To Max Power or to Not Max Power....

A little wrinkle has appeared around the engine package - I was aiming at the 220bhp, as there seemed only a minor difference in price. However, where Raceline mention the GBP120 for the pocketed pistons, what stupid me didn't understand was that to pocket said pistons, you must first strip the engine down. And whilst you're there you may as well strengthen some other internals, "key the crank" (what-ever that means ;-), port and polish the head, and so on.

So the extra 10bhp ends up costing another $2000 - law of diminishing returns kicks in. I prefer to think of it in terms of $ per bhp over the entire engine, which means an increase of a mere $6.35 per bhp. Surely that's a bargain!

I guess at the end of the day it all comes down to power to wallet weight ratio. I mean, you can go the whole hog and go for a 250bhp 2.0L engine for around $20K, or go 2.3L and get 300bhp for I don't know what price.

So Frank and I have tossed it backwards and forwards. And what was the decision?

Are you kidding. Max Power...... 220bhp it is. Should knock that ever important 0.1 seconds off the 0-100kph time....