Jacques

I'll just keep min on the shelf. I really hope they will do a model of the Stevens Esprit, the SE, the Sport300 and others. Kind regards, Jacques

While I loathe the celeb/influencer thing, I equally loathe porsche. I'd rather buy a bicycle (non-electric of course) and have a nice cup of tea in my garden, while watching the grass grow. Now, a fresly made diy kit of a Lola T70BIII, that could make me get off the chair and begin building. Kind regards.

Ha ha! While being perfectly proportioned, the Esprit looks almost like a skateboard, compared to the two whatever cars parked behind it. So timeless, despite being angular. Thanks for sharing. Kind regards, Jacques

Hi Giniw, the Sport300's front alloys were same width as other wide Esprits. Sport300: front - 8,5" x 16". Rear - 10,5" x 17". S4s (Eurospec): front - 8,5" x 17". Rear - 10" x 18". Rebuilding the S4s eurospec OZ Futura's, I couldn't get the correct outer rim, so opted for the next larger width, therefore ending up with 10,75" width rear. As I wrote in my own thread, I looked up the Pirelli tyres, and they recommends a ... 10,75" width for 315 tires. No funny gearing of speed etc. Great. Some "crazy" Germans tested the Felgenfuchs Radinox (possibly other sellers as well) outer rims on a rebuilt set of wheels on a Golf 3, and made burnout on the wheels directly - with no tyres, no scratches. As well as reversing heavily into stones at the edge of the road, no scratches, and finally lowered them into a strongly polluted shipping harbor, and after a long time, took them up and no corrosion. Great. Once or twice a year, I take a few cotton swabs and a few drops of window cleaner, and in less than 30 seconds per wheel, I have clean rims. Super easy for once. Back to thread. Kind regards, Jacques

Would there be any merit in giving this tubing a layer of exhaust wrap to prevent hot air from the engine compartment heating up this piping from the outside? Kind regards, Jacques

Congrats on the car. It's super nice, and I LIKE the red old type striping on the sides + other decals. I would order a new nose one and center it. Very nice to see an Esprit that doesn't carry the same wheels as other Esprits.;) Kind regards, Jacques

Ha ha! I am cornering quite hard when I am on a testroute by myself. Anyway, as we can imagine, there must have been cars made in between, which is either similar or somewhere near, as mine doesn't rub. May I at the same time also remind you gentlemen, that the S4s Euro version is not the same as a Sport300. Modular yes, but different, as there's no provision for the centercap, as it's a different cast, as well as diameter being 126" front and 17" rear, and rears being wider at 10,5", where as the Euro S4s is 17" front and 18" rear with only 10" width. Just sayin'. By the way, the OZ Futura are seriously lighter than the AWI Monobloc I also have. Sometimes tires also play in at different width and height in smaller portions. I have been using Toyo Proxes T1 and Pirelli PZero Rosso Asimmetrico. About to install my third set soon, as the two first set went down very fast. Good grip though. The rears sit very well on my rears in 10,75" width, to be exact. Nice car Fredrik. Esprits with wings (spoilers) are NICE! And should remain like that. Now that I am making the carbon tailgate (soon with paint), I would really like Sport350 rear wing, but sadly I find nothing for sale. Kind regards, Jacques - Spoilers up!

Sorry, there was a typo here. The weight saving is not at 74,643 kilo. That was old info from my file. Weight saving on my Esprit is now at minus 110,700 kilo +/-. Kind regards. Jacques

I for one cannot perform such things. That central point is in the middle of the long chassis tunnel, and is cut open to allow the gearmaster. There seem to be a stress point here, and some cars will show cracks here. Lotus did this modification. I do the mods to my car as I feel the drive. That's what I can do. It only takes you to ride in the car to see what it does for you. Right, hard is not for the sake of hard alone, as that would be pointless. As the chassis is a bit weak (at least compared to what an Elise shows as has been mentioned), that is one limiting factor to what suspension can be installed. The suspension cannot be what hardness you may want because of roads, comfort, tires, chassis twist etc. If you stiffen the chassis, there is a bit more to work with. As far as I remember, I believe the rear tubular section of the chassis on the SPort350 was made a bit thicker (I may be wrong of course), but unfortunately I cannot do that legally. The geometry as I mentioned earlier on my Esprit is a pro-dive. Not an anti-dive setup. Lotus themselves changed a bit forth and back between this, as the continuos development were made to the Esprit. For road cars, that brought the stiffening pieces at the front of the chassis, the strenghening around the cut out for the gearmaster and the SP300 tubular and bar-brace, plus of course the front arb. That was at first thin as we know, then became thicker as in 1990 SE, then thinner again as on the S4/V8 and then thicker again as on the SP350, which is the same as the 1990 SE. Where I believe Lotus was experts, was for example their ability to combine road holding with comfort. As one introduces comfort to a car, there is a trade off in suspension etc. as to what can be done. Personally, I am not into comfort, and I believe I have said that before. For me, there is a very wellcome lesser comfort in say my car. For example Lotus spent a long time developing/experimenting with the Bilstein damper/Eibach spring option that is available today, to maintain comfort. That is not of my interest. I am willing to give that up, for having a little to work with on the spring/damper side. Then comes in the chassis limitations as others have described. Numbers or not. It can be felt. To help the chassis, there must be made some mods, some probably, note that, more effective than others. So that includes a little bit here and there to aid that; after all, my goal is not a pure track machine. Lotus also said they spent a long time experimenting with the shore value on their bushing programme. They are definitely not as hard as some non-lotus options out there. But in that case, there was also the matter, that some options were split bushes. That may represent a compromise, which I am not willing to take. So Lotus' LOTAC bushings it was. I did though want less roll in corners as an important thing for me. The stiffer front arb is one, non-original SJ purple front arb middle bushings is another one, while Nitron for me at least, not that I have installed it and used it for a while, is also a noteworthy change in comparison to the Lotus LOTAC damper/spring option, which I find too soft and gives a bit too much roll and comfort etc. I looked at for example Öhlins, as they have made some very very very good dampers and spring for me, for another project, and they have ultra little stiction, and super polished internals, as was demonstrated to me, at a development facility by Öhlins themselves. But they would need my car for a long time, and being abroad and also very expensive, I felt that the Nitron option was a worthwhile compromise. I discussed the spring option with Nitron a few times, and we agreed to try the "standard " middle spring option as a start. That is fine, but a bit too soft for me. But I think to be able to use a number harder springs, I need to look at all of the chassis, including but not only, the points made earlier. I hope that the man who made the stress analysis as you refer to, has updated the numbers after adding the few missing bits. That is interesting. My car is a road car, but nearing a track day car point of scale, more than a road car point of scale. There are a few people who have raced Esprits, and their modifications are not always based on computers, but also experience in actually driving the car. Missing out on the computer side of matters, I think it's very interesting for me at least, to see what they did that works. This includes for example the bar just under the boot floor, that I mentioned. I have spoken to a friend who works at the Danish National Technical University about this point and others, and he came up with a solution to this area. I therefore bought a few of this cross member, and are experimenting with this. I have other hobbies, so this takes a vey long time, and I am also limited for weather etc. I understand the point about loud in not always better, as in stiffer is not always better, bu in this case, on my car, I once again stress that I am not doing extreme things, just small things here and there and everywhere. It's not a race car, but a road car, and should be able to cope with bumps, cracks, dents, potholes, counter laid asphalt, and what not, and keep the wheels on the terra firma. And I am willing to give up most if not all comfort for this. It makes my body ache to ride in a comfortable car, and I have always been so, also in my other cars and motorcycles. It seriously annoys me to the point that I strive for something different. From my own observations, there is a distance from the standard soft comfort, body roll and keeping the wheels on ground, to the point where alterations will begin to demand better more even surfaced roads, if the wheels should be kept on the ground and mower can be transferred properly. That distance is the one I am working with. An example. If I cannot stiffen the chassis more (I can), I can work with the weight. Every thing I do to the car, also have this in mind. So far, I removed 74,643 kilo from the car. This means that the chassis is not coping with as much load as before, when accelerating, braking and turning, which also translates into less weight shifts from say rear left to front right - under power and no power. That is noticable as in being more nimble, easier to change direction, acceleration, braking and roll. Much more weight saving is under way. All this while also observing other points as for example brakes. The original brakes on my 1990 non-abs SE car is to put it mildly underperforming. Let's just say as a reference point, that they are working well, with no points of attention to be made. They do not brake well, and do easily fade, as seen on Knutstorp Raceway in Sweden. There is then a whole line of points that can be made to improve on the matter. So I did exactly that, and I am not finished. There is now a world of difference, and I am still testing various components out and have some on the drawing to be made. This point is one where I feel maybe the old influence from Colin was a bit too much. Better brakes is the way for me at least. I am observing the placing of brake components in relation to weight and performance. And I will alter that over time. Lower, lighter, more centralised. In lowering the car, Lotus removed the thick anti-roadnoise rubber components below the spring perches. It lowers the car some 10mm, and the noise transfer is from what I have been told by owners, not vey much. As for wheels, I am now running S4s Euro wheels, with light weight outer lips from Radinox. The original aluminium ones are soft and were a tiny bit uneven. They are a slight bit wider, as that was what I could get. It suits the tires very well from the informations I got from Pirelli, for that model of tyre. On my car, there is enough room to run those wheels. The lower sidewall is far less wobbly, which was also something I wanted to eliminate to a point. In my humble view, a wheel is stiffer than a rubber sidewall on a tyre, and by lowering that, I have now a bit less movement in the tires. These wheels are lighter than my V8 wheels, with and without tires. But heavier than the smaller 1990 SE Euro wheels. That is a trade off. But the grip is immense. There is a bit more stress on the hubs, steering etc. Time for gearbox changes, which what I am also doing now, albeit at a halt, as the set I got was not what I was told I would buy, but something else: a track oriented gearset, not an optimised road gear set. Oh well, looking again for an EMCO set. Anyone? I am also trying to improve on the interface of the car, so I have for example installed Sport300 seats and Sport300 steering wheel with the alcantara option. This gives a better grip on my hands and my body, while lowering the mass (me) I am very aware of not getting heavy myself and be in good health and shape. I usually also wear driving gloves with better grip. I have now prepared most if not all parts for transforming the original 1990 SE gearshift, for the latest more precise ditto Lotus ever made. Less chance of errors. Less chance of damages and accidents. More safety. More stable driving under power. So far I can say honestly, that I am satisfied with the alterations. Many small streams makes for a bigger river. I can keep the wheels planted and transferring power, and the car is more flat, more responsive, have more traction and better power transfer, that what I started with. But this is definitely not the end point. There are much more that can be tested and possibly done. And no, I cannot make computeranalysis, but I can drive the car. That is my humble way to do things. I could write a lot more of what I am trying to do and how, and why, but I need to go to work now I'll write in my normal own thread as it happens. For me at least, it's a compromised way of doing thigs. I do feel results though, and not just hard for the sake of hard, which is silly. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the wish to make a SP300 brace or semi cage expressed here by Erik. Kind regards.

I am not sure about that stress analysis of the Esprit. There seems at the point I first saw it, to be missing some things in the chassis parts/setup. I remember the front stays that are welded in on my chassis, and when servo'ed they are bolted in. Then there's the Sport300 center plate welded and bolted in, which later on became standard. Then there's the inversed U-shaped square thin plate metal bar bolted in right under the boot floor. The gentlemen in Germany who builds race Esprits, have done some versions of this that is way stiffer - less flex. In Denmark, it's very very hard to get permission to bolt in a propper cage. Just saying. So I cannot do it on mine. Would be über nice though. So for now, I am still looking for a place where I can lift the body off and have the 4 bolting points welded in. And re-galvanized. And the stronger/stiffer bar I mentioned in the above. Meanwhile, as another approach to this whole scenario, I am still working on lightening my car for a lot more kilos. Kind regards. Jacques

Hello Patrick, I don't know if you have solved the issues since your last post, but reading your last reply, i don't see a clear description as to what you did. As the others have mentioned, you must follow procedure to the last dot. So, with car under load, and with two persons and ½ filled tanks etc. All new suspension components usually settle a little after a while. That is my observations anyway. Another thing: take a close look at the parts above the dampers and springs. There is some room for mingling as Lotus also did on say Sport300. Not from side to side of course, but generally speaking all way round. Some cars use road noise dampers, some don't and some very thin ones. Kind regards, Jacques

While I don't have a S4/S4s, so I don't really know if this is relevant after all, here's my two cents on the matter. As far as I remember, the Sport300, while having 16/17" wheels, are 10,5" width for it's 315 width tyre. When I looked it up at some tiremakers pages, they fully accepted 10,75" for the 315/30-18 I use, Pirelli. The tires sit nicely on the rim, no stupid German looking non-vertical sidewalls and no fully exposed rim edges, and on my 1990 SE, the wheels/tires do not stick out under the arches, exactly. Veeeery close, I'd say from measuring. Passes MOT where they also inspect for this. And at MOT here in my waters, there is no mercy, no exceptions. As you know it's S4s European Futura's I am using, and I rebuilt them with Radinox outer rims. At the time I did this, I couldn't get a rim which was 1/4" wider to reach 11", but that also saved me from having to use arch extensions (which I will probably add anyway). Also, apart from the driving behaviour, the looks are fully acceptable to me at least, being not loo low sidewalls, and not too high, when using 315/30-18" rubber on the rear. The grip is extreme. So is the cornering. I'll phrase it like this: if I have need for more grip, I would be driving like a absolute lunatic. And in my country, if you drive like that, they state will take your car permanently. As in 1700 cars since start of 2022. I didn't feel aquaplaning with this setup the few times I unfortunately have met serious rain. I felt a marked difference between using 10" rears with 285/35-18" and 10,75" rears with 315/30-18" rubber. I perceive the difference just as big as going from 245 on standard 1990 SE 8,5" 16" rears, to the 10" 18" rears with 315/30-18". While doing so, one other noticeable difference, is the surefootedness, from using tall side walls, to lesser ditto, and then again one step lower side walls. The car sits more planted and reacts better on steering input in turning, and feel less wobbly. Actually not at all any more. No, my suspension was not dead but fairly fresh. Further, I don't feel at all, I repeat not at all, a sacrifice in comfort. And i am sitting in a Sport300 seat and using all Lotac bushings. On my 1990 SE, I have bigger wheel arches, at least bigger than on a 1988/1989 model, so no problems using these various wheels. I should also add, that I've been using this setup both with standard Lotus suspension (for my model) and with Nitron adjustable coilovers (very good). I do feel that the Nitrons could be a tad firmer. I think I will try 1 number stiffer springs. There are several to choose from, when I spoke to Nitron. I did experiment with damping/rebound, and I now use 1 click harder. As Lotus changed the whole suspension setup a few times over the near 3 decades, they changed between anti-dive to pro-dive and back to anti-dive. My SE was a pro-dive, now an anti-dive in the whole setup. Far better in my humble view. I don't look at wheels or tyre dimensions separately, but I look at the geometry and setup as a whole, so I included geometry, tire dimensions, wheels, suspension, bushings, stiction, roll or anti-roll, pro-dive/anti-dive, weight and more. I think that is very important. Just my two pence. Kind regards, Jacques

Forgive me my ignorance... A blonde asks a brunette: "What does IDK mean"? The brunette answers: "I don't know". The blonde replies: "OMG, nobody knows". Cheers, Jacques

John, You got to explain me that commercial airplane thing? In it's original state at delivery, if I would have floored it, surely someone flying a commercial airplane would have had to report a ufo in carbon fiber at a fairly high altitude, possibly even drifting around at 9-11 kilometers altitude (where butterflies sometimes are blown to other parts of the Earth)... Cheers, Jacques

Or a cf one with glass or even with lexan or perspex glass. Should be proper light. And if painted, one would not see any difference. Mike is right on the mark weight wise. I'll make sure to weigh mine when I finally pick it up. Kind regards, Jacques.

Yup. Will do, but I haven't picked it up yet. So will have to look things over, when I get it home. Probably some more things to do, before I can finally get it on LIttle Red Riding Hood, so she can fly lower, or higher for that matter. Cheers, Jacques

Cor, I rest assured that you will like what the 54'th is going to be used for. It's not smashed. Cheers. Jacques

Now 53 left. Jacques

Just out of curiosity, take up the new pump and see if some funny little pieces of green mesh have found their way into the pump, or passing the strainer, making it "lazy". I suspect that you left the old pump fuel limiter (the one that limits the pump "hits" - don't know what it is called). Kind regards.

And there are plenty of upgrades from there onwards. Kind regards.

It's easy to do yourself. Kind regards, Jacques

I can add that there are 54 heated tailgate glasses left on the planet Earth, and they are for 1992 onwards Esprits. At a very cheap price. Cheers. Jacques

Might work in the Belgium, UK or elsewhere, but not in Denmark. All glass have to carry a specific approval number etc. Anyway, I found out that SJ does have one in stock, and I ordered that. Very nice! Unfortunately the plastic surrounding is not available any more. Hmm... Now remains to have it shipped here, which is another matter entirely More to follow on my own thread (Little Red Riding Hood. Kind regards, Jacques

It is illegal to install perspex or similar on a streetcar in my country, unless it is proven with tests etc, and that is hardly doable. I meant the later SE which has a tailgate that is similar to S4/S4s/V8. So that model. Definitely looking for such a glass. Kind regards, Jacques

Hello everyone, I would probably need a rear tailgate glass (with heat threads) from a late SE/S4/S4s/V8 tailgate. I have looked all over. Does someone know where to find one these days? And are there special ways of cutting it out of the tailgate, without destroying it or the tailgate itself? Anything else that I should be aware of? All inputs are highly appreciated. Kind regards, Jacques