Evora Track Car TLC

One of our clients requested that we bring in his Evora for a little TLC. His clutch was not disengaging which prompted this work. Clutch replacement is a 40hr job on an Evora so he asked us to take care of a few other items at the same time.  This blog lists some of the items we found and fixed or upgraded.  

One key client request was that we make his rear clam easier and quicker to remove. The rear clam has to be removed along with the engine to do a clutch replacement on the Evora. This will be the second time the engine has been out of this particular car and the owner wanted to reduce the costs of any future service. As this car lives at the track, this is a smart move.


This was the first time we worked on this car so we needed to get a good handle on it's condition.  As we dove into the car we found the following:

• Broken clutch
• Loose exhaust
• Missing rear engine mount bolt (!!)
• Broken engine mounts (left and rear)
• Broken/heat damaged shifter cables 

Here's an Evora with it's heart removed. Look familiar?

We found several other issues, some of which were mentioned in our last blog entry. At some point, the rear engine mount bolt fell out, and the resulting excessive engine movement caused or contributed to all the other problems (besides the cables). With the knowledge that this car is now a dedicated track car, we decided to take the opportunity to do some worthwhile upgrades including simplifying and adding lightness - who needs AC in a track car - right? 

First order of business was removing the clam and engine. One of those things that is easier said than done. This is definitely a time intensive job.  We came up with some ideas to speed up reinstallation/removal.  Since the client still wanted to keep the stock rear hatch (for now), we were limited in some of our ideas.  Certain items, like the battery was relocated to the passenger compartment to help speed up the R&R process.  

Broken disk = no bueno

The first thing we swapped out was the clutch.  The original clutch failed because a spring broke free from the disk.  We took this opportunity to visit our clutch supplier to discuss options for the Evora.  We landed on a couple of different balanced clutch/flywheel packages that we think will work well on Evoras.

New Clutch/Flywheel Bits

The clutch we chose is a heavy duty solution but the pedal effort is just as light, if not lighter than stock. The hub plate is much stronger and should retain the springs very well.  We also threw in an aluminum lightened flywheel for good measure. This combination should last a long time, which is a good thing considering how involved a clutch replacement is on this car. 

One of the broken mounts.

  When we discovered 2 of the 4 engine mounts were in bad shape, we called up our engine mount supplier to try our their upgraded solution. These mounts should be an improvement over the soft stock ones. Reducing engine movement helps with throttle response and shift feel.  They will be available for sale as soon as a few fitment issues are resolved.  We had to modify the mounts to get them to fit correctly. 

New TRANScables

The shift feel on this car was also terrible. One push of the gear lever let us know immediately that something was not right. After a very short investigation, it was apparent that the cables were causing excessive drag. We think that the stock cables are being damaged by high engine bay temperatures and the housings are shrinking around the cables. The cable housing/sheath was also cracked and broken near the ends (see pic).  


Since we have had great performance from our TRANScables for the Elise/Exige, we contacted our supplier to make us a prototype set for this Evora. The difference is astounding. The improvement in feel is apparent even when compared to the other Evora we currently have in our shop. That car has good cables and the shift quality is fine, but these cables bring it to another level. Expect to see this on our site soon as well.

Another interesting area that we were able to study is the actual shifter mechanism.  It is very similar to the Elise shifter which means our shiftR111 should likely fit with some minor tweaks.  First we need to get it released and running on the Elise/variants.

Wiring was a bit lack luster in this car. The interior was gutted and caged so much of the wiring was exposed.  There was so much unsecured wiring that it gave us anxiety. Wiring failures are a very common problem on race cars and that simply does not need to be the case. A few well placed zip ties or p-clips go a long way to preventing damage or failure.  Anyone who has ever had to trace a wiring related issue will agree that preventing an electrical failure is almost always easier than fixing one.

More details on the modifications we did to the bodywork on the next blog....