I have just registered to this board and would like introduce myself.
I have been running a Lotus Elise Motorsport at various tracks here in the US for a few months and, as expected, I’m running into a few minor issues with the car. I’ll be curious to know if any other have experienced the same problems. Anyone running a Lotus Elise Motorsport?
On another note, I’m currently working with Lotus USA for parts, but would like to check whether there is an alternative channel in the UK. Where do you guys buy parts?
The previous owner changed the engine mount and the alternator.
I first had to replace the oil cooler because it was somewhat ineffective under our Californian sun. The solution was a slightly larger oil cooler and some better
ducts to seal the air that comes from the top scoop.
The right inner cv join decided to slide to the right, spraying some grease all over the engine and causing a pretty scary cloud of smoke
The wire between the coil and the distributor disintegrated itself near the coil connection. Looked like some vibration issue. That left me without power right at
the apex of a sharp corner
The transmission bushes failed and have been replaced.
The lower oil pan starts to develop a small crack. Not sure if this is related to the previous owner engine mount failure but I’m replacing it.
One of the starter connector became loose last weekend. No big deal.
Finally, I need to find a way to reduce intake noise. Some of our best tracks (Sears point and laguna Seca) have noise restrictions. I currently have the “stock” lotus elise motorsport air filter.
Well if the Motorsport Elise is like the Exige there’s no surprise on the mounts or alternator. The mounts on the Exige have a habit of breaking and many have them welded for extra strength (although I have hurd one story where this ended up damaging the chassis as the mount was too strong). The alternator on the Exige was apparently not designed to take the level revs and hences gets too hot. Some have tried clever ducting for cooling but there doesn’t seem to be a perfect answer. Increased engine bay cooling by removing the area around the rear number plate certainly helps but I don’t know if that helps the alterator loads.
One tip on noise. Is your left hand side (looking from the back) opening connected directly to the air in-take? I believe Lotus didn’t do this on the road cars as it increased noise. Try removing and see if it makes a difference.
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