Newbie question

[Andy wright]

Thanks, Do the LE pro obscure the rear vision because of the breadth caused by the harness slots ? 

[Andy wright]

I rang Corbeau who were extremely helpful, sending me images of the LE pro installed in several lotus ( Loti?)  And in the meantime, as Inhad an hour spare I thought I would properly investigate the boot and its contents.. Full car cover, the soft top and both a battery charger and an engine pre - heater installed Quite handy. What was not quite so handy was the disaster called the outer rear lights. One was held in place by one stud, the other had its indicator bulb held roughly in place with tape as the hosing was broken. More joy. Much faffing about with bits of stud, bits of aluminium , files drills and araldite later and lighting goodness is restored. My first thought was a trip to eBay to get some replacements .( I know, I have a lot to learn). At the point that I found one LHS outer for £125 I thought the problem was solved until I read the advert more carefully as it said ‘ removed from car as some leds are not working ‘ Hey ho 

[DeanB]

On 18/11/2024 at 20:27, Andy wright said:

And whilst the seat quest is paused pending a visit to GSM next week, I thought I would have a go at sorting the rather dull and grubby engine cover vents . I thought they were held on by just two screws each , which of course they are. What I had  not spotted was  the double sided tape that Lotus had used in addition to the screws. The black vents were stuck to the cover like chewing gum to the cat. Which means that the engine cover had to come off. And it did. Anyway, vents removed , cleaned , given a dose of Gtechnic G4 trim restorer, engine cover cleaned to within an inch of its life, and the hinge bolts replaced with stainless steel studs ( the engine cover will come off again in the future , more than once ) So a simple, almost trivial 30min job took nearly 4 hours. And is the car any faster ? Nope. Is it any lighter ? Nope . But I can rest in my bed tonight secure in the knowledge that I have a really clean engine cover. 

Nice one Andy!  You're in a safe space here on MLOC. We understand 😊😁

[Andy wright]

On 18/11/2024 at 20:16, Andy wright said:

Thank you for your very helpful reply. Your Corbeau seats look really nice and your comments about the relative comfort extremely valuable. As for £1200 for a pair of cream seats , people do need to get real . I know I am new to Lotus stuff, but I have been around cars for 50 years, and have for the first time encountered the Lotus parts Tax. I used to own a Lancia Integrale Evo,: they had the Lancia parts tax but it was not in the same league . 

I heard back directly from Corbeau today and, as a consequence , have decided to take the plunge on a pair of LE pro seats . Which means that I have a pair of Lotus ‘Probax’ seats in cream with matching door cards that will end up on eBay in the near future . 

[hartleyj]

Hi Andy and welcome to MLOC. I'm just down the road in Matlock. We often go out for a drive in your direction and I'm sure we'll meet before long. I'm on my second elise now - they are very addictive. I've not had to deal with a seat issue so I can't help you there and it sounds like you are well down the path anyway. This is a great place for help and ideas, there's also SELOC for a wider audience (although that's pretty full of southerners!).

Enjoy, and look forward to meeting sometime.

Hartley

 

[Andy wright]

Thanks. Likewise. It will be great to meet up , but perhaps not quite today! Had a look on SELOC . Lots of information , likewise with Lotustalk and I have both volumes of the ‘Manual Central’ which is very handy, so overall no shortage of useful information . It’s making upgrades that will get more tricky. I need to rebuild the suspension over the next few months. In itself, not a problem but I need to replace the dampers and springs. Spoilt for choice but which is the best option ? A few opinions around to say the least . My experience with other cars is that with damping/ coilovers , the bottom end of the market is pretty woeful. Really high quality stuff like Ohlins or Moton or Penske are stunningly good and stunningly expensive. Which leaves the middle ground. Ho hum. 

[Oakman]

"I need to replace the dampers and springs. Spoilt for choice but which is the best option ? A few opinions around to say the least . My experience with other cars is that with damping/ coilovers , the bottom end of the market is pretty woeful. "

Quoting your reply here Andy. I can only concur with your observation of the lower priced stuff !  Nearly always worse than originals, especially relating to Lotus. 

My low mileage S1 came with Gaz Coilovers on, it was awful.  The car was set too low, might have looked good but less suspension travel. Even after it was raised and turned back to the softest settings it wasn't at all nice.  On all but super smooth surfaces (we have so many of those don't we) it crashed and banged everywhere, sending shocks right through the tub and regularly bottoming out the rear. 

I waited for the factory Bilstein S2 for S1 Elise suspension to be available, factory modified S2 Elise set up, re-valved for the lighter S1, so glad I did.  The car flows as a Lotus should with great compliance on poorer roads.  For my road driving use they are perfect.  In my experience if a car is too stiffly set up you actually loose performance / progress on very bumpy or uneven roads due the harshness off the ride - a classic Elan is magnificent over such terrain. 

It all depends on what you want for your car, if it's just road driving, or what is termed fast road to track day capability.  No doubt there will be other members recommend whichever of the higher end set ups from Ohlins, Nitron etc  You probably also know that the cost doesn't stop at the purchase with such set ups, they have to be serviced after so many miles/ years. My Evora has Ohlins TX which were recently serviced at the 10.000 mile recommendation, they did require some replacement valves.

 I've been out with Dean B in his S2 (a very well sorted car) and his has a track day biased set up which is very compliant.  I'd say try to get a drive or at least passenger ride in cars with the alternative options fitted.

Edited November 23, 2024 by Oakman

[Andy wright]

Thank you. That is a really helpful reply. Much appreciated

[Andy wright]

Oh. Just one question. Were your GAz dampers the GAZ GHA or the GAZ gold. If there were the former, then I agree. I put a set on a Peugeot 205 with an Mi16 2.3 litre engine and c/r box and put them in the bin 3 weeks later They were utterly woeful. However, I understand that the GAZ gold dampers are much, much better . 

[Oakman]

GAZ Gold - previous owner was talked into having them as his Konis were knocking, as they do. My car had 26,000 miles on it, the GAZ had done no more than 1500 miles. 
 

They were ok on smooth roads, awful everywhere else. Dreaded hitting a grid or or drain cover.  The factory Bilsteins & springs are dramatically better. 

[Andy wright]

Right. Thank you. One off the list . Almost anything is ok on smooth roads . The real test is on uneven and/or broken surfaces when compliance is critical. Oh, bushes, as I have to replace mine. O.e. or poly ? 

[Oakman]

No experience of poly bushes fitted to a Lotus.  
 

Had them on a VR6 Corrado front end, certainly ‘tightened’ it up.  I’ve just had some fitted on my Transporter T5 van due to worn out originals - however it’s a remapped 2.5 Litre diesel with a lot of torque.  Plus they go through arb drop links regularly. 
 

Again I would imagine it should primarily depend on your expected usage.  If it’s going to be predominantly road use and an odd track day and given that Lotus reputation for suspension engineering on its own cars and other motor industry clients, I’d stick with originals.  Rubber bushing is used for road cars to aid compliance and to reduce harshness.  That is the essence of a Lotus sports car, superlative handling, road feel and ride quality. 
 

From reading many posts on all manner of other makes of sporting cars, it does appear that if you engineer out the manufacturers suspension set ups you create a vehicle that is much less tolerant nearer to its limits - IE they let go suddenly not progressively.   Again maybe ok for a track car being pushed to its limits, don’t want that on the road. 
 

S1 Elise gained a reputation for being twitchy and letting go when pushed too far or the driver backed off suddenly,  which the S2 set up sought to improve. 

For a track day or racer maybe PU is preferred. 
 

Again Dean B is your man, he has raced single seaters and has all round tuned his S2 K series car to be ‘fast road’ spec.  I’m sure he will have the knowledge to best advise. 
 

Cheers

Paul 
 

[Andy wright]

Thank you. Another very helpful and detailed reply. I have not started shopping yet, and I would quite like to ‘buy right and buy once ‘ 

[DeanB]

Andy when I had my suspension rebuilt for fast road and trackday use I specced OE rubber bushes. There is no need to go stiffer, it certainly wouldn't be worth the extra NVH.

I would recommend Nitron NTR shocks but have Nitron supply them with softer springs than the ones they normally supply if you are doing only/mostly road miles - the ones I have are too stiff for bumpy roads. They are a great quality damper though and Nitron are very helpful.

[Andy wright]

On 20/11/2024 at 17:10, Andy wright said:

I heard back directly from Corbeau today and, as a consequence , have decided to take the plunge on a pair of LE pro seats . Which means that I have a pair of Lotus ‘Probax’ seats in cream with matching door cards that will end up on eBay in the near future . 

Went very quickly via Facebook.