Turbo Technics conversion

[nick s]

hi guys,

i am putting a turbo technics TT215 engine into my S1 elise in the next few weeks. it has an emerald ECU with it. Plans i have for it are; 4-2-1 manifold, de-cat pipe, sports exhaust, enclosed filter, and a proper mapping session at emerald. i've heard all that could be good for around 240bhp. anyone had any experience of the Turbo Technics supercharged engine? i'm hoping it should shift pretty well! thanks.

[shangani]

It is a very good conversion for road use, though some feel a bit fragile for track work. There have been a few issues - mainly with the very high power variants, but others have had loads of mileage from them. Remeber that 240 bhp is a lot to extract from a k series in that form.

How much mileage does the conversion have on it? AFAIK they do suffer from comprssion issues and ring "blow-past" when the mileage mounts up.

[nick s]

it's done 7,000 miles, so pretty low. i don't plan to use it that much on track anyway. just want decent power and torque for the road. i had heard although it was a k-series, it was still pretty reliable?

[bogie]

I had one for 2 years - did 30K miles in it, no probs until the cambelt tensioner fell off

The highest powered ones (ignoring the 260 version which was v expensive and not reliable) are based on the VVC - so the 215 you have.

With the right exhaust/induction etc they have made 225-230bhp and 190-200lbft at Emerald.

I would run a sports cat rather than CRP - it will be too loud.

The biggest problem with these was oil cooling IMO - it comes with a small front mounted oil cooler, but this just cools the circuit for the supercharger...not the sump

what you need to do is fit an additional oil cooler for the sump - Sinclaires did a special kit for the TT cars, that they developed on mine - basically a T piece and take off for a small square air to air cooler, that they mounted up in the right hand engine side pod intake - it worked really well - knocked 25 deg off my oil temps

...otherwise you will scare yourself if you fit and oil temp guauge - without the extra cooler, I would see 130-40deg under road use and 150 on track ! ..with the extra cooler it was about110 and 130...so manageable

make sure you run the oil type/weight recommended by TT as the superchager gear slip is dependent on it - Ive heard of people putting thin Mobil 1 in there, and then being really down on power as the SC was slipping too early up the rev range ....I think its Shell Semi-Synth....in fact I probably have 5-6L in my shed still - if you are close to Essex you are welcome to pick it up for free, otherwise it will just be thrown out when I move house next month !

[nick s]

bogie, thanks for all the advice!!! nice to hear from someone who has had one. i am goging to be in essex this weekend actually so that would be great where abouts in essex are you? the oil temp looks scary!!! i know it has an oil cooler as standard, but i did hear about the extra one, it's a bit pricey isn't it?? what engine did you have? the TT215? what did it go like? when all properly setup at emerald how do you think it would compare to an n/a honda?

[shangani]

I have driven an S1 215 TT conversion and I have an NA honda S2. The honda is considerably quicker - largely helped by the more optimal gear ratios.

[nick s]

have you actually ocmpared them side by side? i would have assumed it should be fairly closely matched. i have heard issues of some higher mileage TT conversions being massively down on power due to the charger. i will have to see when i get it done!! i'm not too bothered about blistering performance, but 230bhp & 200lbs/ft in a 720kgs car should go well. my mates VX220 turbo with breathing mods and a re-map is only very slightly slower than an S2 honda and that has crap gear ratios. 70mph in 2nd etc. and that weighs 930kgs.

will a k series from an S2 elise go straight into an S1?

Edited by nick s on Tuesday 31st July 12:05

Edited by nick s on Tuesday 31st July 12:07

[bogie]

I had a TT230 - it made 220bhp at Emerald and had a custom map etc.

You may need some mods to the loom to get an S2 engine into an S1 - not sure

Compared to an NA Honda...ive driven both back to back when the Hondas first came out...the extra torque of the TT makes it more flexible, but outright straight line speed they were about the same...thats why when the TT failed I went SC Honda, so I would feel the difference for the money

the gear ratios are much better on the Honda though (and youve got 6) ..I tried all K series gearboxes on my car when it had the TT - you will find the std S1 box is still too long (5th is geared for like 170 or something), the CR box from a 111S is too close IMO for road use in a TT car, so I settled on an S2111S box, which has a 5th gear thats in between - this was a perfect match for the TT engine...if you keep a look out, you can pick them up for £400 2nd hand (at one point I had 2 spares!)

the oil cooler kit is about £500, but worth it, as the engine will last a lot longer between rebuilds

cheers
bogie

ps - the TT kit adds about 15kg in weight compared to an NA K series car...and unless you have a stripped out race car dont kid yourself that any Elise S1 weighs anywhere near to 720kg - think 750Kg is more like it

[bogie]

oh BTW - where did you get the engine from?

I sold mine about 2 years ago, it was rebuilt to full spec and then sold on again - its been in a couple of cars now...just wondered if it might be the same one

is the one you have definately a 215 i.e. based on a VVC engine originally?

[nick s]

hey bogie, i believe it was aidie's then junks old engine? it is out of a S2 111s, with standard box, so i assume it is an S2 111s box. what sort of problems will i encounter with the wiring? it has an emerald ecu with it if that makes any difference? engine i am buying has done 7,000 odd miles i think, so should be ghood for a while yet. it has the black rocker cover that says Lotus Performance.

Edited by nick s on Tuesday 31st July 14:59

[bogie]

ah - right..S2 111S box should be fine ..and Emerald will be fine...just not sure the immobiliser bit is the same..you will need an Emerald loom/connector for an S1 obviously now

[cej]

bogie said:

ps - the TT kit adds about 15kg in weight compared to an NA K series car...and unless you have a stripped out race car dont kid yourself that any Elise S1 weighs anywhere near to 720kg - think 750Kg is more like it

Mine weighed in at 730 kg with a full tank of gas. And it's not even one of the earlier ones (aug 1998)

[Mad 20v]

Nick i take it you don’t want my engine anymore then, thanks for letting me know

[bogie]

cej said:

bogie said:

ps - the TT kit adds about 15kg in weight compared to an NA K series car...and unless you have a stripped out race car dont kid yourself that any Elise S1 weighs anywhere near to 720kg - think 750Kg is more like it

Mine weighed in at 730 kg with a full tank of gas. And it's not even one of the earlier ones (aug 1998)

then Id suggest that you dont use those scales for anything important, like cornerweighting the car etc

that would mean, the dry weight of your car is about 695Kg..which is simply impossible if its a Series 1 Elise in full road trim..thats less than a 340R - have you got helium bags in the boot or something ?

Ive seen about 50 Elises weighed at a RR day on calibrated corner weighting scales...and there wernt any (including the earliest S1s) that were anywhere near 730Kg (wet weight)

[cej]

It was for the registration of my car and had to be done at certain places certified for it. The scales are often calibrated and should be within 20kg accuracy

Edited by cej on Tuesday 31st July 21:10

[bogie]

ah - I see you are in Denmark...so it was like a large scale they weigh cars/trucks on, rather than cornerweight type you get at motorsport places that set you car up...its probably similar to a weigh bridge in the UK...so yeah..I guess being within 20Kg is probably OK if its weighing 1500-2500kg vehicles etc

the cornerweight types are usually down to 0.1kg etc per corner......

[bogie]

i bet you have one of the few Elises in Denmark.. I have friends/colleagues/employees there and the tax is horrendous !...you must own the most expensive Elise on here

[cej]

Yeah there's not many of them here . I estimate a total of 20 or so Elises here on the roads,might be a few stuck here and there that's not registered because people found out the tax was to high to afford it.

I paid 10k GBP for my car 2 years ago in the UK and then 13.5k GBP in taxes The total is the same as the price new in the UK The price new here was like 47k back then . Anyone know where I can get a job as UNIX sys admin in the UK

[bogie]

Im sure you could get a job here as a UNIX sysadmin....and just think of the cars you could afford

[35secToNuvolari]

An old article. An incomplete article. Interesting though.

http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elise/information/...