Starter Motor

[nickspeed]

Any thoughts on starter motors? My S4 has the original type, but I am wondering about a high torque version, to both improve engine speed in the winter months, and to improve the sound, which to me is not great. All advice will be much appreciated, including makes, models and where to buy. Many thanks in advance, Nick

[alan.barker]

For me stay with original Starter Motor.
Just change Bendix and change Oilite Bush next to Bendix. Easy jobs and very cheap, will be good for many years to come.
Alan

[SENC]

I'm with Alan, nothing wrong with the original with a little refurbishment. Sometimes simplicity is best!

[alanr]

The original inertia starter chews the starter ring badly over time.

I have fitted a Powerlite RAC472MS High Torque starter motor and it is excellent. It whips the engine over very quickly and is quiet in operation. Highly recommended!
I definitely wouldn't want to go back to the old inertia starter
Do ensure though you buy the MS version of this starter which has multi hole drilling of the bolt mounting flange to give options for better clearance against the sump.
Just a warning...There are cheaper high torque starters out there than the Powerlite but they have a very mixed reputation.

Alan.

[alan.barker]

Imho the original Starter only "chews" the Starter Ring if badly maintained.
I've seen a few "mangled" Starter Rings from badly "set up" pre-engaged Starters.
Luck of the draw and personal experience i suppose. Lol
Alan

[ericbushby]

I fitted the Powerlite motor some years ago and it is excellent. Apart from turning the engine over faster and drawing less current from the battery, if the engine just coughs once, it will not throw the pinion out of gear like the original did, it will stay engaged until the engine runs properly, This is very useful on a cold morning or if the engine has not run for a while.
There was an issue with clearance once but apparently this has been fixed. If you have any further doubt then ask them, they know what they are doing.
Eric in Burnley (In Menorca just now)
1967 S3SE DHC

[Hawksfield]

Hi
Stick with the orignal. 37 years with same ring gear and 1 new drive end bush.

[alan.barker]

+1
There you go save your money.
Soon be Christmas.
Alan

[2cams70]

The Lucas starters were fitted to millions of English cars throughout the 60's and 70's. Not just toy cars like Lotus but bread and butter cars like Ford Cortina's, Minis, etc - i.e cars being used by regular mums and dads, sales reps and for commercial business. Some of these cars would have clocked up very high annual mileages. Whilst it's true that an inertia starter will wear the ring gear at a greater rate than a well set up pre engaged starter the difference isn't all that great. It would not have been acceptable and wasn't indeed required on these vehicles to change ring gears every 6 months. How many miles do you do in an Elan every year? More than 50,000? Perhaps I'd consider a pre-engaged starter. Are you running a high compression engine and placing a greater load on the starter than it was originally designed for? Perhaps I'd consider a pre-engaged starter. Slow cranking is usually more to do with the wiring than the starter itself.

[Andy8421]

Nick,

Gear reduction starters are lighter and use less current than the standard Lucas starter. Colin would have approved.

The extra torque is handy if you have a higher compression engine than normal, or on a cold morning when the oil is thick and the battery is down on power.

It also avoids the 'one cylinder fires, and throws out the starter bendix' problem which can be a challenge, particularly when trying to get a hot engine going or on an engine with a lightened flywheel.

Finally, its an easy swap if you want to go back to the original setup.

I use these starters on both Elans and I am very pleased with them.

Andy.

[2cams70]

It also avoids the 'one cylinder fires, and throws out the starter bendix' problem which can be a challenge,

Whilst a pre-engaged starter will cope better in this situation the root cause is often that the static ignition timing is incorrect.