Help before I lose my fingers

[V8vroom]

Hi all, as regulars know I've had my Elan just under a year. With various minor ailments its only really been the last month I've really put it through its paces..

I am not a mechanic and fairly rubbish hence I thought it worth double checking here...

I can find no record of my car being chipped and throughout last year I am fairly certain the boost stopped around the 0.65 Bar

At the moment it is rapidly going up to 1 Bar and even beyond... this is fine (big smiles) BUT with a quick change up at high revs from 2nd to 3rd gear for example on occasion everything seems to stop (I presume ECU stopping fuel) for a few seconds which as has been mentioned spoils the fun!

As there is no other problem I have come to the following assumptions

1) my car might well have an Everest Chip but I've not realised before
2) The Piper Sports Exhaust fitted new a couple of years ago has not been ported???
3) I need to perform a wastegate wiggle???
4) all of the above and I really need to take it to Kevldon Lotus and part with hundreds of pounds for them to investigate?

I was going to start with a 'Wastegate Wiggle' as it seems straight forward enough for a non-mechanic...

porting the waste gate would definitely be out of my league and I would need help +++

I guess if I can do a waste gate wiggle I can access the ECU and take it apart to see if I have a mountain chip - is it obviously different to an OEM chip i.e has its name on or would a novice not see the difference???

Any suggestions much appreciated and I know Roy666 (Mike) lives nearby so I hope he may be of help / use???

thanks as ever

Rupert

[Fredjohn]

To check if an Everest chip has been fitted is very easy:

Open the glove box and gently ease it's catch-stop so it swings down completely. You should now be able to see the ECU. Carefully remove the screws/bolts holding it in place. If the paper seal over the ECU cover is already broken then someone has been in. If not then there is probably no chip. If broken, remove cover and compare what you see with the pictures in this link.

You will then know for sure if chip has been fitted.

But it does sound as if you are experiencing problems with the wastegate. Giving it a wiggle (with everything switched off) will help diagnose this. Sounds like it is stuck closed so there is no relief of pressure and it is just building up and thus giving more boost. See WikiLEC link here for a description of effects of it sticking and follow links for instructions there on doing the wiggle!

Good luck

[rip]

1) my car might well have an Everest Chip but I've not realised before
2) The Piper Sports Exhaust fitted new a couple of years ago has not been ported???

Hi Rupert,

I completely agree with Fredjohn that it sounds like your wastegate is stuck closed but I am not sure you understand these 2 points:

An Everest raises the target boost from 0.65 to 0.9 bar. If the wastegate is moving as designed then boost will rise to this when the ECU decides conditions are correct to provide boost.

The wastegate is a part of the turbo, not the exhaust. It is the optimum size to work with the original exhaust.
If you have an exhaust which flows more freely than the original, then the above still happens BUT as the engine speed increases, the exhaust flow will be too great for the wastegate to regulate at its maximum opening, so boost will creep. Depending on conditions, you may hit the rev limiter before reaching the engine's boost limit (overboost) when the ECU takes action to prevent damage.

[V8vroom]

Thanks guys for your speedy help - you're right I find it all a little confusing.... So will have a quick look at ECU and then free up the wastegate with a wiggle and fingers crossed all will be well

[V8vroom]

Wow - doesn't time fly! So with the help of a better than me mechanic friend over the weekend I've checked the ECU - looks absolutely factory condition so I'm 99% sure no chip....
Then it was time for the Wastegate Wiggle - after losing 1x 8mm bolt on the gravel drive I managed to loosen the turbo shield enough to perform the wiggle and cleaned up the sensor thing attached to the turbo...and now:

Much improved - idol BAR setting around 0.25 and boosts much more freely up to 1 bar! (bit odd this as I thought it was only meant to get 0.65 bar)...
I would say 80% improvement still some hesitation on fast full throttle up changes but way better than before.....

My friend has suggested adding some injector cleaning fluid to the fuel and do a few hundred miles.... the big question is -

if the boost is still iffy is it worth trying to change the turbo unit? I guess this would be to source a 2nd hand unit and pay Kelvedon Lotus to put in the car at some huge expense.....

the other question is the chip - if the boost is still a bit 'sticky' will buying an Everest chip harm the turbo / engine or can I just stick it in and enjoy some extra 40 bhp!?!?! (still with a slightly sticky upchange)

thanks as ever

Rupert

[rip]

It is the O2 sensor on the turbo. You would get an error code if the ECU was unhappy with the data from it.

If you had an aftermarket chip, the ECU's seal would be broken. It sounds like you would have noticed this.

It sounds like your wastegate is still a little sticky. Now it moves a little, you should be able to spray some lubricant to free it a lot better. I am not sure what would work best for this, but WD40 is not very suitable because they will evaporate quickly in the high temperature.

An Everest chip will try to control the boost pressure at 0.9bar instead of 0.65. It has a slightly higher fuel cut off but you will still have protection against lean fuelling at high boost.

Adding a fuel additive will not do any harm but some would argue that modern fuel contains its own detergents (& redex treatment does not produce the clouds of smoke it used to 25 years go). It only cleans the fuel system & injectors too, not external mechanicals such as the wastegate.

[HJ2]

To me it sounds like your wastegate was sticky, but now you still experience a little boostcreep due to the big bore exhaust but no porting of the wategate.
On a cold day (or night) the problem would be more present than on a hot summer afternoon.
Do you recognise that?

[V8vroom]

HJ2 - yes this is it exactly!!! So this is something Kelvedon can do I guess (at cost!!)

thanks for your tip,

Rupert

[HJ2]

Just make absolutely sure that the waste gate moves freely indeed.
Personally I do not use lubricant here, as it tends to carbonise and gives you more trouble than joy.
Also it would be handy if you could perform a test drive with Elanscan hooked up to your diagnosis connector.

If it is indeed boost creep, then yes, I would go port the waste gate.