steveoexige

Thanks for the photo's and info, really appreciate it. I dont EVER do my own spanner work so I'm more than a bit daunted by the prospect of doing this! Looking at your last photo I'm guessing I have to remove the rear grill and then the exhaust back box/silencer entirely in order to replicate your last pic? I cant quite see the other end of your Sports cat S pipe but do you think I will be able to connect my silenced S pipe up to the Y pipe with the rear grill and backbox off, or will I also need to remove the undertray, etc? One last thing, I'm guessing all the exisiting hardware (bolts, etc) used to mount my exiting decat S pipe will be reused for the new silenced S pipe? just wondering if I need to buy anything in advance of tackling this.

Quick update as I've been very quiet since my last post. I haven't had the charge cooler fitted or even bought the engine parts I was planning on. Now we're all in lockdown everything is on stop apart from me having a go at fitting the silencer in place of my decat manifold (where the a sports cat would normally be fitted i have a straight pipe hence the awful ear bleeding racket). Has any one attempted to fit one of these or a sports cat themselves? I cannot wait for lockdown to end so fancy trying it myself....unless of course its a tough task. What do we think guys, do'able??

I cant say what my 380 was like before as I bought it already with the TVS fitted, but it definitely spins up quickly and doesn't feel at all bogged down or lazy. With your Masterblack ECU I dare say you'll see a significant power increase over the SSC oem ecu reflash.

Stage 1: Fit the cheaper TVS1900 kit to achieve 410. Fun for a while until u get used to it and realise it can deliver so much more, so then: Stage 2: chargecool the above for 500+. As above, then: Stage 3: rods, pistons and ECU for god knows what. Start a trust fund to find a gearbox solution. Makes perfect sense on the holy upgrade path to enlightenment.

ARP headbolts too but will also give some thought to the valvetrain whilst the engine is out. These engines seem to struggle making enough revs to achieve the most of the readily available power around the 6.5k to 7.5k rpm band. Mines stops at 6800rpm which is just in the sweet spot and feels very abrupt. If I'm going aftermarket ECU I can set the rev limit where it needs to be so It makes sense to look at the rockers and springs too. Oh and maybe cams....the slippery slope slides ever on....

Simple...I quite like remaining married to the wife. The Komotec ex500 price is, ahem, rather pricey.

It should be ok as mines not a track car. Ultimately it is knock that kills these engines. The OEM ECU calculates temps before combustion with the MAF, monitoring knock and O2 sensor readings in the exhaust and EGTs to determine optimal fuel delivery and timing advance/retard on the fly. Heatsoak hugely affects the readings and the ECU compensates as hot air increases knock/detonation which is potentially damaging and also means retarded ignition timing and less power. A chargecooler working with the OEM ecu massively helps get more power (as per the Komotec EX460 kit) plus it hugely reduces knock......but a better, aftermarket ECU / chargecooler setup will release slightly more power and more importantly, provide even better knock control. Komotec's EX500 kit running the OEM ecu will make 500 to 525bhp, but throw in the extra brains of a Motec, Link or Masterblack, etc at the same boost it should provide better/more engine control. I know that the outright numbers are just willy waving pub talk but its always nice to have a figure in mind when you open your wallet to pay for the mods! Either way I think uprated rods and pistons are the way to go.

So, after enjoying the TVS1900 for the past couple of months I'm getting a bit too used to its performance. I always knew I'd tinker with it, and after owning 2 previous S2 Exiges and mod'ing the bejeezus out of them it was only a matter of time. 1st set of mods have been bought: Larger, carbon side scoops from Imran - these look gorgeous from the pics and will go with my carbon roof, wing, sills, spoiler, etc. The problem with buying a car with carbon parts already on it means you have to go ££ carbon parts thereafter! Bigger bore exhaust downpipe and matching silencer from Jim / 2bular (I'm hoping my hearing returns once these are fitted). As per usual the welds are so stunning I'd rather hang it on my wall than get it grubby next to the engine. Komotec EX500 kit. Basically Komotec's chargecooler setup for my TVS1900 super charger. Daniel and I had been talking for a while (about 5 mins after I bought the car in fact) and he was very gracious to sell me his well thought out kit. Certainly if I keep the engine standard I'll be able to safely run 525bhp with an aftermarket ECU (next on my shopping list).......but it makes no sense to leave readily available extra engine power from the chargecooled TVS on the shelf....600bhp with forged internals would be on the cards. So I'm on the fence with going the whole hog and buying a set of pistons and rods. My man math logic says to fit uprated rods and pistons whilist its in the workshop having the chargecooler setup fitted. Obv the gearbox will commit suicide, and that's a whole other discussion (Lotus brains - feel free to throw me a bone here?). I'm naively telling myself the OEM box might last a year without any track days before I absolutely have to do something about finding a solution.....maybe if I beg Daniel some more ? As for forged engine internals I've used the usual suspects in my previous cars: Carrillo, Mahle, etc so I started to do some digging to price up the parts and that's when I came across an outfit called DP Engine Parts. They fabricate their own very high performance, 1000 bhp + heavy duty drag engine components and have recently had some press due to a world record beating MR2 dragster. Their parts are all forged billet and of a similar price to the bigger, mass produced brands. In any transaction I've always sided with the keener, smaller firms providing the quality is on a par so I'm in discussions with them at the moment. We will see......... Finally - can anyone recommend an engine builder? Fensport built up my last forged engine for a track GT86 but they don't want to get involved with the Exige world due to other commitments - who can blame them To be honest I'm not obsessed about using a tuning firm, so no need to recommend a Lotus specialists guys. Our cars run a factory OEM Toyota lump simple engine works.

interesting reading and some good numbers from owners. Quick question: can someone confirm if Vone Racing tune the OEM ECU ??

I'd love to get my 380 as super shiny as yours...stunning! Any recommendations on products or firms to use to apply something like a ceramic coat, etc?

Ordered

They look great. Price dependent, I am very interested in a pair of these.

Mine has a removable carbon OMP...super lightweight and spot on diameter sizewise but I would prefer it if it was slightly thicker. As the Alcantara is fairly worn I'll probably get Royals to recover it in another layer to fatten it up.

I might be slightly biased (ahem) but I'd get a 380 and then spend less than the difference you'll save on the 410 on a TVS1900 upgrade (or Komotec). I test drove a 350 Sport, a standard 380 Sport and a 410 Sport. Yes the 410 was quicker but my 380 with the TVS1900 is quicker still plus it was a whole £12k cheaper than the cheapest 410........thats a lot of very high quality suspension and track days. A lot of the 380 I saw on the classifieds at the time had the full extras spec too, like mine most had the full carbon roof, splitter, engine cover, wing, interior sills, forged wheels, etc. I'm also a sucker for the double canards at the front on the 380. At the end of the day any of the v6 models make a great base to upgrade from....its really how new do you want to go and what look do you prefer.

Yes I get the engine check light come on after a long'ish drive. I have an OBD port scanner that I just use to read and reset the check light. When I finally go for the full fat Masterblack ECU setup they can code their ECU so it shouldn't show the code at all.