Anyway, the S2000’s are known to explode, I think it’s the oil injector on cylinder 3 isn’t up to the job which means the cylinder overheats and then rips the liner to bits, a mate of mine had an engine replaced under warranty because of this… Then the silly mechs didn’t clean out the swarf from the inlet manifold so that trashed another one 10 miles down the road, he just made it back to the dealer and got another engine
If only I had known that I would have looked a right smarty pants
It did sound manky indeed
Ah, just looked it up and his wasn’t, it was:
there was a design fault with an oil spray that cools the underside of number 4 piston, but there was a recall that fixed that and I had had it done to mine.
My engine blew because a valve stem sheared inside the stem. Inlet valve dropped into cylinder, got smashed to bit, bits got pushed out into the inlet manifold and sucked into all the other cylinders which killed them too. Apparently there was a manufacturing fault with the valve stem. I suspect there might have been a cracked collet that caused the valve to drop, piston hit the valve and sheared the stem.
The bore was trashed, piston pretty mangled, but the worst was the cylinder head which looked like someone had taken a hammer to the combustion chamber.
A bit like the pictures of the inside of Steve’s cylinder head from memory (that was a good few years ago now and it seems he’s since decided to go find some lady boys rather than speak to the engine builder).
I have since found out the garage buggered up the installation of the new engine too. When I went to collect it the engine was knocking and I rejected the car. Apparently the had forgotten to clean out the inside of the inlet manifold, and bits of the shattered valve got sucked into the engine on its first good rev…i only found out because my girlfriend’s brother started working there soon after.
So, I’m on engine number 3.
So now you can sound like an UBER smarty pants
But it’s all fairly moot anyhoo as the conversions use the Civic type R engine which is quite a bit different to the S2000 engine AFAIK
Just on the subject i was at snetterton yesterday and there were two honda elises there. a gunmetal grey one that seemed extremely quick and a silver and red one from maidstone sports cars. im no expert but something definitely went wrong with the engine in the silver and red one as there was a load of black smoke coming out if the engine bay and it left the track on the back of an AA trailer. i would be interested to know what happened. i also saw 2 other exiges there a gunmetal and silver one both very nice. i spoke to the owners but forgot to ask if they used this site. i was there in the azure blue exige. Also saw a white motorsport elise that looked very cool.
The silver and red one was the MSC demo car which had been leant to someone. A drive shaft oil seal started weeping and oil got onto the manifold causing the smoke and the guy who borrowed it was, understadably, cautious and had it towed back. One �5 oil seal later and all is well.
You’ve still never owned one so how can you comment on the TT260? Theres only been 4 made and the owners seem to think there good so it makes me laugh how someone who doesn’t own one can say bad things about them.
At the end of the day I can only see them as being better as for the power you no longer need to rev the tits off of it… And as we all know it’s revs that’ll vibrate the hell out of an engine…
…OK, too much boost and you’ll blow the head off but
You’ve still never owned one so how can you comment on the TT260? Theres only been 4 made and the owners seem to think there good so it makes me laugh how someone who doesn’t own one can say bad things about them.
Did you hear me say a bad thing about them??? I said I wouldn’t go near one because simple logic tells me that its a bad idea… FFS TT won’t even make them anymore!! Maybe I’m missing something, maybe they are the best thing since sliced bread? If they are then great but if thats the case I find it strange that their biggest advocate is gettingan Audi turbo engine
They will still make them. So putting that picture up wasn’t trying to imply something about the TT260 conversion??? Funny how mine hasn’t blown up. If it was a bad conversion why did i buy mine back? I just thought it was supposed to be a friendly site for Exige drivers and you sit there slagging of things about peoples cars. I haven’t sat here saying that your Honda engine looks like its been thrown in. Not slagging it off like you keep saying, just a comment!!! At least the TT conversion has been put in nice.
They will still make them. So putting that picture up wasn’t trying to imply something about the TT260 conversion??? Funny how mine hasn’t blown up. If it was a bad conversion why did i buy mine back? I just thought it was supposed to be a friendly site for Exige drivers and you sit there slagging of things about peoples cars. I haven’t sat here saying that your Honda engine looks like its been thrown in. Not slagging it off like you keep saying, just a comment!!! At least the TT conversion has been put in nice.
You are welcome to think my Honda engine has been ‘thrown in’ and you are welcome to say that if you like too. Can’t say it bothers me although it does make me chuckle.
You’ve still never owned one so how can you comment on the TT260? Theres only been 4 made and the owners seem to think there good so it makes me laugh how someone who doesn’t own one can say bad things about them.
Chris - I have never owned one either but I think I can comment…Dave B had the 1st one of these ever…it took an age to install, although to be fair it was the prototype and so it had a few development issues. From memory, Dave was disappointed that it took so long to actually get it on the road (and I remember talking to TT at an Autosport show before that when they implied all the testing & develpoment was complete and it was a plug and play installation).
To my mind they have always been a fragile installation because they pushed the envelope just a bit too far. TT spoke to Lotus, or the other way around, and Lotus were convinced that it could not be done reliably. All I have seen or heard leads me to conclude that this is correct. I know of 3 installations that all had serious problems - and the TT forum may well have had more less serious issues posted.
In summary, I think it was a good idea, brave for someone to try, but just turned out to be one of those blind alleys. Every idea can’t be a success.
You should not take it personally, hopefully you knew all the history to this conversion when you bought yours but if its news to you that others think its not the best available you should not try to shout them down.
This site is usually an oasis of calm when Lotus sites all around are hosting slagging matches - the Exige community is a very small group by dint of the tiny production run and so there isnt really room for us to fall out over these matters.
I am happy to see that we now have a wide range of engine choices available and as things move on, the TT260 will be remembered as a significant attempt to find an engine that could exploit more fully the rest of the superb package assembled by Lotus.
You’ve still never owned one so how can you comment on the TT260? Theres only been 4 made and the owners seem to think there good so it makes me laugh how someone who doesn’t own one can say bad things about them.
Chris - I have never owned one either but I think I can comment…Dave B had the 1st one of these ever…it took an age to install, although to be fair it was the prototype and so it had a few development issues. From memory, Dave was disappointed that it took so long to actually get it on the road (and I remember talking to TT at an Autosport show before that when they implied all the testing & develpoment was complete and it was a plug and play installation).
To my mind they have always been a fragile installation because they pushed the envelope just a bit too far. TT spoke to Lotus, or the other way around, and Lotus were convinced that it could not be done reliably. All I have seen or heard leads me to conclude that this is correct. I know of 3 installations that all had serious problems - and the TT forum may well have had more less serious issues posted.
In summary, I think it was a good idea, brave for someone to try, but just turned out to be one of those blind alleys. Every idea can’t be a success.
You should not take it personally, hopefully you knew all the history to this conversion when you bought yours but if its news to you that others think its not the best available you should not try to shout them down.
This site is usually an oasis of calm when Lotus sites all around are hosting slagging matches - the Exige community is a very small group by dint of the tiny production run and so there isnt really room for us to fall out over these matters.
I am happy to see that we now have a wide range of engine choices available and as things move on, the TT260 will be remembered as a significant attempt to find an engine that could exploit more fully the rest of the superb package assembled by Lotus.
WELL SAID THAT MAN!! I must say, though i too have never owned a TT260, i would base my opinion on the fact that with all cars playing host to highly strung engines, strapping a turbo or a supercharger to them is always a huge engine repair bill waiting to happen. It is not just with the VHPD it will happen to all makes and models if overly tuned. I would love a shot of a TT260 but i would be too terrified to drive it hard in case something went pop
Well i do own one of the TT260 cars and i dont have any trouble with the engine so i dont no where you get all of this crap about them blowing up from. Davids snapped a piston when he had it done but now the pistons have been redesigned so that doesn’t happen. I no the other two TT260 cars and the owners love them and dont have problems. As for the blue one im not sure how he found the car but i haven’t heard of him having any trouble with it. Where is the reliability problem then? There isn’t one.
Chris, chill out fella, Randy’s just being… well… randy Like ‘everyone’ here, he’s a top man
Listen to what Steve is saying, I’m not taking sides, I’m simply agreeing with facts. Basically ALL our engines are a matter of probability, it may do 2000 miles, it may do 200,000, stuck to a strict service schedule it’s just a matter of luck (if used “properly”) weather or not it lunches itself IYSWIM…
I’m kinda rambling and still laughing at the comments above
Surely the point here is that in the words of Mr Tiff Needell '‘I’ve never driven one(other than original ‘k’ series)of those Exige HYBRIDS’. Hybrids are by definition under developed…
When I met Mr Tiff Needell with my TT260 it was on my trailer so I wasn’t able to offer him a drive in it… I’m sure had it been on the ground he’d have had a go and been very impressed with it.
I don’t want to get into advocacy wars… this is a happy place. Much of what the esteemed Steve Green said is true.
Since I’m able to talk for myself it’d be best if Randy let me explain why I’m going down the Audi route rather than the TT route.
The TT engine kicks out less power / torque than an Audi 300bhp engine.
The TT conversion costs more than an Audi 300bhp engine.
That said, don’t forget that my car (now Chris’s car) won CCC magazine Ultimate Track Car shootout, and the likes of Mark Hales rated it very highly. John Simister who reviewed it for Evo magazine said very nice things about it too.