Offical Lotus Upgrades for the Elise/Exige NA and SC

[Boggy]

Well done CN's

About time someone packaged upgrades together and offered them at good rates :

http://www.oakmeremotorgroup.co.uk/lotus/servicing

http://www.oakmeremotorgroup.co.uk/lotus/offers/vi...

Boggy

[chevronb37]

Has anyone else had the ECU reflash? Is it worth the cash? Any idea why they need the car for 5 working days? I'm quite tempted at that price.

[21TonyK]

chevronb37 said:

Has anyone else had the ECU reflash? Is it worth the cash? Any idea why they need the car for 5 working days? I'm quite tempted at that price.

Happy to be corrected if anyone else has any info but as far as I am aware it is the standard Lotus Motorsport reflash which lowers the cam change to 5750.

However in their advertising they claim increased performance which is not something stated by Lotus. Reason I think it's the standard flash is that CN started offering the flash at £149 in competition to a group buy I helped organise some months ago with Hangar 111. The 5 day bit is a giveaway as well as this is the time quoted as needed to return he ECU to Lotus and get it back again.

If you just want a lower can change you won;t find it cheaper than £149 so good value. Personally, I'd take any claim of performance gains with a very large pinch of salt unless backed up with evidenced figures.

Edited by 21TonyK on Friday 29th January 08:58

Edited by 21TonyK on Friday 29th January 08:59

[chevronb37]

21TonyK said:

chevronb37 said:

Has anyone else had the ECU reflash? Is it worth the cash? Any idea why they need the car for 5 working days? I'm quite tempted at that price.

Happy to be corrected if anyone else has any info but as far as I am aware it is the standard Lotus Motorsport reflash which lowers the cam change to 5750.

However in their advertising they claim increased performance which is not something stated by Lotus. Reason I think it's the standard flash is that CN started offering the flash at £149 in competition to a group buy I helped organise some months ago with Hangar 111. The 5 day bit is a giveaway as well as this is the time quoted as needed to return he ECU to Lotus and get it back again.

If you just want a lower can change you won;t find it cheaper than £149 so good value. Personally, I'd take any claim of performance gains with a very large pinch of salt unless backed up with evidenced figures.

Edited by 21TonyK on Friday 29th January 08:58

Edited by 21TonyK on Friday 29th January 08:59

Thanks for the response. How much difference does it make in day-to-day driving? I presume it doesn't alter peak power, just brings in the cam change earlier?

[21TonyK]

chevronb37 said:

21TonyK said:

chevronb37 said:

Has anyone else had the ECU reflash? Is it worth the cash? Any idea why they need the car for 5 working days? I'm quite tempted at that price.

Happy to be corrected if anyone else has any info but as far as I am aware it is the standard Lotus Motorsport reflash which lowers the cam change to 5750.

However in their advertising they claim increased performance which is not something stated by Lotus. Reason I think it's the standard flash is that CN started offering the flash at £149 in competition to a group buy I helped organise some months ago with Hangar 111. The 5 day bit is a giveaway as well as this is the time quoted as needed to return he ECU to Lotus and get it back again.

If you just want a lower can change you won;t find it cheaper than £149 so good value. Personally, I'd take any claim of performance gains with a very large pinch of salt unless backed up with evidenced figures.

Edited by 21TonyK on Friday 29th January 08:58

Edited by 21TonyK on Friday 29th January 08:59

Thanks for the response. How much difference does it make in day-to-day driving? I presume it doesn't alter peak power, just brings in the cam change earlier?

I have the H111 reflash so can't comment specifically about the LMS one. However, I believe they are pretty much identical in the end.

Firstly I wanted the reflash to make keeping the car on 2nd cam on track easier by broadening the rev range. Something the flash does well.

However I did also notice the car was more eager to rev lower down. This could be the result of the H111 flash taking some advantage of the induction and exhaust I have. Also, the car seems to run a little smoother.

Having the cam kick in earlier on road doesn't make a huge difference but the cam change is far less pronounced. It's almost as if it blends in from 5700-6000 rather than the instant change over at 6200.

Make for a slightly smoother drive and although the car feels better if it does increase power it's very much a feeling as opposed to anything specific.

For £150 it's a very worth while upgrade.

[chevronb37]

That's interesting, as I have changed induction already and would like to change exhaust at the same time. If the reflash is able to help balance the mapping with these new items then I think it'll be money well spent. I'll give CN a ring to discuss. I enjoy the cam change, but progress would be easier if it came in lower and blended a little more cleanly like the Honda system. VTEC, y'all, etc.

Thanks for the info.

[Mr LoTo]

Hi Guys - my tuppence for what it's worth!

I have the Lotus motor sport ECU upgrade on my 07 Exige N/A (which also has the stage 2 exhaust and a piper cross induction filter) and am more than happy with it. The ECU makes the second cam come in more smoothly as well lower down the rev range at 5750 (with a nice pop sound as it engages) - and whilst 500 revs earlier doesn't sound much, it means that the 2ond cam is more accessible.

Prior to the motor sport ECU when changing up through the gears the shifts had to be timed to the split second to stay "on cam" in the next gear. Waiting for 2 seconds after the red light came on before the gear change meant the 2ond cam was already engaged at the start of the next gear, changing up any earlier than 2 seconds and the 2ond cam was not engaged straight away in the next gear - which I found frustrating. The motor sport ECU means the window for changing gear and falling straight back into the 2ond cam is wider.

I also feel that the car is "more drivable" - smoother, and pulls better from lover revs - although I am not sure how much of this is due to the induction / exhaust, as well as the engine loosening up as the miles increase...

[djroadboy]

All the Lotus remapped cars with the lower cam change point that I've driven had an awful flat spot just around the cam change point.

Felt terrible. Think I've got a dyno plot of one somewhere which shows how bad it is.

/2p

Dan

[Mr LoTo]

Really Dan!

I would be interested to see that dyno plot!

I always understood - and experienced - that the standard ECU had a flat spot before the 2ond cam change over thus accentuating the feeling of boost when on cam. This flat spot is what I believe I fell into each time I changed gear before the absolute optimum moment meaning a short wait before the 2ond cam picked up the action again.

For me the motor sport ECU has eradicated the flat spot meaning that, whilst the 2ond cam boost feels less dramatic, the power delivery is more consistent and smooth (i.e. no flat spots) and immediate 2ond cam action straight after gear changes

My pool of reference is however one car...

[21TonyK]

Mr LoTo said:

Really Dan!

I would be interested to see that dyno plot!

I always understood - and experienced - that the standard ECU had a flat spot before the 2ond cam change over thus accentuating the feeling of boost when on cam. This flat spot is what I believe I fell into each time I changed gear before the absolute optimum moment meaning a short wait before the 2ond cam picked up the action again.

For me the motor sport ECU has eradicated the flat spot meaning that, whilst the 2ond cam boost feels less dramatic, the power delivery is more consistent and smooth (i.e. no flat spots) and immediate 2ond cam action straight after gear changes

My pool of reference is however one car...

Looked at various dynos for the official Lotus and H111 reflash and both still show a slight flat spot but it's nowhere near as pronounced as on the standard tune.

[Boggy]

Had the CN Performance kit fitted Friday,

400 + mile round trip but it was worth every penny/mile spent

Pipe sounds amazing, car much more drivable, cam change is faultless comes in at 5700 rpm

Honestly you don't need the SC kit for at lest another year or so if you have this fitted, it moves the N/A engine on quite a lot

One word comes to mind Love!

Boggy

[21TonyK]

Do they have any dynos to compare with other options? for the money it sounds like good value but figures would be interesting.

[Boggy]

You would need to speak to them Tony,

They couldn't sell a kit's quoting 250bhp for the Exige S without thou, all Lotus dealer's should be offering these upgrades at the same price
Boggy

[21TonyK]

The SC kits were developed with a well known guy on Exiges.com some time ago and are all well documented. I'm more interested in the NA kit where they are claiming a performance increase but don't say what it actually is.

H111 do a kit for about £1K where they can show a couple of points under 200hp and Sinclaires can get more for about £1500. If CN can get something along the lines of H111 for mid hundred then that is significant, especially as I have the induction, exhaust etc.

May give them a ring.

[Boggy]

21TonyK said:

The SC kits were developed with a well known guy on Exiges.com some time ago and are all well documented. I'm more interested in the NA kit where they are claiming a performance increase but don't say what it actually is.

H111 do a kit for about £1K where they can show a couple of points under 200hp and Sinclaires can get more for about £1500. If CN can get something along the lines of H111 for mid hundred then that is significant, especially as I have the induction, exhaust etc.

May give them a ring.

Well, my Car feel's alot better now mid-range. Looking at what Sinc's and

Hanger offer I'd say around 6 - 10bhp? I'd like to see it now on a Dyno

Boggy

[21TonyK]

Boggy said:

21TonyK said:

The SC kits were developed with a well known guy on Exiges.com some time ago and are all well documented. I'm more interested in the NA kit where they are claiming a performance increase but don't say what it actually is.

H111 do a kit for about £1K where they can show a couple of points under 200hp and Sinclaires can get more for about £1500. If CN can get something along the lines of H111 for mid hundred then that is significant, especially as I have the induction, exhaust etc.

May give them a ring.

Well, my Car feel's alot better now mid-range. Looking at what Sinc's and

Hanger offer I'd say around 6 - 10bhp? I'd like to see it now on a Dyno

Boggy

I wouldn't be surprised if it had gained a few hp on the top end but it's the lower down torque that I can feel with mine. It might only be a couple of lb's but combined with the lower cam change the car is a lot more eager. I've got an ITG maxogen with a larini sport so the H111 map should take a bit of advantage of this. Realistically it's all very subjective but my car certainly feels a lot better on track.

I suspect the CN kit is much the same, the H111 which is about 200hp needs a new manifold as well and the Sinclaires kit is a complete rework of the ECU.

[djroadboy]

Mr LoTo said:

Really Dan!

I would be interested to see that dyno plot!

Here you go. It was very noticeable when driving the car. It actually felt like a fault.

Dan

[Mr LoTo]

Thanks Dan.

The drop off looks dramatic! Do you have any normal dyno plots against which to compare? How did the owner of the car feel about it? Assuming he wasn't happy did he take any action to correct it?

I guess the only way to directly compare would be to get my car on the dyno, or conduct a back to back test drive with a couple of cars and see the difference. Would be interested to find out! Whilst I am more than happy with my car I'm always interested to make it go better!!!

[djroadboy]

I don't have a standard plot unfortunately. Hopefully I will have one soon.

The owner did notice it but the car had the remap before he bought it.

Below is a before and after comparison plot of the work done to rectify it.

Dan

[Mr LoTo]

Yes - that certainly looks a lot more healthy! Strapping on a supercharger is always good!

In your original post you mentioned that all the Lotus remapped cars you had driven had a flat spot before the 2ond cam, was the car used for the dyno typical, or worse than the others? i.e. do you think that this car did have a fault resulting in the flat spot, or would all the Lotus remapped cars have the same graph in your opinion?