Does the ECU on a N/A Exige really “learn” ?
If so mine has learnt that it normally potters to work at 30-40 with one potential burst to 80 if I’m lucky, and hardly ever hits the second cam.
Consequently the cam has learnt not to bother doing hardly anything. It doesnt give much of a “shove” any more. Short of having it reflashed to kick in lower, what else can I do ?
Doesn’t sound right that, Steve. Perhaps you’ve just got used to the shove on your Euro trip???
Steve mine is at JSRacing and it would seem the cam is well worn after only 16k. John and Sean could fill you in on exactly what’s up, maybe worth a shout calling one of them as I’m not the only one, Neil_C’s had a similar thing…you never know?
My journey into Lotus ECUland was cut short but there is a basic principle with ECU�s these days�
There is a set of tables (variables) that govern the air to fuel mix for given input parameters. There is a certain tolerance or more accurately an adaptation variable also applied to the calculation. The adaptation variable is varied on the type of use, the air quality and the fuel quality �observed� by the ECU over a period of time.
This leads to a basic outcome�.if you have good fuel, air, intake temps etc you�ll get a better performance�.any degradation in any/all of these and the ECU adapts the parameters.
This is a very high-level explanation and its more complex than you think but that is a simple principle that applies to most ECU�s these days.
On the Bosch based systems (Audi, Porsche etc.) there is something you can perform that is known as a throttle body reset. This clears the adaptation tables and gives you 100% of the engines current map (performance) instructions. It�s done by simply leaving the car overnight, turning the ignition to position 2 without starting the car�.waiting approx a minute and you�ll hear a �click, click�.click, click� from the engine bay. This is the signal the reset has been done and you have no adaption variables in place.
Not sure there is an equivalent on the Lotus ECU (Magnetti Marelli).
I think Damon has given a good explanation as the the learning potential, however your sounds like a different issue, if you are not getting the lift as expected there is something wrong and it is unlikely to be the ECU, more likely part of the oil pressure based lift mechanism (which I don’t understand).
No Rob it was during the Euro trip that I realised it just aint cutting in like it used to.
Didnt slow me down that much though, but I did have to push on sometimes to keep up with Ian in his std S1 Elise 
[quote=sjw]
Didnt slow me down that much though, but I did have to push on sometimes to keep up with Ian in his std S1 Elise [/quote]
Blimey, you’ll be doing trackdays next! 
sjw, how many miles and what age is your car? We have had two cars in recently with very worn inlet cams. Jonny’s car has only done 16,000 miles and the other car was on about 45,000 (if my memory serves me right). The 45,000 car, the cam was really really bad.
It is the high lift lobe of the cam that wears as well. The low lift part of the cam is on a roller rocker type of arrangement, so it is quite gentle on the cam, however the high lift lobe scrapes accross a shim made of two different materials and one of them is harder than the cam in our opinion.
We reckon the problem stems from the cam missing a hardening process or somthing like that.
When you replace the cam, the kit also comes with replacement rockers as well.
Its not a hard job to rule the cam out, just whizz the cam cover off and have a feel of the lobes, it will be very obvious if it is worn.
Bear in mind if it is worn you will have bits of cam floating around in your oil. There were definite signs of metal in both of the engines we have replaced the cams in, all be it very small “ground” particles.
Hope that helps.
Sean…
IIRC some early S2s* suffered from cam wear, & they were replaced under warranty.
- Brendan’s perhaps???
Ive done a fair bit of ECU work in my time and this doesn’t seem to fit. ECU’s are capable of learning your driving style. If in doubt, you can always perform a reset and clear the learning in the ECU.
Not sure if the Toyota uses hydraulic lifters for the second cam? If so check your oil level, quite a common issue on Honda VTECs!
Mark do you know if there is the equivalent procedure to reset the adaptation on the Lotus?
Sean, thanks for your ideas.
“you will have bits of cam floating around in your oil” 
eeek
Its an '07 registered car but I suspect early '06 build, as the dealer said he couldnt sell it (something to do with the colour - cant imagine why) and just past 21000 miles
Steve
The Toyota 2zz engine uses ECU controlled oil pressure to operate both variable timing and high/low switching points. High and low cams are effectivley solid rather than hydraulic ‘lifters’.
Oil pressure in the head is monitored by the ECU, so should cause rev limit to drop down to warm up levels. This is not the same sensor as used for your warning light on the dash.
37k :whistle: plenty of life in it yet.
As Sean says i’d probably get a garage to take the cover off and give the cams a perusal to rule it out (1/2 hour labour max). I think the hardening process mainly hardens the outside surface of the cams so if it’s not done properly and wears through this into the softer metal underneath the wear rate (and bill!) becomes exponential.
It could also be something simple. Yours maybe FBW on an 06 but mines also needed the throttle cable adjusted as they go out of tolerance (you can check this yourself by getting someone to press the accelerator down and seeing if the quadrant moves as far as you can move it by hand). I’ve also had the throttle body get filled up with cr*p, John has pics somewhere (maybe these cars should have a separate catch tank as they’re supposed to be track cars?) which I suggest you don’t attempt to clean yourself as you can shift the grime into more awkward areas.
Also an n/a yota feels like one of the slowest cars on the road due to it’s relative lack of flexibility and torque compared to a K. It’s entirely believable that they may pull away slightly to begin with as your lagging off cam and by the time you’ve wound it up you’ve either run out of straight bit or have to slow to not run in the back of them.
I dont feel quite so bad now thanks, that is exactly as it felt on tour sometimes.
I do need to have that cam looked at though just in case.
[quote=sjw]Sean, thanks for your ideas.
“you will have bits of cam floating around in your oil” eeek
Its an '07 registered car but I suspect early '06 build, as the dealer said he couldnt sell it (something to do with the colour - cant imagine why) and just past 21000 miles
Steve [/quote]
It could be a dirty clogged up air filter - they only get replaced at the 27000 mile service and are filtyh and clogged by then - my car was totally astmatic from 25000 onwards and was transformed by the new filter element. And the effect of clogging is more pronounced at high revs as the engine needs to suck in more air - but through the clogged filter…
I learned my lesson and will get a new element every 9 k now regardless of the Lotus schedule.