My Lotus Esprit Turbo

[roosterjuicer]

Are those carborators i see there?

When i graduate (2.5 years plus a couple to make some money), I gotta get a mid 90's s4s. That was the first supercar i really fell in love with, and its really the only non-corvette world class sports car ive ever really felt any kind of real love for...which is strange considering it is pretty much the anti-corvette haha. Also, when i was a little kid at the LA car show my dad fooled the guy holding the velvet rope into thinking we were very seriously considering buying a espirit and he let me and my dad sit in it which to this day makes it the sweetest car ive ever sat in so ive got a real soft spot for it.

I'd like to avoid the v8. Im sure the v8 is the better car considering the horsepower advantage, but there is something i love about the craziness of a 2.2 litre that makes 280 horsepower...the v8 seems very un-lotus to me.

I would probably be willing to get an s4 also, i think the differences are pretty minor between the two but i might be wrong. Considering i live in a relatively small city, i would probably have to do most of the work myself which is no problem for basic maintenence and tune ups (definitely easier to change spark plugs on that then my camaro) although major stuff such as transmission work and anything relating to computer stuff i would probably have to leave to a professional.

to be honest, my biggest problem is garage space, I'd probably be willing to sell my camaro for a lotus, but I like driving my camaro every day and I'd probably try to drive the lotus every day cause i prefer driving a car every day to a truck. which is why I'm so interested in the maintence stuff (also keep in mind that driving across town here is a 10 mile maximum affair so commuting to work in it a couple times a week is no big deal)

[ScionDriver]

Awesome Lotus. I love Lotuses and the Esprit is a classic. Hopefully a good investment down the road.

[Wouter Melissen]

Are those carborators i see there?

No no, fuel injection. What you see are the intake trumpets connected to the turbo. You can see the fuel injection lines connected to the trumpets right next to the engine.

[sog240]

No no, fuel injection. What you see are the intake trumpets connected to the turbo. You can see the fuel injection lines connected to the trumpets right next to the engine.

Yeah, Wouter Melissen is correct. This car has a multi-port fuel injection system.

Update:
I upgraded my clutch to +25% torque. The upgraded clutch kit cost me $650 and the installation labor charge was $1,900.

I replaced my rear brakes with OEM parts. Rear rotors cost $265 each and the brake pads (just the rear) cost $230. Installation was $560.

I also had a "B" service done (change of fluids, inspection, lubrication and tune-up) which cost $875.

As expensive as everything was, my car is running beautifully.

roosterjuicer: Check out this S4s I found eBay Motors: Lotus : Esprit (item 260333052875 end time Dec-24-08 19:34:30 PST)

This is a very nice Esprit, I especially like the color. Too bad this wasn't posted at the time I bought mine
I would have gotten this one instead!

[sog240]

Awesome Lotus. I love Lotuses and the Esprit is a classic. Hopefully a good investment down the road.

Thank you! Well, so far so good!

[f6fhellcat13]

Wow, that's an expensive car to maintain!
But, it's all worth it once you take a few corners, I'd bet.

[sog240]

Wow, that's an expensive car to maintain!
But, it's all worth it once you take a few corners, I'd bet.

Very true

[roosterjuicer]

I worked as a mechanic for a little while so im sure I could handle that "B" service no problem, especially considering how easy it is to reach those spark plugs.

that s4s looks sweet im actually not crazy about the color. I really like them in white, green, and maroon. plus, no way in hell im buying a lotus with almost 60k miles.

plus its hard to beat buying a freakin' lotus for 30ish grand

[sog240]

Just another update.
I hade more service done to the car. The OEM brake lines were upgraded. The OEM clutch hose was also upgraded to a braided clutch hose. This was done to fix the "red clutch hose syndrome". Although, I haven't really noticed any difference yet, maybe during summer when it's hot. All the belts were replaced and a transmission leak was also repaired.

All in all including parts and labor, I spent $1,700 USD

This car is more expensive than I first realized.

Anyways, I ordered an S4s bumper, an S4s front spoiler and an '02 V8 rear wing to update the look of my Esprit. Altogether, including all necessary hardware and extra parts, everything cost $1,300 USD. This is NOT including shipping from the U.K.
After I receive these items, I'm going to have them professionally painted and installed. Although, I have no idea how much this would cost, I feel having things done by an autobody shop would be better than doing it myself.

I'll let you know how much everything cost and I'll upload new pictures after the car is finished.

[LeonOfTheDead]

looking forward for the updated look

[roosterjuicer]

thanks for the update.

how much were the costs and how much was the labor. would it be cheaper for an s4s or not really?

[sog240]

thanks for the update.

how much were the costs and how much was the labor. would it be cheaper for an s4s or not really?

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I've been quite busy the past several weeks and I haven't been online for awhile. I've finally gotten a break from my hectic schedule....for now

Anyways, the following is how much I paid;
S/S Braided Clutch Line: $180.00
Braided Brake Lines: $195.00
Belts: $90.00

Labor: $1,200.00

Given the extreme performance difference between an S4s (Inline 4 with 300 bhp) and my X180 (Inline 4 with 215 bhp), I do believe an S4s is more expensive with regards to parts. Labor would be about the same.


Minor update:
The interior leather was professionally dyed black with navy trim. That's the entire dash, door panels and seats. I think it looks better than the original tritone blue (baby blue).

After several weeks of waiting, I finally received all the parts today. The V8 rear wing fits perfectly in place of the old one. The S4s front spoiler I originally ordered was changed to a V8 spoiler and bumper. I forgot to order the V8 rocker panels, so my car will look like an '88 Turbo/V8 hybrid. Hopefully it doesn't look too funny

Now, I just have to have the parts pro painted and installed. I called an auto body shop and they quoted me $400.00 for the paint and installation. I was told that it would have cost less if my car wasn't "pearl white" They'll have the car for about 3-4 days. I'll upload some pictures once I get the car back from the shop.

[sog240]

The body shop just informed me that they ran into some problems with the parts and installation. It's gonna possibly take at least a week and a half longer than anticipated. Also, it's going to cost $600.00 more than the original estimated price. I was hoping to drive the car this weekend, but from the look of things, I might not be able to drive it until mid March.

This is what my car should look like when everything's finished.....except for the color (my Esprit will still be in Pearl White) and stock OZ rims. I'll take new pics of my car as soon as I get it back from them.

[sog240]

Just another update (major).

Below are pics of the car in the autobody shop.
Actually, the first picture is before my original rear wing was removed.

In the next picture, the techs are fitting the V8 spoiler before actually painting it. The spoiler I received from SJ Sports Cars was very flimsy and fragile. I was very disappointed to say the least, especially for the price that I paid. The guys at the shop did a great job reinforcing it. It felt more sturdy and stronger than before.

The third pic is the front of the car with the bumper/spoiler removed, along with the "hood". This is where the problem is. After removing the original bumper/spoiler and test fitting the newer V8 ones, it turns out that the parts don't really fit that well without having to modify (cut and weld) certain things on the car. I was told from the person I purchased it from that these parts WILL fit without any major modifications. Untrue
Due to the fact that this is an exotic sports car (which was hand built by the guys at Hethel, UK), I'm not willing to perform any mods that could possibly change the handling characteristics, performance or create some type of safety issue just to give it a "newer look".
Now, I'm just going to have my original bumper fixed up, re-painted and reinstalled.
My only problem is.....what am I going to do with all those parts that I bought? I don't know many Esprit owners, in fact I only know one and he's got the same model year.

Anyways, my car should be finished next Tuesday. I'll get more picures up after I get the car back (if it's not raining, that is)

[cmcpokey]

i think this calls for ebay. but the wing looks good. i would have stayed with the smaller one, but i like subtlety.