Showing posts with label Lotus Elise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lotus Elise. Show all posts

Tuesday, 27 January 2009

(27th Jan) Suspension refresh

Depending on how you want to view it, i either....
a) lost 2 days of my life stuck under a car at the weekend or,
b) gained a valuable insight into the working of an S1 elise suspension.
Whilst I'm sure Mrs R would vouch for option "a)", I very much view last weekend as option "b"...
Objective of weekend: Refresh all x8 balljoints (x2 per corner)
..and the result was..... Objective achieved (it only took 19 hours......)

Firstly,i'd just like to say a big thanks so Steve (otherwise known as BRR Chief Technical Officer) - pictured -

...and also to Ben - also pictured - (otherwise known as "Technical Support")













......without whom this would not have been possible (oscar speech!)

Anyway, the day started off fairly early, having got the car up on axle stands the previous evening ( no mean feat in itself) we set about dismantling the OSR suspension.
....very quickly the rear of the car became a workshop bench/tool assembly/general crap area....
Every balljoint had a unique character. They were all old, narly, and very stubborn. This is a pic of the OSR (which now sends shivers down my spine)
And..
Lower balljoint removed.
- Brand new set of M10 12.9 grade plinth bolts
http://images45.fotki.com/v1440/photos/4/42222/7117476/P1000642-vi.jpg
- Lower balljoint installed - all greased up and ready to rock and roll...

The actual balljoint removal didn;t take long - it was the reassembly of the suspension which was the most time consuming part. The first corner took us from c10 through to 4pm. The second rear corner took 3 hours.
Pic below is the high-tec strucural engineering I implemented in order to get enough downward pressure on the upper balljoint to screw on the nylock nut and tighten to 45nm (this took me over one hour, i kid ye not)
Little did we know that what knowledge we gained from the rear suspension was to be effectively neutered when we started on the front end of the car (on sunday) - as you can see from the pics below, the lower balljoint is mounted to a rectangual plinth - of which the bolts are nigh-on impossible to remove due to the angle of the plinth - as soon as they get half out, the lower wishbone is in the way - and it is this plinth which was the architect of the death of toelink removal tool #1.
A quick trip to halfords, some WD40, muchos "persuading" with a hammer, and the plinth came off with a gunshot of a crack and we started moving forwards again.
http://images47.fotki.com/v1403/photos/4/42222/7117476/P1000644-vi.jpg
New lower balljoint installed...
The old nut thing again....as we discovered the solution was to mount the nute BEFORE attaching the plinth....
Normally, this type of picture would mean nothing to me. However, this is the sight of a finished OSF suspension corner - which signified the end of the work for the weekend - at approx 7pm on sunday evening.
I am guessing it's these long dark days which make the long sunny days, getting ready to line up on the grid, all the more sweet.

As I tidied up the tools at the end of the day, stuck the battery on trickle charge and turned off the lights, I can;t describe how rewarding it is to have completed this little task - I can only benchmark it against what someone must feel after building a small boat, a big chest of drawers or finishing a sizeable garden landscape.

Steve - thank you so much. Thank you also to your "wahf" for letting you out to play for 2 days when she's a mere matter of weeks away from childbirth. The words "hhhhah faaahv" and the Kings of Leon will forever take on a new meaning.


Next steps:
- Decide on roll cage
- Fix driveshaft oil seal, gearbox mount, fit an oil cooler and remote thermostat, fix the front indicator light.
- Find out whether my HANS device works with the present seat.
And finally....

There i was on Sunday night, winding down for the evening at 10pm. Started to write a blog post and then - bam - an email comes in from Paul Golding - who runs the Lotus Elise Trophy.

Entries are open for the year online.
All the talking now stops.
I have to make decisions now on what races to enter as some of the grids are already locked out, with reserve lists building up every hour.
So, at 2am I have booked:
My first race: Snetterton in June.
Then:
Brands Hatch GP - racing on the same card as WTCC and the new F2 championship (eek)
Donington - August
Cadwell - September
Silverstone - October
I was undecided about Brands GP. Of course I want to race there, but the GP circuit is difficult to get access to by way of trackdays to learn the place. Being on the WTCC card means being in the plebs paddock - ergo awnings and other stuff is required (more faff basically) which can be a distraction so early on in the whole race experience thing. As I goto bed I find myself already thinking of the storage boxes I'll need for an "outside" paddock......


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Monday, 26 January 2009

Introduction: This is where it all started




Trackdays: Does this story sound familiar to you? Me, I started doing them c8 years ago. I've owned several "steeds", from a high-powered Audi (stylist) Evo (meathead) to a VXR220 turbo (which ntroduced me to the benefits of "lightness". Each car has respectively hoovered up my my quarterly bonus (with some disdain) since the millennium; new turbo’s, chargecoolers, intercoolers, remaps, brakes, dampers and endless amounts of tyres and brake pads.....the list is endless for all of us I would expect.


And what do I have to show for it? Well, some great memories of course, from european trips to circuits such as Spa and the Nurburgring, to mainland UK skirmishes at the usual suspects like Cadwell and Silverstone; aside from that, just a few CD's with pictures on of me "going fast". I've found that none of my friends are interested in these pictures (strangely enough) and especially not my wife.


So what next? Keep trying to go faster?

Nope, not for me. Need a different return for my hard-earned cash. It’s time to go racing! This is my story of buying a donor car, building it and prepping it for racing, and all of the excitement, anxiety (frankly I am already bricking myself just typing this introduction), and hopefully reward that comes with my first year in motorsport.


4th January 2009: Getting on the grid seems a long long way away. Here’s what’s happened so far:

What series have I chosen?

The UK Elise Trophy. For a number of reasons: It’s a very well run. There are x2 classes of car: Modified (up to 250bhp at the hubs) and “Production” I’ll be racing in the Production series. The cars are allowed medications such as adjustable suspension but brakes, exhausts and other items are regulated. The engine cannot exceed 151bhp at the hubs (c170bhp at the flywheel) and the minimum weight of the car is 740 KG’s (825KG min weight including driver). 170bhp doesn’t sound much but that works out at 229bhp per tonne. That’s more than an STi Impreza, so whilst it’s the slowest class on the grid, we’ll not exactly be hanging about. Grids are swollen: typically 35-40 cars every race and the series is televised on Motors TV. The second reason is the value proposition of each race meet – i hold no interest in turning up at a random series and not knowing anybody. Part of racing is all about choosing your competitors: go racing in the Clio Trophy for example, and you’ll be trading paint with Jason Plato-wannabe’s on massive budgets. If they write off your car in a “racing incident” then you have to foot the bill. Whilst this is obviously a risk in any form of motorsport, the production class of the Elise Trophy is largely made up drivers who want to see their car in one piece at the end of the race: overtaking is assertive but not aggressive. Also, I’ve done trackdays with the Lotus-on-Track club for the last 3 years – many of the drivers on the grid have progressed from trackdays to racing – so there is an element of value from being part of a similar community, if in the least having a beer after the race!


What have I done so far?

a) ARDS test: secured at a very VERY slippery and cold Silverstone in early December. Only 13 of the x20 attendees actually passed – and there was me (foolishly) thinking it would be relatively easy.

b) Applied and received my MSA Motorsport licence (Novice Competition “B” licence). To progress to “A” you need x6 race finishes under your belt, and then you can go racing in Europe.

c) Registered for the 2009 Elise Trophy here:


d) Sold my present car (VX 220) hopefully the deal gets done in the next 7 days so I can go hunting for the race donor car: ideally this will be an Elise 111s. The 111s is the favoured option as it has a closer ratio gearbox and whilst the VVC engine is a little trickier to tune, it’s a great starting point at 143bhp. So....that’s it for now. I’ll post my next entry as soon as the car is sold and I have the donor car (and of course pics to follow)






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