Nimbus Emira modification journal

[Butcherxxl]

Plan is to get used to the car with stock power unit as is. My Exige 'only' listed 350hp, so 400hp (although the Emira is heavier) will do for now. I am really looking for a sharp car with the right seating position and handling & balance first.

We already discussed and it was confirmed we should be able to get to 470hp without major modifications. First this summer the will be 'tested' in the Pyrenees...

Hi Hagen,

Great car. I have since Wednesday EXACTLY the same one, Nimbus, Black Pack, black wheels and breaks 👍

However, coming from a Porsche 992S I’m not so confident that I can live with the 400PS which rather feels like 300 to me. I hope it will change with some more mileage and I also need to get used to the supercharged vs turbo characteristic of the engine.

Therefore, I’m very interested in tuning the engine. Can you provide some more details, because you wrote „we discussed and confirmed…”. Any particular reason that the Emira is easier to tune than an Exige!?

Anyone else here who can tell me based on experience with an Exige, if the 460-470 tune is really substantial over the stock set-up.

 

[hagen111]

Hi Hagen,

Great car. I have since Wednesday EXACTLY the same one, Nimbus, Black Pack, black wheels and breaks 👍

However, coming from a Porsche 992S I’m not so confident that I can live with the 400PS which rather feels like 300 to me. I hope it will change with some more mileage and I also need to get used to the supercharged vs turbo characteristic of the engine.

Therefore, I’m very interested in tuning the engine. Can you provide some more details, because you wrote „we discussed and confirmed…”. Any particular reason that the Emira is easier to tune than an Exige!?

Anyone else here who can tell me based on experience with an Exige, if the 460-470 tune is really substantial over the stock set-up.

The exige V6 in its last spec came stock with 430hp in its final cup edition:
https://vanderkooisportscars.nl/aanbod/?carnr=7059772-AWD

It has the upgraded supercharger compared to my ex-Exige V6 350.
Emira has same engine as a Cup 430. With some additional mods as intake and exhaust, 460-470hp should not be an issue according to my technician (who build his own Exige to 700hp spec).

The Radfords also use the Emira engine - modified by Jubu - and run them in 600hp+ spec.

 

[Butcherxxl]

The exige V6 in its last spec came stock with 430hp in its final cup edition:
https://vanderkooisportscars.nl/aanbod/?carnr=7059772-AWD

It has the upgraded supercharger compared to my ex-Exige V6 350.
Emira has same engine as a Cup 430. With some additional mods as intake and exhaust, 460-470hp should not be an issue according to my technician (who build his own Exige to 700hp spec).

The Radfords also use the Emira engine - modified by Jubu - and run them in 600hp+ spec.

Yes I have seen already the Jubu 600 spec. But the 40k€ is ridiculous, compared to the cost you usual have with tuning a turbo engine.

 

[hagen111]

Yes I have seen already the Jubu 600 spec. But the 40k€ is ridiculous, compared to the cost you usual have with tuning a turbo engine.

Yes but the problem here is, your 992 engine was designed from scratch to take a lot more power, with the price of the car to justify the higher production cost and still make a nice margin.

The Emira engine is a stock Toyota Camry unit...never designed and budgeted for 600hp.

 

[Butcherxxl]

Yes but the problem here is, your 992 engine was designed from scratch to take a lot more power, with the price of the car the justify the higher production cost and still make a nice margin.

The Emira engine is a stock Toyota Camry unit...never designed and budgeted for 600hp.

Yes, I know and I agree.

My intention was not to complain about the price in general, but rather to question the decision if it is reasonable to invest into a lot of more performance than the car already offers in a stock state.

 

[KCMO68_510]

And... subscribed.

 

[hagen111]

Here’s a first image of the Emira on Nitron 3 way and the Jubu / Braid wheels. On the photo it is set 2cm lower vs stock Emira (measurement taken from a new Emira in the showroom).

Next is weight measurement on all 4 corners, also to see how much weight we have over front and rear. We may increase height at the rear slightly by 5-7mm’s to add a bit of weight over the front tires and add a bit of front end grip, as stock Emira can be a bit more aggressive in the front imo.

Keep you posted.

 

[GlobalPilot777]

Here’s a first image of the Emira on Nitron 3 way and the Jubu / Braid wheels. On the photo it is set 2cm lower vs stock Emira (measurement taken from a new Emira in the showroom).

Next is weight measurement on all 4 corners, also to see how much weight we have over front and rear. We may increase height at the rear slightly by 5-7mm’s to add a bit of weight over the front tires and add a bit of front end grip, as stock Emira can be a bit more aggressive in the front imo.

Keep you posted.

View attachment 26922

Looking great! Love the black wheels and how the car ‘sits’ on them.

Are seats installed already?

 

[Butcherxxl]

Congrats!!

The car sits perfectly. Please share further pictures and your impression how it rides.

I was actually never before so positively surprised by a chassis and suspension like with the Emira now. I have even the sport version with Cup2.

 

[hagen111]

Fabrication of the harness bar is planned first before the seats go in.

Mounting different seats is a challenge…as the computer can not see the original seats anymore, this leads to having to find a solution for that.

 

[AndyVX]

Interested to see how you get on with seats and harnesses.

 

[hagen111]

Weekend update… Emira is on its upgraded suspension setup and wheels, but to be able to drive we it need to get the seats fitted. This needs some custom frames…in the making…

 

[hagen111]

Flew back from Barcelona last night, and saw the car on the new suspension and wheels for the first time in real life today....WOW! It's so beautiful! The lower stance and the detail of the wheels in combination with black calipers and black pack all around, just make the car look so much better and more towards 'supercar-territory'. As it sits lower, it looks longer. Stunned with the outcome! Imagine the doorwindows also tinted a darker shade.

 

[hagen111]

Also the seat is in for fitting, looks amazing too! But...it's not finished and we are moving the timelines again...now aiming to be ready in about 2 weeks.

This is the puzzle...frame done, but either we need to reduce the height of the bolt, or add a small bushing, so the rails can still be used and won't hit the bolt for the floor mounting:

 

[dgrace]

Suspension looks fantastic. How’s the clearance at full steering lock?

 

[hagen111]

Suspension looks fantastic. How’s the clearance at full steering lock?

I expect clear ;-) But I have not tested. The Jubu car sits even lower if you look at their photos, so assume we will be good.

Nitrons came without instruction/settings, as this is the second set they produced as far as we know, and we volunteered to test it . So took a bit back and forth to get to our preferred ride hight and settings. Offcourse we will do more testing once we can sit in it and drive it for its first km's.

 

[dgrace]

I guess the real test will be outside front wheel in a hairpin under braking. Let us know! Definitely looks great static.

 

[eriegz]

Also the seat is in for fitting, looks amazing too! But...it's not finished and we are moving the timelines again...now aiming to be ready in about 2 weeks.

View attachment 27300

This is the puzzle...frame done, but either we need to reduce the height of the bolt, or add a small bushing, so the rails can still be used and won't hit the bolt for the floor mounting:

View attachment 27302

Those seats look AWESOME in there! They pair really well with the interior's modern lines. Well done. 😎👍

 

[hagen111]

We are going in what looks like small steps, but in fact have taken an awful lot of time.

- The PPF corrected on the underside of the front bumper, but redoing the bottom part of the bumper. The patterns don't seem to be 100% at this moment so the first attempt needed to be redone. Now looks much better, but took 4 hours of the ppf expert!
- The plates to mount the seats on the floor have been ok'd, so are off for powder coating.
- Lotus send an Outdoor car cover instead of indoor...so we checked our order, we checked inventory list...to find Lotus can't read and send the wrong one! Projects like these have so much back and forth just to get the right parts.
- The Schroth 4p harnesses have come in...almost impossible to find stock and get them delivered. We have left and right now!
- Next is the fabrication of the bar for the harnesses behind the seats, similar to an Evora. Took a lot of fitting and going back and forth...but is now of the the powder coating. Once it is returned, VDK will produce a welding JIG of the finished bar, so other people who like to opt for 4p harnesses can order it from them. Send me a message in case you are interested and I will pass on the details. Btw, we will leave in the original belts in case I need to do some quick grocery shopping ;-)

Hopefully, next week everything can be mounted.

- We still need to get the side windows tinted to match better with the privacy glass. Car lives in a sunny environment so it will be a nice addition
- Recaro sticker on the seat frames is bright white. We plan to get a new sticker made close to Nimbus colour to connect outside with a bit of inside.
- Front end plate mount we just found to be way to long to fit the smaller Andorra plates...so need to be cut.

Finding out where and how to mount the bar...so there is a full rolcage underneath the plastic...

 

[iiNNeX]

This is awesome, I had to create an account and give it a like! You have a similar vision to where I would take an Emira if I had one, will follow with interest