Donnington+ Joe's Honda powered Exige

General General Lotus Talk
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Didn’t make it to Donnington at the W/end unfortunately, but did anyone get the chance to see Joe’s Exige? and if so lets have some feedback… PleasePhil GT

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Hi was there and saw his Exige. i also spoke to Joe.First thing, i was also in birmingham in january and saw the german conversion.In my opinion the american wins… [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image] Very nice finished and very good materials. exhaust is very nice (the german one was very poor but not finished).Also the engine is positioned in a different way so that the g/b is right in front of the wheel.I have some pics…i’ll download them from the camera in the next days.CiaoNicolas

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Nicolas,Thank you for the kind words, it’s nice to have one’s hard work appreciated by those it’s been directed toward, and to finally meet some of you I’ve been talking with on this and other forums over the past months. Actually, the two cars we had on display at Donington were Marc Charlton’s Motorsport Elise, which will be racing in the Cup Class of this year’s British GT Championship, and Jonny Leroux’s otherwise standard Elise S-1, which will be available for demonstration rides at his Book a Track track day events.Jonny is notoriously hard on everything he drives, so 75 track days a year should be an excellent reliability test of the Honda K20A and my conversion. My Exige was at home in her usual resting place in my shop. I had a wonderful time at Donington, and plan to return as soon as I can. Maybe next time the weather will be a bit better.Joe

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Joe good to speak with you at Donington thanks for making the trip…I agree with Nicolas v neat, v well engineered conversion - congratulations. Will def be testing one of these in the not too distant future [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image].

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Should imagine the Exige K20A would be pretty much unbeatable on track?? Not alot can stand up to a standard Exige…I can see this conversion being very popular!

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I have monitored Joe’s progress with the K20A from an early stage. Seeing one installed was impressive to say the least. Very neat job, impressively engineered parts, good quality materials. In summary well thought out & executed. Look forward to getting the opportunity to test one.Joe was even talking about a turbo one, which would focus the mind no end!Will be interested to see how the Exige performs - Joe can you get the dates and venus posted?

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You’ll have to check with Jonny Leroux at Book a Track to find out when he plans on giving demo rides. Keep in mind that presently he only has the Civic Type R spec lump in the car. In the near future he’ll be upgrading to the Jap spec cams and intake manifold, which produce substantilly more power. We felt it was important to go this route, so we could get performance figures on both configurations. The Japs have a nasty little habit of keeping the best bits for the home market, but I have a ready supply of these parts, and am in development of some of my own to give us even more power.Joe

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Joe, I think it’s great you have at least one work-horse out there to get some decent reliability testing. It’s one of my main points of interest, so don’t tune too much of that out in search of those last few bhp!Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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Ian,Reliability is one of the main reasons I decided to use Honda engines, they’re extremely well engineered with a lot that’s trickled down from their racing experience.Once I get into the phase of the project where I’m actually starting to make some really significant HP increases, (well over 300) I’ll design each package to be totally reliable at that HP level. I’ve been doing this for a very long time, and know just exactly how to make high HP engines live long and fruitful lives. I have a friend who has a K20A that has already made over 1,000 HP Turbocharged, so we know the basic design is quite sound, and we have a strong foundation to build upon.Joe

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quote:Originally posted by Joe McCarthy:I have a friend who has a K20A that has already made over 1,000 HP Turbocharged, so we know the basic design is quite sound…LOvL!!! [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]Could you imagine that in an Exige!!!?! I’m still giggling at the thought!Cheers Joe. After today’s problems I’m even more tempted. I’m sure my current woes are only a plug or a lead but it’s done less than 50 miles still it came back from Bell & Colvill! GrrrIan [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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Cheers Ian,OK, here’s another tid-bit that may put a smile on your face and a chuckle in your belly, that 1,000+ HP K20A is going into a front wheel drive car! They’re looking to get it into the 6 second category in the 1/4 mile. Looks like it just may top 200 MPH as well. Talk about a rice rocket! Sorry to hear you’ve still got problems with your car.I figure sooner or later you’ll get tired of the headaches you’ve got with your Rover, and move up to Honda Power. Just let me know when you’re ready! Give Jonny at Book a Track about a month, then go do a test ride in his Elise. By then he’ll have the proper cams and intake manifold, and you’ll really be wearing a smile. It’s a pretty good rush!Take care,Joe