Gear Cables Exige S1

[ortope]

Fortunately the car was used only on the test bench and approximately for 12 km on the open road,
before we decided to intervene.
As said, I ordered the oem MG Rover oil and we will make a complete oil change next Tuesday:



Note:
A Lotus dealer told me that some of their clients on their own decided to use an ATF
(automatic transmission fluid) in their cars.
He didn' t absolutely recommend it, but they are still using it...

[tlracer]

I have seen ATF used in manual racing gearboxes. At one time it was common to use it in the Hewland Mk.9 transaxle because - allegedly - there was less fluid drag so power transmission was more efficient.

I'm not convinced what % improvement this gave - very small, I suspect - but in this situation the fluid was changed for every race and the gears inspected for wear.

To confirm - my Lotus service agent uses Millers TRX 75W-90 in the S1 gearbox.

[ortope]

The oil you are using has GL-4 and GL-5 specifications.
Hawing it also GL-5 specs would it not be harmful on the longterm for the synchronizer
in a Rover gearbox?

[tlracer]

The oil you are using has GL-4 and GL-5 specifications.
Hawing it also GL-5 specs would it not be harmful on the longterm for the synchronizer
in a Rover gearbox?

As it was a Lotus-approved garage that used it, I would have thought it was correct. If any problems are due to the wrong oil, then it will be their responsibility to sort them.

Regarding concerns over corrosion and EP-modifiers, this is surely down to the chemistry of the specific modifiers, rather than their tribology properties.

[ortope]

The last update on the gear box problems:

1. Changed the gear cables with those from Elise Parts
2. Drained the Bardahl oil and put the MG Rover oil in
3. Replaced the short shifter with an oem shifter
4. Optimized the gear linkage to 7.2 mm

=> noted immediately a much smoother gear selection.

This afternoon we will test it on the road, hoping that the problems will be gone.

[tlracer]

I imagine you will have checked the old cables for any tightness?

A short shift was on my 'to buy' list at one time, but my concern was that the change in leverage could/would affect the quality of the gear change.

Enjoy

[ortope]

Yes, we checked the old cables and the cross gate cable was a little bit tight.
I agree with you that the short shifter is not the right way to go...

Tomorrow the car will be tested and we will see.

[winthattt]

I had a short shifter on an s1 Elise for a while but it was not good and came off. I changed my oil to Redline, widely recommended. I think it’s very marginally smoother than the normal Rover stuff.

[ortope]

After the listed modifications the gear changes are smooth and no more issues
when the gear box gets warm...

Problems solved.