240HP Honda Powered Exige

General General Lotus Talk
1

Hi PeskyYou asked for an update on my project, and I’m finally able to give you someting significant. Go to www.prototyperacing.com and click the K20A page. Enjoy!

2

That’s nothing short of amazing!The engine appears to be smaller than the original, am I right?

3

It’s not actually any smaller, it just fits into the engine bay much better. One really nice aspect is that since the exhaust isn’t routed under the engine, the crankshaft centerline is significantly lower than the Rover. I don’t have the actual figures yet, but this should result in a lower C.G. Always a good thing, as far as handling is concerned.

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Joe [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image] [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image] [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image]

5

can i have one please sir

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You most certainly may!Getting this into production is quite a task, and will take over a month do do, so give me a bit of time and I’ll ship you a kit as soon as I can. Owen expressed some interest in including my kits in his product line at Race-Speed, but hasn’t E-mailed lately. Owen, are you listening?

7

Joe,This looks great! Sounds comparible, but probably much more reliable, than a charged K-series.What kind of extra BHP are you expecting from the intake and exhaust and what’s a Ball Park on cost?Anybody know what the original weight distribution of an Exige is?Ta, Ian

8

Hi Ian,Most certainly MUCH more reliable than ANY Rover. I don’t make estimates on HP, but I’ll report what we see on the Dyno, and publish the graphs on my website. I can tell you that a fully tuned K20A is good for 320-330HP, naturally aspirated. This cylinder head really flows a lot of air. The cost of the kit won’t be finalised until the end of October, but should be only marginally higher than the B18C kit, which is $6,800. This particular engine is presently only available in Asia, but the new Civic Type R (K20A2)is nearly the same. Cams, a half point of compression, and the ECU are the only differences. I can do the ECU re-mapping for you, so the only parts needed would be the Type R cams.I have a distributor in Amsterdam, named PJ Slingerland, who was at the track with me last weekend, and will be doing this same conversion to his Elise very soon. I’ll be talking with Owen tomorrow about becoming my UK distributor, so you’ll be seeing this new engine option in the flesh pretty soon.Look about, and see how much used Civic Type R engines are bringing in the UK, and get back to me, if you would. I’m curious to know.

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Is the engine peaky compared to the standard 190 conv. and what revs does it make its power?Tony

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quote:Originally posted by Joe McCarthy:Look about, and see how much used Civic Type R engines are bringing in the UK, and get back to me, if you would. I’m curious to know.If you can find one, I reckon about �1000-�1500 for one about 12 months old.Check http://www.carparts-uk.com , although there aren’t any on there at the mo.Does your kit price include the cost for a new engine then, or just your bits? What about the labour?Cheers, Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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The HP peak is at 8,000, and the torque peak is at 7,000, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. One of the beauties of this i-VTEC system Honda is using on the K20A engine is that the intake cam is continually phase shifting by as much as 50 degrees to optimise torque output throughout the entire rev range. The result is a torque curve that is nearly flat. There is absolutely no comparison between this and anything you can get in a Rover. Having driven this wonderful little beast, I’m happy to report that it has GOBS of torque everywhere, even more than I expected. This system is the current state of the art, even Ferrari doesn’t get 120 HP per litre out of their production engines.

12

Ian,Are you sure? PJ paid 6,000 Euro for his in Holland with 3,000 Km on the clock. We’re not talking about the old B16A Civic here, this is the new one, just introduced in 2002. If you can get the K20A2 for 1,500 pounds, buy it in a heartbeat! The Kit is just that, an installation kit to enable you to install your K20A into your Elise, Exige,340R, and probably VX 220 as well. I’ll be talking with Owen later today or tomorrow about him selling kits and doing the installations, but any spanner savy guy can do it over a weekend. It’s not difficult, and is entirely bolt-on.Thanks for the link, I’ll keep an eye on it.

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quote:Originally posted by Joe McCarthy:Ian, Are you sure?No. I purely went on the cost for similar type stuff.I believe they work on supply and demand.Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

14

If the demand is that low in the UK, you’re lucky. These engines bring a premium price just about anywhere on the planet. Very highly sought after, simply due to their excellent reputation, and HP output. From what I gather, Honda doesn’t have the presence in Europe or the UK that they enjoy in other markets. Honda is huge here in the US. I only wish their styling wasn’t so bland.

15

Joe - Top ManGood luck getting kit production underway - looks v tasty & exciting project! - will be logging in to your website regularly over next few months to watch progress. Will your kit include everything, inc electronics, with only engine/gearbox to be sourced?

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All you’ll need is a suitable engine, trans, inner CV’s, intermediate shaft, engine wiring harness, and ECU, which is the way most of these engines are sold. You’ll probably get complete axles, but I supply new ones of much higher quality to fit the Lotus outboard CV, so only the inner CV is needed. One thing I’ve not had much success with is getting Stack to come up with a Tach that goes to 9,500 rpm. They’re supposedly working on a quote for me, but haven’t heard back from them lately. Need to rattle their cage I guess.

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quote:Originally posted by Joe McCarthy:The Kit is just that, an installation kit to enable you to install your K20A into your Elise, Exige,340R, and probably VX 220 as well.Joe, for converting the S2 Elise and VX220 Speedster… Do you keep the original Honda ECU OBD systems (and diagnostic connection) intact?These cars (as they are built after 01-01-2002) will need to be able to be read out using an OBD scanner on the yearly vehicle checks (depending on the country).Similar to the OBD-II setup in the USA…Bye, Arno.

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Joe,I for one always thought about a Honda engine in an Exige (Having owned an Integra Type R I can vouch for these amaaaazing engines) but you went and did it.I salute you.Phil GT

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Arno,Yes, we’re using the Honda ECU, and for those that require it we can include the OBDII diagnostic connector in the wiring.

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I have a feeling that this will be an expensive conversion here in the UK, just try and find a s/h 2.0L Civic Type R engine !! - probably be cheaper to ship one in from the US.I have asked a mate of mine to get the price of a new engine and trans out of curiosity, should be about 40% less than retail [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]-guess who he works for [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif[/image]Joe - As Honda do not have the same market here as the US, what are the costs of S/H engines and availability like over there ??I would imagine the kit will be about �5000 and would that include the US spec of cam so the re-programmed ECU would match them or would they be extra ? CheersPhil