Tuning a Lotus Elise (S2, 111S)
Discussion
Firstly, apologies for the long post!
I have a Series 2 Lotus Elise 111S, 2003 year. Being the VVC variant, it has a nominal 156bhp - which I understand can be +/- a bit (and I have to say that mine feels a little less). So far I have covered 7,000 miles in the car. Its still under warranty and I'd like to keep it that way for another 18 months - i.e. until the warranty expires.
I have however decided that I'd like it to have a little more power and (perhaps most significantly) to sound a little nicer (which, I guess, means a little louder too). Its a great looking car and goes well but its just such a shame (entirely because of restrictive legislation I realise) that it sounds like a sewing machine as it exhausts through a single pipe until seriously wound up. I'm no "yoof" though and spend quite a bit of time on motorways so a "boomy" exhaust (such as the Janspeed) is definitely not what I'm looking for.
Having spoken with various folks "in the know", including the very helpful Geary of Elise Parts at the recent Stoneleigh gig, I am now formulating a plan. The parts I buy now will all be "bolt on" and intended not to invalidate my warranty, I'd obviously like to see a decent improvement from them. When the warranty has expired though I may get a bit more adventurous with the changes and I'd like whatever I do now to also be a reasonable basis for that. Before I spend lots of money though I'd appreciate the benefit of others' thoughts and experience.
Induction
=========
K&N 57i air filter + filter-box & extension pipe
Query: Which filter-box & extension pipe? Choices are between Hurricane or the new ????? from Race Speed which (to me at least) looks to be well engineered, able to flow lots of air, and comes with some impressive claims (from its maker). Any thoughts?
Exhaust
=======
EliseParts Stainless steel cat replacement pipe & mil light eliminator (to be removed and replaced with cat before each service, yawn).
Query: Which sports exhaust to go for? Geary himself advised against the EliseParts one(!) and suggested either Piper or Janspeed. Of the two he suggested that Piper would be less boomy at motorway speeds (being more treble than bass), was of comparable quality to Janspeed, and may even give a little more power. Another owner I bumped into in the burger-van queue suggested that I could try a system from Wilson Lotus of Chadwell Heath, Essex which (he had been told by somebody else) was very good. My local dealer has of course suggested the Lotus Sport system. Having now heard the Janspeed system fitted to an Elise, I know that I don't want one of them as it really is boomy. Any thoughts?
Other Engine
============
Thermostat: Coming from the old-school of tuning things like Minis, it occurred to me that fitting a lower temperature thermostat may help reduce induction temperature slightly and in so doing get more charge into the cylinders. It's also a very cheap mod! As a bonus, considering the K series reputation for cooking its head gasket this may even improve reliability?
ECU: What's the thoughts on this? Do I keep the standard one whilst only doing bolt-on mods, or should I get something else (e.g. from 190 Sport)? Does anybody do chips for these cars? Remember that I'd like to keep the warranty alive for 18 more months.
Safety
======
As I have recently had my Discovery written off in a non-fault accident, don't tend to hang about on the twisties in the Elise, and plan a few track days too, I feel that an upgrade in this area may not go amiss. Anything I do will be to FIA spec. I am thinking of EliseParts harness bar and Willans harnesses (bolted through the floor with spreader plates although used with standard seats, so no harness slots), also a roll cage. Question is whether to buy cage from Roll-Centre or Safety Devices? (I have Lotus hard top as well as soft top if that makes any difference.) While I have always been a fan of Safety Devices kit, I have now had two recommendations for Roll-Centre so that cannot be ignored.
If anybody has any experience of any of the above components that they'd like to share, I'd really appreciate it. If anybody can make any other suggestions as to how to achieve my goals of a bit more go and a much better sound, without invalidating my warranty, I'd appreciate your advice.
Thanks in anticipation.
I have a Series 2 Lotus Elise 111S, 2003 year. Being the VVC variant, it has a nominal 156bhp - which I understand can be +/- a bit (and I have to say that mine feels a little less). So far I have covered 7,000 miles in the car. Its still under warranty and I'd like to keep it that way for another 18 months - i.e. until the warranty expires.
I have however decided that I'd like it to have a little more power and (perhaps most significantly) to sound a little nicer (which, I guess, means a little louder too). Its a great looking car and goes well but its just such a shame (entirely because of restrictive legislation I realise) that it sounds like a sewing machine as it exhausts through a single pipe until seriously wound up. I'm no "yoof" though and spend quite a bit of time on motorways so a "boomy" exhaust (such as the Janspeed) is definitely not what I'm looking for.
Having spoken with various folks "in the know", including the very helpful Geary of Elise Parts at the recent Stoneleigh gig, I am now formulating a plan. The parts I buy now will all be "bolt on" and intended not to invalidate my warranty, I'd obviously like to see a decent improvement from them. When the warranty has expired though I may get a bit more adventurous with the changes and I'd like whatever I do now to also be a reasonable basis for that. Before I spend lots of money though I'd appreciate the benefit of others' thoughts and experience.
Induction
=========
K&N 57i air filter + filter-box & extension pipe
Query: Which filter-box & extension pipe? Choices are between Hurricane or the new ????? from Race Speed which (to me at least) looks to be well engineered, able to flow lots of air, and comes with some impressive claims (from its maker). Any thoughts?
Exhaust
=======
EliseParts Stainless steel cat replacement pipe & mil light eliminator (to be removed and replaced with cat before each service, yawn).
Query: Which sports exhaust to go for? Geary himself advised against the EliseParts one(!) and suggested either Piper or Janspeed. Of the two he suggested that Piper would be less boomy at motorway speeds (being more treble than bass), was of comparable quality to Janspeed, and may even give a little more power. Another owner I bumped into in the burger-van queue suggested that I could try a system from Wilson Lotus of Chadwell Heath, Essex which (he had been told by somebody else) was very good. My local dealer has of course suggested the Lotus Sport system. Having now heard the Janspeed system fitted to an Elise, I know that I don't want one of them as it really is boomy. Any thoughts?
Other Engine
============
Thermostat: Coming from the old-school of tuning things like Minis, it occurred to me that fitting a lower temperature thermostat may help reduce induction temperature slightly and in so doing get more charge into the cylinders. It's also a very cheap mod! As a bonus, considering the K series reputation for cooking its head gasket this may even improve reliability?
ECU: What's the thoughts on this? Do I keep the standard one whilst only doing bolt-on mods, or should I get something else (e.g. from 190 Sport)? Does anybody do chips for these cars? Remember that I'd like to keep the warranty alive for 18 more months.
Safety
======
As I have recently had my Discovery written off in a non-fault accident, don't tend to hang about on the twisties in the Elise, and plan a few track days too, I feel that an upgrade in this area may not go amiss. Anything I do will be to FIA spec. I am thinking of EliseParts harness bar and Willans harnesses (bolted through the floor with spreader plates although used with standard seats, so no harness slots), also a roll cage. Question is whether to buy cage from Roll-Centre or Safety Devices? (I have Lotus hard top as well as soft top if that makes any difference.) While I have always been a fan of Safety Devices kit, I have now had two recommendations for Roll-Centre so that cannot be ignored.
If anybody has any experience of any of the above components that they'd like to share, I'd really appreciate it. If anybody can make any other suggestions as to how to achieve my goals of a bit more go and a much better sound, without invalidating my warranty, I'd appreciate your advice.
Thanks in anticipation.
Hmmmm, just in time fro christmas eh? 
Let's see then.
Induction: Hurricane is very good and good value for money. ITG and Reverie Carbon jobs may give an extremely small difference but not enough to justify twice the price. BTW Hurricane is now available with a carbon can.
Exhaust: Didn't know Geary had an S2 exhaust. I've got a Piper flexi CRP from Race Speed. Does the job. Alternative exhaust could be a Larini:
www.robshelley.btinternet.co.uk/Lotus/larini/
Engine: No idea about the thermostat but a word with Geary about his remote thermostat kit would be worthwhile anyway.
Ecu is a no gooer due to your VVC mechanism. Emerald are supposed to be having a VVC compatible ecu somewhen though.
Safety: Erm, sounds good!
Cheers,
Rob
Let's see then.
Induction: Hurricane is very good and good value for money. ITG and Reverie Carbon jobs may give an extremely small difference but not enough to justify twice the price. BTW Hurricane is now available with a carbon can.
Exhaust: Didn't know Geary had an S2 exhaust. I've got a Piper flexi CRP from Race Speed. Does the job. Alternative exhaust could be a Larini:
www.robshelley.btinternet.co.uk/Lotus/larini/
Engine: No idea about the thermostat but a word with Geary about his remote thermostat kit would be worthwhile anyway.
Ecu is a no gooer due to your VVC mechanism. Emerald are supposed to be having a VVC compatible ecu somewhen though.
Safety: Erm, sounds good!
Cheers,
Rob
dragdolph said:
how is the larini BTW?
now that you've had time to get to know it!
/threadhijjackoff
It's bloody fantastic mate!! The JanSpeed is a laughable piece of tin in comparison.
Andrew, it's actually quite a deceptive pice of kit. It's not too loud at all at idle or constant throttle and there's no boom what so ever. There's a couple of mp3s on that page if you didn't see the links. Admittedly I was making use of the loud pedal in a layby at the time of recording but it gives you a good idea of the tone.
It's been pointed out that it's a similar design to the Bell and Colvill exhaust which is generally considered to be very nice and not loud so there's another possible alternative for you.
Cheers,
Rob
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