limets of the chassis
 

what are the limitations of the chassis i.e how much power and torque will it take in standard form.

One limit would be that it does'nt fly! I can not see why you would want to put too much power in some thing that does'nt weigh alot maybe 550-700kg max. As the chassis is only light I would have thought that it twists as you drive it, espeshily if your running any thing over 250lbs springs.
Much more than a 200bhp NA 4 pot or even mild V8 and you'll end up shreading the tyres in the dry or it being a pig to drive in the wet.
Unless of course your using it for drifting then put in welded steel floor,up the box section to 2mm,reinforce the rear diff mounts and suspension abit and add a full rollcage. That I can do for about £1800
What colour do you want it?

Another thing to bear in mind is that unless the power/torque can be successfully transferred to the road, then it is irrelevant just how much there is of it. Thiat is because for the chassis to be subjected to twisting forces there has to be a matching load. No load (for instance, spinning tyres) no twisting force.

Consider a tow rope. Is it strong enough to be used with a supercharged 8 litre LandRover? The question is meaningless until you know how heavy the LOAD is. The load on the powertrain of a car depends on how much grip (traction) there is, and the mass of the vehicle. Sevens don't have very much grip because they don't weigh very much.

Limits of the chassis
 

Using commonsense about 120/150 hp,180 hp maximum,if you want to use higher power use 32x32 x1.6 or larger.Take a look at the Brunton 7 Stalker USA.These space frames are not as strong as everyone thinks,in fact a simple ladder chassis as used in typical US rods is stronger and once cross braced much stronger.Also 120 hp will easily do 0 to100 in under 6 seconds.I believe the limitations of clubman 7 cars is the old fashioned diff (sprung/unsprung weight)but the independent rear suspension of the Haynes Roadster will lift the clubman 7 roadholding to a new level.:) David

Why does using higher power mean that you need thicker steel? "Commonsense" is a bit vague.

There are all sorts of spaceframe kit cars out there, many of them by established manufacturers such as Caterham, Westfield and Dax running power units of well over 200bhp, in some cases more that 300bhp in totally standard chassis without problem.

look at the superlight r500 263bhp 177 llb ft torque
isnt that enough for anyone
Ray:)

thanks for all the info i will be thinking about that for a day or two don't think i will be putting more than 300bhp in turbo form in the chassis

This is a pretty silly question. For a start if your going over 200 bhp your going to need a different gearbox (chassis redesign) or a couple of thousand quid for a uprated type 9. You might even be using an alternative diff / subframe if your talking big power. So if your going to be fitting a new drive train, complete with all the modifications it requires, surely adding some additional strength won't be a problem for you.

Then after all this, you'll need to fit new brakes to stop the awesome power and a rollcage for when you leave the tarmac to go and modify a tree.

Your right about the figures, they are awesome for a 7 style space frame, but have you looked at any pictures of that space frame?? Its very impressive and very well triangulated in a lot of directions, and probably a bit too much to re-create for the average locoster. Unless they've got a tube lazer:eek:

yes agreed but the point I was trying to make you dont need to have stupid power for loads of performance and fun.
Ray:)