
8. My own opinion is that it spoils one of the greatest advantages that a Nova has and thats handling.
9. Its a lot of work to sort and maintain - spannering skills are a big advantage but anyone can learn them given time.

However
Ads:
1. The best straight line performance
2. Best Kudos and respect...... probably?
3. No fcukers ever gonna take you down in a motorway race and you will be constantly astonishing high perfromance car owners as you leave them in your wake. They've got to be in something very pricey and special to make a monkey out of you
4. That Tssh thing turns heads
5. Adrenaline rushes aplenty

Overall I would say if you dont have to rely on it day to day and you are a point and squirt driver whose into dragging off the lights and chewing people up on dual carriageway go for it. Its an experience and its likely to be emotional as well :lol:.

[peester]

cp you da man. top stuff. despite the 10 or so disadvantages to only 5 advantages; everyone still wants to do it; is gonna ruin lives and credit ratings to do it and pester the knowledgable on nl till theyve reached there goal.

"The kick in the back and sheer raw torque they give when on boost is an unbeatable thrill"<---respect!

No fcukers ever gonna take you down in a motorway race and you will be constantly astonishing high perfromance car owners as you leave them in your wake. They've got to be in something very pricey and special to make a monkey out of you <--- the ultimate
That Tssh thing turns heads <--- birds luv 'em cos it sounds like opening
a can of pop
Adrenaline rushes aplenty <--- wouldn't know anything bout that.

[so1o]

Hopefully I will have made my mind up when the time comes to decide.

I reckon for me the pros outweigh the cons of the Let any time of the day. The sudden jolt and whoosh :lol: CP, Rick, Peester, Dan you've all put things into perspective. Truth be told like Peester said I will never get over wanting one, but obviously like you mentioned I will have problems but thats to be expected. I very much doubt I will be tuning up the Let because I personally think it will have more then enough power for me.

If i decide to get the Let over the TB's which seems very likely at the moment, Is this what I will basically need?

Apart from the Let engine and 6 speed box, I'll need the "kit" to convert it to 2wd? Better suspension and better brakes, anything else?Whats the price of this kit these days?

I have a valver at the moment will i need new mounts, metal and rubber?

Thanks

[Rick Draper]

4. They are a bit over 200hp as std which is easily achievable by a well tuned XE.(Chris T's car has easily the legs to match a std LET.) Tuning the LET's up for 300 plus hp is relatively easy and not too expensive but is likely to give reliabilty probs. In any event is 300 + hp really useable in a road going Nova? Do you want wheel spin in 4th gear?

4th gear is actually wrong there CP i want to be able to spin the wheels in 6th :lol: :lol: :lol:

So1o you will need the following:

1. FWD F28 conversion kit, this can be made from the plate off a F20 it just needs machining
2. F28 with a manual speedo drive
3. Lowering spacers for the tie bars to place them on the underside of the lower wishbone rather than the upper side (four spacers in total 2*27mm tall and 2*26mm tall)
4. Cut and shut gearlinkage (needs about 1 to 1.5" cut out of the part just before the gear selector)
5. Some form of mount for the gearbox (Andy B possibly)
6. Some form of decent intercooler (frontera one is used by a few people)
7. Boost gauge
8. Dump valve!
9. Not to sure about suspension as i dont know what your car has on
10. Pieces of stainless tube to make your boost pipes all fit
11. Slim line fan (ideally a pacet one but a cav air con one is semi ok)
12. Genuine vauxhall GSI rad as this seems to keep it cool the best
13. Low temp thermostat.
14. Relocate the rad to the center of the lower pannel as far forward as you can.

Think thats about it if i think of anything else i will post it up. Rick

[Ste_Nova]

the ideal is a 1.6 16v turbo...

also cp u got any ideas with my twin engined car... i've just got a 1.8 16v engine

tempted to put the 1.8 16v in the back and the 1.6 8v in the front... both running f13's

[so1o]

Thanks Rick. I will keep that for reference, now just have to see when my plan will go ahead.

I have spoken to a few people about the let engine etc + 6 speed box, Im getting the price between ?600 - ?800 but I wont be holding my breath as we all know when it comes down to actually supplying, they back out. To many damn time wasters.

This isnt much related to a Let but how hard will it be to fit an Impreza turbo engine into a nova, or is it not possible, or not worth it?Anyone attempted to put a different make of engine into a nova?

Whilst im being delusional anyone ever put a automatic gearbox into a valver or any other nova?I mean you got the power in a valver, so why not relax and drive.

Thanks

Solo

[Rick Draper]

LEt engines normally go for ?1250+ and 6 Speed boxes are normally ?300+, your better off buying a cav/cally turbo and stripping it for parts. Rick

[Barn]

the ideal is a 1.6 16v turbo...

what engine would you recommend ste before turbo'ing it (out of what car)?

[Breeny]

Put ?1500 in my hands and you can have my let and F28 :wink: :lol:

[dan16v]

ever sell the strut brace breeny!?? :D still want one!

[peester]

the ideal is a 1.6 16v turbo...

what engine would you recommend ste before turbo'ing it (out of what car)?

well its probably c16xe out of early corsa gsi's. looking at it he might have a point there. more suited to the nova. with a turbo small block xe might be a ferocious beast.

[CP]

the ideal is a 1.6 16v turbo...

also cp u got any ideas with my twin engined car... i've just got a 1.8 16v engine

tempted to put the 1.8 16v in the back and the 1.6 8v in the front... both running f13's

I would say that for best point to point performance on track/A/B roads a race tuned 1.6 16V N/A fully comp sorted nova would prolly win the day. You can get 200hp without increasing weight. Its debatable whether any more power is needed for such a small car.
For drag racing its got to be a turbo/LET Phased up with NOS if you could keep it together long enough to get a run in. The weight of the LET actually helps for this as the extra weight aids traction.

As rgds the twin engine idea, I have given much thought to it. I did wonder what my car would drive like with 2 of my engines in. There are lots of issues and again it depends on what you want to do with it. If its drag racing then the EDS boys have done the logical thing. Track and fast road driving would be different. I think turbos would cause a lot of handling issues so I reckon it would have to be NA all the way.

I was thinking my way round a corner. You approach a bend and start to brake in the braking zone - weight is transferred forward. There's no problem you are off power and the weight in the rear may help to steady the back and allow some decent rear brakes to work.
You turn in - again no problem for the front - you are off the brakes and looking to start feeding the power in.
As the car rotates into the first part of the corner you apply some power to draw the front round - you may lift off and then re-apply the throttle to snap the car out of any understeer that maybe happening. However with the extra weight in the back you are running the risk of oversteer due to the weight in the rear and the wheels being spun. Lift off will encourage this!
You then cut into the apex balancing power against any feelings of imminent breakaway. No probs here unless you put too much boot in.
In the exit again no problems unless you spin the rear wheels.

I think the idea of a less powerful lighter engine in the front may actually work very well. I did wonder how practical it would be to have the 2 engines independantly throttled to 2 pedals adjacnet to each other so you could operate the 2 together with 1 foot. I think it would be possible to be able to alter your foot positioning so you could rev one more than another. If you could then put more welly into the front engine as you go thru and out of a corner it would the way to go. You could finally feed in the rear fully as you exited and had straightened up.

250hp in a 4wd car could be about right as a package

Probably the biggest problem is gear selection and synchronisation. If you can get that part to be bullet proof the rest shud come together quite easily

[so1o]

Breeny i will keep that in mind :lol:

[Breeny]

In fact... when your next up up RR Motorsport, just take it and leave the cash with Charles... I owe him about that much for storage fees :lol:

[Ste_Nova]

I did wonder how practical it would be to have the 2 engines independantly throttled to 2 pedals adjacnet to each other so you could operate the 2 together with 1 foot.
Probably the biggest problem is gear selection and synchronisation. If you can get that part to be bullet proof the rest shud come together quite easily


:lol: i have enough trouble driving a tractor using the independent brakes :lol: i know i can fit an f13 onto the big block 1.8 16v... if u get it all working by trax 2004 do u wanna drive it round the track cp? :lol:

i'd trailer it there incase it gets broke :lol:

[CP]

Its a deal! :lol:

I will require some ICE inc. a tape player so I can have "The Ride of the Valkyries" blaring out all the way round Apocalpyse Now stylee.
Nothing like a bit of your old Wagner mate - not half! :lol:
Do you reckon I'd get black flagged?

[so1o]

Im curious no ones ever mentioned the driveshafts that are used for the let conversion. Are the same ones used as in the valver conversion?