Turbo Lotus Elise.....

[Sburke]

Just picked up a N/A Elise over the weekend. I wouldn't call the car fast... I know supercharging seems to be the method of more power here but I prefer a turbo car. I know have a shop make a full custom kit for a killer deal. The only question I have is how well do these motors hold up with appropriate boost and a solid tune?

[TyMurray]

Are we talking stock long block? If so to be safe I wouldn't go over 8 psi. Also you have to worry about the tranny which will start going out around 300hp...

*edit*

Also it may not be fast in a straight line but it will eat most cars alive on the twisties. I had a FD Rx7 before my lotus that was making right under 500hp, had full suspension all that fun stuff, and was a blast to drive on the straight, and the twisties...after driving an elise I thought the FD responded and felt like garbage =P

[Sburke]

Originally Posted by TyMurray

Are we talking stock long block? If so to be safe I wouldn't go over 8 psi. Also you have to worry about the tranny which will start going out around 300hp...

*edit*

Also it may not be fast in a straight line but it will eat most cars alive on the twisties. I had a FD Rx7 before my lotus that was making right under 500hp, had full suspension all that fun stuff, and was a blast to drive on the straight, and the twisties...after driving an elise I thought the FD responded and felt like garbage =P

Don't get me wrong the Elise is the best handling car I've ever owned. I test drove one a few months back which left a sour taste as I thought my previous EVO handled better so I bought a Esprit as I've always wanted one. My Elise drives nothing like the one I test drove months back so there must have been something seriously wrong with it.


I would like to keep the stock motor and keep it at 300HP. I'm not wanting a 1/4 mile car but just a little more power. I had it out in the mountains two days after picking it up and it was pure smiles but just wished it was a tad faster on the straight sections.


So 300HP on the stock motor with a good tune and not launching the car I should be able to not worry?

[lotus90]

I would suggest you search on turbo and Elise. There a have been bad turbo kits and some good ones. lot of good info on this BBS

one of the harder problems is getting a ECU that will run a correct tune.

I run 275hp force feed turbo kit and would say anyone wanting a turbo Elise should be ready to work through issues.

That said I really like turbo Elise it is alot of fun.

[Sburke]

Originally Posted by lotus90

I would suggest you search on turbo and Elise. There a have been bad turbo kits and some good ones. lot of good info on this BBS

one of the harder problems is getting a ECU that will run a correct tune.

I run 275hp force feed turbo kit and would say anyone wanting a turbo Elise should be ready to work through issues.

That said I really like turbo Elise it is alot of fun.

Nothing is straight forward and easy with any Lotus!

I should just have a 4g dropped in and call it a day

[Cicero]

I've never heard of a turbo elise that wasent constantly giving trouble. Have you ever seen this?

Vision Function Lotus Supercharger Kit

[SwingLo]

Look for posts from WhatADSM

I haven't seen his car but my understanding is that he's done some wicked stuff with a turbo and it's north of 400hp at the wheels

[bpfergu]

Originally Posted by Sburke

Just picked up a N/A Elise over the weekend. I wouldn't call the car fast... I know supercharging seems to be the method of more power here but I prefer a turbo car. I know have a shop make a full custom kit for a killer deal. The only question I have is how well do these motors hold up with appropriate boost and a solid tune?

I, too, prefer a turbo over a supercharger but they are A LOT more work on these cars. I'd recommend going with a FF kit (if you can find one) or a Radium kit. Just about everything else is going to require going custom, which obviously can become extremely expensive and can introduce a plethora of new complications. Avoid anything "Hass" like the plague.

You say you know a shop that can make a custom kit for a "killer deal". I've heard this literally dozens of times on here and it rarely ends up being the case. There are a lot of little eccentricities that these cars possess and custom kits almost always end up being huge nightmares.

300hp on the factory engine is doable but I wouldn't go much higher than that. I've heard numbers all over the place for what a non-tracked transmission can handle but from what most people say I think you should be OK with the power 8 psi or so would give you on factory compression. Might want to upgrade clutch, though.

[GSXtasy]

Definitely need to upgrade your clutch and get an LSD. Other than that, if the car is for street use, all of my research indicates that you're fine at 350 whp!

I'm working on my turbo kit now and hope to be done by February.

[pray4mojo]

Originally Posted by SwingLo

Look for posts from WhatADSM

I haven't seen his car but my understanding is that he's done some wicked stuff with a turbo and it's north of 400hp at the wheels

He has a K-series engine, no?

[Sburke]

Originally Posted by bpfergu

I, too, prefer a turbo over a supercharger but they are A LOT more work on these cars. I'd recommend going with a FF kit (if you can find one) or a Radium kit. Just about everything else is going to require going custom, which obviously can become extremely expensive and can introduce a plethora of new complications. Avoid anything "Hass" like the plague.

You say you know a shop that can make a custom kit for a "killer deal". I've heard this literally dozens of times on here and it rarely ends up being the case. There are a lot of little eccentricities that these cars possess and custom kits almost always end up being huge nightmares.

300hp on the factory engine is doable but I wouldn't go much higher than that. I've heard numbers all over the place for what a non-tracked transmission can handle but from what most people say I think you should be OK with the power 8 psi or so would give you on factory compression. Might want to upgrade clutch, though.

It's a shop I've had do small work before which turned out great. Also they have out together a ton of impressive builds.

3500$ for manifold, turbonetics 50 trim, turbonetics gate, water to air intercooler, all pluming and exhaust. That's including labor too

[bpfergu]

Originally Posted by Sburke

It's a shop I've had do small work before which turned out great. Also they have out together a ton of impressive builds.

3500$ for manifold, turbonetics 50 trim, turbonetics gate, water to air intercooler, all pluming and exhaust. That's including labor too

No offense, but I"ll believe it when I see it. I think both you and the shop are massively underestimating the time it will take to dimension, fabricate, and install a custom kit for this car. On top of this, finding a way to mount the piping, intercooler, etc., isn't an easy task starting from scratch. Unless they are doing the labor (including fabrication) for free or next to nothing (and even then quality parts will eat up a lot of that 3500 very quickly) I just don't see you getting a quality kit for 3500. Again, please prove me wrong and also tell the shop that is doing it if they can meet these requests to head on over here because they will make a lot of money selling this kit to others.

[rskdsk]

My car has 281 rwhp at 10-11 psi ... stock internals, upgraded clutch and flywheel ... over 18k miles and running strong.

[sturgeongeneral]

Do a serch here. LOTS of issues with turbos. Adding a supercharger is a great choice. All the bugs worked out, the math done, and the ECU tuning is already there.

[tommyc]

A 4g63 is really heavy. Great motor but is the wrong way frt back for the elise. Also the 2 zz is not as solid. A k24 honda with a k20 head would be best for big power. I would suggest a vf2 or boe rev 400 and you will have permagrin! But as with th evo be prepared to break stuff! Tommy


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

[Lotus F1]

For the best in "Turbo"

https://radiumauto.com/index.php?p=p...&id=2&parent=0

[Me!]

Originally Posted by pray4mojo

He has a K-series engine, no?

Yes he has a supercharged K-series. It looked nicely done too!

[rskdsk]

There is nothing like the jet engine like turbo thrust ... and with the FF 275 ... you even get the sound of a turbine engine.

[rskdsk]

slight correction- 9.5 psi gave 277 rwhp, 10.5 psi gave 281 rwhp, currently have boost set at 6 psi at 240 rwhp. also running water/methanal to be safe.

[Sburke]

Is there a way to just have my tuner tune with the stock ECU? I would hate to go standalone for a simple bolt on turbo kit that can't even crack 300hp safely......