Lotus Exige Track Car
Discussion
Couldnt find my old thread as i dont think i updated it since last October.
For anyone who remembers it I thought i would just post a couple of pics of where ive got up to in the rebuild
Outside, there has been a few small aero canges since then
Designed and made my own clam tilting system to allow me easy access to the engine bay which is also the wing uprights
fitted a cage and made a new lighter dash
blocked off old brack ducts for reduction in drag and rounded off the leading edge of the splitter
rear mounnted intercooler with 2 6" ducts feeding it
The car is off to Simon Mcbeath at the end of the month for a full report and to make some changes as im targeting 500kg of downforce at 100mph so hopefully with his help we will get there.
The aim is 700kg race weight, 350bhp this year with 450bhp next year and the downforce mentioned above. running 10" wide tyre on the front and 11.5" wide on the back
For anyone who remembers it I thought i would just post a couple of pics of where ive got up to in the rebuild
Outside, there has been a few small aero canges since then
Designed and made my own clam tilting system to allow me easy access to the engine bay which is also the wing uprights
fitted a cage and made a new lighter dash
blocked off old brack ducts for reduction in drag and rounded off the leading edge of the splitter
rear mounnted intercooler with 2 6" ducts feeding it
The car is off to Simon Mcbeath at the end of the month for a full report and to make some changes as im targeting 500kg of downforce at 100mph so hopefully with his help we will get there.
The aim is 700kg race weight, 350bhp this year with 450bhp next year and the downforce mentioned above. running 10" wide tyre on the front and 11.5" wide on the back
Edited by turbotoaster on Thursday 7th July 19:51
PhillipM said:
I hope they're good catches on the clam if it's rear pivoting with that wing hung back there....;)
the wing uprights have quick release stainless M8 bolts going through them to hold them in the upright position so at speed the wing doesnt put any load on the catches and since the clam is bolted to the uprights, it should be impossible for the clam to flip open at speed. I can push the car around by the wing uprights so theres plenty of strength therefoxsasha said:
You are aiming for 700kg, have gone to the time and trouble of fitting a lighter dash and then run Rotas? Why not forged? Surely unsprung is the area to concentrate on?
£400 verses £2500+ and if i damage one i can get a replacement the next day, not so easy with forged.Plus they would have to be custom because it runs 4x95.25 and a really low ET, for example the rears are the equivalent of ET-20
Only people who can make wheels for it are Braid(wanted £800 a wheel) or Image for billets(and the weight numbers they gave me werent impressive)
The dash i made on a sunday afternoon from stuff i had in the back of the garage
chuntington101 said:
How is the intercooler doing in comparison to the charge cooler? Have you got a fan mounted on the back?
Any plans on swapping the engine for a Duratec or similar (think the Duras bolt up to your gearbox)?
havent tested the intercooler on its own when its been ducted in this way before.Any plans on swapping the engine for a Duratec or similar (think the Duras bolt up to your gearbox)?
As a comparison between and unducted intercooler(basically taking air from engine bay and coming off the tyres) verses the chargecooler, they seem to be about the same.
The best was the intercooler and chargecooler in series, but this time around im trying to offset the weight of the cage, heavier race seat etc.
Havent mounted a fan on the back of it yet, but ive left room for it and put the wiring in the chassis loom for it, which is connected to the ecu air inlet temp sensor.
Im going to try and push the k series to see how far it will go, ive got all the parts for a forged engine so the hope is to see if i can get it to 450bhp(100bhp more than ive made on a stock bottom end and head)
The thoughts for the future are 2 fold, either stick a 600bhp duratec engine in bolted my pg1 gearbox.....thats the half sensible route.
The ultimate setup for me is to use my 3.5 v6 isuzu engine with a pair of gt30s and a porsche gearbox, 800-900bhp and 800kg should be interesting, be awesome for downforce levels aswell because I can then buuld some proper tunnels.
Some Gump said:
Erm..
Removing brake cooling on the basis of drag? Surely of all the areas on your car to reduce drag, this is the least beneficial?
never had brake cooling before, dont need it for my application, just had two large blind holes that caused drag, if you look at a oem exige front clam you will see that they are blocked offRemoving brake cooling on the basis of drag? Surely of all the areas on your car to reduce drag, this is the least beneficial?
james_gt3rs said:
I wish Lotus had made a clam tilt system from the start, like a Noble.
Out of interest, 500kg downforce? Is that not going to break the clams?
most of the downforce is generated by the underbody and rear wing, both of with are bolted to the chassis.Out of interest, 500kg downforce? Is that not going to break the clams?
The clams are pretty much only there to direct the flow of air over the car
james_gt3rs said:
Ah OK. Reason I asked was the S2 Exige wing is just on the bootlid. Have you made holes for the wing supports then?
yes, the clam is held up by the wing uprights with 90 degree angle brackets I made, so when the wing folds backwards it also lifts the clam off the car.The hardest bit was trying to work out how to have it tilting while having a stationary intercooler sit between the moving supports
Daston said:
As for the wheels, branded wheels like Works will fit and be lighter and will only cost around £1000 for a set minus the rubber. Down side is being JDM they are mainly 5x 114 so would have to get them from Japan. Driftworks are the UK supplier and are fantastic.
Then i have to have new brakes, new custom uprights with 5 stud hubs, so thats another £3k ontop of that, plus if i have an issue and one gets damaged, what would i so then?Ive already looked at wheels, for me cost and avaliability play a much larger role.
Daston said:
Shirly if cost was a large role a modifed exige is probably not a good standing point, there must be load of wheels that the ford boys and race TVRs use as they have the same 4 stud layout. Something like OZ or team dynamics.
Is there also a reason for the spacers? Plus why worried if they get damaged? After seeing what happens to Rotas on a normal road I would not like to see them attacking curbs.
elise arnt that expensive when i bought it and i feel it has one of the best road based potential chassis out there for the price.Is there also a reason for the spacers? Plus why worried if they get damaged? After seeing what happens to Rotas on a normal road I would not like to see them attacking curbs.
the car is 4 x 95.25 which is the same as a rover metro, so you have to run hub adapters to convert to something more common, in my case i went 4 x 114.3
If im competing for a full season and a wheel gets damaged, i need to be able to get a replacement quickly, cant be waiting on one to be made, or trying to find someone who happened to be selling a 18x10 4 stud wheel which is a rare thing
economicpygmy said:
Have you thought about converting to the S2K or VX220 hubs and bearing packs? If not cost prohibitive the bearing packs would be longer lasting and I would have thought you could do away with the spacers.
Looked at it good year ago, but the issue is that the s2/vx220 has a 16mm worse roll centre setup than the s1 which will hurt me in terms of how low i can run the car.Yes I agree that the bearing packs are much better and its something I looked hard at, especially with the wider rubber and aero package.
The only option i can see that will allow me to keep a decent roll centre setup is the s2 billet uprights from eliseparts, but them i will still need to change the brake bells, different drive shafts and then i would need to buy hub adapters or change all my wheels again which again is a cost.
For moment I will be monitoring wheel bearing condition either my wages suddenly triple or i get sponsored, both of which are unlikely.
SonicShadow said:
Most of the Work 2 or 3 piece wheels can be made to any PCD and offset you require.
You can get the T7R 2P in 18x10 with a custom offset for ~£400 each.
http://www.driftworks.com/work-wheels-emotion-t7r2...
That doesnt seem bad value depending on the weight and whether they do the equivalent style in 17s that can be custom for the front end.You can get the T7R 2P in 18x10 with a custom offset for ~£400 each.
http://www.driftworks.com/work-wheels-emotion-t7r2...
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff