Has anyone here owned a Lotus Esprit V8?

I have had no issues at all with my trans. I, however, do not have an LSD. I would bet that is where your problems are arising. An LSD will give you much better traction, but will be harder on the drivetrain.

 

Nice pics, beautiful car!

 

Is that video of your car still floating around? Last time I looked, I could only get half the video to play... Mean F'n car man!

 

I forgot to reply to this post... I think we may be talking about a different wheel. This is the RAID I was refering to. No silver paint and lots of leather. I also like the little Lotus badge stitched into it.
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Well I stand corrected, that is a great looking wheel. I guess the one I saw wasn't a full leather one.

 

That's how I'd go. There's a titanium Elise in my neighborhood and it's a stunner. Plus it's sickeningly quick and the Toyota-based four is reassuring.

I love the whole concept of a <2000lb car. But then again I'm 5'7" so I can wriggle into anything.

 

That looks like an Aston DB7 wheel.

 

Sickeningly quick?

I purchased a 05 elise with LSD and all the bells and whistles, I absolutely ADORED the looks and I still want to buy it again every time I see an elise..

However to call it Sickeningly quick is a GROSS EXAGERRATION!

Lotus claims 4.9 seconds 0-60 for the elise, what they dont say is that without a 8k rpm clutch drop (that can void your drivetrain warranty) the car is realistically 5.6+ seconds to 60.. That is not sickeningly quick in anyone's book IMO...

The car NEEDS a supercharger.. and BAD.. The Exige S is much closer to where you want to be but even that falls short.. just 30 more HP for the "S" and the 0-60 is claimed at 4.1 seconds with a 5k clutch drop..

Basically they are abusing the car wayy to much to achieve a decent 0-60.. you can just floor it in a C6 without a clutch drop and hit 4.2 if you like.. in the elise (which is the same pricerange) it is over a full SECOND slower.. pitiful design decision in the elise..

the Exige S is closer but still needs more IMO

 

Elise vs 911 Turbo

http://www.racingflix.com/getvideo.asp?v=1763

Elise is not that fast, very fun, but not fast.

 

Exactly! look at the video.. the porsche turbo absolutely murdered the elise!.. then again the 911 turbo can do 0-60 in what? 3.2 seconds?!?! that is 2.5 seconds faster than the elise in realistic terms (no clutch drop for the elise)..

A chipped Esprit V8 would fare MUCH better, a 450 HP esprit is supposedly under 4 seconds to 60...

 

Come on man, 30k miles without a drivetrain failure is not bad at all for a car that has been driven. Heck my other car has gone through 3 ring & pinions in 110k miles with less power than a chipped Esprit.

Thanks, I love black Esprits too.

:lol: With the green Gallardo SE? If so, then yes, there are two on Youtube. It's a little quicker now.

I believe Raid also makes the Aston wheel.

 

How/where did you get the open gate done/made?

 

Who made that custom Lotus Espirit shift gate(looks very well made???)

 

Unless the car was a track-ho, then it's a sad day when we consider 30k miles 'not bad at all'. I put 30k miles on my Viper with hundreds of 1/4 mile passes dropping the clutch at 3k rpm. I never expected or would have accepted a drivetrain failure. I knew halfshafts were a weak point, and I knew I was wearing the clutch. For normal driving (and I consider occasional full throttle in any gear normal), the car should easily outlast 30k with no driveline failures. Hell, it should hit double or triple that without anything major failing.

I think sometimes we are much too tolerant of some brands when it comes to reliability. If Dodge can sell a car for $70k with 480lb-ft at the wheels and 335 tires that can take hundreds of dragstrip launches without breaking, why can't Lambo/Ferrari/Lotus do the same in cars costing (sometimes much) more?

 

That is for sure, I've ridden in a '97 V8 that makes at least 450 at the rear wheels and it was definitely a sub 4sec 0-60. I'd almost say its safe to say it was probably closer to 3.5s. Very Very Quick. That amount of power WITH traction and no clutch slip makes for one very impressive acceleration stint. Definitely want to have the car pointed in the right direction when the turbo's spool.

 

I'm sure Colby will chime in here, but from my brief ownership of that car I was told that that particular set-up was a one-off deal. It was one of the reasons that caused me to even consider purchasing the car. I'm sure that most all Esprit owners will be the first to tell you that the shifter of the Esprit leaves a lot to be desired. The throws are very long and you never really have a feeling of actually "shifting" into a gear. The gate in this particular car was engineered quite well and in my opinion definitely improved the shifting of the car and made it a lot more enjoyable to drive by providing solid shifts. The gate was fairly tight and took some getting use to however. It may not have been nearly as smooth as a 360 or even a 355 for that matter but it was a huge improvement and in my opinion is how the cars should have come from the factory. Not only did it improve shifting, but it is asthetically pleasing and looks like it should belong there. It's unfortunate that the person who designed that gated shifter didn't put those into production as a kit, because I'm sure he would have sold quite a few. Harry at Viking Motorsports in Orange County may have the contact information for whoever designed that shifter...

 

I couldn't agree more, honestly when I confronted the guy who sold me the car after the primaryshaft/driveshaft broke. He accused me of abusing the car since I purchased it (drove it like 2k miles when it broke) of doing "standing starts".

I have not EVER done a standing start in the Esprit, a few of my friends tried to quick shift it from 1-2, regardless the metal snapped like a carrot in the primary shaft/driveshaft.. The previous owner claimed 6x track days in total.. If this is true then the Esprit's drivetrain is a piece of crap. My Esprit has an estimated 415HP(will have 450 when I install new BOV's).

According to some experts the Esprit can EASILY handle the power at 450.. but since I drive the car very carefully and only floor it after I have gotten into 2nd gear I am not expecting another failure for a long time.

My Viper could get beat on all day and smile with no wear. It sickens me how a 100k car like the Esprit can't even do a QM run without serious risk to the drivetrain. My pal's Diablo busts up every time, god forbid he does a QM run with it..

Ridiculous.. I still love the car though, but seriously considering a Gen 3 Viper next time..

 

According to Johan who knows my car, he tells me the performance of it is about 4.0 flat to 60 and 12.0 flat in the QM with with a top speed of 190+

If I get the BOV upgrade which would up me to 450HP and should put me at 3.7 to 60 11.7 in the QM..

Esprit's are great cars, but they have mechanical problems..

 

Mamo, there is a member (from NY IIRC) that has a Esprit V8 with a extremely rare factory 6spd trany and race brakes as well as the usual upgrades.

 

Aura,

are you talking about the upgrade transmission by Derek Bell that basically makes the transmission bulletproof? if so that is like a 12k upgrade.. (which is starting to sound like a bargain).. Do you have contact information on this person in NY?

 

Mufflerman: your car is absolutley stunning!