200 mph Esprit

[Toua]

Is it just me, or is it that funny. I mean the esprit, out of the factory does 175+, how hard is it to make it go 200+ mph. Get the Quafie transmission(6spd) and a little turbo boost plus blow off valve and some nice tires and there you have it!.. how hard was it to get that Esprit to 200? The car itself is fsat enough and performance like its on rails.. its a predictable car when it comes down to handling. So why did they fail? <---- Please answer this anyone.. shine some light here please.

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

Yes

Yes

very easy

yes yes yes yes yes

a doddle

yes yes

cos they're complete twats!

Didnt bother asking the right people until after they were committed to a doomed course of action and then ignored the advice of the experts once they asked for it!

Twats!

[Paul C]

Yeah, can be so cheap some of it too, but they have to make it a right fiasco

in order to make it interesting for the viewers. End result is them pub 'experts'

now cannot stop banging on about the gearbox.

Maybe...

If you get a craft knife and carve out the carpet behind the throttle pedal,

then you probably get an extra .1 sec and as much as 5mph extra top end?

Worked in my Van.

[Jussi]

I have heard Giugiaro which goes +200mph. I was asking this same question earlier but never get right answer. I also believe that it isn't a big job to make it go that fast. We'll see in about 2years (or 3), when I'm planning to make bigger service and put some extra power on the car Gearbox is a big question what it can handle

[WayneB]

I like Pauls idea B)

If I cut out the fibreglass behind my Esprits throttle pedal

My car should then be a 200M.P.H. machine

This tip would work on any car

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

The figure we have plumped for is ~250bhp for the Citroen-Maserati Gearbox....

This is based *purely* on the theory that Lotus like to allow about 15% margin for error / overengineering

The furthest they officially pushed the box was 215bhp. 15% =32.25

...so thats 247.25 bhp!

Speaking with Garry Kemp however, who has WAAAY more knowledge than I think many of us collecctively will.. and he had the follwoing to say (edited)

I don

[WayneB]

Just been out to have a chat with the Citroen gearbox in my car

He feels he could handle 250bhp in 5th. gear

So maybe the answer is to limit boost in all gears except 5th.

Maybe that boost controller thingy whatsit is the answer?

Edited August 7, 2005 by WayneB

[gpz900r]

Well if I can do over 140 in my 83 turbo with no mods, tired steering and origonal rear suspension Im sure you boys with new toys can sort it, I can feel another film coming on.........

We could call it "200mph for 200quid"

Brain Teaser: what speed do you need to go through a roadside speeding camera at for it not to see you?

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

171

Link

[th4neuk]

seeing as how easy it is to make a V8 do 200 mph, what about gettingeither a 4 cylinder car to do it or do a V8 and the suggest to TopGear (better program anyway) that they might like to smugly comment as to how easy it is to do. Would irritate the hell out of the 5th Gear wannabees???

cheers

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

I like the idea Alan!

I was sure Marcus PUK was going to do it to his 4 pot for pretty much the same motivation!

[Guest teigan]

i've taken my '84 turbo up past 150, and noticed its aerodynamics aren't as effective at higher speeds. feels to me like turbulence. wouldn't windbreakers in front of the wheels, and a smooth underbelly panel help? realistically, i'd settle for better door seals; sometimes it sounds as if roger whittaker is hiding in the boot.

[th4neuk]

technically with a different ratio on 5th surely it would be possible. Even from a four pot pulling say 300 to 350 bhp would the aerodynamics allow the car to achieve this speed.

does anyone know what the 5th ratio is on the dereck bell box??

Cheers

[WayneB]

My Esprit is sooo fast I usually get back home before I left

I will leave the moddin and go faster stuff to you guys, 156mph is good enough for me (in a 20 yr. old car)

Get to drive some quick new stuff, (faster than my Esprit) but the Lotus is still more exhilarating to drive

[Jussi]

My Esprit is sooo fast I usually get back home before I left

Edited August 8, 2005 by Jussi

[WayneB]

How did you know about the tractor?

Isnt that the same colour as your Esprit?

Nice artwork on the side of the engine cover

[Kato]

You guys! There's a lot more involved in getting an Esprit over 200mph than what's listed above. 500bhp+ is needed, which is more than just 'turning up the boost'. The V8 engine's only good for 350bhp, work is needed on internals to get upto 500bhp. There's plenty to do and it's expensive. The project manager was given the list by Lotus at the beginning of the project. Like you, they thought they could do it cheaply! They failed. As you would!

[The_Del]

You guys! There's a lot more involved in getting an Esprit over 200mph than what's listed above.

I agree as most people just see 175 and then 200 well thats only 25 mph can't be that difficult.

Well I'm afraid good old science is pitted against you and the laws of physics canne be changed. Wind resistance tends to feel more like pushing through a brick wall at these speeds.

Many cars today can do 120, a few more can do 150, few get above 170, and just look at the stats on those on or above the 200 mark.

Now I know my Esprit has more than 4 times the power of a smart car but it only goes 50% faster, that seems unfair but thats physics.

I still would like to see this done at some time properly, and not by a bunch of TV muppets who only know where the steering wheel is and how to start the blasted thing.

[Toua]

Its just funny you know, if you dont know anything about a certain car, about not taking advice from the manufactuer who actually BUILT the cars. Well those bone heads deserved it.

Where is the car now and is the project still up?

sorry i dont have BBC here...

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

It's not BBC - It's Channel 5. BBC doa show called Top Gear... They would have made it work... or be REALLY bloody entertaining in the process of failing!