Hi,
I have a S1 Lotus Esprit, and really considering fitting a Bike engine to it? it had a Rover V8 which I have just removed, which did sound real nice
but was not that quick! do you think the Esprit would be too heavy? Thanks
How heavy is it?
Yes, far too heavy. I doubt youll see any improvement in performance - quite the opposite in fact.
Its torque that will give you the grin not revs and not lightweight alone.
If it were me, i would tune up the rover engine, and keep that. Its possible to get some huge power figures from the old rover v8.
quote:
Originally posted by t16turbo
Hi,
I have a S1 Lotus Esprit, and really considering fitting a Bike engine to it? it had a Rover V8 which I have just removed, which did sound real nice but was not that quick! do you think the Esprit would be too heavy? Thanks
It depends what you want to do with the vehicle. But I think it would be too heavy 1220kg (with original engine according to wikipedia) to go
fast.
You'd have to go for one of the really big engines (1300cc's) or a turbo.
Why not an Audi v8 in there. There is an excellent diary of one of these somewhere on tinternet (the name "hilly" rings a bell).
Matt
Made out of Blackpool Rock them engines eh?
quote:
Originally posted by gingerprince
According to wikipedia, Esprit weighs about 1200Kg, FAAR too heavy for a bike engine.
I think it would be terrible to fit a Bike engine to a Lotus Esprit. But oh well... Tune your current engine or put in an ls7 or something nuts like
that
A good bike engine has about the same amount of power as a standard Rover V8. It will be about 120kg lighter so will be about 10% faster. That much
is not worth the conversion if you ask me, especially as that much weight is not good for bike transmissions.
How much cheaper and simpler would it be to tune your RV8 to get 10% more power? For the same performance gain, that would be my choice. The next
step up would be a drop in replacement - a TVR spec Rover V8 or other tuned version of the engine. It is the most sensible way to go.
How about the Viper V10 like the one being put into a luego? 
No No No No No No No...
NO!
quote:
Originally posted by scootz
No No No No No No No...
NO!
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes...
YES!
Audi V8 with it's own transaxle seems like a good bet if you can squeeze it in. Quite a big lump compared to the Rover though as it's
DOHC.
If not one of the GM LSx engines would be my choice, light (relatively), very compact and plenty of power even in standard form and stacks of
aftermarket support for tuning. Only snag is how long the Renault transaxle will last with the kind of torque these engines develop.
Worth measuring up a Porsche Boxster engine and transaxle? If not the transaxle should survive better than the renault when bolted to a LS V8
quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
Audi V8 with it's own transaxle seems like a good bet if you can squeeze it in. Quite a big lump compared to the Rover though as it's DOHC.
- linky (using a 1.9 TDi box if I remember right) 
What about sierra/escort cosworth engine? or even subaru impreza turbo, just thinking about it there's stacks of interesting jap 2ltr turbo
engines, even lexus v8's! but for a car like that you can't beat the sound of a big v8!
I've got an audi transaxle for sale if you want it to go with scootz's v8?
quote:
Originally posted by smart51
A good bike engine has about the same amount of power as a standard Rover V8. It will be about 120kg lighter so will be about 10% faster.
quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverything
quote:
Originally posted by smart51
A good bike engine has about the same amount of power as a standard Rover V8. It will be about 120kg lighter so will be about 10% faster.
lol, i doubt it very much.
Id love to see where you get those approximate figures from.
power only wins arguments - torque wins races
Ok so looks like I will be keeping the V8 then......
quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverything
quote:
Originally posted by smart51
A good bike engine has about the same amount of power as a standard Rover V8. It will be about 120kg lighter so will be about 10% faster.
lol, i doubt it very much.
Id love to see where you get those approximate figures from.
quote:
Originally posted by smart51
A ZZR1400 esprit should be a little faster than a standard tune RV8.
ok so how much weight loss would be needed to make it work? taking into account the loss of the V8 and all its bits/transaxle etc, I am surprised at the weight of the car? its very basic and very kitcar like, small chassis and fibreglass body? how much weight could I loose if I changed the glass for Plexiglas, stripped out all the unwanted crap? the standard car had a lot of wood and crap in the engine bay mine has all gone! just minimal alloy sheet now, and that's been swaged with large holes......
I would say that 700kg is the cut-off point for using bike-power.