Forums Forums Enthusiast Forums A - Z Autowirral Superdavelotus : Lotus Esprit V8 GT twin turbo

Sold my Esprit S4s last week (still on my drive). I've bought a Lotus Esprit V8 GT twin turbo. It's a V reg in titatium with only 27K on the clock. It's had over £10K of engine rebuild which was an issue with the V8 including a new block and crank. This was done at 21K.
The colour isn't as bright as the last two cars I've had. A bit more stubtle.
The last car was a 2.2 single turbo. This one's a 3.5 V8 twin turbo. Power was restricted to 350BHP due to the Renault gearbox it uses.
I have plenty of mods to do on this car. I'll take my time as I have to keep this car for a few years. Last night I fitted clear side and front indicators, programmable wiper relay, relay to light up all 4 headlights on main beam and brighter bulbs.
I've only got one picture at the mo


It's got a different interior to the last car. It's also got a higher rear spoiler which has a built in stop light.
V8's also have twin exhausts. I will be taking the back box off and replacing with straight through pipes though not 100% sure yet. I've found a receipt with the car for over £500 for a sports exhaust so may keep it on.

Oh thats v nice Dave!

Just bought these off Ebay last week. They are alloy button covers.
I think the buttons are Peugeot ones though not sure.
Only cost me £21 for 7 button covers in satin finish

These are the clear indicators I fitted last night

Nice car matey

Cant wait to hear that V8 when you get the exhaust fitted

Sweet Dave lovin it.

Wow wonder how much more BHP that has on a Rolling Road....

You could end up with first and second place.

Like it dave
keep us up dated.

very nice, don't u think twin turbo is a bit greedy, can i have one

Stuy,

It sound nice at the mo. I'll have to do a before and after sound off. It now sounds like the car should have done. My last one always sounded a bit tinny!

the're only small T25 turbos so not that greedy!
Will plan to put bigger ones on but this car doesn't have an intercooler or chargecooler like my last one. This will lose boot space.

Iam looking at lighting up the engine bay through the oval vents. Got a tip off from a frien that you can buy Cathodes instead of neons for £5 for a pair on Ebay. Ebay Link


Problem is I need red, so I'll have a look and wait until they pop up. Only down side is that they aren't water resistance. Good side is that they drawn very little current.

Oh, forgot to mention the red leather seats. Pimp my ride!!!

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, love it man, V8 power all the way.

Thanks for the kind words

Lovely car Dave

Might have some red cathodes in the garage somewere, if i find them then your welcome to them

That's great! Let me know when you find them. thanks,

Dave, what can one say

I am dying to know what it cost but PM me the costs.

Would love to go out in it one day

Nice one , Welcome to the TWIN TURBO CLUB . I do think that we should do some work on it , as 350bhp is a bit poor don't u think ! !

If that aint a hint i dont know what is

Scooby,

Will take you out in it anytime. I will pm you with the cost but publically I can say that the new car cost exactly the same as I got for my old car.
I've just seen my old car go off the drive about 5 minutes ago. It was a sad day but Iam lovin' the new motor!!

Hi there,

It really easy to get 450-550 BHP from it. upto 500BHP on a standard engine. Problem is that I'll need £3K gearbox work before I can do this. So this will have to wait. Still though 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and 180MHP top end will keep me happy for a while...

looks fappin ace that mate, ill do yuo a deal you can take me out in that and ill take you for a spin in my gti?

Have you got it yet Gary? Did you sell your other one OK?

yep other ones sold and im going to view and hopefully buy on saturday but its in essex so abit far too go.

Latest pic with clear front & side indicators fitted

Is this rear spoiler high enough? It's higher than the roof!

Drooool Drooool Drooool

Loving it matey

Last Thursday I decided to sort out my driver's seat which has suffered from wear to the side bolster as you get in and out. This was the only thing wrong cosmetically with the interior. I used a product called Gliptone www.liquidleather.com
I've used them before and the results are amazing.
Here's my picture site for sad before and after shots

thats quality, how much filling will it do, just scuffs or little tears, does it come in one colour or do your order to your colour???

Hi there, you don't fill the cracks they are still there, just cover them over slightly. If you try and fill cracks and scuffs then it looks crap. Dye for 4 seats costs £18. They either have makes of cars in stock or if they haven't then you send them a smaple. I cut a small piece from under my seat, sent it on Friday. Dye came following Wednesday. Also I ordered some conditioner which makes it supple again. It also blends it all back in and give the leather smell back into it. All came to £25 inc postage. I then bought a hobby air brush from Halfords in Bidston for £20. this sound a bit expensive but if a few of you were doing it then you could share this.
My interior is like brand new now, saves a few hundred quid getting it recovered.

car looks really really good mate, ill have to have a chat with you at the next meet and have a closer look

Car looks v nice, spoiler looks high, but goes with the car.

I used shoe polish on my seats, seemed to do the job.

The spolier is a bit high but now I can see through the rear view mirror! On my last car the spoiler was a design fault, you couldn't see anything through the rear view mirror.
Also last spoiler was attached to body and getting access to the engine and boot was a nightmare! The new car's spoiler is attached to the tailgate and is out of the way when you access the boot.

Really nice that mate. can't wait to see that on the rolling road.

LOVELY CAR. U go dave

Thanks Peeps for the good comments! Bought an alloy bee sting aerial on Ebay the other day for only £2.49!! Had nothing to lose. The Ebay seller was recommended to me. There are others for only £0.99 but not sure whether you would end up receiving the goods click me

Just bought this last night. Decided on the Blitz mainly due to the price really 100 sheets. Iam only raising boost by a bit as gearbox won't take much more than standard.
Iam also going to buy a temperature sender and digital gauge from Maplin for 15 notes. This will tell me what my intake temperature is and it refreshes every second. As I increase by boost it will tell me how much the temperature is raised.

Will fit it at the weekend and order some green cotton filters and CAT bypass pipes.

good man dave at least your being sensible with your power increases so not to put too much strain on the rest of the car

Gary, Iam only going to take boost up from 0.65BAR (9.5PSI) to 0.75BAR (11PSI). The car's pulling 350BHP anyway which is plenty quick enough. The other good thing is that the stock boost solenoid bleeds air as the turbo is spooling up whereas the new one closes it off until boost in well in. This in theory should make less turbo lag. Whether I feel the difference is another matter.

Dave that's one sexy car mate Plans sound ace too, 500bhp

Just taken some pics of the alloy buttons and may boost controller fitted

Sweet Dave there looking neat

Thanks Webmaster!

those buttons look like the buttons found on my dash ????? lotus using 106 buttons or the other way round? interesting

Hi there, Lotus on Elise, Exige and Esprit 98 on use Peugeot buttons!You can buy these aluminium covers either to go round the outside for abbout £15 or half moon with dimples for around £20.
I have both sets. I'll show you at the next meet if I see you there.
Lotus are always on tight budgets so have to design their cars from a parts bin of other cars!

After a lot of thought decided to replace my alloys for these...


After fitting them though, Iam not convinced that they look any better. Will keep them on for a few weeks then decide what to do. Iam having my brake kit fitted any day now so this may make the wheels look better.

They look much better

Original wheels.

Which look better, new or original? You can read your post both ways!

Them new ones look the dogs swingers dave get a bit of a side on pic so we can see the dish on that back wheel

Ah sorry,

the new ones mate.

The originals just look "Original"

But the new ones make a big diffrence to me.

I like them

Adam,

Take a look here for more pics and side shots
http://community.webshots.com/user/superdavelotus
The rears REALLY step out!

Great stuff, you cant beat a nice deep dish on a wheel

they look swish, nice choice dave

Thanks Den and Adam.
Today Iam having a big disc upgrade. 323mm fronts and 321mm rears, drilled (by me!) and alloys anodoised bells. Should be ready tonight.
Iam skint now after this week!

Take some before and after shots

Here's the disc's Iam having fitted. They have been specially made just for the Esprit by my Lotus specialist. Iam the first to have them fitted as a development car. They will then sell them retail once it works. I get a good deal out of it!

Very nice ,Some nice calipers as well i hope !.

Some pics fitted...

look very sweet them mate

ive just had a brain wave, people might call me daft but i think them brembo's would look really good painted yellow (go with the lotus badge etc)

you noticed much difference?

there are gorgeous mate

set of the wheels a treat

Brakes are bedding in fine. Only been out for two short journeys so it'll take a while.
Next mod I think will be looking at lowering it by about 25mm. It's not much but I don't want to upset the handling and it's already scraping the bottom at fortcourts. I boycott certain petrol around wirral anyway because of this.
With this in mind is it worth lowering or will it be a pain in the arse?

If your already having problems with the ride height then dont drop it mate, the car must handle quite well as it is i guess ??

You have to keep some element of practicality otherwise it simply becomes a pain to drive and that wil take all the fun of driving it away from you.

Dont do it........

p.s. Brakes look sweet

Thanks for the advise Jay!

Hi all,
It's been a long time away from this forum but I hadn't done many mods to my Esprit. I've since fitted uprated Forge billet alloy wastegate actuators which have stonger springs. So hopefully will be able to pull ven more horses come next rolling road day!
My biggest mod so far was done yesterday by myself changing the rear end to the 2002-2004 round light spec Esprit. Did this on my driveway, a bit scary attacking the body with a dremel cutting away the lip above the bumper then big holes to house the round light. Took the panel to a local garage where I painted & laquered it myself (no real experience with painting). Fitted it and finished last night in the dark with no torch. Had to trip the security lights and run back to my car to see what I was doing. Didn't have a clue if the colour was righyt or not. Quite pleased with results!
Iam also going to fit a centre exit exhaust soon.










For more pictures see here

immense difference,esprits are really gorgeous cars and u really dont see many around,quite a rarity,ur's are the only ones ive ever seen stationary (even if the wheels were doing 100MPH in a garage) to have a good gawp at

thanks scoop. It's part of the reason why I bought it. They don't cost taht much to buy, thay can empty your pocket trying to run them properly though!
I've been pretty lucky since I've had this one. Iam on my third now, all have been reliable so far...

tell you what dave them new lights are fantastic mate make it look so much more modern!

Looks gorgeous dave, some fine work there mate!

got to say looks gud but looked gud before lol

Thanks,

I was debating for weeks even months before I decided to do it in the end. Had the lights for about 4 months from an Elise MK2. Bought back panel last week. I still like the old style lights which actually came off a Toyota 85 Corrolla GT. They did look eighties I have to say.
The round lights make it look more supercar as most have round lights.

Is it the UN1 transaxle in this? If so, why not go for a G40 unit from a 911. It can cope with over 500BHP and should fit with minor mods and a conversion bellhousing. Bellhousing is available from most V8 kitcar manufacturers.

Yes it is the UN1 (27) gearbox but there isn't enough room to put the Porsche gearbox as the exhaust is mounted directly behind it. Unless I made the exhaust differently.
So how much will a kit set me back?
There is an gearbox upgrade for the current UN1 gearbox which costs around £3.5K (which is a lot) but these are used in GT40 cars. There is also a 6 speed conversion but this is a dog box used only for racing.

For my next mod, I going to make a rear valance. My first idea is to go for centre exit exhaust with cheesegrate valance but Peco can't fit me in in time for when I go to the Lotus factory vist a week on Monday.



So I have plan B. This is redesign the cheesgrate valance so the exit pipes are either side to fit my current exhaust. Then at a later date I can get Peco to do a centre exit exhaust and I can fit the Lotus panel. In some ways I think I prefer the tailpipe to come out each side. I've drawn the stainless steel flat sheet on CAD where it's being cut out by a company in Birkenhead. Then I have to take it somewhere else to get it rolled and folded. What do you think?



If picture doesn't show then click here
Click here

Go for it, don't bother with the centre exit.

lights look ace in real life mate

car looks great as usual mate

Thanks eveyone! Saw Gary yesterday at work. Had the car with me so took him out to show him. Got the thumbs up, thanks Gary.

Looks verygood matey get yourself back to a meet havnt seen you or the car for a while.

I have to take the other picture off because someone was trying to download it to copy it, can you beleive it?
I've taken the dimensions off.

I'll try and come to a meet soon!



web page

that looks like the blue prints for a macdonalds beef burger. seriously though, very impressed. nice to see a proper job being done.

Had the valance stamped out but I can't find a company with rollers small enough to the radius I want. Here's a picture of the flat.

Hi all,

I decided to bend this up myself in 6mm increments using a power folder. I drew all the marking on the CAd and printed them 1:1. I stuck these onto the back of the flat plate to save time in marking the 18 bends I need to form the radius.
I've offered it to my car but the old valance is in the way but you get the idea.
So what do you think, yes, no?
I haven't bead blasted it yet as I don't know whether to fit it or not. If it looks crap then I'll go centre exit.

Your opinions please.

looks nice, but i think it would look better in a darker metel, also i think the fit around the exhaust could be a bit different to suit the exhausts, other than that though i think its the dogs b's mate !

Fianlly decided on centre exit as the tailpipes are much bigger.
Went to Peco to have the centre exit pipes made up. They did a really good job. Note the link pipe between the two, this is the secret weapon which give it a different exhaust note unlike two seperate pipes. The waves bounce of each other to give it a unique sound.

Wow that looks sweet...

And i guess it sounds it too ?

Thanks Mark,

Haven't been on for a while. The last mod I've done is a lower front spoiler. It's 50mm lower than the last one! Here's some pics. Was trying to make the last meet but with family commitments, it's hard to get to these. Will try again soon. Bought a new car which I plan to play with a bit.

As slick as ever

Verynice.

Thanks! I have just bought another car for the summer. A saab 9-3 Aero Convertible (new shape). Will post some pics when I get round to it. I want to upgrade power using the BSR chip upgrade and a few other bits. Will put a seperate post.
I also want to buy a Nissan 200SX S13 as this was my favourite shape out of the 200's. I remember when they first came out, I was only 18 and dreamed of owning one. They look better than the S14 IMO. A few years later I managed to buy a Sylvia turbo E reg but could never afford a 200SX.
There's not much more I can do to the Esprit without some serious money (gearbox upgrade £4K and chargecooling it £2K) to get 500BHP, so I want to use the 200SX as a 'driving to track and back again car'.

Goodlad.

Try sxoc and driftworks for the s13.

Prob best getting a 180sx though as they have the 2 ltr in them.