Ups and downs...and the clutch ?

General General Lotus Talk
1

Guys,happily reporting that I went to Knockhill on Sunday and kept the Exige name high.The track day was organized by the Town & Country Subaru dealer and they were giving rides on some Impreza STI.It was raining a lot at the beginning and I was … afraid.Afraid of going out with my wonderful shiny car out for a very probable spin.So I took it cautiously and I have to say, if you haven’t ridden the Exige on a wet track you have to. I learnt a lot about my car. My driving got better and better and soon the track was drying out and I was overtaking everybody, even the instructors on the Impreza (OK, I had the better car).So the Bomber was the quickest one in that company. But the Imprezas had the edge on the wet.The delusion was that I wanted to go out the next turn in style and spin the tyres, instead I spun the clutch. It still works as before, but the smell was awful, and I was not going forward.After talking to Lotus they say that yes, the clutch is not so strong, that I can upgrade to the heavy duty one.What? and what about the advertised performance of 4.7s 0-60?I want them to change the clutch !Still, looks like a lost battle, I may have to spend an extra 400 quid to get my car up to the advertised specs!Anyway, towards the end, I was pushing the limit a lot and I ended up spinning big time.Ah, and BTW, remember the juddering problem I had with the brakes? they were finally changed under warranty and the SS lines installed at the same time and they work wonderfully now!Cheers!Uldis

2

Did you “dump” the clutch or did you “slip” the clutch?My Exige is new and I haven’t driven it in anger yet, but I own an S2000 as well and the clutch is somewhat weak. In order to not smoke the clutch you have to rev the car up to about 6500rpm and dump the clutch to get wheelspin. If you try slipping the clutch, it will result in the bad smell you are talking about.Cars with low torque have to be able to spin the tires to avoid spinning the clutch. So, you have to rev them up and dump the clutch to do this.

3

I engaged it quickly, at the max torque point felt (or about 6000rpm) some slippage occured when I wanted, but it should have lasted .3 sec. Instead, with my foot off, the slippage continued on its own with the foot off the pedal for about 3 secs more.Remember, I wanted to take off really quick, not to spin the tyres just for the sake of it.As I mentioned earlier, Lotus has already developed a heavy duty clutch for Motorsport use, but it’s my opinion that the car should perform as adverstised the way it comes from the factory. [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/frown.gif[/image]Cheers,Uldis

4

When I tried the clutch dumping getaway mine too ‘smoked’. I think it might work on a slightly damp road or with cold tires. I don;t intend on really trying again, as I have entered the Pesky school of thought that the Exige just isn’t designed to be abused in such a manner and now enjoy trickling up to 20mph before taking off in noisey glory!I agree with Uldis, it should have been supplied with the Motorsport item.Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/frown.gif[/image]

5

quote:Originally posted by IDG:I agree with Uldis, it should have been supplied with the Motorsport item.Along with braided hoses & either Mintex or Pagid pads…

6

quote:Originally posted by Pesky: Along with braided hoses & either Mintex or Pagid pads…Yeah, too right!

7

Further thought about the clutch. I used to have an Mitsi EVO V1, & they would really burn the clutch out if you tried to wheelspin off the line.(Obvious really, when you consider the power, grip of the tyres & 4wd). I hasten to add that in 24K miles I didn’t need to replace my clutch. However, some of the guys who upgraded to motorsport clutches (cos they’d knackered the standard ones), actually found they didn’t last as long, if the car was mainly used on the road, but with an element of on track use. The reason being that in stop/start road use, they had to slip the clutch more when setting off, or just rolling along in traffic. In addition, a fair bit more leg pressure was needed to operate the clutch.In saying all that, I intend to stick in a motorsport jobbie, as & when the original clutch gives up the ghost (22K miles so far!) [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image]

8

I had a slipping clutch when I bought my car and the dealer changed it under warranty - twice !! First time he put the racing upgraded clutch in but the plates are thicker and it couldn’t be adjusted to stop the drag so… out it came and the standard jobbie got fitted. THey phoned Lotus who said that this can sometimes be a problem and that the standard clutch is good enough anyway. I was dissapointed and wondered why do they make a racing clutch if I can’t bleedin well have one!!? Anyway I haven’t had any bother with the clutch in the 5000 miles since it was fitted.

9

I had the “260 bhp” clutch fitted at the same time as my engine rebuild. I used to get the burning smell with the standard clutch and I still get it with the heavy duty one. It is slightly harder to push down, but I did not notice it after the first day.

10

Is the Motorsport clutch rated 260HP?, because Geary advertises the AP one, rated 250HP & 200 lbs/ft torque. Looks tempting, especially after hearing that the Motorsports one could possibly not fit [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/confused.gif[/image]But the AP would void the warranty. [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/frown.gif[/image]

11

Uldis,Sorry, memory fails me again…Mine was from Geary, so assume your info is correct, i.e. - I have a 250 bhp clutch, not 260 as I originally stated. Also, I suspect that the two clutches look identical, so what they don’t know won’t hurt them…

12

Maybe worth confirming with Lotus, but I think the motorsport one is the AP one anyway, in which case I am sure it would be cheaper from geary!Cheers

13

The first time I test-drove an Exige, I thought that the clutch was way too light, particularly having just stepped out a 355 which has the best weighting of any clutch I’ve tried - just the right side of “meaty”. IMO, it doesn’t normally take too long to adjust to a heavier clutch and will probably feel better in most circumstances (if it matches the weighting of the other components like steering, braking and gearchange effort). Might not feel so good in a mile long traffic jam though.

14

had the Lotus motorsport clutch fitted whilst my engine was out…Lotus put me off most of the mods I was thinking about but agreed that this was a good one…absolutely no problem fitting it and it works fine both in town/traffic and on the track. With OLC discount the part was 185 inc VAT and for me fitting was FOC…a real bargain!

15

They advertise the AP clutch in eliseparts at 135+VAT=158.But in your case you saved the labor costs by doing it yourself? I thought it was fairly difficult, since the quote 6hrs of laborUldis

16

UldisI reply on Steve’s behalf. His car was already at Lotus for an engine rebuild, so whilst it was in pieces, he had a few other things done - hence the labour cost him nowt!

17

Thanks to all, I guess I’ll have to prepare for this replacement and when the opportunity comes I’ll do it.Uldis