350 rear wing question

[karluk29]

i have just put a deposit on a GT3, (btw need to sell elan LOL)

i would like to put a 350 sport rear wing on it or similar i was wondering how is the spolier bolted on the 350, because the boot is obviously plastic and i wouldnt think strong enough to hold the down force and would crack my boot.

i was going to obtain some st/st and put it on the underside of the boot for support.

help please (soon to be a new esprit owner)

[superdave]

i have just put a deposit on a GT3, (btw need to sell elan LOL)

i would like to put a 350 sport rear wing on it or similar i was wondering how is the spolier bolted on the 350, because the boot is obviously plastic and i wouldnt think strong enough to hold the down force and would crack my boot.

i was going to obtain some st/st and put it on the underside of the boot for support.

help please (soon to be a new esprit owner)

Hi there,

Firstly, I don't think that you can buy the 350 rear wing. I think that they only made a few but you need to double check.
Also do a search, I think this subject was talked about a few months back. You can buy a similar one from MOtorworld or Demon Tweeks or other Max Power type places, just need one that looks right. As for support, if you need it, I would use aluminium and not s/steel for weight properties.
Not sure if the 350 wing bolts to the boot but if it does, you'll need to upgrade the struts as well to lift the boot otherwise it'll come crashing down on you.
I have the old V8 wing on my 1990 turbo which I think does it justice. Many ahve done the same on their GT3's either the new or old V8 wing.
Glynn Harper in IOM has made his own 350S wing himself.
All these can be seen on www.lotusespritworld.com owners pages.

cheers,


Dave Walters

[ErnestM]

The '98 wing bolts directly onto the boot (actually the fairings that run up to the roof), so maybe you could use the '98 or later struts...

ErnestM

PS: You don't think the sport 350 wing is a little ott? That's the only part of the Sport 350 I didn't like. I loved the blue engine and multicolor interior, and all of that CF

[adrianmugridge]

I agree with Ernest. I've just put a Sport 300 type wing on my GT3 and it looks top drawer !

Adrian
97GT3
www.adrianmugridge.co.uk

[karluk29]

thankyou for the help ppl

i like the GT3 wing, looks more track/street, i will put myself in the new breed of lotus owners, i did have this discussion when i was on lotuselancentral, and after being car of the month, ppl started to see a different side to the elan, i (in theory) have the most modified elan, and soon will own a esprit, dont worry i wont put fluffy dice in it LOL

thanx for the advice, i might nip down to peter smith (lotus dealer down the road lol)and convince him to pop the boot on the one in the showroom LOL.

this was one of my main reasons for the GT3 because i could choose the spoiler I wanted and not mess about, oh and its only done 5000 miles (that helped LOL)

thanx

[karmavore]

Let's see your Elan!

Luke.

[rob.e]

Karl, the other option is that you could NOT fit a wing at all?

The GT3 and the V8-GT have a larger transom spoiler (lip) at the rear, so it doesn't actually NEED any sort of spoiler. If you add one, you're only really adding weight and drag. The GT3 is great because its so light - if you make it heavier again then you're undoing all the lotus engineers hard work..

At the end of the day its your car and you can do what the hell you like with it. I just happen to prefer the "pure" uncluttered shape of the esprit without any unnecessary add ons
Just my 02p.

Rob
98 V8-GT

[karmavore]

Can the larger GT3 lip be retrophitted to S4+ Esprits?

Luke.

[rob.e]

karmavore said: Can the larger GT3 lip be retrophitted to S4+ Esprits?

Luke.

As long as you can stand to watch someone attack your car with a grinder to remove the existing lip, then yes, i don't see why not

[karmavore]

Is it part of the rear clip or a seperate peice?

If not, isn't it just glued on?

Luke.

[Badjelly]

Just checked my 350 in the carpark, the rear wing bolts direct to the boot with a pair of fairly small looking bolts through the boot and into the base of each strut. Hard to tell the composition of the boot at that point as there's plastic cladding on the underside which hides any metal strengthening etc.

You're gonna need someone who's stripped it down a bit if you want more info.

Andy '99 S350

P.S It's that wing that did it for me. It had to be the 350, and it's all because of that wing (well almost).

[rob.e]

karmavore said: Is it part of the rear clip or a seperate peice?

If not, isn't it just glued on?

Luke.

Yes, it looks like its a separate piece, glued on.

[adrianmugridge]

Rob

I've carried my rear wing about and it really does weigh next to nothing. It will not make any difference to performance. I know it's only purpose is cosmetic, but then surely that's the whole point of the way the car looks anyway ?

Adrian
www.adrianmugridge.co.uk

[karluk29]

thanx again for the help, (and for looking at you own 350)

i do like the clean look, BUT i will admit i do like the WOW factor and the wing does it, i think i will get a sheet of ally to give it strength, just in case, dont want to crack the paint really.

the elan is on www.lotuselancentral.com go to owners and look at karl sherratt (thats me), think most of the pics are there not sure LOL