missys turbo has went pop.

[Monty]

Philbo,

Thats was an interesting read and glad u`r still with us

I`d be looking for 240 to 260 bhp (fly)

If the stock ECU could be programmed to work with Maries set up that would be great and since this will be a group buy and all using the same gear would it be possible to pay Alan (ESM) for his time to design a chip got to be better than spending £500 each for a heltech

[stevo]

i wonder what is the most i could hope for on the oe turbo at .9bar with uprated internals and an ali intercooler on top of missys other mods? 240?

[Enright]

The Switcher Module Elysium programme goes up to 0.95 doesn't it?

[nitroman]

I was reading this with enormous interest until Philbo's voice of experience brought the topic to Earth. Having heard from the sage, and with the mention that Costas would not go the turbo route again (lag), I'd have to say that if you must have maximum horsepower & torque nitrous is a reliable and extremely cheap (vs. a turbo) way to go.

The horsepower really is up to you. For instance, you can have a 50-shot or 300; as one is as easy to setup on an air-fuel dyno as the other. It all depends what the car will take (I had 274hp/250ftlbs with merely a clutch upgrade). I did that in 2002 for $2200 with the thought that the turbo upgrade path would be solved by the bleeding & misery of others. Now 5 years later nothing has been achieved. Nuf said?

That $2200 bought a custom multiport wet-nitrous system. It really is bone simple as a wet system takes care of extra fuel-delivery as well, completely independent of the injectors. It is an aid to the car's longevity and mileage too as most of the time I left the system powered-down. Only when challenged or when on a mountain-road with very short straits where rocket-quick acceleration from a turn was paramount would it see use. Would not the same lag-free power be an excellent aid on your next track day? Unlike a turbo it is also immune to "altitude-sickness."

The Elan really is a joy to drive with a big-exhaust at .9-bar. With my NOS I was running 1.3-bar using only a 2-bar sensor as the ECM threw in all the stock management could muster, while the dyno-adjusted wet-NOS system took care of the rest. For the FEW times when you need more power why go through the 6-years of heartache I've listened to on this forum?

But wait, because I truly understand your reason. That money in your pocket bothers the Hell out of your wife. She wants you to spend it , all of it; and the kids college money as well. All for the glory and possible tragedy of being the 1st to scale Everest. Oh. But you're too late, as Costas is standing atop that peak. Even if you are to best him by a pony, can any man see the difference between a horse-herd of 360 & 361? No. You'll always be the one who has a horse-field just like Costas. Currently there is no nitrous king.

So go, do it. Buy the wife jewels for months on what you'll save, while wearing a devilish smile upon your face. Tell her you gave up your turbo dreams for her, and went for frugal nitrous-power because you care so much about her happiness. Maybe someday, when your kids are grown & gone, you'll splurge. But for now, you are OK just knowing she is happy too.

Now go kick some big-laggy-turbo ass!

[Monty]

Depends on how much you want to do, i was quoted £400 for head work and IIRC over grand for the bottom end

IMHO the stock turbo can do more than 0.9 bar, i`m thinking of sticking a bleed valve on and a FCD but i fancy fitting an Air/Fuel ratio meter so i could keep an eye on the mixture but a believe this expensive to do Luckly i`ve got a spare engine

BTW Stevo what was the syptoms of the turbo going? did it just Kaboom!!

[stevo]

she's been down on power for a while and has sat for 3 months but yes the only sign was the kaboom. and the smoke.

[Doug]

better check the oil and coolant feed lines to the turbo then! be sure they are clean before installing another turbo in case they were partly to blame for the turbo demise

[Dico]

I read somewhere it costs £1 a shot for nitrous. Think that was a 10 second blast?
Quite pricey to use never mind install

[Monty]

Nitrus would be a cheaper option than the turbo project but i couldn`t be arsed filling the bottle it`s bad enough flling with fuel lol

The Switcher Module Elysium programme goes up to 0.95 doesn't it?

Yes but only through mid revs then it levels out to 0.9, i`m after 1 to 1.1 bar

[nitroman]

Nitrous refill/use Cost: I can't speak to the UK directly, however nitrous runs $30 for a tank-refill on average. The shot size does not mean per use. Instead 'shot' refers to how much horsepower is added when NOS is used. So, your tank will last longer depending on the shot size & how often you use it. Realistically you have to think of both one-time-squirts in traffic, and also pulling through each gear starting with 2nd, as use in 1st-gear will just bounce you against the rev-limiter! You'll easily learn not to use it in 1st if you have a WOT switch installed (also cheap & easy).

A NOS tank for me would last from a couple weeks when left constantly armed & the car in daily use to 3 months (my norm) with the car in daily use. The 2-weeks represents very assured driving in a low-car-density area. Assured, always-armed driving yields 1 NOS refill for 3 petrol refills.

Just like petrol, if you don't use it, it will sit in wait for years.

[stevo]

mmmmmm, lots to think about.

[Doug]

go on, Stevo, you know you need a new turbo AND nos

[stevo]

did i hear someone in elanland talk about getting there oe ihi uprated by fitting a different compressor and internal bits?

[nitroman]

You get the bigger compressor-wheel & housing from a Ford Thunderbird turbo (the parts are easy to get here in the USA... I bought the wheel for $74 & the housing for $24, both brand-new! The inlets & outlets have a larger diameter so you'll have to adapt larger hose, plus get a metal flange & pipe-stub fabricated for the inlet side.

I was offered to have my stock compressor-housing machined to fit the larger-wheel, but keeping the smaller inlet & outlet didn't seem wise.

It should be cheap to ship these parts to the UK as the wheel is feather-light & the compressor-housing is aluminium. The assembled turbo however is an anchor.

[Philbo]

did i hear someone in elanland talk about getting there oe ihi uprated by fitting a different compressor and internal bits?

Yep, I did that, about 5 years ago! Turbo Dynamics in Christchurch, Sy V used them as well and had an equally good experience as I did.

A completely refurbished turbo machined to take oversized compressor & turbine wheels with stronger, lowe resistance bearings and higher flow cost me £595 I think. One advantage of this approach is that it is a drop-in replacement and looks 100% stock. The disadvantage is that newer, more efficient turbo designs are available.

[stevo]

plent of options! this is turning into a good but confusing thread.

heres the dillio, i want to be back on the road in 6weeks after i have done my re-spray. for this i will have the front bumper off. my turbo may or may not be salvageable but one thing for sure its fecked. im willing to spend(have permision from the enemy) a grand on the turbo fix but as you know im always after a couple of extra horses and like to do the work myself.


so what would you do?????

refurb turbo?
uprate turbo?
hybrid turbo?
+bigger intercooler?
other?

thanks for all the advice so far!

[Philbo]

Stuff...

It's definitely the case that forging ahead with a solo project like this has been a very long drawn out and expensive process. However, a bigger turbo does not always mean more lag...my car now has significantly less lag and a lot more midrange than before. I'd guess I have around 280bhp, and it's always there ready to use just by pressing my right foot down harder.

The big issue is getting an ECU and a map. Unless something has appeared on the market in the last 4 years, a Haltech is the only option. Then getting it mapped (well) is the expensive part, because no "stock" maps exist so everything is done from scratch.

Now, if there is a group buy and everyone buys identical hardware then the cost of the map can be shared between everyone, with just a top-up map required for each car. But it would also depend on everyone having an identical system, with downpipes anda exhausts all matched.

Having gone through the pain, it should definitely be quicker for the next person, but not necessarily any cheaper, because it is the map that contributes the cost. But at least you'd know which parts to source!

My hesitation to recommend the turbo route definitely is more about the cost/benefit compared with the result; I'm very pleased with the result which gave me the performance I wanted without any downsides, but not with how much it ultimately cost.

My final bill was blurred because along the way I had new suspension fitted, new wishbones all round, a new intercooler, a turbo rebuild and carbon pipe fabrication, several sets of injectors and so on, but the mapping alone probably cost me about £2500, and that wasn't even what it cost them in time.

Overall the Radical now gives me the cheap thrills on the track without getting through a set of brakes & tyres each time, and the Aston has the road performance for general stooging around. Time has moved on, and I'm afraid the Elan doesn't get much of a look in these days.

[Monty]

did i hear someone in elanland talk about getting there oe ihi uprated by fitting a different compressor and internal bits?

Stevo,

IIRC Sy had this done but had problems and he`s gone back to stock turbo

The garrett turbo project that marie is doing i would imagine thats going to take a while, your better of ringing Turbo Dynamics and price up a refurbed stock turbo and forget about the intercooler as Costas machanics said the stock one is upto the job.

Paul.P son has got an engine with turbo, but don`t know if he will split and i think Stevieshag has one too

BTW, i remember SW lotus having a turbo at Donny IIRC it was £500

[Doug]

are there any shops in Paisley with turbo knowhow?

if so you could always rebuild the stock turbo to stock or better -- assuming it is rebuildable from its damage.

[lotusgirlmarie]

Me personally I would go th e turbo route. Besides the fact that I've already headed down the path.... NOS in a road going vehicle in California is deemed ilegal by the CHP. Get caught with it in use on the street of freeway and your car is impounded. I have first hand knowledge of this unfortnately as one of my former racing budies and I were out for a shake down run in his car and he purged the NOS system....... with a cop right behind us. Long story short he got his car back after a stiff fine and a fix it ticket requiring the removalof the NOS fogger setup. Doh!! After that little problem accompanied by my own bias against it, NOS will never see the inside of my car.