S2 TT Supercharger alternatives?

[n209385]

Anyone got any experience of the Turbo Technics supercharger conversion?

I'm after a conversion mainly for road use but also the odd spin on the track - I'm therefore after a decent amount of torque as opposed to stacks of power higher up the rev range at the cost of low down pulling power - are there any alternatives? Will Lotus Sport be able to sort something perhaps. Have looked at the PTP High Torque conversion but would like to go a little further.

cheers

n209385

[anonymous-user]

All the mag reviews I have seen said the TT was excellent and that it was totally in keeping with the cars character.

Autocar said that TT appeared to be the only tuners (apart from Lotus) who seemed to have understood what Elise performance is all about (i.e. torque and not top end revs). They loved it ...

[n209385]

I saw that review too - I plan to drive a demo car from both TT and PTP.

I was a little concerned about the Top Gear review however.

n209385

[hungryjim]

Superchargers Give a lot of power throughout the Rev Range.The give a lot and ask little.
Turbo Technics TT230 is probably the best Elise it Accelerates faster than a 360 Ferrari

Jim

[Kiwi LE]

Anyone got copies/scan of the above mentioned articals ??

Would like to read comments/results ?

I'm "still" researching the Honda R Type transplant, sorry Lotus fans but the Rover needs a little more poke, I know the Honda is a little more up the RPM vein and torque is weak low down but 200 hp with a smooth gearbox and LSD.........a second hand unit installed is less than a rebuild of the Rover to 200 hp !!! and you still have the Rover to sell/keep as a spare ?

Check the results of - www.suninternational-usa.com/pr_els01.html

[NDT]

quote:
Superchargers Give a lot of power throughout the Rev Range.The give a lot and ask little.

Jim

Centrifugal ones don't give much low down boost at all, unless geared through a CVT (to increase speed at low revs) or oversized then boost limited in some way. I think TT use the latter option - but if anyone knows please respond!

as I understand it the TT kit uses a centrifugal supercharger rather than Roots type, which would genuinely pad out the whole of the rev range.

Nick

[rhammond]

Re: Sun Internation Honda Conversion.

I've had a hard time getting any specific info from Sun about thier Honda conversion kit. Prototype Racing makes a Honda B18c kit and it's $1700 less than the Sun kit. Prototype Racing has also been great at answering all my questions. Check out their web site: www.prototyperacing.com.

[Kiwi LE]

rhammond - thanxs nice find with the prototype

[paulnederland]

Why is nobody using the VX220 engine and tune it? I would assume that the extra cc would be helpful. There must be a ton of material available to tune that engine.

[Arno]

quote:
There must be a ton of material available to tune that engine.

No there isn't

Try looking for engine tuning for the Astra, Vectra 2.2 (same engine) and such.. Nothing there except for some very mild camshafts and sport exhausts.

Most more agressive tuning options on these engines seem to dry up after 1999/2000 models or so. I assume it's because of the new emission checks built into all new cars since 2001.

[adeewuff]

I thought Vauxhall sport had put together a decent upgrade package for the Sprint version of the VX220? I think they were getting near 170bhp with it, would prove to be far more potent than the K-Series what with the extra torque.

[Cantankerous]

I've had a TT190 for four months now and I'm having a great time.

Low revs / cold engine

Trying to start the car in cold weather was somewhat harder than pre-conversion with the engine taking 3-5 seconds to start. Now the weather has warmed up, starting is less of an issue.

Once the engine has started there is a noticeable lack of power in the very low rev range until the car has warmed up. This is evident when you are pulling out of the first couple of t-junctions on the way to work.

The car also seems to take longer to warm up than it used to.

Mid range / warm engine

The Elise has always been fun in the mid rev range at moderate speeds. Quick acceleration (under 60mph) and great handling (event with my rather novice driving skills) meant that very little could touch the car but on the dual carriageways and motorways the Elise did feel rather underpowered when compared the Clio 172 I'd been driving.

Adding the supercharger certainly made the car seem faster up to 60 mph but the real difference I've noticed is the high speed performance. Rather than getting up to '70' quickly and then being waved at by rep mobiles that could carry on going, the TT Elise now sees them off with little bother.

The downside of this is that you sometimes forget how quickly higher speeds arrive, as noticed when heading into Newbury yesterday having fun with a CBR (before you start, the dual carriageway was empty, which admittedly is a rarity).

Subjectively, you don't seem to get much benefit in hanging on and moving into the high end of the rev range as most of the power seems to be around the 3.5-5.5 range. The car has plenty of oomph (torque?) so my natural reaction is to change up.

Fuel

Fuel consumption is up a little but this is somewhat artificially swayed by the fact that the car is even more fun to drive so I'm pushing it rather harder.

Overall

I'm surprised the Elise doesn't come with the supercharger as standard. The power delivery is very predictable so does not overwhelm novice drivers like myself. The weight of the car is not increased greatly so very little changes in the handling. The brakes seems more than able to handle the extra load as long as you are aware that you are probably going faster.

Oh yes, just in case I forgot to mention, the car is now bloody quick.

rgds/alex

[n209385]

Thanks fot that - I am very tempted to go for the TT conversion, but still have the nagging doubt that the elise isn't really surposed to be a 100mph+ motorway machine.

It is interesting what you say about the acceleration at lower speeds - ie up to 60mph - I havn't really felt the need for improvements in this range yet. It feels bloody quick to me already so may kill myself if the car is made even faster!

How about the 135 conversion then - anyone with experience with this?

Cheers

Julian

[adeewuff]

The 135bhp upgrade is really not worth it, and is too subtle certainly for the price you have to pay for it. 160bhp is noticable however and as long as the engine remains tractable from low revs I would say it was the best one to go for.

[n209385]

160 bhp would be good if possible, but from what I have seen the S2 cannot be develped in the same way as the S1 - is this just a matter of time or to do with the Lotus ECU/emmissions regulations.

That said B&C state that their super 160 conversion is available for the S2. This would be the Minster conversion. Are dyno figures available - any are their any super 160 owners out there who can comment of the characteristics?

I guess I need to get off my arse and drive these cars.

Julian

[mikeyh]

I have just had a TT230 conversion on my S1 Elise. The results are very impressive indeed. Aside from similar slow starting issues (3 seconds or so) it feels like it could be straight from the factory. The car is easily capable of handling the power and it transforms the driving experience. Lag in the traditional sense is obviously not an issue but there is a very noticable power band (3.5k plus) where it really starts to pull. If anything, this makes the car feel a little quicker than it really is.

Overall I would highly recomend the conversion to anyone who wants more power. It feels like the car that Lotus should have built in the first place...!

[n209385]

Thanks all - am driving the S2 TT190 demonstrator today - so shall let you know how I get on.

Cheers

Julian

[n209385]

Big grins all round then. Drove the TT190 demonstrator in Northampton today. The main impression I got was of increased speed with little effort. I drove my standard S2 there to ensure I got a good comparison. And driving the demo car I wasn't too sure there was much difference until I looked at the speedo. In the TT car you are doing 100mph along a single caridgeway A road without really noticing it where before above 80 you would pehaps be in 4th and flat out to gain speed. A couple of times I tried to change up but then realised I was already in the higher gear. Instead of thrashing the car in 3rd and 4th the effect is that you can use 4th more often and rely on the torque to give you the acceleration you need. Changing down to 3rd gave real acceleration. The car was obviously faster but with very linear power delivery. Even so I felt a marked improvement with myself and Rob from TT in the car with a full tank of fuel.

Problems - the idle is still a bit lumpy. My car sits at 950 revs happily on tick over. This car was 'hunting' (is that the right term) with revs between 1100 and 1400, and as has been said above below about 3000 revs there is not the immediate power delivery of the standard S2. Also on overrun when the car drops to 2500 revs it begins to judder a bit. This apparently can be solved - something to do with exhaust gasses - but it is a pitty as my car with the sports exhaust does make a nice satisfying popping noise on overrun at these revs - which may be prevented if this trait continues and I do the conversion. Have others experienced a similar problem?

All in all I think I shall go for it.

Cheers

Julian


>> Edited by n209385 on Friday 28th June 15:53

[Roadrunner]

I wish lotus would stop pissing around and put in a large 6 cylinder N/A unit with huge power and torque as standard. Something like an M3 V6 or similar that works with RWD. Never mind about the M250 and esprit, just sort out the engine and see how many thousands of people trade in their boxters, S2000, 993, TVR's etc. Lotus's fortunes would be turned around with a simple engine mount. Does Lotus even have any management?

[smeagol]

Absolutely agree they can even put their small V8 in after all that was the GT1 version. Lotus could have a real winner. The exige was a good car but lacked ooph. Come on Lotus theres a whole market waiting for it pleeeeeeassssse!