Oil Thermostat and BOV Valve kit

[vrocker]

Guys,
I am new to the Epsrit World and very happy with my new 93.5 indeed. Any feedback would be apprecaited regarding the Oil Thermostat and BOV valve kit the PUK Marcus offers. They look and sound pretty cool. Have any of you installed these product in a Lotus SE and if so, any significant difference in performace ?
Thanks for the board!

[cnh1990]

I have the BOV. It works well for me. An oil thermostat? No don't have one. Okay I give up. What is it for? Oil heats up rather quickly as it is.

Calvin

[vrocker]

I guess it allows the oil to run cooler and not heat up as fast. Here is the description:
http://freudhoefer.de/lotus/esprit/.

[mikelr]

Actually an oil thermostat restricts the oil from flowing to the cooler until it has reached operating temp, usually good when the car is run in cold climates.
I wouldn't waste my money on this Frank, south Florida is a little to hot and steamy for such a mod ;-)

>> Edited by mikelr on Friday 19th September 01:07

[vrocker]

Thanks for the feedback !

[GreenV8S]

I would advise you to fit an oil stat if you have an oil cooler, even if you live somewhere hot. If the oil cooler works properly (big enough, good air feed etc) then without an oil stat, it will extend oil warm-up times considerably and will keep the oil too cold when you're cruising under light load. This increases wear and tear all round. There's just no reason NOT to fit a stat IMO.

[cnh1990]

The thermostat is actually no use to me. Marcus does state in PUK site it is for Esprit's in the winter. I don't run my car in the winter as they use chemicals on the roads during winter around where I live. The oil heats up quick enough as it is on the Esprit and I use 5-50 anyways.

Calvin

[vrocker]

So what do you guys think about the BOV Valve Kit ? Is it really worth purchasing it ?

[cnh1990]

How do you intend to drive car will determine how much you will benfit from the device.

If you require faster re-boost and rapid turbo spooling at higher boost pressures, you will like it.

If you drive it like a normal car and rarely exploit the cars potential, I don't think you really need it.

Calvin

[vrocker]

Calvin,

I really don't race but do occasionally open it up on open roads. I like to preserve the originallity of the car as much as can. However, it's always fun to add a little something to the mix, meaning, a little extra boost or horsepower if necessary. Do you have a BOV installed on your car ?

[cnh1990]

I have one in my car. You can see a picture of it on my website there is link in my profile by clicking on my screen name. I have the type first sold by Marcus a few years ago. The new ones have a better T hose. It does not add HP or Boost. It allows the turbo to spool up faster and keep it spinning in between shifts for a faster turbo response.
Calvin

>> Edited by cnh1990 on Friday 19th September 18:10

[ErnestM]

Another benefit of the BOV is that it has the potential of increasing the lifespan of the turbo itsself - or at least the vanes on the impeller, by providing somewhere for the pressure to go...

ErnestM
V8 - No BOV (as yet - waiting for Kevin to take the plunge and report in )

[cnh1990]

Ernest,
It does save a bit on the turbo vanes but that is usually under high boost. My BOV does not trigger at low boost. I have my BOV set to a little under 1 bar. If a person does not punch the turbo hard and even if the turbo spools high it backs down by itself it doesn't help much. If a person uses the turbo a lot and shifts at high boost it will help a lot.

About V8 boost levels. I thought the V8's have lower boost than the 4's. Isn't the stock V8 boost around .5 or somewhere there abouts. I don't know if the BOV can trigger at that low of boost. There are a few with low boost triggers but the effects of the BOV I think would be minimal at that boost pressure except that you will have a cool whoosh when you shift. Do you have you car chipped for higher boost?

Calvin

[ErnestM]

No chipping here (other than the High-Torque ECU from LCUSA). I know the boost pressure is lower (so low, that they took the boost gauge out ). Obviously, if I were to ever need a BOV, it would be because I installed some of the other goodies that necessitated it (like the stuff that Johann did - Not NOS - I'm a little crazy but not insane ).

By the way - do you guys know that BOV's come stock in the Noble M12? What a forward thinking manufacturer, eh?

ErnestM

[madmike]

My BOV goes off under normal boost conditions, circa .5 to .8 bar.

I got it to extend the life of the turbo, because I had done the 330 chip. I love it to death.

Mike

[lotusguy]

Hi,

As I have mentioned before, the primary reason for having a BOV is to preserve and prevent premature failure of the turbine and it's blades. The marginally faster spool-up time and cool whoosh sound are merely consequential benefits. But the spool-up is not so increased as to justify the expense on it's own. To install one for this reason alone is akin to having a giant rear wing on a Civic to increase it's traction
Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE

[vrocker]

Sounds pretty cool, is there more than one type of BOV Valve kit ? Any recommendations as to which one is the best for the car ?

[cnh1990]

I have a radial exhaust on mine and it operates fine. Some others have had problems with theirs as on their cars it sprays a very fine mist of oil in the compartment. They put a filter of some sort on it to prevent it. They have oil in the plenum also but I do not. So oil is coming from the turbo bearing. Mine is still tight and there is no sign of oil in the plenum. After mine gets worn it may mist oil also and may require a foam filter to catch the mist. in the future. If one were to get the ported style BOV a hose could be attached to it to vent to the ground or outside of the compartment.

Calvin

[vrocker]

How does PUK's BOV compare to others ?

[kmaier]

ErnestM said:

V8 - No BOV (as yet - waiting for Kevin to take the plunge and report in )

Hey, I heard that! While I've thought about BOVs for the V8 (Johan did a nice job by adding a set to the stock intake pipes) I'm not really sure you'll gain that much, after all the V8 only runs upwards of 0.8 bar so the stress on the turbos is not very great. Keeping fresh oil and coolant should allow long life from the turbos.

Intercoolers are certainly on the list however... but I'm leaning towards the PWR barrel intercoolers (Johan used a set from Spearco). Still working out details on the rest of the system as I don't want to make any visible modifications and prefer to balance (system) weight between front and rear. I've no desire to increase the boost pressure beyond the High-Torque ECM curves, just cooler charge air which will increase the longevity of the engine and also yield a reasonable power increase. By maintaining a more consistent intake air temperature, power delivery will also remain more constant.

I hope to start on the the first phase early next year (not messing with anything while still in warranty). First phase is to upgrade the front end for cooling and add a radiator for the intercoolers. Might as well take care of the weak spots first... already very tired of thermal creeping and swinging engine temperatures between cruising and stop & go traffic. Plan is for 3 Spal fans and a better shroud design for the radiator and add two smaller Spal fans for the oil coolers... after all, they get quite warm and get to heat-soak in stop & go traffic which adds to additional heat build up which eventually increases coolant temperature, hence the creep. Additional circuitry and sensing will be used to control the new fan setup to regulate temperature flowing back to the motor.

Well, enough rambling.... once I get more of this worked out, I'll post something more meaningful.

Regards, KM
2000 V8