Discussion
Hi Guys,
I've just spent the last two hours reading the comments on the other subjects posted, you obviously know the score - so I've come to the right place I'm sure.
Can you help me, after 2 years of saving I have recently bought a 1999 S1 (Standard), and I would like to get more BHP for 'not a lot of money' as I promised my wife I would stop spending so much on cars!! I will be getting a sports exuast(which type?)
an induction kit (which type?)and a throttle body/boddies, again (which type?). Have I got it right ? What else would you suggest ?
Cheers, M11RT P
I've just spent the last two hours reading the comments on the other subjects posted, you obviously know the score - so I've come to the right place I'm sure.
Can you help me, after 2 years of saving I have recently bought a 1999 S1 (Standard), and I would like to get more BHP for 'not a lot of money' as I promised my wife I would stop spending so much on cars!! I will be getting a sports exuast(which type?)
an induction kit (which type?)and a throttle body/boddies, again (which type?). Have I got it right ? What else would you suggest ?
Cheers, M11RT P
have a look on www.eliseparts.com www.hangar111.com etc for prices - theres a huge amount of choice
Hurricane induction kit is good VFM
sure some of the S1 guys will be along with exhaust recommendations
you are looking at approx £500 for both + fitting (if you dont do it yourself) and probably 6-10bhp gain .....but a lot better noise
wouldnt bother with a 52mm throttle body myself...save your dosh and stick some fast road cams in there - Piper 270s for £500 fitted(ish) and get a real 10-15bhp gain
have a look at www.dvapower.co.uk for lots of options
cheers
bogie
Hurricane induction kit is good VFM
sure some of the S1 guys will be along with exhaust recommendations
you are looking at approx £500 for both + fitting (if you dont do it yourself) and probably 6-10bhp gain .....but a lot better noise
wouldnt bother with a 52mm throttle body myself...save your dosh and stick some fast road cams in there - Piper 270s for £500 fitted(ish) and get a real 10-15bhp gain
have a look at www.dvapower.co.uk for lots of options
cheers
bogie
You can spend 300 quid on an exhaust, 150 quid on a Hurricane and 100 quid on a 52mm throttle body but I'd be surprised if you noticed any difference in real world performance. It would sound fast though! 
Alternatively you could spend that money on a pair of Piper 633 cams and you would most certainly notice a difference in performance.
That would be preferred route of modding.
Just my 2p
HTH
Dan
Jude Performance Services Ltd
Alternatively you could spend that money on a pair of Piper 633 cams and you would most certainly notice a difference in performance.
That would be preferred route of modding.
Just my 2p
HTH
Dan
Jude Performance Services Ltd
Only sure way to liberate more bhp is to start with the head & ports and work out. As Bogie says, the twiddly bits on the outside make only minor improvements whereas some head/cam work will find 30bhp no trouble. For value, always look at DVA first but he's stacked out for months, I believe, or for dependability, try www.PTP-ltd.co.uk. Also, don't forget to notify your insurer - some won't cover a modded car, even if you're already insured with them!
Hi there,
There's a very informative & interesting post on this subject on the Official Lotus site (members area on Lotus Club International).
Nick Adams is back online and giving us the benefit of his wisdom.
In essence, as has been inferred above, there is no cheap way to extra power (if there were Lotus would have done it). Nick says you could expect to gain around 5% by upgrading the exhaust/induction/tb system at best depending upon the operating conditions.
He also suggests driver training as the best value improvement.
You can get significant improvements for significant investment (head porting, cams, manifold etc.) If you have reached the limits of the car then go for it, until then I would stick with the standard car and spend my money on a few airfield training days.
Nick also mentions the other route of weight reduction, but other than stripping out replacement 'lightweight' alternatives are often expensive for very little gain.
Worth remembering that the driver accounts for about 10% of the cars total weight, maybe something to be gained there?
All IMHO of course.
Regards, Neil
>> Edited by NJS25 on Thursday 26th May 13:30
There's a very informative & interesting post on this subject on the Official Lotus site (members area on Lotus Club International).
Nick Adams is back online and giving us the benefit of his wisdom.
In essence, as has been inferred above, there is no cheap way to extra power (if there were Lotus would have done it). Nick says you could expect to gain around 5% by upgrading the exhaust/induction/tb system at best depending upon the operating conditions.
He also suggests driver training as the best value improvement.
You can get significant improvements for significant investment (head porting, cams, manifold etc.) If you have reached the limits of the car then go for it, until then I would stick with the standard car and spend my money on a few airfield training days.
Nick also mentions the other route of weight reduction, but other than stripping out replacement 'lightweight' alternatives are often expensive for very little gain.
Worth remembering that the driver accounts for about 10% of the cars total weight, maybe something to be gained there?
All IMHO of course.
Regards, Neil
>> Edited by NJS25 on Thursday 26th May 13:30
mbphillips said:
Hi Guys,
I've just spent the last two hours reading the comments on the other subjects posted, you obviously know the score - so I've come to the right place I'm sure.
Can you help me, after 2 years of saving I have recently bought a 1999 S1 (Standard), and I would like to get more BHP for 'not a lot of money' as I promised my wife I would stop spending so much on cars!!
My 2p's worth. Don't waste loads of cash trying to get more BHP, just improve on what you have and make it more fun.
You don't mention a budget so 'not a lot of money' I'm presuming will preclude you from serious engine mods on the internals.
mbphillips said:
I will be getting a sports exuast(which type?)
Bell & Colvill stainless steel or Eliseparts one
mbphillips said:
An induction kit (which type?)
ITG carbon fibre if money's no object, for value for money, get a Hurricane - they are great.
mbphillips said:
...and a throttle body/boddies, again (which type?).
Ally Trophy 160 52mm one if you're bothered, not sure it's worth it to be honest unless you suffer from sticky throttle.
mbphillips said:
What else would you suggest ?
Yokohama Advan Neova LTS tyres, suspension upgrade (adjustables or S2 if you just want a better, lower ride) and 1stlotus.com Andy Walsh driver training.
Tim >> Edited by S Works on Sunday 29th May 12:09
If you do not want to spend a huge amount of money improvise, with the hurricane induction kit everyone says it works well but it just seems to be an IK with a case round it. Het a K&N and then get some aluminium piping which will then move the actuall filter away from the engine and towards the air intake and that will come to under £100 for that.
as for the exhaust there are no really cheap options out there so basically go with what one you prefer.
I have the sport 160 throttle body it did not give me more grunt but allowed the car to rev higher.
You will get decent performance from most cars on the road by helping the air get in and out of the engine on some engines breathing mods are all you need.
the elise is a lightweight car anyway so small power gains do make a bigger difference, but if you want anything very fast then unfortunately it will have to be internal work
as for the exhaust there are no really cheap options out there so basically go with what one you prefer.
I have the sport 160 throttle body it did not give me more grunt but allowed the car to rev higher.
You will get decent performance from most cars on the road by helping the air get in and out of the engine on some engines breathing mods are all you need.
the elise is a lightweight car anyway so small power gains do make a bigger difference, but if you want anything very fast then unfortunately it will have to be internal work
Thanx very much for all your comments - all were usefull one way or another.
I have booked a days driver training and have invested in a Hurricane and green stuff brakepads.
(still require fitting)
I'm still trying to make my mind up one the exhaust- the eliseparts one sounds good(on their site) but without seeing and hearing it or any of the others I still don't have a clue. Have you any info/advise on other makes i.e. I fancy a loudish racey sounding exhaust.
Once again thanks for your help so far.
I have booked a days driver training and have invested in a Hurricane and green stuff brakepads.
(still require fitting)
I'm still trying to make my mind up one the exhaust- the eliseparts one sounds good(on their site) but without seeing and hearing it or any of the others I still don't have a clue. Have you any info/advise on other makes i.e. I fancy a loudish racey sounding exhaust.
Once again thanks for your help so far.
I'd go for the Eliseparts one then as it's probably the most racey I've heard.
Have also heard Janspeeds (didn't get too excited by it), the Eliseparts one and my old Bell-Colvill one (which I liked the best - throaty and grumbly at low revs, howling at 4k+ building to a roar at the top end).
With the Hurricane and a decent sports can the car will sound 100x better and you'll spend most of your time keeping it on cam and laughing your plums off
>> Edited by S Works on Thursday 2nd June 23:36
Have also heard Janspeeds (didn't get too excited by it), the Eliseparts one and my old Bell-Colvill one (which I liked the best - throaty and grumbly at low revs, howling at 4k+ building to a roar at the top end).
With the Hurricane and a decent sports can the car will sound 100x better and you'll spend most of your time keeping it on cam and laughing your plums off
>> Edited by S Works on Thursday 2nd June 23:36
OK, you got the Hurricane, good move but could I also suggest getting a 52mm throttle body. Now I know a few people have said it’s not worth buying but there were some back to back tests done a while ago and it was shown that there is about a 2BHP increase through the rev range when using the 52mm against the 48mm. Also, it’s much better manufactured and is unlikely to give you any problems.
I don't know if you are intending to track the car, if you are this might not be up your street. I fitted an Eliseparts S1 exhaust and it is probably one of the most satisfying upgrades I have done. The sound is fantastic, low and rumbling at tick over but it really howls above 4k RPM, especially with the Hurricane and de-cat. Ah de-cats, my favourite! if your not going to track the car and really want people to hear you coming 4 miles away a de-cat is a must. Again like the Throttle body it will free up about 2BHP but it will sound like you have freed up 100BHP! Yes I know you will need to mess on once a year for the MOT but for the other 364 days of the year it is worth it. Some people do find it too loud but I love the cracks, pops and bangs I get on over-run.
If like most people here (I was one once) you say you just want to add a few bits and pieces to your car to make it sound less like a Dyson Hoover then you will stop, you will no doubt end up on the slippery slope that is K-Series engine tuning. In just over a year I went from a standard S1 (ok, it did have an old janspeed exhaust) to a 142BHP motor with just bolt on goodies. Within the next few weeks it will be getting a genuine lotus S160 cylinder head installed along with the S160 cams, an Emerald ECU and a few other bits to hopefully give me 160BHP and a nice chunk of torque to boot.
Hope this helps.
Wako
I don't know if you are intending to track the car, if you are this might not be up your street. I fitted an Eliseparts S1 exhaust and it is probably one of the most satisfying upgrades I have done. The sound is fantastic, low and rumbling at tick over but it really howls above 4k RPM, especially with the Hurricane and de-cat. Ah de-cats, my favourite! if your not going to track the car and really want people to hear you coming 4 miles away a de-cat is a must. Again like the Throttle body it will free up about 2BHP but it will sound like you have freed up 100BHP! Yes I know you will need to mess on once a year for the MOT but for the other 364 days of the year it is worth it. Some people do find it too loud but I love the cracks, pops and bangs I get on over-run.
If like most people here (I was one once) you say you just want to add a few bits and pieces to your car to make it sound less like a Dyson Hoover then you will stop, you will no doubt end up on the slippery slope that is K-Series engine tuning. In just over a year I went from a standard S1 (ok, it did have an old janspeed exhaust) to a 142BHP motor with just bolt on goodies. Within the next few weeks it will be getting a genuine lotus S160 cylinder head installed along with the S160 cams, an Emerald ECU and a few other bits to hopefully give me 160BHP and a nice chunk of torque to boot.
Hope this helps.
Wako
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