Lexus V8 into lotus esprit
Discussion
Actually, I think it was Kylie that mentioned the 1UZFE Esprit in Oz some time back. Her husband is seriously into that motor, having one in his hot rod in Kiwiland. If I recall, I think there was a Porsche transaxle involved, but I could be mistaken. It has been quite a while since the discussion came up.
The 1999 (no dizzy's) 1uzfe motor is approximately 27" cubed:
length from back of block to front of harmonic balancer: 25”
length from back of block to front of AC pulley: 26”
width from outside of exhaust header to outside of exhaust header:27”
Height bottom of oil pan to top of engine cover: 27”
These measurements are from my tape measure on my Mother-in-Law's LS400.
Dr.Hess
The 1999 (no dizzy's) 1uzfe motor is approximately 27" cubed:
length from back of block to front of harmonic balancer: 25”
length from back of block to front of AC pulley: 26”
width from outside of exhaust header to outside of exhaust header:27”
Height bottom of oil pan to top of engine cover: 27”
These measurements are from my tape measure on my Mother-in-Law's LS400.
Dr.Hess
Sorry but are these measurements good? I don't know how big the Lotus 4 pot or even V8 is. So would the Lexus V8 fit in the S3 then? If it does it would give a few cars a new lease of life IMHO. I quite like the idea of a converted Esprit (to V8) but only if it was done right, mind. A lexus would be pretty reliable too if their name is anything to go by.
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I am currently exploring this idea as my S3 engine is getting tired and worn and will need a rebuild in the near future. The Lexus V8 is one of the smallest V8s physically, and being all alloy are relatively light weight. Of course they are bigger than the 2.2L Lotus engine but I think they could still be made to fit. I recently purchased the rear end half of a S3 chassis so that I can do all the fitting and fabrication more easily. I was hoping someone had already done this conversion so that I did not have to start everything from the beginning. This will be a long term project and if successful will provide a whole new opportunity for those wanting to convert their Esprit to a V8.
Dr.Hess said:
The 1999 (no dizzy's) 1uzfe motor is approximately 27" cubed:
length from back of block to front of harmonic balancer: 25”
length from back of block to front of AC pulley: 26”
width from outside of exhaust header to outside of exhaust header:27”
Height bottom of oil pan to top of engine cover: 27”
GM LSx engines:
Width: 20.5"
Height: ~25"
Length: ~25"
Your choice is clear.
Dr.Hess said:
Actually, I think it was Kylie that mentioned the 1UZFE Esprit in Oz some time back. Her husband is seriously into that motor, having one in his hot rod in Kiwiland. If I recall, I think there was a Porsche transaxle involved, but I could be mistaken. It has been quite a while since the discussion came up.
The 1999 (no dizzy's) 1uzfe motor is approximately 27" cubed:
length from back of block to front of harmonic balancer: 25”
length from back of block to front of AC pulley: 26”
width from outside of exhaust header to outside of exhaust header:27”
Height bottom of oil pan to top of engine cover: 27”
These measurements are from my tape measure on my Mother-in-Law's LS400.
Dr.Hess
Hi someone from here said there's a Esprit race car in Australia with this conversion, but not sure what the engine is mated to. Forgotten sorry. This topic came up yonks ago and was decided that the engine was massive for the Esprit engine bay. There would have to be significant modifications done to make it fit. It would be a lovely sounding engine much better than current ones. Although it would seem a shame to rip out its original heart though
A small block Ford is smaller than any of the engines listed. And, if one chooses to build the motor on a Dart block or a World Products Man O War block then the small block can become big indeed - 370 inch limit. A recent Man O war build at 357 (little under 6L) inches made 741hp at 8400 RPM (obviously a high RPM build) but, the point is, you could have as much power as you could stand, and a lot more than the box can take. If you use the World Products small block with a 9.5" deck height you have can 470 inches of motor (7.7L) that will surely take care of your needs!
The reason I mention the Ford SB is because we use them in our GT40 replicas and the adapter plate already exists for the application since early GT40 replicas used the Renault box. There are a couple of suppliers for the bits in England, Tornado Sports cars being one of them.
Forgot to mention, I'm pretty familar with the Rover nowadays from wrenching on Jeff Young's TR8 race car, so, don't be fooled by displacement, the little aluminum GM motor (which is what the Rover is) is a pretty long engine due to a crummy setup for water pump and front cover. Cool engine though and has a lot of potential too, the SB Chevy of England - which it is since it is a 1960s GM design and a good one.
Ron
www.gt40s.com
>> Edited by rlearp on Monday 26th September 01:10
The reason I mention the Ford SB is because we use them in our GT40 replicas and the adapter plate already exists for the application since early GT40 replicas used the Renault box. There are a couple of suppliers for the bits in England, Tornado Sports cars being one of them.
Forgot to mention, I'm pretty familar with the Rover nowadays from wrenching on Jeff Young's TR8 race car, so, don't be fooled by displacement, the little aluminum GM motor (which is what the Rover is) is a pretty long engine due to a crummy setup for water pump and front cover. Cool engine though and has a lot of potential too, the SB Chevy of England - which it is since it is a 1960s GM design and a good one.
Ron
www.gt40s.com
>> Edited by rlearp on Monday 26th September 01:10
The options are increasing all the time. The Tornado site is very interesting and may have some solutions for me. My S3 Lotus Esprit is a 1981 model. They came with the Citroen transaxle/box not the Renault box. I may be better upgrading to the Renualt UN1 and I notice Tornado has them available. Do you know where I can get physical dimensions and weights of the SB Ford engines?
You could also use a different box. Common in GT40 replicas is the ZF box (used in the originals cars) which will handle 500/500 hp/tq, but they cost a lot, figure over $10000 USD for a good strong box.
Lots of folks use the Porsche G50 and G50/50 although they must be inverted for GT40 or Lotus use, no big deal. Cheaper, figure around $3-4k and work well too. Also the Audi/Getrag transaxle can be used too, but not as strong.
The UN1 box is used in 40 replicas but they get split frequently. Even the Derek Bell upgraded boxes get blown up with reasonable frequency, although most guys in England still use the UN1. Never popular in US replicas because they just aren't available here.
You'll find lots of info on Ford SBs, just search around on the web or if you search on <a href="www.gt40s.com">www.gt40s.com</a> I'm sure they are listed on a thread sometime over the years. Just bear in mind that most of what you find on the web will not reflect using an ally block and light components and will list the weight around 375-450lbs. When you build with ally block, ally heads, ally water pump etc. you can get the weight down to around 260-290lbs, which compares very favorably with the Esprit engine, either one.
Ron
>> Edited by rlearp on Tuesday 27th September 12:55
Lots of folks use the Porsche G50 and G50/50 although they must be inverted for GT40 or Lotus use, no big deal. Cheaper, figure around $3-4k and work well too. Also the Audi/Getrag transaxle can be used too, but not as strong.
The UN1 box is used in 40 replicas but they get split frequently. Even the Derek Bell upgraded boxes get blown up with reasonable frequency, although most guys in England still use the UN1. Never popular in US replicas because they just aren't available here.
You'll find lots of info on Ford SBs, just search around on the web or if you search on <a href="www.gt40s.com">www.gt40s.com</a> I'm sure they are listed on a thread sometime over the years. Just bear in mind that most of what you find on the web will not reflect using an ally block and light components and will list the weight around 375-450lbs. When you build with ally block, ally heads, ally water pump etc. you can get the weight down to around 260-290lbs, which compares very favorably with the Esprit engine, either one.
Ron
>> Edited by rlearp on Tuesday 27th September 12:55
Ron are G50 boxes readily available in the US at that price? That is a great price, I have seen figures up to $10K. I have found some sites with engine sizes and weights and will post the details later. Taking everything into account, cost, weight, size, power and engineering quality the Lexus V8 is still looking good. The Lexus is an incredibly strong engine with huge power potential. In Australia they are becoming very popular and are still very affordable. Having said that I am still searching and doing my homework.
I thought about the Lexus V8 into an Esprit years ago too. I even went as far as 'almost' importing an S3 for the job. I now have an 89/SE so wont be doing it to that. But if an S3 appears ......
The Lexus engine here in New Zealand is very cheap to buy. At about 550pounds (money) represents good value. There is also performance cams now available and a host of ECU's around so an easy 400hp is possible.
As for the transmission, just keep the Renault unit. Most GT40 people have them with very large V8's bolted up and have very little if any failures. Old story, you abuse it, you break it.
Adapter plates are easy to fabricate as is knocking up engine mounts etc. Good reason to stay Renault also is the drive axles. Ive made up new axles before for different projects to mate to the Renault box but unless you have the time, machinery, know-how and money, dont bother.
The Lexus engine here in New Zealand is very cheap to buy. At about 550pounds (money) represents good value. There is also performance cams now available and a host of ECU's around so an easy 400hp is possible.
As for the transmission, just keep the Renault unit. Most GT40 people have them with very large V8's bolted up and have very little if any failures. Old story, you abuse it, you break it.
Adapter plates are easy to fabricate as is knocking up engine mounts etc. Good reason to stay Renault also is the drive axles. Ive made up new axles before for different projects to mate to the Renault box but unless you have the time, machinery, know-how and money, dont bother.
I found these sites that may be helpful to others. They have engine dimensions etc.
http://members.tripod.com/~grannys/rx7engineselectioninfo.html
www.carnut.com/specs/engdim.html
www.rpiv8.com/engine-4.htm
A good forum for Lexus info: www.lextreme.com/
http://members.tripod.com/~grannys/rx7engineselectioninfo.html
www.carnut.com/specs/engdim.html
www.rpiv8.com/engine-4.htm
A good forum for Lexus info: www.lextreme.com/
Hi.
Interesting post with lots of ideas ( I thought I was the only one with crazy plans )
I have a s1 witch i'm thinking of converting to a more poverful and easy-to-live with engine. I'm planing to use a 3 liter alfaromeo v6 it's small light(ish) and pretty powerfull. And it makes the most beautifull sound with performance cams :-)
-Sverre
Interesting post with lots of ideas ( I thought I was the only one with crazy plans )
I have a s1 witch i'm thinking of converting to a more poverful and easy-to-live with engine. I'm planing to use a 3 liter alfaromeo v6 it's small light(ish) and pretty powerfull. And it makes the most beautifull sound with performance cams :-)
-Sverre
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