Notes from the Elise tech session at LOG27
I attended the Elise/Exige tech session led by Nick Adams at LOG27 in Apsen/Snowmass this past weekend. He didn’t have any material prepared for the event, it was just a huge Q&A session. I couldn’t think of a better way of running that session - the questions were intelligent, insightful, and plentiful (we ended up getting kicked out, the session was going too long). Some memorable ones:
- Nick explained the design details and philosophy of the 2007 bumpers…it’s classic Lotus, they closely reviewed the rules and interpreted them in a creative manner. New part numbers for various items, new descriptions…the clamshells are now ‘bumper skins’ and allowed to be damaged in an impact! Lol. Likewise, the rear panel where the foam bumperettes are located is a license plate holder, and rear impacts will damage that part as well as the bumper skin (clamshell). The rear panel received some additional bracing to help carry the load to the subframe; the front bumper skin (clamshell) received some fiberglass reinforcement to again help carry the load and ensure the crash structure was not damaged at all in a minor impact.
- The biggest reason for the sponginess in the 2005 brake pedal is the pedal linkage, and is something Nick admits was a mistake. Since they wanted to use the aluminum pedals, but needed to revise the linkage, they inserted a steel part in the linkage system (to save cost over using aluminum). Due to mismatched thermal expansion of that and the aluminum bits, they used rubber bushings in the linkage, which give us some sponginess. The 2006+ pedal box is superior (does not have this design), but is in no way retrofittable to the ‘05. When asked if the ‘05 linkage could be redesigned using aluminum parts with solid bushings, he avoided answering directly for obvious liability reasons (no company in their right mind would ever consider selling such a modification to a critical safety system). It seems like it’s something that could be easily engineered and produced for personal use.
- He suggested using a crow’s foot extension when checking the torque of the suspension bolts (many/most cannot be accessed using a simple torque wrench and socket).
- He expects that Lotus will sell a supercharged Elise eventually, it’s an obvious progression yet has no idea when that would happen.
- The button you press to open the doors (from the outside) originates from a trunk release used on another vehicle, this is why there’s no mechanical connection between that lock and the central locking system, there just aren’t provisions for it in that lock.
- The 211 uses a fourth iteration of the Elise chassis (first was S1, second was S2, third was federal Elise, fourth is the Fed Elise with higher side sills). Front upper a-arm is unique to this vehicle, as are the steering tie rods, to restore the suspension geometry (since the car is much lower than an Elise).
- He considers the 2007+ headlight unit to be much better than the ‘05-’06…better optics, it wasn’t just a simple fix to get it to pass the fed requirements. Not retrofittable to earlier cars (though I imagine with some soldering and maybe trimming of the clamshell behind it, it could be done?).
- The roof scoop of the Exige is quite inefficient as the inlet is far back from the windshield header. The GT3’s roof scoop is much better; I think he said the roof will be available in the US at some point? There’s always the Sector111 roof option too, similar front scoop extension that will improve efficiency.
- He didn’t seem to be a big fan of a lower cam change, thought it wouldn’t be best for performance.
- That’s all I can remember right now; I wish I had videotaped the session as it was very informative! A couple questions that did NOT get asked were regarding the clutch disc failures we’ve seen, and hesitation when cornering on a track.