Supercharge it / tune it / leave it ?

[rev-erend]

Does anyone have any opinions on whether
it is worth Super charging or tuning the Elise.

Has anyone done it and subsequently thought that it has compromised the sweet handling.

Too much power ?

I have not bought an Elise yet but compared to my Griff 500 - the Elise felt pretty good. With the Griff you always feel as if the Engine is overpowering everything. Fun in an animal kind of way !

[scribbler]

friend of mine has a supercharged Elise. Currently on it's third supercharger. They seem to have a habit of eating themselves..... Replaced under warrenty, but make a hell of a bang when they let go apparently.

Also, they make the car increadably noisy, not good for a long run.

Be careful.

[rev-erend]

Thanks - that does not sound so good.

Anyone car to comment who has tuned to 130 / 150 / 160 / 190 BHP.

Does this ruin the sweet handling.

[adrianr]

No problems with handling - most of the extra power comes from increased rpm and with a proper setup arrives progressively. The fastest car I've driven (as opposed to sat in) was the a Raceline 160 conversion, which felt just like my standard car except that power didn't tail off at 5,500rpm but continued to 7000rpm.

Plenty of options available; the Raceline is proven & sorted and comes in at about 4K fitted, similar kit available from PTP. You could probably get the same power for about 2K DIY if you don't mind a few teething troubles.
Lotus VHPD is 190(185 actually) and a little temperamental. Best to date is around 220, but you're into severely reduced time between rebuilds if you use it.

Cheers,
AdrianR

[rev-erend]

Let us know how it drives and sounds when you get it !

[Roadrunner]

scribbler - which compay did your mate get the conversion done by?

[mba]

I fitted a PTP 165 kit to my mk11 elise,the performance was much improved but I felt town driveability was poor - perhaps to track orientated

[S Works]

rev-erend said:

Thanks - that does not sound so good.

Anyone car to comment who has tuned to 130 / 150 / 160 / 190 BHP.

Does this ruin the sweet handling.

Depends on the engine.

K-series - you can tune it to ~240bhp but sooner or later it will go pop, and the cost will be significant to get it there. Around 170bhp does not require strengthening the bottom end, and can be achieved relatively reliably for a few thousand quid.

Toyota - you probably know all the stock options. There are various aftermarket options to get you forced induction of 260+bhp upto silly numbers.

Audi Turbo - you can comfortably go from 250 to well over 300bhp if you want.

Honda Type R - in NA trim you can get around 240 bhp, with a charger, comfortably over 300bhp and getting closer to 330+ I think, with good reliability when charge-cooled.

'Sweet handling' is less to do with engine power and more to do with how well the car is set up at any given power output. I've had Elises from 118-240bhp, all of which have handled superbly. There are many Elise/Exiges running way bigger power which handle awesomely.

[bogie]

nothing to do with handling - put as much power in it as you feel YOU can handle - Steve G's Elise that he competes in Time Attack with against 1000bhp Jap stuff runs about 500bhp and 100 shot of NOS, and still seems to lap circuits fast than pretty much anything with a number plate LOL

so take your pic - what do you want to do with it - is it a quick everyday road car that you want or a weekend toy for trackdays ? How many miles per year will it do ? What sort of money do you want to spend?

they are the important questions ...youd have to really do something silly with one to mess up the handling

[F.C.]

I have an Exige S 240bhp and it handles well for a 950ish kilo car I don't find the supercharger is too loud, though you wouldn't want to try and cruise a 100mph

I've driven a converted Honda elise with over 350 bhp and it was really well balanced (much better than mine) and insanely quick

If your coming from a griff you will want more power I have had a few quick cars and would like to get my exige upto about 400bhp per tonne.(so an S1 with Honda 300ish bhp)

[Lawrence5]

rev-erend - which elise are you considering as this changes options ?

Oh and how much would you want to spend car and mods combined....

[lamb jiblets]

rev-erend said:

Thanks - that does not sound so good.

Anyone car to comment who has tuned to 130 / 150 / 160 / 190 BHP.

Does this ruin the sweet handling.

Hi
Mine (s1)is running 144, the mid range is much better.It also has a AP lightend fly wheel wich helps free reving. The best mod I did was fitting Bilstine shocks and toyo R888, makes you faster around a track than any £2000 spent on engine tweaks.!

[bogie]

I started with a 120bhp K engine
then tuned to 155bhp
then supercharged and tuned to 220bhp
then went Honda - about 300bhp
then tuned some more - about 330bhp

the handling only changed when I wanted it to be different - it started life as a daily driver with the odd trackday and gradually became used only for trackdays, sprints and hillclimbs

for an everyday car, the standard Elise setup is a great compromise

for occasional track use, some adjustable suspension, and set of wheels with sticky tyres will let you get hte most out of it

the techwiki on www.seloc.org has loads of info

but basically, people have been tuning and racing Elises for over 10 years and everything has been done before - handling wise you just need to choose what you want and there are numerous specialists out there that will give it to you - its usually just a combo of geometry, suspension and tyres

[Ultrasound]

What is a top spec honda S/C with intercooler getting these days?

[bogie]

Ultrasound said:

What is a top spec honda S/C with intercooler getting these days?

I would guesstimate 340-360bhp depending on exact car/rolling road you go to

ETA ...but the next stage is already available - a stroker kit on the same set-up out to 2.3L - 400bhp ...very nice

Edited by bogie on Saturday 29th November 12:20

[Ultrasound]

Who is behind this, Scuffers? Sounds deadly. Is it still in development? Any idea of cost fella?

[bogie]

yeah, still in development ...basically add in the cost of a kit to take your K20A out to 2.3L

I think there may be some dyno plots on www.dyno-plot.co.uk

[Ultrasound]

Can't see the plot. Sorry.

[Scuffers]

Ultrasound said:

Can't see the plot. Sorry.

try http://www.dyno-plot.co.uk/dyno/dynoplot/id%3D498%...
These are all customers installs that have been done.

[bogie]

...so the one at the top is 2.3L, and 375bhp at the hubs ....yummy

so there you go rev-erend - get yourself a K series Elise for cheap - about £8-10K, spend £20K on engine, blower etc and sorting all the suspension and brakes to give you a 400bhp/800Kg monster

Edited by bogie on Saturday 29th November 16:17