Part of my decision to get myself a Series 1 Lotus Elise was driven by all the journalists chat about how good they are to drive and it hasn’t disapointed. They’re as good as they say they are! I love it, nothing I have ever driven has steering weight and feel like it. That alone […]
It was finally time to get the Elise out of hibernation once again and start with a quick check over and oil and filter change. Undertray off and hang on, not this again. Not water this time but hydraulic fluid. Didn’t take long to find the source. The clutch slave cylinder is up there. I […]
One thing I could have added to the list when doing the full suspension refresh was the inner steering rack joints. I could feel no play in them at the time I did the suspension refresh though so just kept an eye on them as I do with the whole car. During my usual end […]
While I was replacing the timing belt and water pump I had a look at the upper engine steady bushes so I could work out what to order to replace them with something a bit better. I got some polyurethane replacements from an MGF parts supplier on eBay.
Having to remove the rear undertray everytime I want to get the Elise on the lift was getting pretty tedious and it was easily solved with some blocks that fit between the undertray and rear section of the chassis where the Elise must be supported from when being lifted. A guy sells them on the […]
Time for some new spark plugs. A set of NGK PFR6N-11 Engine cover off Blow out all the filth with the air line. Old plugs coming out. Old ones out with new ones ready to go in. But before that. A quick check of compression in all cylinders. Also a quick check of the plug […]
Some new centre cap decals as the existing ones were a mess. Untidy looking. Can’t leave them like that. Much better. Wheels need a clean though….. Thought I’d add some decals to the spokes too. I measured out and used masking tape to make a guide for fitting the decal. I marked around the guide […]
As with any car, when the ride height is changed the suspension and steering geometry will be effected. I have set the Elise ride height a bit lower than standard and though I’ve done a full alignment including the front camber and toe. This doesn’t do anything to compensate for the hubs having effectively been […]
The Elise already had a longer than standard diffuser but it wasn’t longer enough for me… This is how the one on it looked. And this is the bigger one I got, with 6 fins too. Old and new compared. A layer of some protection applied before fitting. Some stainless and rubber washers. Front edge […]
The Elise is a summer use car and just occassionally in the UK the sun comes out in the summer. What the Elise lacks is some sun visors. So an option is a sunstrip and I quite like the sort of race look of them so gave one a go. Proper clean of the screen […]