I hate my housemate

Del Lardo · 13 Jan 2006 at 19:37

For the last year my housemate has been trying to blow up the engine in his Elise. Tonight after much hard work it suffered HGF and is currently abandoned in Tescos carpark whilst he goes out to celebrate.

Why the celebration? I hear you ask. Well tomorrow he's booking it in for a Civic Type-R engine conversion with ~220bhp at the wheels :eek:

or over 300bhp/ton. He's giving the supercharger a miss for the moment as he's convinced he'd kill himself but 300bhp (over 400bhp/ton) could be arriving in a years time

Jealous, me? No, I'm as green as the Incredible Hulk due to a hormone inbalance

Del Lardo · 14 Jan 2006 at 00:27

Muncher said:
How much is that setting him back? Where does the extra power come from above the CTR engine?

Prices start at £10k though realistically he's looking at £13k The company that does the conversion have their own map for the engine and do a few other bits and bobs. The VTEC changeover point is down to 4.5-5k rpm. IIRC the Jap spec CTR produces over 200bhp so they may have started with that map?

geiger said:
Was it the K series, why not just sell off the old engine or he needed the excuse i guess. How many miles did it have ?

1.8k with some head work done pushing out ~130bhp. Engine had done 41k but he could never justify getting a conversion whilst his K was working so decided to blow it up. At ~4% £13000 return £520 in interest over a year which is how long he's been thinking about getting it done and how much he would have probably got for the engine.

Nickg said:
10k for the conversion? u can buy a CTR for that !!

The 300bhp version will upset Ferrari 360s upto 140mph. The 220bhp version isn't going to be far behind. I won't even start on the handling (it's on Nitrons)

agw_01 said:
How did he blow it up? Just redline it stationary? Poor engine. I would have had that!

6k rpm from stone cold twice a day for the last year.

R220 said:
Do you mean S2000 engine ? civic doesnt put out 220 at the wheels, unless they are doing some work on the engine aswell ?

S2000 engine wouldn't fit.

R220 said:
why blow the engine n purpose anyway, surely he could have gotten a few bob for it when it comes out ? nutter, must have money to burn.

When you're spending £13k on an engine conversion £500 doesn't really come into it.

Del Lardo · 14 Jan 2006 at 00:28

As for the theft side of things.... For some reason Elises don't get stolen very often. Certainly if the local scum wanted one they could have had any number of them over the summer when they are left parked up in Cambridge with the roofs off.

Del Lardo · 14 Jan 2006 at 02:07

agw_01 said:
I thought that elise had the VVC engine in it though?

Mine does

Standard Elise - 118bhp
Elise 135 - 135bhp (in reality closer to 145bhp)
111s - 143bhp VVC engine (~145-150bhp with exhaust and induction)
160 - Does exactly what it says on the tin.

S1 cars only. In the S2 the 111s is ~155-160bhp.

Del Lardo · 14 Jan 2006 at 02:15

Matmulder said:
Also...before he goes and gets it done - have a look on the SELOC classifieds, last time I looked there were three Honda converted Elises for sale ranging from £15k to 19k...some were nicely sorted with Nitrons, etc...

Cheaper and easier than doing it yourself!

Mat IIRC you used to own an S1 S160 so you must understand the mentality of the enthusiastic Elise owner. Pauls car is a 1997 that he has owned since 1998-99, selling it is not an option as it's his pride an joy. I know that if I ever win the lottery I will own a 300bhp Elise but my current car will not be a donor, I will keep it as it is until the end of time and then I am planning to bribe my Grandchildren to keep it on the road. Paul makes me look like a mere amateur

Del Lardo · 14 Jan 2006 at 18:53

I'm no expert so it could be 220bhp at the fly 200 at the wheels. 4 month waiting list as the moment so I'll let you know in the spring

In the mean time AA Parts and Labour warantee is going to be used to fix the HGF for £50

Del Lardo · 15 Jan 2006 at 19:07

Luke15 said:
Why blow up the engine when the engine can be sold?

I'll quote myself as I can't be bothered to type it all out again

Del Lardo said:
Engine had done 41k but he could never justify getting a conversion whilst his K was working so decided to blow it up. At ~4% £13000 return £520 in interest over a year which is how long he's been thinking about getting it done and how much he would have probably got for the engine.

Del Lardo said:
In the mean time AA Parts and Labour warantee is going to be used to fix the HGF for £50

Del Lardo · 15 Jan 2006 at 21:31

The_Dark_Side said:
IMHO it makes the guy sound like a tool.

You are of course entitled to your opinion but in this case you couldn't be more wrong.

I've got no idea why people are so focused on the fact that he blew he K series engine but he did. Stop trying to find logic where you will never find it. Like spending £13 000 on an engine conversion on a car worth £11 000 there is little logic behind intentionally blowing up an engine but he did. If it helps think of it as an experiment. My friend no longer wanted the engine and didn't need the £500 he'd get for it if he sold it so he decided to donate it to science. The Elise is somewhat renound for HGF so he decided that his experiment would be to see how long it would last being driven hard from cold.

As for this whole fraud thing.... wtf? The AA only specify that you have to have your car serviced as the correct intervals and this car has been (to the highest standard). They make no mention of driving the car hard from cold.

Del Lardo · 16 Jan 2006 at 18:06

Simon said:
The engines going to be fixed for free (well bar a £50 excess) So what was the point really as he is now in the same situation but with argueably a better engine than before it 'blew up'.

He wasn't expecting a 4 month waiting list.

The_Dark_Side said:
to actually say out loud that they had to break something before replacing it is the sort of comment i'd expect from someone that gets lollipops and crayons for xmas.

I did actually buy him a colouring book and crayons for Christmas last year

I'm really not sure why you guys are so on his back about this. He blew up an engine and is now getting it fixed as there is a 4 month waiting list for the conversion he wants. In the grand scheme of things it really is a very trivial thing to get wound up about.

Del Lardo · 16 Jan 2006 at 18:16

Simon said:
I don't think anyone is getting wound up, just rather confused.

Fair enough. As I previously stated you are looking for logic where there is none. We are dealing with a man who is passionate about his car much is the same way as you are. To the man on the street there is no logic in a 258bhp Rover 200 but it's what you wanted to do so you did it.

Del Lardo · 16 Jan 2006 at 18:54

Simon said:
I've been promised a go in a Throttle bodied 1.8k when the guy gets it sorted. Should be fun The std 111s I went in once was a bit slow.

Is that the standard 1.8 with S160 throttle bodies or is the engine modified as well?

Del Lardo · 16 Jan 2006 at 19:00

Impressive setup. I gave up looking for more power after I fitted a sports exhaust and an induction kit. Still if you've got the skills it'd be rude not to use em