245 BHP for £1000 and perfect delivery!

[Karl Martin]

The first performance upgrade I did to this car was to fit a Quicksilver Exhaust (which I later discovered gave a power increase to almost 200 BHP at the flywheel, 172 at the wheels, which created a lot of confusion from the testers, as no one could believe that this single item could be responsible for such a figure). Not bad for a 2" pipe and no need to worry about boost creep.

It gave a good, noticeable, but not amazing, increase in acceleration and definitely brought the power on sooner, nice sound too, without being at all loud.

So now I wanted 220 BHP at the flywheel, because this car is so capable, but I have been warned about torque steer by Lotus 'experts', about melting pistons, turbo lag and failure of components..........

After extensive research, these are the following upgrades, after some very good advice from CR TURBOS, ASHLEY LANE, NEW MILTON, HAMPSHIRE, BH25 5AQ, 01425 638426 (http://www.crturbos.co.uk) to whom I paid a visit, after reading about them in a magazine and living only 18 miles away.

These people were true experts and have worked on everything.....marine turbos so large you can stand inside, to tiny little things once used on motorbikes. They have extensive facilities and a warehouse full of refurbished and upgraded items.

I was met by a member of staff, a thoroughly enthusiastic chap with a good sense of humour, who gladly gave me an extended lecture, showing me various turbos that had been cut away to reveal the internal working parts, explaining the pros and cons on twin entry, twin scroll, variable vain, ball bearing, hybrid conversions, ceramics etc and dispelling various myths like larger ball bearing turbos being faster to spin up than smaller non bearing turbos (take note!)

He also pointed out that you can either have a turbo that can spin sooner, giving you early power, which is then limited because it can only spin so fast until it reaches it's limit, or have one that comes on later, but can deliver more power because its maximum spinning matches the higher engine rpm....but you can't have both. The modern turbo systems try for a compromise and use complicated technology (variable vain, twin scroll) and ceramics which go for lighter internal parts for quicker off the mark spinning, but all this can add up to reliability issues.

Also, the bigger the turbo to the smaller the engine equals the bigger the lag (time taken for the turbo to engage). Therefore, the existing smaller IHI turbo for our cars was a perfect match and with just a few internal modifications, "could perform better and with more power".

At this point he showed me a cut away IHI used on our cars......two propellers joined by a steel rod, the left hand propeller was to be slightly enlarged (the compressor wheel) and surrounding casing to be hollowed out to accommodate it, followed by the waste gate TO BE ENLARGENED TO THE GREATEST POSSIBLE DIAMETER THAT THE HOUSING WOULD ALLOW, even to the point of fitting a larger washer to cover it, forget about the 20mm I have read about on this site! The steel rod joining the two propellers ran through some seals, would also be uprated and the mechanism that closes the waste gate would also be upgraded to "make it snap shut for instant response". The whole set up would then be balanced, with the outer casing to be blasted and painted.

According to my mechanic, who took the turbo off and delivered it to them, it came back as a completely new item and the waste gate was "massive!" although the original cover washer had been kept, the hole had been tapered as it passed through the metal casing. Unfortunately I can't show you any pictures or dimensions, but you won't be able to do the turbo work yourself anyway because of the specialist equipment needed....just send it to them!

CR Turbos also recommended my mechanic, READ PERFORMACE, (http://www.readperformance.co.uk)

12E Queensway
New Milton
Hampshire
BH25 5NN
Tel: 01425 619765

......who undertook all the work. These guys were located about 2 miles from them and once again had a real 'can do' attitude, true perfectionists, often modifying already modified parts to improve them even further and spend a lot of time researching any problems they are not fully familiar with to be absolutely sure, at no extra cost. They build everything from 1000 bhp racing cars to custom exhausts and full engine mapping and test facilities. They thoroughly test all aspects of any modifications and will spend time talking you through everything.....really impressive people who care.

To start with, they did a rolling road test to see what BHP was already available with my current set up (re above).

So, they removed and refit the modified turbo (now classed as a 'hybrid') without any problems, removed the existing air filter and replaced it with the custom built item from Top End Performance (USA) with an open K&N air filter, removed the Quicksilver exhaust and replaced it with a 2.5 inch Piper with dual silencers and PCE (the turbo guys recommended the larger diameter exhaust, when I told them what was available). It has been said many times on this site before and just to confirm, Niel described the Piper as a very high quality piece of engineering, a perfect (if a little difficult to fit) item. Further more, the PCE was worth the extra money, even though my car does not have a Cat. as it further improves air flow over the conventional system. The rear oval pipe centres the hole in the rear bumper perfectly and ground clearance is better than the 2" Quicksilver. Brilliant.

Next comes the remap. Niel's advice on mapping is that each and every car is individual and requires its very own map, one reason why he doesn't like generic maps. I told him about the mountain chips and he was very sceptical, but I had bought an Everest for use with the previous Quicksilver exhaust, so he agreed to give it a try and test it........BINGO!

Once again, full marks to ESM Mountain chips.....the testing showed a "near perfect delivery of fuel" and "good power curve"....." this guy has really done his homework!"

And it wasn't even designed for this system. Niel then did a service, new oil (Castrol Edge 10/60) and standard spark plugs, he doesn't believe in ultra expensive spark plugs, coil paks, HT leads as he has analysed all these items on the rolling road and has never had better performance figures, so "don't waste your money, it's just a money making game!"

Driving Impressions.

It's about now that I would use words like superb and outstanding, but that would be an injustice. What springs to mind is unbelievable, gob smacked or even bloody hell!

I started the engine from cold, turned over once and settled into a perfect idle, the Piper twin silenced exhaust growling purposefully giving a deep throaty note, just like a sports car should sound, without the anti social ridiculous loudness of some of the systems I've heard, on other cars.

Niel warned me to "take it easy until the brakes have bedded in" (he also fitted the AP Racing calipers kit from BG Developments)

So I kept it below 3500rpm to warm the engine and until I reached the dual carriage way where I could see how well it performed safely and after 10 careful miles and an empty road ahead decided to see what it would do.

Even before the turbo engages there is a clear increase in performance, but onced floored.......lit up and took off like a guided missile. I was pressed progressively harder and harder into the seat as the revs climbed towards the red line, with the power steadily and rapidly increasing, changed gear fast, back on the gas with instantaneous power coming back on, NO LAG WHATSOVER, like a 3L had been squashed in there.... absolutely unbelievable! Still hard on the gas, even harder back into the seat, gripping the wheel and holding on for dear life, gear change, back on the gas, INSTANTANEOUS POWER, then fourth, then fifth, all seamless and immediate. I won't even tell you the speeds I reached for fear of incriminating myself!

Furthermore, there is a complete absence of torque steer, ABSOLUTELY NONE WHATSOEVER! I can go from idle to red line, standing start or rolling, as hard on the acceleration as possible and steer with the tip of my right hand index finger to keep it in a straight line! It is as totally neutral as it was when it was stock!

Also, because the available bhp is not massively over the top, you can use every single one of them, the power goes straight down on the road with no wheel spin in a straight line or under steer when accelerating hard out of a mid corner (all testing conducted on a dry surface).

And there's more!.......the paperwork shows 245 bhp at the flywheel, 220 at the wheels, but several things can be improved.

Firstly the Everest chip, although very good, apparently boosts to 0.84 bar and over fuells at the upper rev range, a custom map could see better fuelling and certainly raise the boost pressure. Also, a custom built down pipe running directly from the turbo into the exhaust is currently underway.These improvements could see around 260+.

Having now road tested it for 800 miles.....the fuel economy appears unchanged. Before i was getting 300 miles to a full tank of mixed driving and it's still the same, if any, now it appears to be 330 miles!

Negatives.

There's always something to complain about!

Firstly, would be the exhaust noise. The Piper is superb and on starting and short journeys is actually just the ticket for our car's character. But on long journeys with the roof down, it can become tiring with a constant 'booming' in your ears (it's not over loud, but it does get in your head!) and is worse when the engine is under load, for example trawling up a long shallow incline, but to put it in perspective, on motorways at 70 mph, roof down, windows up and wind deflector in place, the wind rush drowns out the exhaust noise...it is actually most noticeable between 30 and 60 mph, especially when driving next to a high hedge or long wall!

Maybe the 2.25 inch may be a better choice, with a possible slight decrease in BHP....may be worth it, or failing that, er, don't drive a sports car!

Secondly, is the noise when changing gear.......a fairly loud chattering and whoosh sound (like a toned down dump valve) which, I imagine, would be the large waste gate doing its thing. Could be too boy racerish for those who want total refinement, although I have actually come to enjoy it!

Costs

Modification of existing IHI Turbo £405 ( including VAT but not postage as we delivered and picked up)
Custom made air filter pipe and K&N open filter £180 (from the USA.....got hit by import duty) This item is probably not even necessary.
2.5" Piper exhaust with PCE £495 (includes VAT and postage)
Everest mountain chip £100 (includes VAT and postage)

Total £1180 or £1000 using the standard filter, the upgraded item is probably only responsible for around 5BHP and the jury is still out as to whether it is a good thing to be taking the hotter air from the engine bay rather than the cooler air from the original design.

I would even imagine this could be done even cheaper using the single silenced 2.25 exhaust, without the PCE (£287.50), standard filter and Elysium chip, which as I understand raises the boost pressure higher than the Everest, which would make up for the slight loss of flow, so you could be looking at around £800 in total.

Labour would be extra, I can't give you the price form my mechanics because the bill included a lot of other work necessary to fit the B G Brake kit (£1400 for a 'custom made' kit that gave several problems to fit, which I personally think is unforgivable) so I can't dissect it. However, Read Performance charge £45 per hour and I will personally now only ever use them in future.

NOTE: I was informed by Niel that there is a large black pipe in the rear right hand side of the engine bay made of rubber/silicone which passes to the right side to the bodywork which apparently expands under pressure when pushing hard. It hasn't given any problems yet, but is worth replacing just in case. The same people who supply the air filter do a metal version of it (although they include a release valve) so this may need to be added to the price.

Conclusion.

There are people on this site who have created far greater power gains than this, using larger turbos. But what makes this particular upgrade so good is not just the extra power, which is hugely faster than stock, every hp is usable and it is delivered perfectly. The seamless integration from off to on turbo and immediate power at higher revs, total lack of lag, torque steer and continued use of original parts keeps the civility and easy driving of the stock car. The original clutch seems up to the job (I don’t know how long it will last, but it does not slip at all even under maximum acceleration) so no hard clutch and no wheel spin (only driven on dry road conditions and haven't red lined and dropped the clutch on standing starts.....you don't need to, that just wastes the power!).

In fact, for all of you who will need to port your waste gate to accommodate a larger bore exhaust because of boost creep, it is almost silly not have this work done at this price, as the hardest part of this job is removing the turbo, which you will have to do anyway, and you will have a totally refurbished turbo, with a years garantee!

Having said all this, it is anyone guess as to how long the stock engine/gearbox internals will last.

Another addition made were 15mm wheel spacers, front and rear, necessary as part of the brake upgrade, which makes a suprisingly good improvement to road holding and appearance (15" seven spoke originals, which I personally really like, now fill the wheel arches better and higher cornering speeds)

With the correct suspension package (COME ON BOB BROWN!) and some super sticky tyres, this car will be (already is) outstanding, easily better than even the most modern high performance hatches and I've driven most of them!

I also contacted several members about the Quaife LSD who have had them fitted and the unanimous response (thank you all) was that it is totally unnecessary, unless you want to go racing. One member, who races his car, actually said it was counter productive, as on an uneven road surface, the power gets transferred from wheel to wheel and pulls the car all over the road.

So, for a VERY fast, predictable and civil road car (noise not withstanding) at a reasonable price, this is your upgrade, I am surprised that nobody here hasn't tried this already!

Finally, you MUST upgrade the brakes (it's been said many times before!) When I had the Quicksilver fitted I also had Greenstuff pads front and rear, with Greenstuff slotted and dimpled discs up front and stainless steel braided hoses. This gave better (maybe 15%) stopping power over the original brakes, but is nowhere near good enough for this new set up.

As soon as I have the further improvements mentioned above (custom map and down pipe) I'll report back (if you're interested and haven't fallen asleep by now!) but at the moment I'm having Dave's short shift and S2 cables fitted.

P.s, could anybody lend me an Elysium mountain chip? (V4, 13th vin no.1, British SE non cat) It would be interesting to see what BHP would be available on testing, as I understand this chip fuels slightly differently and increases the boost pressure still further. This could negate the need for a custom map (which can be quite expensive) and at the moment the ESM chips do not seem to be available (shop closed on the site).

[kenich]

Take me out in your Elan and your can try my V5 switcher to try the few different options

The work carried out seems to of been looked into really well. Wish list for next year I think...

[Karl Martin]

Some paperwork!

[Karl Martin]

Some more paperwork (easier to read!)

[Karl Martin]

And a photo, nothing spectacular!

[Karl Martin]

Piper Exhaust, if you haven't seen one already!

[Karl Martin]

Kenich, if you live close, you are more than welcome for a test drive!

[GeoffSmith]

Interesting write up Karl and they've followed a sensible path to unleash the beast but for not upgrading the brakes first!

You're right that we are lucky to have Alan (ESM) as a member. Lean mixture maps were all run on a dyno on John Wham's car (which was used for the original boost re-mapping work) and a sensible one chosen as standard but if you ask Alan, he will probably blow you a switcher with a range of Everest mixture maps and an Elysium map for some increased mid range performance. Like all of us, he does it for fun and at the moment he is taking a break, so please don't go chasing him unduly.

I don't know which Lotus 'experts' you've talked to but the lack of torque steer is down to Lotus..... incorporating a jack shaft to match the length of the n/s and o/s driveshafts.

The turbo upgrade sounds suspiciously like a Turbo Dynamics job which I'd been looking at recently and it might be a cheaper option for those doing the work themselves. By the way, it isn't just painted (which would soon burn off no matter how high a temperature the tin says ) but ceramic coated which helps to keep the heat in which is better for performance and keeping heat out of the engine bay.

You're hearing the standard chattering and whooshing more and this is due to the free flowing intake, not the wastegate porting.

[kenich]

I am in Wiltshire - bu sometime go to New Miltn or Bournmouth. Its about 1hr 20 mins away

[Karl Martin]

Geoff, the brake upgrade was done at the same time as the turbo, as until then, the Greenstuff upgrade was adequate....just!

I also spoke to Turbo Dynamics on the phone during my ‘extensive research’, but they weren’t so helpful (or seemingly as knowledgeable) as C R Turbos. Their starting price of £250 soon started to rise and they were very limited on their suggestions as to what improvements could be made to our particular turbo. The ceramic coating was also on offer with C R Turbos, i think it all gets sent of to the same place, but costs a fair bit extra.... interesting option, though.

The Lotus ‘experts’ were former main dealers, but as with most main dealers I have found, they only ever want to stick within the original manufacturers specifications, for fear of any resulting problems and corresponding responsibility. Therefore they just try and put you off of doing anything! I’ve lost count of how many times I have been told that Lotus spent millions of pounds developing their cars, so why do I want to change anything!

Kenich, I work some really strange hours doing shift work and weekends, but if you can give me plenty of notice, I am sure something can be arranged!

[rip]

I would even imagine this could be done even cheaper using the single silenced 2.25 exhaust, without the PCE (£287.50).

Don't ditch the PCE. The closer to the engine you get, the more important it is to have good exhaust flow.

With the correct suspension package (COME ON BOB BROWN!)

You mean like mine?


I'm not surprised they described the stock turbo as a good match. Lotus would have put a lot of effort into deciding the most suitable dimensions when tuning the Isuzu engine.
Do you have more details to the changes they made to the turbo? I can see you mentioned that they enlarged the wastegate & uprated its linkage but apart from re-balancing, do you know what other changes they made to the turbine & compressor internals?

[MattDon]

this looks interesting, would like a little more hp but only another 15 or so. i wonder if its worth going down this road or fitting the garrett upgrade (using the smaller turbo) and seeing what could be done with that. hmmm.

also i got wastegate chatter after porting mine, i think its kinda cool and not half as annoying as a wastegate.

[knoxmotorsports]

we have also noticed that the mountain chips everest is overfueled past the torque peak. What I find interesting about your dyno graphs (the chart, rather) is that tq and hp aren't close to matching eachother at 5252. Something is amiss with their calculations or their correction factor, methinks.

Since HP= TQ*rpm/5252, at 5252rpm (5250 is close enough), the two values should equal eachother. Yours are different by roughly 16 at 5250. Food for thought.

Also, big props to those guys for doing a down-spin after the power pull, it is a neat way to see how much power and tq your drivetrain saps in its delivery. I wish they would have let it spin down all the way to the rpm where the pull began rather than killing it at 4000rpm.

Most dyno shops in the UK who have posted sheets simply come up with an arbitrary percentage (a favorite is 25% for automatic cars and 20% for standard cars) and apply that to all the data, creating a "flywheel power" chart. This is so far from correct it isn't worth getting upset about right now, but at least this shop showed you power to the wheeels rather than the flywheel.

I am quite surprised your car made 172whp with just a quicksilver exhaust. On our Dynojet 248c, Steve Matthews' 91 turbo in bog standard trim made 130-ish on a warm day with a clogged catalytic. After a 2.25"piper and a pce, with LGM intake pipe and everest, he has been up between 184-194whp depending on how hot the ambient conditions have been.

I would be willing to bet that the compressor upgrade they performed is the Thunderbird IHI compressor swap. Neat that it delivers such strong numbers.

[rip]

tq and hp aren't close to matching eachother at 5252. Something is amiss with their calculations or their correction factor, methinks.

Power = torque*angular velocity.... so power will keep increasing with engine speed past the torque peak as long as the torque is not dropping too fast. Eventually the torque will drop off quickly which is when you will see power drop off.

[Monty]

I am quite surprised your car made 172whp with just a quicksilver exhaust. On our Dynojet 248c, Steve Matthews' 91 turbo in bog standard trim made 130-ish on a warm day with a clogged catalytic. After a 2.25"piper and a pce, with LGM intake pipe and everest, he has been up between 184-194whp depending on how hot the ambient conditions have been.
.

I doubt those calculations too and your not the only one who`s done the hybrid turbo and ended up with more lag, i at least know 2 members who weren`t happy with that. IMHO you need bigger injectors to go more than 220bhp at the fly or your risking melt down.

When having the Exhaust fitted at Peco they put her on the rollong road back in 2006 result was 176.8 bhp at the wheels
with
21/4" Peco
Everest Chip
Custom SS turbo down pipe (The Stiffy)
Pipercross Induction kit

http://www.youtube.com/user/lotusM100#p ... yq12iX5tMM



BTW, what are you showing on the boost gauge?

[GeoffSmith]

tq and hp aren't close to matching eachother at 5252. Something is amiss with their calculations or their correction factor, methinks.

Power = torque*angular velocity.... so power will keep increasing with engine speed past the torque peak as long as the torque is not dropping too fast. Eventually the torque will drop off quickly which is when you will see power drop off.

Only true in SI units : Power (W) = Torque (n.m) × angular velocity (radians/second)

Applying all the conversion factors gives:

Power(HP) = Torque (lb.ft) × angular velocity (RPM) / 5252

So at 5252 RPM, Power(HP) = Torque (lb.ft) so if you look at dyno graphical results with the same scale for power and torque, they should intersect at 5252 RPM . Just noticed there is a table of results as well and this reports 182.5 HP and 170.6 lb.ft at 5250, so as Knoxy says, something isn't right!

[rip]

tq and hp aren't close to matching eachother at 5252. Something is amiss with their calculations or their correction factor, methinks.

Power = torque*angular velocity.... so power will keep increasing with engine speed past the torque peak as long as the torque is not dropping too fast. Eventually the torque will drop off quickly which is when you will see power drop off.

Only true in SI units : Power (W) = Torque (n.m) × angular velocity (radians/second)

Applying all the conversion factors gives:

Power(HP) = Torque (lb.ft) × angular velocity (RPM) / 5252

So at 5252 RPM, Power(HP) = Torque (lb.ft) so if you look at dyno graphical results with the same scale for power and torque, they should intersect at 5252 RPM . Just noticed there is a table of results as well and this reports 182.5 HP and 170.6 lb.ft at 5250, so as Knoxy says, something isn't right!

I was wondering where the 5250 came from. That threw me completely.
A conversion factor to balance the fact that base imperial units don't work with each other. Why do we continue to use such a bizarre set of units when SI (by design) works so well?

[MattDon]

my brain just melted.

[Nige]

Karl,

Great post thankyou. Of huge interest to me, particularly as I'm back in the UK and live in the same area from mid Sep with the recently double operational allowance burning a hole in my pocket. I will without doubt pay a call on CR turbos (and probably Turbo Dynamics as well) and would appreciate it if I could perhaps link up with you to discuss after I return as this is a winter project for me.

[Karl Martin]

Jesus....

I’ve always gone by the theory of suck it and see!....and let the engineers do the hard part!

I met with the guys again today...looks like C R Turbos have relocated to the same industrial estate as Read Performance…only several units away.

Rip wrote (before he gave me a brain aneurism) :-

“Do you have more details to the changes they made to the turbo? I can see you mentioned that they enlarged the wastegate & uprated its linkage but apart from re-balancing, do you know what other changes they made to the turbine & compressor internals?

Compressor wheel only - 4-5mm larger on the inducer, form the parts bin, didn’t know specifically if they were used on other turbos.( I can't answer technical questions!)

Uprated thrust bearing.

Waste gate was enlargened but he cannot remember the mm, just that the casing would only allow so much, so the original washer was kept….however, it was the shape of the hole that was important…as it goes through the metal it was “flared out like a trumpet”

I also asked him about ceramic coatings. He was against coating the actual turbo casing as “the biggest cause of failure was excessive heat, and therefore you want the turbo to lose as much as possible…put it behind a heat shield that leaves a gap”

Also “if you really want to keep the heat from under the bonnet, then coat the manifold/down pipe etc.”



Mattdon wrote:-

“this looks interesting, would like a little more hp but only another 15 or so. i wonder if its worth going down this road or fitting the garrett upgrade (using the smaller turbo) and seeing what could be done with that. Hmmm.”

I asked about a larger turbo and apparently even a small Garrett upgrade is likely to give you some lag and would be much more expensive and complicated to fit.

And because the above upgrade with the Everest chip is fuelling heavy, by raising the boost pressure and remapping ( I am trying to test the Elysium chip) using the existing ECU you will probably get another 10 - 15 BHP. Furthermore, I was told that the existing fuel system (injectors) are nowhere near their limit yet.

Also, by fitting a new programmable ECU, I could have any type of programme I wanted, raising the boost still further and even improving on the already seamless power delivery. And if larger injectors would ultimately be necessary, then no problem.

It is at this point, however, I would ask:

1) How much can the stock clutch, engine and gearbox take before failure/severely shortening their life duration?

2) How many BHP will it take before it overwhelms the traction, i.e wheel spin? Having more power is a waste of time if you can’t put it on the ground!

3) Would another 15 BHP make that much difference?

Going from stock to 200 BHP (35) was noticeable. Another 45 was incredible, but would another 15 be that much different, at this level?

It is now, however, that that part inside of me is wondering just how far I can take this...

I was also going to have a custom down pipe fabricated to get as much free flowing as possible, but apparently it is a good idea to actually have a small amount of back pressure, because it helps keep the oil on parts of the turbo which would otherwise be squeezed out too rapidly, thereby prolonging the life. I was also told to keep this set up to under 1 Bar.

I personally, would therefore forget a larger lethargic turbo, with it’s manic upper end power, lag and much higher costs.

P.s, looking at your profile, what is a ‘viper cold air induction?’...sounds interesting!