No, in terms of an alternate fix for manual shifting on track other than the 2-Eleven 
I did explore the E153 at length when I had my Exige. It is bulletproof, and does fit somewhat well - but it’s just an awful box to pair up to a 2ZZ I think.
The 5 speed ratios just don’t suit the 8500rpm limit, I think the only way to get it feel anywhere near cohesive is to slap a massive turbo on and have it work with that power delivery.
… hmmm, massive turbo you say
Take apart your laminova, as you can get repair kits - seals and stuff. When you take it apart, you will see why it would never be clean with just flushing.
Thanks for keeping up the posts. Really enjoying 
I should update the 340R thread!
Turns out that this wasn’t a terrible suggestion, thanks John!
Rebuild kit was inexpensive and a doddle to do, well worth doing.
The electric oil pump was less serviceable, so had to stick my hand in my pockets to replace that to be on the safe side.
In all likelihood it would be “fine”, but there was a fair bit of scoring on the walls of the gear housing, so efficiency would certainly be down. Will keep hold of it because every now and then I come across a requirement to move large quantities of liquid from one place to another… might come in handy!
Perhaps pessimistic, but I’d like to protect the re-investment this time by fitting a pre-filter to the pump. Mocal recommend a 240 micron filter, and so have bought this with the new pump.
Packaging may be a bit of a challenge because it’s much bigger than I expected, so once gearbox is back in I’ll play with some layouts and see where it can fit.
I suppose it does beg the question of why should I refit the cooler? It was fitted in the hope that keeping gearbox temps in check would prevent failures and it’s clearly not worked. After further thought on it though, I am happy to keep the cooler on, under the basis that it DOES lower temps on track considerably and some of the side benefits you get such as persistent shift quality and perhaps better synchro wear etc are still worth having the pump on. Also found niche benefit from having it on during sprint events too, in which you can use it to actually pre-heat the gearbox from the engine coolant temp when you have 45-50mins of downtime then a quick 70 second sprint.
Aside from cooler stuff, I got to work prepping the engine side ready for reinstall.
I’ve had a rear main seal in stock for a while, because of the three 2ZZ cars I’ve had in this state before - 2 of them had early signs of weeping. This one however was bone dry and clean, I debated internally about swapping it anyway but in the end bottled it. It’s not hard to fit, but I would be rather annoyed with myself if I cocked it slightly and ended up introducing a weep that would not be identified until the car was back together… So seal can go back into storage, for now.
Flywheel on with ARP bolts.
Followed by the Competition Clutch.
Just a waiting game now to get the box(es) back. I’m away the next couple of weekends so it’ll very much be an evenings job to rebuild the car before Croft. I’ll also have no chance of getting the 500 recommended “running in” miles on the clutch so we’ll see how that goes.
Eeeee. Quite behind on updates!
Datum completed my gearbox rebuild on time as promised, and conveniently I was due to land at Heathrow the very next day so was able to collect the box and the unmolested spare on the way home.
Along with the boxes, I was handed a pile of old gears and a handful of photos:
Crack testing the survivors:
So as a reminder, the original box is now rebuilt with:
-Quaife LSD
Box was also cleaned up nicely, so had an enjoyable few mins bolting all of my bits back on such as aftermarket linkage, clutch fork/bearing, various mounts, etc.
Note the two studs coming out just below my hand. They’re normally bolt holes , as with the two larger studs further down. I convert these to studs because the threads are delicate as arse, and also quite awkward to refit when the box is in situ. Studs makes it a load easier/safer… remember this bit though.
While the gearbox was away, I also ticked another job off which was to extend the isolated positive post from the engine bay into the battery box. This post is taken from the cut-off switch, so anything fed by it is isolated when the cut off switch is removed.
My new ABS had been draining my lightweight battery because it was fed directly from the battery. By doing this, that allows me to have that isolated too when the cut-off is removed.
Was just a case of adding a battery lead to this:
And adding another identical box into the battery box inside the car.
With all that done it’s time to refit the box. Had a weekend away coming up so Jamie popped round to help me hoof it back in. Across my own cars and others that I’ve helped on, this should have been my 5th(?) refit of a gearbox into a Lotus and it was by far the most difficult. It fought us every step of the way, presumably because the engine had twisted slightly on its single mount and wooden support.
After about 45mins of hoofing, shoving and swearing it went in. I threaded a few bolts on and then vanished for the weekend.
Upon my return, I now had a week of weeknights and a weekend to finish the job before my next trackday at Croft. Plan was to just add a piece whenever I walked past the garage and it would just come to life gradually. First lunch break of the first day, I went to add the forward engine mount onto my aforementioned studs.
One of them just span, and span, and span. Despite loctiting them in - one of the studs was just freely spinning. Yikes.
Unfortunately that means box back out again…
…and sure enough, almost no threads in one of the holes - barely half a thread at the bottom which my stud had desperately hung onto when I hand-wound it into the casing. My own stupid fault, it clearly came out weeks ago when I first removed the box and didn’t visually check the threads before adding the studs. Doh.
As this is not virgin turf for me, I had a leftover kit of helicoils in this size so the turnaround wasn’t anticipated to be long… but I’d need to rope Jamie back in for another box refit.
Got drilling:
and tapping:
I had three helicoils left in my kit. Easy, I was riding a wave of helicoil confidence after fixing a fishing platform for my dad a week or two previous which involved about 16 M8 coils.
All three failed 
Not sure what it was, but they just kept skipping threads. I managed to get one in properly, but then when I punched off the tang - it pulled a coil or two out of their home threads. Very, very annoying and would add another precious day of delay whilst ordering another kit.
The following day, Mr Amazon delivered a new kit and the tap on it was visually sharper. It felt like it was cutting a slightly deeper thread and was a joy to twist in by hand. I was feeling confident, perhaps my old tap was just past it’s best.
I’d also actually followed the instructions on the coil set this time too, and adjusted a little collar down the tool to apply downward pressure into the coil as it wound in.
First coil, straight in. That’s better.
I did consider removing the other stud and proactively coiling that but at this point I didn’t want to push my luck… I tried several times to torque the nuts down and both held nice and solid.
Jamie appeared again and the box went back in. Still wasn’t straight forward, but much quicker than pre-weekend. Jamie also stuck around and helped me make some leaps in progress to get caught back up including stuff like starter motor, all the engine mounts, slave cylinder, etc. Was now back on track, but still would be tight as I was being whisked away with work for a day.
What followed was a couple of late nights just cobbling together suspension, driveshafts, exhausts, etc. No particular drama, other than wasting a load of time on the brake calipers. Muscle memory still routing the hose for their original location, then realising I needed to take half of the upright apart again to thread the caliper back round to it’s new position at the front side of the disc.
Plumbing in my gearbox oil cooler was a bit messy trying to make room for the new (rather large) in-line filter with the bits of AN-8 hosing and fixtures that I had lying around. It all needs to come apart and be done properly, but this will work for now.
Did a fluids service:
…and topped coolant back up and bled.
Running the car up for the first time was nerve wracking, readers of my Exige thread may remember getting this far before and then discovering that the Competition Clutch pressure plate was faulty and my clutch wouldn’t disengage. Luckily this one worked a treat.
Things were getting close now, I made a small software change to the ECU to reflect the addition of the differential. This is a strategy change to the TC to tell it to pay attention to the slowest wheel rather than the fastest wheel in effect.
All was left at this point was a road test… but no MOT. I’m fortunate enough to live right next to a private lane (and yes, it really is private) where I keep my trailer, so was able to at least select a couple of gears and demonstrate it was there or therabouts. Then I washed it, and put it straight in the trailer!
First proper mileage would be the sighting laps at Croft!
Great update
Fab work
Wish you a great day and lots of enjoyment!
Qiestion re tires and brakepads - when you have changed to different /softer tires in the past have you noticed a difference in braking efficiency?
I recently changed from 888 GG’s to new avon zzr’s and I feel my XP8 brake pads are now struggling to stop the car as hard as they could stop the 888s. Bleeding and new fluid has not changed this impression. I feel like changing to CL pads for the first time ever.
Honestly? No.
It stands to reason that changing a tyre compound for one particularly more or less grippy than the last will impact braking performance but I wouldn’t expect to see a drop-off going from 888’s to ZZR.
I’ve run XP8 before, and I’m a big fan of them - but they do take a bit of heat to get the best out of them.
Woo! Croft day.
As I said previously car had basically zero miles on it since the box, clutch, flywheel and new diff went on so I was a little nervous. Not really nervous about the box, but more that I’d neglected something silly on the rebuild and I’d be faced with a leak, or worse.
Only issue to note on the sighting laps was the idle in the pitlane. It was lumpy as hell, to the point I could barely see through the vibrations. It smoothed out fine once driving, but the idle was unbearable. I could hear/feel that the ignition advance was hunting up and down to try and meet target.
On return the pits I whipped the laptop out, threw a bit more air and fuel at the car to relax the ignition correction a bit and it smoothed out a treat. It probably needs a bit more tuning at various temps, but it was infinitely better to get through the rest of the day.
I can only assume that the lightweight flywheel is to blame, just changing that inertia a bit was enough to put the delicate idle tune out of bounds. Just another lesson on how well the OEM’s do to make such adaptable ECU maps on their cars.
Weather was looking stonking, which seems to be a rarity this year.
Headed out for the first session feeling pretty apprehensive, steady away - eyes on gauges and glaring at the mirrors like a hawk looking out for plumes of smoke etc, but no such drama.
I’ll be honest in saying that I was tentative for about a lap and a half, then I just got on with it. What will be will be, and all that. Car was feeling good. The Differential immediately noticeable when powering out of slow/medium speed corners.
As I ramped the speed up a bit going into the second session, I started feeling the rear of the car was a bit loose on entry to a couple of corners which I’ve put down to maybe the rear toe potentially needing a tweak after refitting the gearbox.
On the second(?) session I found myself behind Steve in his spectacular 430 Cup Exige and we found a nice rhythm for a few laps. I think we’d both admit to still being a bit scruffy so early in the day but the cars had a good contrast to each other over a lap both demonstrated very different ways to tackle Croft.
Lotus 2-Eleven and Exige 430 Cup at Croft Circuit (youtube.com)
Between fillups, oil checks and regular engine bay inspections I lapped around without incident up to lunchtime.
The A052 tyres were yielding lots of grip, but the only repeatable flaw in the car was the lack of turn-in grip at the rear. A few times in the final hairpin and the first Hawthorne section the car caught me out a bit. The occasional LSD induced slide out of the hairpin was fun on the power though!
When the rear did settle and I could really attack Hawthorne, the tyres did their bit… well, three of them did.
The afternoon continued nicely, it had cooled down noticeably with a bit of cloud cover which made the early afternoon feel genuinely a bit slower, but after ramping the tyres back up we were soon back on form.
Mid-late afternoon I gave Jamie (custodian of my old Exige) the keys and he took the 2-Eleven out for some laps.
I think he enjoyed it, and it’s good to share the experience occasionally.
I enjoy still having close contact with my old Exige, it was a fantastic car and its great to see it still out there getting a battering.
I didn’t fancy having a go though… ex’s n’ all that. Plus I really don’t have the energy for another gearbox swap this month.
I did spend some mental capacity working on some driving technique bits, but the day was largely about getting confident with the car again. I was quite surprised to learn just how much quicker the car went compared to last year. My trip here last year was immediately after Spa where I was still frantically trying to find a balanced brake setup. The differences were stark, adding to the brake/ABS improvements of course the A052 surely adding considerable speed.
I really tried had to add some commitment through the JC esses. I could conclude only that if I did the first bit flat, the second bit needed a massive lift, or I could do a massive lift for the first bit and do the second bit flat - but eventually settled on some nice balanced throttle all the way through. I’m sure this car will do the full thing flat, but I’m still a knacker short of a pair I fear!
Sunny in/out was immense fun, and felt like I was loads faster here both compared to my previous visits but also it was the most notable difference between the 2-Eleven and the other cars in attendance. Without ever really getting close to the exit run-off I was able to carry plenty of speed. Still more to come which is scary!
Lotus 2-Eleven at Croft Circuit (youtube.com)
Only real negative of the day was when I got stuck behind an Elise for a bit which was pretty nippy in a straight line, but either had no idea I was there for several laps or knew I was there and wasn’t interested in letting me by. Usual trackday tale but very rare for a LoT day. I let it get to me on the third or fourth lap and gave him a polite wink of the lights to help him to spot me… which is against the rules and I was rightly reprimanded as a result. Lesson learned and always happy to share the good with the bad!
Called it a day a session early, because I was really feeling knackered. Still battered and bruised from the gearbox swap(s) (it really is a physical ordeal!) and probably had been burning the wick at both ends. Ribs, back and neck were all feeling it - so got packed up and headed off high on relief, but also really happy I’d put the car through its paces and hadn’t held back too much!
Wheeled the car into the garage genuinely having nothing to really fix. I may take a look at the idle tuning a bit next time I fire it up but I think I sorted it in the pits, though I probably should whip the undertray off for a proper inspection too.
Happy days, big gap till my next booking now (October!!) so need to check some calendars and see if I can get out once more during “Summer”.
Shoutout to @PaulT for the excellent photos too!
Hah. hahahaha!
Car had been parked for a few weeks. Had some holiday, no MOT on the car anyway and just not enough time to get it booked so the summer and opportunities to take the car out on the road were just slipping by.
Finally got a spurt of motivation, so decided to lift the car up and just doublecheck the gearbox plumbing to find a load of CV grease on the undertray.
It must have split at Croft, at the exact same place where it split at Spa - one year to the day apart.
There’s a machined lug on the engine that sticks out and is the nearest point of contact for a swelling CV boot, and this was… fettled a bit to grant more clearance but it’s clearly not enough.
I had other motivations to get the car out of the garage for a bit, so I just stuffed it in the trailer and delivered to @seriouslylotus with a polite request to get it sorted for me.
Whilst it’s in, I’ve also asked about getting a larger capacity fuel tank fitted. It’s been on my list for ages, and I just keep finding other things to do - so would be good to get this in for a quality of life upgrade on trackdays.
Over to John and Dave now, next outing booked is Oulton later in October.