this is my first post on exiges.com. i;ve been a si + s2 owner for a number of years now and until this year never considered driving on track days. then i was taken around donnington as a passenger with steve green (who i might add didnt really know me,but spent a couple of hours of his track day time to talk to me and take me as a passenger. many thanks steve ) i decided i had to build a s1 motorsport ,which is at a point now where i need a bit of help in what direction i should be going in reguarding the following.
Brakes.
are the eliseparts ali belled discs ok
Pads
which pads? padgid rs 14 or rs 42? should i use the same back and front?
what brake fluid ?
which upgraded toe link should i go for?
what spring rates on the suspension should i be going with?
im going to use the car on the road as well as the track.
is an oil to air cooler a good investment?
if anybody can point me in the right direction or make a few suggestions at what else i might need to consider i would be really grateful .the car is a 1999 s1 , i will be sticking with the standard 1.8 k series engine next year with me being a track day novice and having to learn to drive on track .im still looking for the following parts if any of you have any for sale.
overcills
motorsport seats
wheel arch linners
front spoiler
i would like to say thank you now in advance to any one who replys to this posting.
many thanks
shaun
ps. do any of you ever wonder what happened to peskys old spoiler ?
Are you MarcP’s mate who I met at the Wiggin Tree car meet in July? If so, I presume that’s why you mention my old spoiler!
Brake Discs - would only put the Eliseparts ali belled jobbies on, once your originals are fooked.
Pads - you’ll be fine with either of Pagid compounds you mention, I’d stick to same front & rear. A cheaper alternative, which I & a few others here use are “Pro Track” http://www.sbs.dk/index_uk.html
Fluid - can’t go wrong with Castrol SRF - bloody expensive though!
Uprated toelink - Eliseparts (unless someone like AndyD has the time to make some!)
Spring rates (assuming Nitron dampers too): 400 front, 550 rear.
Oil cooler - defo good idea.
Presume you’ve already got harness bar & 4 point harnesses?
Do any of you ever wonder what happened to peskys old spoiler ?
I think it’s being used in Russ’s garage as a shelf to hold all his race trophy’s Although at this rate he’ll be lukin fer sum moor owd un’s. Edited coz am shite at spullin
John
I agree with Mr Persky, but just to add a couple of different options.
Brake Fluid: SRF is amazing product but it costs about 15 times more than a 5.1 from Halfords. I�ve used it with Nick�s Elise many times without having any issues. I am not sure if it is better to use a “cheap” brake fluid and change it every track day or two, or SRF and change it less often, when we are talking for a normal use (road & track). Of course if you can afford it, go for the SRF.
Toe link kit. I would suggest TADTS (which I think uses a bit thicker links) and is a very high quality kit. I don�t know about Andy�s kit, but I am confident it will be at least the same quality. I�ve heart a couple of cases having problems with the EliseParts one (Sean for example).
P.S. I have a front spoiler + Splitter for sale (�120). I might also be able to offer the two oversills soon, as i am replacing them with lighter ones.
Brakes:
OK = Stick with standard until they’re knackered
Better = Replace with Hi-spec grooved disks
Much better = Eliseparts AP allybelled 5000 rotors
Even better = Customised ally bells with Alcon rotors
Pads:
RS14 = very good track pad
RS42 = fast road and occasional track
SBS Pro track = cheaper very good track pad
Fluid:
Castrol SRF
Toe links:
I believe Mad Dog is going to make the Andy D designed toe links as Andy seems to spend most of his time abroad in(insert random European country here)
Suspension:
Cheap = Stick with what you’ve got till they need replacing or you find them too soft
Good = Nitrons. Proven but have been questions about service
Good = Ohlins. Unproven in large numbers and slightly more expensive
Oil Cooler:
Better off with Oil/Water cooler
Other bits that you might want to consider:
Harnesses
Fire extinguisher (plumbed in)
Race suit gloves etc (better to be safe than sorry)
Tyres - AO48s, R888s and the like
LoT membership
Baffled sump - some engines have gone pop due to oil surge in long corners.
You can track the car without any modifications at all, but once you’ve got the bug your wallet will start to take a hammering trying to improve things further.
cheers everybody. thats given me a bit more of an idea of what i should be buying.mr pesky it wasnt me you met at the wiggin tree but i did buy your spoiler from marc p .
I�ve heart a couple of cases having problems with the EliseParts one (Sean for example).
George - don’t think there was a definite cause to Sean’s “failure”. Its covered on another thread here somewhere and there’s an opposite school of thought about making the link too strong and moving the point of failure into a more expensive component.
Suspension:
Cheap = Stick with what you’ve got till they need replacing or you find them too soft
Good = Nitrons. Proven but have been questions about service
Good = Ohlins. Unproven in large numbers and slightly more expensive
One step between Cheap and Good - s/hand LSS suspension from someone who has already upgraded?
One step between Cheap and Good - s/hand LSS suspension from someone who has already upgraded? [/quote]
ive put lss on the car as a temporary measure. i bought a second hand set but the small grub screws in the top collar are siezed and i cant adjust the ribe height. is it worth having them refurbished ~( can they be done?) or save my money towards nitrons
I�ve heart a couple of cases having problems with the EliseParts one (Sean for example).
George - don’t think there was a definite cause to Sean’s “failure”. Its covered on another thread here somewhere and there’s an opposite school of thought about making the link too strong and moving the point of failure into a more expensive component.
Steve, as far as I remember, the cause of that toe link problem was just hard driving on the track. Sorry if I am wrong, but that�s what I understood from what Sean explained. I�ve seen the EliseParts kit and the TADTS one and I can say that the TADTS looks (i say “looks” as I didn�t measured the E/P one) thicker and so I presume it is stronger. Yes, it might be too strong (like I said �might�) and in a case of an accident you might damage the subframe too. But, between me and you, I prefer to have a damaged subframe if I hit a wall rather having a bended and possibly broken toe link in case of just pushing the car around the track. This is probably the reason why I fabricated even stronger and thicker toe links using very expensive and strong rose joints for my car. However, I also fabricated an aluminium link between the two pivot points of the toe links on the subframe in order to add some more stiffness.
Anyway, that�s just my thoughts. I might be wrong! I am just trying to help.
George - fair comment and interested in hearing what you have done, just wanted to balance the views on the Eliseparts toelinks and let others make their own mind on which is best for them.
Personally, if I hit a wall, I dont think I would be going anywhere soon
It might be good to get Eliseparts opinion on Sean’s failed toelink - perhaps they can shed some light on it and if it was a material or manufacturing defect I’m sure they would want to know.
Not sure I can picture where you have put your aluminium link, can you post some pictures?
Just to clarify, I have absolutly no problem with Elise parts. But like George says, the only explanation for the toe link bending was through driving on track. Yes I don’t mind admiting the car had spun a few times and I am pretty agressive across the kerbs, but I certainly had never hit anything and the car had not been tied, jacked or secured on my trailer by the toe link.
Andy D’s toe links are the nuts, they are thicker, made of stronger material and use better quality rod ends!!