Hi,
after owning an Exige, i have now bought an Elise which i will upgrade the coming weeks, the engine has a ported and flowed head by Minister and is supported by a set of 633 with verniers, a set of Titan (VHPD) throttle bodies, cold airbox and the new Emerald K6 (basically the old K3 with some upgrades) will be fitted soon
Thing is though guessing i will stretch the engine to the limits with regards to the standard pistons, rods and crank, my question is, will i need to upgrade the crank (including forged pitons and rods) and would a used VHPD crank be the route forward, bearing in mind i can’t spend money on a new unit, or do i need to keep my right foot under control to take time and save for a new crank
thanks, Marten
AFAIK Exige VHPD crank is exactly the same as stock rover crankshaft except that they were “tuftrided” which supposedly makes them more wear resistant, not any stronger.
Common wisdom says that there’s zero advantage in a VHPD crank over a normal one.
I think some of the other VHPD variants (like the Caterham R500 etc) may have had steel cranks, but as far as I’m aware none of the Exiges or S190s had anything other than a tuftrided stock crank.
DVA will be able to answer difinitively.
I’m using a stock rover crank on my rebuild and that wasn’t to save money, that was merely because I was told by a good few sources that there was zero benefit in going for anything else unless you were looking to rev over 9000.
You’ll need to forge the pistons if going over 7200RPM and ~170bhp and it’s a good idea to forge the conrods if you’re going well over 200, although stock VHPD rods have been used in 220+bhp engines before too.
Cheers George, it’s good to know you’re using the standard crank in your rebuilt, i know how much time and effort you have undertaken, so this proves i definetely won’t need anything else.
BTW what could you recommend me to clean the aluminium TB kit
i don’t need it to be crisp, but a little shinier thanthe current state would give the bay a nicer thing to look at
What I would suggest tho’ is for circa �250 you get the bottom end balanced at ‘Vibration Free’
You are Simon Erland, & I claim my �5.
Sorry, couldn’t resist 
Lol - you’re not the first MrP 
Cheers, balancing was on the list
But not before the engine goes pop or
during a winter overhaul i have planned when i want to change the pistons and possibly the rods
i had an offer for low mileage (1500 miles) forged pistons, would you guys consider those when the budget is tight
Marten - are they Omega pistons? - whether 1500 or 15000 miles personally I would renew the rings as a minimum
this is the offer:
VHPD pistons - good condition, with rings - �150
R500 pistons (Cosworth) - machined by DVA replaced interference small ends with bearings/clips - �300 (seem to be �1200 new)
what would a set of rings cost?
Marten… re cleaning up the TBs, give them a good degrease inside and out. You should just be able to brighten them up with some scotchbrite and some elbow grease from then on… that’s assuming they’re not too bad?
cheers George, will do
they are in pretty good nick, but i was impressed with your work, so thought to give it a small go myself, received today a box with deox c and por 15, so the suspension will also get some refurbishing