Has anyone installed the factory supercharger?

[ddurham]

Originally Posted by vincesf

I am hoping to have it installed in November and am located in San Francisco.
Hearing about your experience makes me want it like yesterday.
Thanks,
Vincesf

British Motors in SF did a great job. $6500 (plus tax on the hardware). Ask for Billy

[vincesf]

You are all killing me, as I can't wait to have it done to my car.
Billy has been called, and the parts are on back-order, so hopefully November the parts will be in.
I drove the '06 that was converted, and I can't stop thinking about it.
Seriously, if someone was planning on buying an Elise SC, they should seriously consider buying an '05 or '06 and having it converted.
I can't think of a car with more fun factor for the money.

vincesf

[ddurham]

Originally Posted by m_beale1

I had my car dynoed before the supercharger installation and this morning we ran it again with the supercharger (Except for the supercharger, everything is stock). These are the results:

Attachment 123942

At 3200 RPM the car now has more torque than the max torque it made when it was NA, and from 4200 RPM up, the just is no comparison between the amount of torque it has now vs before.

The other interesting thing from your dyno chart is that the horsepower appears to peak at 8500 (the fuel cut off), rather than at 7900 in the N/A car. Wow.

[Terminus]

So, is anyone combining this with a re-gearing to allow a higher top-end and a little lower RPMs at highway cruise speeds (65-75MPH)?

[Green Rat]

Originally Posted by Terminus

Mine ('05) is my daily driver. Right now, with my normal driving mix (that includes a good bit of <40MPH commute traffic with stop&go) I am averaging about 24.5MPG.

Do you track your mileage enough to know what effect the SC has had on it?

My commute is 50% backroads/canyons and 50% in town stop and go. Prior to the supercharger install I was routinely getting 26MPG. I now get 2-3MPG less, but as said earlier, it's hard to tell how much is the supercharger vs my right foot

As they say, YMMV.

Peace,

[vincesf]

Who stayed with their stock exhaust after converting to an SC? I was thinking of upgrading to a Stage II, but after reading that some were on their third and fifth replacement, I thought I might stay with the stock exhaust. Thoughts?

vincesf

[waydui]

Originally Posted by vincesf

Who stayed with their stock exhaust after converting to an SC? I was thinking of upgrading to a Stage II, but after reading that some were on their third and fifth replacement, I thought I might stay with the stock exhaust. Thoughts?

vincesf

I switched to a Stage II exhaust before I installed the SC. I've got about 6,000 miles on the pre-SC Stage II and around 1000 miles on the Stage II with the SC.

Never had a problem with the exhaust.

As I recall, there were some early versions of the Stage II built by another company that had the weld failure problems. Mine is a "Janspeed" built unit.

Regards,
Wayne

[vincesf]

Originally Posted by waydui

I switched to a Stage II exhaust before I installed the SC. I've got about 6,000 miles on the pre-SC Stage II and around 1000 miles on the Stage II with the SC.

Never had a problem with the exhaust.

As I recall, there were some early versions of the Stage II built by another company that had the weld failure problems. Mine is a "Janspeed" built unit.

Regards,
Wayne

Wayne:
Thank you for that information. If you go to Exhaust subject heading, you will read about other posters who claim to have the Janspeed Stage II version that needing replacement. Of course, I find it hard to believe that someone is on their third Janspeed Stage II exhaust. I love the sound of the Stage II exhaust so I am hoping that the improvements to the system fixed the reliability issues. Some are suggesting that a Stage III causes slightly less resonance, comes with a single exhaust tip, and was designed for the Supercharger. Others, prefer the Stage II as it is the lightest / loudest exhaust that Lotus offers.

vincesf

[Terminus]

On that note: How does the SC affect the Db level in the cabin at cruise (65-75MPH) with the stock exhaust. For commute it is not that big a deal as I rarely sit at one RPM long, but on long trips with the stock exhaust (and no SC) I put in earplugs to deaden the noise some.
I'd gladly pay for an aftermarket exhaust that was quieter than stock myself given the car's daily driver status.

[marcinr]

I haven't noticed a huge difference in the exhaust noise level when cruising with the SC, but the exhaust note is noticeably deeper when on the gas. There's a constant supercharger whine from the SC, that's barely audible when at low throttle and turns into a loud whine at full throttle. So, overall, the car does get a little bit louder.

[vincesf]

For those that converted to an SC, who kept their original exhaust system? I'm still on the fence on changing the exhaust, as I really was impressed with the sound, but can I live with it in cruise mode?

vincesf

[ddurham]

Love the new supercharger. But I was just thinking. Has anyone developed a kit to increase the HP of the factiry Elise SC, such as a smaller pully or reflash?

[vincesf]

Originally Posted by ddurham

Love the new supercharger. But I was just thinking. Has anyone developed a kit to increase the HP of the factiry Elise SC, such as a smaller pully or reflash?

Sounds like you have gone power hungry. They said it would happen. I'm still waiting for the parts to arrive for my Lotus Supercharger to be fitted. Fortunately, I have found the exhaust, which has been on backorder. Can't wait until my car is transformed into an SC.

vincesf

[DeanCPA]

Originally Posted by 09EliseMW

ive test drove a stock elise SC and it doesnt even compare to the factory upgrade supercharger kit. i know its the same kit and everything is the same but it feels soo much different. 1st gear pull is incredible. 2nd, incredible, 3rd, incredible. especially mid range. passing on the highway in 6th gear, not a problem. getting up to highway speed and then some. definately not a problem. the engine definately sounds louder than it did before. but its a good loud. i like loud cars. oh man. im just speechless.

I just drove a stock elise SC yesterday and just didn't get hit with the wow factor I was expecting. BUT what you're saying about there being such a big difference between the stock elise SC and the factory kit is making me think it may be worth getting on my '05 Elise.

Anything else I should consider before taking the plunge?

[vincesf]

Originally Posted by DeanCPA

I just drove a stock elise SC yesterday and just didn't get hit with the wow factor I was expecting. BUT what you're saying about there being such a big difference between the stock elise SC and the factory kit is making me think it may be worth getting on my '05 Elise.

Anything else I should consider before taking the plunge?

Personally, for the dollars it would take to buy an SC, I would rather have the 05 Elise with the factory kit. It is a much better value proposition, and performance should be identical.

vincesf