Why did Lotus choose the 'K' series engine
Discussion
Was there not some connection with Lotus working with Rover originally on the Elise / MGF concept, the outcome is two different vehicles we have now, but the common link remains - the drivetrain.
I imagine that Rover were happy to supply small volumes (the Elise was not envisaged to be the success it turned out to be) of their engine to Lotus, and other manufactureres wanted either too much money or bigger quantities for orders.
I imagine that Rover were happy to supply small volumes (the Elise was not envisaged to be the success it turned out to be) of their engine to Lotus, and other manufactureres wanted either too much money or bigger quantities for orders.
Lotus chose the K-Series purely because it was lighter than any engines available at the time. It proved to be more expensive than Lotus originally intended but still proved a winner.
The real issue now is that other manufacturers produce far better engines then the K-Series and I have no idea why Lotus choose to stick with it. Standard 1.6 litre engines easily produce more power than the standard K-Series which seems a bit pants.
The real issue now is that other manufacturers produce far better engines then the K-Series and I have no idea why Lotus choose to stick with it. Standard 1.6 litre engines easily produce more power than the standard K-Series which seems a bit pants.
1.6 litre engines would make the car slower .
Good thing about the K-Series is its very tuneable engine and you can add VVC - Superchargers -Turbo Chargers and many other things to Enhance it .
Once certain engines are at thier peak thats it.
The K-Series can be tweaked to 135 ,160 and 190 -VHPDs
I stick by the K-Series it was a good choice from the start.
Good thing about the K-Series is its very tuneable engine and you can add VVC - Superchargers -Turbo Chargers and many other things to Enhance it .
Once certain engines are at thier peak thats it.
The K-Series can be tweaked to 135 ,160 and 190 -VHPDs
I stick by the K-Series it was a good choice from the start.
quote:
1.6 litre engines would make the car slower .
Good thing about the K-Series is its very tuneable engine and you can add VVC - Superchargers -Turbo Chargers and many other things to Enhance it .
Once certain engines are at thier peak thats it.
The K-Series can be tweaked to 135 ,160 and 190 -VHPDs
I stick by the K-Series it was a good choice from the start.
Congratulations this has got to be your worse post yet!!
The k-series is not as tuneable as you believe, not without bringing in serious doubts on longevity and/or affecting normal driving (the tickover on the 190Exige is tracking all over the place, and its not an easy car to drive in traffic). There are lots of newer, lighter 1.6 engines which produce more HP than the K-series engine. Your solution to tuning problems is to slap a supercharger on it. Even though this increases the weight and strengthening requirements of an engine incredibly.
The K-series engine was the best choice for the Elise at that time (as someone has already mentioned Rover allowed the k-series to be shipped in small quantities and was a light engine). HOWEVER that was 10 years ago, there are far more (and better) engines to choose from.
IMO The S2 with 118bhp was a step backwards, the biggest complaint people have about the S1 was that the car was underpowered. Lotus proceded to then make newer Elises with an increase in power each time ie 111s, 135, 160s, Exige (190). See the pattern! So when it comes to choosing/designing the new S2 model, what did they do? They released a heavier car with the same outdated engine with the 118bhp they started with. Doh!
Lotus themselves are developing new engines for Proton so no prizes for guessing what will be in the S3! One can only hope that they pick up on the comments from the customers and produce something with more power and higher power to weight ratio than they did with the S2.
>> Edited by smeagol on Friday 9th August 15:00
Hungryjim I'm no engine expert but two that emmediatly spring to mind are audi, and subaru. What about the latest honda engines (S2000 has one in I believe, but could be wrong)? All of these manufacturer have produced significantly more powerful engines than the standard k-series. I'm sure the experts on this forum and at Lotus could certainly come up with a better engine than the K-series producing more power with about the same weight. Hey, the m100 elan was a 1.6 isuzu engine and it turned out 130bhp in normal aspirated form, and how old is that engine?
I personally would love to see lotus produce a road version of the GT1 (ie v8 power), but as has been discussed before not all agree.
Podie, which post do you think is his worst then?
>> Edited by smeagol on Monday 12th August 15:52
I personally would love to see lotus produce a road version of the GT1 (ie v8 power), but as has been discussed before not all agree.
Podie, which post do you think is his worst then?
>> Edited by smeagol on Monday 12th August 15:52
Well we've had this discussion before but I'd like to add my 2p worth. If Lotus put one of the new I-VTEC engines in the Elise it would be absolutely amazing. Before anyone flames me I am not just saying this because my car has one 
2 Litre Engine, 197 bhp, ..and not a supercharger in sight!
In the Civic (1240kg) it will drag the car to 100mph in 16 seconds so can you imagine how fast an Elise will go with it?
So Lotus stop faffing about, if Honda can put this engine in a 16k Hatchback then why can't you put it in a 30k Sports car?
As for HungryJims worst post, anything regarding "6 pin calipers"...
2 Litre Engine, 197 bhp, ..and not a supercharger in sight!
In the Civic (1240kg) it will drag the car to 100mph in 16 seconds so can you imagine how fast an Elise will go with it?
So Lotus stop faffing about, if Honda can put this engine in a 16k Hatchback then why can't you put it in a 30k Sports car?
As for HungryJims worst post, anything regarding "6 pin calipers"...
quote:
or how about a small six cylinder lexus is200 or bmw 323i? probaly a bit heavier but would make up for it in noise, character, etc
Hmmmm, it would cetainly sound nice but the engine is far too heavy and too long. It couldn't be mounted transversally and weight distribution would be wrong with a fore-aft mounting.
I have often rated the Mazda rotary engines, (especially turbocharged) which are very small and compact, (which would help weight distribution) and put out amazing power as well as revving to ballistic levels.
Jas.
Honda won't allow the use of the latest generation VTEC motors in anything but a Honda - other manufacturers have tried this (Tommykaira and a couple of others). Never driven an elise for more than 25 miles (the whole thing was vibrating around me like a pie tray on a powersander so I gave up) but had a few K-Series powered cars and it always seemed like a great little engine to me. Probably outdated now though. Forget high-revving peaky stuff, for all but balls-out track thrashing this is completely useless. What you want is a decent tractable engine with a wide torque spread, generally this means going for a larger engine (although the 2 litre I-VTEC does a good impersonation of a 3 litre it's not quite the same)
How about a TVR AJP8...? 350 real world bhp from the 4.5, the size of a matchbox and it only weighs 122kg. Plus, if you look after them properly, they're absolutely bulletproof. Being able to light up the back end in the dry at 100mph in a straight line has an odd sense of appeal to me *ducks and runs for cover*
How about a TVR AJP8...?
350 real world bhp from the 4.5, the size of a matchbox and it only weighs 122kg. Plus, if you look after them properly, they're absolutely bulletproof. Being able to light up the back end in the dry at 100mph in a straight line has an odd sense of appeal to me *ducks and runs for cover*
S2000 engine would be ideal.2.0 in line 4 producing 237 bhp and it would probably be tuneable but would it fit in the middle of the Elise .It is designed to go in the front.
If it has to come out a mid engined car and be able to fit.
Perhaps the Ferrari 3.6 V8 would fit if it was compacted and perhaps [I know no one will agree with this] Supercharged.
If it has to come out a mid engined car and be able to fit.
Perhaps the Ferrari 3.6 V8 would fit if it was compacted and perhaps [I know no one will agree with this] Supercharged.
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