Inboard rear disk upgrade
Discussion
Try here for ventilated disc conversion for S1/S2.
www.lotusclassiccars.com/lotus-parts.htm.
Could be tempted when funds allow. In the meantime I have made do with Greenstuff pads from EBC.
www.ebcbrakes.com/
www.lotusclassiccars.com/lotus-parts.htm.
Could be tempted when funds allow. In the meantime I have made do with Greenstuff pads from EBC.
www.ebcbrakes.com/
Hi,
Considering that airflow is a problem and that only about 20% of your total braking is provided by the rears, I'd concentrate much more on the front brakes.
Any improvement to the rears over stock is marginal at best and mostly in your mind. It's what you do with the Fronts which will give you the greatest improvement as well as cost/benefit. Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE
Considering that airflow is a problem and that only about 20% of your total braking is provided by the rears, I'd concentrate much more on the front brakes.
Any improvement to the rears over stock is marginal at best and mostly in your mind. It's what you do with the Fronts which will give you the greatest improvement as well as cost/benefit. Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE
maigret said:
The early cars are GM based, Opel Ascona whereas the later are Toyota? based. Anyway, unless you are mechanically inclined and have access to the necessary tools, paying for the kit is the only option.
I've been trying to pin this down: the S3 setup is nothing like the Ascona... more like Triumph Herald! 
I know the Eclat/ Excel was revised using Toyota bits; this would have been rather later than my 1984 Esprit was built though...
Ian
The S1/S2 use the Opel Ascona upper wishbone/ Ball joint and upright. I had the disc off recently to replace a wheel stud and it had the GM part no. cast into it.
Picture here of S1/2 front suspension
www.sportscarworld-lotus.com/Esprit-S1,2/frontsusp1.jpg
The later cars appear to have an upper wishbone and balljoint similar in construction to the Triumphs.
Picture here of S1/2 front suspension
www.sportscarworld-lotus.com/Esprit-S1,2/frontsusp1.jpg
The later cars appear to have an upper wishbone and balljoint similar in construction to the Triumphs.
The first S3s had Triumph front suspension with a bottom wishbone & a trunnion.
The top was wishbones with a ball joint similar to the last V8s.
The later S3s, after about '84 MY, had the bottom wishbone & trunnion replaced with an arm & Toyota ball joint, again very similar to the last V8s.
The easiet way to differentiate early & late S3s is the later have the fold down handbrake.
Cheers,
John W
'95 S4s
The top was wishbones with a ball joint similar to the last V8s.
The later S3s, after about '84 MY, had the bottom wishbone & trunnion replaced with an arm & Toyota ball joint, again very similar to the last V8s.
The easiet way to differentiate early & late S3s is the later have the fold down handbrake.
Cheers,
John W
'95 S4s
Hi All
Ok heres my input on the S3 Turbo Esprit Front suspension, I have an 84.
The top wishbone is similar to Triumph Heralds and Spitfires, but is not the same and is slighly stronger. A Europa wishbone is not the same it uses thicker steel than the Esprit!
The uprights whilst appearing to be Herald/Spitfire are not!, they are similar to the older Herald1200 and early Spitfire uprights but have a better radius where the bottom thread meets the upright(less snapoffs occur now). They have the same bolt on Caliper adapter design that the 1200 upright has(Europas use a 1200 upright). The later 1360 Herald and Spit Mk4 uprights are stronger and have a beefier steering arm but still a bad radius and do not have a caliper adapter plate.
So only replace them with Lotus uprights or you may not be happy when the front wheel tucks under the car and causes a VIOLENT swing one way or the other(this has happened to me in A V8 Spitifre and its no joke!)
It would ALLWAYS pay to crack test the upright if you have it off for any reason. When Triumph raced this design they threw them out after each race meeting!
The spindle is not Herald but could be TR6!? The disk may be TR6. The 5 stud hub I believe is unique.The tie rod ends appear to be unique, I had to get mine from a Lotus dealer in the UK(Bell and Colville) they did the original turbo installation that inspired Lotus.
The top ball joints are Herald/Spit as are the lower trunnions(remember there is a left and right trunnion even tho both are marked 01-542-3, they should be stamped left and right, if not compare them to the removed ones)Plastic trunnion kits are the same.
The bottom wishbone arm is I believe from a Citroen and the front roll bar may be off a Ford as my original bar bushes were marked FOMOCO, which enabled me to replace them with Nolathane ones.
As I have mentioned previously I am using 286mm Vented disks on my Esprit, Ford Falcon on the Front and Honda CRV/Integra type R outboard on the rear, as they are tophat designs they space the wheels out 7mm and 6.5mm respectively. See invenair.com
Hope this helps
Kevin
Ok heres my input on the S3 Turbo Esprit Front suspension, I have an 84.
The top wishbone is similar to Triumph Heralds and Spitfires, but is not the same and is slighly stronger. A Europa wishbone is not the same it uses thicker steel than the Esprit!
The uprights whilst appearing to be Herald/Spitfire are not!, they are similar to the older Herald1200 and early Spitfire uprights but have a better radius where the bottom thread meets the upright(less snapoffs occur now). They have the same bolt on Caliper adapter design that the 1200 upright has(Europas use a 1200 upright). The later 1360 Herald and Spit Mk4 uprights are stronger and have a beefier steering arm but still a bad radius and do not have a caliper adapter plate.
So only replace them with Lotus uprights or you may not be happy when the front wheel tucks under the car and causes a VIOLENT swing one way or the other(this has happened to me in A V8 Spitifre and its no joke!)
It would ALLWAYS pay to crack test the upright if you have it off for any reason. When Triumph raced this design they threw them out after each race meeting!
The spindle is not Herald but could be TR6!? The disk may be TR6. The 5 stud hub I believe is unique.The tie rod ends appear to be unique, I had to get mine from a Lotus dealer in the UK(Bell and Colville) they did the original turbo installation that inspired Lotus.
The top ball joints are Herald/Spit as are the lower trunnions(remember there is a left and right trunnion even tho both are marked 01-542-3, they should be stamped left and right, if not compare them to the removed ones)Plastic trunnion kits are the same.
The bottom wishbone arm is I believe from a Citroen and the front roll bar may be off a Ford as my original bar bushes were marked FOMOCO, which enabled me to replace them with Nolathane ones.
As I have mentioned previously I am using 286mm Vented disks on my Esprit, Ford Falcon on the Front and Honda CRV/Integra type R outboard on the rear, as they are tophat designs they space the wheels out 7mm and 6.5mm respectively. See invenair.com
Hope this helps
Kevin
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