Should the Lotus Esprit V8 show turbo pressure on the boost gauge when you rev it up to 6500rpm in neutral ?

I have noticed the boost starts building when in 4th , 5th gear at Wide Open Throttle at about 3000 rpm... and gets to maximum boost around 0.6 bar at about 4000 rpm...

No - you won’t normally see any boost in neutral 

@Barrykearley and now another turbo boost question..

My car is 2001 Esprit V8.. I recently rebuilt the engine with CP forged pistons.. Replacet oil pump, water pump.. Did top end rebuilt with new guides etc etc

I have straight pipes, no catalysts, with K&N Air filter..

I've already done 2500 miles since the rebuild...

And now I want to increase boost... 

Can I simply install an electronic boost controller ?? Or do I need to do more with ECU and fuel injectors etc etc ?

Thanks !!

It’s a V8 chap - I’m the wrong man to ask. I’d be too afraid of the collection of parts and oil on the road when it goes wrong. @mike_sekinger is your man 👍

Which ECU calibration do you have?  If you are only developing higher boost in 4th and 5th, then I would imagine that you have a stock V8 calibration.

Before you start thinking about higher boost, I would have your existing ECU flashed with the High Torque calibration from the Sport350 (also used in the Final Edition Esprits).  This will remove the boost limits in the lower gears. It will not develop any greater peak power but will provide you with a useable performance increase.  See how the car feels with that.

You should also check the calibration of your wastegate actuators, as peak boost in 4th and 5th should be approx 0.7bar if all is functioning properly.

After that, if you still find yourself wanting more power the you should probably sign-up for the twin chargecooler bulk-purchase from ProAlloy.  Even without increasing the boost, you will have some noticeable performance increases by cooling the charge.

 

I found this video which explains very well manual vs electronic boost controller..

I guess I have the stock V8 ECU, since it develops maximum boost at 4th-5th gear..

Unfortunately for the time being, I've maxed out my budget for more car parts... so I cannot get the chargecooler kit..

By the way, since my Esprit already has an issue on warm greek summer weather (over 27 degrees, it gets hot...) and I have installed an on/off switch for the radiator fans, wouldn't installing a second radiator for the chargecooler worsen the situation up front ?

 

I would re-iterate the suggestion to get your ECU re-flashed with the high-torque code as a first step.

What main coolant radiator do you have installed - stock 2-row or a larger core uprated one?  With a decent main coolant radiator, you should have no issues installing a chargecooler radiator up-front.

If you are really anxious, then you should forget any ideas about increasing boost pressure that will increase you inlet temperature and just place more stress on the coolant system.

 

@mike_sekinger I think you are right about going for the CPU high torque upgrade..

I checked the pricing.. It's 350 Euro DIY for just the chip or 540 Euro for ECU full service complete..

I talked to my mechanic and asked him if I just install a manual ball bearing boost controller that opens at 0.5-0.6 bar, wouldn't this solve the problem of the wastegate opening at low boost pressure 0.35 at 1-2-3 gear ??

He said that if I installed this nothing would happen, the ECU would see the increased boost and would cut fuel to compensate... Do you agree ?

 

You can get it from me for a fraction of that.  Genuine Lotus code, flashed, not inserted chips.  Send the ECU to me and I will sort it out for you.

Don't install a manual boost controller.  The ECU won't cut fuel, but you want your ECU to control the boost with the boost solenoid.

My car is 2001 Esprit V8 US spec and was imported in the UK by previous owner..

As I was looking at the documents he gave with the car, I came up with this invoice from 2009..

He install a custom exhaust and cars (which I replaced both with straight pipes) and did some ECU remap..

I have no idea what this ECU remap is, but it is definitely not the 350 Sport mapping..

Any idea ? Does anyone know this company ?

They look like a pure exhaust company.  I have my doubts that any ECU remapping will have been done on the Lotus ECU.

Funny story.. While looking at old invoices, I found on facebook the previous owner of my car..

Here are photos of my car when it lived in the UK... maybe some of you knew previous owner or my car..

 

 

2 hours ago, mike_sekinger said:

They look like a pure exhaust company.  I have my doubts that any ECU remapping will have been done on the Lotus ECU.

Oh yes 👍

these topics are always interesting. 😋