V8 INTERCOOLING PROJECT

[MrDangerUS]

Hello Everyone driving V8!

 

Finally,  someone made an effort to design and manufacture a great dual c/cooler kit for V8 Esprits!

Pro Alloy had indicated, that if there will be enough interest  in this kit, they'll make a new production run.

Very compact and it fits behind the stock wall.     Look and judge for yourself!

Contact pro Alloy directly to volunteer your participation in this project.

More participants = lower cost!

 

[johnpwalsh]

That looks neat. Be nice painted in Red same as the engine.

[swindon_alan]

I think that my heart just stopped...

[Barrykearley]

I don’t think it’s that expensive 

[swindon_alan]

...as in a had a heart stopping moment - the excitement was better than being blown by Kylie...

[MrDangerUS]

We need to assess the performance of this kit.

The best way would be to find the owner of this car...   It could be someone from this Forum. 

Do you recognize the license plate number?

Edited June 12, 2018 by MrDangerUS

[Vanya]

Beautiful solution but even if the kit isn't prohibitive having to upgrade the gearbox and engine internals will be!

[mike_sekinger]

There is another way of viewing chargecooling for the V8 that doesn't mean upgrading of gearbox and internals.  On hot days with high inlet temperatures, the standard car is not going to make full power. The ECU is dumping fuel to compensate for higher inlet temps and causing a noticeable drop-off in power.  Many V8 owners will have already recognised that power feels down on really hot days.  Installing something like this or another method of intercooling is going to give you more dependable power regardless of the  external conditions. A cooler inlet temp is also better for the engine health and puts less strain on engine cooling and less heat into the oil.  It doesn't have to be coupled with the need for elevated boost and significantly bigger power outputs.

[MrDangerUS]

Lotus was notorious for using  undersized fast spooling turbos. Aggressive in the lower and mid range but dull at the top end.

At the higher rpm, the turbocharger slips out of the highest efficiency island into the lower efficiency area of the map generating an excessive heat. Air density drops,

so is the volumetric efficiency as well as the engine output.  Aggressive cooling of the air charge mitigates the loss of power.

[LotusFella]

They are just up the road from me.

[Ekku]

I would be interested, If the prize is reasonable.

[nick_wannop]

It's my car in the photos and I'd be happy to discuss any of the changes I've made as well as the charge coolers....

The points made by Mike Sekinger and MrDangerUS above say it all... but I'll ramble on for a bit anyway and repeat things.....

These charge coolers were expensive, I was buying a custom built 'one off'. I didn't want long pipe runs which would increase lag and I didn't want to encroach on the boot space which other systems did. It took me a while to find skilled people to make this system, turned out they were ProAlloy in Haverhill (UK)..... right on my doorstep.

If you fit it yourself with the parts from ProAlloy it should cost much less. Even so, it's going to cost!

Fitted to a totally standard v8 (and gearbox) with normal boost & ECU it will protect your engine at all times but especially when you're booting it... Air intake temperatures stay much lower, less heat goes into your engine particularly around the piston crowns. It will protect against detonation (pinking). In the non-charge cooled v8 the ECU will retard the ignition (seriously taking away your power) take away your boost and inject lots of fuel to protect itself when intake temps get too high. With charge coolers you can run standard boost levels at maximum for longer because the ECU doesn't need to do anything to protect the engine. A standard v8 with charge coolers will have more power in all ambient air temperatures. The ECU monitors the air intake temp and applies the appropriate amount of fuel.... more fuel with this cooler denser charge means a bigger bang and more power.

I do run higher boost for more power than standard, but I haven't needed to change the turbos possibly because I have charge coolers. The standard turbos with only the wastegate capsules (and ECU) changed to ones supplied by Marcus at PUK seem to be able to sustain 15psi without problem even in high ambient temperatures. I monitor the intake air temp and other levels via the OBD 2 and a Torque app. I use a Greddy ProFec boost controller.... handy for turning the boost down to almost nothing when it's p***ing with rain! ... or when you don't want to be driving down the road like a stabbed rat. Oh... and fit Nitrons they're great... when you are in stabbed rat mode... along with some decent brakes.

Enough.

 

 

 

[nick_wannop]

Here are a few more photos:

[Mightymetro]

Fantastic looking set up 👍🏻

[Ruff Ryder 6]

So is this kit offered off the shelf now? Did anyone get pricing on a group buy?

 

[andyblackman777]

Anyone?

[Mightymetro]

I’m still interested too but i still don’t think there is any pricing.  If it’s a few thousand I could go for it but any more and the pots empty 🙈🙈🙈

[nick_wannop]

I'll be calling in to ProAlloy shortly so I'll have a chat with them about getting individual components for this system identified and priced. Also, I'll see if I can get under my car and start to produce a list of parts... with photos.

[dave excell]

Hi all. I am definitely interested as well. i don't need any more power but they must give improved reliability with less strain on the components. I looks more practical than the R & B kit. Its just the price I need.

[Erikl]

https://lotuspbc.com/upgrades

 

Here is a solution from the states (have to scroll down about half way).  I dont know much about PBC but the one time I checked pricing on something it took my breath a bit.

[cweeden]

On 06/12/2019 at 21:37, nick_wannop said:

I'll be calling in to ProAlloy shortly so I'll have a chat with them about getting individual components for this system identified and priced. Also, I'll see if I can get under my car and start to produce a list of parts... with photos.

Hi @nick_wannop thanks for volunteering to provide more info on this setup. It is by far the neatest solution I have seen to date and have my fingers crossed that the bean counters at ProAlloy are kind to us and can provide the bits and pieces necessary at an affordable price. I am keen to join the list of very interested parties and also look forward to as many photos as possible. 🙂

Can you answer a quick question, are you able to run the charge cooler radiator and keep the aircon rads too?

cheers

-Chris

[nick_wannop]

Hi Chris, yes I do have the air con rads too.

Sorry this is moving slowly but I'm pretty busy at the moment.

ProAlloy are making a part for me so I'll be seeing them soon. I'll discuss things with them at that point.

[cweeden]

1 hour ago, nick_wannop said:

Hi Chris, yes I do have the air con rads too.

Sorry this is moving slowly but I'm pretty busy at the moment.

ProAlloy are making a part for me so I'll be seeing them soon. I'll discuss things with them at that point.

Just not good enough. 

[cweeden]

Hi All,

I didn't realise it had been so long since the last post in this thread. 

Well there has been some development, huge thanks to Nick for his help and generosity, he has offered up his kit back to Pro Alloy to use as a template for more kits of the same.  Pro Alloy have agreed that this is a worthwhile venture and are willing to make some more. They have provided some pricing on a sliding scale and as usual, the more kits that are ordered the cheaper they are for everyone. 

Pro Alloy have provided pricing for 1,2,5 and 10 kits.

Each kit would include the following:

Twin Custom built charge cooler units with core sizes of – 165 x 95 x 200mm,
Boost pipes to suit both units
Coolant reservoir to separate the coolant systems,
BOSCH coolant pump,
Aluminium coolant pre-rad to charge cooler lines,
Enlarged Front charge cooler Pre Rad,
Twin Turbosmart BOVs
Modifications to standard OEM cast inlet pipework to alloy boost pipe to marry the system up correctly.

Price for a one-off Kit - £3421.76 + VAT
Price for 2 kits to be built together – £3109.60 + VAT
Price for 5 off units built together - £2748.99 + VAT
Price for 10 kits ordered together - £2395.23 + VAT

All that remains is for a big long list of names of people who would like a kit for their V8 Esprit, form an orderly queue below. 🙂 
Wouldn't it be awesome if we could get the maximum discount.

cheers

-Chris

1. Chris W

 

 

[gmendoza]

Kit looks great! For the guys on this side of the pond, it looks like there's no room for air injection and EGR. Do you agree?