How Long will a late model correctly seal V8 Engine Last

[mamovaka]

The car I purchased had an engine rebuild "properly" so it will have no liner issues.. I guess my question is do the late model v8's (2001+) tend to last longer without an engine rebuild.. Is there even a chance that a late model v8 Esprit can go 100k miles without an engine rebuild?!

[Advantage]

I'd be surprised if a cared for V8 wouldn't make 150k without issue.

[Fred Basset]

I'd be surprised if a cared for V8 wouldn't make 150k without issue.

The 96 V8 I bought that you'd previously owned did 21k before the liners went, the replacement 2000 engine felt so much better in every way. I did not keep it long enough to be able to comment on long term life.

I'd agree that the latter engines, if looked after should last a long time, not sure how long through. My current 02 also feels much better than the first.

Regards

Fred

[jeff_hooper]

I'd be surprised if a cared for V8 wouldn't make 150k without issue.

This is a high performance engine (and its not Japanese!). Yes, any 'normal' car should do 100K+ over maybe 10/15 years (and Japanese performance cars will do it easily - eeerm, now just remind me who won the Second World War? - It's not just you Americans,. us British have the same problem - There is no real British car industry left, most people aspire to drive BMW's, Mercs and Volkswagens....).

I double Lotus have ever managed to built an engine that can be relied upon to do anywhere near 150k. If the engine would do that then they could justifiably accused of not tuning it enough in the first place...! Very much a part of the Colin Chapman's DNA that still runs through Lotus today.

Elise owners talk in terms of realistic figures of 60k engine life (you might get 80k - if your very lucky) as did Elan owners in the 60's and 70's... I guess a 'fault' free V8 might do the same... (but only after 4 new turbo/cats/several waste gates/O2 sensors, LOL).

If a Lotus built engine does manages 100k then it probably hasn't been driven properly...

Jeff

Edited November 30, 2006 by jeff_hooper

[Fred Basset]

This is a high performance engine (and its not Japanese!). Yes, any 'normal' car should do 100K+ over maybe 10/15 years (and Japanese performance cars will do it easily - eeerm, now just remind me who won the Second World War? - It's not just you Americans,. us British have the same problem - There is no real British car industry left, most people aspire to drive BMW's, Mercs and Volkswagens....).

I double Lotus have ever managed to built an engine that can be relied upon to do anywhere near 150k. If the engine would do that then they could justifiably accused of not tuning it enough in the first place...! Very much a part of the Colin Chapman's DNA that still runs through Lotus today.

Elise owners talk in terms of realistic figures of 60k engine life (you might get 80k - if your very lucky) as did Elan owners in the 60's and 70's... I guess a 'fault' free V8 might do the same... (but only after 4 new turbo/cats/several waste gates/O2 sensors, LOL).

If a Lotus built engine does manages 100k then it probably hasn't been driven properly...

Jeff

Jeff, the fact Elise owners talk of that mileage really has nothing to do with Lotus, the K series had a big problem in Rovers, my neighbours destroyed itself at about 60k, thats a Rover by the way.

As for Lotus making engines that last, my Excel has 130k on it without a rebuilt and it's been driven. There is a guy I know with an Excel thats done over 240k, oh it has had a waterpump replaced but thats the only important part.

So personally I'd have to say you might be surprised!

Regards

Fred

[Advantage]

Many of the Lotus Carltons have done starship miles, nowadays. Well, the ones that haven't ended up in a hedge or rusted away...!

Mine had done close to 90k before I sold it on needing nothing more exciting than a set of plug leads and the odd sensor (apart from normal consumables) Trust me for the six years I owned it, it was driven properly!

[david hopwood]

why should a properly looked after v8 engine not last

as marcus points out our v8 engines are not in a high state of tune so unless you do silly tuning mods our engines should reward us with years of high milage service btw mines done 52k no major parts commpression is still 165psi at cranking with no deviation of more than 15 psi per pot

[cschriks]

I think it all depends on how you drive your car. You can drive 60MPH in third gear, fourth gear and fifth gear.

You will cover the same distance in a given period of time but the number of RPM will differ. I have never understand why people focus so much on mileage. I think the mileage to the total number of rotations ratio is more important and will determine engine life. However it is difficult to calculate this figure. Also, driving 5 minutes above 6000 RPM is often more destructive than driving 10 hours at 3000 RPM.

I always keep RPM below 3000 during the first 10 minutes of driving. I do a lot of fifth gear cruising. I try to have the gear change to go as smooth as possible. Always press the cluth fully, when changing gears. Never drive high RPM for longer periods. My car should last a lifetime!

[atgnat]

with a chip, and a loose right foot, i think 50k would be a lot.

[snuffy]

I'd be surprised if a cared for V8 wouldn't make 150k without issue.

I take it you are using sarcasm there then ?

[Paula&Marcus]

Pano,

It ALL depends how you drive and maintain the car. Driving style and maintainance are the key here. This does NOT mean that you have to drive like your grand-ma. Its all about getting the right "feeling" for the machine. The correct word for it is "mechanical-sympathy".

If you do everything right, you wont get too much problems, maybe no problems at all. We have quite a few Esprits here that have covered many many kilometres without problems, also V8s ;o)

Of course, if you keep on doing drag-starts in 1st gear with 6800rpm, I can promise that you will not have too much fun with it. Nor will we have.

Cheers

Marcus

The car I purchased had an engine rebuild "properly" so it will have no liner issues.. I guess my question is do the late model v8's (2001+) tend to last longer without an engine rebuild.. Is there even a chance that a late model v8 Esprit can go 100k miles without an engine rebuild?!

Mark,

I even would put it more drastic ...

"... the wrong man behind the wheel can wreck the drivetrain (engine and/or gearbox) within 5 seconds without even covering 100 metres ..."

Marcus

with a chip, and a loose right foot, i think 50k would be a lot.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Paula&Marcus

[mamovaka]

Of course, if you keep on doing drag-starts in 1st gear with 6800rpm, I can promise that you will not have too much fun with it. Nor will we have.

Marcus

was not a drag start, again it was just acceleration in 1st.. slowly it revved up to 6800.. again most cars really can do this without much issue... noyt just supras/vettes.. but nsx, porsche etc etc can all accelerate in 1st gear will full power without breaking, I need to accept the esprit just can't

Pano

[Viggen]

I think it all depends on how you drive your car. You can drive 60MPH in third gear, fourth gear and fifth gear.

You will cover the same distance in a given period of time but the number of RPM will differ. I have never understand why people focus so much on mileage. I think the mileage to the total number of rotations ratio is more important and will determine engine life. However it is difficult to calculate this figure. Also, driving 5 minutes above 6000 RPM is often more destructive than driving 10 hours at 3000 RPM.

I always keep RPM below 3000 during the first 10 minutes of driving. I do a lot of fifth gear cruising. I try to have the gear change to go as smooth as possible. Always press the cluth fully, when changing gears. Never drive high RPM for longer periods. My car should last a lifetime!

I do not see how revving a car to 6K is more destructive then 3K. If it is more destructive then the engine was not built properly. If the car has a 7K redline & you rev it to 8K then yea.... revving the engine that high is definantly bad. However keeping the car withing the mfg's RPM band I do not see how it could hurt anything.

1 of my cars which was a daily driver & also my 1st track car (8 ish schools) had +260,000 miles on a bone stock engine running 28 PSI from a T3/4 turbo. The engine still hade excellent compression & what killed the car was a blown trans & also lots of rutt. Obviously not a Lotus

I do agree with any motor before you rev it up it needs to be at operating temps. Also talk to a ferarri mechanic about ferarri owners who do not drive their cars. They have more engine problems/maintenance from people who do not revtheir car ofter vs people that baby it

[jeff_hooper]

I do not see how revving a car to 6K is more destructive then 3K. If it is more destructive then the engine was not built properly. If the car has a 7K redline & you rev it to 8K then yea.... revving the engine that high is definantly bad. However keeping the car withing the mfg's RPM band I do not see how it could hurt anything.

1 of my cars which was a daily driver & also my 1st track car (8 ish schools) had +260,000 miles on a bone stock engine running 28 PSI from a T3/4 turbo. The engine still hade excellent compression & what killed the car was a blown trans & also lots of rutt. Obviously not a Lotus

I do agree with any motor before you rev it up it needs to be at operating temps. Also talk to a ferarri mechanic about ferarri owners who do not drive their cars. They have more engine problems/maintenance from people who do not revtheir car ofter vs people that baby it

I have read several times from reputable sources over the past 30 years that revs and crank life are directly related. That is for any given mileage an engine reved more often to the top of its range will show more wear on the crank journals than one not. That's not to say the crank will actually fail and in most cases other parts of the engine will be terminal well before the crank fails.

I've always been an advocate of using a good part of any petrol engined cars full rev range (mostly say 2,500 to 6,000) and letting it spin up on a light throttle rather than changing what I consider early (say only 1,500 to 3,000) - Not just in brisk driving but in gentle slow traffic. All petrol engines are compromised in design because of there wide rev range (as opposed to say a diesel engine or something like a petrol engined generator which can be designed to be very efficient at a specific RPM and narrow power band). I figure the cars petrol engine will be happiest either side of say 70% of maximum revs regarsless of thrittle position. My Esprits previous owner and myself have discussed this point several times. He will change early and go up through the gears never going much over 3,000 RPM in gentle driving, using the engine capacity and Torque (a good point for a 3,500 cc V8). Whereas I would tend to accelerate at the same sort of pace but let the engine spin more in the lower gears and then just drop it into Top gear when I was happy with my road speed. It just feels a better way to me, many people seem to feel you should only be up at the top end of the rev range with you throttle wide open.

As far as engine life in concerned on the V8 Esprit. I must admit to being a cautious individual both in my person life and its a key characteristic of my job. I do for example take the view that house prices will stagnate and probably drop slighly in the next two years and that my Esprit is worth only the pounds notes someone will give me after advertising it for a reasonable time and is not worth some guessed at Club valuation. Reading LEW as a broad brush experience of Esprit and V8 ownership only the best optimist could take the view that the engines last well and give good mileage. Yes, some engines do last but most seem not too and you will be most likely be disapointed with the end result if you try to apply values established from running a volume mass produced car.

Jeff

Ps. Sorry, this turned into one of my classical long winded rambles...

Edited December 4, 2006 by jeff_hooper

[scoule]

I double Lotus have ever managed to built an engine that can be relied upon to do anywhere near 150k. If the engine would do that then they could justifiably accused of not tuning it enough in the first place...! Very much a part of the Colin Chapman's DNA that still runs through Lotus today.

My Excel (912 HC N/A 180bhp) engine currently has 140k on the clock .. the head has never been off and it doesn't seem to burn any oil ... It's probably not as fresh as the day it was built but still pulls nicely to 7k .. and did so for quite a few laps at Castle Combe this year!

[mamovaka]

I just spoke with a mechanic at Princeton Lotus, I asked him what the highest mileage V8 he has worked on and the state of the car.

He told me he just had a 96' V8 in there with close to 100k miles, no rebuild no engine problems whatsoever..

Nice to hear it!