MD355

My 2001 Esprit V8 seems to empty its battery when left parked for 2-3 days. Therefore, I installed a power switch on the battery and after each drive when I park it in the garage I switch the battery off... The other day I noticed that when I switch the engine off and remove the key, the two power window switches remain lit... I think this should not be the case. When the key is removed, the light on the power window switches should be off.. Do you think this is one of the reasons my battery runs down? Thanks !

Hi to all, I've noticed that my car has an EGR system as it is 2001 US Esprit V8 car, imported to Europe. Four years ago my friend Mike helped me upgrade my ECU to Sport 350 as the torque curve is much better this way. I believe the ECU upgrade was a Sport 350 EURO version, so does this mean that the EGR is deactivated ? Do you think it is a good idea to remove the EGR ? If so any instructions to tell my mechanic are welcome... Thanks ! Makis

I have a 2001 Esprit V8 imported from the USA and it has the SAI system. I have done an engine rebuild and a number of upgrades such as new CP Carillo forged pistons, rebuild T25 turbos, K&N air filters, cat delete and straight pipes, ECU upgrade to Sport 350, and I was thinking about removing the SAI system. From what I understand it is mainly there to reduce emissions, and my guess is that it might hurt performance. Is it good to removed it ? How easy is it and what is the removal procedure? Thanks !

I took my car for the annual state inspection and while looking from under the car with the engine running, I notice that only 2 out of 3 fans were working... I told my mechanic and he thinks maybe the third (right side one) radiator is for the AC... Is that the case or is my 3rd radiator fan not working ? Thanks!

It seems like the dream of getting a Chargecooler system for my Esprit V8 is fading.. So maybe if someone can provide me with some dimensions/ post a drawings here for the successful chargecooler kit that was installed without sacrificing luggage space I could shop around some intercooler shops/fabricators in my area if they can make it... Any assistance in terms of drawings would be helpful... Thanks !!

Thanks for your reply !! As the Esprit V8 is my first and only turbocharged car, I have noticed over the years of ownership that sometimes the turbos spool progressively and sometimes they seem to take forever to build boost (huge turbo lag). I read this article regarding the turbo from the 4-cylinder S4 and it explains how ball bearing turbos have very little resistance http://www.wcengineering.com/esprit/turbo.html Does this mean that if there was a way to upgrade the V8 turbos to ball bearing they would have much less turbo lag ? By the way, I am trying to understand what A/R means and how it makes a change on engine performance. I read that A/R is basically Area of turbo inlet / Radius of turbo (is this exhaust turbine radius ?) What is stock V8 Garrett T25 A/R ? I am using this thread to learn more about my car, so thanks for your patience...

Since we are on the Garrett T25 turbo subject, there is oil smoke from one of my turbos and probably the journal bearing of the cartridge will need repairing.. A friend told me to check if I can make the stock Garrett T25 turbos ball bearing... Is this possible ? Has anyone done it ? Is it worth it moneywise ? Would you do this upgrade in combination maybe of making the turbo hybrid (larger compressor side) ? Thanks !!

It would be cool if someone could provide suitable chargecoolers for sale for the Esprit V8... I am sure we could all build the piping and radiator to suit our cars..

I live in Athens, Greece. Finally I decided to go with Michelin Pilot Super Sport 285/35/18 rear and Michelin Pilot Sport 5 245/40/17 for front.. I am very satisfied...

So update, my mechanic is back from vacation.. I explained to him the symptoms, smoke when warm and wet right hand side exhaust.. He ask me if the liquid on the exhaust it was oily. I told him that it was more watery rather then oily, so he told him it could be unburnt fuel... It makes sense since it was warm at night when I drove my car around 28-30 degrees Celsius, so the ECU could be injecting fuel to cool down the car (my guess).. With regards to the smoke, it could be oil or water steam.. It is difficult to say as I look at it when standing at traffic light and engine warm from the lights of the car behind me.. Otherwise he told me the turbo is leaking oil again.. I will keep you posted..

Hi Mike !! Thanks for your reply ! The coolant loss is just from topping up.. I had a custom metal header tank built with a screw cap and replaced the standard old plastic coolant tank. It is connected to the standard overflow tank in the rear right wheel well... Currently I don't have cats installed.. Instead I have the PNM silenced decat pipes and no muffler, instead PNM straight pipes (I believe they are 2.5 inches / 63mm) and exit on the right and left side (standard Esprit V8 locations, rather than later center models) When I first rebuilt the Garrett T25 turbos, the right one was smoking.. So when I took it back to my mechanic he took the defective turbo back and replaced the whole core... He showed be the defective part that allowed oil to seep in the turbo (it looked it a small metallic part like a coin with a part missing and he called it turbo thrust bearing).. The smoke when away for 2 years.. and now it is back..

My 2001 Esprit V8 had a complete engine rebuild, both bottom end with forged pistons and top end with new valve guides and full turbo rebuild in 2019. Ever since my car has been performing very well and has had about 4000km. In the last couple of months in has had a small coolant consumption, about 200 ml per month. And in the last two weeks the right hand exhaust sometimes is producing some light color/blue smoke. Yesterday when I parked my car I noticed the right hand exhaust was wet with some black burnt oil (I think). Could it be the turbo leaking oil or something from the engine ? How can I check ? Thanks

Sorry my typo mistake. I meant 285/35/18 rear The front is 17. So again what scenario of the 3 do you prefer ? 1) Rear 285/35/18 Michelin Super Sport , Front 245/40/17 Michelin Sport 5 2) Rear 285/35/18 Michelin Super Sport , Front 235/40/17 Yokohama Advan Fleva V701 235/40/17 3) Rear 285/35/18 Michelin Super Sport , Front P Zero Asimmetrico 235/40/17 (P.S. the question is about the front, because the rear is brand new I already changed)

Thank you for your input ! So between the following 2 scenarios which one do your recommend : 1) Rear 285/35/17 Michelin Super Sport , Front 245/40/17 Michelin Sport 5 2) Rear 285/35/17 Michelin Super Sport , Front 235/40/17 Yokohama Advan Fleva V701 235/40/17 3) Rear 285/35/17 Michelin Super Sport , Front P Zero Asimmetrico 235/40/17 Thanks !

The time has come to replace front tires on my 2001 Lotus Esprit V8 with Saturn OZ wheels. Two years ago I put Michelin Pilot Super Sport 285/35/18 on the rear. Excellent tires. Now I checked and I cannot find Pilot Super Sport or Pilot Sport 4S in 235/40/17 size. I did find Pilot Sport 5 in 245/40/17. 1) Is it ok to go to wider front 245 instead of 235 ? Will there be any fender rubbing problems ? 2) Is the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 a good choice / combination for the rear Pilot Super Sport ? Thanks !!