Lotus Elise 111R
Discussion
Mikeeb said:
Thanks for the reply. Did you look at/test drive any VX's? If so how do they compare?
Cheers
Mike
No worries Mike,Cheers
Mike
VX's were on my consideration list but nothing past by that really grabbed me on the market at the time. I rode in a VXTurbo which was really impressive, probably the best car power-wise that was available out of the box until you're talking £25k+ SC cars from Lotus. The power delivery was nothing like my previous turbo car, was very linear considering and pulled really well.
My heart would have been on an NA car though with an aim to SC it afterwards, and the right car just didn't come along.
GL with your search, you'll be happy with whatever you get - Lotus or VX.
Potatoes said:
That is a very lovely car 
As above, John Seal is a great guy to know locally as he often has useful bits of kit for sale.
Maybe 'll see you on track one day, sign-up to Lotus-on-Track to get out with other Lotus's/Lotus derivatives and selected others, really well organised days and it's always great to be on track in similar cars
Thanks As above, John Seal is a great guy to know locally as he often has useful bits of kit for sale.
Maybe 'll see you on track one day, sign-up to Lotus-on-Track to get out with other Lotus's/Lotus derivatives and selected others, really well organised days and it's always great to be on track in similar cars
Already a LoT member so looking forward to getting a day booked following my CarLimits adventure...RSteve said:
Looking awesome bro 
I was with Fonzey on Saturday when we headed to Blyton to watch some action, first time out in it, was grinning from ear to ear when he gave it some stick! Really is a lovely car, major car envy.
Glad you enjoyed it! It's still making me smile like an idiot even just looking at it...I was with Fonzey on Saturday when we headed to Blyton to watch some action, first time out in it, was grinning from ear to ear when he gave it some stick! Really is a lovely car, major car envy.
snotrag said:
Great thread, and I recognise that barn in those last shots so you can't be far from me!
Brilliant! That's just 5mins from my house, I'll have to look out for you snotrag said:
Edited by snotrag on Monday 14th March 12:53
Mikeeb said:
Hi
I've just started thinking about an Elise/VX but haven't looked at any cars yet so please don't take this the wrong way.
Is that level of corrosion on suspension/brake and hub normal for a 40K mile car?
Thanks
Mike
My 84k VX220 isn't as bad as that, and I've used it 2 winters in a row (original wishbones etc).I've just started thinking about an Elise/VX but haven't looked at any cars yet so please don't take this the wrong way.
Is that level of corrosion on suspension/brake and hub normal for a 40K mile car?
Thanks
Mike
I think it's fair to say that not every Lotus/VX on the planet is in the same state as mine underneath, but it's not something that should scare you away from an otherwise good car IMO. It's easily resolved for not all that much money if you DIY it.
Many cars that have been enthusiast owned will have been refurbed already, so result if you can find one of those. Perhaps that's the case with James' car assuming he's not owned it from new.
Many cars that have been enthusiast owned will have been refurbed already, so result if you can find one of those. Perhaps that's the case with James' car assuming he's not owned it from new.
Fonzey said:
but it's not something that should scare you away from an otherwise good car IMO.
I wouldn't worry about it, I don't think I've ever heard of people snapping wishbones or hubs due to rust, it just looks a bit ugly. The Lotus community is a bit obsessive about refreshing suspension...
AyBee said:
Very good result - what process did you use please? I've got a similar mark on mine 
It's the Meguiars Microfibre Dual-Action polisher kit. You need their polishing pad and matching compound and then the finishing pad and matching compound.It took 5 or 6 passes to correct that particular mark with the polishing compound but the whole car was done in just 2 passes other than the focussed areas for correction.
Well chuffed with the results from a DA.
C.A.R. said:
Very nice. I've sat in your car - it was on the forecourt back in October last year. I tried to convince my dad to up his budget to buy this car, but he preferred the power delivery of the 160 VVC engine.
Nice! The car was sat with Castle for a while I think. I was nervous about that, but I've yet to find any reason for that concern.Fonzey said:
Nice! The car was sat with Castle for a while I think. I was nervous about that, but I've yet to find any reason for that concern.
Well, since I commented there's an issue with them accepting liability on the recent HGF suffered by the 111S. Considering it's been very, very scarcely used during the winter months I think it's pretty bleeding obvious the fault was present at time of sale, but Castle are insisting on a 3rd party opinion and won't carry out the work. Hopefully it's just a minor glitch, but I hope you don't have to make any claim considering your proximity to them!
Sorry to hear that!
There was a 111S in stock when I went to view this R, and we had a discussion about the old K-Series HGF issues. He swore blind there was no issue at all on any car that had been properly maintained... It's a situation that divides opinion I know, but most people that seem to say "K Series is fine" don't have to live with one, they just sell them and/or work on them...!
Took the car on a run out to the seaside yesterday, along with what appeared to be a billion other people.
Lots of traffic but great weather and no roof there or back... lost my Red Sox hat though
Some great roads on the way back over the North York Moors.
When crusing around Whitby at 2mph looking for a parking space, the fans kicked in with anger for the first time and they sounded a bit agricultural tbh :lol: Perhaps a rough bearing, but really doesn't sound healthy at all despite keeping temps in check no problem. It's a clam off job to replace, so will keep an eye on that one.
There was a 111S in stock when I went to view this R, and we had a discussion about the old K-Series HGF issues. He swore blind there was no issue at all on any car that had been properly maintained... It's a situation that divides opinion I know, but most people that seem to say "K Series is fine" don't have to live with one, they just sell them and/or work on them...!
Took the car on a run out to the seaside yesterday, along with what appeared to be a billion other people.
Lots of traffic but great weather and no roof there or back... lost my Red Sox hat though
Some great roads on the way back over the North York Moors.
When crusing around Whitby at 2mph looking for a parking space, the fans kicked in with anger for the first time and they sounded a bit agricultural tbh :lol: Perhaps a rough bearing, but really doesn't sound healthy at all despite keeping temps in check no problem. It's a clam off job to replace, so will keep an eye on that one.
Essay Inc.
Shortly after buying the car I was in two minds about my approach to "track prep" modifications and in the end decided to remove some doubt and just get stuck in, ahead of my first track outing in a week or so.
The two go-to modifications not being performance enhancing as such, but for safety/reliability purposes.
The 2ZZ engine in my car is oil-surge vulnerable, so a baffled sump is highly recommended for track work with sticky tyres such as the A048's that I've got.
Upgraded toe-links for the rears, as the OEM ones are notorious for shearing on pretty much the entire VX220/Elise/Exige line since the dawn of time. (Youtube search for "toe-link failure")
I'd made myself some promises with this car after my experience with the Subaru. On some occasions with the Sub I was guilty of spending out a little over the top and beyond my requirements. Going straight in for external resevoir 3way adjustable coilovers for example when I didn't need the functionality at my driving/usage level and never really got my ££ worth out of the extra thousands that I spent. Same went for the engine work, I went the long/expensive way round of achieving ~400bhp with it by putting larger injectors, completely new fueling system and stuff like that... I coulda just slapped a bigger turbo on it and it would probably have been fine...!
With that in mind, I went out of my way to avoid some Gucci parts here... which has already sort of bitten me!
First up, the sump:
There are a handful of fancy options available all in the ~£500 range. They've got little hinged flaps, extra oil capacity and takeoffs for oil temp gauges etc. I admit, they look sexy as hell but instead I went for an OEM sump with a baffle plate welded in for less than half the price.
I had an unexpected couple of days off this week (turned up to work to be told I was supposed to be on holiday...) so I got to work and got the car into position for the next couple of days.
Oil was drained out, all over the damn floor. I need a bigger drain pan and better fluid dynamics simulation software.
In-Progress pics of the sump change are few and far between, I got very dirty and the timing was a bit critical (at least it felt it) between applying the liquid gasket and getting it bolted back up.
Getting the old sump off was a bit of a pig, smacked it with a rubber mallet for a bit then eventually managed to lever it off. I was less concerned about damaging the sump as I was replacing it, but didn't want to damage the block!
I did get a side by side comparison though:
The level of engineering that's gone into this compared to the gucci options is extremely underwhelming but for the sake of my engine (and wallet) I hope it's enough. It's tried and tested on racecars apparently, so hopefully will be OK for me trundling around Blyton.
I got it all cleaned up and dried, likewise with the mating surface on the engine block. Then applied a bead of Loctite 5980 and got it bolted back on the engine.
As I had a 24 hour cure time, I knocked off for the night.
Next day, and next job - my toe link kit. As above I went for a non-Gucci option and this ended up being a bit of a nightmare tbh. At first the kit arrived and the threads for the rosejoints were mismatched to the rods, so returned and got it swapped - mistakes happen and the vendor responded brilliantly.
In the meantime I got my old stuff off. Not many photos, left side came off easy but had to get a bit choppy with the drivers side.
The kits generally attack two areas of weakness. One being the materials used by the joints and the other being the addition of a double-shear fitment for the inboard connections.
The cars from the factory just have balljoints at each end, with the inboard side having a massive long skinny bolt to go through the trailing end of the wishbone too. The kits generally come in two formats, one uses a central brace to share load across the two inboard joints and the other involves drilling and bolting brackets on to create double-sheer connections.
Comparison pics below: (neither from my car/kit)
Brace type:
Bracket type:
I initially opted for the brace approach because I didn't need to drill (lazy) and in theory it braced by subframe too which can't be a bad thing.
The kit though was underwhelming even after getting the replacement with matching threads. First off the inboard bolts werent long enough to go through the brace, toelinks and subframe (probably from a kit without a brace?) and second the outboard bolts didn't have a cone shaped insert for the tapered hole in the hub. Third, the subframe brace didn't line up properly with the transmission mounting bolts that it was supposed to attach to for extra support. The vendor have been brilliant with me though and offered to get things sorted out but I really ran out of time, I've got geo booked early next week and track time booked very soon after that so we agreed I'd send the kit back for a refund.
Luckily, I came across a local resource who could sort me a kit very last minute that was due to be sent out elsewhere on very short notice and sell me it instead. This is in the form of the Spitfire kit which is positively Gucci in comparison.
Oh, this is also the bracket style kit too. I know I didn't want to drill, but I needed something quickly and Gaz@Spitfire explained that the brace on the Toyota subframe isn't functional anyway, just extra weight!
Key differences are that there's a cone insert for the hub, fittings generally look/feel better quality, the bolts are long enough and the actual toe bars themselves are significantly thicker/nicer but also lighter! The kit is more expensive though, and I'm sure the first kit would be fine and would have been fitted now if everything was the right shape/size in time for my install. I'm not going to badmouth the vendor because their comms have been excellent and I'm hoping that with my feedback they can respond and their kit will be spot on in future.
The Spitfire kit came with rivnuts and comprehensive instructions, so off I went drilling into my subframe. It took ages because I only had an air drill, and my compressor is tiny... but eventually, after a few hours I had 10 holes. Only got a pic after a lick of paint and the rivnuts were in place. I had to bodge a rivnut tool but they were quite easy to work with.
It was then a pretty simple case of lining everything up, bolting up and torquing up accordingly. Dead easy really.
If the bracket mounting doesn't look straight, it's probably because it isn't
Somewhere between all that, I got my oil topped off and happy to say I appear to be free of leaks.
The rods came pre-set to OEM toe measurements but obviously each chassis will be different so it definitely needs geo, which I'm booked in for on tues.
I had also ordered some brake pads, I did a bit of research and went for Pagid RS42s. They're a "fast road" compound (whatever Fast Road actually means?) but the RS14 alternatives for track/race work have the usual issues of being noisy etc. I can't be doing with noisy pads, another lesson learned from the Subaru.
The pads arrived, and of course were RS14s instead of the 42's that I ordered so they're on their way back. Hopefully will get those sorted early next week so I can get them bedded in before tracktime.
I ran the engine for a bit while the car was on axle stands just to check oil leaks, levels, etc and it seemed to send my ABS into a bit of a spaz. 30 yards of driving on the road though cleared the fault and I've not seen it since.
Got the car back on the road and went for one of those tentatively terrifying shakedown drives that you have after you've spent a few days tinkering. Eagerly listening out for my subframe dropping off, or that impact socket bouncing around my engine that I left laying in the new sump. Luckily I got to the petrol station and back without dying, though I certainly didn't push the car on the damp roads with an untested back end which may well be pointing all over the shop.
Can't wait for geo on tuesday, then finally the following week I can lean on this car on a circuit and see what all the fuss is about!!
Shortly after buying the car I was in two minds about my approach to "track prep" modifications and in the end decided to remove some doubt and just get stuck in, ahead of my first track outing in a week or so.
The two go-to modifications not being performance enhancing as such, but for safety/reliability purposes.
The 2ZZ engine in my car is oil-surge vulnerable, so a baffled sump is highly recommended for track work with sticky tyres such as the A048's that I've got.
Upgraded toe-links for the rears, as the OEM ones are notorious for shearing on pretty much the entire VX220/Elise/Exige line since the dawn of time. (Youtube search for "toe-link failure")
I'd made myself some promises with this car after my experience with the Subaru. On some occasions with the Sub I was guilty of spending out a little over the top and beyond my requirements. Going straight in for external resevoir 3way adjustable coilovers for example when I didn't need the functionality at my driving/usage level and never really got my ££ worth out of the extra thousands that I spent. Same went for the engine work, I went the long/expensive way round of achieving ~400bhp with it by putting larger injectors, completely new fueling system and stuff like that... I coulda just slapped a bigger turbo on it and it would probably have been fine...!
With that in mind, I went out of my way to avoid some Gucci parts here... which has already sort of bitten me!
First up, the sump:
There are a handful of fancy options available all in the ~£500 range. They've got little hinged flaps, extra oil capacity and takeoffs for oil temp gauges etc. I admit, they look sexy as hell but instead I went for an OEM sump with a baffle plate welded in for less than half the price.
I had an unexpected couple of days off this week (turned up to work to be told I was supposed to be on holiday...) so I got to work and got the car into position for the next couple of days.
Oil was drained out, all over the damn floor. I need a bigger drain pan and better fluid dynamics simulation software.
In-Progress pics of the sump change are few and far between, I got very dirty and the timing was a bit critical (at least it felt it) between applying the liquid gasket and getting it bolted back up.
Getting the old sump off was a bit of a pig, smacked it with a rubber mallet for a bit then eventually managed to lever it off. I was less concerned about damaging the sump as I was replacing it, but didn't want to damage the block!
I did get a side by side comparison though:
The level of engineering that's gone into this compared to the gucci options is extremely underwhelming but for the sake of my engine (and wallet) I hope it's enough. It's tried and tested on racecars apparently, so hopefully will be OK for me trundling around Blyton.
I got it all cleaned up and dried, likewise with the mating surface on the engine block. Then applied a bead of Loctite 5980 and got it bolted back on the engine.
As I had a 24 hour cure time, I knocked off for the night.
Next day, and next job - my toe link kit. As above I went for a non-Gucci option and this ended up being a bit of a nightmare tbh. At first the kit arrived and the threads for the rosejoints were mismatched to the rods, so returned and got it swapped - mistakes happen and the vendor responded brilliantly.
In the meantime I got my old stuff off. Not many photos, left side came off easy but had to get a bit choppy with the drivers side.
The kits generally attack two areas of weakness. One being the materials used by the joints and the other being the addition of a double-shear fitment for the inboard connections.
The cars from the factory just have balljoints at each end, with the inboard side having a massive long skinny bolt to go through the trailing end of the wishbone too. The kits generally come in two formats, one uses a central brace to share load across the two inboard joints and the other involves drilling and bolting brackets on to create double-sheer connections.
Comparison pics below: (neither from my car/kit)
Brace type:
Bracket type:
I initially opted for the brace approach because I didn't need to drill (lazy) and in theory it braced by subframe too which can't be a bad thing.
The kit though was underwhelming even after getting the replacement with matching threads. First off the inboard bolts werent long enough to go through the brace, toelinks and subframe (probably from a kit without a brace?) and second the outboard bolts didn't have a cone shaped insert for the tapered hole in the hub. Third, the subframe brace didn't line up properly with the transmission mounting bolts that it was supposed to attach to for extra support. The vendor have been brilliant with me though and offered to get things sorted out but I really ran out of time, I've got geo booked early next week and track time booked very soon after that so we agreed I'd send the kit back for a refund.
Luckily, I came across a local resource who could sort me a kit very last minute that was due to be sent out elsewhere on very short notice and sell me it instead. This is in the form of the Spitfire kit which is positively Gucci in comparison.
Oh, this is also the bracket style kit too. I know I didn't want to drill, but I needed something quickly and Gaz@Spitfire explained that the brace on the Toyota subframe isn't functional anyway, just extra weight!
Key differences are that there's a cone insert for the hub, fittings generally look/feel better quality, the bolts are long enough and the actual toe bars themselves are significantly thicker/nicer but also lighter! The kit is more expensive though, and I'm sure the first kit would be fine and would have been fitted now if everything was the right shape/size in time for my install. I'm not going to badmouth the vendor because their comms have been excellent and I'm hoping that with my feedback they can respond and their kit will be spot on in future.
The Spitfire kit came with rivnuts and comprehensive instructions, so off I went drilling into my subframe. It took ages because I only had an air drill, and my compressor is tiny... but eventually, after a few hours I had 10 holes. Only got a pic after a lick of paint and the rivnuts were in place. I had to bodge a rivnut tool but they were quite easy to work with.
It was then a pretty simple case of lining everything up, bolting up and torquing up accordingly. Dead easy really.
If the bracket mounting doesn't look straight, it's probably because it isn't
Somewhere between all that, I got my oil topped off and happy to say I appear to be free of leaks.
The rods came pre-set to OEM toe measurements but obviously each chassis will be different so it definitely needs geo, which I'm booked in for on tues.
I had also ordered some brake pads, I did a bit of research and went for Pagid RS42s. They're a "fast road" compound (whatever Fast Road actually means?) but the RS14 alternatives for track/race work have the usual issues of being noisy etc. I can't be doing with noisy pads, another lesson learned from the Subaru.
The pads arrived, and of course were RS14s instead of the 42's that I ordered so they're on their way back. Hopefully will get those sorted early next week so I can get them bedded in before tracktime.
I ran the engine for a bit while the car was on axle stands just to check oil leaks, levels, etc and it seemed to send my ABS into a bit of a spaz. 30 yards of driving on the road though cleared the fault and I've not seen it since.
Got the car back on the road and went for one of those tentatively terrifying shakedown drives that you have after you've spent a few days tinkering. Eagerly listening out for my subframe dropping off, or that impact socket bouncing around my engine that I left laying in the new sump. Luckily I got to the petrol station and back without dying, though I certainly didn't push the car on the damp roads with an untested back end which may well be pointing all over the shop.
Can't wait for geo on tuesday, then finally the following week I can lean on this car on a circuit and see what all the fuss is about!!
Had an afternoon out at Rob Boston Racing on tuesday, turns out they're just a few miles from Blyton Park.
After finally finding their unit, it was like being a kid in a sweet shop. They'd just got back from the BTCC weekend at Brands and they were preparing/fixing/checking over a couple of the Ginetta cars that they support that had been running at the weekend.
Always thought Ginetta cars looked a bit rough and agricultural from a distance but when you get to look at them without body panels on, they're really cool looking bits of kit.
When driving my car there it felt like a death trap, the rear of the car was just constantly moving around. On each compression of the rear suspension the rear would wiggle a bit and it was horrific!
Pulled it into the unit and explained how I'd be using the car, first up is a job I could have done at home had I known about it. The cars run pretty much 0 camber from the factory but the hubs are shimmed away from the upper wishbone so you can actually add a bit of negative camber front and back.
We removed all three of the shims in the front and removed 3 of the 5 that were in use at the rear (at each side).
That took a while due to stuck bolts and stuff like that, but then onto the alignment. I've had loads of alignment sessions before using fancy laser equipment but this is the first time I've had a car aligned with string!
Out came some poles and some string, and after a few minutes of very careful measuring and lining up we learned that my rears were toed in by about 10mm either side! No wonder it felt so broken.
We finished up with about 1mm toe in at front and 2mm toe in at the rear (I think).
Needless to say, the car was an absolute peach on the drive home. 6 days till I get to lean on it round track
After finally finding their unit, it was like being a kid in a sweet shop. They'd just got back from the BTCC weekend at Brands and they were preparing/fixing/checking over a couple of the Ginetta cars that they support that had been running at the weekend.
Always thought Ginetta cars looked a bit rough and agricultural from a distance but when you get to look at them without body panels on, they're really cool looking bits of kit.
When driving my car there it felt like a death trap, the rear of the car was just constantly moving around. On each compression of the rear suspension the rear would wiggle a bit and it was horrific!
Pulled it into the unit and explained how I'd be using the car, first up is a job I could have done at home had I known about it. The cars run pretty much 0 camber from the factory but the hubs are shimmed away from the upper wishbone so you can actually add a bit of negative camber front and back.
We removed all three of the shims in the front and removed 3 of the 5 that were in use at the rear (at each side).
That took a while due to stuck bolts and stuff like that, but then onto the alignment. I've had loads of alignment sessions before using fancy laser equipment but this is the first time I've had a car aligned with string!
Out came some poles and some string, and after a few minutes of very careful measuring and lining up we learned that my rears were toed in by about 10mm either side! No wonder it felt so broken.
We finished up with about 1mm toe in at front and 2mm toe in at the rear (I think).
Needless to say, the car was an absolute peach on the drive home. 6 days till I get to lean on it round track
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