Lotus Elise 111R
Discussion
I should probably mention, the reason for my attention towards the throttle pedal is that my EML that I experienced en-route to Croft has been reoccurring now every 20miles or so.
The codes are all DBW related. I took the pedal out hoping to see some obvious point of failure, but electronics aren't always that simple I guess!
The codes are all DBW related. I took the pedal out hoping to see some obvious point of failure, but electronics aren't always that simple I guess!
Cheers Rick, full flush coming I think and get some proper stuff in.
Got the front clam to the bodyshop today, so got some welcome garage space and I can get on tinkering now. I've asked/suggested that I get the car towed to the bodyshop once the repair is complete so I can refit without needing to transport the clam again. I really don't fancy transporting it with a mint paintjob as we had to "encourage it" into the back of the doublecab transit that I borrowed for today.
Got the front clam to the bodyshop today, so got some welcome garage space and I can get on tinkering now. I've asked/suggested that I get the car towed to the bodyshop once the repair is complete so I can refit without needing to transport the clam again. I really don't fancy transporting it with a mint paintjob as we had to "encourage it" into the back of the doublecab transit that I borrowed for today.
Got a surprise text yesterday, the clam is done!
I popped in on the way home from work for a look, it looks stunning. He's painted the front of it back to the "fake panel gaps" between the bumper bit and the wing bits. Colour match is spot on, he's got the service panels there which we used for comparison and it really looked bang on.
Repair looks sturdy as hell, this car can probably plough through a deer now without damage... though I'll not try it.
I'm STILL missing my second rad fan, e-mailed the supplier yesterday and they had a mixup so it won't be shipped out till Monday. A week on monday I'll be working away through the week for 3 months so I really need to get the clam back home or on the car. The offer still stands at the bodyshop for me to trailer the car to him and we can refit in his shop, an option I would MUCH prefer. It's only 17miles between me and the bodyshop, but quotes I've had so far are in the £70+vat region!? Can't be right surely. I had my Subaru trailered 40miles for £50 but that guy is on holiday
I popped in on the way home from work for a look, it looks stunning. He's painted the front of it back to the "fake panel gaps" between the bumper bit and the wing bits. Colour match is spot on, he's got the service panels there which we used for comparison and it really looked bang on.
Repair looks sturdy as hell, this car can probably plough through a deer now without damage... though I'll not try it.
I'm STILL missing my second rad fan, e-mailed the supplier yesterday and they had a mixup so it won't be shipped out till Monday. A week on monday I'll be working away through the week for 3 months so I really need to get the clam back home or on the car. The offer still stands at the bodyshop for me to trailer the car to him and we can refit in his shop, an option I would MUCH prefer. It's only 17miles between me and the bodyshop, but quotes I've had so far are in the £70+vat region!? Can't be right surely. I had my Subaru trailered 40miles for £50 but that guy is on holiday
I'm really happy with the paint work, ultimate proof will be when it's bolted to the car and I can see it side by side with the older paint - but I'm almost certainly going to have them do the rear of my car at somepoint.
Some other stuff I've been doing.
I bought replacement stainless bolts for most places, but a few were missing. Gave various nuts, bolts and fixtures a dusting over to make them look a little less crap.
Some REALLY gammy bits got some deox treatment before being painted.
One of the worst bits about the S2 Elise aesthetics (IMO) is the black plastic used for the various grilles around the car, they go a crappy grey when left out in the sun for more than 30seconds and get crappy waterspots on them when it's raining.
Decided to rub them down, prime and repaint in satin black.
They've come up pretty nicely I reckon, quite chuffed. Don't look too bright/glossy but they should always have that "just back to blacked look" once on the car.
Then my spare pedal arrived!
Fitting was a bit of a ballache, I was upside down in the footwell and the missus was dropping the bolts down through the top of the chassis.
Two of the nuts were easy for me to finger on, but the other was completely hidden from view and/or spanner/socket access. Nightmare!
Ended up gluing the nut to the pedal to make it captive:
That allowed us just enough to get the bolt threaded in from the top, then wedged the side of a spanner against it to tighten it up.
Drilled out the rivets for the footplate and re-fitted to the new pedal. Hopefully that's problem solved!
Oh, driving lights didn't escape the satin black attack either...
My second rad fan is due today, really hope it arrives so I can get the coolant changed tonight, brakes fluid changed (it looks horrible and pedal has been a bit crap since Croft) and then we're all ready for clam-day on Friday. Need to go down to London for a couple of days early tomorrow so really need the car "road worthy" tonight!
Some other stuff I've been doing.
I bought replacement stainless bolts for most places, but a few were missing. Gave various nuts, bolts and fixtures a dusting over to make them look a little less crap.
Some REALLY gammy bits got some deox treatment before being painted.
One of the worst bits about the S2 Elise aesthetics (IMO) is the black plastic used for the various grilles around the car, they go a crappy grey when left out in the sun for more than 30seconds and get crappy waterspots on them when it's raining.
Decided to rub them down, prime and repaint in satin black.
They've come up pretty nicely I reckon, quite chuffed. Don't look too bright/glossy but they should always have that "just back to blacked look" once on the car.
Then my spare pedal arrived!
Fitting was a bit of a ballache, I was upside down in the footwell and the missus was dropping the bolts down through the top of the chassis.
Two of the nuts were easy for me to finger on, but the other was completely hidden from view and/or spanner/socket access. Nightmare!
Ended up gluing the nut to the pedal to make it captive:
That allowed us just enough to get the bolt threaded in from the top, then wedged the side of a spanner against it to tighten it up.
Drilled out the rivets for the footplate and re-fitted to the new pedal. Hopefully that's problem solved!
Oh, driving lights didn't escape the satin black attack either...
My second rad fan is due today, really hope it arrives so I can get the coolant changed tonight, brakes fluid changed (it looks horrible and pedal has been a bit crap since Croft) and then we're all ready for clam-day on Friday. Need to go down to London for a couple of days early tomorrow so really need the car "road worthy" tonight!
AyBee said:
I'd love enough space to do all these small jobs on my Elise, I'm very jealous! They're such a simple car, I'd have no worries getting stuck in but I just don't have the space
ETA: Great paint job.
All of the tinkering I did on my Subaru was on a cold, usually wet driveway and I didn't even have a shed to store tools and bits in... so I feel your pain! When we moved house, a double garage was an absolute requirement... which somewhat narrowed down our options!ETA: Great paint job.
Big update time, haven't had time to do it gradually as I've been rushing to get the car sorted between work and sleeping!
As we last left it, I was missing a rad fan and the bodyshop had finished their repairs so I needed to get a move on.
The fan arrived on the evening it was due, just when I had given up on it. I had to spend a couple of days in London that week so I was really short on time.
It arrived, and I wasted no time in getting it bolted into its enclosure.
It didn't take long to bolt it back into the car, connect all the hoses and be ready to flush the old coolant out. I'd bought 5l of OAT stuff and 5l of de-ionized water so was ready to roll. I got started by unhooking a hose from the engine bay, then ran a hosepipe through the system "backwards". After 4 or 5 buckets worth' came out, the fluid was no longer blue and looked clean enough to drink (which I didn't).
I then filled the system with tap water, and bled as if I were finishing the job. Got the car up to temp and made sure that the thermostat opened properly and that the fans came on. All seemed well, and no leaks. The water in the header tank was blue though, so dropped the lot out again and repeated 4 or 5 buckets worth of flushing. I then needed to sleep.
I had my London trip, then came back to flush the system once more. This time there was no sign of a blue tinge and I was somewhat happy that the system was clean enough to risk adding some OAT in. I took my time and ended up getting 9litres of my coolant/water mix. It's a 12litre system so that means there's 3litres of old stuff in there somewhere but almost certainly is just tap water by now... so hopefully I'm good! After a few miles/days the coolant in the header tank is still bright pink, with no evidence of mixing as it quickly goes brown.
Whilst waiting for the tap water to cool down before draining, I also ran the brake system through with fresh fluid and have my nice firm pedal back.
It was time to show the car the light of day for the first time in a few weeks, and I drove it round the village quickly just to check the brakes were good and that I didn't have any leaks. (garage floor was covered in water at this point, so hard to tell!)
On Friday morning, the recovery truck arrived to take me to the bodyshop. Loaded up without a fuss and headed on our way. Delivery guy got a knackered V6 Camry to take home with him too from the bodyshop, so a good day for all around!
The guys at the bodyshop were kind enough to lend me some space to refit my clam, and of course they helped me lift it into position too. With all the wiring sorted up, I was ready to (hopefully) view the innards of the front of my car for the final time...!
The Clam went on without fuss, and I spent another 90mins or so tidying bits up before getting the car home. The only parts missing now are the headlights!
The headlight covers were with Tom @ Lemass Automotive for some refurbishment, so I got the innards wired back up and tested in the meantime.
As a reminder of what my lights suffered, one was milky beneath the surface:
and the other was rough and needed rubbing down.
Tom brought these up an absolute treat, I'm very happy with them.
Finally today I could get everything back together and wheeled the car into the sun!
I'm very, very satisfied. The paintwork is excellent... under very specific lighting I can see a hint of difference between the service panels which didn't get painted and the bonnet but particularly outside in natural light it looks absolutely spot on. The finish is perfect too with no evidence of dust contamination in the lacquer etc.
The whole process was rather satisfying but I'm in no hurry to do it again. Having a garage full of little cups of random bolts/washers was quite stressful as I was almost certain I'd forget how it all went together... but I was methodical and either I pulled it off... or the clam will come flying off next time I'm on the motorway.
Oh, in the 20miles I've done so far... no sign of the DBW fault so hoping that new accelerator has done the trick there too.
As we last left it, I was missing a rad fan and the bodyshop had finished their repairs so I needed to get a move on.
The fan arrived on the evening it was due, just when I had given up on it. I had to spend a couple of days in London that week so I was really short on time.
It arrived, and I wasted no time in getting it bolted into its enclosure.
It didn't take long to bolt it back into the car, connect all the hoses and be ready to flush the old coolant out. I'd bought 5l of OAT stuff and 5l of de-ionized water so was ready to roll. I got started by unhooking a hose from the engine bay, then ran a hosepipe through the system "backwards". After 4 or 5 buckets worth' came out, the fluid was no longer blue and looked clean enough to drink (which I didn't).
I then filled the system with tap water, and bled as if I were finishing the job. Got the car up to temp and made sure that the thermostat opened properly and that the fans came on. All seemed well, and no leaks. The water in the header tank was blue though, so dropped the lot out again and repeated 4 or 5 buckets worth of flushing. I then needed to sleep.
I had my London trip, then came back to flush the system once more. This time there was no sign of a blue tinge and I was somewhat happy that the system was clean enough to risk adding some OAT in. I took my time and ended up getting 9litres of my coolant/water mix. It's a 12litre system so that means there's 3litres of old stuff in there somewhere but almost certainly is just tap water by now... so hopefully I'm good! After a few miles/days the coolant in the header tank is still bright pink, with no evidence of mixing as it quickly goes brown.
Whilst waiting for the tap water to cool down before draining, I also ran the brake system through with fresh fluid and have my nice firm pedal back.
It was time to show the car the light of day for the first time in a few weeks, and I drove it round the village quickly just to check the brakes were good and that I didn't have any leaks. (garage floor was covered in water at this point, so hard to tell!)
On Friday morning, the recovery truck arrived to take me to the bodyshop. Loaded up without a fuss and headed on our way. Delivery guy got a knackered V6 Camry to take home with him too from the bodyshop, so a good day for all around!
The guys at the bodyshop were kind enough to lend me some space to refit my clam, and of course they helped me lift it into position too. With all the wiring sorted up, I was ready to (hopefully) view the innards of the front of my car for the final time...!
The Clam went on without fuss, and I spent another 90mins or so tidying bits up before getting the car home. The only parts missing now are the headlights!
The headlight covers were with Tom @ Lemass Automotive for some refurbishment, so I got the innards wired back up and tested in the meantime.
As a reminder of what my lights suffered, one was milky beneath the surface:
and the other was rough and needed rubbing down.
Tom brought these up an absolute treat, I'm very happy with them.
Finally today I could get everything back together and wheeled the car into the sun!
I'm very, very satisfied. The paintwork is excellent... under very specific lighting I can see a hint of difference between the service panels which didn't get painted and the bonnet but particularly outside in natural light it looks absolutely spot on. The finish is perfect too with no evidence of dust contamination in the lacquer etc.
The whole process was rather satisfying but I'm in no hurry to do it again. Having a garage full of little cups of random bolts/washers was quite stressful as I was almost certain I'd forget how it all went together... but I was methodical and either I pulled it off... or the clam will come flying off next time I'm on the motorway.
Oh, in the 20miles I've done so far... no sign of the DBW fault so hoping that new accelerator has done the trick there too.
robsco said:
Lovely looking car, I see you are close to Selby. If you fancy a run out before winter with a Cerbera, I'd be well up for that.
Cheers 
Yeah sure. If this rain dries up I may be meeting a friend (with a VX) at Squires Cafe to go find some breakfast on Saturday morning this week so swing by if you're bored. The North Yorks Lotus OC do quite a few runs out on weekends, you wouldn't be the only TVR owner if you showed up to a meet at somepoint
I know I said "no more working on the car for a bit"... but I bought an exhaust!
Been away from home during the week lately which leaves lots of time for checking forum classifieds and eBay. As a result, I bought an exhaust that I was planning on buying new in a few months anyway.
It's a Hangar111 Signature exhaust, I chose it because it boasted being trackday legal and is priced well compared to other go-to options.
The second hand one arrived, and was in great nick - so a few quid saved there
Fitting was a doddle, didn't really take any photographs but I didn't even need to jack the car off the ground, result!
I did weigh the old and new though...
Removing the old was a case of undoing the mounts from one end, undoing the clamp connecting it to the cat and then booting it whilst holding onto the cat. It came off fairly easy, but seem to have hurt my back in the process...
Getting the new one lined up was a little fiddly, it pushed onto the cat pipe a fair bit further than the old one did in order to have it exiting central, and I had to have the diffuser on and off a few times before I was happy.
Took the car to the seaside today for a chippy run, sounds great. Not too loud, but a fair bit deeper and has some character now on deceleration and blipping the throttle. Few quiet little burbly pops, nothing too obnoxious. Rather pleased!
Also some video to try and capture before and after:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gw8NgZrn1Y&fe...
Video'ing the sound in my garage was prior to my lining up the tailpipes properly...
Been away from home during the week lately which leaves lots of time for checking forum classifieds and eBay. As a result, I bought an exhaust that I was planning on buying new in a few months anyway.
It's a Hangar111 Signature exhaust, I chose it because it boasted being trackday legal and is priced well compared to other go-to options.
The second hand one arrived, and was in great nick - so a few quid saved there
Fitting was a doddle, didn't really take any photographs but I didn't even need to jack the car off the ground, result!
I did weigh the old and new though...
Removing the old was a case of undoing the mounts from one end, undoing the clamp connecting it to the cat and then booting it whilst holding onto the cat. It came off fairly easy, but seem to have hurt my back in the process...
Getting the new one lined up was a little fiddly, it pushed onto the cat pipe a fair bit further than the old one did in order to have it exiting central, and I had to have the diffuser on and off a few times before I was happy.
Took the car to the seaside today for a chippy run, sounds great. Not too loud, but a fair bit deeper and has some character now on deceleration and blipping the throttle. Few quiet little burbly pops, nothing too obnoxious. Rather pleased!
Also some video to try and capture before and after:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gw8NgZrn1Y&fe...
Video'ing the sound in my garage was prior to my lining up the tailpipes properly...
As Feirny pointed out...
Took my car to Sports Cars in the Park at Lotherton Hall last weekend. Decent morning out, some cool cars about and had some nice comments on the paintjob from people who had been following my progress. :thumbs:
IMG_20160925_111639 by Kyle Townend, on Flickr
IMG_20160925_091743 by Kyle Townend, on Flickr
IMG_20160925_091755 by Kyle Townend, on Flickr
Decided to treat myself to an impromptu trackday booking, Blyton Park this Sunday. Blyton again, I know - but choice for weekends that I can make are slim at the moment, and the weather looks decent on Sunday
Took my car to Sports Cars in the Park at Lotherton Hall last weekend. Decent morning out, some cool cars about and had some nice comments on the paintjob from people who had been following my progress. :thumbs:
IMG_20160925_111639 by Kyle Townend, on FlickrIMG_20160925_091743 by Kyle Townend, on FlickrIMG_20160925_091755 by Kyle Townend, on FlickrDecided to treat myself to an impromptu trackday booking, Blyton Park this Sunday. Blyton again, I know - but choice for weekends that I can make are slim at the moment, and the weather looks decent on Sunday
Did Blyton Park with Lotus on Track a week or so ago.
Weather was great, track was quiet - unfortunately I had full on manflu so was rough
That said, it was still a fun day.
Started off with the car feeling a little odd, didn't give much confidence at all. Back in the pits to find that my tyres just weren't gaining any temperature or pressure - and remained at the ~26psi starting point. My aim with these tyres is to end up at 30psi whilst they're at temp, so I thought 26 should give space to heat up.
I raised them to 30psi whilst in the pits and went back out, the car immediately feeling tonnes better. I felt myself getting on the gas much quicker than I've done before (in any car) on the long sweeping lancaster turn and I was able to get on the power sooner through the fast Port Froid chicane too. The bumps in the braking zone for the wiggler have gotten gradually worse this last year, and I was still having a few brake lockups despite the ABS' best efforts.
There were some great cars on track, and took an opportunity for a passenger ride in a friends Exige Sprint. This was my opportunity to see what an SC 2ZZ engine felt like, and I wasn't disappointed. Due to being a bad passenger magnified by my manflu, we couldn't stay out long... but coming back in I was determined that a factory SC kit would be next on my list.
I was quite shocked to find that the Exige Sprint was actually a 260bhp car (I was expecting just the standard 220bhp SC car) which set back my ambitions a bit! For me to get 260bhp out of mine, I would need an aftermarket SC kit with a front mount chargecooler setup. I always said that IF I SC this car, it would be a factory kit both for simplicity and resale. I really need to experience a factory SC'd 2ZZ car, so I can make my mind up.
I got some good laps in the afternoon, aiming for consistency and was quite chuffed to get three laps within 4/10ths of each other in a row... also fairly quick ones by my standards too in the 1min16s. All this based on post event GoPro scrutiny obviously.
There's definitely a 1.15 in this car at my hands, a decent driver I'm sure could beat the times I was getting in the Subaru too. Still plenty more to come, but perhaps not this year now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsBZtm0yf_k
Was disappointed to go home early, perfect weather, quiet track and no issues with the car - I should have milked it to the end. I was struggling to concentrate though, and bed was calling.
Weather was great, track was quiet - unfortunately I had full on manflu so was rough
That said, it was still a fun day.
Started off with the car feeling a little odd, didn't give much confidence at all. Back in the pits to find that my tyres just weren't gaining any temperature or pressure - and remained at the ~26psi starting point. My aim with these tyres is to end up at 30psi whilst they're at temp, so I thought 26 should give space to heat up.
I raised them to 30psi whilst in the pits and went back out, the car immediately feeling tonnes better. I felt myself getting on the gas much quicker than I've done before (in any car) on the long sweeping lancaster turn and I was able to get on the power sooner through the fast Port Froid chicane too. The bumps in the braking zone for the wiggler have gotten gradually worse this last year, and I was still having a few brake lockups despite the ABS' best efforts.
There were some great cars on track, and took an opportunity for a passenger ride in a friends Exige Sprint. This was my opportunity to see what an SC 2ZZ engine felt like, and I wasn't disappointed. Due to being a bad passenger magnified by my manflu, we couldn't stay out long... but coming back in I was determined that a factory SC kit would be next on my list.
I was quite shocked to find that the Exige Sprint was actually a 260bhp car (I was expecting just the standard 220bhp SC car) which set back my ambitions a bit! For me to get 260bhp out of mine, I would need an aftermarket SC kit with a front mount chargecooler setup. I always said that IF I SC this car, it would be a factory kit both for simplicity and resale. I really need to experience a factory SC'd 2ZZ car, so I can make my mind up.
I got some good laps in the afternoon, aiming for consistency and was quite chuffed to get three laps within 4/10ths of each other in a row... also fairly quick ones by my standards too in the 1min16s. All this based on post event GoPro scrutiny obviously.
There's definitely a 1.15 in this car at my hands, a decent driver I'm sure could beat the times I was getting in the Subaru too. Still plenty more to come, but perhaps not this year now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsBZtm0yf_k
Was disappointed to go home early, perfect weather, quiet track and no issues with the car - I should have milked it to the end. I was struggling to concentrate though, and bed was calling.
I made a couple of improvements to the interior over the last week or so.
First up the sill guard things, they looked pretty tatty in their bare plastic from 10 years of shoes and bums scuffing over them.
I'd considered painting them, and also a black 3M wrap but a recommendation came up from a Lotus forum for some cheap faux suede stuff on eBay. It's listed cheap enough that I can re-do this about 12 times for about £20 so I got some ordered, and set to work.
Colour isn't a million miles away from the dash top either, so that was a bit of a result.
I then picked up some new mats, as the old ones were very tatty. Finishes it nicely!
Starting to make the most of trips out now, weather is coming in and I'm still working away during the weeks - so went to pick up some coffee this morning via the scenic route
First up the sill guard things, they looked pretty tatty in their bare plastic from 10 years of shoes and bums scuffing over them.
I'd considered painting them, and also a black 3M wrap but a recommendation came up from a Lotus forum for some cheap faux suede stuff on eBay. It's listed cheap enough that I can re-do this about 12 times for about £20 so I got some ordered, and set to work.
Colour isn't a million miles away from the dash top either, so that was a bit of a result.
I then picked up some new mats, as the old ones were very tatty. Finishes it nicely!
Starting to make the most of trips out now, weather is coming in and I'm still working away during the weeks - so went to pick up some coffee this morning via the scenic route
I've been planning the winter tinkering on this car pretty much since I bought it, and made a start this week!
The plan is to refurb pretty much every suspension component on the car. The rear toe-links were done mid-year so they're ticked off, but the wishbones, balljoints and trackrod ends could all use some refreshment. In addition I'm going to respray my rear diffuser black, and generally just replace a load of minging fixtures. The front end of the car is pretty fresh now thanks to that b
d bunny, so time for the rear to catch up.
I'd told myself I would get a few trackdays under my belt before uprating any parts, and I've done that this year. Although the car has still got loads more potential with a better driver, I do feel like stepping up to the sticky tyres has exposed a weakness with the spring rates and damping of the standard bilsteins. During the higher speed stuff on track, the car is rolling a fair bit as weight transfers which unsettles me a bit.
For cataloguing purposes, here are some pictures of the starting off point for this project:
Pretty damn minging, but unfortunately is a standard affair for these cars
...and an external shot for reference ride height:
The plan is as follows:
Remove all wishbones, send off to be cleaned up and powdercoated, then refitted with OEM grade bushes and new balljoints/TREs.
Clean everything else, paint up the uprights, calipers, etc.
Replace standard shock/springs with some aftermarket coilovers.
On the coilover front, I'd been offered some Gaz shocks earlier in the year by the chap who helped me with my geo setup. I turned these down at the time partly because I'd not tracked the car yet, but mainly - I'll be honest, due to brand snobbery.
I associated Gaz suspension with cheap 90's hatchback setups but as I went into winter, I started doing some research. The Gaz Monotube coilovers specifically had some really good write-ups for the Elise, with a fair few racers using them and plenty of positive reviews from road users too. My shortlist was down to the Nitron NTR40s, Quantums and the Gaz Monotubes.
This week a set of Gaz monotubes came up on eBay, they've been refurbed and not used since the refurb - and came up at 1/3rd the cost I would potentially be spending on new Nitrons or Quantums. I took a punt, and from what I've seen so far - happy days!
Adjusters are all nice and free, with a good tactile 'click' on each setting, locking rings are a bit scratched up but no seizing and the threaded body is fine on all units. Even the stickers have been replaced and look brand new!
Today I wanted to have a look at fitting them, just to make sure there were no issues with them rather than leave them in a box for a few weeks/months whilst everything else gets done and THEN find one of them leaks or whatever!
The rears went on pretty damn quickly, already started building up a list of all the crusty fixings I want to replace but the two bolts at each side needed to remove the coilovers came off without drama.
I measured ride height before I started, and it was approx 150mm from the ground both front and back (measured from the jacking points to the floor). I'm aiming for approx 120mm at the front and 130mm at the back, but of course will have it properly corner weighted once everything is done.
For my first attempt, I simply wound up the coilover collars until there was no slack in the unloaded spring, which should be the lowest I can go without helper springs - and that put me at the following rideheight:
That's approximately 125mm from the floor unloaded, and the car is very marginal on not getting beached when leaving the garage :lol: I'll wind them up a bit further next time the car is jacked up and will take it from there.
As for the fronts, they wouldn't go on - as the OEM Lotus brackets are too narrow for the Gaz coilovers. I was half-expecting this as the units from new do ship with new brackets, but apparently some cars are fine and others are not - due to the parts-bin nature of the Lotus production line I suppose. I'll get in touch with Gaz on monday and see if I can get some sourced
I'll be sending my wishbones and bits off to Chris/Jon @ Jon Seal Sports Cars after Christmas to get them all tidied up. I'll need to move the car around a bit over Christmas so probably not clever to completely dismantle it beforehand!
The plan is to refurb pretty much every suspension component on the car. The rear toe-links were done mid-year so they're ticked off, but the wishbones, balljoints and trackrod ends could all use some refreshment. In addition I'm going to respray my rear diffuser black, and generally just replace a load of minging fixtures. The front end of the car is pretty fresh now thanks to that b
d bunny, so time for the rear to catch up.I'd told myself I would get a few trackdays under my belt before uprating any parts, and I've done that this year. Although the car has still got loads more potential with a better driver, I do feel like stepping up to the sticky tyres has exposed a weakness with the spring rates and damping of the standard bilsteins. During the higher speed stuff on track, the car is rolling a fair bit as weight transfers which unsettles me a bit.
For cataloguing purposes, here are some pictures of the starting off point for this project:
Pretty damn minging, but unfortunately is a standard affair for these cars
...and an external shot for reference ride height:
The plan is as follows:
Remove all wishbones, send off to be cleaned up and powdercoated, then refitted with OEM grade bushes and new balljoints/TREs.
Clean everything else, paint up the uprights, calipers, etc.
Replace standard shock/springs with some aftermarket coilovers.
On the coilover front, I'd been offered some Gaz shocks earlier in the year by the chap who helped me with my geo setup. I turned these down at the time partly because I'd not tracked the car yet, but mainly - I'll be honest, due to brand snobbery.
I associated Gaz suspension with cheap 90's hatchback setups but as I went into winter, I started doing some research. The Gaz Monotube coilovers specifically had some really good write-ups for the Elise, with a fair few racers using them and plenty of positive reviews from road users too. My shortlist was down to the Nitron NTR40s, Quantums and the Gaz Monotubes.
This week a set of Gaz monotubes came up on eBay, they've been refurbed and not used since the refurb - and came up at 1/3rd the cost I would potentially be spending on new Nitrons or Quantums. I took a punt, and from what I've seen so far - happy days!
Adjusters are all nice and free, with a good tactile 'click' on each setting, locking rings are a bit scratched up but no seizing and the threaded body is fine on all units. Even the stickers have been replaced and look brand new!
Today I wanted to have a look at fitting them, just to make sure there were no issues with them rather than leave them in a box for a few weeks/months whilst everything else gets done and THEN find one of them leaks or whatever!
The rears went on pretty damn quickly, already started building up a list of all the crusty fixings I want to replace but the two bolts at each side needed to remove the coilovers came off without drama.
I measured ride height before I started, and it was approx 150mm from the ground both front and back (measured from the jacking points to the floor). I'm aiming for approx 120mm at the front and 130mm at the back, but of course will have it properly corner weighted once everything is done.
For my first attempt, I simply wound up the coilover collars until there was no slack in the unloaded spring, which should be the lowest I can go without helper springs - and that put me at the following rideheight:
That's approximately 125mm from the floor unloaded, and the car is very marginal on not getting beached when leaving the garage :lol: I'll wind them up a bit further next time the car is jacked up and will take it from there.
As for the fronts, they wouldn't go on - as the OEM Lotus brackets are too narrow for the Gaz coilovers. I was half-expecting this as the units from new do ship with new brackets, but apparently some cars are fine and others are not - due to the parts-bin nature of the Lotus production line I suppose. I'll get in touch with Gaz on monday and see if I can get some sourced
I'll be sending my wishbones and bits off to Chris/Jon @ Jon Seal Sports Cars after Christmas to get them all tidied up. I'll need to move the car around a bit over Christmas so probably not clever to completely dismantle it beforehand!
james_gt3rs said:
It's because it's an S2 ABS for those brackets - the Rover engined cars don't have an ABS thing to mount on top. I had to buy a bracket from Nitron and it cost an absolute fortune!
Thanks James, I've read/heard that a lot but I can't get my head around how/why the ABS bracket is an issue. The ABS bracket is not fouling the shock at all, the bracket is just too narrow for the body of the damper to fit inside of... or is it a case that the non-ABS brackets are wider?If you happened to have any before/after pictures knocking about they would be a great help!
Thanks James, Gaz have been in touch and they can sort me out the correct brackets so happy days
"So guys, what do you think of Gaz Monotubes"
... which invariably end up with comments such as:
"They're apparently very good, but they're only marginally cheaper (new) than Nitrons, so just go with the safe option and take the Nitrons!"
Gaz would almost certainly have benefited with a rebrand I think...
We'll see, I'm an honest kind of car modifier though and I'll admit when I've picked the wrong product (unlike most that defend their choices to the death), so I'll come back to this thread if the Gaz' ever give me problems. I've had hands-on experience with BC Racing, KW V3, Bilstein and now Gaz coilovers over the years - and these look/feel as good as the best of those (KW for the record, by a mile). Looking forward to getting them on the car but realistically it'll be March/April before I get a good idea of their ride/handling characteristics!
Samjeev said:
Theres a reason for that - They don't have a high life expectancy.
Had a set of Gaz golds on my Vx220 which snapped in less than 2500 miles. They were then refurbed under warranty by Gaz and sold instantly, new owner has reported that they have snapped for him as well.
Yes, snapped.. at the rod
Promptly replaced with a set of Nitron NTR40s which although they were over double the price even 2nd hand they have a much higher ride quality on the VX.
However thats the Gaz golds not heard any horror stories about the monotubes.
Car looks awesome regardless, keep it up
Yeah the Gaz gold range really hurt Gaz I think, and much of my perception about the brand was made on horror stories like yours. The Monotube build and design is totally different though, and by all accounts rivals the build quality and longevity of the Nitron and Quantum counterparts. The Gaz brand is damaged though, I can't count the number of Lotus forum posts that I've stumbled across which start off like:Had a set of Gaz golds on my Vx220 which snapped in less than 2500 miles. They were then refurbed under warranty by Gaz and sold instantly, new owner has reported that they have snapped for him as well.
Yes, snapped.. at the rod
Promptly replaced with a set of Nitron NTR40s which although they were over double the price even 2nd hand they have a much higher ride quality on the VX.
However thats the Gaz golds
not heard any horror stories about the monotubes.Car looks awesome regardless, keep it up
"So guys, what do you think of Gaz Monotubes"
... which invariably end up with comments such as:
"They're apparently very good, but they're only marginally cheaper (new) than Nitrons, so just go with the safe option and take the Nitrons!"
Gaz would almost certainly have benefited with a rebrand I think...
We'll see, I'm an honest kind of car modifier though and I'll admit when I've picked the wrong product (unlike most that defend their choices to the death), so I'll come back to this thread if the Gaz' ever give me problems. I've had hands-on experience with BC Racing, KW V3, Bilstein and now Gaz coilovers over the years - and these look/feel as good as the best of those (KW for the record, by a mile). Looking forward to getting them on the car but realistically it'll be March/April before I get a good idea of their ride/handling characteristics!
Gaz were able to sort me out some brackets direct, for a nominal fee. (top marks for Gaz)
Over the last few days, I also picked up some duralac for my steel-ally meeting points and a new nut and bolt set for the dampers.
Happy days, hopefully get these on over the festive break and then I can get cracking on the proper strip down
Oh, missus got me this as a birthday present too
Over the last few days, I also picked up some duralac for my steel-ally meeting points and a new nut and bolt set for the dampers.
Happy days, hopefully get these on over the festive break and then I can get cracking on the proper strip down
Oh, missus got me this as a birthday present too
Got some time to myself over the last day or so, so I got my coilovers fitted with the new brackets.
Old vs New bracket:
The additional arms you can see on the original bracket is for mounting the ABS unit on the drivers side. I was aware of this, and my next job will be finding a decent way to re-attach to the new bracket. I could cut, drill and bolt/rivet - but it would probably be tidier to just have somebody weld it.
With a splash of duralac, I refitted the new bracket on the passenger side (no ABS to worry about) and got the coilover on. My god those wishbones look nasty...
On the drivers side, the ABS unit supports itself (by the pipes etc) but obviously the damper mounting was for additional support. It did mean that I could get the coilovers on and go for a drive, checking for any dodgy noises etc before getting the bracket welded.
Once on, I torqued up and had a few changes of ride height. It's still not where I need it, but took the car out for a toddle around the village to check for noises etc.
Ideally the rear will come up about 10mm and the front will drop about 10mm. That'll give me a nice bit of rake, without being too low and catching on speedbumps etc. The suspension was nice and quiet, and I tried the damping settings from extreme to extreme and there was a nice noticeable range of adjustment at slow speed. I settled on a reasonable starting point based on other opinions (9 from hard at the front, and 7 from hard at the rear) and the car felt very similar to OEM in terms of ride comfort.
I need to move the car in and out of the garage a couple more times whilst I get some stuff painted, then I'll start the big strip down and get those wishbones off for some desperate treatment.
Old vs New bracket:
The additional arms you can see on the original bracket is for mounting the ABS unit on the drivers side. I was aware of this, and my next job will be finding a decent way to re-attach to the new bracket. I could cut, drill and bolt/rivet - but it would probably be tidier to just have somebody weld it.
With a splash of duralac, I refitted the new bracket on the passenger side (no ABS to worry about) and got the coilover on. My god those wishbones look nasty...
On the drivers side, the ABS unit supports itself (by the pipes etc) but obviously the damper mounting was for additional support. It did mean that I could get the coilovers on and go for a drive, checking for any dodgy noises etc before getting the bracket welded.
Once on, I torqued up and had a few changes of ride height. It's still not where I need it, but took the car out for a toddle around the village to check for noises etc.
Ideally the rear will come up about 10mm and the front will drop about 10mm. That'll give me a nice bit of rake, without being too low and catching on speedbumps etc. The suspension was nice and quiet, and I tried the damping settings from extreme to extreme and there was a nice noticeable range of adjustment at slow speed. I settled on a reasonable starting point based on other opinions (9 from hard at the front, and 7 from hard at the rear) and the car felt very similar to OEM in terms of ride comfort.
I need to move the car in and out of the garage a couple more times whilst I get some stuff painted, then I'll start the big strip down and get those wishbones off for some desperate treatment.
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