dodge1979

I did mine with the box out, without any special tool which the manual says to use. Im guessing they would be more tricky in situ..maybe the tool makes it easier in that situation. Oh, something you may be aware of but hasnt been mentioned on here yet, if you do do bush/suspension work with whatever choice of bushes or shocks..you must have the geometry set correctly. As the suspension is shimed at the front and rear corners to achieve its correct alignment its essential after this sort of work. Be aware that there are places that can do alignment and those that say they can. get recomendations from members on the forum..people have had good and bad experiences..... Doing bushes a couple at a time isnt ideal really. The best bet is to plan a few weeks of not using the car and tackle the job head on, if your doing it yourself. Another point to note, if your doing the bushes change the rear trailing arm mounting bush. These are a prone to becoming weak and allowing the arm to move forward under hard acceleration. I would change these as a matter of course regardless of how good you may think they are. You can go for the uprated rubber version, or there is a poly version too.

I did email the guy asking how it fits...no answer as yet!

I believe your front wheel bearings are different to the ones posted on that cross reference for the se..i might be wrong but double check..

Id.disagree with saying the poly bushes will make.it crash around..i as many, have them fitted and think the ride quality is great. Im.running standard suspension with them. Your always going to feel a.hole in the road or such like, but the poly.bushes are amust have really.good start on fixing the niggly items..these things make the car so much better all over! The mirrors are hard to source really at a decent price...

Welcome to.the club! To quickly answer...everything is within the scope of a mechanicaly competent owner. Bushes can be a pain, but with a press the job is easier. Front wheel bearings can be tightened. Rears are not..theyre replaced. Not expensive about 30-40 quid a bearing. The rears bolt on the fronts Are pressed in. Various leaks etc are not uncommon best to replace any hose connectors and clamps with a stainless type. Gearbox seals can be done without any special tools...but make sure you read the workshop manual beforehand....the rear hubs are a particular item that requires patience and finesse to not damage when doing any work involving their removal etc...basically the lower stud that bolts throught them, the lower arm and the shock is guaranteed to be siezed requiring serious work to remove. Read up on www.lotusespritworld.com to gain insight into these jobs. Pipes going through tye chassis require the engine to be out so they can be removed rearwards for replacement. With regards to.your exhaust...from its rusty condition the bracket looks like its been added after....im not really up on v8s so couldnt say for sure..other than that wheres your number plate!!!!! Regards, Darren Oh, headlights tend to do that when the battery has been flat or.off...maybe theres a.bad.earth or.connection there...and wing mirrors.are rare and expensive!

I see your point derek. Yes it was using the same takeoff to measure the boost. Obviously the stock ecu can only read up to 1bar, however the dyno can read far higher and more accurately. My boost was at 1.1bar. Now to explain, before I bought the car it had been fitted with a brand new turbo/actuator assembly at a lotus dealer. The car then travelled a total of 200 miles or so before being laid up for some time prior to sale. So the was not altered by myself at all. This has been checked for its correct functioning and as the ecu thinks its an s4s, the boost will be slightly higher than standard s4. The chances are its been set to 1bar by the dealership as accurate as they can, but only with a dyno this accurate will you confirm its true figure. The use of gears 1,2,3 are only for warming up the engine and running down. Forth is used from its lowest rev range right up to the limiter to gain the data. No pre revving or overboost function is used to gain a modified or inaccurate data log. I probably should add with regards to having tested the functioning of the actuator, I did this as per the workshop manual and found it to be as per spec, correct pressure for opening and correct adjustment of the actuator rod..

Well, Im not an expert in Dyno's and in honesty probably not the best person to ask about them..this thread is more so for the results achieved on them. So Derek, I can only give a simple answer Im afraid without asking the technical people themselves. In terms of MAP, I know that they attached a takeoff to the system and their sensors read far beyond the capabilities of the unit fitted to our cars..With regards to a standing start overboost...as far as I was aware the correct method for achieving power runs is in fourth gear only...which wouldnt allow a standing start power run? Maybe Ive misunderstood your question though. With regards to datalogging, I didnt take one if your refering to an espritmon type log. It would have been a nice comparison or an additional set of data...however Im having no luck with the program on my laptop if Im honest. Basically the laptop is poop and the usb ports seem to have their on and off days. Poor excuse but its the truth! If Ive not answered these correctly or misunderstood Ill try for a better answer...this is my first experience on a dyno so Im learning here aswell! Luke luke! No I agree with your comments earlier...I think claims of super plug in chips and wow yove got 400bhp are rubbish. At best their an engine destroyer. A true way to tune and improve is not to wack up the boost, throw more fuel down the ports and say wow. Everything in the system needs to be finely tuned to work in harmony with everything else...an engine is a fine balancing act to get it working wonderfully. What I meant by myths was this regarding the chips, but also some claims that for example, exhausts will give you extra 20bhp (for example, not neccassarily an actual claim)...Yes Im still running a CAT, albeit a freeflow sports unit, so that is a restricition in the system, but reduced considerably over the standard unit. The point is that these items only come in to true effect when balanced in conjunction with other items...its not a simple case of listing the possible bhp gains, adding them up and thats your total...unfortunately its still a belief that thats the case with some folk ( particularly in the badly bodykitted youngster fraternity!) It is, unfortunately, a sore area for a lot of people. A lot of money and time is spent on these cars and sometimes the hype is far greater than the results, but you need to keep an open mind on these things. To expect big numbers for big spend doesnt equate. It can cost a hell of a lot for only a few bhp...but who would want to spend £500 to £1000, say, to only gain 5-8bhp? As an example..but if you thought you would be getting 20-30bhp youd be feeling better about yourself....and if the car feels quicker, then it must be right...right? In honesty, how many people have spent their hard earned cash, done some improvements, noticed a difference in the way the car performs and has left it at that...Im sure most have. The unfortunate truth is that they may not be getting the full benefit of that upgrade because its not neccassarily working in union with other parts of the system. This they wont know because they wont need to spend £300 on a few hours of dyno time to tell them that the expected 40bhp increase they should be getting is correct. Or so they think. So, I did unfortunately preempt this to be a bit of a risky thread as previous dips into dyno talk has shown in the past. Its an area that, as mentioned before, has a vast range of types of dyno, qualified and un qualified operators, experienced and ham fisted tuners...big number chasers and smooth driveability persuers...we all like our cars the way we like them. I just like to be honest with mine....From the start I said I would be happy if I could make 300bhp, and Im very nearly there. No silly chips, just proper old fashioned improvements. With regards to the dyno telling us what we want to hear...tut tut it doesnt. What I wanted to hear was that I had 300bhp and the smoothest running s4 around with no issues. However, I got the truth. That it was, as I feared, running incorrectly as the system was in some respects not working with the rest of the system in harmony. But because of this, I now have a much improved drive now. Yes there is still room for improvement, the few items I mentioned to do still. But I believe I have made more efficient the system that is in place, without chasing silly figures. The true test is to gather several Esprits and make a day of it. Im sure that there would be some suprises...both good and bad...

dyno3.pdf Alex, Im sure prices will vary from company to company, but at Northampton its based upon an hourly rate. In this instance it was £90 per hour plus VAT, but whether the rates vary depending upon the level you want to go to I dont know.. Just to explain, on the first graph the red lines show the first run, as explained all over the place! The black lines are the much improved figures...

Ha ha thanks for that! Yes no messing around here! Now ive finished work for the day Ive got a bit more time to sit down and look at the data printouts I have from yesterday. Unfortunately I dont have all of them yet, Ill recieve a file containing them soon. I have a select before and after comparison..although the final 292bhp chart isnt amongst them, the 288bhp run beforehand with the faulty dumpvalve still connected is. As I mentioned, it was discovered to be leaking a tiny amount under boost and costing a couple of horses... Its interesting to see what is actually happening throughout the rev range as a brakedown is included. The standard S4 has a max bhp of 264 at 6500rpm and a max torque of 261 at 3900rpm. Now as we know its easy to get caught up with chasing maximum figures and a lot of people like to see bhp bhp bhp....well the real truth and benefit of these mods can be seen throughout the rev range in the data... With the setup Im running, im reaching peak bhp earlier on at 5758rpm whilst the torque at 3900rpm is 268 rising to 281 at 5200rpm. This clearly shows an excellent gain in mid to high range power and torque, reaching factory levels earlier in the rev range.. Also, as can be seen when I post the graphs, the curve on the power and torque is progressive and smooth throughout the range. Its these points that I believe a fair number of people will not realise is where your genuinly seeing the benefit and how it changes the way the engine runs.

Thanks for the valid points there luke and dave...as mentioned, I originally built my esprit with the view to making it more efficient..im not a number chaser, but I am realistic in what I believe cwn be improved upon. Firstly ill run through the mods ive made, in terms of the engine itself. First off is the well known ram air mod, coupled together with a k&n filter.then as the air passes through the standard s4 turbo(new) its then cooled by the.standard chargecooler unit but using an electric bosch pump and a custom built radiator in replacement of the standard unit. Mine is physically as big as cqn be fitted in the front of the car. Next the cooled air passes into the plenum, dump valve fitted between chargecooler and plenum nozzle, and into the.completely stock engine. No mods, porting or matching off faces/gaskets has been done. Fuel is supplied via larger injectors both primary and secondary. Pressure is controlled by an adjustable regulator in replacement of the.standard unit on the fuel rail, fuel is supplied using an uprated pump. The intake charge is ignited using standard grade original spark plugs set at factory recomended gap. Next, the exhaust gasses pass through the standard cast manifold, through the turbine, through a sports cat and out a free flow exhaust. All sensors are standard original.equipment, the ecu being the gm unit using a standard s4s chip, not.the.s4 chip. Cam timing is.original not 104/104 as some others run. This setup combines the widely regarded upgrades used by many qnd are all bolt on items. Youll.have to bear with me as I write in sections folks! As.mentioned, the rolling road at Northampton is a highly regarded setup throughout motorsport here in the uk. Its been used on two other esprits recently, one being the s300 built to factory spec which produced factory figures upon its dyno runs. My initial run up after warm up.showed a disappointing 265bhp. Which, for a 17year old car is.good and spot on original factory s4 power, however due to the mods mentioned i.did.expect to.see more. But this in a way was a good thing as it shows that simply bolting on items does not give instant power. My torque and.bhp graphs were shaky and full of.peaks and.dips throughout the rev range. My lamba readings were off the scale running rich, which I was aware of anyhow. So the first issue to look at was the overfuelling issue. This, however, turned into a fairly serious fault concearning the.secondary injectors. Basically, over time one has unseated itself and as such began to leak.fuel under pressure. This meant the plenum nozzle needed to be removed which showed the retaining plate for the secondary injectors was out of.shape enabling them to.move under extreme pressure..this was rectified and another power run was made. This showed a favorable gain of about 8bhp and a reduction in the over rich fuelling, enabling the lamba to come down to a readable scale. The next move was to adjust the pressure regulator to bring the fuelling down to a more correct adjustment. Whilst these adjustments were being made and tried, we had noticed what sounded to be a leak of.boost pressure on power runs...so the dump valve was removed and a blanking plug fitted to see if a weak spring in the bov was the cause. However, there was still an.audible leak of boost pressure but we had gained 2bhp! So the next step was to check all induction hoses, clamps and gaskets using a soapy solution. This instantly revealed a host of leaks from the.plenum gaskets (which were new), and the two red hoses attached to the turbo to chargecooler and cooler to plenum nozzle. It was found that one securing clip was fractionally loose, and the rest were secure but still allowing a fraction of.pressure out. All were tightened as much as possible and another power run made. This resulted in a hike of.about 20bhp to bring the power up to.292bhp! A fantastic result, but more importantly the curves on the graphs for.torque and power became very smooth with no peaks or dips at all. This showing that throughout the rev range the engine was performing very well indeed. Final checks were made on the dump valve which resulted in it showing up to.have a weak spring and as such was leaking a fraction of boost. Enough to loose 4bhp. Final.adjustments were made to the fuel pressure and the final result was a.smooth, very well balanced power curve showing a true 292bhp. Now, in addition to the work carried out yesterday, it has highlighted a few issues that I am sure other owners would.not.be aware of. The use of different injectors requires the fuelling pressure to be adjusted to suit, the fact that even with new gaskets and hose.clips.its still possible to leak boost and that a dump valve could be weak and.you would never know. All these simple things can only be highlighted and.corrected with the use of a.dyno to achieve maximum benefit from any changes away from standard spec...with regards to my own car, my next steps are to replace all.hose.clamps with a higher quality item, change the red hoses to new ones, and using a gasket sealant like wellseal seal all gaskets on the plenum and use it on the hoses as well to make.double sure.that they are perfectly sealed. Furthermore a new.dump valve will be purchased as im running the smaller turbo there is a real.chance of stalling it if driven hard. On the actual road, the car may well make another 2-3bhp again, due to the.ram air mod comming into function and the chargecooler would run slightly cooler from circulating air in the engine bay. These two things unfortunately dont happen on the rolling road and as such cant be tested. I do believe though that from the work carried.out this shows the realistic results of all the commonly approved mods made to our cars and how they can function correctly together to.give a better driving experience....or they can hinder the cars performance without you actually knowing it Ps ill post the graphs up tonight I hope!

Today saw my S4 on the rolling road at Northampton Motorsports...what a day. After Saturdays pre visit visit I was prepared for what happens! Ive been concerned about the fuel pressure for a while having fitted an adjustable regulator..so was keen to get it set properly throughout the rev range... That was my main aim for today, along with the power runs to see how the various mods and tweaks actually perform in a real enviroment...so to de-myth the hype over mods and improvements I hope you guys will read and take onboard the post I write with understanding..particularly in the view that not all that is thought is correct in terms of tuning and power gains. I must clarify that my whole aim for the rebuild of my esprit was to make more efficient the systems that the esprit uses...chargecooler, injection, ecu and exhaust. I wasnt interested in chasing big numbers, just smoothing out what is already a fantastic car, regardless of its restrictive systems etc..making the best of what we have..much like my thread on the delco braking system...getting it working to its best efficiency! Ill be giving a detailed rundown of what went on today hopefully along with some pics/data when I can upload them. There is a lot of what I would refer to as myth surrounding improving these cars, myth, unfounded claims and hopefulness are things to be clarified. I hope its of interest!

I tend to keep some diluted coolant, and a length of fuel hose and clips incase heaven forbid one of the plastic fuel lines cracks or anything...obviously youd need to notice this before driving! Zip ties essential to secure any loose items...other than that as mentioned these cars can be super reliable, so long as they are meticulously maintained correctly. Do things before they break, replace instead of repair!

1. Changes...SE Modified.. 2. Francesco +1...S300 #25 3. Dodge1979....the yellow terror

Oh it was grand! Yes im no longer a dyno virgin! Although there is one thing troubling me dave...you seem to have lost 178bhp since the last run? I mean..244bhp is a backwards step...try looking in the glove box for the missing horses :-P

A few of us popped down to Northampton Motorsports today to see Daves Esprit on the rolling road...gaining some tweaking after further modifications...Ill try and get the video up here...but for now heres a link which should show it on my Esprit facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Darrens-Lotus-Esprit-Restoration/158187830894475#!/pages/Darrens-Lotus-Esprit-Restoration/158187830894475 Just for fun to see the exhaust starting to glow

Excellent news! That means at least weve got a.couple of weeks to get the.numbers up...and I couldnt have gotten away from work this weekend anyhow! If there isnt much on that weekend...maybe the lake vyrnwy trip talked about last year?

Derek, good info there thanks..definately one to look over thoroughly. For the right money it could be sound, even with some immediate refurb...but negotiation is paramount...whilst the value of the esprit is climbing each year.you should still research and pay proper money for what is offered.

Spot on there ade....a wise man told me the other month that they did last one race....then they were too warped or microscopicly fractured to be of use...might have been the same wise man you know! If yours isnt causing issues.yet, maybe its.time to get it repaired or test. Crack tested to.see how bad it is and if its worth it...ive also heard, from several sources, that some of the aftermarket cast ones are not as good as original material...

Yes they supply the same original unit. There was another thread the other week regarding this. To sumarise, uve looked into getting the re cored, custome made and supplied from alternative suppliers....basically cost wise yoy may as well go sj. Theyre available and no more expensive.

Yes thats true, but to change hands at say, the first owner owns it for 2 or3 years..the next the same..then that leaves everyone else at a year ownership each. Im not saying it is a problem, just could be if it hasnt been looked after correctly. As its well known these cars cab cost its value in repairs and beyond if not correctly cherished...

264 bhp is correct...well with regards to the 11 owners, id be wanting ti know how long each owned it for...mine is a 95 s4 with 3 owners...but that might be a lucky find! If each owner had owned it for a short period, id be concearned that its because they couldnt afford the proper upkeep of the car and so proper maintenance has been infrequent. I know it says full history. However I wouldnt believe it until I saw it myself. For example the first esprit I went to see had a full comprehensive history...however there was a 7 year gap in it, admittedly it had covered only one or two thousand miles in that time but there was no reason or explanation as to where or what had been happening in that time. On the other flip side, mine came with meticulous dealer only history regardless of mileage everything was done as it should.however, I stripped and rebuilt it myself nut and bolt and corrected many bodges....by the main dealer. So it doesnt always mean what it should in my opinion. However, on the whole mine did still turn out to be a great example. So, if you know your way round the esprit well, check it thoroughly and dont believe the hype as always! There are always others available.... Ps, the indicator and light stalks are aftermarket as is the gear knob, and heater controls. Im always dubious of cars that have been tarted around with, unless you know who yas done it. I know these are silly things, but I prefer to see a history of money spent where it matters than on shiney stick on bits... A wise phrase is " not all that shines is good"...

Ok, its a secondary injector resistor module....if the resistors blown for some reason, then the ecu wont be recieving the correct signals at whatever voltage it requires, even when the circuit isnt demanding use surely?type of thing.... :s if it does turn out not to be that system, Ive got a spare vac solenoid for the ebv/throttle jack..they also throw the code up..forgot to mention that earlier when we talked.Ill bring it anyhow.

Not looking great....the webbing is important as the manifold expands and contracts a lot, and it needs to be kept in shape and supported as much as possible... with regards to stainless manifolds, I believe there are some not very good ones out there ( as with aftermarket replacement cast manifolds)..so do be carefull. The quality of the materials used in the metal is of paramount importance...and Im not sure all of them use the best. There are a few older threads about with reviews on their quality/longevity...do some research first! Just on my personal preference, until a well proven stainless manifold is about, Ill stick to the original..even though its heavy, prone to issues and is restrictive in its flow...Id rather wait and put good money on the best..

Ade, pm sent chap with info!

What exactly is the fault on you manifold? They can be repaired reliably. So long as you get the right guy doing it who understands the makeup of the material used originally...as I mentioned before, the.chap I used nickle welded it. But it was a hole not a crack...i think in terms of longevity as far as I know the "aftermarket" ones and some stainless arnt up to the job. But like anything, its down to how you use the car...