 |
PM |  | |
Quote | | |
Reply | | |
Full Topic | |
| Joined: | 03-12-2005 |
| Location: | Cary, North Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 339 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
Again, sorry if my wording caused some problems but the folks should know you've got a very nice JH and the motor is fine too. My car is different, a ratty car just for racing, and the motor is built that way as well - functional, barely, but not nice. Everything looks good at 20ft - come no closer! It does run well and has the advantage of light weight, open exhaust and headers, ported head, re-worked strombergs, 5 speed tranny with 4 speed rear end, and a welded rear that doesn't break traction putting power through slicks.
I think there is more power to be had though through fuel and timing tuning on the dyno as well as cam timing (that is a can of worms!). And, now the motor is running and things seem okay we'll be taking it to the dyno to get her setup. You are welcome to bring your JH too and we can tune it as well, nothing beats a dyno to find out what works and what doesn't.
The motor surprised me somewhat for drivability. The only other Lotus engine I'd owned was the 2.2L turbo in my Esprit and it is another ball of wax entirely. This thing had a surprising amount of low/mid range torque which I didn't expect at all. I really thought it would be gutless til about 5k and then produce some power and peter out around 7k or so. But, it really feels powerful from about 3500 to about 7000, maybe 6800 or so. And this might be a good thing because I HATE this 5 speed.
The ratios in the 5 speed are fantastic - close, 1:1 5th, great for a sporting road car, or race car. But the shifting is like shifting a wooden dowel plugged in some mud - no positive engagement, very loose shifter, very vague feel. By contrast, the 4 speed I drove in Judson's car with this motor was great - positive, very tight, nice feel, and shifted well. I'd just hate to give up one gear, but, if the engine can be torquey (well, as torquey as 2L get) then it might live with a 4 speed.
I have a 4 speed downstairs and it also feels positive and good. Anyone have feedback on the 5 speeds and feel? Are they all this way? Mine drives well, doesn't make funky noises, but this thing is definitely not a "nice" shifting tranny. Might have to put the 4 speed in for racing since they are plentiful and the 5 speeds are worth money, and money allows racing. And no, I can't run any tranny that didn't come with the car but with the number of Jensen Healey's racing in ITS, 1, who would know? No, can't do that.
Anyhow, I'm impressed with the little JH. We've still got a lot of sorting to do but my track time with it, however limited, didn't make me want to quit trying to race it - I think there is potential there (naturally, but remember - SCCA racing has changed a lot in the last 10 years and the White Lady might not fare so well these days) but it'll require a lot of development. Still, it takes a lot of energy to make this thing into a race car - I swear, it would prefer to lie in a field and rust away, or maybe sit outside on a Sunday at a car show. But, we're going to make it race anyhow!
R