Over 12 years in...

[DaveC72]

Where in Wales were you?

I'm planning a week in Anglesey first week in October, stopping off at the Evo Triangle en route, so any thoughts/ tips would be gratefully received.

PS Sorry to hear about the Thank You letter, hopefully not a "significant one"...

Edited September 21, 2015 by DaveC72

[CocoPops]

Tell us more about the 400 airbox?

[JAWS]

Where in Wales were you?

I'm planning a week in Anglesey first week in October, stopping off at the Evo Triangle en route, so any thoughts/ tips would be gratefully received.

PS Sorry to hear about the Thank You letter, hopefully not a "significant one"...

We've done the trip a couple of times now and essentially go through the whole of Wales, south to north.

We start by going through the Brecons then up the B4520 to Builth Wells, then Rhayader including taking in the Élan Valley. We then head to Harlech via A470/B4518 en route to Snowdonia and the Pass of Llanberis. Then on to Evo Triangle and Horseshoe Pass. Llandudno is also worth a visit to drive to the top of Great Ormes Head. There's a tunnel en route there from Anglesey too 

Have fun and hopefully it will be dry for you.

 

[JAWS]

Tell us more about the 400 airbox?

in the airbox there's a solenoid/vaccum controlled flap that the 400 has removed (the redundant solenoid is then used to control the exhaust valve) It's there for noise control etc for the Camry. Under full throttle (prolonged - ie on track etc) the reduction in vaccum can mean the flap can start shutting. I thought rather than permanently removing it, I might try holding the flap open with a grub screw to test any noise and/or performance improvements.

[the83man]

Wales - I'm planning to go the other way soon - Midlands to Anglesey, to Elan Valley, to Forest of Dean over a few days.

Edited September 21, 2015 by the83man

[JAWS]

As the roads were dry and the weather mild at the weekend I decided to get the Evora out as it hasn't been used for a while. This confirmed that the tyres are shot, so I bought a set of Pirelli PZeros and also a spare set of wheels. This means I have a slave set while I get a set refurbished, think I'll stick with high power silver. Will keep me busy over Christmas

I also decided to give the Evora a bit of clean, including getting the carpets out. I noticed the edging material was starting to fade so used some shoe polish to re-dye it....

Earlier in the year I spray painted the inside of my exhaust finishers, which worked great. The matt/satin finish is also the same as used on the grilles so with a tooth pick I touched up any chips on the front grilles. Hopefully it will be resilient ....

Next up; is planning more road trips. We will certainly be doing the 9 European Countries trip again, this time we'll be taking in the Stelvio and also popping to the Porsche Museum/Factory in Stuttgart - they have a Le Man's event on which is on our agenda.

Any recommended routes between Lake Konstanz, Stelvio and Stuttgart would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JAWS]

It's not 6 years yet, but been busy over the winter so thought I'd update this thread. Managed to get my spare set of wheels refurbished (£210 - stripped & coated) They did a great job of matching the colour and the quality is pretty good, not OEM standard but my friends and family say I'm a "fussy bugger" so I'll let it go. Spare set of TPMS valves and wheel centres too; makes it easier to swap.

Just deciding on what to do about tyres at the moment.

One of my tailgate gas struts has been weak for a while now, which is annoying, but they're over £10 to replace!!  So I thought what is the Lotus way to resolve the issue? "Change the rules", "Add lightness" etc.

So I put a Carbon spoiler on. Problem solved, saved nearly 3kgs!..

Will look into Carbon 'A' Pillar covers and Cosmetic roof panel too.You might notice another little tweak I've made  

Also spent a lot of time with an Exige, it's a precision instrument and love it, the gear change especially (and the tartan interior), but the Evora is the road car for me (greater chance of not losing my licence!)

Next is to paint the brake disks/hubs and detail the wheel arches, wishbones and calipers. Already made a start...

Cost wise, it's still an absolute bargain to maintain and run.

 

 

 

[C8RKH]

Wow, looking very good. Have to ask where you sourced the carbon spoiler?

[Chris J]

5 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

Wow, looking very good. Have to ask where you sourced the carbon spoiler?

+1 Spoiler looks very nice!

[Bibs]

I'd guess it's an HKFever item. Car's looking well Jimbo, but those wishbones do need a tidy up!

 

[CocoPops]

Red light rings. Sanded OEM and painted red?

i also like the carbon spoiler would be keen to find out more.

[JAWS]

16 minutes ago, CocoPops said:

Red light rings. Sanded OEM and painted red?

i also like the carbon spoiler would be keen to find out more.

- Yep, tried silver but didn't come out too well.

- A mate kindly sourced it for me second hand, it needed a bit of tlc. This is it..

http://shop.britishracinggroup.com/Mansory-Carbon-Fiber-Rear-Spoiler-for-Evora-BRG-MANEVRS.htm

I'm currently looking into Carbon GT4 spoilers ( the high level ones) if people are interested? They'd have an incorporated CHMSL bracket but would require painting. Is it worth starting another thread?

Bibs - how do I change this thread title?

[Bibs]

Read my signature, I've put it on here 43,000 times to help you spot it or if you ask real nice, I'll do it myself! 

Please don't tell me you spent £3k on that spoiler?! That's taking lightweight philosophy to an extreme at a grand per kilo!! 

 

[JAWS]

 course not. 

 

Plus VAT,  duty and fitting!

[TomE]

6 hours ago, JAWS said:

I'm currently looking into Carbon GT4 spoilers ( the high level ones) if people are interested? They'd have an incorporated CHMSL bracket but would require painting. Is it worth starting another thread?

Phil is advertising a carbon GT4 spoiler on the Lotus Evora Owners Group on Facebook 

[C8RKH]

7 hours ago, JAWS said:

 

I'm currently looking into Carbon GT4 spoilers ( the high level ones) if people are interested? They'd have an incorporated CHMSL bracket but would require painting. Is it worth starting another thread?

 

Charles, otherwise known as HKFever does these already in a choice of 3 carbon weaves (3, 6 and 12k) and you can even have the herringbone too (meets in the middle and looks superb) and his come with the lights integrated. They are super and not too badly priced, about a qtr what Mansory want and he has sold many of them and all good reports. It used the Lotus wing as a mould. See below.

I'm just not sure about the GT4 wings, I think the standard one is great - though looking at the price for the carbon Mansory one on your link - OUCH!

[JAWS]

 

@C8RKH - They look very similar, just needing paint (rather than clearcoating) and your CHMSL transferring. Hopefully they'd be ~£1k. I couldn't find prices anywhere for HKFever's one.

[C8RKH]

Travelling at the moment Jimbo but will post some info up this evening when I get to my destination. It really is a quality piece of kit that HKFever produces, the feedback from owners is excellent re finish etc.

By the way, I'm not conected to Charles nor am I on commission!  Though I did think about approaching him to be a reseller in the UK for his stuff as he does both Evora and Elise/Exige stuff.

[DaveC72]

I'm not normally a fan of CF bits, but that really does look stunning Jaws, especially against the Carbon Grey.  

Having just fitted a pair of new rears, and with a service this month, need to top up my car fund again.  Once sufficient funds are in place, I am sorely tempted.

[JAWS]

17 hours ago, TomE said:

Phil is advertising a carbon GT4 spoiler on the Lotus Evora Owners Group on Facebook 

I assume that is Junks Phil? If so then i won't tread on his toes as he's a good chap. So if people are interested go to him.

[TomE]

Yes, it's Junks Phil.  I wasn't sure whether he had just one or was offering to supply anyone who is interested.

[CocoPops]

I believe the ones Phil is selling (£1500 he said) are the old Lotus GT4 spoilers, that need repainting.

They were for sale a while ago, when Kalli bought his (£900 he paid).

[JAWS]

As it's officially road trip season, I have headed to the Alps again. Currently in Bormio, having come from Lake Konstanz through Klosters, Fluelapass, Berninapass and Livigno (bloody cheap fuel, booze and cigs!) yesterday. Heading on to the Stelvio this morning and more driving ahead. There's 16 of us in 8 cars which makes it bloody hard to stick together!!

A few hiccups on the way; a mate's Elise battery gave up on him while in the passport queue at Eurotunnel (which was mental busy due to Le Mans and England game) so he had to delay his departure for a couple of hours to sort that. My passenger accidentally knocked my glove box at a Peage which snapped the damper string and I nearly got run off the road by an Italian in a Yaris. All good fun though!

And just to prove that my car does get dirty....

[JAWS]

Nearly 2k miles completed on the trip (29k miles in total) and loving the Evora more than ever. It just does everything so well.  A special mention needs to be made about the brakes, even though the other cars I was with were able to keep up the majority of the time when we were on the down hill sections of passes, one by one they fell behind due to brake fade and I'd be waiting at the bottom for them with no issue at all and they with smoking discs. At one point we thought my dad's SL was on fire, the brakes were smoking so much!

Really enjoyed the Stelvio - headed there early missing the traffic fortunately, apart from meeting up with about 20 Ferrari's at the top. The route just before and after the actual Stelvio being the most enjoyable driving wise.

The best pass for sheer driving pleasure we came across was the Hahtennjoch Pass in Austria which was fantastic.

Also managed to do a lot of autobahn driving and touch 160mph which is the highest I've done in it - no rattles, squeaks or untoward wind noise and totally stable. Although it was over shadowed by the Elise and diesel BMW's coming passed at those speeds!

Managed to pop to the competition's HQ in Stuttgart and watch Le Mans on the big screen. It's an impressive place and well worth a visit especially while in a Lotus as it gets a lot of attention.

Down sides of the trip were the hold ups at the Eurotunnel and my mate's brand new BMW 435d got a bashed bumper at some point, hotel car park we think.

Roll on the next trip!

 

[JAWS]

Also managed to average about 30mpg over the whole trip, which considering the roads in the Alps, the speeds through Germany and the traffic jams at the Eurotunnel, I thought was brilliant.

Love this photo ?