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G16E-GTS 3cyl engine

12K views 48 replies 21 participants last post by  brgelise  
#1 ·
Imagine lotus using the 3 cyl G16E-GTS engine from the new corolla/yaris GR.

What a combination.

Maybe a year or two from now those might be a transplant done by a performance company.

I would get it
 
#2 ·
Imagine lotus using the 3 cyl G16E-GTS engine from the new corolla/yaris GR.

What a combination.

Maybe a year or two from now those might be a transplant done by a performance company.

I would get it
"What a combination" for.... a Toyota fanboy with blinders on, perhaps?

Why would anyone possibly want to put a 300hp 1.6 liter 3 cylinder engine into an Emira that's already going to be coming with a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder AMG M139 that had to be de-tuned by Lotus to the lowest output the M139 engine has ever made in a production car -- 360hp? With loads more torque. And it comes that way... From the factory... No need to remove anything... Or buy a donor car....

I've taken your advice and imagined Lotus using a lower-torque, lower-hp 3 cylinder in the Emira, and my brain was hurt so badly that I am eagerly looking forward to seeing a new forum debate on Manual vs. DCT transmissions, by comparison.

I think there's a performance company coming out with a 1.5 liter 3 cylinder upgrade to replace the horrid 670hp V8 in the Z06.. That's the one I'll be waiting for to buy! I'm sure the 5 figures it takes to do an engine & transmission transplant will pay off in emissions savings within 3 to 4 decades on that Z06!!! And it'll be the envy of Z06 owners everywhere!

Wow, now you've gone and made me into the "mean crotchety car guy." It's YOUR fault. YOU should feel guilty for forcing me to make a snarky response. Step up and take some responsibility Rspected, I certainly can't take any of it because you goaded me into it. You are so cancelled ;)

P.S. It's a bit late for you to be posting April Fools messages.
 
#35 ·
Sounds great on paper, in reality it is 85HP until the boost comes on over about 400rpm where it goes from 85-450hp making it an undriveable dyno queen(see 1200HP supra). Konnegsegg can make it work by using electric motors to fill the power and torque hole from the turbo lag.
 
#5 ·
Yes too late for April fools more like a troll with zero knowledge of the Lotus ECU encryption or drivetrain.
 
owns 2006 Lotus Elise
#10 ·
As an admin here I'm surprised at your response. No trolling here. I love what the emira is about. Yes I am new to the lotus platform and not ashamed to claim it. I joined here to be apart of something great, please don't turn this experience into a negative one.

I've been part of other forums and not have an admin respond like u have.

My 2nd post and your claiming troll. SMH.
 
#8 ·
#17 ·
Not for an Emira. But it could make for a nice swap project into an Elise/exige.

But you're also taking a small motor with high output that was intended for a front engine design and sticking it in the back. So heat can be an issue. I wonder if that's one reason why the amg 4cyl was de-tuned
I mean that aspect is not really different than any of the motors in eliges/evora/emira. They are all originally in front engine cars and moved to the rear in the lotus. I believe heat management is always an design challenge here.
 
#22 · (Edited)
With the changes in product direction plus the first "all-new" platforms here in the states in well over a decade, there are bound to be many new addtions to the forum membership. I was torched on another forum many years ago for expressing my opinions and giving my two cents as a new member. Extremely disappointing how others thought I was there to spam, sell, steal, etc etc, without even knowing me. I never logged back into that forum again and sold my Mercedes about two years later. Have never really wanted another Mercedes since, simply because of how those douche bags addressed me. Sad, really, because I think Mercedes markets a decent product. Someone new here might not understand the way of we (admittedly peculiar) Lotus owners. A lot of the things owners of other makes find cool, amusing, trick, etc - we as a group might find distasteful. But really, it takes a certain kind of person to WANT a Lotus. To that end, even if an opinion doesn't align with "classical" Lotus mindsets, I would hope we'd all welcome anyone that shows an interest in the brand with open arms. There are too few of us not to and most of us aren't getting any younger.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Agreed. Only exception to all of that is when someone comes into the forum and has obviously shown little predilection to familiarizing themselves with the vehicles first by reading a bunch of threads, usually on their topic of interest before chiming in. Seen that a bunch too. Whether it be here, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, etc, I read a whole bunch before I engaged. The one time I dove in to a RR site, I ran into a bunch of real winners that were more concerned about a squeak or rattle than a strut, tire or motor..p word came to mind quickly as I got banned in my first life there. Now its only accessed for something that really needs help.. Pretty clueless bunch of $$$ at expense of brains.
 
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#27 ·
Sadly that is a part of forum life.

Response to that is for members that been a part of forum for a long time is just don't answer. A negative response is worst. Let the admin or moderator handle it.

Newer members will answer in response to other newer members. Until they reach a point where they don't answer anymore either.

Senior members know who to and when to respond to certain threads started.

If forums were to stringent with whom they let in the forums would become stagnant. Plus how else are people going to learn if a silly question isn't asked. There would just be a bunch of voyeurs here otherwise. No participation.
 
#30 ·
I go road racing for fun and can't wait to throw emira around.

Cooling is always an issue with a lot of cars on track days so even with the 6cyl I hope emira holds up. Different body design than evora so that will be interesting to see

Image


This reason I started thread. Power isn't everything on a track day. Decent powered, light handling car is a sweet combination for a fun track day.
 
#31 ·
I think a lot of folks have covered why the Emira idea might not be a great idea - depending on how available those motors in the GR models ends up being that 3 cyl swap into an Elige could be really cool and different than the normal K swap (though, thats a pretty proven platform, the GR motors have a ways to go).

I am sure the guy across the pond in the UK that did the Audi/VW swap can attess to the difficulty of doing a "new" swap
 
#33 ·
I didn't they they were legal in US.
 
owns 2006 Lotus Elise
#40 ·
Rspected, I noticed you also copy & pasted the identical I3-swap opening message onto another popular Emira forum, and also as your first post there.

Whether or not you wanna admit it, you seemed to be looking for a bit of drama to kick things off :). If you have the car experience that you say and this is not your first rodeo when it comes to car forums... Then you know cross-posting a message as your first post on multiple forums where you suggest throwing out the existing powerplants for the Forum's car and replacing it with something from a different manufacturer (which is significantly underpowered by comparison) isn't likely to gain you a positive response. But as you know, it WILL generate a response. Simple introductions might work better and certainly most in your position would have chosen to lead with those pictures of events you've attended and stating their interest in the car.

As mentioned by others, basic etiquette on any forum, sports car or otherwise, would also be to take some time to observe the forum and get to know the subject matter a little first. Even if you still felt that somehow you wanted to discuss an I3 Toyota motor on a Lotus Emira forum (actually, on 2 different Lotus forums), you could still approach it by identifying why it would make sense over the obvious comparison of what already comes on the car. The 2.0 turbo I4 engine in standard Mercedes production form already makes 416hp and 369lb-ft of torque (Merc A45S) and the aftermarket has tweaked them to 500hp. Doesn't take more than a few mins of searching to find that.

Now, that aside... Welcome to the forum ;)

As for the question of aftermarket impact on cooling.. A lot of aftermarket parts co's should have successes with this on the I4. I'm not sure there's an answer yet (?) on how Lotus will treat the gas particulate filter (GPF) for the US market, it's a giant heat radiator taking up a lot of space and sitting right by the engine near the top of the engine bay. That's in addition to whatever cat converters are also in the engine bay area. Removal of some or all of those items and wrapping/heatshielding the exhaust piping after turbo exhaust manifold exit will have a significant impact on dropping underhood temperatures. The reduced backpressure will help too, and the turbo response should notably improve.

That said I don't know how many total cat converters will be on the I4, and which will need to stay to prevent a check-engine light, and/or if a higher-flow aftermarket replacement might give performance improvements without generating a light. Or if a simulator piece or spacer piece can be used to make the ECU think the stock cat is still there.

Many of us (myself included) still have to wrap our heads around a car where the ECU will be locked up tight and the manufacturer is set up very hostile to any tweaks to it.
 
#47 · (Edited)
I'd be for it. I skimmed through this thread and the petty contrarian in me wants one even more as a response to the backlash received by the OP's unpopular suggestion. It's as capable as current engine options but with even more latest-and-greatest engine tech, is Toyota-built, and less cylinders/moving parts/weight = simplied and added lightness? Sign me up!

I'm an MR2 fan where the supercharged V6 Camry engine is among the holy grails of swaps. That bias makes Emira naturally appealing to me. But I've been an even bigger fan of Toyota WRC before I was of legal driving age and the GR Corolla will be the first sold stateside in decades linked to a WRC homologation special. A Toyota-sourced performance engine/transmission package has special appeal over a commuter 2GR-FE repurposed by Lotus after initial growing pains early on.
 
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