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Well, ill be starting a build on an s3 12A very soon for my widebody, and I figured id dump some of the elford based information I could find here on the Rx7club, as most of it has been lost to time.
Just a little backround: The "Elford Turbo" Rx7 were built in Europe as an alternative to the turbo 12A that they never produced there. Instead of the JDM injected 12A, it used a simple draw through carburetor and special Microdynamics ignition module that retarded ignition timing as boost increased.
They were offered as a reliable OEM style turbo set up, and had 2 variations of boost. 5 PSI "poppet" valved wastegate, or the more popular 6psi "swing gate" model.
performance numbers are mostly mixed, but I imagine the 6 psi version made slightly more than the 5 psi version, lol.
I've always liked the front spoiler on the Elford Turbos better than the blocky ones that were available.
The car that gave up my elford turbo and manifold still has the air dam and spoiler available! It will be listed on ebay very soon, so watch if you really wanna snag one.
Years back, I bought a book from Mike Ancas (not written by him, tho) that was a compilation of RX-7 magazine articles up to the end of the FC era. A lot of UK articles, interesting things like a C&D test of a special Japanese Turbo II built as a send-off before the FDs came out, etc. Anyway, one of the articles was about the Elford Turbo. It was a Series 1 car, as I recall.
Years back, I bought a book from Mike Ancas (not written by him, tho) that was a compilation of RX-7 magazine articles up to the end of the FC era. A lot of UK articles, interesting things like a C&D test of a special Japanese Turbo II built as a send-off before the FDs came out, etc. Anyway, one of the articles was about the Elford Turbo. It was a Series 1 car, as I recall.
The 79-80 elford cars had fabricated manifolds, and used the nikki carb! They weren't considered reliable, and apparently the nikki gave them fits.
they hint at this in the above articles, and the product was much better after they cast both manifolds, and changed the carburetor choice.
I included the second article here, even though it doesn't say it was an elford car, because a very credible source told me that the particular s1 rx7 they were reviewing was an early elford conversion, even if the magazine wasn't keen that it wasn't stock.
I could understand why it gave them fits, the calibration would be all wrong for running in a draw through arrangement. Plus the carb tops out for airflow even on a non turbocharged engine.
I thought it amusing that the engine made a reported 150-160hp, that is like what a stock 12A can do with minor bolt-ons...
I could understand why it gave them fits, the calibration would be all wrong for running in a draw through arrangement. Plus the carb tops out for airflow even on a non turbocharged engine.
I thought it amusing that the engine made a reported 150-160hp, that is like what a stock 12A can do with minor bolt-ons...
As I'll cover in my build thread, the focus on the elford was not HP, but torque and fuel economy.
they made many changes from the original setup that actually choked horsepower output, but aided in low end torque production.
I actually drove one a few years ago, and it felt like T2 performance at the very least.
also, the elford was making 165-ish BHP, which at the time was a significant jump in performance. The best actual dyno sheets I've seen for 12a's with bolt ons were in the 125-135 bhp range, and are generally quite noisy and without the oem smoothness.
I believe my last stockport NA build was as healthy in terms as BHP comparable to the elford turbo, but by no means could compete with the low end torque curve.
A very interesting comparison is that my 150 hp-ish 12a (which I believe at this point is putting out all that the stock ports will allow), and my 2015 mx5 skyactiv 2.0 make around the same rwhp. In the 135-140 range, depending on conditions.
The 12A screams to to around 100 mph, and then is pretty well out of steam. It will go much faster, but very very slowly.
The 2.0 skyactiv gets to 100 sooner, and just keeps pulling until it hits it's electronic limit of 130 MPH. (Not stock limit, btw)
the real difference between the 2 is how the power is delivered. The 12A just can't compete with how the 4 cyl puts it out, because the skyactiv 2.0 is making 155 lb-ft of torque, by 3500 rpm...
I believe that elford was way ahead of their time in the ideas they used to make the car faster. They put it in aero, brakes, shocks, tires, and a mild turbocharging effect. It was faster than the "turbo kit" cars (Janspeed, Cartech, HKS to name a few) and was second only to the JDM 12AT on its 0-60, 80-100, and that's excluding the added benefit that the Elford had MPG comparable with stock...
Of course, this is all based on super old, black and white data. I can give everyone real figures when my own is running!
