Some good progress to report this week. I’ve removed the old crash structure and bonded on the new one. It wasn’t as nasty a job as I thought it would be. The key to success was the use of these specialist tools
and yes I am serious! We cut off the majority of the old crash box (a little use of the air knife as well for finesse) then delicately removed the bulk of the remaining old sealant with a sharp wood chisel, worked a treat.
The new structure was straightforward to bond on. So it’s now a job of rebuilding the rest of the front end. While it was apart I bought a second oil cooler so I now have twin coolers for the track.
The new windscreen is fitted as well thanks to Templer screens who supplied it. Top tips - 1) don’t forget the primer before bonding it or you’ll have to do it twice as it doesn’t bite properly. Good job we noticed before the sealant set properly! 2) don’t get betaseal on your hands!
Now that I’ve booked my place at Oulton for October 30th I’ve picked up the pace and the car is starting to take shape at last.
Will the oil coolers survive in their normal location on the off road bits or will gravel write them off pretty quickly? I put a hole through one of mine at donny when someone went half off in front of me and threw a load of gravel at the front of my car.
It may have been an unlucky fluke or it might be worth replacing the standard mesh with a denser pattern while the clams off? Did you have any probs on the S1?
That’s a good suggestion to protect the oil coolers. I need to fit a new mesh on the front clam anyway. They may need some mesh on the underside of the clam if there’s a gap.
I’m concerned about how long my front splitter will last, ideally I’d like to get a polymer one moulded that can take a few knocks on the bumps.
I didn’t have any stone chip problems with my S1 oil filter as I never got round to connecting the front cooler, I did have an aluminium chin guard on the car though. The new owner Phil has recently fitted the cooler as he was starting to get high temps on track.
The front clam is now back on and it’s starting to look like an Exige at last. I tried to find some finer mesh for the grills to keep stones out but ended up with some similar to the original Lotus design. The price of it was absolute daylight robbery from that well known highstreet auto factors! We made a new tow post designed for use with a webing tow strap looped round it(one of my climbing slings actually).
Hopefully this will give a bit more for the Land Rover recovery boys to tug on in the event that we have any problems on a rally. I would never critise volunteer marshals for their help but if you don’t make it easy for them to tow it then they may snag the wrong thing, like the front bumper on my Puma!
Since the Safety Devices cage main hoop sits in a slightly different position we also had to make some longer door lock pins and fit spacers.
Next I need to make a bracket to fix the roof to the cage at the front and back then I’m ready for the road . I’m desperate to try it before Oulton to get a feel for the car.
I’ve also got to finish off wiring the Cartek unit. Thanks to Jonnyfox for assistance with the wiring diagrams. There’s a reason I’m a mechanical engineer not an electrical one!
Things finally came together on time and we made it to Oulton for the LoT day. The car performed faultlessley which is great considering it has been in the workshop for 12 months and not turned a wheel.
I was pushing hard to find the limits and I found them! (see oulton thread). Running on standard suspension called for a more moderated approach, it was a bit like driving in the wet in some ways as I had to be very smooth on weight transfer to keep it straight. The number one mod has to be a set of Ohlins or Nitrons to get things back under control. The car was easily upset over minor crests and undulations and needed a bit of time to settle on turn in. I need to keep some ground clearance for tarmac rallying but it’s way too high in standard form.
The second area is brakes. The standard Exige pads just don’t have the bite I had on my S1 190 with Pagids. Based on peoples feedback from the day I may try a set of PF’s this time.
I’m still on the hunt for some FIA seats that are wide enough to be bearable on a road trip but fit in the car. My back and shoulders are battered and bruised from cornering, even with harnesses on. I saw lots of nice seats on Friday but the only FIA one was Gav’s 211 carbon seat.
I’ve bought a set of Lotus sport engine mounts to stiffen things up and reduce engine rock as it seems far too slack on the old mounts (11k on the car).
Overall I was delighted with the performance of the car and I really geled with it by the end of the session. The next steps are all about handling improvements as there’s loads more to come from it.
So Santa better have a big sleigh this year for my xmas list
Set of Ohlins
PF brake pads
FIA seats
New A048R’s (M compound)
I’m definetly up for some more LoT track days as I thoroughly enjoyed the chilled atmosphere, great fun.
Santa came up with the goods for items 1 (Ohlins) and 4 (A048 M) on my xmas list. I think he was out of stock on 2 (PF pads) and the elves are taking a bit longer with the mould for item 3 my new FIA seats.
Despite the sub zero temperatures in the garage the Ohlins are fitted. I went for a short blast on my local stretch of backroad yumps and I’m totally impressed with the improvement. The car feels very settled. With the grim icy conditions I haven’t really pushed the cornering but the roll feels more progressive and controlled. I’ll have to wait for the next trip to Oulton to get a measure of the on track improvement.
Although the seats haven’t arrived yet the shells are in progress. Once I’ve dry fitted them to the new subframes then they are going back for trimming. I hope they’ve got some snot green fabric in stock
The good news is that there’s some multiplication in the Exige Rally scene. I think there are now at least three S1’s competing, mine should be the first S2. Martyn Tinker entered the Christmas Stages today at Croft in his (Honda power I suspect?) and was lying 7th overall. That’s a top result considering the pre event photos showed them snow ploughing the Croft circuit yesterday
Another Jonnyfox dremmel moment! Just fitted the external electric cut off switch and fire extinguisher switch in the front drivers side access panel. MSA regs dictate it has to be there or I would have done the same location as Jonny did in the rear clam.
Very neat job Wes, like that. Is the requirement for them to be in front of the driver specific to rallying? Would have thought that the left side might be better for circuit racing.
Now you’ve got me worried, did I fit the hot and cold in the right position Yes the rally regs require the switches to be fitted at the drivers side, which could be either side.
Interestingly the scrutineers sometimes forget which is hot and cold when they are checking your car over which can be a costly result for a new extinguisher refill if you forget to leave the control switch in the ‘test’ position. Most of them now chicken out and let the driver press the buttons.
Having the buttons external is probably as much use as having them external on one of Pete’s planes as it can be a few miles between marshal points and junctions on a rally, the sheep aren’t clued up on how to operate them. You need to hope that you or the nav are fit enough to press the internal ones if you have a shunt.
I have one dodgy Dremel moment, a little issue with a drill and I’ll never hear the last it
Nice mate, the surround is basically from a printer, it’s just vinyl. I have a plate sticker also as my splitter has no mounts and I’ve a new one coming soon to sit under the rear wing :whistle:
I can’t wait to see it in action as well as I will be in the passenger seat!
Seats have now arrived and just waiting for the mounting brackets. I’ll have to get on with buying a race suit - do you think Lotus black or bright green to match the car!
I have been discussing several events with Wes and I am sure he will let everyone know the first event. One which we will definately be doing is Promenade Stages in September…but I am sure we will be out before then as well.
After discussions with the UK motorsport governing body the MSA I now have agreement that the Exige can be classified as a ‘2wd specialist rally car’. New rules came into force in 2009 with minimum weight limits based on engine size. A 1600 - 2000cc production car now has a minimum weight limit of 1000kg. :whistle:
However, cars produced in limited numbers by specialist manufacturers can apply for the ‘2wd specialist rally car’ category that has a minimum weight limit of 720kg. Thanks to Lotus’s excellent Lotus Sport division, where you can specify every safety option required to go rallying, the Exige is now approved for this class.
Darrian rally cars are the benchmark in this category, close on the 720kg with usually about 280 bhp from a 2000cc N/A engine.
For a while I was worried that I was going to have to carry a few 100kg of balast to make the 1000kg limit which never made sense. As a result of that I haven’t really put any effort into weight reduction on my car until the rules were clarified. I estimate mine is about 870kg so it’s time to put the car on a diet. After taking the p out of Jonnyfox it’s now time for me to borrow his minimalist blueprints (excluding that damn TV screen)
I do want to keep using my car for fun on road and track as well so I wont be going to total extremes on the mods. I’ve done that before many times, it’s an endless pursuit and someone always has a bigger budget than you. The compromise with this S2 is allround fun rather than chasing trophies. If we do well then that’s a bonus.
The new FIA seats are 95% fitted now, just some minor adjustments on the passenger side which is now in place. Then its off to the scrutineer for a rally logbook. Hopefully we should be ready for an event in April.
. I’m desperate to try it before Oulton to get a feel for the car.
Yes the rally regs require the switches to be fitted at the drivers side, which could be either side.