Is a Diesel Exige just one step too far???
Discussion
I'm looking for my next commuter car, and the idea of an Exige with a decent diesel engine has reared it's ugly (and clattery) head!
If i were to put say the R56 mini diesel engine into an S2 Exige, with some tuning to circa 150bhp, would all the current Exige owners laugh at me?????
(i'm thinking 70 mpg, 0-60 in sub 6s, and thoughly wholesome handling, all for less than the price of a new mini)
If i were to put say the R56 mini diesel engine into an S2 Exige, with some tuning to circa 150bhp, would all the current Exige owners laugh at me?????
(i'm thinking 70 mpg, 0-60 in sub 6s, and thoughly wholesome handling, all for less than the price of a new mini)
if you did it, use the Honda 2.2 ctdi engine.
It is the ONLY diesel engine with an alloy block, and therefore light.
also very compact and it 140bhp as standard.
Propells a civic 0-60 in about 8.5 seconds, so would be fast in an exige..
its still a stupid idea though. what you on?
chadders
It is the ONLY diesel engine with an alloy block, and therefore light.
also very compact and it 140bhp as standard.
Propells a civic 0-60 in about 8.5 seconds, so would be fast in an exige..
its still a stupid idea though. what you on?
chadders
ok, i agree, it isnt going to make the best most fastest Exige ever built but, it will still be fairly mega when compared to a more typical car that will do 70mpg (say a yaris etc)!!!
A quick tape measure job says that the mini engine will just about drop in, and i don't think it's too heavy in the front of a mini, and if i dry sump it so i can get it nice and low, maybeeee, just maybeeee it's a goer......
if not, anyone know if the Honda NSX 3.2 V6 will fit?? lol!
A quick tape measure job says that the mini engine will just about drop in, and i don't think it's too heavy in the front of a mini, and if i dry sump it so i can get it nice and low, maybeeee, just maybeeee it's a goer......
if not, anyone know if the Honda NSX 3.2 V6 will fit?? lol!
I feel filthy for even suggesting it, but if you can convert an Elise to Audi petrol engines then maybe you get get one of their diesels in there instead with heaps of scope for tweaking. But for the cash involved you could keep your elise and just go out and buy a cheap diesel and still have enough cash left over to fuel both...
Assuming diesel conversion costs of £10k and 12k miles p.a. in your Exige, you could either have:
1. Exige plus about 5 years' worth of petrol
2. Exige plus cheap diesel hatchback and several years' fuel for both
3. Exige, plus a standard S1 which does 40mpg and a fair bit of fuel
4. Exige with an lpg conversion but no boot space (!)
5. A rather slow Exige which runs on diesel and sounds like you've lost a conrod whenever you pull up anywhere
The joy of the free market is that you are free to pick whichever option takes your fancy...
1. Exige plus about 5 years' worth of petrol
2. Exige plus cheap diesel hatchback and several years' fuel for both
3. Exige, plus a standard S1 which does 40mpg and a fair bit of fuel
4. Exige with an lpg conversion but no boot space (!)
5. A rather slow Exige which runs on diesel and sounds like you've lost a conrod whenever you pull up anywhere
The joy of the free market is that you are free to pick whichever option takes your fancy...
mini D is about the best engine around, 104g / 74 extra urban in a bluff fronted mini could be less in an exige, 99g?
It is alloy (as far as i know) so no weight penalty and pretty close to the K's 120hp with tons more torque. Its an interesting proposal from my point of view.
It would be nice to get 80mpg from a sports car. The mini petrol engine is brilliant IMO, as im sick of the peaky outputs of VVTs etc (probabaly not get many to agree with that on the Elise forum).
It is alloy (as far as i know) so no weight penalty and pretty close to the K's 120hp with tons more torque. Its an interesting proposal from my point of view.
It would be nice to get 80mpg from a sports car. The mini petrol engine is brilliant IMO, as im sick of the peaky outputs of VVTs etc (probabaly not get many to agree with that on the Elise forum).
well, i have my eye on a £2k Cat C mini D, (that is now very very mini as it looks like it's had a fairly large lorry up it's chuff, so to speak!) so i just need an Exige with one careless previous owner now. (i'm guessing circa £9k for one without chassis damage??)
My previous experience of Exiges (and Eleses to a lesser extent) is that they are brillant on track with a good NA screamer engine, but ultimately, in the typical give and take traffic of the public roads you cant really get them into the "zone" too easily, and often, having been held up on a roundabout well below the limit of the chassis, you then can get smoked in a straight line by a modern hiCap/hiboost turbo diesel (step forward you 335d owners!)once you get up in speed, and thats annoying!
As for nailing the two together thats not a problem, the biggest issue probably being electronic integration, but it's nothing that a few well designed "handshake" modules can't sort out.
I think that the Honda engines a belter, but just too big, i want sub 2.0l for economy, and anything over 120bhp is plenty to start off with.
My previous experience of Exiges (and Eleses to a lesser extent) is that they are brillant on track with a good NA screamer engine, but ultimately, in the typical give and take traffic of the public roads you cant really get them into the "zone" too easily, and often, having been held up on a roundabout well below the limit of the chassis, you then can get smoked in a straight line by a modern hiCap/hiboost turbo diesel (step forward you 335d owners!)once you get up in speed, and thats annoying!
As for nailing the two together thats not a problem, the biggest issue probably being electronic integration, but it's nothing that a few well designed "handshake" modules can't sort out.
I think that the Honda engines a belter, but just too big, i want sub 2.0l for economy, and anything over 120bhp is plenty to start off with.
ahh..right.. I didnt realise you were seriously going to get on with a conversion yourself! , Im sure a lot of people will be interested in the results. S1 Exiges are very rare as not many were sold, S2 are more common. I guess £7-0K for cat c or d write offs from a salvage place
good luck !
good luck !
I think you will end up with a seriously interesting motor that ticks a lot of boxes and i agree with your sentiment that power bands at 6500-8000rpm can get annoying in real world driving. There was a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDUF10tbOVc opel speedster conversion but there you are back to a cast iron block and last gen D's which had "binary" power delivery, not nice. The modular Mini D turbo delivery is smooth producing about 80hp at 3000, pretty handy for fast unstressed point to point.
80mpg and great handling/stopping, yes please.
PS can you make me one after?
80mpg and great handling/stopping, yes please.
PS can you make me one after?
Practical Performance Car (in their Jan 2007 issue 34) has someone starting a diesel conversion on their westfield. Their Crispin Lyne was looking at the 2ltr Ford Duratorq, 2ltr BMW M47, and Volkswagon VAG 1.9TDI, it shows the Ads & Disads of each, hopefully it will be finished by now as well!
I think their website is ppcmag.co.uk. Phone nr 01780 758800.
I hope this is some use for you, best of luck!
I think their website is ppcmag.co.uk. Phone nr 01780 758800.
I hope this is some use for you, best of luck!
bogie said:
the mini, in the real world, struggles to do 50mpg avg though, whereas the technically superior 2.2 Honda CDTI will do 50mpg everyday and 140bhp (a quick remap gives 170bhp) ...I will take the Honda myself 
I wish it did, don't get me wrong I love the 2.2 in my Type S but after 7000 miles the best I've seen is 46mpg 
Didn't VW preview a diesel prototype called the Eco Racer, which isn't dissimilar to what is being proposed here?
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