Christmas presents / upgrades

[Royton Blue]

Kind of a cross post from Seloc but after reading the slightly depressing thread below about this forum dying I thought I'd try and inject a bit of Christmas cheer.

Anyway, will anyone be going out of their way to buy their Lotus an X-Mas present this year? I've just been totting up all the upgrades I've done over the past 2 weeks and have realised I've spent a small fortune. So the only thing she'll be getting for X-mas from now on will be a wash if she's lucky!

Her presents within the past few weeks have been: a B service, a HID upgrade (I can see!), Hurricane induction , rewired rear lights , sill pockets, a new battery, a solar charger, oh and a hardtop!

Bloody love her though!

Rewired rear lights (being a bit of a tart I really love this upgrade):




Hurricane:



HID upgrade:

[ROSSGR]

How much was the HiD upgrade????

[Scuffers]

actually tastfull stuff!

[Royton Blue]

ROSSGR said:

How much was the HiD upgrade????

It's just one of the £60 kits off E-Bay (recommended by someone off Norlog), touch wood everything is fine......seems a decent kit for the price.

Thanks Scuffers

Edited by Royton Blue on Monday 24th November 21:21

[TIPPER]

Last year the car got a set of harnesses and Nitrons. This year its a complete suspension refresh (bushes, balljoints, TREs etc, etc, etc), a headport and a 4-2-1.

[S Works]

Looking good. Next up get yourself a nice new set of Team Dynamics or OZ wheels in black, or get the spiders powder coated, then get the ride height dropped

After that it's time to ditch the pea-shooters and get a nice fat exhaust and a hangar111 blanking kit

Edited by S Works on Monday 24th November 22:37

[mrh3113]

Wife asked what I wanted for Xmas......I suggested treating myself to some Hoffman spec nitrons plus ARB. Wife's expression = - familiar to many Lotus owners I suspect. Going to get fitted on thursday. Is it so wrong to get realllly excited about new suspension?!

[S Works]

Not when it's that good.

[The Bandit]

I want some front and rear Pagids,geo set up,harness bar and some Willans/Scroths.
Oh,and a nice shiny Shoei Raid 2 lid for me

...I've written to Santa already

[F.C.]

Royton Blue said:

ROSSGR said:

How much was the HiD upgrade????

It's just one of the £60 kits off E-Bay (recommended by someone off Norlog), touch wood everything is fine......seems a decent kit for the price.

Thanks Scuffers

Edited by Royton Blue on Monday 24th November 21:21

Not wishing to piss on ones cornflakes but these e-bay kits are annoying at best and downright dangerous at their worst.
Ebay kits are generally NOT a good idea.

So why bother with OEM as opposed to ebay for HIDs?

H7 bulbs have their filament orientated differently to the gas bulb in D2S HID bulbs. Also, the mirrors in the light units are optomised for each type of bulb. Rebased HID bulbs (ala E-bay) end up with the light source at an incorrect distance from the mirror, causing glare to oncoming drivers.
you may also have trouble passing the MOT with these fitted.
There may also be a problem with (Lotus being a production car) not having a means of washing or wiping the headlamps with these fitted.

Hella dedicated 90mm HID dip beam units, Phillps ballasts and Phillips 3200K D2S bulbs. Cost - about £350. Quality - priceless.

Take a look at this short video.
It's a Honda Integra. Two identical dip beam projectors (except each specifically designed for H7 and D2S), with one rebased bulb, and one genuine D2S. Notice the massive glare from one light?
That's what oncoming drivers see.

http://www.sbits.net/noble/ebay_v_oem.avi

Just thought you should know.

F.C.

[Scuffers]

F.C. said:

So why bother with OEM as opposed to ebay for HIDs?

might be something to do with Lotus not having a HID option....

whist I agree with what you have posted in part, not all HID kit's are the same, and it's a sweeping generalisation to talk about reflector patterns etc. some are fine and match up perfectly well.

[Royton Blue]

I agree there probably are some horrendous kits out there which is why I did a little research (from the Lotus & Subaru community) into the ones I was buying. I can assure you they look absolutely nothing like the ones in that video, I did have worries about the possibility of any HIDs dazzling oncoming traffic which was why I had they professionally fitted & aligned..............I just wouldn't trust myself with something like that.

Time will tell if they're a bag of poo but as far as performance/safety go I've been very happy with them over the past few weeks......they'd have been straight in the bin otherwise!

[Fatrat]

What is it like now you have got the Hurrican fitted? Not too noisy? Have you got a sports exhaust as well?

[Royton Blue]

I've still got the standard exhaust at the moment, I do a fair few motorway miles so I'm in two minds whether to bother changing it or not.

As for the Hurricane, really pleased with it. As quiet as standard when driving "normally" but gives off a nice deep growl when your right foot gets a bit heavy. No droning/booming on the motorway either.

[Fatrat]

Thanks for that. The Hurricane will be my post-Xmas present to myself (for putting up with the out-laws!)

Really nice looking car. I use mine everyday as well and even at this time of the year its a great place to be.

[R.P.M]

Rb.
Rewiring of rear lights.....talk to me.


Rpm

[ADM 135S]

New stuff for me in the last couple of weeks,

Replaced K&N for Hurricane - much better, not so loud, better sound.
New rubber, now Yokohama Advan Neova Tyres - very nice, but still bedding in.
Front Splitter - not fitted yet!

New stuff this year,

Nitron Racing Aluminium Quickrack
Remote Thermostat Kit
Flexi Downpipe
Plus full stainless steel screw kit, ball joints etc.

Too many lovely upgrades available for this car! I'm just waiting for bits to wear out!

[lee111s]

I have so much on my list

I need new rubber which is coming this month!!! I want a full suspension re-do from the s1 to s2....including all the other bits like bushers etc so looking at about 2grand there. I want a hurricane induction and a larini clubsport exhaust....

[ViperIce]

Reapeating R.P.M....

Where can instructions be found on re wiring the rear lights, pointles re inventing the wheel

[C43]

I am going to get a set of AP 4 pot callipers and bigger front discs for my Europa. Its tempting to put the Miltek on the car but I am resisting the temptation and upgrading the brakes.

However after driving to work this morning on slipper roads I am claiming the best thing to give your Lotus for Christmas is a long drive on low grip roads. I did 12 miles this morning through twisty Oxford roads, and most of them were sideways. With the sound of the waste gate dumping excess boost it felt like I was in a rally car hammering through the Welsh mountains, great fun. Good rear end grip and plenty of power work well in these conditions.

put a smile on my face

C43