Break-in, Testing & Failure: KATANA3, shiftR 2.0 & More

 

Testing continues with various new parts we plan to introduce.  We had some wins and one failure.  Running parts on our cars first is our mantra so our clients are getting the best experience.  Though this has not been 100% successful, it has kept us in good stead.

Let's start with the failure - new fuel pump.  Last year, we had trouble sourcing a Denso pump that we had been selling for years on cars making 300hp.  We decided to test out a new pump, from another OEM supplier, Delphi.  This pump was fitted to our last Outlaw and run for nearly a year, on the road and track.  It ran in our Outlaw that we ran up Palomar Mtn Hill Climb last year.  We transferred it to our latest 111RS to continue racking up miles.  Unfortunately it failed almost immediately.  But the 'failure' snuck up on us.  The car ran fine under 6000rpms - which is where we were running it for a 100 miles or so while we broke in our newly built Mountune engine.  Once we started dipping into the second cam, the car would hesitate.  We data logged and saw the AFRs going lean.  It took us a bit to get it figured out but swapping in a stock pump solved our problem.  The funny thing is that the Delphi pump is actually made by Denso.

The KATANA3 on our car is running great.  I hammmered the car up and down the mountain and our back canyon roads.  Our Calibrator, Brent, is coming in a couple of weeks to do some final tuning.  We will get it onto a dyno then and see how she is doing.  The engine still has less than 500 miles on it and it would be ideal if she had over 2000 miles before the dyno.  That is not likely this time so we will probably dyno her again later this Summer.

I'm digging the all silver colorway- with the cherry on top!

The shiftR111 2.0 version that has been in my car is doing fine.  We made a couple of tweaks as there was spring related issue that we had noticed and the reverse lock-out.  As it turns out, we were able to sort out the lock-out with shifter cable adjustments.  The spring issue was related to us not torquing the CG mechanism fully.  Sorted.

So far I don't feel any negatives with this kit.  The overall feel is better especially since the reverse lock-out works super smoothly.  This is a HUGE improvement over our previous version but tempered by the fact that you really don't use it that much.  Regardless, it now works better and each time you select Reverse, you will do it smoothly.  Shifting into each of the gears feels as good as with our original, if not marginally better.  The bearing design is technically superior so it should feel better...

Chillin' at the RSF Cars & Coffee

I am running a set of Nitron 46mm Singles on this car with softer springs than we used to run.  The car feels really good but we can make it even better.  I think we will call our man Dave T in for some Ride & Handling work.  Especially with Nitron setting up their North American operations here in town, we will be able to develop a kit suited to our over rough canyons.  

This car is also running the OS Giken LSD.  What an awesome bit of kit!  We introduced these back in 2010 and they have been favored by all the fastest guys.  It still amazes me how it allows you to put the power down sooner - especially on our bumpy roads.  This is really a must have for any pushing their Lotus hard - especially if you are about to get your gearbox rebuilt.

111RS #3 Build: DNA Sway/Engine/Gearbox/KATANA3

We're making steady progress on the 111RS.  The rear of the car is coming together.  We are on track to having it finished by early May.

We decided to paint the rear swaybar mount black.  We peeled the DNA sticker off and revealed the silver powdercoat underneath.  You can see it above.  We left the swaybar itself in silver so it would stand out against the black mount and rear subframe.

 The Mountune-built 2ZZGE engine has been dressed and reassembled with an enhanced alternator that we get locally rebuilt.  We also reinstalled the KATANA3 from our last Outlaw.  We intend to run this kit through CARB so need to get this onto one of our cars.  The rebuilt gearbox was also mated to the engine and is getting a new clutch and flywheel.  

111RS #3 Build: Oil Lines, Built Engine, Gearbox

 The factory oil lines had not been updated on this car.  There is a factory recall that requires Lotus Dealers to update the oil lines on cars with new fittings.  But there are cars that have not had this update even though it is over 10 yrs old now.  We had developed our ULTRAliteLINES prior to this recall as we saw that clients were suffering failures.  We engineered our kit to be lighter and be a direct replacement.  We've blogged about the development of the kit here and even posted about our track and lab testing: HERE

111RS #3 gets the new lines and we also have taken the opportunity to delete the passenger side oil cooler.  We have talked about the over cooling issue with these cars and will also help address it with our HOTplate.  Both of these measures are a good step towards getting the oil temp up to prevent cam lobe damage.  

The Mountune built 2ZZGE engine is getting prepped now for install.  She is a thing of beauty but the way she spins is something else!  This engine is stock compression.  We are running our uprated Oil Pump Gear and gPAN3.  We plan to add the KATANA3 onto this car as well.  

The engines really look great as a result of the vapor blasting.  They look like new.  We're trying out the crinkle finish on the valve cover on this build.  It looks great and I think will become a permanent upgrade.

The rebuilt gearbox has arrived and has both the CF Synchros and the OS Giken LSD - which I absolutely believe is one of the best driveline upgrades you can make to these cars.  The ability to put down power sooner is remarkable with this LSD.  I still remember the first time I drove our Elise with this LSD, I had to call up our Ride & Handling Engineer to see if I was dreaming!  They are truly noticeable and something to consider when having your gearbox rebuilt.  Even the Engineers at Lotus prefer these plate type LSD over the gear type.  I'm a big fan.

packing in more plates that any other LSD

Mountune Built 2ZZGE: Hot Test & Break-in

 We're excited to announce that Mountune have built a test fixture to allow them to hot test the 2ZZGE engines that they are building for us.  They are not yet ready to do a full power test but can bring the engines up to temp and do a basic break in process. This will ensure the engines we ship out are running properly.

Currently they are using an engine harness from a Matrix with the plan to eventually set up the testing using a Motec or some other stand alone ECU.  This would allow them to complete a wide range of testing. 

111RS Powertrain install

 We are getting very close to firing up the 111RS.  We installed a Exedy clutch and Fidanza flywheel on her.  The Mountune engine and rebuilt gearbox are going to need some break-in miles.  

When you are building a car that is utilizing some existing parts, you end up discovering issues during the reassembly.  In some cases, we simply replace them with new bits and in other cases, we clean them up and reuse.  The alternator is a perfect example of an item that was working on the car but looked a bit tired.  We decided to send it out for a rebuild and upgrade.  

Rene and Carlos have tag teamed this build so we can get her done sooner.  I'm grateful to have two very experienced and capable Primary Care Technicians putting their TLC into this 111RS!

HOTplate install was a prerequisite for this 90/10 street/track car.  It is clear to me that these cars suffer from over oil cooling.  The HOTplate has been a great solution to get the oil up to temp sooner.

111RS Build Continues

 The body came back from the Body Shop and we were able to pull off the subframe to clean it up.  The subframes are made of steel and not the prettiest part on the 111 platform.  We painted it black to help freshen it.  She looks much better now and will frankly just disappear.  

The Mountune engine needed to get dressed as well.  We installed a new cam gear as the stock parts are known to be a problem spot.