Honda Elise Special Part 2: Driving a K20 Swapped S1 Lotus Elise

For a long time I've been asked my opinion on the popular Honda conversion for the Lotus Elise. Now, thanks to Essex Autosport I've learned a bit more about what goes into making them and how they drive in this two part special.
Thanks to www.essexautos...
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[@Mark13091961]

Sounds glorious. Years ago I had a S1 supercharged by Turbo Technics, this was before the Honda was even considered. It was an outstanding conversion that ran trouble free for 10 years until I sold it. A mountain of effortless torque that made it a pleasure on road as on track.

[@nearlyretired7005]

I have a S1 Exige with s/c Honda, 815 kgs. I have owned it for seven years. Outrageously fast! - in any gear

[@saunlloyd1475]

9 minutes of someone having fun behind the wheel of a cracking little car that sounds great... jobs a goodun. I want to go out and make my 16v sing now.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Do it!

[@henryhol8538]

The series one has a place in history as the car that started off the current Lotus range. The modification is so good it could almost be factory. (Could the windscreen wiper be adjusted to stay on the screen?) Keep these types of videos coming, great work!

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Thanks Henry!

[@chrisremovalman5009]

Thanks for not making us wait to long for part 2👍

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Happy to oblige :)

[@JB-F10-M5]

The engine the lotus should of flowered with 👌🏽

[@mateuszodrzywoek8658]

did you have a stroke

[@JB-F10-M5]

TechnoGuz GD pardon lol?

[@lewbarrett]

Jay Emm content at it's best. Excellent video, entertaining car.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Cheers Lew!

[@tombell7670]

Amazing exhaust note, great video, thanks Jay

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Cheers Tom

[@gryphon123456]

The sound of that K20 makes me so miss my RSX from years ago. That car could make any day better... good review m8. Keep up the good work.... You should reach out to Yuri and Jacob over here in Canada and do a collaboration. “The Straight Pipes”

[@celt67]

That sounds the fucking business. Great exhaust sound.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

It really does

[@KXP70]

Most of what you're hearing is intake sound and it's glorious

[@jorg1456]

When are we gonna get the full, unedited, 3 hr length, director’s cut version of this video? And a full how to from Shawn. Great videos!

[@ianmulley2013]

That’s an epic combination

[@weatherall68]

You really needed to review a standard car first to realise what a huge improvement the Honda is.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Unfortunately I do not have a lot of choice in which cars I get to review and in which order

[@henryhol8538]

JayEmm on Cars - We would love to see you do a review of a series one in future, and compare it with both the newer cars and the Honda conversion.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

You and me both!

[@whizzo94]

I bought my S1 with the standard engine and it was a lot of fun even with 120bhp. But the engine didn't like to rev past about 5500, remember it started life in a Rover 25/45. I was considering putting a 160VVC engine in but I couldn't find a good cylinder head, all of the heads I found had been either cooked or had deep grooves in them from the head gasket.I converted my car myself and the only downside I can see so far is the risk to your license !!! It's an absolute blast to drive though :-)

[@timburton1080]

Cool video. Loved my Honda Elise

[@mcspooney]

my dream swap

[@lanteryu6974]

Good Lotus stuff. It would be interesting if Lotus made their own engines again.... doh! it's gonna be Volvo innit? Someone remind me of the connection between Volvo and Renault viz engines please? Meanwhile my 2006 Europa, after another trip to the mender since J last saw it, is being used as a daily driver, so let's see how it copes.

[@commantrosexetlos4700]

dope car mate..my next toy..i will come to uk buy an elise s2+s2000 engine swap..and bring it to cyprus..this will be the next toy

[@jorg1456]

S2000 engine is (imho) not the right Honda engine to use, definitely K20 or K24 i-VTEC. Not VTEC nor VTEC-e but i-VTEC. Have fun with your toy !

[@BlatentlyFakeName]

S2000 engine probably won't fit on the Elise subframe

[@Danial0152]

are they converted with the K20A or the K20A2 units?

[@timburton1080]

Mainly k20a2 in the UK, but plenty stick some JDM cams in or aftermarket ones

[@jamesfawcett442]

Hi Jay what power was this Elise giving?

[@ephancock]

How did the performance compare to your 111R James, I'm assuming it was considerably more potent especially with the weight saving of an S1 Elise?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

The biggest difference was the lower and smoother cam changeover, made the car easier to make progress without having to rev the nuts off it

[@whizzo94]

Did they not tell you that the Honda gearbox has a solenoid which locks out reverse when you are above about 5 mph?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

They did not

[@whizzo94]

BTW, I have a Honda converted S1 :-)

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Sweet. It does suit the car very well

[@bunsofsteeeel]

Hi Jay have you seen the ultimate factories lotus evora episode? If you haven’t you should check it out very interesting.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

I might have done some time ago

[@bunsofsteeeel]

JayEmm on Cars JayEmm on Cars it features a yellow evora a lot in the beginning and I remember your vid saying there was only two yellow ones if I remember correctly? So I thought this might of been your car they were driving it shows the original reg of the car.

[@bunsofsteeeel]

JayEmm on Cars kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJicnWucmqp4rc0

[@Thanos.m]

I think am the only the one here who would ruther have the the Rover VVC engine in the Elise

[@Punisher9419]

I would also prefer the rover engine. It's much lighter. And if treated properly and we'll maintained it is a very reliable engine. You can also get a lot of power from the k series engine.

[@Thanos.m]

Kuddlesworth NA Kuddlesworth NA I completely agree I worked at a Rover garage if you keep oil and coolant on level they can last a long time also the K-series is a very easy engine to work on and as you said it's pretty easy to get more power out of it

[@supercarsofgrimsby6953]

These cars aren't about power. They are about handling and pointability. The last engine with enough mid range torque they fitted was the 1.8s S2. Revving the nuts off these upsets the balance of squirting through corners and nipping through traffic. Agility is the speed here. If you need to fit a Honda engine then you actually need to go and buy a BMW 140i or a Porsche. The Honda engine definitely has a handling penalty short of a full race suspension setup. Nobody will admit that, most can't drive well enough to understand it anyway. The Elise has a particularly rearward weight bias for an MR car, worse than an MR2 MK3, a 4C, an Alpine or even an MGF. The wheelbase is also a bit too short to compensate. Adding a boat anchor Honda engine at the back...is like adding the handling DNA of a 1980's Ford Capri.

[@HondaExige1]

@@supercarsofgrimsby6953 2 points: a) the Honda conversion only adds 15kg on average. Unless you are Ayrton Senna reborn, you will not notice that. b) the Honda engine is mounted lower so CoG might actually be better. See here www.hondaelise.com/faq

[@jamesfawcett442]

@@supercarsofgrimsby6953 What utter cobblers

[@MrKeyboardCommando]

Oh God, Cletus, not those damned sunglasses, again. If you wore a bandana, you'd look like a Ninja Turtle. The video, however, is beyond criticism, with the usual seamless editing and outstanding camera work. The car is extremely interesting. How easy/difficult is the ingress and egress, as I seem to remember the Elise has wide sills?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

With the roof off, fine. Roof on, not easy. The S1 has very wide and high sills even compared to an S2. You may also be happy to know this video was filmed a while ago, I have ditched glasses where possible in subsequent videos as I took the feedback on board

[@MrKeyboardCommando]

Thanks for the information. Well, it looks like the S1 is another car I'd actually buy that has to be crossed off the list. Bugger. I'm pleased to read the good news regarding the shades.😎😎😎

[@dair919]

Earthquake?!

[@f2detaboada]

0:57 fucking aye

[@rodbrown8306]

Why did they bother with toyota engines in the first place?

[@mets23q]

Why didnt lotus use these engines to begin with such a beautiful car with a garbage k series land rover engine

[@JayEmmOnCars]

They didnt exist when the first Elise came out

[@mrdayumfine109]

DannyDC2 and AdamIvell will be along shortly..

[@itsalgud1459]

Damn! I could “get accustomed to” sitting on broken glass for a car with that kind of performance and that AMAZING SOUND! I’ve owned 2 Vtec Hondas and am a big fan of them. I can only imagine what it would be like to have that engine in a Lotus chassis!😍

[@christiandevos9280]

Crx is the same weight as the elise

[@KXP70]

Christian De Vos crx is not an Elise though

[@itsalgud1459]

Christian De Vos Elise is mid-engine RWD, which alone would make a huge difference, not to mention better suspension and steering. 😏

[@christiandevos9280]

I was just talking weight. I know the lotus is a better track car. They are both good track cars though.

[@steveluck9541]

Christian De Vos CRX 1010kg Elise S1 111S 760kg and monster to drive. I traded my CRX after 8 years for an Elise that I’ve now owned for 18years

[@willotoole4118]

Beautiful looking lotus and a great car and great video review and content and keep up the great content.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Cheers Will!

[@foxhounduk2k8]

Great video. Channel is getting BETTER AND BETTER!

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Thanks!

[@AndyRRR0791]

Wait till it reaches No. 5!

[@Easytiger007]

Driven once supercharged Atom K20.....that was plenty fun but of course in Lotus chassis it would be something different as pocket rockets go!😂👍

[@ChuckFickens1972]

That kelvedon to Silver End / Rivenhall road is one of my favourite short hacks.

[@darrenporter1850]

Bit disappointed with these two videos. I was hoping for a little more information and in depth review. I own a 111R and how does it compare to Toyota engine?, faster top speed?, how do you compare S1 to the S2?, how do 0-60 times compare? Part one and two seemed a little rushed compared to your usual reviews but this is the review I have been most interested in seeing. I also owned an S1 with the K series engine, the car was raw and even more hardcore than my S2, maybe you thought different? Pity you did not go into more detail..

[@JayEmmOnCars]

I would need to back to back the two cars to give the fairest opinion. One thing I can say for certain, the Honda in this car was much easier to drive as it was better low down and had a lower and smoother cam change than my 111R. I havent driven any other S1 so i cant compare with those. This car and my 111R were also both on aftermarket suspension so making any comparisons about handling does seem unfair as neither was standard. I personally prefer the S2 for better looks and interior ergonomics Hope that helps!

[@darrenporter1850]

JayEmm on Cars I have seen some S1 honda conversions and the speed and exceleration has been off the scale. Maybe I am just surprised it wasnt this time (do you watch toad tv?, there is a review of an Exige S1 Honda conversion on that site you might be interested in.. that car seems insane)

[@kchan5363]

It's been said that the NA Honda conversions are comparable to supercharged Toyotas in terms of power and acceleration but based on this video and the reviewer's comments, the difference between this Honda Elise and the 111R seem underwhelming. Do correct me if I'm mistaken.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

111R vs NA K20 the big difference is drivability. The car comes on cam way earlier and has a smoother transition. Pace is similar to the supercharged 2ZZ

[@commantrosexetlos4700]

are you ok mate? you ask if a 1.8l 189hp engine is the same with 2.0l 240hp? yes more power more torque

[@gerhardburger6777]

Wasting my data trying to look at car, but sooooo much mumble.

[@Duvholmen]

I dont want to see your face, show the car!!!

[@eydzuanrosley522]

god i want one aaaand as if i can afford one...

[@seancain7305]

:-)

[@04dram04]

This is the engine the s2 should have came with

[@resnonverba137]

Thumbs -up for the review as usual but have to comment that the Essex Autosport website is awful. Suggest they spend a few pounds upgrading it.

[@dicer82]

Great videos as always! Wish the US made it easier to understand importation. Very interested in this kit route

[@SunWindWave]

Another video on point, nice one James.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Thanks Mike!

[@RyanHarris77]

Sounds like the stock exhaust on my old S2k when it hits VTEC

[@christiandevos9280]

I want an s1 elise with a k series type r swap

[@raymondallen918]

Great video again. I'm considering doing this conversion. how do you think Essex autosport compare against they're competition? if this video proves to be popular it would be great to see a comparison.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

I cannot speak for the competition, only Essex, and I was very impressed with their work

[@hkrsescort]

Great review but the shaking is horrific, almost unwatchable

[@JayEmmOnCars]

It was a new mount setup we tried, it didn't work well, we've improved it since

[@packsorted2189]

Nice!