84 Esprit Turbo Upgrade to SE Motor
Discussion
I am currently considering upgrading the engine in my esprit to an SE engine rebuilt from a 90s car. The reasons are improved reliability through the liners and pistons some performance improvement through the modern head and some potential to tune further. Rather than any wilder conversions at the moment this appears to be cost effective through fitting to the current mounts, gearbox etc. The plan is to run it on carbs avoiding all the tricky electronic bits. Essentially the car will retain its character, looking in the engine bay everything will look the same as the original.
Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of in this plan or comments on useful tuning?
Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of in this plan or comments on useful tuning?
Well let's see. The engine has reduced compression to take the extra boost from a larger turbo.
Without the EFI, ECU, and sensors I doubt that it can handle any extra boost from the larger turbo even if you put one in. Also the wastegate control on the SE turbo is done via the ECU. I suppose you can rig something up as there is always a way.
If you did go the EFI route don't forget to update the fuel pump as you will need a lot more PSI for the fuel rail.
You will need the chargecooler to go above .65 bar from what I recall.
The ones who go the SE motor route in early cars do it all the way with all the extras.
Without the EFI, ECU, and sensors I doubt that it can handle any extra boost from the larger turbo even if you put one in. Also the wastegate control on the SE turbo is done via the ECU. I suppose you can rig something up as there is always a way.
If you did go the EFI route don't forget to update the fuel pump as you will need a lot more PSI for the fuel rail.
You will need the chargecooler to go above .65 bar from what I recall.
The ones who go the SE motor route in early cars do it all the way with all the extras.
In total, the SE engine is probably more reliable than your stock engine. However, an SE engine converted back to carbs and a distributor (no more ECU to run the crank triggered ignition) doesn't net you much more than the forged pistons and Nikasil liners. Nice to have, but big bucks for what they deliver.
Consider purchasing a set of JE forged, 8.5:1, 0.030" oversize pistons and sticking with the existing iron cylinder liners. If you just "gotta have" the Nikasil liners, trade up to an '86 or newer Esprit. Probably cheaper in the long run.
Calvin, I didn't follow your comment about lower compression... didn't the '84 DOM 910 have 7.5:1 and the HC and later, including the SE & S4 had 8.0:1?
The Chargecooler would be a nice addition, but will require an SE combined Chargecooler radiator/ AC condensor or a custom separate radiator for the Chargecooler. Plus an electri water pump and controls to circulate the water... but that's a good idea even with a full SE-spec 910.
If you go the other way and install a full blown SE engine, then the Citroen gearbox will become your limiter. You will be asking it to deal with more torque when it was already marginal at handling what it had, or you will really have to learn to control your right foot.
A friend is converting his US-Federal '83 to an SE engine (Emme 910S) and has done a lot of the homework... made the decisions. Perhaps you should talk to him. Contact me directly if you wish to chat with him and I'll put you in touch offline.
Regards,
Tim Engel
Lotus Owners Oftha North
Minnesota, USA
Consider purchasing a set of JE forged, 8.5:1, 0.030" oversize pistons and sticking with the existing iron cylinder liners. If you just "gotta have" the Nikasil liners, trade up to an '86 or newer Esprit. Probably cheaper in the long run.
Calvin, I didn't follow your comment about lower compression... didn't the '84 DOM 910 have 7.5:1 and the HC and later, including the SE & S4 had 8.0:1?
The Chargecooler would be a nice addition, but will require an SE combined Chargecooler radiator/ AC condensor or a custom separate radiator for the Chargecooler. Plus an electri water pump and controls to circulate the water... but that's a good idea even with a full SE-spec 910.
If you go the other way and install a full blown SE engine, then the Citroen gearbox will become your limiter. You will be asking it to deal with more torque when it was already marginal at handling what it had, or you will really have to learn to control your right foot.
A friend is converting his US-Federal '83 to an SE engine (Emme 910S) and has done a lot of the homework... made the decisions. Perhaps you should talk to him. Contact me directly if you wish to chat with him and I'll put you in touch offline.
Regards,
Tim Engel
Lotus Owners Oftha North
Minnesota, USA
Esprit2 said:
Calvin, I didn't follow your comment about lower compression... didn't the '84 DOM 910 have 7.5:1 and the HC and later, including the SE & S4 had 8.0:1?
Regards,
Tim Engel
Lotus Owners Oftha North
Minnesota, USA
Hey Tim,
Yeah, you are right, Now that I think about it the higher compression figures were from a non Turbo carb car from that era, I think it was 9.4-1 or something like that. I was having a conversation with another person off list a few months ago about stuffing a turbo engine in to a 80's N/A G car.
Ever figure out where everyone is meeting these days?
I'm not sure about going all the way to Donovan's if no one is going to show up.
After having done a very sucessful conversion of a 1986 Bosch injected car over to the later Delco electronic system I can say that at first the wiring seems significant, but once it closely examined it is not actually that difficult.
The reliablity and driveablity of the electronic system is an excellent improvement and most parts are commonly available.
If your getting the whole engine, you may want to consider the change from carbs to electronics.
The reliablity and driveablity of the electronic system is an excellent improvement and most parts are commonly available.
If your getting the whole engine, you may want to consider the change from carbs to electronics.
Check out...
www.jenvey.co.uk/
Richard raced a guigiaro esprit in the early 80's and can set you up with a nice conversion.. and its not that expensive for what it is! J
>> Edited by f1karting on Tuesday 17th August 01:50
www.jenvey.co.uk/
Richard raced a guigiaro esprit in the early 80's and can set you up with a nice conversion.. and its not that expensive for what it is! J
>> Edited by f1karting on Tuesday 17th August 01:50
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