V2 Fuel Tank Installed on Nirvana!

We installed the V2 tank on our Elise. The install went smooth. The pump was lodged in quite tight but we managed to extract it intact. The tank is in the car and ready. We are installing a new baffled oil pan so the car is not yet ready to fire up. We will do that later this week and check for leaks.

Atom Intake

I am eliminating the stock intake on my Atom as it is far too convoluted. The the MAF is located in an area that can not deliver laminar airflow. To meet the aesthetic requirements of the central intake, Brammo developed the twisty intake for the Ecotec cars. I will replace it with a simple 'filter on a stick'.

Tom@UniqueFabrication has already sorted an intake so I have asked him to build one for me. He is also building an inline intercooler that I will install to help with the heat soak issues that plague our Atoms.

Steve@Secant has my ECU and is working his calibration magic. We have already installed the smaller pulley and larger injectors. The tune they have developed for the Lotus Type I will be the base for the Atom. We are confident that this engine can

be safely tuned to 280hp/241ft-lbs.

I had inspected my fuel gaskets and found that they were deteriorating. I am replacing them as part of this overall power upgrade. In the picture, the left gasket came out of the fuel filler neck and the other came from the pump side. Almost everyone is suffering from this issue so please inspect your fuel tank gaskets. Contact TMI for the correct gaskets.

Atom Rear Wing Progress - Strut Fitment Ver2

Steve from Aerosim stopped in yesterday to fit the latest version of the rear strut. He came out a month earlier and we learned a few tweaks were in order. This version fits well so he will machine the second piece along with the horizontal brace.

These pix show the aero features like the knife edge along the trailing edge of the strut. Notice how the struts are hollowed out but not completely cut through for weight savings while maintaining better aero. Can you tell that Steve worked on the aero on the last Lotus F1 car?

The rear wing is the dual element carbon fiber wing from ReVerie. It is super stiff, strong and a ridiculously light piece. This 5.5lb wonder is properly made from prepreg carbon fiber and autoclaved.

I am opting for the TMI front wing for my Atom. They've sorted a cost effective solution so I will have their front solution with our rear wing. We'll spend some time dialing in the balance as soon as I have them on the car.

ULTRAdiscs Love You Long Time & Now For Less!

It appears we have made our 2-piece ULTRAdisc rotors almost too good!

We are getting awesome mileage out of our ULTRAdiscs. The Spyder had over 30k miles on ULTRAdiscs - lots of road and track use. Phil@BOE recently informed me that he has gone through 3 sets of ST43s pads (which are brutally aggressive on rotors) on his front ULTRAdiscs and they remain in great shape with plenty more life. His stock OE rear rotors don't appear to be wearing near as well. He also mentioned that a competitive rotor was destroyed by one set of ST43s.

These brakes have been very successfull in LCS. Several of the fastest competitors are running ULTRAdiscs or its big bro the CUPdisc. In fact Brent, the winner at the LCS Laguna Seca event runs ULTRAdiscs. Of course Nirvana is sporting them as well.

We worked carefully with Girodisc 4 years ago to sort out a high end 2-piece rotor. Martin@Girodisc clearly did a great job as we've had nothing but positive feedback from these rotors. The 10lb weight savings, true floating design, corner specific solution and now proven life has made this rotor the best solution on the market. Learn more about these rotors here: Info Sheet

Some of our features have been copied by competition but none have delivered a solution that is as feature laden or has years of track proven history. No reason to gamble with your brakes, our ULTRAdiscs have kicked asphalt for longer than any other solution.

To make things even better, we've ordered 50 car sets to get our cost down. We are reducing our price on a set of 2 to $600. A full car set can now be ordered for $1200. This is a remarkable savings over the original price. Fear not, we're keeping the same spec. We firmly believe you will not find a better, longer lasting rotor on the market.

Nitrons Cleaning Up at Laguna Seca

Nitron had an unbelievable showing last week at Laguna Seca for the 5th round of the Lotus Challenge Series. The fastest cars in the field were running Nitrons in various configurations. Nitron equipped cars grabbed 5 podiums in the time trial and a 1-2 finish in the club race while posting the fastest times of the week.

One of the most exciting examples of the performance these suspension systems provide was displayed during the club race on Thursday. Brent B., running with the Nitron Race triple-adjustables, and Kevin M., running the Nitron GT3s, had a ten-lap battle that was amazing! Laguna Seca has about three or four good passing areas but, if you make a move off line, you can quickly get yourself in trouble. Despite this, Brent and Kevin really pushed themselves to the limit.





Brent's Exige is HIGHLY modified with extensive aero and Kevin's Exige is running a stock aero setup. Differences in aerodynamic downforce have a significant effect on the suspension system. The adjustability of the Nitrons makes it easy to get the correct suspension settings no matter what kind of aerodynamic upgrades you've made.
In the time trial, Brent came in first, followed by Kevin. In the Forced-Induction class, Andy K. placed first with his Nitron Track double-adjustables, followed by Tim H. running the Nitron Sport Pro single-adjustables. Project Nirvana also made the podium in the stock normally aspirated class running on the Nitron GT3s.

During the week at Laguna Seca, the Nitrons proved they could be extremely fast no matter what car they were bolted to. High-speed or banked corners will bottom out any car running aero and stock suspension as Andy explains in our latest podcast live from Laguna Seca.

The flexibility of Nitrons also allows you to drive your car to and from the track. Andy, running the double-adjustable Nitrons in his Exige S, and Bill, running the Nitron GT3s in our Project Nirvana Elise, both drove the 400+ miles home from Laguna Seca with no problem. Bill was shocked (pardon the pun) at how amazing compliant it was on the highway. We left the suspension at the setting we used at the track and felt no need to soften it up at all. A key reason for the ride compliancy is the Low Speed Compression adjustability. Though triples seem like a race-only solution, they can also be very comfortable on the street as well.

Whether you're a serious racer, enjoy the occasional track-day or just like spirited runs on the twisties, we have the Nitron suspension setup for you. Call us at (951) 296-6762 to get the perfect custom spring rates and shocks for you and your car!

Carbon Hatch from ReVerie - BSK Style

I am excited to report that ReVerie will soon introduce a rear tailgate/hatch for the Exige. Simon has licensed the design from BSK in Japan and will introduce a hatch made to ReVerie standards - which means very light & very stiff.

The OE tailgate weighs approximately 20lbs. The ReVerie version will weigh much less. The added venting, particularily at the exit of the intercooler, is designed to help extract hot air.

Brent was running a BSK tailgate at Laguna last week. See pic above. It is a serious race piece that looked bad to the bone. We've placed a small order with ReVerie and are looking forward to getting them. Contact us if you are interested.

Many of you know that ReVerie carbon fiber (CF) products are the lightest and strongest CF parts we sell. ReVerie uses prepreg, carbon fiber and autoclaves each part for the best performance. I know of no other CF parts supplier, in the Lotus market, that goes to these lengths - F1 & aerospace processes - to produce CF. Watch our CF Tech Seminar with Simon Farren to learn more: HERE.

Laguna Seca Wrap Up

We finished off the LCS event with aplomb. Everyone was smiling and having a great time. The weather was spectacular and the competition was friendly yet focused. The LCS guys are serious about their cars/results but still take the time to help each other. This type of camaraderie is truly a wonderful thing. I'm sure, as Jim continues to spread the series, across the country, Lotus owners elsewhere will experience this first hand.

On Friday our LCS run group included other Advanced Drivers that were not necessarily competing - one of which was JoeRacer from LotusTalk. He is running an Exige 'S' and cranking some quick times. I think he would have placed on the podium for sure if he had entered our Time Trial. Several prepped race Porsches and Vipers also joined us. Power is definitely an advantage on this track as a new Viper SRT-10 showed me by leaving me in its wake.

My goal was to get the car under 1min50 - which I finally managed to achieve in the last session and last run! Better late than never. My best final time was 1min49.589. Nirvana ran flawlessly so I was very happy with her. My skills and seat time need some additional sorting. All in all, I am happy as this was my first time with this car and on this track.

The picture above came from Carlos Oliveros who sold us a CD with some great Hi-res shots.

Exhaust Add-ons

Here are some pictures of the creative ways some of the LCS competitors have managed to keep their cars under the 92dBs required at Laguna Seca. These silencers are far from normal but they definitely do the trick. The sound booth is located on driver's right heading up the hill between turns 5 &6. These trick exhaust tips are pointed in-board to direct the sound away from that sound booth.

The Sound and The Descent

Nirvana handled very well as I attempted to learn this new track. I limited myself to setting the tire pressure on the Toyo R888s and focused on grasping the line. Laguna Seca is an 11 turn world-class track. The elevation changes, fast sweepers, tight corners and long straights are an absolute blast.

My first session was a short one for a couple of reasons; sound check and flagman error. Laguna demands strict noise requirements (92dBs). Most of the Lotus run aftermarket exhaust that don't have a chance of complying. The additional mufflers and baffles that were added to restrict sound showed the ingenuity of the LCS

crowd. Some of them looked quite comical but were very effective. The competitors who ran stock exhausts ran in full compliance. I was running a Larini 8" exhaust which I was told has passed before. The fact that my car is also a normally aspirated car helped to keep the noise levels down - plus I am running a stock airbox

and filter. It was a good thing as the Larini 8" passed with no problems. Unfortunately a Exige 'S' with a Larini 8" did not meet the sound as it was too loud. I believe the added Supercharger whine of these FI cars really puts the cars over the limit. I had brought and extra stock muffler/diffuser just in case I failed. I did not need it so I lent it to Eddie who was able to put it to good use.

The track allows you to conduct a 3 lap sound check to determine your dBs. This gives you the chance to check without receiving the Black Flag. I ran mine successfully and went back out on track. Unfortunately one of the flag men flagged me with the ole 'Meatball' flag and I came in to the hot pit. The car of was running fine but the flag made me wonder if the car was broken. As it turns out, he was mistaken and they let me out for 1 more lap before the session ended.

I received some great coaching from Scott Bradley in my second session. I was still learning the line but his

advice really helped me pick up the

right places to brake, turn-in and accelerate. Getting instruction is one of the best ways for anyone to go quicker - especially on an unfamiliar track like Laguna was for me. My first couple of sessions landed times of 1:59ish. I managed to carve another 4 seconds off in the last session and ultimately in the race I got my time down to 1:51.

Dropping into the Corkscrew@Laguna Seca is one of the best rides I've enjoyed on track. What a rush! Once Scott pointed out the correct tree to point at, I was dropping in with confidence. A couple of times I touched some dirt on the apex @8 but soon found the right position. The entry into the Corkscrew is harder than the descent. Turn 9 is one that I am still struggling with and will work on today.

The long uphill straights after turn 5 & 6 are a challenge for Nirvana. The lack of FI power is clearly apparent as the 'S' cars pull smartly away. I need to learn how to maintain more speed - especially going into 5 as it really helps for the big uphill to 6.

One of the biggest changes apparent this year in LCS is the number of aero mods - big wings and splitters are helping guys stick with massive grip. Nirvana clearly lacks the grip that our Exige sported thanks to the aero packge we had on that car. Brent set the fastest times and won the final race with a FI car with minimal power

improvements but lots of aero and weight improvements - of course the fact that he is a fanastic driver helps!!!! Congrats to Brent for a well fought battle with Kevin!