Simon
I think we’d all like to see this can’t you put a post up here with it or better a link to it??
Well Simon,
I always said I will stick to the VHPD. But the fact is that I can’t find a good mechanic up here to perform even the simplest of maintenances, so was ready to learn the hard and long way… by myself.
But if you have a solution, I’m ready to have my Exige with an engine the way it was meant to be done.
You have mail.
Well said.Ill certainly stick with my K-series.One thing which makes the Exige much more tractable with much more torque from lower in the rev-band is a silenced cat by-pass.
Must be depending on the particular silenced CRP.
Which one are you using? (I was just about to order one)
As far as I am concerned the ‘king’ of the K-series is Dave Andrews, until proven otherwise.
Many of us Exigers (and elisers) would surely agree to this.
I am always open minded, but so far all I have seen is hype.
Dave sorted my K up to 213.5 and 146 lb ft…(yes I know - but that’s what the rolling road said)
I have the evidence to prove this.
If there is a ‘new kid on the block’, or perhaps a ‘pretender to the throne’, how about him showing us something tangible to establish his credentials??
SImon
I would really really love to read your article but why the insistance on emailing you offline?? can’t you simply post up here for us all to see??
It also sounds a bit weird when you say things like there are precisly 9 K’s out there… properly built, while at the same time suggesting that there is nothing wrong with the K in general… you also mention a whole lot of modifications… which goes against the idea that the K as its standard design is perfectly good. You also earlier ‘dis’ the VHPD because its NOT built by Rover technicians…
i really really don’t want or mean to ‘dis’ you but i am a bit cagey when someone comes along out of the blue and purports like this…
We all would welcome your help but if you are running a commercial enterprise then please put us out of our misery fast…
Simon
How much are we talking about to fettle an Exige VHPD K series up to the spec you mention?
I’m intending to go down the Honda route - it’s the tolerencing, not bhp, which comes out of the standard “Honda Box” which interests me. I’m no engineer, but I’m inclined to believe that a 2 litre engine designed to give around 200bhp in basic trim, is a better long term prospect than a K series “stretched” to produce similar power.I’m sure that guys going the Audi route feel the same - well those that I’ve spoken to anyway
Please don’t think we’re after a slanging match - nothing could be further from the truth, & we’re all good listeners
Guys, I spoke with Simon over the phone and he surely gave me the impression of someone that knows lots about the engine, having himself gone through all the troubles we’ve had on our engines, in his Motorsports Elise.
He seems to have lots of good connections and is friends with Dave Andrews and knows Dave Walker well.
He also mentioned many of the things I had felt already on mine, and as I say I believe the K is a very good engine, just badly put together.
Basically, well assembled, and with all-original parts you’d be looking at about 210 BHP and more torque than the Hondas and Toyotas, revving to 8K without a hitch without any worry of HGF or any mechanical failure.
When my HG failed I resorted to the use of a local mechanic, and have been fighting with niggles ever since.
I was (as most of you) thinking on driving the car all summer, and do any maintenance (if any) on winter. But I’m always afraid, especially because I’m planning the 'Ring trip in November. Don’t want the engine to go on a long trip.
So, Simon has kindly offered to guide me through my “blueprinting”, which is going to start soon. It needs it anyway, 27K miles of good use. Hope to finish in time for the Cadwell trackday I booked.
If you want the story, mail him directly for it. I suspect he can’t post it because parts of it are in an article that is going to appear in EVO, or his next book…
And no, he’s not in the motorsports business, just seems to be an enthusiast like us.
I’m not King K.
Simon - My name is Mike Lane, so I chose the user name ‘mike lane’. Are you saying you chose the user name ‘KingK-series’ by mistake then?
I did not misread your post, but you come from nowhere with a name like that and it seemed to me you were rubbishing the VHPD and its tuners, which I knew from experience to be unfair.
We are all K enthusiasts here, already.
I had a K - VHPD that was completely reliable for nearly 38,000 miles, fettled by DVA, revving to 8,200 with no bottom end mods, now sold but still going strong with it’s new owner.
Email me the article and I’ll post it…
Hey. hey. hey Mike, to be fair to Simon I guess as he has little interest or regard for anything internet related he would not have spent much time deliberating over his user name, I think you might be being a bit harsh on the bloke!
Good to see you ay Oulton by the way and thanks to you and BernardS for taking time to show me the conversion.
Guess you are getting a tad excited now
I’m not King K.
Simon - My name is Mike Lane, so I chose the user name ‘mike lane’.
Erm… I know of a certain Rober Hesketh that doesn’t use his name as his username, and a certain Dave Brown, and several others.
Could it be that you find his post difficult to swallow because you just installed the Audi TT engine?
Relax, nothing will beat it, you know that (except me with my humble VHPD )
IMHO, Simon’s bringing a positive point of view.
I think we really need to do a group test of all the different engine configurations so we have a direct comparison. Lets go and hire Bruntingthorpe…
Simon, what are your thoughts on supercharging the K-series?
Ian
Lets go and hire Bruntingthorpe…
Heh that gets my vote Would be great to see all the various options together and to put some faces to more names (or aliases as the case may be )
Simon, your article is very interesting. It gives us a lot of information about where the K series problems have come from. What I’m sure many of us would like to know is who can we trust to rebuild our engines properly, and at the right price?