111RS Build - Gathering Parts

Supply chain woes have plagued most of us.  Getting all of our key parts gathered up for this build was our next step to see if our goal of finishing this car in time for the West Coast Lotus Meet was possible.  We went through items that are not in stock and considered their due dates and I'm confident we can have this car ready for the show and most importantly, the Palomar Hillclimb event!

We have a full set of refreshed uprights and wishbones that we had previously stripped, sandblasted and plated.  This items are generally in bad cosmetic condition on cars with 50K+ miles.  Have these ready allows us to minimize down time and build the car quickly.  We will be installing MONOballs along with a full Suspension Refresh kit.  As this car will become a canyon carver that does occasional track days, the MONOballs were chosen.

One especially tasty bit this car will get is a light Gold set of Monolites.  We have never produced this color until our latest batch.  This is the only set in this color.   This color is really awesome and is sure to become part of our future offerings.  Combining Gold with Chrome Orange may sound too blingy but they work beautifully together.  Chrome Orange actually has gold flakes in the paint - a more appropriate name might have been 'Gold Orange'!

When coupled with the ULTRAdisc rotors this car will enjoy a 20lb unsprung weight savings!  You can feel this immediately through the steering wheel.  We feel this is one of the key reasons why our 111RS cars are such a joy to drive.  

KATANA3 Testing

 

We've installed our KATANA3 onto our test mule for testing.  This kit features the updated TVS900 blower which is the latest tech that results in less heat build up.  We believe in keeping the car non-intercooled as the simplicity of the system results in a more reliable solution.  

CARB approval is underway as well.  We've begun the paperwork process to get us an Executive Order (EO)# allowing us to offer it for sale for street cars.  EPA and CARB are both getting more strict.  For us, this is the right long-term commitment to supporting the community with the best products to keep their cars on the road and track.  We have attempted this in the past but our tuning capabilities did not allow us to fully achieve full approval.  Now, we have much more control and feel we have a better chance at a full approval.

Our testing so far has resulted in tweaks to the tune.  Brent, our calibrator, has sent us several versions and each has gotten better.  Our AFR logging suggests we are on the right track.  The car is running fantastically so we are very encouraged.  Our next step is dyno time to see what power we are actually making.

Our Next 111RS Build

 

We've started another 111RS build and plan to document it here.  This current candidate is technically the second customer 111RS.  Our 111RS Spyder is not included in this series as it remains a halo vehicle that is not likely to be duplicated again.  Our 111RS is a Lotus Outlaw with all of our current improvements - mechanical and cosmetic.  No, we are not starting with the proverbial sow's ear, in fact, I think we are starting with the silk purse.  Our refinements from stock make this platform an even better joy to drive.  And look at.

The base Elise for this build is a tired 115k miles example that has received various modifications over the years.  This car has a straight chassis with no damage. We will strip it down completely and rebuild it to our standard for a 111RS which includes built engine, rebuilt gearbox, new suspension, brakes, exhuast, Ultimate shiftR111, wheels and more.  Cosmetically the car will also get some TLC as it was wrapped and has no paint on both clams

We got our intrepid summer intern, Priya, onto stripping the wrap.  It took a couple of days and some sore fingers to get her done.  We left the car outside to get nice and warm to aid in the removal.

 Our project plan suggests two weeks of work can get this car mechanically up to 111RS standards.  Neil has started gathering up the parts and we will start in earnest next week.  We had kicked off a Mountune engine build a couple of weeks ago so that should help us shorten the time to completion.

The Bodywork required may take up to a month but we can get that started in parallel.  One visual tweak that we are likely to undertake on this car is a front turn signal delete.  This stock turn signals are known to fall out of the clam.  My current Elise (111RS mule) and last Elise have been benefited from this mod.