COMPETITION WHEELS/LEDA SUSPENSION

General General Lotus Talk
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I have just fitted Lotus comp. wheels (from Elise Parts) and Leda suspension and the set-up I have arrived at may be a useful starter for anyone else upgrading. My OE dampers were OK but the springs had settled badly and severely reduced suspension travel (10k miles/5 years old) and Leda gets good reports, have a longer stroke and are able to be serviced. The wheels are 6J front and 8J rear and I have fitted 195/45 and 225/40 (Khumo Exsta at �220 the set!)and the ride grip/handling is great. Leda supplied heavily uprated springs -300lb/in. F and 350 R against standard spec. of 160/230, although I specified road use only. They were way to stiff and have been changed for 225/250 which are just about spot on. I have set the ride height at 125/130mm under the frame rails at unladen (ie no people) kerb weight (slightly higher than an Exige) and the dampers are set at front 3 clicks and rear 5 clicks up from full soft with the tyres at 24/27. I stress again this is a road set-up, a good compromise between ride, handling, grip and clearance.

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Rob,Are you saying that the Exige spring rates are 160/230 ? i ask as I am trying to find this info.CheersRuss

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Like you I have never been able to find out what the standard Exige springs are, but they are soft and they appear to settle. My Exige ground clearance was very low when I bought it, after 1000 road miles. However,the 160/230 rates are for the standard Elise. The shop manual show a comp. rate for the Elise as uprated from 27.5N/mm (160lb) to dual rate 25/40N/mm fronts and rears up from 40N/mm to 50. So the fronts are, in round terms 150/230lbs and the rears are 290. The other factor is the pre-load. Lotus always use ‘soft’ springs with lots of pre-load, so upping the real rate. Leda, for example in aftermarket, use heavier rates with much less or even zero pre-load. I think I prefer their approach as the springs are more durable and should settle less. I would be interested to hear if you get to the Exige set-up.

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Cheers Rob - I am expecting to have a damper fail at some point in the near future (It may already be the case, and I have not noticed due to slow deterioration), so I am weighing up the alternatives, as I want to be able to play around with the settings. The choices seem to be either Leda, Nitron or the Lotus (Dynamics). Cost is from �800 all round to ITRO �2000, so it may come down to a good price/performance compromise.The spring rates, however, are totally up to me, so I do not want to go too stiff for daily use, but certainly stiffer than at present. I am tempted to go Lotus, as Gavan Kershaw can help with settings etc., and certainly seems to be a very helpful chap (especially if we sponsor him next season [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image] )[This message has been edited by RussT (edited 29 September 2002).]

5

One option may be to have two sets of springs - they are so quick and easy to change (less than an hour!) that recording the two set-ups (spring seat height/damper settings etc.) could really be the way to go. I am keeping the stiffer Leda spring set (only �80!) so if I ever go for a trackday I can use the firmer set-up.

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quote:Originally posted by RussT:I do not want to go too stiff for daily use, but certainly stiffer than at present.More Chinese beer, sir? [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image]

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[image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image]

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Any beer.

9

When you do get those springs, be sure to buy a smaller inner diameter to reduce weight (~1lb per spring) and deflection.I went down to 2.0", but Lotus Motorsport says they know of customers who run 1.88"'s.Question for all of you - what lengths did you buy? 5 inches? I bought 5", but I am close to the edge since I lowered my ride height to 100/110mm.

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Beto - what dampers are you using?

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The short answer is they are Dynamics 3-ways with the reservoirs mounted on flashlight holders in the boot and bonnet.I am very satisfied with the purchase, and especially the on track phone support from the Dynamics distributor, which is a big help to a newbie like me.The long answer is the Dynamics distributor in the USA is responsible for supplying Dynamics 3-ways to the Formula Ford 2000 series in the USA.Given the demands the customers put on Haas, nothing is off the shelf - they custom build the damper when you buy it.So Haas got on the phone with Dynamics and built a 3-way FF2000 damper to Lotus Motorsport specifications.