Lotus Elan Central

Website · by **theelanman** » Sat 03.11.2007, 20:08

LGM
its looking like £350 max for a PAIR
PM sells em for £355+vat each side
also the lotus bushes come to about £100 per side on their own (thanks to Jamie for that insight......) :shock:

cheers
G

by **tigerdog** » Sat 03.11.2007, 21:14

lotusgirlmarie wrote: After all I am a flight attendant now.

Whuhhh? What airline? Based where? Sounds like fun, Marie! Maybe you'll get to meet a few more Elaners through your travels.

by **router** » Sat 03.11.2007, 21:49

Oh go on then, cheers G

1 ) theelanman
2 ) Mrsdapinky (she can pay for this one )
3 ) rip
4 ) quicksilva
5 ) Tweetdriver63
6 ) DeeAitch
7 ) paulwatkins
8 ) Dico
9 ) Matt RI
10) texas2201 - depending on final price
11) A B Munro
12) Andy_J
13) Davidjt
14) Woody - depending on final price
15) LGM- depending on final price
16) Router

by **lotusgirlmarie** » Sun 04.11.2007, 01:17

I should be able to swing that but not for a few weeks or so 'til I get back to SF. What is the time frame we're looking at?

The bushes.... are you looking at doing a neoprene set? My current A arms are fine, just small tidbits of rust but I would like to upgrade to something I have to worry about less as I may be moving to either SoCal or SLC UT in the not to distant futture.

My goal for the elan is still the same: The most reliable, best handling, reasonably powerful and overall sexiest little beast on the road. Almost there....

On the meeting new elaners... I haven't met anyone new yet. soonish though I hope. I have an overnight in Winnipeg Sunday. No elaners up there that I know of. Oh well

by **Elanlover** » Sun 04.11.2007, 18:43

lotusgirlmarie wrote:I have an overnight in Winnipeg Sunday. No elaners up there that I know of. Oh well

Also known as "Winterpeg". Not much chance of seeing an Elan there. When you come to Toronto let me know and we'll take you out for dinner.

by **GeoffSmith** » Sun 04.11.2007, 20:50

lotusgirlmarie wrote:I have an overnight in Winnipeg Sunday. No elaners up there that I know of. Oh well

Check out Al's LEC map and you'll find the nearest member is in Minneapolis.

Website · by **theelanman** » Mon 05.11.2007, 12:21

right then.....
they were on the stand yesterday and seemed to have caused a bit of a stir...
anyhow...
once the bushes are sorted this run will start (provinding the bush price is the same as the guestinmate I was given...even so I cant see it fluctuating that much if it does)
they'll be half the price of the lotus ones which ever way you look at it
I'll post some pics up in the next couple of days....
this will also give will and clemo time to get their names on the list for however many sets they fancy buying
and having talked to Paul Matty yesterday I can confirm that he is very keen to stock them but is waiting to see what is happening to the lotus ones first
an even bigger and is the fact that Ive been advised to send a set to lotus for them to view, test and see if they want to use....
it is currently outsources by lotus so whoever is making them for lotus has obviously seen an oportunity to rip them off......
we'll soon remidy that.......so they could become the lotus std item too...
cheers
G

:lol:

by **GeoffSmith** » Mon 05.11.2007, 14:08

theelanman wrote:an even bigger and is the fact that Ive been advised to send a set to lotus for them to view, test and see if they want to use....
it is currently outsources by lotus so whoever is making them for lotus has obviously seen an oportunity to rip them off......
we'll soon remidy that.......so they could become the lotus std item too...

Nice one Gareth. Even if they don't take them up, it at least gives them an opportunity to comment and you to ask questions e.g. are there are any critical measurements or tolerances, had they identified any improvements, are they happy with the quality (having seen them, the welding appears to be to a very high standard), could they run some stress analysis models for us, etc.

by **tweetdriver63** » Mon 05.11.2007, 16:39

Very nice. I know you guys have high standards, and I should be confident in the quality of the part you fabricate. (I know you don't want to put anything sub-par on your own cars.) I must admit, though, that a vote of confidence in your work from Lotus, is a measurable addition to my sense of security and confidence that I'm not risking life and limb just to save some money.

It's a unique opportunity to get a car makers approval for an aftermarket upgrade if they aren't getting a cut of the profits. That's probably what they want. Usually they are in competition with the aftermarket. In this case, it's win-win for them. If they get to provide a better product, without having to invest anything into the development, and without having to go out and take bids for production. I think we and Lotus are going to benefit from all your hard work.

Thanks :smt023

by **dapinky** » Mon 05.11.2007, 18:07

Just to get a picture in .........

by **tweetdriver63** » Mon 05.11.2007, 18:35

Looking Good.

:smt023

Dave Bean had the Lotus ones (only a few though, since they don't have that much demand for them) last month when I checked. They are $500/each including bushes for comparison purposes.

by **tweetdriver63** » Mon 05.11.2007, 20:01

One more thing I just thought of. We had some discussion early in the thread about the difference between the 2 1/2 degree and 5 degree chassis. When you take these to Lotus, could you get them to confirm that they are good for both chassis? It only concerns me because there are different part numbers for the wishbones depending on the chassis.

by **DeeAitch** » Mon 05.11.2007, 20:07

Very nice

When do I pay

Demand is sure to be high! I for one would be willing to pay up front if your guy gets nervous about the investment needed.

Will be interesting to see if Lotus are willing to endorse it without some serious evaluation / test work, would you?
Not wishing to influence this by any means, I'm in regardless, but remember, once you ask there will be no going back.

by **Monty** » Mon 05.11.2007, 20:27

IMHO i wouldn`t go down the Lotus route, as these could be a copyright issue + all they`ll do is make a bigger profit. Best to keep it in the LEC community

BTW Gareth, nice piece of work :smt023

by **tweetdriver63** » Mon 05.11.2007, 20:51

Monty wrote:IMHO i wouldn't go down the Lotus route, as these could be a copyright issue + all they'll do is make a bigger profit. Best to keep it in the LEC community

BTW Gareth, nice piece of work

I tend to agree on the copyright thing, since this is a part that is available through Lotus. Why would they just pat us on the back for making a better part that takes away from their sales?

On the other hand, they may like the things enough that they want to make ours official. (I think I read something like that earlier, that Lotus is having some problems with their current supplier.) Copyrights are basically about money, so if they did, they would just want a cut, which would make the price go up some for us.

by **paulwatkins** » Mon 05.11.2007, 21:18

Gareth,
any chance of getting a set BEFORE you send one off to Lotus for 'approval'?

I'll just put it away somewhere safe until either:
a) Lotus approve them
b) said copyright breach issues arise and your man is prevented from manufacturing anymore :shock:

As Dave, cash upfront if your man is nervous about outlay.

:-D

by **lotusgirlmarie** » Tue 06.11.2007, 01:12

good question about the different degree in the rear suspension. Any suggestions as to how this will affect production?

by **Paul.P** » Tue 06.11.2007, 08:00

lotusgirlmarie wrote:good question about the different degree in the rear suspension. Any suggestions as to how this will affect production?

Marie, i'm sure the different degree was nothing to do with lower wishbones, i'm sure i asked the same question to SW Lotus when i purchased some of theres.

by **dapinky** » Tue 06.11.2007, 10:50

Gareth,

I, also, am concerned about a possible 'embargo' being placed on the fabrication by Lotus.

Whilst i would like to think that they would not do such a thing, I'm a cynical (realistic?) old git.

As such, I would rather pay up front and take an 'early' set (like Dave & Paul) before that issue arises.

It would be a bit of a proverbial kick in the teeth for you, your fabricator and LEC if they couldn't be made, as lots of people have invested lots of time in this. At the same time, I can understand the fabricator wanting to maximise his profits (after all, for him it's a business, not a hobby) and if Lotus want to stock them, that could be good for everyone.

Obviously the copyright issue can't be totally insurmountable, otherwise SWL wouldn't have been having the galvanised ones re-made for so long before being shut down.
These SS ones are not a great deal different in idea, and will out-perform the standard ungalvanised Lotus ones, as the SWL ones did.

Marie,

I have been assured by people who should know (Garry Slattery) that the wishbone dimensions were the same, it is only the chassis pick-up points and length of the top arm (with or without a 9.5mm spacer) which make the difference.

The items were given different part numbers so that the wishbones could be 'paired up' with the 'correct' top arms by the monkey who picked the stuff from the shelf in the warehouse.

by **lotusgirlmarie** » Tue 06.11.2007, 13:58

Good little monkey's.....

Fears abated.

Lotus Elan Central

stainless steel rear wishbones

Who is online