Transmission Questions

General General Lotus Talk
1

Howdy,I finally am making a decision on a transmission upgrade and have a few questions:1. Is there any difference between the Lotus UCR gearset and the Quaife gearset?2. For you guys that have gone beyond 190hp, have you needed the ATB differential?3. Does anyone know where I can source all the required trans tools cheap?? [image]http://www.lotussource.com/lspics/transtools.jpg[/image] Thanks in advance!!Roy

2

Roy,In answer to 2., I have thought about an LSD, but I do not really think it needs it, but I am no expert! I have also read somewhere that Lotus felt that it upset the balance of the car…

3

You will only be able to get the straightcut gearset from Quaife, which makes it noisy - although I guess this is not really an issues as the car is track only. The ratios are the same, although I think you will need to choose which final drive you want - I think Quaife have a speed calculator on their website. I have the 3.923 final drive which gives a speed of just under 60mph in 1st at 8000 revs i think. This means it is not that great for standing starts, but is just about useable on the tightest of hairpins. I haven’t driven a car with an LSD so can’t comment on that!Cheers

4

Roy,Steve Butts has an LSD with CR box fitted on his 225BHP Elise, he his coming round later tonight so i’ll get him to post his thoughts for you.Churchill Tools do not exist anymore so quoting there tool numbers generally produces blank looks, can’t buy them from Rover either or at least when i last tried i coundn’t !Not sure when you can get them from unless there are generic tools available that will do the job.Phil

5

oi Phil, send Steve my greetings, will ya…later,Bruno

6

Bruno,Steve here, using Phil’s computer - can’t remember my own password! Hi !!!Roy,I can thoroughly recommend an LSD. It pushes the car out of corners so much better. And its a transformation in the wet.As for upsetting the balance of the car, putting a different suspension setup changes things. Rather than upsetting, a better word would be change. And the setup and balance of the car can be changed to your preference anyway.The LSD is also stronger and better able to cope with the power.It just so happens that I can lay my hands on a Lotus UC CR box with the Quaife gearset and LSD. Mail for details. I am thinking of fitting it to my car, but still want to use it on the road so am still thinking about it. SteveB [email protected][This message has been edited by Phil Davies (edited 21 November 2002).]

7

In my research I found that upgrading to the ATB diff is only needed when you are increasing power to 210+hp. I decided to pass, for now, on this mod and use the $$ for other things.I will be fitting the Ultra-Close gears this winter and am looking forward to it.

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