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Jack Fried In his Cup255
Mark Greenblatt
theLPL
beutiful Jag at switchcars
beutiful Jag at switchcars
Here are some pics Aidan took at the Lotus Challenge Series close event at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch.
PART 2
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Tom on the grid
Glen chasing down Jack
the LPL
Roy's Elise
Glen's Elise, I am proud of this car
Jack's cup255
Tom and Jack in his 2Eleven
Here are some pics Aidan took at the Lotus Challenge Series close event at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch.
PART 1
Video
So, our Lotus Sport clutch failed at the LCS season closer……
We have been researching clutch options for some time. After some discussion from Kris Valdez at DRS several months ago, we set our sights on a set up he has been developing for the last year or so. A 7” twin disc Tilton unit. There were 3 main points that made this one stand out from all the competition.
1. Almost every race car on any grid at the professional level (F1, ALMS, NASCAR, etc..) has a Tilton. Tilton has earned an amazing reputation for quality and servicability. In fact all of the individual parts of the assembly are available as replaceable parts. This enables the clutch assembly to be serviced rather that completely replaced as you would normally do with a OEM style clutch/flywheel assembly.
2. It is a direct replacement. It uses the OEM throw out bearing, clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder. No fussing with hydraulic leverage and no need to adjust the throw.
3. It weighs 14lbs…yes, that is correct, 14lbs, oh yeah, including the flywheel…… and given that the clutch assembly itself is only 7” in diameter, most of that mass is very centralized. That is exactly half of the original Lotus assembly.
We had some concerns….
1. Would it be too much for the street? Not that the car is driven on the street that often.
2. Twin clutch assemblies rattle when they are disengaged (like a Ducati motorcyle). Would it be too loud?
3. Is it going to idle???? It only weighs 14lbs!!! Kris says yes…
Ok I’m in, lets give it a try….So, here is what we found….
Some people would not want to drive this clutch around town. Some people couldn’t, although it is reasonable to modulate, it only weighs 14lbs. I stalled it, a few times while getting used to it. After a few minutes of getting to know it, I was able to work it just fine. Actually I started to like it, a lot, yeah I would rock this clutch…. That being said, this is NOT a clutch for the daily driver, or for a car you just cruise PCH in. This clutch belongs on the track, but if you are one of those who wants to hop in your track day toy and cruise it around a bit on the weekend, it, would work.
The rattle is not very loud, nothing like a Ducati! I don’t think most people would even notice.
It Idles, actually I think it idles better that the Lotus set up. If you have an Exige S, you have had the car stall itself while coming to a stop. It seems to be part of the ownership experience. I have long theorized that the idle stabilizer valve is just a bit to slow for the extra parasitic drag of the supercharger. So it makes sense, in my own mind at least, that the lighter flywheel assembly would idle better. Who knows for sure, but it passed the idle test so I am happy.
We are headed to Buttonwillow tomorrow for a shake down… I’ll report back with my findings.
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Here are a few pics of the fire suppression nozzles in the exhaust area. We put 2 of them in the exhaust area. We have marked sections of the exhaust with temperature sensitive paint, and found temperatures of 1500 degrees. With all that super flammable fiberglass around we chose the mounting positions strategically to cover the hottest places. There are also 2 more on the top side of the engine compartment aimed at the fuel delivery area and 2 in the passenger compartment. The system is an electrically operated 4.0L AFFF unit from SPA Design. We hope to never use it, (knocks on wood) but if we do, we feel confident that it will do it job.
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Tow hook from Brent Bauman. There has not been a good solution for a rear tow hook for the Lotus till now. There are a few others out there but they don’t seem to be bolted to anything structural. If you have to have your car pulled out of a gravel trap, why create more damage while doing it? You may also note the fire suppression nozzle in the picture. It is positioned to hit the hot area around the exhaust U-bend.
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Engine mounts from Innovative Mounts. These are 85 durometer polyurethane and are replace all 4 mounts. Engine movement is almost non existent. Using them on the right and left in addition to the front and rear helps with lateral weight transfer. Throttle input is transferred instantly to the chassis and the shifter feel is improved. They are available for the Lotus chassis in 60, 75, 85 and 95 durometer rating and feature a lifetime warranty. A must for any Lotus track car.
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Aidan welding the trans fluid inlet to the new case. Given the internal oil transfer system in the C64 we felt this spot would be the best place to introduce cool fluid. There is also real estate in that spot for a hose and fitting with the trans in the car.
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Fitting the transmission cooling circuit. The Weldon Pump is about the only electric pump that will live at the 300+ degree temps we have seen.
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This is really special. I have sent this pic to several transmission specialists. No one seems to have witnessed this first hand. Yes, that is a ball bearing split in two!!
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This doesn’t look right…. Aren’t ball bearings supposed to be round and smooth??
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One of these things is not like the other…. This is the result of too much heat=gear growth=excessive loading of the bearing and POOF!! Goodbye transmission. Transmission cooler coming VERY VERY soon…..
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More recipe secrets….. Billet uprights, raise the hub center so the car can be lowered while preserving the Lotus geometry. LPL/Ohlins TTX36 shocks, Positive displacement technology, state of the art!
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