Okay, B&M then?
or M&M?
or S&M?
Pesky, you have got me concerned about the design of the gear lever arrangement so I removed the cover last night to have a closer look. The gear lever shaft is made from 8mm hexagonal steel and the unsupported distance from the top of the bracket to the top of the gear knob is 190mm. Also there is already a slight bend in the gear lever shaft to the left at the top of the bracket. It doesnt take much common sense to appreciate what force can be applied to a small 8mm shaft at a radius of 190mm. I am an engineering designer and this is without doubt a design fault. The size of the shaft at the bracket needs to be increased either by way of a collar or a tapered gear shaft. This car is designed for trackdays and a factor of safety should have been allowed. Hopefully Lotus will resolve this matter quickly otherwise I will modify it myself.
Regards,
David.
I’ve your shaft is hexagonal, you’ve got the old version. The latest revision (Version 5!) is round, and 10mm diameter. It might be worth asking if you can get a replacement FOC, but they may well insist you stick with it and see if it breaks.
David
Thanks for making my point in a much more lucid way than I was able
In my humble opinion, all S2 owners should do the same as you, & if they have the “old design”, they should hot foot it to their dealers & insist on having the “new design” fitted FOC. In the meantime, I recommend that they carry a pair of molegrips with them, as that’s the best way to keep the car mobile if the gear lever shears.
I would be interested to hear how S2 owners get on with this.
It doesnt take much common sense to appreciate what force can be applied to a small 8mm shaft at a radius of 190mm. I am an engineering designer and this is without doubt a design fault. The size of the shaft at the bracket needs to be increased either by way of a collar or a tapered gear shaft.
I used to have an old LandRover - the shaft must have been the same diameter and the length of the shaft must have been 500mm with a dog leg a third of the way along. 22 years hard use including holding it in low 1st gear on steep descents (detent springs broken) - and by holding I really mean applying a large force - never did any damage. I’m not sure I understand you saying its a design flaw - unless you are referring to the actual material used for the shaft being totally inappropriate for its intended use. In some of the photos it appears to be die-cast and one of the threads mentions its porous quality.
Either Lotus spec’d the wrong material, they didn’t get what they spec’d or the quality control failed.
I agree with Pesky - if i had the old shaft i would insist it was changed immediately unless Lotus could confirm the failure only relates to a limited batch of shafts, ie, it was a quality control fault.