steveoexige 65 Posted December 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2019 8 minutes ago, alias23 said: @steveoexige Just a quick question really... why not just get it all done by Daniel at Komotec? The forged engine that is... in addition to the CC kit? Simple...I quite like remaining married to the wife. The Komotec ex500 price is, ahem, rather pricey. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mattmahope 225 Posted December 17, 2019 Report Share Posted December 17, 2019 Have a look at the parts from Monkeywrench Racing in the US. They seem to be well respected over there and they do all sorts of tasty engine parts... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
550superfast 446 Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 19 hours ago, steveoexige said: Either way I think uprated rods and pistons are the way to go. Are you changing any other parts or just the rods and pistons? Quote https://www.youtube.com/user/400superamerica Link to post Share on other sites
steveoexige 65 Posted December 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 1 hour ago, 550superfast said: Are you changing any other parts or just the rods and pistons? 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.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
steveoexige 65 Posted April 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 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?? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kristof Thys 182 Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) Steve, so you have the KT or Tubular manifolds (so removing the left and right bank cat) -> down-pipe/Y-pipe -> S-pipe -> silencer. Means you are running without a cat right now, correct (so in the S-pipe you will have 2 o2-simulator and then the post cat o2 sensors to avoid "catalytic converter threshold - below minimum efficiency" jokes ) and it's the S-pipe you now want to replace with one with a cat or a small resonator? It's deffo a DIY job, done it quite often. I have a cat there, DixieV6 has a small resonator there. Mind you there is not a lot of space, so if you go for a resonator, keep the diameter limited. S-pipe vs S-with100-cell sport cat (don't mind the pre-cat bung, it's there for a wideband o2 sensor going to the AFR gauge): Edited April 26, 2020 by Kristof Thys Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kristof Thys 182 Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) don't mind the plastic zip ties... they have been replaced by stainless steel ones In situ: Edited April 26, 2020 by Kristof Thys Quote Link to post Share on other sites
steveoexige 65 Posted April 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kristof Thys 182 Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) It is all pretty basic indeed. Remove undertray, remove diffuser. First remove back box. You might need a deep(er) socket. Then disconnect the O2 sensors by first deconnecting at the electrical connectors and then loosening them. I have a special wrench for them but if you take it easy you can do with a normal spanner. Unscrew whilst turning the cabling. Remove bolts at the front of the S-pipe near the flex joint. Ideally you use a new gasket between both flanges, but for once you can get away with reusing the old one. Just don't overtighten. If you have all 'connected up' only then tight all the bolts up. Good luck, it's easy. Let me know if you need help. Edited April 26, 2020 by Kristof Thys Typo's... On my mobile... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
steveoexige 65 Posted August 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2020 Another slooooow update. Finally got my 2bular big bore downpipe and decat silencer fitted. The car is a bit quieter, not much, but definitely more bearable. Its gone from trombone on steroids to angry trumpet. Next on the shopping list is one of Jim's track backbox silencers I think. In other news I've booked the car into 24-7 Motorsport for October to get my EX500 Komotec charge cooler kit fitted to my currently non cooled, standard SSC TVS1900. They are just down the road from SCS Delta , who will fit their ECU and map the car on their dyno, with both firms attending a final shake down track day at Snetterton for some tweaks to the map in a real world driving scenario. Both the main guy's at 24-7 Motorsport and at SCS are ex Lotus and they really know their way around the car. I know there are a lot of reputable tuners out there, but these guys won me over when they said they had just fitted exactly the same setup as mine, plus forged rods and pistons to an Evora to achieve over 600 bhp on the dyno. They said they left some power on the table to keep it safe (!) If I can get close to 500 I'll be happy, although I'm sorely tempted to go ahead and buy the rods, pistons and cams I mentioned in an earlier post for the full fat 600+ bhp. Not sure I'd ever stop worrying about the gearbox though so might hold off until someone makes a straight cut or uprated gearset. Sequential isnt an option for the road due to the need for a rebuild so often, plus its telephone numbers costwise. I'll update this once the work is complete, hopefully with a before and after dyno print out, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jcx 134 Posted August 5, 2020 Report Share Posted August 5, 2020 Steve, intrigued. Without asking specifics, to save blushes on both sides, would’t you be better buying a cup 430? Or will you keep this for t’duration? Seems to me all cash invested may fund fun but will be lost on resale. Or do you care little about that? I swapped my 350 for a 410 when I realised that I wanted to spend 1/2 the difference making my 350 more 410-like. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
steveoexige 65 Posted August 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2020 Yes I thought about that but tbh I managed to buy my 380 with the TVS1900 and a 2bular decat manifold already fitted for a really good price. I particularly wanted a used 380 as they tended to all be fully loaded with every carbon extra (a la 430 cup) but without the massive £90k price tag. Mine was cheap because it wasn't running right as some wally at either Murray Lotus or Lotus Silverstone had flashed the OEM 380 map on it and the dealer selling the car hadn't taken the time to research it, figure it out and fix it. The chargecooler kit from komotec was really good value too so overall I can (almost) live with what I've spent so far. I'm still under £60k total spend which works for me if I can end up near 500'ish bhp. As always, no matter what I do, I'll never get my money back come resale. I wouldn't mind but this is my 3rd Exige and I tuned the tyres off my last one, a 360bhp burnt orange S2. I tend to convince myself that whatever car I'm spending money on modifying, that its a keeper. They never are though.... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jcx 134 Posted August 5, 2020 Report Share Posted August 5, 2020 True enough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
steveoexige 65 Posted August 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2020 Forgot to also mention that I fitted some new rear lights from Greg in the states and a half decent number plate too. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Five50 32 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 Awesome - keep us updated Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nathan 17 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 Never been a massive fan of the GRP lights on the earlier rears with 4 lights, but with just 2 that looks spot on I dropped you a PM Steve too, when you've got a mo. Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post steveoexige 65 Posted November 3, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 Quick update. Exige is now sitting in the lovely workshop of 247 Motorsport. They are going to do a base run on the SCS Delta dyno before fitting the chargecooler, geo, carbon side scoops and getting it MOT'd. Then its back to SCS for their custom ecu, remap and more dyno time. The plan is to hit 500bhp - its a lovely round number so why not. Ill report back with the before and after figures. I haven't gone for the forged internals....yet. Tbh until someone pioneers a hardened gearset there isn't really any point going for much more than 500bhp. SCS delta are running their own dyno proven Evora with the same TVS1900 and chargecooler setup at just over 600bhp but on the IPS auto box without any problems. Apparently they dialled it back for reliability, and left some power on the table! Can't wait to get it back 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mattmahope 225 Posted November 3, 2020 Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 Sounds great! As I think you know, I am currently planning the next stage of my engine build and think that 24/7 will most likely be the way to go. Will be very interested to hear your experience of them and SCS as well. Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
3eighty 7 Posted November 4, 2020 Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 Good work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
steveoexige 65 Posted November 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2020 Quick interim update. My car showed 335bhp on the base dyno run (!) Apparently the lamda sensor wiring had melted some time ago and the fuelling was all over the place. I had noticed that recently it was sluggish. It just goes to show what a quick health check and dyno run can reveal. Phil at 24-7 has used the Delta guys a lot and on their dyno he said he'd never seen a stock exige make its claimed factory numbers, or anywhere near them. So the chargecooler is now fitted, and the Delta ECU wired in so it was back on the dyno. 1st run, just over 400bhp. a few runs later and some tweaks and it made 421bhp. Whatever I feel about the dyno reading high or low, 90 odd bhp is a good improvement. Not sure why (TBH - I didnt ask) but for some reason my car was only hitting something like 6.5psi peak on the pulley thats on it at the moment with the TVS1900. That's lower than SSC state for their kit so I can only imagine its either been fitted with a bigger pulley (mine was a very early kit so its possible the pulley size changed later on) or the charge cooler has had an effect on peak boost. 6.5psi is fine if I was thinking of becoming an uber driver and driving it for 200k miles but with the chargecooler halving the inlet temps, and the new ECU providing some proper, real time knock control the engine is in the safest state it will ever be in. Basically we can go higher with the boost, so we're discussing fitting a smaller pulley........I'll report back. I seem to remember Mattmahope who has a very similar setup running 10psi. Matt is this about right ? Also anyone with a Komotec kit know what they are boosting to ? Its good to have a reference point. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
W31SSN 83 Posted November 20, 2020 Report Share Posted November 20, 2020 I am due to have the CCTVS1900 with the same ECU installed end of this month/beginning of December (SSC struggling to get hold of the units from Harrop). So will be interesting to compare results. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mattmahope 225 Posted November 21, 2020 Report Share Posted November 21, 2020 I am running around 10psi of boost with 81mm pulley. My car just did 514hp on the dyno at RRR, which I expect is a little inflated, but it is comfortably around the 500hp mark. My kit took months to arrive from Harrop Quote Link to post Share on other sites
steveoexige 65 Posted November 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2020 oh and the komotec chargecooler threw the pulley alignment out by a couple of mm. Not ideal for belt longevity so Phil is having a spacer made up to get it properly aligned. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mattmahope 225 Posted November 23, 2020 Report Share Posted November 23, 2020 My supercharger belt split on the first drive from having the TVS1900 unit fitted because of a misaligned pulley, so clearly a reoccurring problem that needs to be fixed. Komotec dealt with it and it’s been fine ever since for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
550superfast 446 Posted November 25, 2020 Report Share Posted November 25, 2020 No problems with belt alignment on my car. 1000's of miles and 7-8 trackdays and still going faultlessly. Did you guys have you engine bay cut a bit to fit the kit? Quote https://www.youtube.com/user/400superamerica Link to post Share on other sites
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