Putting a bigger engine in ur car?

[VEN©M]

well in theory your cars engine MUST match that on the logbook which is why there is a section on your V5 for changes made to your car: ie. colour change or engine change and it requests the engine no.

there are also tax implications if engine sizes are changed. But the MOT center do not look out for this specifically but may check if they notice a major difference.

 

[Lyons]

You shouldnt be driving a car which has a different engine than you've led the insurance company to believe. If you crash and injure yourself or others, or crash into something like a Mercedes SL65...you're shafted.

Dont look for ways to get round it. Either pay the extra or dont do it, its quite simple really.

 

[metro1800]

Have to disagree with alot of the above. When I put the MGF engine in the Metro it was identical to the 1.4, but when it came to MOT time the tester wasn't convinced there was ever a twin-cam Metro ever made (had to show them the tax book -"Metro GTi 16v"). Two years in a row this happened. And as for the police not knowing anything about engines etc, thats not strictly true. Some of them are well clued up (especially Maydown) as I've found in the past. Alot of them however are clueless

 

[chunkerz]

can any1 tell me , much it normally costs to get their engine replaced , i have a 1.1 wud wanna go for a 1.4 not a huge diff but extra wee bit of power wud be nice

 

[Nicky]

Ya have to consider the power of the transplanted engine too..

For instance, i couldnt just go and chuck a 3ltr V6 engine from a Laguna into my other Clio, as its only a 1.2... The chassis wouldnt be designed for that kinda of power from the factory, so the car would need alot more work than just the engine chucked in, ie bigger/stronger brakes, suspension to cope with the weight and power, and the chassis strengthened...

 

[metro1800]

Like Cliozilla said, bigger power needs better brakes and suspension. Possibly fuelling/ignition systems etc might have to be changed depending on the car. More power will also put extra strain on the gearbox and clutch if you keep the original ones. Plus then you have the added cost of insurance. Better saving the pennies and buying a bigger engined motor if you're thinking of changing from a 1.1 to a 1.4

 

[Nicky]

1.1 to a 1.4 isnt all that drastic, providing the listed things have been altered to suit also..

But like yas say, its better to just buy the car with a bigger engine in it as thats what its designed for

 

[big cyril]

There is a serious amount of pretend absolutes on this thread - it really comes down to how much risk you are willing to put up with -

(1) No-one can really say whether the MOT man or Police will or won't spot the different engine. There is always a chance they will.

(2) Insurance will use any excuse not to pay out in the event of a claim. Whether or not you have an accident is one variable, another is whether or not they send an assesor in the event of an accident. Again, no one really knows and the possibility of it being found out remains.
What is clear is that if you did have a claim and they do discover an undeclared different engine they may not pay out. This leaves you liable for whatever the accident costs if it's your fault (can easily be more than cost of a normal family home if there are injuries) plus as an added bonus the psni will most likely do you for no insurance and are more likely to prosecute for anything else which they may have been considering related to the accident.

It depends on how much risk you can deal with - if it were me I reckon if I couldn't afford the insurance then I would just get something I could afford to insure.

 

[Nicky]

(Glad i dug this 2 year old thread out now... lol)

 

[paddymcc]

I had a Clio before with a GT Turbo lump fitted.

At MOT nothing was said but it was hassle getting emmissions correct for a car that was supposed to be a 1.2 fuel injected.

I never bothered telling the insurance company as it was still a 1.2 on the log book but i never crashed either.

 

[TheLarneMan]

MOT doesn't care what engine is in the car - as long as the capacity matches your tax book.

Insurance company must know every change that has been made since the car rolled out of the factory. Some companies will not ask for an engineers report after an engine conversion - I've never been asked for one.

I'm speaking from experience here. I dropped an Mi16 engine into my 205 GTI 1.6 back in 1998. I got the engine capacity changed on the tax book from 1580cc to 1905cc - makes no difference to them if it is 8v, 16v, supercharged, turbocharged...

It won't matter to the police what engine is in it - as long as it is properly taxed and insured.

 

[wingnut]

It's a bit of a big risk. Nova/Corsa boys seem to be the worst offenders with XEs that are 1.2s in the tax book.