Lotus Elan Central

So I pondered introducing myself in the intro section, but I feel that considering I have some specific reasons for owning my M100, I would start here.

Quick background: I live in MD, USA and picked up my Elan about 2 months ago. The car is pretty cherry and has been a blast to drive. I bought the car looking for an open-top car to autocross. I have been racing for about 5 years in my BMW and was ready to step into something a little more nimble. I had my heard set on a turbo Esprit, but came across the M100 with an incredible pedigree and couldn't pass it up.

The good thing is, the previous owner added Wilwood brakes and Gaz adjustable shocks to a rebuilt suspension with additional ride height adjustment. Other than that, the car is relatively stock.

So I have raced the car at two events now...won my class 3 of 4 days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOs5fHjzVw4

Here's a video of my fastest run at the last event. I was significantly faster this past weekend but I don't have the videos uploaded yet.

So here's where I need your help. There are a few modifications I need to make to the car to take it to the next level. Tires are a given, but a set of wheels and slicks are easy to come by. Body roll is horrid in these cars, rather than shoot directly to stiffer springs is there a set of sway bars out there? The rear is pretty small and the front doesn't seem to cut it...perhaps hollow? Are there any poly bushings available or do I need to have those made? Lastly, any of you running the everest chip set up have anything to say as far as success stories? Oh, and who do I have to sell my soul to for a short-shift kit?

I know that's a ton and a horrid way to introduce myself, but I have 3 weeks off until the next event and this car has the potential to be a force in my autocross series.

Thanks in advance,

Patrick - USA

Patrick, welcome to the best forum on the planet.

There are two short-shift kits out there. One comes from ABMotorsports. You can go to their website and check it out. PM WillB if you want one. He's the rep. The other is made by a member, and is just as good. It approaches the problem from a different direction. PM DeeAitch about his. It's significantly cheaper than the AB, but it may come down to availability. You should be able to find threads about both of them in the Elan Products - For Sale section. You may also find some interesting things in the Upgrades section (link at the top of the page, below the LEC logo) or in the WikiLEC. BTW, does your car have the ABM Gearshift cables upgrade, or do you have the crappy stock cables? If you don't know, remove the intake pipe from the plennum and look at the cables. If they have all metal hardware connecting them to the bracket on the transmission housing, you have the AB cables. If not, that's one of the first things you need to remedy. The stock cables won't hold up long to the rigors of the track.

You'll probably find the consensus is to not mess with the Lotus suspension much, since there's nobody here better than the designers at that, and there are some very knowledgeable engineer types here. There is a rear strut bar. I have one, and it does eliminate some roll. You'll find a thread about it in the Products For Sale area too, and in the Upgrades link above. I believe you'll also find something about poly bushes. I can't recall if it's in the Products section or in the suspension and brakes section.

Wheels aren't as easy as you might think because the car is set up for a +60 offset wheel, but there are several that are within allowable tolerances. They might cost you though.

If you haven't read all the threads about the ESM chips, do it. You'll find all kinds of success stories there. Also, check out lotusgirlmarie's thread "LGM Elan" in the major projects section, and also the one about the SH4RK. Those are a couple of amazing cars. LGM has a turbo upgrade group buy, along with intake pipes upgrade going on right now you might be able to get in on.

I'm playing match-maker.

Try here:

http://lotuselancentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=170430#170430

Hi Patrick,

given the Elan should still be in the open/supercar class, you have done well in your autox days!

while the Elan does well in autoX, I don't think it is best suited for such a small tight course--that's what go karts are for!

in my experience I prefer the Elan in a small racetrack type event--the short straights and tight autox turns just fling the car around and you are just on-and-off the boost in 2nd gear; fun to do but it just doesn't seem like "driving" to me.

anyway, no one has ever done ARBs for the car--you should PM Dave M in MI who has his first Elan done for the track and can give you valuable tips! No poly bushes (yet); you can play with wheels and tires but I'm not sure you will make them much better in the long run.

careful of the snap-oversteer if you brake into a shapr autox turn

ESM mountain chip is a definite, but in the autox you may not see a big difference--on straights and sustained throttle you sure will!

-D

Wow! I am thankful for the quick and very helpful responses. I need to make sure I hit all of the points here.

First, I know that the shift cable have been upgraded. The previous owner mentioned it had been done and I guess I didn't realize just how important that really is. I'm thankful to the fellow who is playing matchmaker, and I have already responded in hopes that I can snag that short shift kit.

For suspension changes, I am reluctant to do so but I am going to add stiffer springs due to the lack of anti-roll bars for the car. Poly bushings really won't make that much of a difference, so I feel it's better to spend the money elsewhere. My Gaz shocks in the front are quite possible blown so I will need to replace them. I have 35 clicks of adjustment on the driver's side and 3 on the passenger side. Perhaps just a faulty adjustment...still need to dig into that a bit.

As far as wheels go, I have a few companies I have dealt with in the past in making custom applications for some of the other "odd" cars that I have owned. (Keep in mind for the folks not in the US that "odd" to me is probably common to you) I restored a Citroen CX GTi a few years back and had the folks at Team Dynamics make the wheels for me. They are a great bunch to deal with and the Pro-Race 1 wheel would be a great addition. Stepping outside of the 60mm offset may be a little scary to some, but I have spent a little time researching what will work and wouldn't mind filling out those beautiful flares with a little more wheel and tire. I am planning on running a 225/50/16 Dunlop Star Spec tire, which I have had some great experience with this past season on a few different cars.

You are correct in saying that the Elan is thrust into the Supercar class for my autocross events (hence my signature!). We call it ASP which includes Ferrari, all Lotus, Vipers, Porsche 911s and 951s as well as other extremely capable cars. You are also right in saying that the Elan is not the best choice for autocross. However, that is exactly what I was told when I bought the car and that is exactly why I plan to use it. I can't stand seeing myself coming and going .
I have been racing for 5 years and plan on getting into road racing eventually, hence the need for the ECU remap.

Your assistance thus far is invaluable! I am really excited to be a part of this forum and can't wait to see what all I can learn from you all! The Elan and I have a long road ahead with a plan (especially forced by my significant other) to hit a Gumball and the One-lap of America. One step at a time though, and once the parts start coming in I will be sure to start my own project thread.

Thank you again, and please keep the comments coming. Feel free to search my youtube videos, as there is footage from most of my runs from last event. I should throw up last weekends videos later this week.

Sorry for the long messages! That's a little crazy!

Have you got any videos from inside the car? I saw some from somebody else a while back using a removable bracket he'd fashioned that attached to the tuneau cover between the headrests. It is a remarkable view, and you'd probably find it works very well for you to review your own performances and see where you might be making little errors.

My best friend from high school (still my best friend, really), lives in Lexington KY and is big into autocross. He drives a Nissan 200sx, which is a scorcher. Last time I was there, we watched a bunch of his vids, which he records using a permanently mounted bracket on the passenger side dash. He said that while watching videos from a couple of his runs the first day of one event, even his wife pointed something out to him that he hadn't noticed, and it made a noticable improvement in his times the next day. Just a thought.

Hey, any new M100 track or autocross vids are always a good thing.

I don't know if you'd be interested, but check out this thread. It's something of a pipe dream right now, but I'd really like to do it if there's enough interest from other Eastern US Elaners.

I ordered a sticky pod to attach to the tonneu cover, which should give me about the same view for in-car shots. I had a mount in my BMW that was attached to the driver's headrest and worked well, so I think that we'll see the same results with the pod setup. The next event is in September, so I'll be sure to post up some in-car then.

If your friend is autocrossing in KY, then I may have ran with him in some of the Southern WV events. I have only ran a few in Charleston, but I recall a scary quick 200 there.

The get together sounds great. I am most excited about owning the Lotus because the previous owner told me how tight knit the owners are. I would love to get together with some fellow Elan owners and talk shop. My father ran the tail of the dragon earlier this summer with his 928 club, so perhaps next year we can work something like that out as well.

I'll have to check the dates to be sure, but I would love to hit up the drive.

He's the Assistant Regional Exec for the Central Kentucky region. I'm sure he's been to just about everywhere near there at some point.