Winterizing Tips from WT Roadsters

 

Winter is coming up quick. Bill Thomas was kind enough to put together a list of items he does with his Elise, Triumph, and supercool motorbikes:

• Wash and if possible wax/detail vehicle. Make sure the vehicle is completely dry before permanent parking. If it is not possible to wash and/or detail the car then at a minimum it should be wiped down. Remove all items such as paper, food, etc. from the interior. The less clutter the better as this will help prevent rodents from wanting to move in.

• If the vehicle is to be stored throughout the winter without any chance of being driven, inflate all tires to 5 psi above maximum inflation pressure stated on the tire sidewall. This will help reduce flat-spotting of tires during extended immobilized storage. You can go one step further in preventing flat spots by parking vehicles on dense rubber pads large enough to cover the contact patch of tire. A 12''x12'' square one to two inches thick at each wheel is sufficient.

• Change oil and filter if possible. Clean oil sitting in the cooler(s), filter, and sump for upwards of six months is better than dirty oil!!!

• The fuel tank should be completely full. This will prevent condensation from forming on the inside of the tank walls should there be a rapid change in temperature and humidity.

• Check all fluid levels (coolant, brake, clutch, wiper reservoir) and adjust levels as required. Be sure to verify freeze protection of coolant/antifreeze solution in both the engine and windshield reservoir.

• Remove the battery from the vehicle and store it in a warm, dry climate utilizing a battery tender. Make sure windows are fully closed first. If a warm, dry area is not available such as a basement or garage, place the battery on a wood plank with tender attached. The wood will act as an insulator between the ice-cold floor of an unheated garage and the battery. The current flow created by the battery tender will generate a slight amount of heat in the battery. This is a good thing and will help prevent freezing.

• If the storage area has a tendency to become damp or experience rapid temperature and humidity changes (an uninstalled garage is a good example) you should spray a light mist of WD-40 or silicone in the engine bay completely covering everything. This will prevent corrosion on some of the aluminum and steel engine-related parts (ECU, Air Flow Meter, misc. fittings, and fixtures). Do not overdo it with the spray. Make it shine, not drip!!

• Once you have completed the checklist, your final task will be to cover the car with a soft, quality car cover. It should be able to 'breath', meaning that moisture can pass from the vehicle surface through the cover fibers to the atmosphere. This will help protect paint and trim from staining should the cover get wet or surface condensate.

• Finally, if the vehicle is accessible during the storage period, you may check its well-being as often as you care to. I have stored vehicles for 8-12 month stretches without any problems.

• One final important tip: DO NOT start the car and let it run for a few minutes at a time sporadically throughout the storage period. I know many people out there think this is a good idea but it is not. This practice will rapidly contaminate the engine oil and fill your exhaust with condensation (water!). BAD, VERY BAD!

Thx to Bill Thomas, WT Roadsters, NJ InoKinetic Authorized Dealer & Katana Installer (908) 313-4482 or info@wtroadsters.com

shiftR111 Installation & Adjustment Tips Video

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111RS SPYDER @ West Coast Lotus Meet

We brought the Spyder to Folsom, CA for the biannual West Coast Lotus Meet. This event moves around on the west coast and I have been attending it since 2004. It is a fun gathering with driving events, concourse, and social events to keep everyone entertained and drinking the Lotus Kool-aid.

Stacy and I had a great time driving in the back roads.

We drove the car on backcountry roads that have a mix of rough and smooth pavement. It was a group drive and we drove in a spirited manner - as the Lotus are designed to do. Wind buffeting was not an issue. We started with helmets on but I removed mine at mid-day. Even at freeway speeds, it was comfortable with no helmet. Yes, you can carry on a conversation. The weather was cold and a bit of drizzle yet we were comfortable. I would not hesitate to drive this car on a long road trip - but I am the guy who drove an Ariel Atom from SoCal to Tulsa!

Hanging out in the city of Lotus

Dynamically the Spyder proved to be a blast. The handling was excellent and the ride quality was totally acceptable to Stacy - who is not as hardcore as I. In fact, she gets motion sickness yet was totally comfortable - even on some of the rough roads we drove. I am a big believer in the DNA rear swaybar and soft spring rates that we are running on this car. We developed this combination a couple of years ago and I have been enjoying this on my street Elise ever since. Lotus suspension philosophy pushes soft springs but we Americans like flat handling - so we feel our combination strikes the right balance.

At the winery for lunch

The sound from the supercharger and exhaust were excellent. Our sonicFURY is winning over more and more Lotus owners thanks to its drone-free operation. It really has a Jekyll and Hyde personality! The shiftR111 package with our new naked center console makes shifting a real pleasure. The styling of the center console was also a big hit. We plan to introduce this item later this Summer. The brakes were something we downsized from the stock 4 piston S240 brakes. We installed the standard 2 piston calipers at the front so we could run a 15” front wheel. This car weighed in at 1950lbs full of fluids so we felt the smaller brakes would be more than adequate. A big brake kit is not needed as we are running our 2-piece ULTRAdiscs, Motul fluid, and aggressive G-loc pads. She stopped on a dime.

Concours event was held in old town, Folsom. It was a great venue with many beautiful cars on display

Aesthetics are subjective. The styling of the Spyder was well received. We had great responses with many Lotus club members giving us positive marks. The long tail and rear flares were noted by many but some did not notice it until I pointed them out. I was happy that these details were still somewhat subtle and not as obvious. Ultimately we won Best of Show at the concours so we proved to be a favorite. This felt great after all the hard work we put into making this a special Lotus.

A great result for a heck of a lot of work!

111RS SPYDER BUILD: PART 11

 We managed to complete the Spyder in time for the West Coast Lotus Meet. Of course, there were a thousand small details to sort but Jesus, Carlos, Damian, and Christina got it done. In the final days, I had to make a quick trip business trip but when I came back the 111RS was strapped into the trailer, ready to go to WCLM. The team got it done!

Here are a few of the final details we executed:

We completed the paint scheme/livery. This was all paint and NOT a wrap.

We changed the Takata belts - Thx HMS Motorsport for our last-minute color change!

We installed side scoops and the side view mirrors

Tidied up the interior and add a fire extinguisher.

Lights were installed along with tow hooks and the front spoiler with custom pinstripe

111RS SPYDER BUILD: PART 10

We still needed to fit the bodywork. Lotus use shims/spacers and other tactics to fit their bodywork. We used every trick possible to get our car looking good. We also aligned the car and set the ride height to an acceptable height for rough canyon use. We were tempted to go lower because it looks more sinister but we have always put function before form so…heck we installed 15” front wheels on this car!

Over the years I have had some fun with stripes. I think it may stem from the 10yrs I spent at 3M Automotive - makers of the screaming chicken decal found on the hood of many TransAms… Here is one of the favorites schemes.

We needed to start work on the stripe scheme. The images below show some ideas we played with. Of course, the final design will remain secret until we unveil the car at WCLM.

Here are some ideas that we played around with…

111RS SPYDER BUILD: PART 9

The ProAlloy Chargecooler install proved to be a straightforward job that required some creativity and fabrication. We had to rethink the location of the tank as we are keeping the emissions-related charcoal canister. Additionally, it required some clam cutting to get the IC tubes plumbed and a special bracket to support the charge cooler. Luckily creative solutions are in our DNA…

Fitting the hardware and plumbing

Once we completed this installation, we fired it up. Nice to hear it start!

The guys over at HMW Motorsport provided us a set of Takata ASM belts for use in the Spyder. I want to thank them for their generosity. They bolt in with the S111 Hardware just like the Schroth belts that we are accustomed to fitting to the Lotus - probably because Schroth owns Takata! The Spyder is getting a 4pt system on the passenger side and a full 6pt on the driver's side. We painted the front surface of the CF Big Bottom Seat that we fitted for an extra custom look. Note the stripe of carbon running down the side. Very cool and very comfortable!

111RS SPYDER BUILD: PART 8

So many details remain for us to complete. Some small, some medium and a couple of big ones. Though I‘m confident that we will finish in time for our unveiling, there is still plenty to do…

The ProAlloy Chargecooler was a big issue that we needed to get sorted as it effects the bodywork and more. As many of you know, the air to air intercooler in an Exige heat soaks quickly and robs power. Our partners at ProAlloy have made a great chargecooler that runs coolant to keep the IC cool. We choose to use their 211 chargecooler kit as our starting point. We knew that some modification would be needed. We started fitting it to see what we would need to change.

We had precut the Elise rear clam with the intercooler tubes in mind. It turns out that we needed to cut a bit more so marked those areas. The chargecooler will get mounted to a bracket that bolts to the subframe. We wanted to be able to remove the rear clam without having to remove the chargecooler so that meant cutting more of the clam. We will reinforce a few areas as a result.

Sections have been removed and a bit more will come out…

The Elise rear hatch will get secured with an Aerocatch latch. We used this on our ArtCar2 and it works nicely. Since the trunk is going to be filled with a chargecooler, we figured having a lockable trunk was not needed. We also filled a few holes including the old antennae hole found on early trunk lids.

Sanding down the paint, filling holes and then shooting primer

We have been working the fiberglass to show our bodywork capabilities. We added new features to the body that not only look cool but also add performance. The Gurney Flap that we added to the front clam at the radiator exit is a small detail but one that I think is pretty cool(pun intended).

A small aero feature…

Since the side glass has been deleted, we chose to fill in the door glass openings. We also shaved the a-pillar posts for the side view mirrors. The final result is really cool.

111RS SPYDER BUILD: PART 7

We keep crankin’ on the Spyder as the West Coast Lotus Meet approaches. We landed on a color for the roll hoop, tried to add a naca duct, and fit the Lexan windshield. Some success and one failure…

The roll hoop color was going to be either green or red. Our Powdercoaters showed me some options including a clear. I wanted to make sure the beautiful welds were not hidden. They recommended a Candy Apple Red powder coat that was translucent. It required a bit better surface prep as all the surface scratches are also visible. The final result is amazing and we are quite pleased with it. 

Sometimes you want to try out an idea and it requires cutting things. I had an idea to add a naca duct to the front clam to get a bit more air into the radiator. We had a nice CF duct and a plastic one. We took some measurements and it looked like we would be close. We made the decision to cut the clam and see if it would fit. Well, it didn’t! Luckily we have a man who does amazing work with fiberglass and we repaired it….

A Spyder is technically a roofless version of an existing sports car with a cut-down windshield. The previous Spyder we built had no windshield but this one was getting a small one. We decided to start with the Lexan version we sell. It required some test fitting to get the function & aesthetics right. We took measurements to determine what height we wanted the windshield cut down to. Carlos is 6’ tall and we wanted the windshield to land just above his view straight out of the car. We laid a tape line at the height to confirm and then cut it.

We are using a combination of screws and adhesive to bond the windshield. We first marked the location and then bonded nutserts into the windshield surround and a-pillar. Though we believe this will be enough to hold it, we plan to use a silicone adhesive to add additional bonding that will still make for ‘easy’ removal.

111RS SPYDER BUILD: PART 6

Bodywork continues. Jesus has blended the rear wing and rear flares in nicely. We decided to spray everything in primer to assess the lines and work. The multi-colored bodywork was not doin’ it for us…8^)

We added a new prep man, Damian, who is helping Jesus crank through the bodywork.

There are plenty of other details that we have been working on. The door striker pin plate was off on the roll hoops so we had to cut them off and reweld. Now the door fits well. Though this car is going to be fairly raw, we wanted to finish it with reasonable trim where ever possible.

Fitting the rear interior panel.

111RS SPYDER BUILD: PART 5

The body is getting fitted and we are getting closer to the finish line. We have made some tweaks to the factory bodywork to make this car really unique and special. Though it started life as an Exige S240, we are converting the rear to an Elise clam. This allows us to reduce weight and improve rearward vision.

We have fiberglass repair capability so the Spyder is a good platform for us to show the extent of our abilities.

Repairing a door

The original door was annihilated so a replacement was required. We found a damaged door that we repaired and fit. We will likely shave off the mount for the side view mirrors as we have a couple of ideas that we may choose to try out. The glass will be removed from the doors so we will likely cap the top of the door as well.

New rocker panel is fitted

The driver side suffered a fair amount of rock panel damage. We chose to order a new one from Lotus and removed the old one. The new one fits with some work. Once that was in place we started bolting on the other panels and the Spyder began taking shape.

Elise clam with Longtail and modified flares.

We first grafted on a set of ReVerie rear flares. I was not really happy with how bulky they look at the back. I opted to have them cut short to reduce the overall size at the bottom - while exposing more of the back of the tire. I think this will look great and add some visual interest. The portion of the flare that attaches to the rocker still needs to be bonded in the above image.

The rear wing was extended in an effort to create the longtail. Though I originally considered making a ducktail, this new longtail became more appealing as I spent time considering both. We were able to steal the stock rear wing off a damaged rear clam and bonded it onto this clam. Many hours of careful sculpting were required to get it to look right. My restoration specialist, Jesus, is an artist with a good eye. We collaborate very well and I am very happy with the final result. A few clients who have seen it agree.

Race Exige front clam fitted with Exige front fenders

The front Exige Race clam was installed. This clam has been used by many Lotus Cup racers. It is lighter and cheaper than a stock clam. We included the Exige front fenders as well. We plan to shave the side markers and relocate them. Fitting front lights to the car is one of the fun challenges we are currently wrestling with.

The above shot also shows the rear flares. I am happy with how these have turned out. The flares reduce air from hitting the front of the tire yet allow air to flush out the back without much restriction. The ETHOS 17x9 wheel will be fitted to the rear, so we will add slightly wider rubber as well. This should be nicely proportioned with a proper Coke-bottled shape.