Monday, December 20, 2010

Type 49 Evora at the Dyno

We visited K&N, the world-renown high-flow air filter & intake company, with our Lotus Evora to see where we are at with our current exhaust setup.


Our car, the "Sector111 Type 49 Evora," has a Larini Sport Evora cat-back exhaust (you can hear the difference between this setup vs stock HERE). This exhaust has been installed and run for a few thousand miles. If the ECU was going to dial back power, it would have done it by now. Here's what we learned...


...Our Evora dyno'd at 253 rear-wheel HP & 240 lb-ft of torque. Compared with the stock Evora's 244 rear-wheel HP (based on the standard 12.5% drivetrain loss), thats an increase of just over 8HP. When you couple that with the 20 lbs of weight savings, this is a nice upgrade.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Evora & Atom Brake Rotors

We've taken the rotors off our Lotus Evora & Ariel Atom 3 to be sized up for some lighter and better-ventilated two-piece rotors. We love saving unsprung weight. Our ULTRAdiscs & Monolites having been saving unsprung weight for years now on Lotus Elise & Exiges. It's time for the Evora & Atom to enjoy the same benefits!


The pictures below show the Evora's suspension (front & rear respectively) unobstructed by the factory brake rotors. http://www.sector111.com/podcast/GirodiscPODCAST.mp3, the man behind our brake rotor offerings, was impressed with the Evora's OE rotors but says there are great weight savings and cooling improvements to be had. The fronts will utilize a two-piece, floating rotor design like our CUPdiscs & ULTRAdiscs. The rears however may use a different design to accommodate for the drum-style parking brake.


Our Atom 3 is fitted with the optional Alcon racing brakes. These are fantastic brakes that are virtually fade free on or off the track. The rotors however have a lot of weight-saving potential. We'll fit two-piece floating rotors on all four corners which give us a significant loss in unsprung weight.


We'll post the final weight saving figures when we get the finished rotors.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

KATANA26X Initial Dyno Results

We recently dyno'd KATANA2's track-oriented, evil, brother which we have been referring to as "KATANA2track." After dynoing this setup, we realized we need a new interim name. "KATANA26X" will be more appropriate because it's putting down 235hp at the rear wheels. If you calculate for 15% drivetrain loss we're looking at 270hp at the crank. A more conservative 12.5% drivetrain loss puts us at just under 265hp at the crank. The calibration needs a couple of small adjustments until we can officially give it a number. The results, so far, look great!

The KATANA26X kit is similar to the KATANA2 but adds a cold-air intake and a Larini Header & Decat. A larger fuel pump is recommended as is uprating your trans gears as we are now entering gear eating torque territory.


The dyno graph above compares the KATANA26X's rear-wheel horsepower (rwhp) and rear-wheel torque (rw lb-ft) with the KATANA2. The KATANA26X is about 20hp stronger at the rear wheels than the CARB-pending KATANA2.

This upgrade will be perfect for you track-rats looking for more power than the KATANA2. While retaining all of the driveability you've come to expect from calibrations completed by our engine calibrator Steve. We'll have it available soon...and will be sold as a track-only solution.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

New Partnership with PB Racing in Italy

A key strength of Sector111 has been the various partners we've developed over these last 7 years - all over the world. This has allowed us to introduce many new products to this tiny Lotus market. Leveraging the talents and expertise of our partners has been a huge benefit for all of us. To that end, September was a crazy month for me as I traveled all over including NY, MI, VA, England and Italy.

I went to visit PB Racing outside of Milan to discuss some of their new products and brainstorm ways for us to cooperate. PB Racing are a Lotus Dealer and also manage the Lotus Cup series. PB is run by a cool guy, Stefano d'Aste, who has a racing resume that is quite impressive. He and his Engineering Manager Dr. Federico Turrata are true Lotus enthusiasts. Their shop is full of S1 & S2 Elise, Exige and 211s. PB have developed many items for various Lotus models as well as providing development support to Lotus on cars like the 211 GT4.

Racing is a key part of PB Racing. In addition to racing themselves, they manage several arrive and drive clients within the Lotus Cup Italy. This affords them a clear view on what can fail in these cars when subjected to serious race conditions. Similarly, we found our participation in Lotus Challenge in the US has given us even more insight on product needs than regular HPDE days can. Racing against the clock truly requires a different perspective and different products.
One of the items that most racers need are multiple sets of wheels. PB have a very nice wheel that caught my attention. We will be getting a few sets of them as I think they are an excellent solution. These cast wheels are made in Italy and are very affordable. The quality is superb and unlike some other cheaper options, were designed to fit the Lotus. PB have been running them successfully in the Cup series for two+ years with no failures. I like the way they look and think they will become quite popular here. The sizes are 16x7 & 17x8 with offsets that are fairly conservative. We expect the pricing to be less than $1500/set but will know soon once we have the final landed costs.

One key product that they have developed is a TVS supercharger kit for the Evora. They've cast some nice manifolds and are now finishing the brackets and engine mounts. We will get this kit over here soon and will plan to offer it to Evora customers. We will need to sort the ECU tuning for our lovely 91 octane fuel but should be able to use the rest of the kit.

I'm pretty excited as I expect some very tasty bits will be the fruit of this partnership. Stay tuned.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Video Chat with Sector111

We are always trying to improve our communication with our customers. For clients who can't just stop by our shop, video chatting can provide more clarity to many questions. To this end, we now have the ability to FaceTime & Tango with our customers. If you have an iPhone4, new iPod Touch or an Android Smart Phone, you can get live video support from Sector111 from anywhere in the world for free! If you have a tech, installation or product question, e-mail us at info@sector111.com to schedule a video chat appointment.

FaceTime is a new Apple application that allows you to video chat using the iPhone4 or new iPod Touch and a Wi-Fi connection. FaceTime requires no setup, no new account or no extra charges. Its as easy as placing a phone call and is free no matter where in the world you are.

Tango is new video chat application for Android phones or previous generation iPhones. Tango is also free and downloadable from your phones app store.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Seats & Safety

I visited Ralph@ V2 Motorsport in Detroit last week and also stopped in and visited Roush Industries. I'm a big believer in safety in our cars and am constantly looking for best practices and learned some new tips from each visit.

Ralph supports two Exige 'S' cars that are being raced in SCCA T2. The cages and seat arrangement in these cars are truly amazing. I wanted to share some pictures of his cars. Seat back reinforcement is becoming the norm in serious racing. We had installed a ReVerie race seat in my Atom a couple of years ago that had it's seat back bolted into the chassis. It was seriously rigid! The cage in these Exiges featured extra gussets and had double door bars that extended out further from the stock sill. He has also installed interior head nets that are a smart solution and becoming required in many series.












As it turns out, these cars set track records at Waterford Hills Raceway this past weekend turning 1min 15sec times. Fast AND safe!




























I toured Roush courtesy of my grade school friend, Dennis who happens to be the son of a Roush co-founder. Dennis has been working at Roush since we were teenagers. He was gracious enough to give me a great tour of their museum and race shop.

Roush is an impressive company with extensive capabilities. Many cars that you see on the road feature products that were in part developed by Roush. They have been active in Stock car racing for many years and had quite the collection of cars.

I had the pleasure of sitting inside a Fusion stock car. The seats in these cars are amazing. They feature bolstering and support unlike any other sportscar race series. They are awesomely safe. Climbing in and out through the window was a kick. I suspect more of the features displayed in these seats will trickle their way into other forms of racing. I'm sure we will incorporate some of them for sure. Look for some future cooperation as well between Sector111 & Roush.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Brake Pad Testing

Here at Sector111, we are always testing something that will make your car handle better, be faster, create more grip to the track or stop quicker. It is the last point that we concentrated on for our last test at Buttonwillow Raceway.

We took a Naturally-Aspirated Spec Elise that races in the Lotus Challenge Series and used it as our test car. This car started with Hawk HT-10 brake pads with stock Lotus rotors.

Our test drivers ranged from one pro racer/ driving instructor (a real expert at Buttonwillow having raced there since the opening of the track), one leading Lotus Challenge Series contender (our fast amateur driver), one mid level driver with very good knowledge of the Lotus cars and the braking characteristics, and one driver that is new to driving Lotus’s in particular on the track.

We were able to test two new sets of brake pad options. The first test of these new pad options was set up around the feel of how the brakes were on the track. The four criteria that we used for each driver was:

  • Initial Bite
  • Modulation
  • Pad Release
  • Resistance to Fade
Durability and wear characteristics will come later if they are able to pass this first test. Luckily the pads that were chosen for this test all passed and are scheduled to be used in our next stage of development.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Spec Elise Build

After the Laguna Seca Lotus Challenge Series(LCS) race, one of our clients requested that we build him another Elise for wheel to wheel racing. He was currently running an uncaged Elise SC in LCS that he also drives on the street. He was having so much fun that building a car that was even safer seemed to be a prudent decision. Developing a car that would qualify for the Spec Class within LCS was his request to us in mid July. He also wanted to be able to run at the next LCS event in early Sept. Time was clearly too tight to start from scratch.

To expedite this build, we bought an Elise that was already track prepped but needed some tweaks to make it compliant with LCS rules. This car came from our friends at R3 Motorsports who used it as a school car and also for arrive and drive. It had a cage and fire suppression system already. We stripped the car down to assess it's condition. It had seen some serious track days but was in decent condition. The car had a salvage title so had some minor chassis damage that R3 corrected.

The parts that we changed included the suspension, steering arms, gPAN, brakes, RTVbrace, airbox, hubQR, Nardi F1 steering wheel and added a fifth point harness. Several of the ball joints were torn or worn out so we simply replaced them with some of our components like our Nitron S99 kit. We gave the car a full fluid flush, including our transELIXIR and alignment. We added a set of stellaCORSE wheels from the clients SC. Since the car is not street legal, we had to wait until a track event to test her out.

The car was originally Chrome Orange but the client and his business partner wanted a yellow car. They christened it 'Saffron'. The stripe scheme was our 'Blade' design that was
first developed on our Exige. I'm pleased to report that several client's have copied this design around the country. We chose red and white as these colors were in the client's race suit and helmet. After adding the stickers the car really looked sweet. The 'Toyo' & 'R888' were sprayed onto the tire sidewalls for that finishing touch.

Of course the proof is always in the pudding so we needed to run her to see if she was fast. Steve brought her to the Streets of Willow LCS event. Our client and his partner hired a pro to coach them. The coach is a Skip Barber instructor at Laguna Seca with experience in their Lotus school cars. He was very happy with the car. So much so that he did not want to give it back! He managed to run some fast laps in the 1:32sec range with a safe margin. Saffron ran without a hitch in 105degF track conditions. Ultimately the track race was cancelled as the corner workers were getting sick from the heat.
Our client and his partner were pleased with the car and raved about its performance. We managed to deliver a track ready Elise to them in 1.5months. So give us a call if you are interested in a track focused Lotus, we can build one to suit your specific needs.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

New Trailer for Our First Atom Customer

Our first Atom client requested that we get an enclosed trailer built to house his Atom. We called our friend Chad at CNC Trailers to build a nice 20' trailer for him. Chad and his father build some of the best custom trailers in Southern CA. You can spec in anything your heart desires. They built a stacker for one lucky family that owns 2 Lotus 211s. Each trailer is built from all box tube steel so they are very sturdy.


One cool feature of this trailer is the built in 'basement' for storage. The cabinets and stainless counter are also quite nice. It has been plumbed with air and features a compressor and winch. The awning will also be a sweet way to beat those sunny CA track events. The flush mounted L-track will be a perfect way to strap down the Atom.

This is clearly one of the nicest trailers we've seen. Give us a call if you are interested in getting one for your sportscar - especially your Atom or Lotus.


Monday, August 16, 2010

Metal Shard in Evora Tire!

Picked up a metal shard while driving the Evora home from Monterey this weekend! This bit decided to lodge itself into my rear tire somewhere along the 605 freeway. I began hearing a repetitive noise from the rear tire that was somewhat quiet yet different from the usual noises. The Evora is nicely insulated but still allows you to feel and hear things that most cars would not allow you to detect.

Three quarters of this metal part was in the tire. It took some effort to remove and luckily the tire did not lose any air. The Evora has the tire pressures on display in the dash. This allowed me to monitor them during the remaining 70 miles I had to get home. I was concerned as it was 100+degF which can be severe for tires - especially ones with torn tread blocks!

I returned home with not issue. The Pirellis held up well. Time to get a new rear tire...

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Save 26+lbs from your Evora

We've installed a new Lithium Ion battery from Braille - the Intensity 480R into our Evora. The stock battery weighs in at close to 37lbs while the 480R only weighs a bit over 10 lbs. It is a simple way to shed some weight from the back of the car. So in keeping with the 'Light is Right' philosophy, we've decided to offer this cool battery.

Unlike the B2015 battery we sell for the Elise/Exige this battery has the same footprint as the stock battery. It is classified as a Group 48 battery and uses the factory mount. It is an easy install and only requires a small tweak to the opening of the stock connectors. They essentially need to be opened up to fit over the Braille posts.
One cool feature this battery has is an integrated Shut Off switch. This allows you to shut the battery off for extended storage. Just remember not to completely close the hatch or you will need to employ the same tactics we needed to get into our Evora when it was delivered with a dead battery... We were quite happy with the weight savings we managed with the new Larini exhaust but this battery saves us even more - albeit at a price.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Laguna Seca: Ariel vs. Lotus

One question I am often asked is what is quicker on the track a Lotus or an Ariel? We spent 3 days at Laguna Seca (LS) this past weekend to help answer this ever-burning question. We put our Atom3 & Elise to the test this weekend by comparing my own laps and by reviewing the actual times put down by the fastest Ariel & Lotus drivers. Luckily for us, both the West Coast (Atom) Adventure and the Lotus Challenge Series were both being held at LS.

We brought up our Elise which was now sporting several new upgrades including: Nitron 46mm shocks, Wider forged wheels from SJ, Race Diffuser & Side Sills from IMRP, A6 Hoosiers, & a new BOE muffler that was designed to meet the strict noise requirements at LS. We also continued acquiring data on our gPAN and transCOOLER products.
Our new Atom3 was also getting wrung out with new SJ forged wheels shod with Hoosiers A6s. The fronts were 205s and the rear were 245s. We had to remove the fenders to clear the rear tires. The stock muffler remained on the Atom3 to insure we did not suffer any noise problems. We had moved the brake pedal pad over to the left to add some clearance with the accelerator - it was noticeable improvement for me.

I spent the first 1.5days running the Atom. Frankly it took me at least half that time adjusting to the quickness of this machine. Even though I had tracked my Atom2, this car required new changes to my driving style. The shifter is very close, almost too close. I required a serious recalibration as a result. I ran the stock sized Yoko A048s initially, then switched to the A6s and saw my times dropped 2 seconds. The grip was awesome and put a real strain on my neck muscles. I had a passenger during my fast lap so am sure that I could run a quicker time solo. The A6s were a strong recommendation of my friend Darin - who is a very talented Atom driver (more about him later). The oversteer that I felt at corner exit with the A048s was almost completely eliminated with the A6s. Larger tires on the rear of this car clearly helps. The Atom should not be a track newbies first car. It responds much faster than other street cars and requires your full attention at all times. Ultimately I ran a 1min46s lap.

Project Nirvana has come a long way since we first bought her a year ago. In fact, LS was the first track that we had run our Elise at. It was cool to come back with Nirvana in it's current state of tune which included our Katana2 (CARB-pending). We ran her initially with R888s on Monolites and then switched to the wider SJs with the A6s. The SJ wheels are 16x8 in front and 17x8.5 in the rear. Clearance was a concern so we took things carefully. We chose to run conservative ride heights (120mm & 125mm) and added additional camber at the track (2.6deg & 3deg). The added aero was newly installed and were proven parts run by many LCS racers. She looked super aggressive and utterly bitchin' with these new upgrades. Nirvana was pure driving bliss. I was very happy with her performance and made some adjustments to the new Nitrons. Unfortunately our sessions were quite short on Sunday so I did not get to optimize the settings. Regardless my best time was 1min47s. I'm sure I could drop these times given more laps.

So clearly I was able to run faster in the Atom than the Elise. I think superior acceleration of the Atom shines on a track like LS with its big straights. But the lack of downforce and quick reaction made it a handful for my modest skills. It delivered a rush that is incomparable. The Elise on the other hand was a much more 'relaxed' car to drive. It reacted much slower than the Atom and did not punish my sometimes ham-fisted moves. My confidence level was clearly higher in the Elise as a result. Interestingly enough, I believe the Atom made me a better Lotus driver. So the Atom wins the 'faster-lap-with-the-same-driver' contest.

Comparing the fastest times posted by Atom & Lotus drivers revealed a similar result. The quickest Atom was driven by my friend Darin who posted a 1min33s time with his NA 245hp Atom2. He posted his video as proof: DP workin' LS. See his aggressive line through the corkscrew pictured here. Another friend, Andy K. cranked out the fastest times in his Lotus 211 with a 1min36s lap. Clearly both cars can be driven at paces that are downright scary fast but the Atom seems to be the faster car. Another interesting fact is that the Atom can be driven on the street while the 211 is track-only.

Do the faster laps make the Atom the better of the two? No, the Atom works better for the driver who wants to feel everything NOW and capable of dealing with it! That makes it better for some but not all. The Lotus is more gentleman-like in its response and easier to drive fast. Both are lightweight cars that deliver driving enjoyment beyond the typical sportscar. I guess I should pinch myself now as I get to drive both...

Monday, June 28, 2010

Forged Wheels for the Atom3

I had great success with the SJ forged wheels from Japan on my Atom2. These wheels are built at the same factory as our Monolites & stellaCORSE wheels that we sell into the Lotus market. The quality is superb and they are ultra lightweight. Forged Al is almost as light as cast magnesium (Dymag wheels) yet stronger and much more affordable. Reducing unsprung weight is our mantra around here and these wheels will save 16lbs off the complete stock cast TD wheels. This fitment has a different PCD than found on the Atom2. I ordered 1 set to test and received them last week.
Steve installed wheels onto my Atom3 and they clear the Alcon calipers easily. The offset on these wheels are super aggressive. They will result in tires that sit proud of the fenders - like in my Atom2. Compared to stock, the rear track is widened more than the front as a ratio . The rear wheel is also now 8" wide vs 7"(stock). The front wheel is slightly narrower at 6.5" vs 7" stock. I believe this may be the perfect tweak to dial out some oversteer for drivers like myself.

We will install wider tires (most likely Hoosiers) and run at Laguna Seca in two weeks. I will report back after completing our test.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Evora Sport Exhaust from Larini


The stock exhaust on the Evora is very quiet as it needs to meet strict noise requirements in many countries - especially in Europe. Naturally we want something a bit more aggressive. We had the boys at Larini send us a prototype Sport exhaust for our Evora along with a Decat pipe for the third stock cat.

The first noticeable thing was the ease of removal for the stock exhaust compared to an Elise/Exige. Once we hefted the stock exhaust out we immediately put it on our scales.
The stock exhaust was 38.45lbs. The Larini weighed in at 18.38lbs - a 20lb weight savings. The stock Cat pipe weighed 6.2lbs and the Decat pipe only 2.95lbs. Removing this last cat does not trip the MIL as it is located after the O2 sensors. This is a 23.3lb weight saving off the rear of the car! We have a Lithium Ion battery coming that will shave off a similar amount.

On start up there was only a slight increase in idle and a noticeable tone change when revved. Driving it on the street and highway showed that it is a gentleman's (or gentlewoman's) exhaust. It sounds aggressive as you rev up the engine yet it is dead quiet while cruising. The sound is very deep and muscular. We like it a lot and it suits the nature of this car.

This system came with an Oval tip but it also available with a Dual Tip. We are also planning to get one that sports a special heat resistant coating that will be white. One Evora customer, Craig, has requested black tips which we should also be able to accommodate.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Evora Pre-flight Checks

After taking delivery of our new Lotus Evora, we found out the battery from the factory had gone bad. So, before initial take off, we called Lotus of Long Island to see if they've seen this issue before. They had in fact experienced a handful of cars delivered from the factory with bad batteries.

We promptly sourced a Deka battery to replace the dead OE one. Their 69 series 691MF was an exact replacement and fit perfectly.

Now that the Evora had power, we had to make sure the one touch window controls were programed properly. To do this, we made sure the windows were up and held the switch in the up position till a click was heard. We then lowered each window and held the button for 2 seconds until it clicked again.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Our Evora Has Landed!

We received our 2010 Lotus Evora this week from our friends at Lotus of Long Island. After test driving the car I was convinced that Lotus has another hit on their hands. As we have done on the Elise/Exige, we want to be a part of this success story by developing products that enhance this fantastic car.
Here's a basic list of parts we will developing for the Evora:
  1. Exhaust - Larini Sport exhaust is due next week
  2. Forged Wheels
  3. Lightweight brake rotors
  4. Brake pads
  5. Lightweight battery
  6. Car covers
  7. Floor mats
  8. Interior/lifestyle bits
  9. ...and MUCH more!
Wasting time is not our style, so, we invited HRE to visit us and get wheels under development. Roy from HRE stopped in yesterday to take critical measurements from our Evora. HRE produces very high-end wheels for many sports cars. They offer multi-piece and single-piece forged wheels of superb quality. We're known as wheel snobs and these guys meet our standards. An added benefit is the fact that they are located 30 minutes away.


The OE Forged wheels that came on our car with the Pirelli P-zeros tires weighed 43.5 lbs (front) and 52.6 lbs (rear) each. Our goal will be to offer wheels in this range - and possibly even lighter.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Dave Wins Again!


Congratulations to our ride & handling engineer, Dave Thilenius, for another 1st-place finish in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge in his #74 Compas360 Honda Civic Si! Dave and his co-driver, Lawson Aschenbach, extended their ST class championship lead to 13 points with the win at Watkins Glen in upstate NY. You can watch the exciting race when it's broadcast on Speed Channel June 13 @ 1:00 PM Eastern (check your local listing).


Dave & Lawson will look to stretch that lead further on June 19 when GRAND-AM heads to Mid-Ohio. Good luck, gents!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Brake Rotor Paint Testing

We recently tested our Katana2 Elise with ULTRAdiscs and Hawk HT10 brake pads and ran some new Temperature Indicating Paint. We used 500, 750, 1000, and 1200 degree F paints for our first test. We painted the front and rear rotors.

REAR



FRONT


As you can see in the pictures, we only burned off the 500deg F paint in the rear. This means we are getting our rear brakes hotter than 500deg F but still less than 750deg F. .

REAR


We burned the 750deg F paint in the front. This means we burned past 750deg F on the front but not up to 1000deg F.

FRONT


For our next test we are going to narrow down our paint choices to get a better indication of actual temps we are running. This is a fairly simple and easy non-intrusive way to find out where you are in the heat range of your braking system. It is a smart approach before spending money on a BBK or venting. You might be amazed that the stock sized system with better pads, rotors and fluid might be enough to keep your brake temps in check.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

My Monticello Motor Club Visit

I had the pleasure of visiting Ari Straus and his team at the Monticello Motor Club in Monticello, NY. This country club racetrack is relatively new and located about 90min outside of New York City. The location is truly beautiful with green rolling hills and natural terrain that offers excellent elevation changes.

They were running the full 3.5mile config during my visit. This track is very technical with some great long straights as well. It is an excellent track for the Lotus,Ariel,Solstice or Sky. In fact they had a track prepped Solstice GXP available for me to blast around in. This car was one of the Solstices used in the TV show, Set-up. I fully enjoyed running around the track and only wish I had my own car to really get comfortable. A new club house and hot pit garages were under construction and are expected to be complete in June. They also have plans for condos with garages.

I also spent a fair amount of time with Mike Reed, Monticello's Chief Engineer. Mike is a fellow Lotus owner with a Series 1 Exige in his garage. This Lotus is one of my favorites and remains on my short list. Mike has a team of techs who maintain and upgrade many different cars at the club. They have several Lotus that they manage including, Elises, Exiges, Cup cars and 211s. They also have an Atom, plenty of GXPs, Ferraris, Porsche, Radicals and much more. It really is a track rat's wet dream. Mike has been a Dealer of our products and is a guy you can trust to sort your machine. Plus he may just be faster than you as well around the track...

We discussed plans to hold a joint Monticello/Sector111 event late this year. We are going to try to have a track weekend in early Oct that will also include a time trial and possible race. We know that the Lotus enthusiasts in the surrounding area are itching for an event. We are going to do our level best to make it happen....

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Balanced Approach - Safe. Reliable. Performance.

In the past 6 years, we have talked with literally thousands of Lotus owners & have tracked these cars our selves. We've used these experiences to develop an upgrade path that will ensure you avoid unnecessary lost track time and costly breakdowns. We believe taking a balanced approach to tuning your Lotus is the safe and reliable way to gain performance and lower your lap times.

Click on the image below to view the full-size "Balanced Approach" chart. Of course, give us a call if you have any questions. (951)296-6762.




Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Rules to Live By on Track

My good friend, Grand Am racer, classmate, and driving instructor, David Thilenius, has some rules he presents to all his students. I wanted to share them with all y'all.

Here are Dave's 10 governing principles for driving on track:
1. Don't die.
2. Don't die.
3. Don't die.
4. Don't die.
5. Don't die.
6. Cars break.
7. Driver's make mistakes.
8. Driving at the limit is not like riding a bike. If you don't do it regularly, you will forget.
9. Sooner or later, you will crash. Prepare like you are going to crash.
10. The driver is 100% responsible for everything that happens to the car he is driving.

Dave will be with us at the next Lotus Challenge race at Spring Mtn coaching a couple of drivers. Come out and meet this recent Daytona Grand Am winner. Did I mention Dave is also the Ride & Handling engineer for us and Secant?