S1 elise 160

[poweller]

what was the deal with this then? was it a stripped out version, meant for the track? what did they do to the engine?
cheers

[bogie]

try www.elises.co.uk for a full breakdown and spec on models

[paulwakinshaw]

Engine wise its a S135 with big cams and a different ECU (First 50 were SVA cars and ran with a GEMS unit and later cars were WTVA with EFI ECU's)

First 50 came with sports exhaust and a few other bits, later ones had a standard exhaust and different airbox.

Early ones made 160BHPish and the later ones made 150BHPish.

Most of them in standard form are a pig to drive and kangaroo like mad, but £1100 quid for an Emerald ECU and some verniers along with a rolling road session will make it a good driving car.

Performance wise it could have done with a CR box to sharpen the 0-60 times but you should be looking at 5.1 seconds or there abouts.

If you do have the cash, you can tidy the head up by reshaping the inlet/exhaust ports and cleaning up the combustion chambers. My S1 with a S160 engine is producing 172BHP and over 140lb/ft of torque

Good cars, but Lotus didn't really think this one through before they launched it so some people think its a bit of a specialist car and a pig to live with.

Paul

[piooly]

Hi,

My sport 160 is a 2001 model. It has the sports exhaust. Fitted and a dual airbox when I bought it. Many reviews say they are terrible to drive round town. True they do jump a bit but this something that you adapt your driving style to. Mine has the sports CAT, vernier pulleys and full induction system now. It runs like a dream, smooth as any other car nearly and goes like stink. I might get the ECU looked at when I can afford to. Lot more fun that the standard model though. Infact mine will stay with a new 111R and exige. Mainly due to the 111R being a bit heavier than the 160. But at half the price, its worth looking at. I also think it’s the best looking elise with all wheels, lower suspension, drilled brake discs, banked spoiler, just looks so much better. I actuall don’t really like the look of a standard Series 1 elise. Just looks like a toy in comparison...

[poptosis]

piooly said:

Hi, My sport 160 is a 2001 model. It has the sports exhaust. Fitted and a dual airbox when I bought it. Many reviews say they are terrible to drive round town. True they do jump a bit but this something that you adapt your driving style to. Mine has the sports CAT, vernier pulleys and full induction system now. It runs like a dream, smooth as any other car nearly and goes like stink. I might get the ECU looked at when I can afford to. Lot more fun that the standard model though. Infact mine will stay with a new 111R and exige. Mainly due to the 111R being a bit heavier than the 160. But at half the price, its worth looking at. I also think it’s the best looking elise with all wheels, lower suspension, drilled brake discs, banked spoiler, just looks so much better. I actuall don’t really like the look of a standard Series 1 elise. Just looks like a toy in comparison...

Hi there piooly,



Nice day down in Poole - any chance of a spin later in your beast?

[elisesport]

paulwakinshaw said:

Engine wise its a S135 with big cams and a different ECU (First 50 were SVA cars and ran with a GEMS unit and later cars were WTVA with EFI ECU's) First 50 came with sports exhaust and a few other bits, later ones had a standard exhaust and different airbox. Early ones made 160BHPish and the later ones made 150BHPish. Most of them in standard form are a pig to drive and kangaroo like mad, but £1100 quid for an Emerald ECU and some verniers along with a rolling road session will make it a good driving car. Performance wise it could have done with a CR box to sharpen the 0-60 times but you should be looking at 5.1 seconds or there abouts. If you do have the cash, you can tidy the head up by reshaping the inlet/exhaust ports and cleaning up the combustion chambers. My S1 with a S160 engine is producing 172BHP and over 140lb/ft of torque Good cars, but Lotus didn't really think this one through before they launched it so some people think its a bit of a specialist car and a pig to live with. Paul

No its NOT a pig to live with at all, thats total tosh. Nor do you need the expense of an emerald. All you need is the cams timing properly and the latest ECU map from Lotus and leave the cat on (or fit a sports cat) The standard ECU is mappable if you look for the specialists and the EFi unit is arguably better than the expensive Emerald.

You can throw unnecessary money at a Sport 160 if you want to but if you do the basics you'll have a car you'll love on the road and on track.

[nmh]

piooly said:

Hi, My sport 160 is a 2001 model. It has the sports exhaust. Fitted and a dual airbox when I bought it. Many reviews say they are terrible to drive round town. True they do jump a bit but this something that you adapt your driving style to. Mine has the sports CAT, vernier pulleys and full induction system now. It runs like a dream, smooth as any other car nearly and goes like stink. I might get the ECU looked at when I can afford to. Lot more fun that the standard model though. Infact mine will stay with a new 111R and exige. Mainly due to the 111R being a bit heavier than the 160. But at half the price, its worth looking at. I also think it’s the best looking elise with all wheels, lower suspension, drilled brake discs, banked spoiler, just looks so much better. I actuall don’t really like the look of a standard Series 1 elise. Just looks like a toy in comparison...

I have to agree with this. The Sport 160 (especially in black) has enourmous road prescence in comparisson to the standard model, it could even overshadow an S2 Exige. Build quality shouldn't be an issue either as the later examples would have had all the earlier problems ironed out. Something that the S2 seems to suffer from greatly, according to all the threads about niggles. It is in my opinion the best all rounder.

[piooly]

Too right, its a great car. Easy to live with, just needs to be ragged. Because its set up for the track, it just loves to be on boil all the time. And as for running hot, some do, but mine never really goes about 89 degrees.

[paulwakinshaw]

it is a pig around town, i had the S160 kit on mine running on the earlier GEMS unit and it was a complete b****rd and that was with verniers and the cam timed correctly. I think S160 owners are on one side or the other, either they love it the way it is or they spend the cash on some bits and pieces to make it more drivable day to day, Dave Andrews offers his S160 kit for a reason!

[anonymous-user]

A couple of mates have, or have had, them and they were pigs at altitude in the Alps. Iirc something to do with O2 sensors that was fixed on the Raceline version. If you're planning on doing anything like Stelvio would be worth checking this out to avoid disappointment.