How Do I Make It Faster - Warranty Intact

[rzem6bay]

There really is no inexpensive way to increase performance without spending at least 4 figures. Depends on your budget. Weight reduction helps, but the results are mild relative to the few things you can do without getting radical. Lighter battery is the easiest way to lose 30+ pounds, and the cost is under $1k. Next is lighter wheels, but expect to spend $2k-3K.

Actually, the one mod I did where I could immediately tell a difference was the Eventuri cold air intake. It's not cheap at $1,545 but I gained a solid 15 hp and a torque increase I could feel. I've had zero problems with it after well over a year. The JB4 will make a difference, and that's actually under $1k. Map 1 is a nice improvement but not dramatic. Map 2 however is a different story. If you have 93 octane gas (a top tier brand like Shell, Chevron, etc. not a cheapo brand) then the JB4 on Map 2 is great.

The Eventuri and JB4 are easy to install, and relatively mild as far as performance mods go, but Lotus would probably void the warranty if there are engine problems. However, they can be uninstalled. The JB4 can be disabled with the cell phone app, to see if it's causing whatever problem you might be experiencing.

Serious weight reduction and/or power mods are going to cost thousands, that's just the way it is.

I second the Eventuri suggestion. With it, I’ve actually decided to stop any further perf related mods. Punchy enough for me.

 

[Read T]

Hit the track for driver improvement

or hit the (running) track for driver weight reduction

and tires

 

[NicolasB]

Hit the track for driver improvement

or hit the (running) track for driver weight reduction

and tires

If I was this guy (original poster) and got one more suggestion like this I think I would leave the forum. Not everyone wants the fastest lap time or go to AutoX events. Some people actually want the car to have more acceleration, more sound, and more fun while zooming on a back road or highway by themselves.

Edit: Looks like he already has left. Last post was the first one in this thread.

 

[kitkat]

If I was this guy (original poster) and got one more suggestion like this I think I would leave the forum. Not everyone wants the fastest lap time or go to AutoX events. Some people actually want the car to have more acceleration, more sound, and more fun while zooming on a back road or highway by themselves.

Edit: Looks like he already has left. Last post was the first one in this thread.

It’s also the only suggestion that makes sense given the it can’t cost thousands and can’t void the warranty. Those were the OP’s constraints

 

[NicolasB]

JB4, 3rd cat delete, GRP intake all good options, all easily removable if necessary.

 

[kitkat]

JB4, 3rd cat delete, GRP intake all good options, all easily removable if necessary.

And to be perfectly clear for everyone -- the first one would be detectable with any sort of engine claim with Lotus HQ based on long term logged at the ECU even if removed. The air intake has had prior TSBs in the Evora platform to techs informing them to void the engine warranty if the installation of an intake has been proven to cause MAF issues. And I guess the third one might be completely undetectable if uninstalled.

2 out of 3 recommendations don't fit the parameters of the OP, and the other he's already done.

Are suggestions to learn to extract better driving performance out of the car better or worse than ones that completely ignore the parameters of the question?

 

[NicolasB]

Are suggestions to learn to extract better driving performance out of the car better or worse than ones that completely ignore the parameters of the question?

Says the guy who's been upgrading parts on his own car continuously, maybe you should do some driver's training days?

 

[Beachbum]

Says the guy who's been upgrading parts on his own car continuously, maybe you should do some driver's training days?

Maybe he is Ayrton Senna reincarnate and his only option is to upgrade the car

 

[RPM]

If I was this guy (original poster) and got one more suggestion like this I think I would leave the forum. Not everyone wants the fastest lap time or go to AutoX events. Some people actually want the car to have more acceleration, more sound, and more fun while zooming on a back road or highway by themselves.

Edit: Looks like he already has left. Last post was the first one in this thread.

It is a sincere response. I have been going to the track for 20+ years and it is hands down the BEST mod ever. I WISH someone would have told me to stop messing around with an $800 muffler to gain 10hp only at the peak. Never mind the torque loss negates most of this benefit and you really are just paying to give the dealer an excuse to give you problems with a warranty claim. The reality is this car is WAY faster and more capable than almost anyone who buys it, myself included, and they aren't even qualified to determine how fast the car is, as they have no idea what it is capable of.

Maybe he just wants a loud muffler to be hated by his neighbors. Great he can go buy that and ignore the rest like every other pile of advice on the internet. But the advice is absolutely sincere and applicable. 

I'm in the Miata with a stock engine and a restrictor plate to slow it down behind the faster mod'ed cars.

 

[NicolasB]

That's all fine and good, but this guy didn't say he wanted to be faster at the track, he just wants the car to feel faster because, as a lot of us agreed, it felt a little underpowered when it arrived from Hethel.

 

[OppositeLock]

I, too, wish to make my car faster, but the warranty is important to me, and I also have been tracking for nearly 20 years. I've got some background in messing with ECU's and I know that there is nothing you can do to the engine that won't void your warranty. Adding an intake, even if you return it to OEM for a warranty claim, will be obvious from the ECU adaptive maps and logging. Modern ECU's keep a history of maps, fuel trims, that kind of thing, and the presence of a mod which affects airflow is 100% detectable. It's not this way by accident. Early ECU's were stateless, but modern ones snitch on you.

So, if you want to retain your warranty for the engine, no engine mods. Removing the third cat or putting in a louder muffler makes next to no difference on a modern car, modern OEM catalysts and mufflers are very good. This legend remains from the 1970's and 1980's when exhausts choked engines back severely.

With intake mods killing warranty, and exhaust mods usually being useless, what do you do? You reduce weight (seats, wheels brakes), increase grip (tires, suspension), and learn to use the performance you've got. The last one helps you in any car.

If you go into a turn on a good line, even on the street, you can put power down harder, for longer and just get a lot more speed relative to a person who doesn't know what they're doing. Some of us have done this for a long time, and we've modded cars, and we're trying to share what was the biggest benefit for us.

 

[NicolasB]

I'm not disagreeing that a good driver who knows what they're doing is a large benefit, but it really doesn't answer the question of the original poster by saying that he needs to improve his driving skills. For all we know he is an excellent driver.

There are dozens of people on here that have done intake and exhaust and other modifications and retain their warranties. If you go ahead and completely blow your engine it will be a different story, but if you have a faulty sensor or something else go wrong with the car, they're not going to go digging through the logs in your ECU to see if you put an intake on it.