Simon_16v
Member
Registered: 14th Aug 06
Location: Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Update!!!
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
I know I said "no more working on the car for a bit"... but I bought an exhaust!
Been away from home during the week lately which leaves lots of time for checking forum classifieds and eBay. As a result, I bought an exhaust that I was planning on buying new in a few months anyway.
It's a Hangar111 Signature exhaust, I chose it because it boasted being trackday legal and is priced well compared to other go-to options.
The second hand one arrived, and was in great nick - so a few quid saved there 
Fitting was a doddle, didn't really take any photographs but I didn't even need to jack the car off the ground, result!
I did weigh the old and new though...
Removing the old was a case of undoing the mounts from one end, undoing the clamp connecting it to the cat and then booting it whilst holding onto the cat. It came off fairly easy, but seem to have hurt my back in the process 
Getting the new one lined up was a little fiddly, it pushed onto the cat pipe a fair bit further than the old one did in order to have it exiting central, and I had to have the diffuser on and off a few times before I was happy.
Took the car to the seaside today for a chippy run, sounds great. Not too loud, but a fair bit deeper and has some character now on deceleration and blipping the throttle. Few quiet little burbly pops, nothing too obnoxious. Rather pleased!
Also some video to try and capture before and after:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gw8NgZrn1Y&feature=youtu.be
Video'ing the sound in my garage was prior to my lining up the tailpipes properly...
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
chris_uk
Premium Member
Registered: 8th Jul 03
User status: Offline
|
i wish VX exhausts were as easy to remove as the elise.. 
|
Wrighty
Member
Registered: 28th Feb 04
Location: Howden
User status: Offline
|
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Took my car to Sports Cars in the Park at Lotherton Hall last weekend. Decent morning out, some cool cars about and had some nice comments on the paintjob from people who had been following my progress.
 IMG_20160925_111639 by Kyle Townend, on Flickr
 IMG_20160925_091743 by Kyle Townend, on Flickr
 IMG_20160925_091755 by Kyle Townend, on Flickr
Decided to treat myself to an impromptu trackday booking, Blyton Park this Sunday. Blyton again, I know - but choice for weekends that I can make are slim at the moment, and the weather looks decent on Sunday
[Edited on 29-09-2016 by Kyle T]
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
chris_uk
Premium Member
Registered: 8th Jul 03
User status: Offline
|
if im not doing owt i might come down for a watch
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Good stuff, maybe see you there then
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Did Blyton Park with Lotus on Track a week or so ago.
Weather was great, track was quiet - unfortunately I had full on manflu so was rough
That said, it was still a fun day.
Started off with the car feeling a little odd, didn't give much confidence at all. Back in the pits to find that my tyres just weren't gaining any temperature or pressure - and remained at the ~26psi starting point. My aim with these tyres is to end up at 30psi whilst they're at temp, so I thought 26 should give space to heat up.
I raised them to 30psi whilst in the pits and went back out, the car immediately feeling tonnes better. I felt myself getting on the gas much quicker than I've done before (in any car) on the long sweeping lancaster turn and I was able to get on the power sooner through the fast Port Froid chicane too. The bumps in the braking zone for the wiggler have gotten gradually worse this last year, and I was still having a few brake lockups despite the ABS' best efforts.
There were some great cars on track, and took an opportunity for a passenger ride in a friends Exige Sprint. This was my opportunity to see what an SC 2ZZ engine felt like, and I wasn't disappointed. Due to being a bad passenger magnified by my manflu, we couldn't stay out long... but coming back in I was determined that a factory SC kit would be next on my list 
I was quite shocked to find that the Exige Sprint was actually a 260bhp car (I was expecting just the standard 220bhp SC car) which set back my ambitions a bit! For me to get 260bhp out of mine, I would need an aftermarket SC kit with a front mount chargecooler setup. I always said that IF I SC this car, it would be a factory kit both for simplicity and resale. I really need to experience a factory SC'd 2ZZ car, so I can make my mind up.
I got some good laps in the afternoon, aiming for consistency and was quite chuffed to get three laps within 4/10ths of each other in a row... also fairly quick ones by my standards too in the 1min16s. All this based on post event GoPro scrutiny obviously
There's definitely a 1.15 in this car at my hands, a decent driver I'm sure could beat the times I was getting in the Subaru too. Still plenty more to come, but perhaps not this year now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsBZtm0yf_k
Was disappointed to go home early, perfect weather, quiet track and no issues with the car - I should have milked it to the end. I was struggling to concentrate though, and bed was calling.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Some Corner/Straight speeds on a Lotus 1.16.28 vs Subaru 1.14.64
Biggest gains for the Subaru must be traction and acceleration out of the final turn, as it's got a massive 6mph more over the start/finish line.
Lotus unsurprisingly carries more speed through all corners with the exception of Port Froid, which matches my memory of the Subaru feeling much more stable through there.
Subaru
Straight: 86
Ump: 47
Straight: 98
Wiggler: 39
Straight: 93
Bishops: 51
Straight: 69
Bunga: 46
Froid: 80
Straight: 93
Ushers: 44
Straight: 58
Twickers: 41
Lotus:
Straight: 80
Ump: 50
Straight: 102
Wiggler: 42
Straight: 89
Bishops: 54
Straight: 77
Bunga: 52
Froid: 79
Straight: 89
Ushers: 48
Straight: 63
Twickers: 46
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
I made a couple of improvements to the interior over the last week or so.
First up the sill guard things, they looked pretty tatty in their bare plastic from 10 years of shoes and bums scuffing over them.
I'd considered painting them, and also a black 3M wrap but a recommendation came up from a Lotus forum for some cheap faux suede stuff on eBay. It's listed cheap enough that I can re-do this about 12 times for about £20 so I got some ordered, and set to work.
Colour isn't a million miles away from the dash top either, so that was a bit of a result.
I then picked up some new mats, as the old ones were very tatty. Finishes it nicely!
Starting to make the most of trips out now, weather is coming in and I'm still working away during the weeks - so went to pick up some coffee this morning via the scenic route
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
chris_uk
Premium Member
Registered: 8th Jul 03
User status: Offline
|
got a pair of lovely carbon ones at work if your interested
|
Wrighty
Member
Registered: 28th Feb 04
Location: Howden
User status: Offline
|
interior 
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by chris_uk
got a pair of lovely carbon ones at work if your interested
Not keen on carbon crap stuck all over tbh
Would have some carbon seats though 
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Just a quick pic to sum up the progress and usage of this car recently:
Got plans for the winter, but need to get Christmas over with and then I can get some garage time to start tinkering
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Wrighty
Member
Registered: 28th Feb 04
Location: Howden
User status: Offline
|
How much was your charger? i need one for a wet cell normal battery..iv got a ctek for dry cell but dunno if it does the same thing
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Was about £35 from Amazon in their black friday sale last year I think.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
I've been planning the winter tinkering on this car pretty much since I bought it, and made a start this week!
The plan is to refurb pretty much every suspension component on the car. The rear toe-links were done mid-year so they're ticked off, but the wishbones, balljoints and trackrod ends could all use some refreshment. In addition I'm going to respray my rear diffuser black, and generally just replace a load of minging fixtures. The front end of the car is pretty fresh now thanks to that bastard bunny, so time for the rear to catch up.
I'd told myself I would get a few trackdays under my belt before uprating any parts, and I've done that this year. Although the car has still got loads more potential with a better driver, I do feel like stepping up to the sticky tyres has exposed a weakness with the spring rates and damping of the standard bilsteins. During the higher speed stuff on track, the car is rolling a fair bit as weight transfers which unsettles me a bit.
For cataloguing purposes, here are some pictures of the starting off point for this project:
Pretty damn minging, but unfortunately is a standard affair for these cars
...and an external shot for reference ride height:
The plan is as follows:
Remove all wishbones, send off to be cleaned up and powdercoated, then refitted with OEM grade bushes and new balljoints/TREs.
Clean everything else, paint up the uprights, calipers, etc.
Replace standard shock/springs with some aftermarket coilovers.
On the coilover front, I'd been offered some Gaz shocks earlier in the year by the chap who helped me with my geo setup. I turned these down at the time partly because I'd not tracked the car yet, but mainly - I'll be honest, due to brand snobbery.
I associated Gaz suspension with cheap 90's hatchback setups but as I went into winter, I started doing some research. The Gaz Monotube coilovers specifically had some really good write-ups for the Elise, with a fair few racers using them and plenty of positive reviews from road users too. My shortlist was down to the Nitron NTR40s, Quantums and the Gaz Monotubes.
This week a set of Gaz monotubes came up on eBay, they've been refurbed and not used since the refurb - and came up at 1/3rd the cost I would potentially be spending on new Nitrons or Quantums. I took a punt, and from what I've seen so far - happy days!
Adjusters are all nice and free, with a good tactile 'click' on each setting, locking rings are a bit scratched up but no seizing and the threaded body is fine on all units. Even the stickers have been replaced and look brand new!
Today I wanted to have a look at fitting them, just to make sure there were no issues with them rather than leave them in a box for a few weeks/months whilst everything else gets done and THEN find one of them leaks or whatever!
The rears went on pretty damn quickly, already started building up a list of all the crusty fixings I want to replace but the two bolts at each side needed to remove the coilovers came off without drama.
I measured ride height before I started, and it was approx 150mm from the ground both front and back (measured from the jacking points to the floor). I'm aiming for approx 120mm at the front and 130mm at the back, but of course will have it properly corner weighted once everything is done.
For my first attempt, I simply wound up the coilover collars until there was no slack in the unloaded spring, which should be the lowest I can go without helper springs - and that put me at the following rideheight:
That's approximately 125mm from the floor unloaded, and the car is very marginal on not getting beached when leaving the garage I'll wind them up a bit further next time the car is jacked up and will take it from there.
As for the fronts, they wouldn't go on - as the OEM Lotus brackets are too narrow for the Gaz coilovers. I was half-expecting this as the units from new do ship with new brackets, but apparently some cars are fine and others are not - due to the parts-bin nature of the Lotus production line I suppose. I'll get in touch with Gaz on monday and see if I can get some sourced
I'll be sending my wishbones and bits off to Chris/Jon (our very own Chris_UK) @ Jon Seal Sports Cars after Christmas to get them all tidied up. I'll need to move the car around a bit over Christmas so probably not clever to completely dismantle it beforehand!
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
chris_uk
Premium Member
Registered: 8th Jul 03
User status: Offline
|
some i did earlier in the year
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Gaz were able to sort me out some brackets direct, for a nominal fee.
Over the last few days, I also picked up some duralac for my steel-ally meeting points and a new nut and bolt set for the dampers.
Happy days, hopefully get these on over the festive break and then I can get cracking on the proper strip down
Oh, missus got me this as a birthday present too
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Got some time to myself over the last day or so, so I got my coilovers fitted with the new brackets.
Old vs New bracket:
The additional arms you can see on the original bracket is for mounting the ABS unit on the drivers side. I was aware of this, and my next job will be finding a decent way to re-attach to the new bracket. I could cut, drill and bolt/rivet - but it would probably be tidier to just have somebody weld it.
With a splash of duralac, I refitted the new bracket on the passenger side (no ABS to worry about) and got the coilover on. My god those wishbones look nasty...
On the drivers side, the ABS unit supports itself (by the pipes etc) but obviously the damper mounting was for additional support. It did mean that I could get the coilovers on and go for a drive, checking for any dodgy noises etc before getting the bracket welded.
Once on, I torqued up and had a few changes of rideheight. It's still not where I need it, but took the car out for a toddle around the village to check for noises etc.
Ideally the rear will come up about 10mm and the front will drop about 10mm. That'll give me a nice bit of rake, without being too low and catching on speedbumps etc. The suspension was nice and quiet, and I tried the damping settings from extreme to extreme and there was a nice noticeable range of adjustment at slow speed. I settled on a reasonable starting point based on other opinions (9 from hard at the front, and 7 from hard at the rear) and the car felt very similar to OEM in terms of ride comfort.
I need to move the car in and out of the garage a couple more times whilst I get some stuff painted, then I'll start the big strip down and get those wishbones off for some desperate treatment.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Darryl H
Organiser: South Central
Premium Member
Registered: 19th Nov 09
Location: Camberley Drives: Porsche 944
User status: Offline
|
Nice work Kyle, it looks good
|My Corsa|SC|My Instagram|
|
Wrighty
Member
Registered: 28th Feb 04
Location: Howden
User status: Offline
|
|
gavin18787
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Feb 05
Location: Basildon, Essex
User status: Offline
|
Looks good. Will sit spot on once it's adjusted like you plan I am sure
If you need anymore gaz parts or get stuck factory is round the corner from me and pick4d on here has a mate that works there
Drives supercharged Tec with torque 
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Cheers Darryl/Wrighty
Cheers Gav, that's good to know.
There's been some progress over the last week or so, will start with the diffuser I think!
It's been looking a bit battered for a while, burn marks from the exhaust, corrosion from stainless+ally contact and generally just tatty.
I cleaned it up, removed the edging trim and then sprayed on some etch primer:
I'd be using some gloss black caliper paint, because I had some lying around! It should be heat resistant enough around the exhaust and also it's pretty tough - so hopefully will stand up to the odd stone chip.
I'd be complementing this with some brand new stainless fixings:
...and then completed the diffuser with some black edge trim.
Back to the suspension, my next challenge was the ABS bracket mount that was missing from the drivers' side GAZ bracket:
My plan for the weekend was to go dump it with a local fabrication company, but I slept in on Saturday so decided to punish myself by sorting it out myself. The ABS bracket is not really load bearing as such, in fact between the bracket and the ABS pump is just some rubber anti-vibration mounts that are actually glued together... so I'm not aiming for structural strength here, just enough to stop it vibrating and straining the brake lines I suppose.
Out came the dremel, and several hours and many cutting discs later I had what I needed from the original donor mount...
Another hour or so of grinding, filing and more grinding and I had the mount down to a size and shape that would work.
I mock fitted it up, and marked round where I'd be locating the mount ready for drilling:
My drill bits weren't making a scratch on the stainless, so thanks to the wonders of Amazon Prime I got some replacements out for Sunday. Drilled through and temporarily mounted so that I could confirm fitment:
That nut/bolt arrangement will be going, I'm going to finalise with a very Lotus Glue+Rivet combination. For now though, I got the shock back on and had one more rideheight tweak.
When the mount comes off again, I'll glue/rivet it - grind down the edges a bit more to make it look nice then paint it all to make it look slightly less horrific
I then took the car out for what's probably its last drive before the big strip down of the wishbones etc. Only went out for 12-15 miles but it was good to be back in the car! The shocks continue to feel and sound fine, still no nasty surprises so happy days there. I've got my rideheight into the ballpark it needs to be, and my only concern is that the rears are pretty damn close to their limit of adjustability. I've had to wind the rear springs right down which is no doubt limiting how much droop I get when the shock is unloaded.
I still feel like I've got plenty of droop though, not far off the standard billies - so I'm sure this'll be fine.
After the 20min drive, of course I then needed a 60min wash before getting back into the garage!
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
anthcorsa
Member
Registered: 18th May 07
Location: Middlesbrough
User status: Offline
|
That rear diffuser looks a million times nicer black with all new bolts. Top job
|
