Evora at speed

[anniesdad]

Guys,

I'll be taking the Evora N/a down to Bruntingthorpe soon to see what it can do on the runway. Before you all say its not really designed for that kind of thing I would agree. Thankfully Brunters has a few corners to explore the handling capabilities also.

Anyway, I was wondering if any of you guys had taken your cars over 140-150mph and what to expect from the car? More interested in stability and lift than anything else. Would be interested to hear of your exploits.

[The Wookie]

Rock solid. In fact there's a sweet spot at 110-120mph where they seem to feel even more planted than they do at 80-90mph

[CTE]

Managed to see 165mph with mine and no issues down RAF Marhams runway. Can`t say I tried to steer any corners at that speed, but the car felt solid enough. A bit disappointed with the top speed (would have hoped to see 170mph plus) though because I was max`d out, but the runway was part of the track, so the engine heat may have effected the supercharger efficiency (rather than just having a cold run)? Think the engine could benefit from a cold air intake system or more inter-cooling....that is if it has any? The rear tyres were relatively worn, so maybe missed the optimum drive ratio to engine power?

[anniesdad]

That's encouraging, thanks guys. I've taken similar powered cars down Brunters and managed some decent speeds...I don't expect to be taking any corners at 165mph either!

I'd be happy if I can get 155mph on the runway out of the car, but more than anything hoping for good stability and no/not much lift as the crosswind at Brunters can be quite fierce at times, shifting the car 10-20 foot sideways!

What is the coefficient of drag figure for an N/a Evora? Anybody know?

[The Wookie]

CTE said:

Managed to see 165mph with mine and no issues down RAF Marhams runway. Can`t say I tried to steer any corners at that speed, but the car felt solid enough. A bit disappointed with the top speed (would have hoped to see 170mph plus) though because I was max`d out, but the runway was part of the track, so the engine heat may have effected the supercharger efficiency (rather than just having a cold run)? Think the engine could benefit from a cold air intake system or more inter-cooling....that is if it has any? The rear tyres were relatively worn, so maybe missed the optimum drive ratio to engine power?

No intercooling and a cold air intake might improve power, but plenty of other mods you can do to achieve the same.

Also bear in mind that it doesn't take much headwind to knock a significant amount of top speed off!

[Frimley111R]

CTE said:

Managed to see 165mph with mine and no issues down RAF Marhams runway. Can`t say I tried to steer any corners at that speed, but the car felt solid enough. A bit disappointed with the top speed (would have hoped to see 170mph plus)...

Lol. Disappointed at 165 and not 170! What were you using to measure your speed though?

[BibsTLF]

Driving back from the motorshow at Frankfurt last year we saw 165 in the Evora S. Spent a lot of time around 120-150 and the car was ace, very comfy at that speed even on less than perfect motorway surfaces and some decent enough motorway corners (enough to pull you sideways in the seat a touch). The brakes are epic too when someone eventually gets in the way on the autobahn, massive deceleration with no hint of a fuss, very smooth.

[anniesdad]

CTE said:

Managed to see 165mph with mine and no issues down RAF Marhams runway. Can`t say I tried to steer any corners at that speed, but the car felt solid enough. A bit disappointed with the top speed (would have hoped to see 170mph plus) though because I was max`d out, but the runway was part of the track, so the engine heat may have effected the supercharger efficiency (rather than just having a cold run)? Think the engine could benefit from a cold air intake system or more inter-cooling....that is if it has any? The rear tyres were relatively worn, so maybe missed the optimum drive ratio to engine power?

How long is the runway at Marham? Was 165 GPS verified?

As an aside with minimal wind at Brunters (1.5mile straight) with a 375bhp 996 GT3 I managed 175mph...so I don't think 165 is too far wide of the mark from a c.350bhp Evora S on a shorter straight. I'd say 165 is pretty good going myself.

[CTE]

The speed was simply the speedo reading so there is room for error either way. The runway is fairly long, at least 1 mile and an entry speed of about 70mph....I maxed out sometime before I had to slow down...and I am not inclined to thrash an engine to death for the sake of another couple of mph.
Someone mentioned plenty of mods....are there for the S? I know there are for the non S. One cannot have enough power!!
Very soon to go on a continental blast, which will take in everything Autobahns to twisty mountain passes...Stelvio etc etc. Cannot wait...we will see how it pairs up against an M3 and a Jag XKRS! Probably not so well if we all have the bottle on the autobahn (wives will be in cars aswell, so may put a dampener on proceedings?), but everywhere else I am sure it will shine.

[The Wookie]

Manifolds is a good mod, particularly for the S, I believe there are also smaller S/C pulleys and different cams available if you're feeling adventurous!

[CTE]

By the way Steve,..."explore the handling"...I doubt you will find many better handling and balanced cars. Come into a corner a bit too fast, brake late and hard as you steer, feel the back drift very slightly, if it drifts too much, just brake harder (do not lift off!), and when you hit the apex, floor it!...try it with the traction on, which is brilliant and barely noticeable, and then when you have confidence, switch the traction off, but it won`t bite anyhow, and it is easily corrected. I have not driven round Bruntingthorpe, even though I spend most of my week next door, but I guess there is plenty of room to mess about.

The reason I did not want to go for the manifold route was because of the noise increase, which would prevent it being used on trackday, no that I have many opportunities to do these. Isn`t there a risk that changing supercharger pulleys would mess up the airflow/fuel ratios? I guess also it might lead to more heat in the intake, which would lead to a loss of power so you`d gain nothing, unless it could be intercooled??

[The Wookie]

I'm not sure how much noise the manifolds would add, but I would guess that if you have an MY11 exhaust system on it then you'd probably still be fine. Also you don't necessarily need to dump the manifolds entirely, get a decent exhaust guy to have a look at them and you might find they can be modified to flow better with a bit of effort.

You will obviously need a remap if you change the pulley, but they do apparently generate more power with more boost up to a point.

[Chromed]

The Toyota manifold look pretty crappy. Think 2bulars headers will make quite a difference . That's the first mod I'm doing when I get my exige.

[CTE]

I do not mind admitting I am a little bit scarred of doing too much in the way of pulley`s and remapping etc (until proven) because the GTE car only actually made about 380hp (not 444hp) and kept on blowing up...although to be fair I do not know how they achieved the extra power...this I have from a Lotus development manager who left after 20 years of service due to the people skills of the new management!

[anniesdad]

So the car ran impeccably at Brunters, if a little slow on the runway, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed with a max of 147mph but that said it isn't of course the cars raison d'etre. The cars gearing letting it down ultimately. It was as suggested really stable though and there was not a hint of lift from the front, impressive.

Had a little 360 spin with traction off whilst trying to push the car's limits but the car telegraphed it's intentions, I just wasn't quick enough to listen.

Great fun on the limit though and so controllable.




Images courtesy of my mate Steve Hall - www.stevehallphotography.net

[slinky]

And here's a video for you..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A30Y1PckyB0&hd=...