Lotus official engine upgrade?

[Beady]

i thought i read on a post somewhere very recenlty (within the last 2 weeks) that an owner had been told by his dealer that lotus were releasing an official upgrade to circa 300 bhp in the next 3 months (at a price of course).

Did i completely imaginge this or can anyone shed any light on this.

I have gone back to all the posts and forums i typically read and cannot find anything...am i going mad ?

Edited April 21, 2010 by beady

[NedaSay]

That's probably cause the 2011 Evora will come with the Direct Injected GR 3.5 producing 315 bhp right off the box and Lotus propulsion will fiddle with it to get 330 bhp! I read somewhere on the interweb the same info but I cannot find it anywhere now!

I'm not in the know at all but upgrading to the DI tech seems logical to me provided the engine can assume transverse position in the engine bay! Not to piss off new owners I would also propose a factory upgrade to current owners!

Edited April 21, 2010 by NedaSay

[S7 EXG]

no, you're not going mad- it was an owner on pistonheads I think saying 30bhp upgrade (ecu reflash) and at the time of their post - about a month ago - reckoned £500. They stated their dealer had told them about it. I'd stayed quiet on the topic just as I was going to ask my dealer nearer the time.

from p'heads evora forum:

I had a new R8 two years ago, and now have an Evora. In between I went for family car (Jag XF) +Europa as an experiment, but now it is my daily driver, as I was spending too much time in the more boring option of the two!

My opinion - I agree completely with your issues, (and you could add lack of keyless go, heated screen, and of course cupholders etc!) but on the whole I am much happier in Evora than Audi. I never felt the Audi was spot-on for anything. On the road, you could use a fraction of its performance, and on the track it was great, but not very exciting. By contrast, Evora makes you feel like you are driving it all the time - depends if that's what you want. If you feel like it, back end comes out on demand at any wet roundabout ,but is entirely predictable. Otherwise it has fantastic grip, and much better damping and ride/handling compromise than R8, or any other car I've driven.

On the dull side, fuel consumption is probably on average 8mpg better, I have often had 3 of my 4 kids in it, and I don't feel like a clown driving round town at 5mph in a "supercar" with fairy lights on! (maybe that's not how others would see it...)

The aircon is a problem, reminds me of the asthmatic breathing through a straw a la Clarkson, but I've just had it "re-flashed" at dealer and that improves things. The trick seems to be aircon on for cooling, aircon off for heat. The gearing is definitely too long, and I'd go for CR box as an option. Sports exhaust fitted 2 weeks ago, and it is very good - brings out the well-tuned sound without being too noisy or obtrusive; should have been standard.

Performance wise, bit of a lack of torque and low rev pick-up, but my dealer (car, not coke...), tells me that they expect to have an ECU map in next 90 days which will fix that and increase power to nearer 300bhp - about £500. I would say that is about right, and NA at 300bhp would negate any need for supercharged version in 18months for me.

I had an RS4 before R8, and you can't fault Audi build, comfort, satnav (esp in comparison to Lotus!) etc, but Lotus is first car I've had in a long time that you look forward to driving anywhere, for any reason. Its up there with 205gti I had 25years ago in terms of "user satisfaction"!

The only car I'd rather have right now is a face-lifted Evora with the issues sorted! On the whole though, they are minor, but it does depend on your mindset, and why you are buying car. I would go for one of the (realtively) cheap launch editions sitting in dealers - they are now well sub-50k, and I'm sure that in a couple of years the "fully-loaded" versions will be easiest to resell. Only downside is no CR box.

Unless to re-sell for cash, I would not swap my Evora for a new R8, and I've had both.

Edited April 21, 2010 by S7 EXG

[ads_green]

The DI engine didn't originally fit - it's designed for front engine/rwd mounted longitudualy and as such it's quite a wide engine.

Unless Lotus have modified the engine bay it's not going to happen. Also, I wouldn't say a new engine is an obvious upgrade for current owners to get 10% more power

[NedaSay]

:question:Uh, The GR-FE was supposed to received DI. Toyota mentioned it a while back. All new high spec Toyota engines will have DI! the GR FZE did fit, sideways, in the engine bay, but there was no way to get the tranny with it since it had to be mounted longitudinally. However the new gen GR-FE is transverse and can be accommodated with its tranny in the Evora engine bay! It's the same engine block but the injectors have received a make over...

Still with an extra 30bhp just out the ECU the Evora will send the Cayman RS back to the drawing board! Now, New ECU mapping and redesigned exhaust exhaust should get it near 320 BHP aftermarket without a supercharger! With the Supercharger and Cosworth fiddlings the Future SC should have no problem topping 400 bhp!

Edited April 22, 2010 by NedaSay

[footsoldier]

It was me on Pistonheads, and that's pretty much what I was told.

It wasn't an "official" upgrade (ie factory), but one which dealer is working on with local expert which will be warranty friendly. I will be talking to them in next few days, and will let you know if any more detail.

[ads_green]

The evora isn't going to get a new engine less than a year after launch.

Sorry but I can't help but feel that this is dreaming...

[NedaSay]

I agree with you ads_green, I don't think it would be intelligent to change the engine just a year after a launch.Most owners would get mad!

Then again if you do it you better have something in store for them like a mini engine upgrade. Think Apple and their iphones: the transition from iphone to iphone 3G! I know, automobiles are more expansive than Steve Jobs gadgets and it is a pretty terrible comparison.

However the 3.5 GR-FE will evolve just like the 1.8 engine. They will both have new upgraded versions soon and very soon for the GR-FE. When Toyota upgrades Lotus will have to upgrade to! What do you think?

Now a dealer upgrade I could understand.

By the way, what are Sector 111 and Hangar 111 waiting for?

Edited April 22, 2010 by NedaSay

[anubis1]

As from what I heard, there is no official upgrade in the pipeline till now. Anyhow... I drove now 12000 KM, some thousands on the germand highway and I did not miss some horsepower. The car runns like hell and the combination of handling, grip and speed is fantastic. Unfortunately I killed a duck at 180 KM/h and the front part is damaged now. But this can happen. (the duck had no chance...) A.

[Myx]

/subscribe

Still waiting to see when this dealership 'upgrade' will be coming out. Just marking this thread for me to come back to later.

[Captain]

Hi,

Same information from my dealer, he says they are working on a ECU reflash. Apparently he drove a "reflashed" Evora and it has much more torque and approximately 300hp. But the torque is the most impressive thing.

I don't know what would be their intentions about orders on new Evoras (300 hp standard or an option to tick?).

[Myfavedave]

Interesting... I would imagine they would want to eek every penny out of a sale, so perhaps it will come as part of a 'supersport' pack (or insert alternative name!)

[Justin182]

I'm down to my Lotus Dealer on Friday, I will ask then

[ads_green]

Hmmm. I'm not so sure.

20 odd bhp can be found by mapping a boosted car but if there really was a magic mapping that made 300bhp with no other changes then the Toyota factory supercharged car with 320bhp must have been throwing the horses away and the stock mapping by Toyota/Lotus was shocking. I don't think either of these points are true.

I hate to say it but given that the biggest complaint against the evora is the apparent lack of power then saying something like "oh a map will fix that" just seems a bit... easy for my liking.

Dont get me wrong I'd like it to be true but I remember talking to some senior lotus engineers at a mag photoshot and they were adamant that for an N/A engine there's not much scope for big number improvements unless you carefully map each specific engine individually and even then the gains are not what you'd call "large".

[Myfavedave]

I spoke to Jamie at Bell & Colvill today, not specifically about this, but he did tell me that the Evora has been remapped to lower emissions. New figures are:

Standard gearbox: 199g/km

Sports box: 215g/km

Great that the sports box is still in the low tax bracket and the standard box is even cheaper, I will try and find out if the power output is the same...

[jkr]

300hp Evora: komo-tec

Our EV300-kit contains:

-stainless exhaust manifolds

-stainless exhaust system (with double 85mm tailpipes)

-K&N high flow-airfilter

-upgraded engine management (ignition- and injection-maps)

-fitting

-TÜV-approval

price: 3990€

And: No, I'm not related to them...

[Bibs]

I've heard nothing at all about an official engine upgrade presently. Also, €4k seems steep for a manifold/exhaust, k&n and remapped chip, an invalidated warranty and 24bhp!

[Myfavedave]

That's supercharger money surely!

[Senior]

That's supercharger money surely!

I reckon when it is available Lotus will want the best part of £8-£9k for SC

[Myfavedave]

It's only about £4k for a Lotus supercharger on an Elise R (aftermarket), so surely it won't be double that for the Evora?

[Captain]

Hope so! 4k for 25bhp seems pretty steep for me too. Not interested at all.

[Justin182]

300hp Evora: komo-tec

Our EV300-kit contains:

-stainless exhaust manifolds

-stainless exhaust system (with double 85mm tailpipes)

-K&N high flow-airfilter

-upgraded engine management (ignition- and injection-maps)

-fitting

-TÜV-approval

price: 3990€

And: No, I'm not related to them...

How MUCH!

I asked Lotus on friday about the 'upgrade' and its all just rumours I'm afraid just now.

The MY11 Evora may have a better map on it though

[RJB]

Oh dear - can feel temptation again - it's only a few hours from where I am working now..... concentrate, don't give in to the temptaion......

[Al]

There was another thread a couple of months ago that must have been in the Evora Chat section that is now lost in the big mush & I cannot easily find it to add to.

That thread was also talking about power upgrades and such like. I hinted then in early August that I knew something about an upgrade that was coming but couldn't talk about it as it had been given to me in confidence. It should have given something around the 300BHP mark so part way in cost and power of a standard and a supercharged. However I had been sworn to secrecy and couldn't say much. Well since then we have had the details about the S model, apart from price, or at least I haven't yet seen an offical price. We have had the 'New Lotus' era unveiling as well. So I was asking my contact if the upgrade was any more public and the time line.

Well there isn't much more news but the upgrade was a remapped ECU, probably with new injectors and maybe some other minor tweaking and it should give just over 300 BHP. It would be dealer fittable and would not invalidate warranty. He again confirmed that the supercharger will not be back fittable. I know there is another big thead over on main section on that whole subject so no comment here. The timeline for this was hopeful for end of the year now as things had slipped a bit with all the new secret stuff that had been coming through the system. The more we talk about it and show keenness I suppose the more likely it is as well.

Has anybody else heard the same story? Next time in ask your dealers! It sounds very do-able as well as affordable for a moderate hike. In fact one of the earliest posts on this thread effectively says this very spec. The fact that it is back fittable in itself is a bonus right now it seems. Anybody care to guess cost of a dealer fit of such like? I have no ideas or info from contact. I guess I'd like it to be <1K but is that dreaming?

[Myfavedave]

I'm hoping it will come already bolted in to my car when it arrives in November!

Now THAT is wishful thinking!