Europa air intake issues

[jbcollier]

As has been discussed before, the stock Europa air intake has two issues.  First the air filter area is too small and filter restriction starts to noticeable affect performance in only a few thousand kilometres. Typically 3K to 5K depending on dust levels.  The second issue is that the air intake is at one of the hottest points of the whole compartment.  Temps have been measured at 10° to 20° higher than ambient!

Cold air enters through the front of the wheel wells, where the radius arms live.  My idea was to fit a larger filter with its intake low down and hopefully eliminate both issues.  I prefer pleated-paper filters as they filter out smaller particles and have a massive amount more surface area than oil-wet cotton elements.  I went with the air filter unit from an 80s Jaguar XJ6 series 3.

Fitting was not easy.  First I had to make room under the carbs.  I moved my fire suppression system to the driver’s side and relocated the electric fuel pump.  Then the air filter unit “just” fits:

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-T4bpMKj/A

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-8MVqcWt/A

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-Hb2fRf9/A

Next I had to make another seatbelt brace to clear the soon-to-be revised air box:

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-MpqKfDF/A

To add strength I used 0.095” wall, chrome-moly seamless tubing.

Then I modified the airbox cover to point in the right direction:

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-95KqCNL/A

It’s a tight fit for sure, and you have to change filters from underneath:

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-RTJ83CZ/A

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-2SfGR3h/A

Also my ability to ford streams has been drastically reduced...

Cheers

[BDA]

Nicely done, JB!

[Sandyman]

Nice job John. My car came with no air filter so I will have to make something like yours only on the other side. The heat/sound firewall protection looks fantastic, What is it? How hard was it to install?
Sandy

[jbcollier]

It's DEI heat shield.  The hi-performance shops stock it or something similar.

I used a base layer of this stuff:

https://www.b-quiet.com/collections/all-products/products/b-quiet-extreme-50sqft

Then a sheet of 1/16 aluminium.  Followed by the DEI stuff.

No heat transfer to speak of but I can't say it's quiet.  My wife and I use aircraft comms for long trips.  To be fair, the S1 has hollow sails and sills that are formed like a Swiss alpen horn.  I have thought of shooting that full of foam but just how flammable should you try to make your vehicle?

[buzzer]

Nice one. I have just done a very similar mod. I actually made a mould for a new ducting cover that bolts to the carbs with a small length of flexible 90mm ducting to at the moment a foam filter mounted low down in front of the RH fuel tank. I also made a floor plate with a NACA duct to over the hole in the floor below the tank. So hopefully the airflow will be more controlled.  I’ll post the pics tomorrow as I don’t have them on this device.

[buzzer]

I thought I would post the pictures of what I did to make a pick up in front of the RH full tank.
I wanted to manage the airflow a bit better where it enters under the car so fitted Naca ducts onto ally plates. I used nutserts installed in the body so I can remove the plates for access or if they don't work as expected.
The original air box would not fit just by turning it round and clouted the fuel tank and was too long. I made a mould using the original box and modified the intake angle and position. I actually used a bottle as a mould for the neck of the intake. I then used a section of 90mm flexible pipe to pick up on a foam air filter.
pictures are of
 the mould
the new box next to the old
make up of the box with the flexible and filter (flex pipe was cut down from this as this was used to check it fits together)
the Naca pates
the view under the car
the installed unit

[jbcollier]

Very nice!

[buzzer]

Ta,  I'll have to wait till lockdown releases a bit before I can properly test it all.

[BDA]

Very nicely done, Buzzer!

[TurboFource]

I like the use of NACA duct! Let us know how it works out.

[buzzer]

Thanks guys, I will as soon as I can get testing it.

[Grumblebuns]

Dave has a Weber head with a different air box. For the Stromberg crowd, fitting an federal Elan air box might be an easier solution. Since my engine is out of the car, have not had the chance to test for any interference issues to the back firewall.