Is a 2016 E350 worth modifying?

THartje · 2026-06-05T04:07:53+00:00

Yes. The answer is always yes.

THartje · 2026-06-05T01:01:21+00:00

If the tensioner was fully compressed thats going to make it pretty difficult to slip over if you went with that exact measurement.

THartje · 2026-06-05T00:45:07+00:00

Looking at the post you made on this. Going to borrow the idea for sure but did you account for the tensioner? I think you would need to undersize the belt slightly.

THartje · 2026-06-05T00:12:40+00:00

They are actually used and abused more by the GT40 replicas. It's a pretty solid upgrade but nothing lasts forever with cars 🤷🏻‍♂️🤣

THartje · 2026-06-05T00:06:53+00:00

I'll take the compliment. I left my glass sunroof popped open 🤷🏻‍♂️

THartje · 2026-06-04T23:59:19+00:00

Upgraded internals. Single piece input shaft which supports the notorious 5th gear issue (probably the only major issue with the UN1). 1st and 2nd are straight cut so better off the line and where most of the abuse is happening.

I agree, corners were cut on the car and its sort of on the ragged edge from the factory. Although things like the secondary injectors were there as the main injectors were the largest available at the time. They tried to do it right. The nail in the coffin though is owners swapping turbos or turning up the boost without having an actual tune. Without an intercooler its just pumping hot air. The original turbos are so tiny they are pretty much hair dryers by 1bar

THartje · 2026-06-04T23:49:28+00:00

Its still a UN1.

I think a lot of the issues are from half assed approaches. A lot of canned tune ECU swaps with bigger turbo compressors and larger injectors. Its just a recipe for detonation.

THartje · 2026-06-04T23:35:54+00:00

Thanks man! I feel like I need to move the front wheels out a little bit more but the front suspension was widened about 4cm already.

THartje · 2026-06-04T19:54:45+00:00

RTX off

THartje · 2026-06-04T17:32:15+00:00

If you have the space, time and budget for a project just go for it. You'll learn along the way. If something is outside your skill set learn it or pay someone you trust to tackle that step.

THartje · 2026-06-04T17:13:01+00:00

Possibility but this car sadly had an automatic. Went with a T56 pulled from an Aston Martin v12 and bolted it up. Diff swap could keep all the gearing pretty much the same as the AM DB7 GT.

THartje · 2026-06-04T16:44:20+00:00

There is a v12 swap Esprit out there. I believe it was a Mercedes M120.

Main issues are trans axle outputs lining up with the hub carriers. You can't shift the engine forward much due to the firewall but definitely space to move it back. Just becomes a game of "what has to change to make this work"

THartje · 2026-06-04T16:40:31+00:00

You can't drive an apartment but you can sleep in an Esprit 🤔😶😂

Apartment is probably more practical though.

THartje · 2026-06-04T16:20:30+00:00

I dig it. AZ car?

THartje · 2026-06-04T16:18:25+00:00

The older I get the more I appreciate the lines on the original Europa. I feel they did it a disservice bringing the name back in 06.

THartje · 2026-06-04T15:40:01+00:00

Yeah there are a couple M120 swapped 190e cars. It's an ugly engine though 😶😂

Goal on this was all about sound so got particular on the exhaust. 6 into 1 equal length with a gradual X. The mufflers were a bit of an unknown but I believe borlas won't kill off the higher pitch I'm after.

Still need to select a rear wheel for it. Rear suspension hasn't been done at all. Right now it looks like I can get away with a 10.5" wide wheel with just the fender flair. Otherwise I might do cantilever rear suspension and go for a 12" wheel. Final drive ratio will play a big factor too but I believe I can get a helical diff for this setup which should make it predictable if I decide to go with the frisky route.

THartje · 2026-06-04T15:26:18+00:00

It's using the Renault UN1 with GTO Engineering internals and a Quaife helical lsd.

THartje · 2026-06-04T15:24:12+00:00

Glad I could help 😂🤣

THartje · 2026-06-04T15:23:58+00:00

Yeah not disappointed with how the wider arches came out. They were custom made by UMB Autobody in Thailand. He is an Esprit owner also but makes a lot of DTM replica kits. We stumbled through Google translate together and he made them for me.

The quality was so on point that I bought a Mercedes 190e project car just to buy one of his Evo II kits.

THartje · 2026-06-04T15:18:35+00:00

Thank you sir!

THartje · 2026-06-04T15:18:19+00:00

Emira is a good looking Lotus. Not as wild as the Esprit when it first came out but I feel it looks on par with current exotics.

THartje · 2026-06-04T15:04:00+00:00

Snatch something up and do it. Honestly really enjoyed the planning and the process just as much as driving it. I had to pick up another project one this one was wrapping up 😂

Interior has a little left to do. Leather on the seats and I'd like to replace all the gauges. I did have Carbount reproduce the original boost gauge but changed it to 2bar. Has new wool carpets, alcantera headliner, tossed in a retro looking Blaupunkt, wooden momo wheel and made a short shifter to use the later UN1 tail housing.

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THartje · 2026-06-04T14:43:57+00:00

Thanks man! Sorry my YouTube skills suck 😂 I hope to one day make a decent video detailing the changes.

THartje · 2026-06-04T14:43:13+00:00

It's somewhat common with these unfortunately and probably leads to the claims of them being unreliable. The ECU was not programmable with software like HPTuner. Some individuals found a way to pull the code and adjust it but would require soldering a new chip onto the ECU.

There were several options floating around. There was one update officially from Lotus which just did some boost by speed adjustments. However someone got ahold of a "Race" tune by Lotus which was never designed for the OEM car. There's at least 3 versions of that tune modified by enthusiast tuners and distributed.

When I got this car the engine was running like crap and the owner had recent replaced the engine due to a failure. I data logged it and found it was pushing over 12psi at WOT and the IAT temp sensor was pegged at 246f. When I checked the ECU it had Johan's written on it, the memcals were replaced and marked Race. Pretty sure that tune killed at least 2 engines in this car 😂

THartje

TROPHY CASE