111RS #3 Build: Front Clam Turn Signal Delete

 We've been deleting the front turn signal on some of our cars.  The stock turn signals are known to pop off as they are fixed with plastic clips that fatigue and fail,  Initially I did not like the look sans signals but have warmed up to them.  Form follows function for me - usually!

We plan to run the car without the center grill so have deleted the holes that they clip into.  Plus we've removed the seam that runs under the nose badge and lights.

111RS #3 Build: Rear Tailight Refinish & Interior Upgrades

 The rear taillights can get dull over time but can be refinished.  You can sand and polish or even have them clear coated.  Lee took the lights from our current 111RS build and worked his magic.  He starts with 1500 grit and wet sands the lights.  In some cases he will start with 1000 grit and then follow with 1500.  

Then he used a cutting compound and then a final polish/wax.  The end result is pretty impressive and something that a DIY could tackle.

We've also decided to dress up the interior of this 111RS.  Several clients have added Alcantara (suede) to their dashboard area and it really looks great.  Are we kidding ourselves attempting to make this car a bit more luxurious?  It is hard not to like how much nicer these parts now look and feel!

The driver seat will again be a comfy CF seat.  We're reuphostering a factory Exige seat for the passenger side.  We want to experiment with a lumber bladder upgrade on this seat.  We know many of the stock lumber bladders are failing along with the leather getting worn out.  We think we can offer to restore these worn seats with new leather/material as well as adding a new inflatable lumber bladder.

We even are looking at heated seat elements for those of you in chillier climates...

Mold Warning: Beware of Storage on Gravel!

 We received a car that had severe mold growth all throughout the interior of the car.  It had been stored on a gravel surface and covered with a special car cover.  The mount of mold in this car far exceeds anything that we had ever seen.  The smell was really strong and certainly not safe to drive - especially if the AC is on.  Mold needs three things to grow: food (organic material), moisture and dark,  This car clearly was heaven for mold growth!

We had to completely take the interior apart and clean all surfaces.  The rear clam showed huge mold growth so that had to be removed as well.  We decided to yank the front off as well.

rear clam viewed from inside the cabin

It turns out the car had been stored on gravel with a special rodent-resistant car cover.  This cover shown below features a weighted circumference that 'seals' the car and prevents rodents from entering.  Though the cover claims to breathe, it was probably not enough to cope with the prodigious amount of rain we experience in CA this past winter.  The porous gravel surface was certainly another contributor to the problem as it releases moisture.  As the temps came up, the moisture evaporated from the gravel but was trapped within the car as it was sealed by the cover.  

Our recommendation is to avoid storing your car on a porous surface like gravel or dirt/grass.  Covers with weight bottom seals are going to be especially troublesome on a porous surface.  If you can drive your car every couple of weeks, that should also help reduce these issues!

Lee steamed, disinfected and coated the engine bay. 
Carlos refinished the rollbar supports in satin black.

111RS #3 Build: AC & Stereo Improvements

 

We are attempting to improve the lackluster AC and stereo performance on this build.  We've not attempted much in either of these categories in the past so wanted to make some progress here on this car.

We have had clients ask us to improve AC performance for years.  Next year, we plan to look at new HVAC units but this year we have too many other product developments that are consuming our resources.  So simple ideas are what we are testing here.

Adding insulation to a few key areas is one idea.  We first insulated the inside of the actual HVAC unit.  We had to rebuild it due to the rodent damage so it gave us the opportunity to add some insulation on the inside.  We brainstormed that this may be an more effective method at keeping the cold on the inside.  We have also added it to some of the ducting in the dash.

Inside the HVAC housing

Under dash ducting plenum

The stereo is also getting improved on this 111RS.  I have removed the stereo from my last two Elises as I have not put much thought to sound systems in these noisy cars!  Ironically I love music so a nice sound system seems like something I would have already sorted.  This car will get our first attempt at creating a better system that does not add too much weight or wiring complexity.  The high level plan is to create a subwoofer box that will take the place of the passenger foot rest.  This box will also house an amp and Bluetooth to connect a phone that will stream music.  We will use the stock speaker locations with upgraded speakers.

This car had some messy aftermarket wiring work done.  Carlos reversed it so we can create a plug and play harness adapter for our solution.  One of our good friends also has been experimenting with sound deadening ideas in his Elise.  We are using a product he recommended under the seats.  It is heavy but lets see how effective it is...

We will reinstall the 5lb foam insulator behind the seats.  This was an easy weight reductions we used to employ!  This car will have more power courtesy of the KATANA3 so we can afford to add a bit more weight.  When we are done, I think we will still be lighter than a stock Elise - but the scales will tell all!

Touring Pack came with some insulation

An act of heresy: sacrilegious insulation

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.  

Fitting Considerations: DNA Rear Swaybar

The early cars, mostly 2005-06 have welded nuts on the rear subframe that make fitting the DNA rear swaybars more of a challenge.  This kit has a tab that gets bolted to the subframe in this same location.  Unfortunately the tab takes the same space as the nuts.

Carlos came up with an excellent and clean way to make this issue a non-issue.  A socket and a breaker bar are all that is needed to pop the nuts cleanly off the subframe. 

The 111RS build needed this done so....

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

111RS #3 Build: Suspension, Brakes & More

We are starting to bolt on all the four corners of the 111RS now.  This includes the Refreshed Wishbones with MONOballs and Refreshed Uprights with new Hub Bearings.  New hardware is getting installed as the old bits are looking tired.  We added new 12.9 hardware to the refreshed calipers as well.  FASTarms are also a must have for this build.

This build is getting the DNA Front & Rear Swaybar kit as we've become big fans.  We love the ability to run much softer spring rates thanks to roll stiffness being managed by the sways.  The added compliance on rough roads and tracks is remarkable.  We will install the DNA Rear Toe link brace as well.  This is the first 111RS that has received this upgrade - it almost feels sacrilegious considering we make excellent braces ourselves!

We had a set of Nitron 46mm Singles that we had rebuilt sitting on our shelves.  We also have 350# and 500# springs that are reasonably light.  Usually we go lighter still with the DNA sways but we would test these rates on this car.  Generally we had run Nitrons in the past with 450# spring and up.  The lighter rates that we are running compare with what came on their Street Series dampers.  Since Nitron are building a Tech Center in our town, we thought it would be good to have a set on this car to test and tweak.  If you have not seen our video interviewing the Owner of Nitron, Guy Evans, please watch it: HERE

ULTRAdiscs are simply the best rotors for these cars with a 10lb unsprung weight savings.  We have paired them with G-loc R10 pads.  I like my cars to brake more aggressively than stock and this combo does not disappoint.  They are killer in the canyons and work fine on track.  Our QWKbleed lines are being fitted.  BULLETstuds were added as well.

We've deleted the passenger oil cooler - of course!

111RS #3 Build: Rad/AC/HVAC Reinstall

End caps are grey!

 This 111RS is getting ProAlloy's proRAD Triple Pass as the stock radiator was looking old and grey.  The plastic end caps had changed from black to grey in color.  These end caps are known to crack and then leak.  We change the radiator out on all the 111RS builds as a preventative measure.  This color change is easy to see from the outside of the car so something we suggest should be inspected.

We also installed ProAlloy's AC Condenser.  The AC hard lines to the stock condensers often rip the threads off the fitting upon removal.  It happened to this car so we had the lines repaired and replaced the condenser with a new rad.  Carlos cleaned up the stock fans and remounted each of these parts into their stack.  

The HVAC unit was cleaned up.  We took the opportunity to add some insulation to the inside of the unit to see if we can improve the AC performance.  We've not tried this before so it will be interesting to see the affect.

Lee cleaned up the radiator shroud and crash structure as everything was apart.  It all looks great now and reinstalled.