305 bhp conversion

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
1

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned this particular conversion yet. 305 bhp at 6800 rpm. 0-70 mph in 1st gear!!There does not seem to be any reason why it should not drop into an Exige. 260 bhp sounds quite tame in comparison. http://www.bbrgti.demon.co.uk/BBRStuff/KSeries/K300T.htm

2

well, I know this conversion. Mr adrian newey has got such an elise… see evo august 99… erm… the price tag is 100’000pounds…any other question?

3

I have actually spoken to BBR since posting the above message. They tell me that the 365 bhp 'all up’conversion was there most expensive at �65k.They are forwarding me more details, but indicated the 305 bhp conversion without their ‘long first’ gearbox or LS differential is in the �12k region and takes 2 months. I’ll report when I have more details.

4

hey, that sounds more promising…

5

Interesting stuff indeed !I wonder how many cars they have running that level of tune, and how long those cars have been running.

6

To quote the man ‘nobody has lunched one of our conversions yet’ and ‘Adrian’s car is still eating up the miles’.His only proviso for longevity is ‘warm the engine for about 7 miles’ and cool it for about two before shutdown. They also do a two stage turbo, where you get an additional 60 bhp at the flick of a switch after a half second lag.

7

Did you say Turbo as in “I’m accelerating out of a bend, the turbo has now cut-in suddenly and now I’m spinning into the armco” kind of turbo ?Shame they don’t use a supercharger.

8

david, I couldn’t have put it better. That is exactly me fear with any turbos. the supercharger must be superior to that any time.

9

The man told me that the days of a turbo ‘suddenly’ kicking in have gone and that boost is smooth and progressive. I gather there is a measure of software control. I am not defending super v turbo, in fact I don’t have a corner to defend, I am just looking at the alternatives. In fact I’ll ask the man to have a look at this BBS and maybe give us the benefit of his knowledge.

10

no ken, that’s great. one should always look for any alternatives specially when spending 12 grand or even more. would be great if you could convince your source to have a look at this panel. this is what makes everything more interesting to get to know different ideas and oppinions. keep 'em coming…I’m really looking forward on david’s comments and advice after having his conversion done.

11

do they have a demonstrator…or a customer that is willing to share his/her experience?

12

Like the man said it was tested in the Aug 1999 EVO. The one tested belongs to Adrian Newey the Chief Designer of the F1 Maclaren (same power/weight ratio as the F1) and he seems happy with it.I suggest you have a look at their website and check their pedigree.

13

When you have that level of power from a Turbo�d car you get to know the lag and use him as you friend. Whilst super chargers are nice, smooth and progressive (tame) the turbo will put the power down hard when you have the grip and after all get your excige cookin� at around gas mark 6000rpm on a bend and if you aren�t careful your doin� 70�s break dance moves anyway. Imagine having a **** load of torque from 3500rpm and the oh my god factor at 5000rpm. What I�m trying to say is it fills the gaps and who drives below 3500 rpm anyway. On the subject of grip I have just had 4 new tyres fitted to my Celica (hack car) to enable it to pass the MOT! I had cheapies fitted and wow. They are the softest tyres for a road car I have ever used. 0-80 degrees in two seconds flat and as they make tyres to fit the little beastie I recon I�m gone melt a set for the laugh and see how she sticks. Will keep you informed. Kee.

14

I’m with David and Bruno on this one. Although I loved my Esprits when I had them, I am much happier with a normally aspirated engine. I have many interesting memories of trying to blast away from islands by flooring the throttle at the exit before the one I’m trying to use, hoping the boost will arrive at just the right time. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. (Sometimes I spun it [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image] ) The V8 Esprit is much better in this respect, but I suppose that’s because it has two turbos, and it’s no so highly tuned.I also prefer having to really work the engine hard to get the best from it.

15

Strictly speaking you are not with David and Bruno, because you prefer normally aspirated and they have staked their flags with superchargers. As I have already pointed out, I am not an advocat of turbo-chargers, but I prefer to examine alternatives. I daresay that your experiences with turbo’s is lets say ‘mixed’. I won’t argue with that, but most technologies have improved and I am sure that a ten year old turbo technology on a ten year old engine would be somewhat different to today’s offerings, especially if you take into account that software ie mapping has matured considerably during the last decade.Everybody seems to be knocking a specific configuration without having a great deal of knowledge of that specific configuration.My position is that if Maclarens Chief Designer is content to drive around with that hardware (and continues to do so after two years) then it has got to be worth looking at. I personally hope that David will be happy with his choice (supercharging) and I look forward to his views and experiences. I am also sure if it is a disappointment he will tell us so.I will also see what BBR have to offer and in due course make my choice.

16

By the way, does anybody have a copy of the Aug 99 EVO review. If so could they perhaps give us a summary of the article??

17

erm… actually, I’m still in favour of normally aspirated engines as I have stated in this panel before but on the other hand, like the massive torque improvement on a supercharger. so, I will decide what to do after david’s comments and all that. get my drift?

18

quote:Originally posted by Ken Pegg:I personally hope that David will be happy with his choice (supercharging) and I look forward to his views and experiences. I am also sure if it is a disappointment he will tell us so.Very true Ken. I hadn’t heard of this twin-turbo arrangement when I ordered the supercharger upgrade, and I’m still open-minded either way about which is “superior”…One could argue that Adrian Newey didn’t have the choice of a supercharger back in August, so went for twin turbo, who knows…Either way, they’re going to be stonking cars [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]As you say though Ken, I will say if I’m not happy with the result mind.

19

I suspect you mean that A.Newey did not have a choice of supercharger from TurboTechnics in Aug 99. According to BBR they get the customers requirements and budget and off they go. At a guess I would say that somebody made a supercharger v turbo choice at the specification stage, afterall superchrgers have been around a lot longer.

20

quote:Originally posted by Ken Pegg:…I am sure that a ten year old turbo technology on a ten year old engine would be somewhat different to today’s offerings, especially if you take into account that software ie mapping has matured considerably during the last decade…You make some interesting points, Ken. But I’m not talking about ten year old cars. The Esprit S4S and V8 are fairly recent cars produced by a company with a fair bit of experience of producing turbo engines. To be honest, even a supercharger somehow doesn’t seem in keeping with the Exiges pure racing feel. Having said that, I’d love a go in a supercharged Exige, just to see if it can prove me wrong.