Castger shims

[madbilly]

Hi all,

I noticed that my car doesn't have 8 caster shims on each side on the front suspension, it's only got 6! Are there two possibilities, or has my car somehow lost 2 on each side along the way?

In terms of replacing them, £5 each looks a bit steep but of course I'll be supporting our parts supply chain which is definitely getting thinner as time goes on. Alternatively, laser cut sheet stainless looks reasonably priced in comparison based on some quick quotes I did, which is a surprise! So, if I do this, is anyone else interested? I'm hesitant to start a group buy as I don't particularly want to delay this purchase, but could be persuaded. I quite like exploring this as an easy way to learn about getting bespoke parts fabricated.

Or, has someone already done this in the past and the LEC parts shop (Geoff's garage?!) has some shims in stock for a reasonable contribution?

In the meantime, I'm thinking of just making up some shapes from 1mm thick plastic I'm sure I can find lying around - don't worry, I'll measure with a micrometer.

However, what would be wrong with using plastic longer-term? There's no strength needed. Heck, we could even 3D print them! My concern would be deterioration from chemical contamination from the roads over time, but since the car doesn't see the road that much any more this shoudn't be much of a risk.

Thoughts?
Cheers

[dapinky]

Billy - don't waste time making some from plastic... I have made some from Aluminium and they deformed when I tightened up the bolts, so plastic doesn't fill me with confidence!

Anyway, to address all your questions, I did a couple of group buys many years ago to get laser-cut (or maybe water-cut, I can't remember now) ones from 1mm stainless. It may even have been 0.9mm stainless, so 9 per side required - it was all too long ago to recall).

At that time there was a 'minimum' order quantity of a couple of hundred units, and I ended up ordering many more than the minimum as people wanted them. All were sold at the time, and it is unlikely that there are any sets lying around - I think even Geoff fitted his!

The good news is that you are likely to find that although a minimum order may look daunting, I'm fairly sure that you'll get enough people interested (hey, I'll take a set for my current project if it helps).

The even better news is that the files needed by the cutting companies are in the 'Manuals' portion of my website, so feel free to download the file to send to people for a quote if you wish to.

It is not uncommon for the odd shim to get lost over the years, but that said, although the 'book of words' says that there should be 8 per side, I have seen many cars (including my current one) that have only 6 per side - so maybe it was something that left the factory on purpose, or maybe someone didn't have enough on the shelf on the day, or whatever - who knows.

For now (as I also don't want to pay £20 for 4 to make up the numbers!) I have used some 2mm steel plate which I have cut to the same elongated oval as the originals (using an angle grinder), but without the 2 cut-outs. I then just drilled 2 x 10mm holes in the right places to fit the spacer between the front wishbone and the balljoint. It took me about 5 minutes to make each one, and as there will never be a case where I can't get the right adjustment with them fitted, I see it as good enough for now.

[madbilly]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the helpful advice. My Dad (whose shed it's currently in!) decided to just make up some new shims, which if one has the tools and materials certainly seems like the most cost-effective way.
Cheers

[lotusflasherman]

Way back in the 20th Century, and before LEC existed, there was a US based M100 forum that listed 'alternative parts', mainly for US based owners. (Lotus parts were considered expensive and took a long time to arrive.) One of these items was a top ball joint - it had the correct taper pin dimensions and hole centres in the top casting but that casting was slightly longer between wishbone halves. It could be used if some of the castor shims were dispensed with but obviously with reduced castor adjustment available. (Grinding off the surplus was also discussed.)

Might just be worth checking you have not got a rogue "big block ball joint" and they were deliberately left out.

[madbilly]

Hi Phil,
Well, it is possible I've got aftermarket ball joints but unlikely, because both sides are the same and I bought one new from a Lotus dealer in France a few years ago (when I was there). Good info to know though - is it in the wiki?
Cheers

[Tuga2112]

i found myself in the same position wiht my yellow car a year ago.

i have a few sheets of .9mm zintex in my case i just cut the sheet metal to match the shape of the existing casters. the fella that adjuster the geometry had a full belly laugh when he spotted them. but the end result was geometry properly alligned