Rear chassis brace kit

The Oily Bits S2 Specific Topics
1

Lotus part no. LOTAC05377 as recommended in the LOTRDC regs.
for toyota engined cars, seems to be a tad expensive for what you get
(B+C have it listed at �432)
[image]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a347/pritch23/LOTAC05377.jpg[/image]
Noticed that sector 111 do something similar at 500USD, and there has been a fair amount of discussion over on the lotus talk forums.
Question is, is there a more reasonable solution this side of the pond? and do I really need this?

2

If you plan to run kerbs on track under heavy loads several times per year, then yes you need it.

Lotus offer two versions, the production line item at about �300 + fitting etc, or the Lotussport one for about �450.

The difference in quality is night & day.

3

I run the Sector 111 RTD version with the central brace to the engine mount. As you say, cheaper than the Lotus Sport item, and does the same job. I was skeptical about the standard item without the central brace just transferring load from one side to the other.

4

The Sector111 RTV version is the cheapest version out of the lot. IMO, it’s a weak link and should’ve been already beefed up from factory considering this car is heavily marketed as a car “ready for track”.

The Sector111 RTD version is the better one even compared with the Lotus Sport version. Some Lotus Sport items are great but not everything is the best of it’s class.

5

The Sector111 RTD version is the better one even compared with the Lotus Sport version. Some Lotus Sport items are great but not everything is the best of it’s class.

Why do you believe that this is the best one? What features does it have over the other ones?

6

Know of one person that seems to need to replace the rod ends on the Lotus Kit every 9 months. May be an isolated case? I’ve not had any problems with the RTD.

7

Compare the pictures of the 2 products side by side, if you can’t figure it out. Have a mechanic explain to you. I said it’s the best kit out there but it’s not the ultimate solution because so far every kit has it’s own flaws and design failures.

All it’s doing is moving the weak link from one point to another, to the cheapest and easiest to replace component instead of replacing the most expensive one.

8

I’ve just replaced the rod ends with the latest Lotus item (B120D0036F) and they were �98 EACH. Not what I’d call cheap.

9

Ok guys, thanks for the input.
I’ll be going for the sector 111 RTD brace.