'06 Lotus Elise 111R
Discussion
Afternoon all,
I've been meaning to start this for a fair while... I'm going to try and keep this short as I can sometimes ramble -
The journey begins about 7 years ago with my first car a Mk2 MX5 - Which served me faultlessly for 4/5 years as both a daily driver and occasional track-day car.
And at the end of our time together, it looked something like this:
Well that was all very well and good when I was a student at university, but I soon found myself out in the real world commuting 65 miles up and down the M5 and the MX5 soon lost it's charm (although in retrospect I do massively regret selling it).
So I did the sensible thing and bought something more commute friendly....
It was comfortable, fast, perfectly reliable and would surprisingly get 32-35MPG on a motorway run.
It was a fantastic car, the highlight of ownership being a trip to the 'ring:
However I never really fell it love with it like I did the MX5, I guess it's because the car never really truly excelled at one thing - It was compromised. Not fast enough to be outright thrilling, not raw enough to always feel exciting and not comfortable/refined enough to cover continents with ease.
I'd set my heart on owning an Elise next, however a recent house move (and renovation) meant that that plan was put on hold - In that time, as sods law would dictate Elise prices rose sharply...
I did seriously consider a VX220T, but in the end couldn't get past the badge, or the rear etch-a-sketch styling...
However I was determined that I wouldn't use an Elise as a daily, as I didn't want driving it to become the 'norm' and no longer feel special.
So, as a tie-in & to help with the renovation (after seeing how expensive skips were) I did some man-maths and bought this:
It's earned it's keep over and over again, I've genuinely never driven another car that is as comfortable, it's like driving your favorite arm-chair to work.
At this point the 350Z was sold and I started the hunt...
(Lotus content finally coming on the 2nd post, being written now!)
I've been meaning to start this for a fair while... I'm going to try and keep this short as I can sometimes ramble -
The journey begins about 7 years ago with my first car a Mk2 MX5 - Which served me faultlessly for 4/5 years as both a daily driver and occasional track-day car.
And at the end of our time together, it looked something like this:
Well that was all very well and good when I was a student at university, but I soon found myself out in the real world commuting 65 miles up and down the M5 and the MX5 soon lost it's charm (although in retrospect I do massively regret selling it).
So I did the sensible thing and bought something more commute friendly....
It was comfortable, fast, perfectly reliable and would surprisingly get 32-35MPG on a motorway run.
It was a fantastic car, the highlight of ownership being a trip to the 'ring:
However I never really fell it love with it like I did the MX5, I guess it's because the car never really truly excelled at one thing - It was compromised. Not fast enough to be outright thrilling, not raw enough to always feel exciting and not comfortable/refined enough to cover continents with ease.
I'd set my heart on owning an Elise next, however a recent house move (and renovation) meant that that plan was put on hold - In that time, as sods law would dictate Elise prices rose sharply...
I did seriously consider a VX220T, but in the end couldn't get past the badge, or the rear etch-a-sketch styling...
However I was determined that I wouldn't use an Elise as a daily, as I didn't want driving it to become the 'norm' and no longer feel special.
So, as a tie-in & to help with the renovation (after seeing how expensive skips were) I did some man-maths and bought this:
It's earned it's keep over and over again, I've genuinely never driven another car that is as comfortable, it's like driving your favorite arm-chair to work.
At this point the 350Z was sold and I started the hunt...
(Lotus content finally coming on the 2nd post, being written now!)
Again, cutting a very long story very short I ended up finding the perfect car fairly locally, privately owned in Weston Super Mare.
It's an '06 111R, which originally spent its life in the 'Nick Whale Sports Cars' family, split between father and daughter until the previous the previous owner bought it in 2011.
It's been meticulously maintained, with a recent steering rack, fan resistor pack replacement / remount, central locking module & ignition module replacement all in the recent history.
On the way home -
I've had the car a few months now, and I'm slowly working through a list of jobs to get the car just perfect. I won't be doing anything drastic, as the car simply doesn't require it - But I'm an engineer and part of the appeal of owning a car like this for me is the constant opportunity to tinker and improve upon things!
What's been done so far...
Going down the well trodden path of the Elise Parts Front Lip, obviously it looks rather lovely - But I also wanted the extra protection for the front clam, it's already proven its worth recently when trying to get up a friends steep driveway.
Who'd have thought, the reliable, trusty......... Lotus coming to the rescue of the Volvo and it's flat battery..
The next job, I never liked the 'tango' front indicators so the bulbs were replaced with some Osram silvered units:
After:
Much cleaner!
Next, I always thought the grey of the alcantara dash insert & steering wheel looked rather dated. After much reading I bought some of this:
You need to make sure you clean the alcantara, I also used a nail-brush to 'fluff up' the fibres to help the dye adhere properly. I found sponging it on was the most effective.
A rubbish photo, but his was after just one coat, you'll see better pictures shortly. All in all I gave it 3 coats and it looks fantastic, you'd never know it didn't come from the factory like that. Really cleans up the interior, I well recommend it to anyone.
I then sought some inspiration on here and wrapped my side sill covers in faux suede, and in the process found a small compost heap in the sill:
[img=450x800]https://i.imgur.com/vQt8ZPT.jpg[/img]
Also fitted some turned ally indicator stalks, which are much nicer than the horrid plastic items they replaced.
End result here:
Much cosier!
I then placed yet another order with Elise Parts, first was some 'oversized' door pins, I never really noticed that the doors were rattling but for £20 I thought I may as well, plus it gives me another excuse to tinker!
What a fiddly job, but they do seem to make a bit of a difference though! So I went for a celebratory drive:
Fastest driveway in the village!
(The GTR is my neighbours).
I'd noticed a bit of backlash in the drivetrain at lower speeds/gears, while nothing terrible I thought it must be possible to improve upon..
It would also give me an excuse to get the undertrays off and have a poke about and make sure everything is as it should be...
This mount was particularly terrible to access.
Anyone know anything about this back-box?
It's louder than I expected for a OEM exhaust, but lovely!
Verdict? I was concerned they'd be a massive increase in NVH at tickover, but it's actually not much worse. The car does feel much tighter and more responsive when throttling on/off, that slight backlash at lower speeds is also gone - Delighted! It feels as it should have done when it left the factory.
By this point the OEM Blaupunkt radio was driving me insane, so it was replaced with a mechless unit which also weighs considerable less than the original unit, perfect.
I also replaced the windscreen wiper with a aero-type blade which is much cleaner looking than the original -
Now onto the first job I was somewhat dreading....
I knew when I bought the car a segment of the drivers side brake light didn't work, I've since learnt that this is an extremely common fault as the SMD's are overdriven so even if I bought a new unit it's likely to happen again. I didn't fancy resigning myself to buying numerous flawed replacement units at £200/pop.
So after some Googling I found a suitable replacement part number for the SMD's (LSE67B-T2V1-1-1-Z) and broke out the soldering irons!
Splitting the unit, take your time and be careful!
You can see here the two dead SMD's, numbers 3 & 4.
Now, the way the board is designed - One dead SMD will knock out two, so to begin with I just replaced one and hoped I got lucky.
Soldering on the new unit:
Success!
As the unit was originally laser welded, it needed to be resealed - I didn't like the idea of using an epoxy as it would make disassembly impossible if I ever needed to replace another. So I used some Butyl rubber which is what the OEM's use to seal headlights -
All together and sealed using the heatgun:
VICTORY!
I still can't get used to how small it is compared to already small cars!
That's all for now! Now just to concentrate on enjoying it!
It's an '06 111R, which originally spent its life in the 'Nick Whale Sports Cars' family, split between father and daughter until the previous the previous owner bought it in 2011.
It's been meticulously maintained, with a recent steering rack, fan resistor pack replacement / remount, central locking module & ignition module replacement all in the recent history.
On the way home -
I've had the car a few months now, and I'm slowly working through a list of jobs to get the car just perfect. I won't be doing anything drastic, as the car simply doesn't require it - But I'm an engineer and part of the appeal of owning a car like this for me is the constant opportunity to tinker and improve upon things!
What's been done so far...
Going down the well trodden path of the Elise Parts Front Lip, obviously it looks rather lovely - But I also wanted the extra protection for the front clam, it's already proven its worth recently when trying to get up a friends steep driveway.
Who'd have thought, the reliable, trusty......... Lotus coming to the rescue of the Volvo and it's flat battery..
The next job, I never liked the 'tango' front indicators so the bulbs were replaced with some Osram silvered units:
After:
Much cleaner!
Next, I always thought the grey of the alcantara dash insert & steering wheel looked rather dated. After much reading I bought some of this:
You need to make sure you clean the alcantara, I also used a nail-brush to 'fluff up' the fibres to help the dye adhere properly. I found sponging it on was the most effective.
A rubbish photo, but his was after just one coat, you'll see better pictures shortly. All in all I gave it 3 coats and it looks fantastic, you'd never know it didn't come from the factory like that. Really cleans up the interior, I well recommend it to anyone.
I then sought some inspiration on here and wrapped my side sill covers in faux suede, and in the process found a small compost heap in the sill:
[img=450x800]https://i.imgur.com/vQt8ZPT.jpg[/img]
Also fitted some turned ally indicator stalks, which are much nicer than the horrid plastic items they replaced.
End result here:
Much cosier!
I then placed yet another order with Elise Parts, first was some 'oversized' door pins, I never really noticed that the doors were rattling but for £20 I thought I may as well, plus it gives me another excuse to tinker!
What a fiddly job, but they do seem to make a bit of a difference though! So I went for a celebratory drive:
Fastest driveway in the village!
(The GTR is my neighbours).
I'd noticed a bit of backlash in the drivetrain at lower speeds/gears, while nothing terrible I thought it must be possible to improve upon..
It would also give me an excuse to get the undertrays off and have a poke about and make sure everything is as it should be...
This mount was particularly terrible to access.
Anyone know anything about this back-box?
It's louder than I expected for a OEM exhaust, but lovely!
Verdict? I was concerned they'd be a massive increase in NVH at tickover, but it's actually not much worse. The car does feel much tighter and more responsive when throttling on/off, that slight backlash at lower speeds is also gone - Delighted! It feels as it should have done when it left the factory.
By this point the OEM Blaupunkt radio was driving me insane, so it was replaced with a mechless unit which also weighs considerable less than the original unit, perfect.
I also replaced the windscreen wiper with a aero-type blade which is much cleaner looking than the original -
Now onto the first job I was somewhat dreading....
I knew when I bought the car a segment of the drivers side brake light didn't work, I've since learnt that this is an extremely common fault as the SMD's are overdriven so even if I bought a new unit it's likely to happen again. I didn't fancy resigning myself to buying numerous flawed replacement units at £200/pop.
So after some Googling I found a suitable replacement part number for the SMD's (LSE67B-T2V1-1-1-Z) and broke out the soldering irons!
Splitting the unit, take your time and be careful!
You can see here the two dead SMD's, numbers 3 & 4.
Now, the way the board is designed - One dead SMD will knock out two, so to begin with I just replaced one and hoped I got lucky.
Soldering on the new unit:
Success!
As the unit was originally laser welded, it needed to be resealed - I didn't like the idea of using an epoxy as it would make disassembly impossible if I ever needed to replace another. So I used some Butyl rubber which is what the OEM's use to seal headlights -
All together and sealed using the heatgun:
VICTORY!
I still can't get used to how small it is compared to already small cars!
That's all for now! Now just to concentrate on enjoying it!
Couple of updates, clayed the entire car. To be fair the paintwork wasn't overly contaminated, but it's like glass now! Next job is to get the machine polisher on it...
Now on to another job I'd read about much before I'd even bought the car, 'stans shifter mod'.
I've only seen it mentioned on the US based forums, where an unused mounting point can be used to further secure the gear linkage assembly.
I actually consider the shift in this car to be really good, especially after the engine mount inserts. But I couldn't resist another opportunity to tinker and improve upon things.
However, as I'd only seen it on the US forums I wasn't 100% certain it'd work on RHD cars.
Anyway, all you need is an M8 x 1.25 x 50mm bolt and an assortment of washers!
(many more washers than this are needed...)
Centre console removed, I think it looks so good like this...
Turns out it will work, there is a threaded mounting point ready and waiting to be used!
(Apologies for the messy floor, I guess the console has never been removed & vacuumed).
Which lines up with...
Take some measurements and figure out how many washers you need to use, rather brilliantly I engineered this fantastic solution -
It also saved the pain of trying to stack many many washers in such a confined gap without them toppling over.
I was originally treating this as a proof of concept, now that it works so well I plan to get something more elegant turned up at work to take the place of the washers.
Access is very tight, so it can be difficult to tighten:
All done!
Now time for reassembly!
Thoughts?
Well first of all you can tell there is significantly reduced flex in the assembly when you tug the handbrake side-to-side.
Gear change has become even more positive, and inspires further confidence. Most noticeable when changing from 2nd to 3rd at high RPM.
100% a worthwhile 'mod', let alone for free and an hour or so's work.
Anyway, if you'll excuse me it looks as though I've got a ton of vacuuming to do!
Now on to another job I'd read about much before I'd even bought the car, 'stans shifter mod'.
I've only seen it mentioned on the US based forums, where an unused mounting point can be used to further secure the gear linkage assembly.
I actually consider the shift in this car to be really good, especially after the engine mount inserts. But I couldn't resist another opportunity to tinker and improve upon things.
However, as I'd only seen it on the US forums I wasn't 100% certain it'd work on RHD cars.
Anyway, all you need is an M8 x 1.25 x 50mm bolt and an assortment of washers!
(many more washers than this are needed...)
Centre console removed, I think it looks so good like this...
Turns out it will work, there is a threaded mounting point ready and waiting to be used!
(Apologies for the messy floor, I guess the console has never been removed & vacuumed).
Which lines up with...
Take some measurements and figure out how many washers you need to use, rather brilliantly I engineered this fantastic solution -
It also saved the pain of trying to stack many many washers in such a confined gap without them toppling over.
I was originally treating this as a proof of concept, now that it works so well I plan to get something more elegant turned up at work to take the place of the washers.
Access is very tight, so it can be difficult to tighten:
All done!
Now time for reassembly!
Thoughts?
Well first of all you can tell there is significantly reduced flex in the assembly when you tug the handbrake side-to-side.
Gear change has become even more positive, and inspires further confidence. Most noticeable when changing from 2nd to 3rd at high RPM.
100% a worthwhile 'mod', let alone for free and an hour or so's work.
Anyway, if you'll excuse me it looks as though I've got a ton of vacuuming to do!
Edited by Ryan_T on Sunday 2nd April 22:28
Well I've been busy making the most of this amazing machine. From using it as an incentive to make it through otherwise tiresome late-night shifts at work, to lovely weekends away.
Plus I did my first big trip in it, 400odd miles to Cornwall and back. While the motorway isn't it's natural environment it was surprisingly comfortable and capable, I would have happily jumped in and done it all over again without grumble - A big relief as I'm hoping to do a big European tour with it sometime in the near future!
Took it along some of my favorite coastal roads, there really was no other car I'd have rather been in at that moment.
When I got home I did a job I'd been meaning to tackle since I had the car -
That should keep it looking lovely under there.
Hit a milestone, can't wait for the next 50k!
Shortly after I had the first MOT with the car, it's always slightly nerve-wracking with a new car.
On talking to the chap -
'All good, but it looks like you've got a slight leak from the power steering'
This threw me for a second, I'd only last week been under there and it was spotless..
... wait, the Elise doesn't even have power steering!
So, what was this tacky, purple/red substance he'd seen coating the suspension components?
Well, turns out this is what he saw...
They were apologetic, and explained that they have to cover themselves but were unable to retract it as it had already been entered on the system.. irritating but admittedly not the end of the world.
Now, on to the more exciting stuff! Being so chuffed with the car I may have treated it to the following..
2Bular 22x8 Oval Exit:
Not that I was disappointed with the standard exhaust, but after hearing so much positive praise on here it just had to be done. Being 22x8 it's the quietest Jim offers, I must admit a childish part of me would have been drawn to the bonkers x6 version but I imagine it'd wear off fairly quickly.
TRD Airbox:
Now this one was due to some man-maths, the car is due an airfilter at it's next service regardless - So why not kill two birds with one stone and change the surrounding airbox while we're there!
Nothing ground-breaking and a well trodden path with these cars but that has to be for good reason right?
Christ these cars are tight to work on, my hands are in tatters -
Horrible snorkel removed:
Existing filter didn't look horrific but well worth changing:
Removing the injection moulding witnesses
All in! Just need to tidy up those vacuum lines.
Couldn't resist going for a drive, and what a difference. The sound is absolutely intoxicating yet not intrusive when driving normally.
It adds so much character to the engine and the noise when it enters the high-lift condition is absolutely manic.
However it was now time to do the exhaust and I'm left with a red-hot car after my extended joy-ride...
[img]http://i.imgur.com/GQYkiSX.jpg[img]
So after having a cup of tea and calming down I cracked on, using lots of this:
Which wasn't that necessary as it was surprisingly clean under there, unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during as I was in danger of running out of light (my own fault, see reason above).
And fitted:
I really like the way the oval tip looks, and the noise - Christ it's perfect. Louder than standard but not too much and it doesn't drown out the noise of the new airbox. What it does give however is a much more tonal character, with a nice range of sounds throughout the rev-range. The first time I hit the high-lift cam with both of these fitted I couldn't stop giggling for a good few minutes.
100% recommended it completes the car for me, massively enhancing it's character without in anyway being over the top or lairy.
Oh also the calipers have been painted, I'm not normally a fan of such things but think it really suits the car and looks completely OEM.
Until next time!
Plus I did my first big trip in it, 400odd miles to Cornwall and back. While the motorway isn't it's natural environment it was surprisingly comfortable and capable, I would have happily jumped in and done it all over again without grumble - A big relief as I'm hoping to do a big European tour with it sometime in the near future!
Took it along some of my favorite coastal roads, there really was no other car I'd have rather been in at that moment.
When I got home I did a job I'd been meaning to tackle since I had the car -
That should keep it looking lovely under there.
Hit a milestone, can't wait for the next 50k!
Shortly after I had the first MOT with the car, it's always slightly nerve-wracking with a new car.
On talking to the chap -
'All good, but it looks like you've got a slight leak from the power steering'
This threw me for a second, I'd only last week been under there and it was spotless..
... wait, the Elise doesn't even have power steering!
So, what was this tacky, purple/red substance he'd seen coating the suspension components?
Well, turns out this is what he saw...
They were apologetic, and explained that they have to cover themselves but were unable to retract it as it had already been entered on the system.. irritating but admittedly not the end of the world.
Now, on to the more exciting stuff! Being so chuffed with the car I may have treated it to the following..
2Bular 22x8 Oval Exit:
Not that I was disappointed with the standard exhaust, but after hearing so much positive praise on here it just had to be done. Being 22x8 it's the quietest Jim offers, I must admit a childish part of me would have been drawn to the bonkers x6 version but I imagine it'd wear off fairly quickly.
TRD Airbox:
Now this one was due to some man-maths, the car is due an airfilter at it's next service regardless - So why not kill two birds with one stone and change the surrounding airbox while we're there!
Nothing ground-breaking and a well trodden path with these cars but that has to be for good reason right?
Christ these cars are tight to work on, my hands are in tatters -
Horrible snorkel removed:
Existing filter didn't look horrific but well worth changing:
Removing the injection moulding witnesses
All in! Just need to tidy up those vacuum lines.
Couldn't resist going for a drive, and what a difference. The sound is absolutely intoxicating yet not intrusive when driving normally.
It adds so much character to the engine and the noise when it enters the high-lift condition is absolutely manic.
However it was now time to do the exhaust and I'm left with a red-hot car after my extended joy-ride...
[img]http://i.imgur.com/GQYkiSX.jpg[img]
So after having a cup of tea and calming down I cracked on, using lots of this:
Which wasn't that necessary as it was surprisingly clean under there, unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during as I was in danger of running out of light (my own fault, see reason above).
And fitted:
I really like the way the oval tip looks, and the noise - Christ it's perfect. Louder than standard but not too much and it doesn't drown out the noise of the new airbox. What it does give however is a much more tonal character, with a nice range of sounds throughout the rev-range. The first time I hit the high-lift cam with both of these fitted I couldn't stop giggling for a good few minutes.
100% recommended it completes the car for me, massively enhancing it's character without in anyway being over the top or lairy.
Oh also the calipers have been painted, I'm not normally a fan of such things but think it really suits the car and looks completely OEM.
Until next time!
Fair bit to update here!
I've been busy tinkering away on the Lotus, making it as good as can be. With all my 'new' cars I like to go through and replace all the consumables, both for piece of mind and the enjoyment (& excuse) to work on the car!
Back up on the ramps!
Gearbox Oil Change & Aux Belt
Going over the paperwork the car had a gearbox oil change fairly recently, but after seeing a sale on OpieOils I couldn't help myself ordering some more.
3 quarts of the best -
Draining out the 'old' stuff, it's still looked fairly fresh but a change can't hurt!
While I was there (and after reading the horror stories) I checked the rear toe-links were torqued to the new revised figure from Lotus and gave a spanner check - Pleased to report all is good.
Again it made sense while the rear was in the air (and that bloody under-tray was off) to do any other jobs in the area.
All the usual Lotus specialists that stocked aux belts wanted £35+ for a non-specified brand, which seemed like a rip-off. After some fairly extensive internet digging it turns out a 111R without aircon uses a 1420mm 6 rib belt (6PK1420). I tend to always go for Gates stuff when it comes to belts.
Ordered along side a few other bits and bobs:
Because access is so rubbish I had to cut down one of my six-sided socks so I could gain access to the tensioner -
Old vs. New, definitely worth changing!
And all installed (you have no idea how many times I started & stopped the car to ensure the logo was in position for this shot, what a loser I am....)
NGK Laser Iridium Spark Plugs
Again ahead of schedule but no harm in that, plus I was interested to see the condition of the existing plugs to give an insight into whats going on inside the engine.
I was happy to see the old plugs were textbook perfect -
New ones in, easy!
Neil Garner Performance
Took the car for a service/inspection at Neil Garner Motorsport after he was recommended on here. A bit earlier than required but I was planning a big EU road-trip and wanted to ensure everything was ship-shape.
As soon as I turned and saw all the exotic machinery parked up I knew the car would be in good hands. I told the guys this was my first service since recently buying the car, they gave it a good going over including a road test and were very complimentary. Exactly what you want to hear with a new car! Well recommended.
They did advise that I change my front discs/pads in the next few thousand miles as they had some corrosion on the inside face. That night I ordered some EBC Turbogroove discs & Yellowstuff pads (again after being recommended on here). A few days later -
Cleaning up the slider pins:
Plenty of this:
Even treated it to new fixing bolts as the original ones were starting to round:
Walking up to it in the work car park never gets old..
Headlight Bulbs & Speakers
Again in preparation for the EU roadtrip I replaced all of the headlight bulbs in an effort to improve upon the fairly woeful standard items.
Looking a bit like a cyborg:
Again to make the car that bit more usable I upgraded both the front & rear speakers, including Dynamat.
They aren't going to shake the earth, but a worthwhile upgrade over the original units!
... It was about this time I was disrupted by the local yobbos:
[img0]https://i.imgur.com/GIOgNXo.jpg[/img]
Again while I was here I decided to whip the seats out and give everything a good clean, it was a big grubby. Perhaps the first time the seats had been removed?
Plenty of this lovely stuff on all the metalwork:
Much better!
Replacing the Indicator Module
I'd began to notice once every week or so the indicators wouldn't self-cancel. I had a fair idea this would be the module itself, so a new one was ordered (from a Vauxhall Nova no less!)
My angle grinder again proving useful to chop down my pulley puller to remove the steering wheel:
Off she pops:
Just as suspected the strung tab was dislodged and in a bad way, easily replaced & good as new.
Then as tradition, went for a big drive as a reward:
EU Roadtrip inc. Nurburgring
I need to do a proper write-up on this to do it justice, but it was essentially ~1500 odd miles over a long weekend and the car was absolutely faultless. Including a 13 hour return journey which saw us stuck in horrific traffic around the Brussels ring-road. It was also hilarious catching people in adjacent cars taking pictures of the car and small children in the rear banging on the glass and waving.
Obligatory picture:
Then stopped via Colonge, Ghent & Bruges which were all lovely. Again the Lotus took it all in it's stride - An amazing experience!
And the latest update, which required a 7 hour round trip to collect. A set of spotless Team Dynamics in Exige fitment wrapped in some lovely AD048's!
I've been busy tinkering away on the Lotus, making it as good as can be. With all my 'new' cars I like to go through and replace all the consumables, both for piece of mind and the enjoyment (& excuse) to work on the car!
Back up on the ramps!
Gearbox Oil Change & Aux Belt
Going over the paperwork the car had a gearbox oil change fairly recently, but after seeing a sale on OpieOils I couldn't help myself ordering some more.
3 quarts of the best -
Draining out the 'old' stuff, it's still looked fairly fresh but a change can't hurt!
While I was there (and after reading the horror stories) I checked the rear toe-links were torqued to the new revised figure from Lotus and gave a spanner check - Pleased to report all is good.
Again it made sense while the rear was in the air (and that bloody under-tray was off) to do any other jobs in the area.
All the usual Lotus specialists that stocked aux belts wanted £35+ for a non-specified brand, which seemed like a rip-off. After some fairly extensive internet digging it turns out a 111R without aircon uses a 1420mm 6 rib belt (6PK1420). I tend to always go for Gates stuff when it comes to belts.
Ordered along side a few other bits and bobs:
Because access is so rubbish I had to cut down one of my six-sided socks so I could gain access to the tensioner -
Old vs. New, definitely worth changing!
And all installed (you have no idea how many times I started & stopped the car to ensure the logo was in position for this shot, what a loser I am....)
NGK Laser Iridium Spark Plugs
Again ahead of schedule but no harm in that, plus I was interested to see the condition of the existing plugs to give an insight into whats going on inside the engine.
I was happy to see the old plugs were textbook perfect -
New ones in, easy!
Neil Garner Performance
Took the car for a service/inspection at Neil Garner Motorsport after he was recommended on here. A bit earlier than required but I was planning a big EU road-trip and wanted to ensure everything was ship-shape.
As soon as I turned and saw all the exotic machinery parked up I knew the car would be in good hands. I told the guys this was my first service since recently buying the car, they gave it a good going over including a road test and were very complimentary. Exactly what you want to hear with a new car! Well recommended.
They did advise that I change my front discs/pads in the next few thousand miles as they had some corrosion on the inside face. That night I ordered some EBC Turbogroove discs & Yellowstuff pads (again after being recommended on here). A few days later -
Cleaning up the slider pins:
Plenty of this:
Even treated it to new fixing bolts as the original ones were starting to round:
Walking up to it in the work car park never gets old..
Headlight Bulbs & Speakers
Again in preparation for the EU roadtrip I replaced all of the headlight bulbs in an effort to improve upon the fairly woeful standard items.
Looking a bit like a cyborg:
Again to make the car that bit more usable I upgraded both the front & rear speakers, including Dynamat.
They aren't going to shake the earth, but a worthwhile upgrade over the original units!
... It was about this time I was disrupted by the local yobbos:
[img0]https://i.imgur.com/GIOgNXo.jpg[/img]
Again while I was here I decided to whip the seats out and give everything a good clean, it was a big grubby. Perhaps the first time the seats had been removed?
Plenty of this lovely stuff on all the metalwork:
Much better!
Replacing the Indicator Module
I'd began to notice once every week or so the indicators wouldn't self-cancel. I had a fair idea this would be the module itself, so a new one was ordered (from a Vauxhall Nova no less!)
My angle grinder again proving useful to chop down my pulley puller to remove the steering wheel:
Off she pops:
Just as suspected the strung tab was dislodged and in a bad way, easily replaced & good as new.
Then as tradition, went for a big drive as a reward:
EU Roadtrip inc. Nurburgring
I need to do a proper write-up on this to do it justice, but it was essentially ~1500 odd miles over a long weekend and the car was absolutely faultless. Including a 13 hour return journey which saw us stuck in horrific traffic around the Brussels ring-road. It was also hilarious catching people in adjacent cars taking pictures of the car and small children in the rear banging on the glass and waving.
Obligatory picture:
Then stopped via Colonge, Ghent & Bruges which were all lovely. Again the Lotus took it all in it's stride - An amazing experience!
And the latest update, which required a 7 hour round trip to collect. A set of spotless Team Dynamics in Exige fitment wrapped in some lovely AD048's!
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff