April 2001 Message Board

Apr 1, 2001 - 14:10 - From: Kev
Title: battery drain & CV joint.
Message: Joel, you say a friend starts your car every week or so. How long does he run it for? Any car needs to be run (driving revs) for around 15-20 mins to recharge what it has drawn from the battery for starting. If he just lets it tick over then the alternator will not be at optimum revs and therefore will not put much charge back into the battery. You only have to watch the Volt meter to see that full charging (14.4v) is not being maintained at very low revs. You could make and fit a trickle charger for less than £5 ($8). I think that would be the answer. Is nobody going to answer my question about my CV joint??!!! :- My cars is clicking when turning right and taking up drive. I suspect its the CV joint. Could someone tell me if this is a GM/Vauxhall part or do I have to pay mega money for it? I thought that seems though the brakes are Vauxhall Astra, I sort of hoping that its also astra. Thanks.

Apr 1, 2001 - 16:13 - From: Rod
Title: Engine Management Code
Message: Nicole, the M100 ECU is not a stock one you will just find anywhere. It is based around a GM one as far as we can tell. I wonder what plans you have for the ECU, as I have been interested for a while in extracting data from it, while doing track sessions. A chap did take a dump of the Superchips modified ECU, but we were not impressed that they *only* removed a safety feature ( if boost over 0.92 stock ECU cuts power ), and used a manual device ( Manual Boost Controller which is what some of us have installed for 10ukp ) and charge you a load of money. The BBR conversion looks a little better, but I don't know anyone with a copy of the BBR ECU. The best we have so far on the M100 ECU is not much, but available here : http://www.syntaxis-technology.co.uk/lotus/aldl.html 

Apr 1, 2001 - 18:47 - From: Russ
Title: Battery Drain
Message: Just a point about disconnecting the battery, not only will the alarm not work (not the end of the world) but the engine management loses the settings it's 'learnt' and has to re learn them every time the battery is reconnected. There's a bit about this in the owners manual in the battery charging section. Seems to me a trickle charger is the answer, anyone know where one of these can be obtained that doesn't require the battery to be disconnected?

Apr 1, 2001 - 19:01 - From: Rod
Title: Battery Drain
Message: Russ, I use a think called an Optimate. It was a little more expensive than a standard battery charger, and claims to charge at a very slow rate, so can revive dead batteries. I have a cable from the battery with a socket on the end that the Optimate can plug into. I leave the battery connected. However for longer periods I do remove the tops from the battery cells so that any gases can vent. The Lotus 340r has a socket built in and there is even a Lotus part number for the trickle charger - but I believe its just a rebadged Optimate. You see the Optimate for sale at Car shows etc, but I would not be surprised to find it for sale in Halfords. They are popular with Bike owners ( like me ), so certainly a bike shop would sell them.

Apr 1, 2001 - 19:03 - From: Rod
Title: UK Insurance
Message: U.K. Chaps/Ladies, In an effort to help us all, its been suggested we share details of what we are paying for insurance/age/postcode/town/modifications/ etc. Perhaps see this web page : http://www.lotus.thepitlane.com/Cars/Lotus_Elan_M100/Insurance/insurance.html  and email me your details.

Apr 1, 2001 - 19:15 - From: Russ
Title: Battery Drain
Message: Rod - thanks for that, a quick search turned up this http://www.are.ltd.uk/optimate.html - looks pretty neat and you can even plug it in via the cigarette lighter - now that's my kind of connection. That'll be on the list for later in the year.

Apr 1, 2001 - 22:42 - From: Kev
Title: Battery drain.
Message: I don't know about your lighter socket but mine is only live when the ignition is on. This would mean that you would not be able to connect the charger through this. You could make a trickle charger very very cheaply. Just get a mains to 12V adapter, the ones like those used for powering game boys and other arcade type games (instead of using batteries). All you have to do is connect straight onto the battery. It only has to be about 500 mA and in the UK this would cost about £5. (you can get them from argos). Anyone gonna answer my CV joint question ever??????

Apr 2, 2001 - 08:20 - From: jeremy
Title: mbc bbr
Message: Rod. I saw your mention of installing a mbc for affordable money. Who, where, how etc. Do you have a number for BBR? Is this something I can order by post and have someone local (cumbria) install? Ta

Apr 2, 2001 - 08:34 - From: Steve P
Title: Fish & BBR Chips
Message: Just to say I'd recommend the F&C run for anybody in the UK. There were over 100 Lotus' out on some great roads. There were just 4 Elans, amongst many Elises! Just to clarify on the BBR mod. there is no ECU chip upgrade, they supply a box which limits the MAP output to stop the ECU cutout. Having tried both the 'normal' MBC and the BBR set-up (despite my reservations!) there is definitely more power with the BBR. How long my engine is going to last, I'm not so sure.......but it's a lot of fun (for the time being) particularly when those Elises have trouble keeping up with you =)

Apr 2, 2001 - 08:45 - From: Dave M.
Title: elan for sale - be afraid...
Message: One just posted on Yahoo classifieds. Red w/55K miles for $17,200. Walnut Creek, CA. Maybe you CA guys should check it out. It appears to be very rare. It's listed as an automatic w/ABS. Imagine the other modifications! (can you smell the sarcasm?)

Apr 2, 2001 - 09:04 - From: Rod
Title: BBR
Message: BBR - Brodie Brittain Racing Oxford Road, Brackley, Northamptonshire NN13 5DY, England Telephone (01280) 702389, Fax (01280) 705339 . Price including fitting is listed as £445+vat, takes a morning to do, normally can get you in within 7 days, best to go in the week, and avoid weekends. Its called a Phase 1 reboost kit, claimed 20% BHP/Tor increase, reduce turbo lag and improve low down pull. They were fitting this back in the early 90's and all owners with it fitted that I know are real happy, and do get somewhere near the claimed increases. I hear that its really easy to negotiate them down to £395+vat. You have to let them fit it. They do not replace the ECU. The Superchips conversion is cheaper, but everyone I have met that has gone for the Superchips option has been disappointed and had problems. The other option is to buy a Manual Boost Controller and do a DIY job. There cost in the order of £10 - £20, and take about an hour to fit and an hour to set up. I just kept asking at different motor shops, you need to try the "boy racer" type shops as they tend to fit them to the Escort Turbos / Renault 5 Turbos etc. If this fails then Demon Tweeks ( http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/ ) sell them and do mail order ( plus north wales may be close enough for a drive for you ? ). Hope that helps.

Apr 2, 2001 - 09:31 - From: jeremy
Title: ta
Message: thanks Rod,... you're a gent! I'll try demon tweeks

Apr 2, 2001 - 09:41 - From: Guillermo
Title: Automatic w/ABS ????
Message: Was there any Elan with automatic transmission ? And ABS ?

Apr 2, 2001 - 10:16 - From: Bill Luton
Title: chips and sale listings
Message: BBR has a whole line of ECU upgrades under their Star Chip product line. They quoted me on doing an Impulse ECU almost a decade ago. They may not list a computer upgrade for the Elan but I would trust them over anyone else I know of. _ _ _ Super Chips' parent company in the UK is very different from their US distributor (I hope). Their US distributor is about as crooked as they get. _ _ _ I've seen some pretty creative used car listings for Elans, automatic and ABS are mild compared to V6 engine, V8 engine, sunroof, and six speed automatic transmission. _ _ _ Bill Luton

Apr 2, 2001 - 12:07 - From: Rod
Title: Chips
Message: I know of a couple of people that nearly took Superchips to court here in the UK. Some of the claims for performance gains are a little off the mark for what you actually get. In the end both chaps got their money back, but only after a lengthy battle. BBR are a whole different bunch of people and products, their claims appear about right and their products and aftersales support appear good.

Apr 2, 2001 - 12:12 - From: Rod
Title: Demon Tweeks
Message: Make sure you tell Demon Tweeks this is not a low power turbo like a Renualt 5, get the strongest Manual Boost Controller they have. Also you will need a short piece of pipe of the correct diameter to fit the MBC. Make sure this pipe will not expand under pressure. Also read up on installing an MBC here on Doug's web site and take a look at your car to check you understand what you will be doing. Finally be very careful when you do attach the pipe as the connections to the turbo etc can be a little fragile, and if you do break them, you are looking at something that will be tricky to fix. Also check that you will be able to cope with the big smile on your face the first time you experience the extra boost ! Oh, and I run Super Unleaded petrol for track days etc.

Apr 2, 2001 - 12:14 - From: Rod
Title: Auto / ABS
Message: No Auto was never a factory option on M100. I believe ABS was standard fit on the M100 S2, available in Europe. I wonder if anyone has considered retro fitting the ABS to an S1. Although I would rather not have it IMHO.

Apr 2, 2001 - 12:54 - From: Doug
Title: BBR / ABS
Message: Jeremy, you can fit a MBC for £10 OR you can pay BBR to do it for £400!! Or you can pay me £400 and I will fly out to you and personally install your £10 MBC!! We have gone through this before, which you probably haven't read, so I am just warning a friend. Yeah I know some of you have good thoughts about BBR, but anyone trying to steal your money for little more than a resistor and a plastic restrictor tube is on my Black List!! Rod, I am pretty sure that Lotus hasn't EVER made a production car with ABS, nor do they plan to. With the impressive Elan brake system I would be surprised if you can even get the brakes to lock up!!

Apr 2, 2001 - 13:22 - From: maggie browne
Title: leaks
Message: Ok guys, now I am getting the hang of all things Lotus, I am tired of getting wet and would welcome serious advice on stopping the internal shower system on my Elan, before I shell out silly money for new seals. Am hoping to go on the Surrey Run in May and may meet some of you there.

Apr 2, 2001 - 14:44 - From: Neil
Title: Brakes
Message: Well at the weekend I fitted grooved disks and pads and braided brake hoses. At the moment I cannot feel much of an improvement. One thing that is troubling me it the brake pedal. I have changed the fluid but the pedal still isn't at the top. Is it possible to have a solid pedal feel at the top with the Elan. Also the braided hoses at the front didn't come with a fitting in the middle as do the original ones. What do you do? Try and make a make a new fitting or remove the middle support? The don't touch anything until full movement and then one side just touches a non moving fitting. I guess the stopping power will improve once I have bedded the disks and pads in?

Apr 2, 2001 - 16:13 - From: Rod
Title: Leaks
Message: Maggie, you need to tell us where the water is coming in and then we can suggest areas to look for. I am sure your soft top and seals just need a bit of TLC and time spent adjusting them.

Apr 2, 2001 - 16:15 - From: Rod
Title: Brake Pedal
Message: It is possible to get a solid pedal feel, you just need to keep bleeding the brakes. When I added braided hoses I gained air in the system. Apparently this is normal that you are more likely to trap air in the braided hoses. You need to drive it for a week or so and then bleed the system again. You will need to put some miles on the pads to get them working properly too. Somewhere I have seen details on how to bed pads in. I believe it has something to do with finding an empty road and braking hard from 70 down to 30, 2 or 3 times.

Apr 2, 2001 - 17:00 - From: Alan
Title: abs brakes etc
Message: Just to confirm the S2 didn't have abs as standard, I don't think it was available as an optional extra either. When I learn to type a bit quicker I'll write up an S2 v SE comparison as I've done a fair few miles in each. Good to hear the fish & chip run was a success, let's have a good turnout on the northern run starting from JCT 600 in Leeds on 23rd June.

Apr 2, 2001 - 17:37 - From: Doug
Title: SoCal Lotus Gathering
Message: Speaking of Lotus Gatherings, I have been told to let you all know about a Lotus Gathering here in SoCal! It is hosted by a chap named Mark, who has a '94 Esprit. He originally arranged it with his Esprit buddies, but we Elan drivers got a whiff of it, and now he has graciously offered to allow us to come as well. It sounds like a great time: good people, good cars, good fun, and some tooling around with our Esprit brothers! It will be on Sunday, April 22nd and will take place at Mark's boat at the Newport Dunes Marina in Newport. There will be some Esprit S4s and V8s as well as at least 3 Elans so far! Mark says to RSVP to him for more info if you want to come along!! See ya all there: email Mark at MCapitano@aol.com

Apr 2, 2001 - 17:45 - From: Doug
Title: Anti-theft trick
Message: Recent talk of anti-theft has prompted me to relay a great trick to you all. What you do is remove the fuse to the fuel pump--it is located in the small fuse box behind the left seat, under the speaker enclosure!! This way, even if a "pro" tried to steal your car, it would turn over and may fire a few turns, but it would NOT start and run. There would be NO indication of what you had done to disable the car either. Granted this is not something you would do each time you leave your car, but if you leave for a long period it is a perfect trick!! The battery trick is good, but it is obvious that the battery has been disconnected, so after searching (possibly a long time) they would eventually find and reconnect the battery. Cheers . . .

Apr 2, 2001 - 19:13 - From: Russ
Title: It's Official - Elan more exclusive than 340R
Message: Went on the Fish n Chip run on Sunday, met Steve from the list, only two other Elans, John who is an infrequent visitor to the list (was at Donington) and someone (apparently female) in a blue Elan who I managed not even to find to say hello to. However the Elans were outnumbered by the 5 (yes 5 - didn't know they'd sold that many) 340R's, I think there were 5 or 6 Esprits (including one with the number plate S4 ESP), one Exige and a whole multitude of Elise's. Mr Sideways (I think it was possibly the same guy from Southrun 3 , Craig and Phil will remember him) was there and again managed to get inbetween two Elans but only lasted about 400 yds before planting it sideways into a nasty concrete kerb on a mini roundabout in a residential area leaving his rear wheel at a very strange angle. (That was the last piece of irresponsible driving I saw all day). Bit damp underfoot but only served to give the front wheel drive a bit (more?) of an advantage. High point of the day was following a 340R and a Mk 2 Elise (just the three of us) for about 15 mins through a long set of very fast country roads (and they did seem to be trying!). Great crowd of people, great atmosphere, not competitive but out for some fun without being stupid. Thoroughly recommended but we need more Elans out there! Next Run 6th May - see http://www.madaboutlotus.com/events/surreyrun652001.html for some pretty poor pics of this weekend see http://freespace.virgin.net/russell.pinder/SpringCheer/index.html but how do you do justice to 100 lotus's collected together?

Apr 2, 2001 - 19:54 - From: will
Title: stuff
Message: Maggie that is why i bought the elan. I was told of the built in shower. I was thinking of trying to get new seals myself. but i think that my roof has been flexed. one side looks to have a gap between the top of the passenger side windshield/screen. on the drivers side i can see the gap as well. Doug that sounds good, but i have a clifford alarm installed with a radar. if you put your hand in the window the alarm will go off.

Apr 2, 2001 - 22:29 - From: Joel
Title: battery drain
Message: Thanks for the advice guys! It looks like a trickle charger is in my future--although that Optimate unit looks slick, I think the requirement for 230 mains makes it a bit dicey for using on this side of the pond! I'll check around and see what else is "out there" for a reasonable cost. Kev, the procedure I worked out with my friend is to keep the revs between 2K and 3K and make sure the voltmeter reads 14+V while the car is running, but we don't run it that way for more than about 5 minutes, so I know it is not getting much of a charge--of course, I didn't think it would need much charging until this problem developed. Also, I don't think it's a good idea to run the motor without load for much longer than that. Your idea of using a 12V adapter for a trickle charger might be just the trick. I had also thought of a cut-off switch, but the battery location makes that a pain if you want to switch on and start the motor now and then. (The way I have the M100 "stored" right now makes it impossible to lower the top (hood, to our UK friends) without having about 2 people help move the car.) Thanks again, Joel

Apr 3, 2001 - 02:55 - From: charlie
Title: superchumps
Message: my chip is still removed after a year, possibly more, i'll probably get around to getting it repaired sooner or later to cut down on the overboosting. There are different superchumps and BBR chips for each version of the Elans EMC of which there are many. the superchump i have is added to the existing chip, and doesn't replace it. It does appear it just raises the boost limit. BBR have an excellent name, but they do charge for it. IF you are serious about upgrading the speed of your elan, a chip is probably about the worst you could do, the minimum would be a MBC , but its only a relatively small increase, but excellent bang for the buck.

Apr 3, 2001 - 03:38 - From: Ben
Title: Re: elan for sale - be afraid...
Message: I'm up here in the Bay Area and contacted the guy and he mistakenly put "Automatic" on his ad -- the guy doesn't seem to be too savvy on the Elans. I'll be checking it out this weekend since we don't get much of this up here and I'm still waiting for mine to show up outside the house one of these gorgeous sunny days :-)

Apr 3, 2001 - 04:27 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: Battery Drain
Message: Joel, I would suggest you forget about battery chargers and authorize your friend to give the car a 20 mile run once an month. This will have a number of benefits. Firstly, your friend will remain your friend (and will possible offer to bear your children) and secondly, it will keep everything else besides the battery in good working order. My experience is that once you stop using a car, that is when problems start occurring.

Apr 3, 2001 - 13:24 - From: maggie browne
Title: advice
Message: Will, I am glad that someone else enjoys a shower or two! Rod, having had another wetting, seals at corner of both driver and passenger corners of roof where they come round to the side windows looking decidedly threadbare, rain drips in between middle and front seals on both windows and little lakes of water collect on plastic trim on door sills. this sounds like serious money, can I buy them from anywhere else beside Lotus, and cheaper.

Apr 3, 2001 - 16:19 - From: Dean
Title: Showers with Elan
Message: See if the infamous windows are the culprit. The test: top down, windows up, wiggle the forward and aft parts of both windows. I big difference indicates that one or more of the plastic slides are damaged. This was the cause of a leak on passenger (left) side of my car. Note, there are plenty of links on how to replace this. Cheers.

Apr 3, 2001 - 17:09 - From: Richard
Title: Re water gathering on trim
Message: Maggie, you say that the water is gathering on the plastic trim, beneath where the door is when shut. My elan was doing this, and when left for a period of time, the water was going over the edge onto the carpet. When I put this problem on this messaging board somebody suggested a fix which has certainly worked for me, I still have dry carpets after our wet English winter! If you cut 2 small lengths of chamois, 1 for each door, and stick it to the trim on the door, on the underside, in the area where the water gathers. it needs to actually sit inbetween the door seal when the door is closed, the capillary action of the chamois in the water will then draw the water form where it is collecting, and take it outside the car. Hope this helps!

Apr 3, 2001 - 18:16 - From: Russ
Title: Track Day Tyre Pressures
Message: Just went to look up the tyre pressures for high speed driving in the owners handbook for upcoming trackday at Goodwood on thursday (yeehah!) and it only gives the one figure of 26.5psi. So should I put more air in or should they stay at 26.5? Any thoughts?

Apr 3, 2001 - 19:24 - From: Rod
Title: Track Tyre Pressures
Message: Russ, I have been as high as 38 in my fronts on track days, anything less than about 32 and during hard cornering the fronts tyre walls will deform and you will get massive tyre wear. You won't be going at best speeds however you will save the tyres if you give them more air. Rears can stay under 30 though, or you will loose the back end. Don't forget to put in Super Unleaded fuel for track use, although I use it all the while. Enjoy the track !

Apr 3, 2001 - 19:28 - From: Rod
Title: Maggie - Water
Message: Water along the trim is the easy one, Richards advice is the best, or you can cut small triangles out of the rubber seal ( this is now thought bad as eventually seal will get damaged ), or you could do what I choose, and glue small blocks or rubber to the door seal in a couple of places along the bottom. This means the seal is held away from the car when the door is shut and any water on the sill runs outside, rather than collecting on the sill, and if enough running into the car.

Apr 4, 2001 - 02:57 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: Water
Message: When I first took delivery of my car, it spent three of the first eight weeks at JCT600 in Leeds for them to try and fix all the water leaks! One of the things they did was to use a heat gun and a round metal bar to form two channels in the plastic trim where the water gathers. This allows the water to drain to the outside rather than the in. The car still leaks above both seats and halfway down the A pillar and sometimes on my right shoulder and into the well behind the passenger seat. It's all very unpredictable though. A little light drizzle can leave the seats wet or, like last night, howling gales and torrential rain left the interior dry. Puzzling.

Apr 4, 2001 - 04:56 - From: Richard Steele
Title: Hood Seal
Message: Maggie, Have you tried silicone grease on all the seal to seal, seal to glass and seal to header rail contact points. If you can see light between the seals than they won't stop water. The front corner seals - is the leak between the hood material and the seal or the A frame seal, header seal and top side window seal (can you take a photo)? Where in the UK are you?

Apr 4, 2001 - 11:23 - From: Paul Dennis
Title: Leaks
Message: I have tried lots of different cures for leaks but nothing has made it water tight some made it better , so I would recomend that anybody with a wet seat to try the water proof seat covers available at argoss here in the U.K they fit very well considering they are universal they are only priced at £12.99 I leave mine on all the time now and just mop up any water when I get in Hope this helps I will continue to try to cure the leaking but at least for now I have a dry bum!

Apr 4, 2001 - 11:27 - From: Richard Steele
Title: Leaks
Message: Paul, I have spent a lot of time messing with seals etc and mine is waterproof so I know it is possible.

Apr 4, 2001 - 11:33 - From: charlie
Title: Headlight
Message: I read article about how to change headlight and I need to change one. however, where can I get headlight? do I have to get one from dealer or any local partshop? anyone, please

Apr 4, 2001 - 13:56 - From: Gary
Title: convertible top
Message: I finally went to have my top replaced and was told that they could not find a replacement top available (other than from Lotus of course). Does any one out there know where I can order one? If not, I'll have my installer make a pattern, and then we can have a US source to order from. He is not cheap and I'm not looking forward to funding him into a business sideline.

Apr 4, 2001 - 19:42 - From: Rod
Title: Dry
Message: Mines pretty dry too, although like has already been mentioned, I did spend a lot of time sorting it out in the first place, plus sometimes I get water in and its normally those times when the rain is light and I am not traveling too fast, normally over right shoulder. Its worth knowing that Lotus changed the design of the hood and some of the seals during the last lot of production, mines a late 1991 car and has the updated design I believe.

Apr 5, 2001 - 00:02 - From: charlie
Title: tops
Message: IIRC doug had sourced some tops, the info's in the archives.

Apr 5, 2001 - 04:53 - From: Phil Johnson
Title: Re: Leaks
Message: I have a RHD 91 SE, and I too have a leak around the header rail on the passenger side, that drips down onto the passengers seat. It appears to me that some water works its way down between the front seal of the top and the windscreen frame. Are there any drainage points for this water that might be covered up by the copious amounts of sealant applied by the factory?

Apr 5, 2001 - 04:56 - From: Richard Steele
Title: Re: Dry
Message: Rod, The hood design changed from VIN M8161 July 91. The change was to lengthen the material over the side window top seals so that it covered the folding joints in the seals. The hood seals, door seals, door aperture and hood cover seals also changed to try and make it more waterproof. If you have to use the hood (like we do in Europe) then it is not a good idea to leave the hood down for long periods whilst in the garage as the folding joint seals get slightly distorted ("set") such that they take some time to return to their proper shape which can lead to leaks.

Apr 5, 2001 - 08:08 - From: Dave M.
Title: taunting
Message: As if hearing everyone talk of their cars all winter/tax season wasn't bad enough, I followed an S2000 to work this morning (he didn't have the top down, though it WAS 35 degrees - but the sun was out). I wanted to have a go at him in the Elan sooooooo bad. He had a great license plate, too: "9000RPM". Only 11 more days...

Apr 5, 2001 - 08:20 - From: Geoff
Title: Nearly bought an Elan...
Message: Hello again all! You might remember my message of about a month ago, when I said that I was going to buy an Elan. Well I'm starting to get close to that goal now. I have booked a test drive for this Sunday in a red elan se '92 at D.J Dean. Now I know that Ian (thanks for the reply) said that he was disappointed with the quality of the cars there a year ago, but I didn't want to rule them out as they are close to home, and you never know if they might have a gem there this time round. I had a look at the car last Sunday, and it seemed alright. I wonder if anyone else has looked at this particular car, and found any problems with it that they could let me know about? I have the most untrained eye for car mechanicals of anyone I know, but I did have a look around it anyway. I hope someone might be able to answer some of these questions for me - It would be very greatly appreciated. The passengers electric window didn't work. I think it was just the switch - as it felt duff, but how much would it cost to get it working again in the worst case scenario? Should the windows feel bobbly when half way up? The drivers one on this car was very shaky. Is it easy to fix? There seemed to be a lot of stone chipping at the front of the car...Is the elan particularly susceptible to this, or do you think this car has been in the boot of the one in front? Do you think 13,500 is reasonable for a '92 red elan se with 2 owners, FSH, and 45,000 miles? On the whole the rest of the car seemed fine (electricals, etc), but I am sure the test drive this Sunday will tell. Thanks again for all your help guys. Geoff

Apr 5, 2001 - 09:17 - From: Rod
Title: DJ Dean Elan
Message: DJ Dean sometimes has half decent cars in, and his prices are normally ok, its just that I find the man hard to deal with plus his stock of cars are not normally A1. See what history you can find on the car and try and contact the previous owner. Windows are not BMW quality for sure, however they should work. If you read around this web site, you will find that the electric windows are a real problem area for the car, and expensive and time consuming to fix. To be honest I would avoid the car unless the windows are sorted. New window motors plus labour you must be talking 300-400 quid per side. You can have a go at sorting it yourself, however if I was buying a car I would expect everything to work. Check the red colour is not turning pink ( boot lid is a good place to look ), making sure you view the car in decent natural lighting. Does it have Air Con, 5 position heater control, full leather, has it got the little book showing its had its Dinol underseal treatments at Lotus ? Any water down under the spare wheel in the boot ? Carpets dry ( behind seats / passenger footwell ) ? Buy a good one and you will be very happy, buy a bad one and you will hate it, plus be spending lots one money. Oh, when you drive it, watch out the brakes are rubbish when cold !

Apr 5, 2001 - 09:55 - From: Kev
Title: oil change
Message: Just had oil/filter change done by Kwik Fit (UK only). Cost of £27 with Mobil semi-synthetic. They will put whatever you supply in and knock it off the price. Bargain I think, and lets face it, even they can't get that wrong!! He did complain that he had to "Break his arm in 4 places to remove the filter!!". Bargain I think.

Apr 5, 2001 - 10:25 - From: Kev
Title: RE : Nearly bought an Elan...
Message: If the window was easy to fix then he would fix it! He may have disconnected the switch to stop people lowering the window (It won't go back up). That is what mine was like when I bought it. I got £1500 off screen (rip off price) price but had to accept it as it was, and it was only from a small dealer. If I was paying £13500 for a car then everything would have to work or I would want serious money off. Also, check for corroded wishbones they are very expensive and rare now too.

Apr 5, 2001 - 11:28 - From: Rod
Title: Wishbones
Message: The rear wishbones appear back in stock direct from Lotus and also another company ( Midas ? ) are making them now, however they are expensive. That's why I mentioned to check the Dinol treatment had been done to schedule. If its been missed then for sure the wishbones will be in a mess !

Apr 5, 2001 - 11:31 - From: Rod
Title: Oil Change
Message: Two things are handy for removing the oil filter. . . . 1) remove the left hand front wheel 2) get the official Lotus Oil Filter removal tool ( costs 5 quid ).

Apr 5, 2001 - 13:48 - From: Russ
Title: RE : Nearly bought an Elan...
Message: The car you describe sounds like it should be at least £2k cheaper than it is. My Red 90 (AFAICT age has little bearing on value) was in perfect working order with paintwork fully sorted (front bumper had been resprayed - the elans are prone to stone chips there) and I paid less then £13k privately (under 30,000 miles), however with a professional inspection ISTM that there's not much less risk than buying from a dealer. If you can afford £13.5k then take your time - you should be able to find an almost perfect one for that.

Apr 5, 2001 - 14:00 - From: Russ
Title: Hoods, Rain and Trackdays
Message: I do now know that the hood doesn't leak at speeds up to 115mph :-) Just got back from Goodwood where I did my first ever trackday. What a BLAST. This could be seriously addictive. Did 150 track miles of which 100 were in the wet of which 50 were in the pissing rain. However the Elan behaved impeccably, it's so stable and forgiving, I was soon fastest (bar the V8 esprit who was no beginner) in the beginners session even getting past a caterham and a 350bhp cossie - He left me for dead on the straights but I was all over him in the twisty stuff so he had to let me past :-). I think it's going to be a long time before I get the smile off my face. Hope you don't mind me sharing that with you all

Apr 5, 2001 - 14:40 - From: will
Title: track days
Message: I wish they did have track days here. Once a month they have an SCCA get together. which is not so fun. the track is way too short for my liking. The only competition out there was a couple turbo integras. everyone else was in a different category. the intergras was quick off the line, but that was it. after i finally caught traction it was over. in the turns, in the straights. It didn't matter. i pulled away from them. I even lowered my boost to make more of a challenge. I need to move.

Apr 5, 2001 - 16:19 - From: Steve P
Title: In the wet :-)
Message: Russ, glad to hear you enjoyed Goodwood, obviously the F&C run last sunday primed you for the event! After following the Elises on Sunday, I'm in no doubt the Elan is a better all-round car, particularly on slippery mini roundabouts ;-) Maybe we should organise an Elan only F&C run if we can get a few of us together in the summer? Anyone any ideas on a starting point and destination?

Apr 5, 2001 - 17:18 - From: Rod
Title: Track / Summer Meet
Message: I really wish you had not reminded me how much fun a track day is Russ ! What tyre pressures did you run in the end ? And brake fade/problems with your new brake setup and fluid ? Overtake any Elises' ? I am still taking suggestions for a summer M100 meeting. Not many good suggestions yet. Guess we go along to an existing organised event, like the F&C runs. But we make an effort to get a good number of M100's along. Am still keen to wait for June/July to get some decent weather.

Apr 5, 2001 - 18:27 - From: Russ
Title: ElanCentral Day Out and Track Stuff
Message: Steve, I was talking to Rod about this very subject not two days ago (ElanCentral Day Out) and suggested that there's really only one place to go - The Elan Valley (Mid Wales). Cracking roads too. Probably mean a West Midlands start. If the group can agree on a date in June / July then I'll certainly be up for it and can help out with routes. Otherwise I guess it's a concerted effort to attend a F&C run and see if we can stay together next time :-) Overtook (overtake is a bit strong really - caught up and they let me past is more accurate) a couple of elises (also a couple of boxters) , couldn't get near the one (elise)with a 140bhp upgrade and a decent driver though. :-). Ran about 4 psi more in the tyres but because the later sessions were wet it was never an issue. Brakes were fine but again because it was wet never got really hot.

Apr 6, 2001 - 06:10 - From: Ian H
Title: Black Lotus Elan for Sale / Overboost
Message: Kev, there is a black Lotus Elan (very rare)for sale £10,995 UKP. It is in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. It has full Lotus History and 69,000 miles on the clock. Have not seen it myself yet, but I will probably pop up and have a look later. I have also been experiencing some wierd overboost on my car recently, sometimes the boost will stay at about .65 which is normal then all of sudden I get launched forward with the boost reaching about .9 I have had no modifications done to the car and beleive it to be stock. Has anyone got any ideas about what could be causing it? I don't particularly want it fixed as it absolutley flys along, but it is unpredicatble. Cheers Ian.

Apr 6, 2001 - 07:04 - From: Ian
Title: DJ Dean/Windows etc.
Message: DJ Dean have a wide range of vehicles, and though I was distinctly unimpressed with the silver one I test drove there... they seem to turn the stock around quite frequently so they must get good ones in. As Rod said though, the sales guy there is a little er... old school in his approach.. comes across as some sort of sitcom styled second hand car salesman... doesn't fill me with confidence. Tended to dismiss every query on the car with "they all do that guvnor, don't worry about it". With regards the window not working and the switch feeling "duff" - I had very similar symptoms, and it was just that the cheap plastic switch had pretty much fallen apart. If you pull the switch out of the centre console you can check if the bottom is coming apart, if so, can push them back together and switch works again. Mine was all bunged up with glue from someone obviously trying to fix it before. Got a replacement one from SJ Sportscars for a few quid and everything worked fine... so might be worth checking that out first before writing the windows off completely.

Apr 6, 2001 - 08:41 - From: Dave M.
Title: Russ' excellent adventure
Message: Ahhh, someone else caught by the track day bug! Glad to hear you had a good time, Russ. Isn't the car confidence inspiring? Even in the rain. How did you find the handling when things got wet? I was surprised to not have much understeer (so long as entry speed wasn't too aggressive) and SERIOUS lift-throttle oversteer. I was likely running too much pressure in the rears at the time, though (35psi). It happened to be a Shelby sponsored-event our Lotus club got invited to, and it was loads of fun passing Mustang after Mustang that couldn't hold the turns (especially when damp). My first one this year is May 12, and I'm itching. Plus I've got the rollbar camera mount for this year. If someone knows of an easy and cheap way to get video to the net and/or to Doug, let me know. I'll try to get some good shots for everyone!

Apr 6, 2001 - 08:47 - From: Dave M.
Title: I should clarify...
Message: It was a Shelby *Club* sponsored event. Carroll was nowhere to be found. :)

Apr 6, 2001 - 10:35 - From: Geoff
Title: Barrey Ely?
Message: Hello all! Thankyou once again for all your excellent advice. I agree with what you all said about Mr DJDean. He was definatly dismissive. He also had a heater in the car which he said was drying it out after being valeted. Maybe it was being dried out after a rainy testdrive and the car is a sieve for water?! I'll have a look at some cars I have seen at Barrey Ely's as well. I'm in no rush - and as you say, I want to get a top quality car that won't drive me too mad with expensive bills. I'm happy to get a private car as well, as long as I have it checked over. Geoff

Apr 6, 2001 - 11:20 - From: Russ
Title: Russ's excellent adventure
Message: Dave - handling was superb in the wet, I was running standard pressure in the rear tyres and plus 5 psi in the fronts. The handling in the wet was very neutral if the car was balanced before entering the bend, the times I got it all out of shape it pretty much sorted itself out although of course I'm sure that lift off understeer would have been provokable had I wanted to do so. It was certainly possible to steer it round the bends with the throttle which was great fun (although I never had to resort to opposite lock or anything) and, of course, achievable at lower speeds than in the dry. To be honest I was concentrating more on achieving a racing line and keeping my speed up than playing with understeer/oversteer. I'd prefer somewhere with a bit more run off area before I start on that.

Apr 6, 2001 - 12:09 - From: Rod
Title: Buying an Elan
Message: I would suggest you take your time - only be driving a few Elans' will you know a good one when you see it. Took me nearly a year to find mine.

Apr 6, 2001 - 12:13 - From: Gary
Title: Convertible top
Message: I have only been able to locate one company that still supplies a convertible top for the Elan. RD in Pennsylvania. They want $700 for it. Has anyone seen this top or had one put on? Are they any good? Where is everyone buying new tops from? Thanks for any help in locating one.

Apr 6, 2001 - 14:58 - From: DAL
Title: ELAN COLOURS
Message: CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW MANY AQUA BLUE ELANS WERE MADE AND IS THE MEDINA GREEN S2 THE SAME COLOUR AS THE AQUA BLUE SE TURBO?

Apr 7, 2001 - 21:50 - From: charlie
Title: that was unusual
Message: what odd spam.. $700 seems pretty good for a top, especially compared to the price from lotus, it costs $1500+ just for the rubber seals.. Unfortunately we've been getting a lot of rain here in los angeles ( a lot in socal terms, an april shower by uk standards) so the cars been living in the garage. It'd be cool to find someone who can fab up the seals and the roof..

Apr 8, 2001 - 05:32 - From: Jamie Yamawaki
Title: ELAN FOR SALE!
Message: Is anyone interested or know of anyone interested in purchasing a near mint condition 91’ Red Elan. I’m located in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m thinking of selling mine, but if I don’t received any serious offers by Friday, May 4, 2001, I’m going to keep it. I know this sounds very weird. Please drop me an e-mail if you’re interested or see the “Elans for Sale” list for details.

Apr 8, 2001 - 06:32 - From: peter
Title: Handling improvements
Message: Anyone tried any upgrades in the handling department ? I know our precious cars handle better than most already but has anyone changed bits an bobs and found anything to work better. I ask as my car is quite happy to spring about, not violently, but enough for me to think that something is either not as it should be or could do with hardening up ?? Any suggestions

Apr 8, 2001 - 12:01 - From: Neil
Title: Brakes
Message: Hmm, after fitting the ebc pads, disks, braided hoses and bleeding them 3 times. I have at last got a much better pedal feel. However, now I am a little concerned, it was wet and the front pads and discs haven't quite bedded in yet but I think the back brakes have locked up before the fronts ? if I touch the pedal the front dives down as expected and I have made the lock up. I am a little worried as to why the bakes have locked up. Any ideas ?

Apr 8, 2001 - 12:17 - From: DAL
Title: AQUA BLUE ELAN WANTED
Message: I'm currently on the market for an aqua blue elan so if anyone knows of one for sale or where there's one for sale please email. Thanks

Apr 8, 2001 - 19:16 - From: Rod
Title: Brakes
Message: Neil, after sorting my brakes out ( same modifications as you ), I can under extreme braking lock up the back wheels before the fronts. This should not be much of a shock, as all the weight is thrown forward when you brake, and there is little weight over the back of the Elan anyway ( how many of us put something heavy in the boot of the car just for the UK MOT test ?!!? ). Its just showing how good your brakes are now, that you can brake so hard.

Apr 8, 2001 - 22:19 - From: charlie
Title: dal
Message: it might help us if you tell us what country you live in...

Apr 9, 2001 - 03:25 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: DAL
Message: I'll take a stab at him being in the UK as he has a BT Internet account.

Apr 9, 2001 - 05:01 - From: Ian
Title: Help....
Message: Had a problem this morning with the car. It started fine first time, got a few minutes down the road before having to return home for something I forgot. When I came back out to start it again, turned the key and got ignition lights etc. but when I turned the key further to start the engine, everything went dead. Lights, stereo, alarm etc. all completely dead. I left it a few seconds wondering what had happened, when I got power back to the stereo/alarm. So I tried again, got ignition lights again, but when I tried to turn the engine over... all went dead again. Only this time, it stayed dead. I figured it was some sort of a loose power connection at the battery, so I checked the terminals and they were pretty rusted up... so I cleaned them up a bit, but still nothing. So I'm guessing maybe I blew a major fuse somewhere? Would this make sense? If so... where would I find this fuse? (seem to find fuses all over the car!) Also... could it be anything else? I remember there being talk of a power cut off switch somewhere in the roof stowage area, thought that might have been it, but I cant find it.... can someone give me directions? Many thanks

Apr 9, 2001 - 08:27 - From: Dave M.
Title: taunting II
Message: It's 6:30 Saturday morning on my drive to work. It's raining big time. I'm passing a semi in Scooby (my '95 Subaru Legacy). Out of nowhere I have headlights on my butt driving through downtown. I get over quickly as a Diablo goes ripping by. Florida plates: "DA BULL". Lambo sightings may be normal in other parts of the globe, but in quiet lil' Grand Rapids, that was a pleasant surprise.

Apr 9, 2001 - 08:43 - From: MartinC
Title: things
Message: I'm not sure I have heard of or seen an Aqua Blue. There is Pacific Blue (my own colour) and a Steel Blue. I think they were the only SE blue colours? Therefore Aqua is either the other name for Steel or a newer S2 colour? Anyone know? I did a Goodwood track day last year and the weather sounded pretty much the same as Russ experienced, both wet and dry. The Elan was not only very well received by all the other different people and cars there but performed very well, although I did managed to spin it by committing a school boy error of braking a little too late on entering the esses section on the far side of the track whilst doing about 60mph, lightening up the back end and ending up on the grass feeling pretty stupid.....and a bit shakey! What I would like to experience though would be to be on th track at the same time as some other Elans. I have done 2 track days now and would really like some idea of how well both I am doing and how my car compares with other Elans. I'm definately up for the F&C Surrey run on May 6th and would be keen to have a seperate meet sometime in the summer. The only problem is I guess is that we are all well spread out, although it doesn't stop a good turn out at Donnington. I really have now reached the stage in life where the MBC is becoming more of a need than a desire therefore if anyone with one is going to the F&C run maybe I could have a peek and be shown in more detail what to do about it?

Apr 9, 2001 - 09:01 - From: Russ
Title: Aqua and Trackdays
Message: Here's an aqua SE http://freespace.virgin.net/russell.pinder/Southrun3/Dcp00809.html. I'd love to get out on the track with some other elans, seems there's a few of us, it's just getting together.

Apr 9, 2001 - 10:52 - From: Loren
Title: IAN's Random No-Start
Message: IAN: Yes, it is a bad connection that is causing your no-start. I had posted about a month ago the solution to my problem and I went through a battery replacement and alternator rebuild first. The bad connection is not obvious, but is right behind your ashtray - or almost. Lotus runs the battery cable along the console and terminates it at a post attached to the "maxifuse" block. There are two more cables attached to that post - one is very short and goes to the maxifuse block, the other goes through the bulkhead and to a post on the starter. You will find that there is maximum contamination at that maxifuse connection between all three cables - the worst being the main battery cable. It appears that when assembled and soldered to a lug no one cleaned up all the rosin which effectively insulated the lug. I could move this cable a fraction and the car would start. There was a blackened burn spot on the lug. It is all covered up by a red plastic boot and by dropping the glove box and popping out the ashtray I could just get at the post and lugs with a dremel tool and clean them up. Good luck! Loren

Apr 9, 2001 - 11:26 - From: Geoff
Title: Test drive in an Elan
Message: Hello all. I just had my first test drive in an elan on Sunday. I didn't think it would be possible for me to want the car any more than I already do, but my GOD!!! I haven't stopped smiling all day! I wanted to ask you all a few more questions about the car if that is alright? I noticed that whenever I turned the wheel it sounds like gas is escaping from it! Is this normal? The salesman said it was. Also there is a sound of gas escaping when I changed the heater positioning knob. Everything else on the car seemed fine - and it hardly rattled at all - I expected it to sound like a baby's toy! The main question is how much does it matter that it hasn't had its dinol treatments? The wishbones did have some rust on them (only looked at the back ones), but they still looked solid. It has FLSH, so wouldn't they have picked up on the fact if they were going a bit dodgy? Thanks again for replying to me! Geoff

Apr 9, 2001 - 12:32 - From: Russ
Title: Geoff - re test drive
Message: Geoff - The noise from the power steering is normal (at least it's been on the ones (3?) I've driven. Only noticable at low speeds on mine. The noise from the heater knobs is OK too, shows they're working. I wouldn't worry too much about the dinol treatment, the condition of the wishbones now is far more important than a dinol history. I suggest you get under the car (or get it on a ramp if possible) with a screwdriver and have a real good poke about at the suspect sections, if they're sound fine, if the screwdriver goes through or breaks chunks off it needs new parts, factor this in or get them to change them before you buy. Check all (and I mean all) the electrics very carefully, make sure all the switches/lights work and if they don't get them to fix it. Make sure the windows work too, these can be expensive / difficult to fix apparently. Maybe we'll see you on the next get together if it's a goer. Are you buying as an everyday car or to keep in the garage for weekends? Good Luck

Apr 9, 2001 - 12:45 - From: charlie
Title: wheel noise
Message: if there were an m100 FAQ the steering wheel noise would proably be number 1, followed by the 3/4 temperature gauge. charliex@btinternet.com

Apr 9, 2001 - 12:52 - From: Russ
Title: Track Days
Message: Ok - there's a few people here who've said they'd like to go on a trackday with other elans so lets see if we can organise it. The following are possibilities from commercial companies, if I can guage interest I can approach the organisers as a group booking and hopefully get a discount. My Favorite is Sun 22nd July at Rockingham Speedway, but alternatives are Mon 16th July - Castle Combe, Mon 30th July - Goodwood. Can I have some indication of who would turn up, who might turn up, if you'd rather wait until the autumn, (I've only listed July as it's good for me but setting it up for september/october might be more practical?) if you want to go elsewhere, etc etc - Cost is advertised as £169 two Mon dates and £189 for sunday date. We'd need decisions and money (straight to organisers - I'm not doing that bit) early as places are already filling up and no organiser is going to do a good deal if he thinks he'll sell the places at full price anyway. Cheers. Reply here or mail me.

Apr 9, 2001 - 13:10 - From: Duncan Lamb
Title: Oil problems
Message: At the weekend, I noticed that my oil pressure gauge was fluctuating guite a lot, which worried me, as normally my Elan is pretty reliable. I decided to check my oil level at a service station, and the dipstick came out bone dry. I stuck a litre of oil in the engine to get me home, and the presssure fluctuation ceased. Chances are that a lack of oil caused this problem, and I'm glad I caught it before the engine stopped going round!! However, there have been no drips on the garage floor, there are no oily residues around the engine seals, and the exhaust isn't smokey even under madly hard driving. I did notice a slight gathering of oil inside the air intake manifold of the Turbo when I fitted the straight line intake from the air filter. The car is still (for my sins) serviced well before schedule at a main dealer. Anyone got any ideas on where the oil's gone to? Do I have the makings of a serious problem?

Apr 9, 2001 - 13:19 - From: charlie
Title: when was your last oil change?
Message: when did you change your oil last, or check the level? how many miles have you covered since then? did someone else change the oil, and did you check the level afterwards, a lot of garages are notorious for putting just enough in, i had to add a litre after an oil change by a service station.

Apr 9, 2001 - 15:14 - From: maggie
Title: thanks
Message: Thanks for all the advice about leaks you guys. Have not been able to do anything yet as tiling the bathroom comes first! according to my husband that is, he is a motorcyclist! Hope some of you will be gong to the Surrey Run on the 6th May, I appear to have the only Elan going so far. E-mail scott@madaboutlotus.com if you are going. I will be the old lady in the red Elan SE Turbo!!!

Apr 9, 2001 - 15:38 - From: Russ
Title: Surrey Run
Message: I'll probably be there Maggie, not 100% just yet but most likely, I see they've organised parking for max 40 cars - he must be dreaming, they'll probably get nearer 100 :-). Look for a(nother) Red Elan - H Reg. We (the Elans that turn up) should try to make the effort to stay together as we got completely split up on the last run.

Apr 9, 2001 - 17:12 - From: Geoff
Title: Test drive
Message: Russ, thanks for the information about the steering and heater controls. I will look closer at the wishbones, and get them to change them before I buy if they are dodgy. Electrics all seemed fine, though which was great! If I buy, then you will most definatly see me at the get-togethers! I will need all the mechanical help I can get, that's for sure. I get the train to work, but will use it everyday to visit people, or just go for a spin! I am already planning a holiday in it! Geoff

Apr 10, 2001 - 04:26 - From: Ian
Title: Arrrrgghhhhhh
Message: Loren, thanks very much for your post.... seems like that is the most obvious cause of the problem. However, I couldnt find the maxifuse block you talk of... despite taking out the glovebox, removing the stereo and getting right behind the centre section of the dashboard. Am I just missing it, or is it possibly somewhere different on a uk spec car? My problems have been compounded by the damn alarm on the car... which due to the electrical cut off's thinks it is being tampered with and goes off, but the remote requires power to turn it off, as do the controls to switch it off from inside the car. So it goes off and I can't stop it... and I am on the point of being lynched by my very quiet suburban neighbours... anyone know how I can disable my Clifford Concept 300 alarm as well?

Apr 10, 2001 - 07:30 - From: Ash
Title: N/A ELAN
Message: Hi guys, I've been reading this message board with some interest for a number of weeks now, what great information there is on here! I am in the process of sorting out an M100 of my own, (it's my mothers and she loves it too much!), so I know the car very well. One question though, it's a Naturally aspirated car, are there any others of you out there with one of these? it has of course got the very necessary power steering, but I am trying to decide whether to get this car that I know and love very well, or to look instead for a Turbo model. Any opinions would be greatfully received. Insurance seems to be the same either way. Cheers Ash (PS I'm in the UK)

Apr 10, 2001 - 08:18 - From: Dave M.
Title: n/a Elan
Message: Ash, knowing the history of the car is a huge plus. Because there was only so much I could check, I worried the entire first year I owned mine because of its multiple-owner past, but I was lucky. Unless you're really going to want the extra power the turbo offers, I'd stick with the n/a you know and love. It'd be a shame to pass up a car with good history to take a chance on another. Interesting on the comparable insurance, too. Here in the states we usually get zinged on insurance anytime the agent hears "turbo".

Apr 10, 2001 - 10:58 - From: gary fury
Title: diy plans for lotus 7 chassis
Message: can you tell me if it is possible to obtain plans for building a lotus 7 car(chassis thankyou gary fury

Apr 10, 2001 - 11:18 - From: Matthew - Colchester
Title: Elan for sale - very very reluctantly !!!
Message: I have just placed my car in the Elans for Sale section. I am totally gutted having to sell but have no choice with spiralling wedding costs !!!!!! The car is in very good nic and has just had a new battery and EBC Discs and Pads. I live in Colchester and am very keen to sell as soon as I can(under orders !!). It is a red 1990 SE Turbo with only 30,000 miles and full history. Please feel free to contact me if your interested. Thanks and thanks for all your help/advice. Matthew - Colchester

Apr 10, 2001 - 11:28 - From: Chico
Title: sobbing engine
Message: Hello guys... I just bought an elan and i'm a little bit sad about it. Firstly, right after buying the car I found myself with one of the transmission cables broken. I replaced both for precaution. Now, i get a very bad feeling when driving the car because when i throttle the engine sobs a lot, even from the lowest revs. It has two stages: when it doesn't sob, the power is very poor and even thought the boost goes up, i only reach the highest revs after a long time. When it sobs, I get more power and quicker high revs but it's like "get power cut power", "get power cut power". Very upsetting. The engine also sounds a little bit like if it is a "boxer" engine, very mettalic. Not what i expected from a 16 valve engine. Do you guys have any clue about what's happenning? Please help me. (I'm sorry for my bad english)

Apr 10, 2001 - 11:38 - From: Loren
Title: IAN- Maxifuse Location for LHD
Message: Ian: Yes RDH location is different, but if you go to the repairs/problems/maintenance on this site and open up the on-line Elan electrical manual and click on p14.tif (which turns out to be page 12 of the manual) you will see both LHD and RHD locations for the Maxi Fusebox. It looks like the RHD is way back on the tunnel behind the dash to the left- but the power cables run about the same. Remember to look for those red plastic booties on the posts. thank you, Loren thank you, Loren

Apr 10, 2001 - 11:54 - From: Ian
Title: Fusebox
Message: Loren, many thanks for your help... remembered I had downloaded the entire scanned version of the electrical manual a few months ago and have printed out the page you mentioned (among others) and will have another look tonight.... assuming I can face the neighbours with the alarm going off while I try to sort it!

Apr 10, 2001 - 13:15 - From: peter
Title: Surrey event
Message: Count me in lads and lasses, pacific blue elan se, look forward to seeing you all

Apr 10, 2001 - 14:06 - From: DAL
Title: AQUA ELAN WANTED
Message: Sorry everyone, I forgot to mention that i'm in the UK. Cheers

Apr 10, 2001 - 14:56 - From: charlie
Title: cure for a weakling child
Message: chico, when you sobbing does the engine seem to get stuck at around 3000 RPM. Do you get any warning lights especially the check engine list (rightmost under the speedo). usually engine problems are down to sensor failure, unless its purely mechanical or fuel related. the cam angle or O2 sensors can cause problems.

Apr 10, 2001 - 14:57 - From: Ade
Title: Handling improvements.Peter
Message: Peter, you ask if the handling of the elan can be improved, yes it can.You did not say if your elan is a S2 or SE. If it is a SE upgrade the suspension to S2 spec. This will involve fitting new shocks all round, new bushes and various bits and bobs to the front suspension, this can be obtained as a kit from lotus.And of course a set of S2 wheels.You will also need a full wheel allignment, but not one of the kwik fit jobs, but a proper computerised set up were the suspension is alligned to the centre of the chassis. This as you may have already guessed is not a cheap fix,but I bit the bullet a while back, had the mods done and have never regretted it. I had the mods done by Pat Thomas of Kelsport, he really knows the m100. Have a word with him, he is always ready to talk.

Apr 10, 2001 - 15:31 - From: Ed
Title: Looking for and Elan
Message: I was hoping to see the Elise make it to U.S. shores without to much ruination by the federalization process. But it sounds more and more like it will be slow in coming and it just won't be the same car. After a fair bit of research into other options such as the M roadster and such... I am starting to feel that an Elan may be the most fun for the bucks. So... If anyone knows of places, besides the lists here and on autotrader.com, that would list Elans for sale I would love to know about them. I am in the Phoenix, AZ area. So if you know of one for sale within semi reasonable distance (haha) let me know. I'd also be interested in hearing how people have managed the process of purchasing/transporting a car from someone else when it is potentially half way (or more) across the country. Thanks.

Apr 10, 2001 - 18:07 - From: jon
Title: need info
Message: Im wondering if anyone would know who I could contact or how I could obtain information on when my lotus Elan was imported to the U.S.A.. I was told by original owner that it was a press car-that it was one of the very 1st 2 cars sent over to be reviewed by the press and went on the auto show circuit before it was sold. Obviously that was a while ago(10-11yrs).My car does have the lowest vin# found anywhere in U.S. so far. Im seeking info. on how I can obtain such a fact in writting. Anyone with suggestions would help.THANKS

Apr 11, 2001 - 03:02 - From: Richard Steele
Title: Re: Aqua Blue
Message: Aqua Blue which is a greenish blue, a bit like the sea can look and hence its called aqua. The colour was introduced as a 92 year colour. The 92 year cars start in October 91 and the first car I have listed in my register is N6072 which is November 91. There are 22 Aqua Blue listed.

Apr 11, 2001 - 03:31 - From: Ben
Title: Re: Looking for and Elan
Message: Ed, I'm also in the final process of acquiring my Elan after months and months of looking and I will be using a car transport for delivery (fr coast to coast, yuk!) and can't wait to get my hand on the wheels! -- folks over here is just been superb in helping out. I still have few leads on hand and will be happy to email them to you if interested. I've also looked at eBay motors, Yahoo, cars.com, Lotus Registry & www.lotuselan.com. It's a matter of fact there's a BRG in Phoeniz, but be careful I've already seen it :-( though you might want to drive it for comparison.

Apr 11, 2001 - 04:00 - From: peter buckley
Title: timing
Message: I should know better but after owning my Elan ten years I realise I have never adjusted the timing. Two questions beofre I start: 1. What is the IAG valve? 2. 16 degrees BTDC, but at what revs? Thanks for any help here. Pete

Apr 11, 2001 - 08:06 - From: Rod
Title: Handling - S1 to S2 kit
Message: I believe the kit to modify an S1 car to S2 spec for suspension etc was all just because the wheels changed from 15" to 16" and also increased the unsprung weight. AFAIK changing the unsprung weight changes the handling of the car in quite a big way. I have driven both UK S1 and S2 and in my opinion the S1 is the better handling car, due to the low unsprung weight. If you want to change the wheels on an S1 to the S2 16" wheels for cosmetic reasons, then sure you should get the S2 handling kit installed.

Apr 11, 2001 - 08:09 - From: Craig
Title: OIL USAGE !
Message: My Elan uses a litre of oil approx. every month or so - I do approx. 1500 miles per month. Is this normal for a high performance turbo like the Elan ?

Apr 11, 2001 - 08:15 - From: Bryn
Title: Timing
Message: Peter Don't know what an IAG valve is, but can tell you that when you do the magic paperclip trick to set the ECU for timing adjustment the engine sets itself at the correct revs (which from memory is a little more than usual tickover, around 1,000 RPS) so you don't need to worry about this. Makes checking the timing a pretty simple task.

Apr 11, 2001 - 08:16 - From: Steve P
Title: S1 v S2
Message: Have to agree with Rod, S2 setup was not in my view any better. If anything it just made the ride quality worse. The smaller wheels seem to suit the car better from a dynamic point of view. Unless you are sure it's what you want I think money is better spent keeping the S1 setup in good condition, dampers, bushes, tracking and tyres. :-)

Apr 11, 2001 - 08:18 - From: Bryn
Title: Track Day
Message: Russ Reckon I'd be up for a summer trackday, where is Rockingham Speedway? Midlands?

Apr 11, 2001 - 08:21 - From: Steve P
Title: IAG or is it IAC?
Message: This valve controls the idle speed by adjusting the ammount of air entering the engine 'Idle Air Control'. It has to be reset by raising and the lowering the engine speed before adjusting the timing. All info for timing adjustment is on this site!!

Apr 11, 2001 - 09:58 - From: JEREMY
Title: decent garage in N. England
Message: Can anyone recommend a reasonable garage in the northwest of England. I live in Kendal, Cumbria and am currently doing a two hour each way run to an expensive main dealer in leeds. Any ideas?

Apr 11, 2001 - 11:05 - From: chico
Title: cure for a weakling child
Message: Thanks for your reply, Charlie. No, the engine does not get stucked at 3000 rpm and there are no warning lights. It just goes through the revs very slowly with expressive lack of power like if it is choked or on the other hand it speeds up much faster but sobbing a lot. Like all of a sudden it gets unchoked for a brief moment but gets choked right after, time and again. For the brief moments the engine gets unchoked i can feel its real power, but then again it gets choked again. Is this explanation very confusing? My english is not that good...

Apr 11, 2001 - 11:56 - From: Ian H
Title: weakling child
Message: Chico, I would start by checking the usual, such as air filter, spark plugs, HT leads. One other suggestion which can cause such a problem is dirty injectors, you could try using some cleaner like REDEX. Also replace your Fuel filter. Even if this does not resolve the problem it is not money wasted. Hope this helps. Ian.

Apr 11, 2001 - 12:17 - From: Edward
Title: lack of power sluggish weak engine
Message: Chico, there are many reasons why your engine is running poorly. My suggestion is to try and get Section EMJ.6 page 7 of the Engine Management Lotus Service Notes, and read the procedure. This outlines a step-by-step list to follow. It could be a cyclinder is misfiring, crossfiring or cutting. This could be due to spark plugs, spark plug wires, ignition coil, connections. You could also be having problems with your turbocharger, or just loose connections of wires. It may be something as simple as bad fuel. Also could be the air cleaner, or the ECM, or many of the different sensors in the engine. The only way to troubleshoot this, is to follow a step-by-step process.

Apr 11, 2001 - 13:27 - From: Paul P
Title: Oil Usage
Message: Craig, my car uses several litres of oil every 1000 miles. I have covered 10,000 miles since I bought the car and am on my 4th can of oil (each can holds 5 litres!). There is no visible blue smoke or leaks on the garage floor. However on my recent trip to Donning someone trvelling behind me said that there was the occasional puff of smoke when I accelerated hard. I have also noted a few oil splats around the bodywork in the engine bay near the front of the turbo. Therfore I think this is turbo related. If only I could have enough will power to drive for 1000 miles without blasting the turbo then I would know, but where's the fun in that?!

Apr 11, 2001 - 16:33 - From: Alan
Title: S2 v SE / Dealers /Trackday/ etc
Message: When I changed my SE to an S2 I found the handling much improved, maybe I just hadn't noticed the SE was getting tired, no doubt a bit pyschological too after spending more money. Dealers: Jeremy, have you tried Chris Foulds near Huddersfield?Should be a bit nearer for you than the Leeds dealer and I would expect to be better value. I've always found them very helpful.Trackdays: Looks like we may run one at Croft again late in the year on the lines of last year's success.We've tried to get Club Lotus to do it but they're more bothered about their beloved Castle Combe event and are probably frightened Croft won't make enough profit for them.Too early to firm up yet , I'll be asking for interest in a few weeks time. Colours: Richard, do you know how many azure blue S2's were made? e

Apr 11, 2001 - 17:21 - From: Ade
Title: Handling.
Message: To feel the full benifit of the change from S1 to S2 suspension you have to live with both setups for some time, not just try one and then the other.Lotus changed the setup to give the car better handling characteristics and if set up properly will give far superior handling to the S1.Of course the ride is harder, thats what stiffer dampers do.By the way I believe you have no choice, if you have to change dampers the S2 dampers have now superseded the S1. The S2 wheels were not a cosmetic change but necessary as you only have to breath on S1,s and they buckle, get Graham Arnold to tell you about the time he searched through hundereds of wheels to find a decent set to fit on a show car. It is expensive and not for everyone,but M100,s are not getting any younger and on a lot of cars out there have shocks that are probably in need of changing. So if you have to change why not change the rest of the suspension then.

Apr 11, 2001 - 18:55 - From: Rod
Title: Handling
Message: I have owned my S1 for near 10 years now, had a loan S2 for 3 weeks and put a lot of miles on it( 2.5k ) once, and then 2 weeks another time, on all sorts of roads. AKAIK the suspension and geometry changes for the S2 were *all* due to the S2 being a heavier car, having an increased unsprung weight, and having less power. If you add those three things together, sure Lotus had to work out damper and geometry settings all over again. As to which is the better setup a standard S1 or a standard S2 thats obviously a matter of personal taste. I personally feel the S1 is more nimble/powerful and fun to drive. The S2 is more "grown up" and not as involving IMHO. As to the matter of spending rather a lot of money adding S2 parts to an S1, I believe thats something you should consider carefully. Sure if you add the heavier wheels to the S1 then changes are needed. However don't forget the S1 is lighter and more powerful than an S2, so an exact S2 setup on an S1 would not be right for it.

Apr 11, 2001 - 18:58 - From: Rod
Title: SE vs S2 / Track Day
Message: Alan, would be great if you could get around to doing a write up on your experiences of SE vs S2, as I know you have owned and done many miles in both cars. Great news that you might be going ahead with another Croft track day, it was a credit to you and the rest of the chaps that organised it last year. The great organisation ensured that it was a sucessfull and enjoyable day for me.

Apr 11, 2001 - 22:31 - From: Rick S
Title: Noisy Low Speed Steering
Message: I acquired my 91 Elan approx 3 weeks ago. At parking lot speeds, turning (mostly) to the left is a very noisy proposition. I saw a few messages to a prospective Elan Owner that this is normal. Can this noise be alleviated or does one live with this banchee squeal? Please advice and Thank You ...

Apr 11, 2001 - 23:22 - From: charlie
Title: rick, steering wheel noise
Message: its normal, it the noise gets worse than norma ( of corurse you need to know whats normal first ) check the steering fluid resovoir if its too full or too low, the noise is worse. apart from that buy a a louder stereo

Apr 12, 2001 - 04:49 - From: Richard Steele
Title: Re: Noisy Low Speed Steering
Message: Rick S - Mine only wheezes and sighs and this is due to the fluid passing over vanes. The noise is a "characterisic" and cannot be changed (so my friend from TRW power steering tells me). I've never heard it "squeal like a banshee". What does everyone else's sound like????

Apr 12, 2001 - 05:16 - From: jeremy
Title: chris foulds
Message: Alan,..I will give Chris Foulds a try, many thanks.

Apr 12, 2001 - 07:04 - From: MartinC
Title: Oil usage - Paul P
Message: Paul, be very careful if as you say "there is oil splatterings around the turbo in the engine bay". I think mine went one stage further than this. After a Brands Hatch track day last year I checked the oil and it was practically empty (only miles away from a knackered engine probably). After refilling the car, it gradually starting producing blue smoke from the exhaust which got worse and worse. It turned out the seals in the turbo had gone, although I don't remember there being much oil around. Barry Ely managed to recondition my turbo for about £650 by rebuilding it with new inner parts, as opposed to a new one which was about £1,500. I hope this isn't your problem but you might want to get someone to pressure test your turbo as another possible reason for the large oil usage. Richard, my steering sounds like a rather large asthmatic child trying to climb over a high fence! Not really a "scream" though.

Apr 12, 2001 - 08:14 - From: Dave M.
Title: steering noise
Message: The steering noise was the second question I had about the car when I test drove some (first was the turbo stuttering/stalling between shifts). All three I drove made the exact same sound. If it is a medium-loud hydraulic/mechanical sound, almost like a grinding/rubbing, that's the normal. If it seems unusually loud, it wouldn't hurt to check over the whole system. Charlie - lol @ louder stereo. I went the other way - I did an exhaust!

Apr 12, 2001 - 08:23 - From: Ian H
Title: Steering, Turbo
Message: My steering has always wheezed at low speeds, if it is screaming then it could be your power steering belt splipping. I do not know much about the set up of the power steering on the Elan, but on a previous car I used to have a horrible squeal and this was due to a power steering belt which was easily adjusted. Occasionally I my turbo goes into overboost and reaches .9 on the boost gauge and the power increase in superb. However, I do not know why it is doing this as everyhing on the car is standard. Has anyone got any ideas?

Apr 12, 2001 - 16:42 - From: Dal
Title: S2 Elan
Message: Can anyone tell me the 0-60 time for an S2 compared to that of a SE TURBO. Also do you still get the same problems with the S2 as the SE, such as rear wishbones, CAS, gear linkage cables, windows and roof leaks. I'm currently on the market for an elan but not sure which one to go for SE or S2. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks

Apr 12, 2001 - 17:16 - From: Russ
Title: Dal S1 or S2
Message: IIRC the S2 is nearly a second slower 0-60. Extra weight and lower power (mainly due to the Cat) are the problem. However the S2's hold their value like nothing on earth. You're going to pay at least £5 grand more (Or more than that possibly) for an S2 in equivalent condition to an SE.

Apr 12, 2001 - 19:45 - From: George
Title: S2's lower power problem
Message: Here is my thought, if the S2's weak link is the cat, then just hollow it out.... :-) That's what I did on my M100 (S1), let me tell you... Forget about the custom exaust, let's just talke about free-flowing straight pipe.

Apr 13, 2001 - 04:09 - From: briansymonds
Title: starter motor
Message: has anyone got info on changing a starter motor on a lotus elan se turbo 1990 front wheel drive model

Apr 13, 2001 - 04:40 - From: Steve P
Title: To S1 or S2 that is the question!
Message: You have to remember why the S2 was made, to use up a pile of spare parts. Lotus obviously didn't spent a lot of time on the project as the car was destined to be scraped as it was too expensive to manufacture. In fact Lotus even re-engineered some suspension parts to make them cheaper! Parts that some suppliers would't re-supply were sourced from alternative suppliers. Some improvements were made to areas such as the soft-top which amounted to larger sealing rubbers. Because of the more stringent emissions limits when selling the S2, Lotus had to use a CAT and different ECU map(?). The car is significantly slower, just compare the 0-100 times, it's not even in the same league as the US spec. car with a CAT! I'd be surprised if simply removing the CAT will bring all the power back. The wheels were really speced to make the car look good. The engineers always argued for smaller lighter wheels, the larger wheels were always prefered by the stylist and marketing...they got their way on the S2! The engineer who was responsible for the cars handling characteristics was quoted as being 'somewhat pained' at the changes I believe! In my honest opinion the S1 is as its designers intended, the S2 due to forces beyond engineering control, was slghtly blunted but never the less still a great car. It does look better but will in my view always be in the S1's shadow. Best advice is to find two decent examples and drive them back to back over a rough twisty road..... :-) The decision is then yours!

Apr 13, 2001 - 07:10 - From: Ade
Title: Handling
Message: The question is not S1 v S2 handling, but S1 with S2 suspension and the difference in the handling on each setup.I drove my S1 for two years before I decided on the change.Although the handling was good on the S1 setup, I always felt it could be improved. I feel you can only make a fair judgement if you have tried both setups on the same car.Unsprung weight does not matter if you are trying the S2 setup after being used to the S1 setup, it either feels better or not. I did not rush into the change, I consulted a man who commands a great deal of respect in lotus circles, who as been involved with lotus all his life, who talks at the yearly lotus meet at donington and races a lotus in a very competitive race series, his knowledge of lotus is second to none.He also prepares various lotus and other makes of car for race meets. His advice was to change setups and I did and have never regretted it.As for small v big wheel, surely what you gain in weight is offset by the larger footprint and therefor more grip. I wish you all a happy easter.

Apr 13, 2001 - 12:06 - From: Steve P
Title: Mooore S2!
Message: Ade, nobody is questioning your change in setup, however people on this board are asking about buying an SE(S1) or S2? It's worth remembering when considering a purchase that Lotus made quite a few runing changes during production on the S1, including brakes, chassis and the shifter cables! Always try and buy the latest year you can.

Apr 13, 2001 - 14:46 - From: Ade
Title: Exhaust.
Message: I am looking to replace my exhaust system for a stainless steel one.Can anyone recommend a system that is sure to fit,I would like to fit it myself. I know the best option is to have it fitted by the supplier, but I do,nt fancy the long journey to the suppliers that I know of, I live in shropshire. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Apr 13, 2001 - 17:11 - From: Alan
Title: S2 v SE
Message: i had 25K superb miles in my 1990 SE, trouble free except for the usual gear shift and window problems [and unusually a broken oil cooler]. I then bought an S2 to get a low mileage car with as little wear and tear as possible. I hope to keep it several years and figured an S2 with the various 'improvements would be the best bet. It is definitely a touch slower with the catalyst but still fast enough for me. I like the bigger wheels (cosmetic + easy to clean) the lower hump behind the gear lever, better alarm and updates like the warning buzzer for lights on. The Nardi wheel is a nice touch too. I feel the handling is tighter than the SE but as I said in an earlier mail the SE may have been getting tired. The hood mechanism has been revised but still leaks. I dont rate the brakes very highly in either model but aren't inclined to spend a lot of money on upgrading. Overall both cars are brilliant machines. If I had to choose between a brand new SE and a brand new S2 I expect I 'd go for the SE for the power and originality (and then put on the S2 mods I like!) For a full comprehensive write up on the S2 try to get hold of Autocar for 22nd June 1994.

Apr 13, 2001 - 21:41 - From: Peter Cnaepa
Title: Richard's Elan
Message: I want that windscreen. I like those wheels, they really look like the fit the car. Some of those 17" wheels I've seen look to big.

Apr 13, 2001 - 22:29 - From: Ben
Title: fan noise and RPM idle
Message: Well I just got my Elan, but kinda down right now... Has anyone experienced any noise coming from the radiator fan -- it seems like the fan is hitting something (very annoying). Also the battery went dead and now it's up -- I heard the engine management system is going to re-learn stuff all over again (how long does it normally take to get back to normal, any other symptoms I should watch out for). At this time the RPM idle is a little over 1000 RPM and haven't driven since it was jumped (is this normal - what's the normal idle RPM for the SE). Also, the radiator fan is always on now even before I crank the engine. Any help is greatly appreciated

Apr 14, 2001 - 02:20 - From: Edward
Title: fan noise and idle RPM
Message: Ben, congratulations on your Elan purchase! The Elan in Rancho Santa Fe was sold, to Rick in Escondido. It was a good car. Well, your already experiences some of the joys of ownership...first, the battery problem...that has been something that some owners have experienced with a batteries running down. This could be a short somewhere, possibly the trunk light. The other think is the idle speed. After the ECM resets, it will go back to default values then will learn in about 3-days, depending on how much you drive it. The above idle speed may settle itself, and if it doesn't then it may be indicate a problem with the IAC (Idle Air Control) valve or if it's too high, I could be a faulty TPS (Throttle Position Sensor), or a TPS circuit. If you want, I can FAX you parts of the Engine Management manual. Let me know what number to use. Did you check for any codes stored? Read the section on how to read codes from your car, found in this website. If codes are found, then this will direct you to the fault. As far as your electric fans, there is a thermal switch (on the thermostat housing) that controls these fans and they can be on anytime the ignition is on, and it senses 110 degrees reached in the engine coolant. If they are on all the time, this could mean a bad switch, or connection. Anyway, hope this helps. It doesn't sound like the problems are too difficult to solve...given enough time.

Apr 14, 2001 - 06:31 - From: Steve P
Title: Performance figures S1 & S2 for DAL
Message: Figures from Autocar: 0-60mph S1=6.5s, S2=7.3s; 50-70 in 5th S1=7.7s, S2=9.7s; 0-120mph S1=29.6s, S2=38.1s; Top Speed: S1=137mph, S2=131mph

Apr 14, 2001 - 10:01 - From: Dean
Title: AZ Elan, Early USA Elan, ECU Relearning, Fan Noise
Message: AZ Elan - There should be plenty of Elans available in CA. Lotus Ltd. often has M100's listed in the classified section of their newsletter, and on the web. In your case, it might be worth joining just to get the membership roster, there are some members in AZ. Early USA Elan - It was only 3 yeas ago that Lotus Cars USA (LCU) sold their last "demonstrator" M100 it may be that car. Try giving them (LCU) a call, they may be able to dig something up. Everyone appears to speak negatively about causing the ECU to relearn new settings. It really isn't a big deal, under normal driving you probably won't notice any difference. I seem to recall that the relearning process is completed within 6 start cycles, although my recollection is not to be entirely trusted. A. Johnson, head of LCU, laughed when he heard my fans come on. He remembered that the old Elans had the same noise. The fix is to place a resistor in the path of one fan so they run at slightly different speeds, eliminating the heterodyne noise. This was performed for me at LCU in an effort to cure an overheating problem that occurred while I was attending the Lotus 50th anniversary festivities down there.

Apr 14, 2001 - 12:13 - From: Ray
Title: Horn
Message: I know it's probably a silly question but how does the horn button, in the centre of the steering wheel, come off as mine only works when it feels like it?

Apr 14, 2001 - 14:16 - From: Alan
Title: Northern Fish &Chip Run Recce
Message: Just had a superb day blasting across North Yorks with the Elise & Exige gang doing a recce for the Northern F&C run, starting from JCT Leeds on June 23rd.Must admit 8 Elises and 2 Exiges looked stunning and went like hell but it was nice to be different and the S2 kept up without any trouble. Please let's have some Elans on the 23rd! The guys today have asked me to do a run local to York before then so I'll keep you posted.

Apr 14, 2001 - 18:40 - From: Rod
Title: F&C -23rd June
Message: Sounds like you had fun Alan, looks like we have an event that we ( M100's ) can join in with and get a good turn out. No lame excuses, we all have plenty of time to wash our cars !

Apr 14, 2001 - 20:12 - From: Ian
Title: Horn
Message: The horn is removed by pressing in and rotating anti-clockwise. If the problem is intermittent, and especially if it is the case that the horn only works where the steering wheel is in a particular position then you probably have the same problem I did. It should be listed in one of the message archive files from about 6 months ago or so. Basically, there is a copper ring that meets a sprung loaded pin to make a ground connection. As you turn the wheel, the ring rotates, but the pin stays pushed against it via this spring mechanism. Unfortunately, the ring gets clogged up with crap and deformed, meaning that in certain positions of the steering wheel, you don't get a connection, which means the horn doesn't sound. I cleaned mine up and tried to bend it back into shape... its better, but still not perfect.... and I still have it so that if I really really want to use the horn, then I general have to swerve violently across the road to use it :)

Apr 15, 2001 - 00:13 - From: mike
Title: I'm new.
Message: Hi everyone, I have not bought my 1991 Yellow Lotus Elan, but hopefully I will with in two weeks. Should I? I see they leak? I use to have a Honda Del Sol; it leaked, so I brought it to my Stealership and they fixed it for $999, and from that point on i only had about 20 drops, is that possible to do with the Elan just pay up and don't worry about it leaking? I also like to increase HP, I see there is a chip possibility how is that? how much? thank u all

Apr 15, 2001 - 05:40 - From: George
Title: Mike
Message: Mike, I have not come across a convertible that does not have leaks... My friend's new 500SL has worse leaks than my Élan. One thing you have to know is that each Elan is different, therefore, each one will have a different leak problem. Is there a way to pay upfront and get rid of the leak problem? I don't know. However, I do know that if the seal is in good condition, and you are willing to do some investigation and fixings after you've found a leak, then it's not bad at all. About horse power increase, if you read through all the archives, you will notice that the best way to get more horse power out of the Elan is through a Manual Boost Control, which would cost you around $10 to build. Just wondering, where are you located at exactly. Last but not least, I hope that you will get your Elan soon. I had my for nearly 8 years now, and I have not regret even one second of owning it. Take Care. George

Apr 15, 2001 - 07:36 - From: Chris
Title: Rear Wishbones
Message: The rear wishbones on my 1991 Elan are in need of replacement but nobody seems to be able to source any for me at present. I have been told there may be some available in a couple of months but no promises! Can anybody advise me of the current situation. Thanks

Apr 15, 2001 - 11:52 - From: Susan M.
Title: Information about used lotus elan
Message: I have the possibility to buy a lotus elan SE from 1994. Is there anybody who can give me some information for what I have to keep an eye on. Thank a lot for helping me.

Apr 15, 2001 - 12:08 - From: Edward
Title: Purchasing an Elan
Message: Susan, there is an FAQ on this website that describes what to look for in purchasing an Elan. Mostly, look for any signs of neglect, and check to see for records of servicing. Try out all the accessories, to make sure they work. After I purchased mine, the one of the power windows stopped working, but was easy to fix. Check condition of the convertible top. etc.

Apr 15, 2001 - 13:26 - From: Ade
Title: Wishbones
Message: Chris, I am about to have my rear wishbones changed. They were supplied by Pat Thomas of kelsport. At the time he had no problem in obtaining them from lotus, this may not still be the case but worth a try. The wishbones I am changing do not seem to be in to bad a condition, I just fancy the galvanised ones. So if anyone is desperate and my wishbones are ok when removed, if they e-mail me they can have them for free.

Apr 15, 2001 - 17:39 - From: Russ
Title: Rear Wishbones
Message: Chris - rear wishbones. Have a search through the archive of this message board for wishbones. Someone posted details of someone producing new powder coated ones. Not a Lotus source - independent IIRC. Stuck in my mind because my project for next winter is to strip off my suspension parts and get them all powder coated. (Cheaper than new ones as mine are pretty much OK)

Apr 16, 2001 - 03:46 - From: Ben
Title: Re: fan noise and RPM idle
Message: Ed, I'm waiting for that relearning period and see how it would affect the idle speed -- I'm hoping it'll go back to normal. I would also try to get the codes stored. About the fan, where exactly is the thermal switch and any idea how can I get to the fans (it's definitely well hidden and very low). I guess I would need the workshop manual now -- any suggestion where I can purchase one (used would be OK) and how much. Thanks again for the much needed support.

Apr 16, 2001 - 05:36 - From: Susan M.
Title: Purchasing an elan
Message: Hi Edward, thanks for your tips and instructions. Althoug my english isn'nt so well, I try to communicate with lotus collectors. Probably we will buy "our" elan coming week. It is a 94 elan se, silver, under 20.000 miles,without an accident and body and inside fittings are in good conditions, full service manual by a dealer. Currently are only 3 elans for sale in germany (red, blue and silver one). If we bought the car, I will tell you. If you are interested for more details, let me know. Till later...

Apr 16, 2001 - 11:53 - From: Matthew Welsh
Title: Tires/Sun-visors
Message: I have riden in an Elan with 225/50 rear tires on the stock wheels. Does anyone know if 225/55 tires (a slightly taller tire) will fit without clearance problems? I am not a tire nut, but riding in the other person's car with taller rear tires was more comfortable since it "tilted the car forward" allowing my back to be more upright. Also, can anyone tell me how to remove the sun-visors, including the black-metal-bar which holds them in place? Just a tall guy trying to be more comfortable, thanks.

Apr 16, 2001 - 12:16 - From: Doug
Title: Matthew
Message: Welcome to the site! The best trick for the tall driver is to unbolt the seat from its 4 bolts, remove the plastic spacers, and rebolt the seat a bit lower! You will need some shorter bolts for replacement, but you can likely get them at your local hardware store--you may want to remove the passenger side bolts first so you can still drive to the store. The sun visors are removed easily by prying downward the center plastic part--insert a flat screwdriver under the part and pop it off downward. Then just remove two screws (phillips) on each to get the visor off. You may want to replace these screws so you don't loose them as they will be under the plastic when you snap it back in place! I would not think that such a small difference in tire size will change the angle of the car. But I would think the tire will fit as clearance is less an issue on the rears since they do not steer! Perhaps the weight of 2 of you in the car changed the angle a bit or it was just the seat position?

Apr 16, 2001 - 15:03 - From: Matthew Welsh
Title: Thanks!
Message: I am new to the Lotus world. Have had a Maserati Spyder since 1995, and there is no Web-site that comes anywhere near being as helpful or complete as this. (Don't think I am a traitor, I owned a Triumph TR8 for 8 years as a daily driver!) Anyway, I am very impressed. Thanks for your help.

Apr 16, 2001 - 15:45 - From: Mike C.
Title: Wishbones
Message: Hi everyone out there, this is the first time for me so please be gentle! I have had my 92SE for a few months now and am in the process of changing my rear wishbones, one had a couple of holes in it the other was on its way and the top links were no better.S J sportscars said Lotus didnt do wishbones for the M100 any more but could supply new top links.In the end I got the wishbones from Midas Metalcraft (I cant find there tel no at the moment but they are on the web )only took a few days they say they have a few pair left. That was about 3 weeks ago, I am still waiting for the top links to arrive ! I recomend the use of nut splitters to dismantle things if its very rusty but beware nuts for the rod that joins wishbone to hub as they are M14 metric fine thread and are a bit like hens teeth to source (Lotus part No A075W3069Z ).

Apr 16, 2001 - 15:57 - From: Ed
Title: Ben...
Message: Is the email address you entered for your posts here accurate? I sent you a couple questions the other day and had not heard anything. So I was wondering if you got it. Thanks.

Apr 16, 2001 - 16:02 - From: Mike C.
Title: Midas Metalcraft
Message: Just found the No for Midas Metalcraft 01234 378995;Doug at Midas says he is thinking about producing some lower front wishbones for the M100,could be usefull for the future.

Apr 16, 2001 - 16:11 - From: Bill
Title: Hood fiddles
Message: My tonneau cover release handle has come right through-how do I get inside to fix it-or is it better to enlarge the hole and refit with washer?

Apr 17, 2001 - 02:51 - From: Ben
Title: Re: Ben...
Message: Ed, yes my email is correct. I'll check it out and will respond to it -- got busy the past couple of days.

Apr 17, 2001 - 07:32 - From: Steve
Title: Overboost
Message: Took the car out for the first time since Donnington, been abroad, and found the engine missing and losing power with the engine warning light coming on. The error states an overpressure, however, the gauge only reads approx. 0.6bar! Completely shut of the MBC which made no difference. Removed all mods (mbc and bypass valve)and replaced with stock items, again no difference - any ideas anyone? By the way Rod thanks for posting a photo of the clothes peg I was using for a boot lock! This is now replaced. Just for information it was cheaper (42%) to purchase a complete lock set (2 doors and boot) rather than just the boot lock! Purchased these from SJ Sport cars and had no problems with helpful advice (on costs!) and prompt efficient service.Richard - will email you with the information you requested for your register later this week.

Apr 17, 2001 - 08:24 - From: Steve P
Title: Overboost
Message: Steve, sounds like your MAP sensor or wiring to it is causing a problem. It's situated behind the intake manifold under the bulkhead overhang. Worth a look as they often work loose!

Apr 17, 2001 - 08:39 - From: Steve P
Title: Lotus could be in trouble....... :-(
Message: Just FYI Lotus management (if you can call them that!) are now laying off some key people at Hethel, people the company needs! There are various rumours going round in the UK that they will be taken over, maybe by Ford in the not too distant future. Given their current state if someone doesn't come along things are not looking good. Spares could be a problem for us all if the receivers do go in?!! The company (Elise & dealers) have also just taken a slating in the JD power survey coming 166th!! Hold on to your steering wheels Lotus could be in for a very rough ride.......:-(

Apr 17, 2001 - 13:15 - From: Tony V
Title: Lotus in Trouble?
Message: Although I am in not in an "inside" position at all to know the inner workings of Lotus...I would attribute the recent layoffs to just the current economic slowdown in the world in general. As a long time Lotus observer......believe me that there have been alot of time that Lotus was in a lot worse shape then now. From what I see from the outside, they are a very secure company. NOw that is not to say that the rumours of a buyout by Ford may not happan...but Petronas, the true majority owner of Lotus will be very reluctant to let a profitable company go...And my information is that Lotus is PROFITABLE. Any scares of spares not being avaiable, or the company going out of business is probably unfounded.

Apr 17, 2001 - 14:05 - From: Steve P
Title: Lotus in trouble?
Message: It is difficult to know exactly what the situation is, but it does appear that there is a serious cash flow problem. Reports in the press suggest that Lotus engineering is way down on business, and as we all know Lotus are not very good at making money building and selling cars. The M250 project would appear to have been all but scraped, with many upset enthusiasts trying to recover deposits through collapsed dealerships. Owners with Elises are already having problems obtaining spares due to the current crisis. I agree Lotus has always been a roller coaster of a company, and it has been through worse times. Problem now is that the internal crisis is being aired in public, and this will only help put off potential Lotus buyers. I like many others hope that Ford do make a bid for Lotus and put in some decent management pronto. After all they've saved both Jaguar and Aston Martin! Maybe Ford will buy back some tooling from KIA and we can all get some new wishbones :-)

Apr 17, 2001 - 17:19 - From: Doug
Title: Lotus in Trouble?
Message: Well, the worst it could get over there in the UK would be about how it has always been here!! I have already realized that holding out for an M250 is a bit too speculative. Perhaps I will make a move to Federalize an Exige if I have to. I saw the new M3 and WRX here in the US and neither even got my heartrate to rise! I saw the next Viper RT-10 in the latest car mags and it did get my brow to rise up a bit--there's a small chance I may have to recind my old quote that "there are no US cars that I would ever buy!"

Apr 17, 2001 - 20:40 - From: Ben
Title: workshop manual
Message: Any suggestion on where I can purchase a copy of the Service/Workshop Manual besides going through the dealer and pay the hefty price -- I desperately need it! Thanks.

Apr 18, 2001 - 00:19 - From: charlie
Title: relearning, manuals.
Message: I believe the ECU should relearn after about 20 minutes of driving, perhaps less. It shouldn't really affect too much, fuel economy and a slight performance decrease would be all I'd expect. Idling slightly above 1000 rpm is typical while the engine does this. But unfortunately its also a symptom of the bad cam angle sensor problem, if the engine struggles or the turbo shuts off during hard accelerationit may be indicative of that. Ben you can get the manuals off my site while you look for your own copies, I don't know of anyone selling cheaper versions, except of course isuzu but that only covers the engines and some of the electrics. I paid about $170 for the parts manual. http://www.charliex.net/Lotus/ Hopefully Ford won't buy lotus, we had enough crap from GM (although they did wipe out most of the lotus debt ) and theres enough ford bits in the elan as it is, still on the positive side it makes parts easy to find. Doug I just don't see you in a viper =)

Apr 18, 2001 - 02:13 - From: Doug
Title: Caught Me
Message: Okay, Charlie, I guess you're right. I guess it'll have to be a V8 Esprit then. I'll cancel those aligator boots I just ordered online.

Apr 18, 2001 - 04:31 - From: Rod
Title: Viper / USA Humour
Message: Doug, nice to see some USA humour. I thought I would never take a second look at a USA car, however the Viper does turn heads, at a Lotus show at the end of last year, I spotted this parked up : http://www.lotus.thepitlane.com/newark/DSCN0011.JPG even though it was surrounded by Lotus' http://www.lotus.thepitlane.com/newark/dcmalbum.htm it still got plenty of admiring looks. Go for the Exige, you know you want to - there is a USA chaps that has an Exige 190, but only uses it for track sessions. Not road legal AFAIK.

Apr 18, 2001 - 08:32 - From: John
Title: 1995 S2
Message: Hello folks, I would need a piece of advice from the experts. I am always been very keen on the Elan SE/S2 and can now afford one. I have apparently found one that I would consider buying, but I have a couple of questions I would like to ask. The car in question is a black S2 (first registered in Feb 1995). First thing, this S2 has increased HP (by turbo pressure adjustment) to 210. To me, this doesn't look like a very wise thing to do, considering no changes were made to any other part of the car. Should I expect specific engine or transmission problems, having the car run for 30'000 km? Second, this S2 is equipped with ABS. However, ABS doesn't show up in the car's specifications (not those that I found, at least). Comments? Third, is the black paint subject to the same kind of fading of the red one? Fourth, I should buy a hardtop as an optional part. How difficult is it to get one from Lotus. Last, I went through the list of things to look for when buying a second hand Elan. Any specific problem of the S2? Thanks very very much in advance.

Apr 18, 2001 - 09:00 - From: Scott
Title: Ben, look here (cheap manuals)
Message: Ben, I used this guy at http://www.lotus-books.com/html/the_new_elan.html. He reprints the same manuals Charlie has. I bought everything except the parts list for about $150. He reprints them in hard backed bound covers. Nice job, considering the price savings. Good luck.

Apr 18, 2001 - 11:20 - From: Doug
Title: John's S2
Message: John, welcome and happy hunting! The S2 is a newer model which will help overall. Raising the boost is common here now as I can attest. The raised boost ONLY happens when under full throttle conditions, so this is really (most likely) only a small portion of the driving time (5% or less). The engine internals are built stronger for turbo pressures, but raising the boost can add stress and wear. If worried you should have the turbo inspected and the cylinders checked for pressure and leak-down. The tranny is almost bulletproof and the condition of the clutch should tell you if it has been abused. Is this a private party selling or a dealer? Do you have FSH? It has low miles by our standards so should be in good shape. I know we would ALL recommend you to drive at least a few other Elans so you can see the idiosyncrasies between them so you know if yours is the better or worse one!! I do not know of ANY Elan with ABS so you should investigate this (so I would guess it is for sale by a dealer with little knowledge of the Elan!). Is the black original? Look the car over to be sure! There is a way to tell by checking the codes at the bottom of the metal placards referenced to the paint codes, which I believe I have on the site somewhere (see online manuals). FYI, black is a rare and, in my opinion, nice color for the Elan. The only hardtop was produced by NTC ltd. (see page on this site) but people have said that they are hard to contact and may not be producing it anymore?? Otherwise the S2 should not have other problems than the SE. Perhaps if you tell us where you are you can find a knowledgable Elan owner in your area who can help you look over the car with you. Cheers, Doug

Apr 18, 2001 - 11:53 - From: John
Title: 1995 S2
Message: Doug, thanks very much for your precious info. I am in Switzerland. The car appears to be sold by a private party. I explicitly asked if any NON-ORIGINAL parts were fitted to the car (perhaps ABS was fitted to the 300 S2s that were produced for Europe?), but the bloke said: "no". I will check the paint issue (I agree the black is a nice colour to the Elan, even though my favourite is the British Racing Green). Good idea to have some Elan owner help me out with the car inspection. The Swiss Touring Club offers this service, but I doubt they have anybody that knows much about this car. I have seen a list of owners on your site and I will try to find the Swiss ones... Forgive my ignorance, what is FSH? One last thing, does knowing the chassis number help in any way in finding out the history of the car?

Apr 18, 2001 - 12:33 - From: charlie
Title: chassic number /vin
Message: Some countries have a service where you feed them the vin and they tell you as much history about the car as they can, insurance writeoff, mileage etc. Maybe your insurance company knows of such a service. Of course it depends on what information is available to them to check and log. Black doesn't fade as much as red. FSH = full service history, ie a printed log of receipts and documents from when the car has been serviced, again helpful for ,mileage major problems etc.

Apr 18, 2001 - 12:36 - From: charlie
Title: viper
Message: you'll need to gain about 70 pounds, lose your hair, get a rug and a token wife/gf too, at least if the viper drivers round here are anything to go by.

Apr 18, 2001 - 13:05 - From: Steve P
Title: Just a comment...
Message: Charlie, I actually think the Elan is all the better for GM owning Lotus during its development, if anything the Elan would probably not have been, had the financial backing not been available in the 80's. The Elan would not have undergone such rigorous testing which undoubtably made the FWD-Elan the most reliable Lotus ever. I think this still holds true today 10 years later! OK the windows don't go up and down reliably but it's basically a very sound car. I'm happy to have a few Vauxhall Astra vents and switchgear as the downside :-) Lotus would certainly not have had access to the little Isuzu, which is the envy of Elise owners spending $$$$$$ trying to find another few bhp!

Apr 18, 2001 - 15:35 - From: Dan Adragna
Title: everyday ?
Message: I am in the market for a 91 elan. I am purchasing this car as an everyday driver for both my wife and I . I currently have an esprit that is a weekender toy. I do have service issues from time to time with the esprit. How is the elan as an everyday car? reliability? service? insurance? Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. Is mileage a major concern on this vehicle. If so, what is considered accessive mileage. ( I do know an individual with an elan that has 170k on the clock.)I live in central florida so weather is not of concern. Thanks, Dan Adragna

Apr 18, 2001 - 17:43 - From: charlie
Title: gm
Message: yes i agree, as i said GM cleared off all lotus's previous debt, which is a good thing. Its the cheapness of some of the GM/AC delco parts i'm getting at, the elan ford parts are even cheesier. I'm glad GM bought them so they could be saved again, but lotus is the bad penny, they'd still be around if GM hadn't jumped in.

Apr 18, 2001 - 18:34 - From: charlie
Title: everyday driver
Message: i was doing 100 miles a day for about a 1 year with no problems. I put around 50,000 miles on in a two year period. I've spent around $9-11,000 in repairs over the last three years, I know a number of people with 120k+ and still driving often. As you probably already know its the type of miles, mine were nearly all highspeed freeway miles, and not stop n go. Most mechanics i've talked to agree that the more the car is used the less it will go wrong. Its when they are left to stand that big problems start to appear. I'm in california, home of the pothole.

Apr 19, 2001 - 03:44 - From: Ben
Title: manuals, EGR smog test
Message: Scott-thanks for the manual info. Edward-I sent you an email, but it looks like you're out. Charlie-I guess I'd be browsing through your site until I get my own sets -- I guess I never though I'd have to turn myself from "I'm a driver, not a mechanic" into "I'm able to do most of repairs". I took my Elan to my friend's local auto diagnostic shop to pre-check my car for California smog (originally non-CA car) so I can get it registered. Everything seemed fine except for the manual functional EGR vacuum test -- the "EGR test tool" wasn't responding (seems dead with no response). He checked everything he can (eg EGR valve, hose, EGR solenoid), but really couldn't do much since he hasn't worked with Elans before and with no workshop manuals it didn't help either. I've printed Charlie's online "emission" section and we'll try to figure it out this weekend. There are 5 pages in this section -- any other areas that I should be looking for (ie electrical, etc.) I would appreciate any insights regarding this so I can register the car ASAP because I heard forecast this weekend here in the Bay Area is tailored for the Elans :)

Apr 19, 2001 - 05:29 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: Dan, Dan, The Lotus Man
Message: Dan, at the risk of everybody saying 'here he goes harping on about his mileage again', you now know a bloke with a 192,000 mile Elan. I agree with what Charlie says there:- keep it running to keep it running. Using it on a daily basis is the best you can do, you then also have the advantage of driving it more than the folk that leave it in the garage. The two main problems with the Elan are the hood and the brakes, both of which are easily solvable. The Hood - leave it down. The Brakes - don't use them, it goes quicker!

Apr 19, 2001 - 19:17 - From: Malcolm
Title: Misterious Swiches
Message: Hello, there are two swiches that are in the center console cubby that I dont know what they do. one is a push button swich and the other is a toggle swich. Does it have to do with the alarm? any ideas? thanks

Apr 20, 2001 - 01:29 - From: Brian
Title: Mist-erious Swiches
Message: The Push-Button is for the Door Mirror de-mister, and the Rocker Switch toggles Mirror adjustment either right or left.

Apr 20, 2001 - 05:50 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: Haydon Daytune
Message: For you information, Haydon Daytune in Cambridge have gone into receivership and are therefore no longer in business.

Apr 20, 2001 - 06:41 - From: Glen
Title: S2 and ABS
Message: I have a totally standard S2. It has an ABS warning light in the console, which suggests that ABS was at least an option on the S2.

Apr 20, 2001 - 07:04 - From: Glen
Title: UK Elan aware garages/audio
Message: Are there any UK Hertfordshire based owners frequenting this list and if so do you have any recommendations of where I can get my S2 tuned and have its door speakers changed? My experiences of the supplying dealer (LLC) are not filling me with confidence and I'm reluctant to put any more work there way than will be required to keep up my warranty.

Apr 20, 2001 - 08:53 - From: Steve
Title: Overboost without MBC
Message: My 92 Elan which is used everyday, lives outside at 1000 ft in Yorkshire Pennines, overboosts sometimes when cold(>0.65), and has 'missed' once, Is it an early indication of a sticking wastegate ? And if so, how many £££ am I expecting to pay out to fix it ?

Apr 20, 2001 - 10:19 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: Garages
Message: Glen. I have today booked my car in to LLC for a service and was foolish enough to ask them what their hourly rate was. SEVENTY F**KING POUNDS PER HOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apr 20, 2001 - 10:26 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: Overboost
Message: Steve. The lack of oxygen up there in the Pennines probably means that you need the extra boost to get you to work and back. Take it to Chris Foulds' and ask Dave to take it to bits, spit on it, rub it with his hankie and put it back. It'll work a treat and save you fifteen hundred quid (which you can then give to me to pay my bill at London Lotus Centre next week.

Apr 20, 2001 - 10:31 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: ABS
Message: Glen. The dash display is an off-the-shelf one which has a few other warning lights on it which are not used on the Elan. No Elan ever left the factory with ABS (unless of course I am wrong, which I'm not (I don't think)).

Apr 20, 2001 - 11:06 - From: John
Title: S2 and ABS
Message: I started this thing about ABS, so I reckon I should put an end to it. :-) There's a guy selling a black S2 who says it's equipped with ABS. This appeared very strange to me I posted a message here. I asked the bloke if he was sure and his answer was that he is not a car specialist and that I should ask his dealer. The dealer confirmed (as expected) that the S2 does not have ABS. Neither this one, nor any other.

Apr 20, 2001 - 12:34 - From: Malcolm
Title: Misterious Swiches
Message: Brian that switch is the one down near the window swiches, the two swiches I am talking about are actualy in side the cubby at the back of the center console, any more ideas, anyone? thanks

Apr 20, 2001 - 12:49 - From: Rod
Title: Lotus Garages
Message: Best (?) I heard was £75/hour at one Lotus place. Strage that the Lotus Service place at Norwich, is one of the cheapest around. I keep meaning to try and kid the girlfriend into a nice romantic weekend in Norfolk :-)

Apr 20, 2001 - 12:50 - From: Rod
Title: ABS - not
Message: That row of warning lights looks very much like the ones fitted to the Vauxhall Carlton around the same years. ABS was never an option for ELAN SE.

Apr 20, 2001 - 13:48 - From: Jack Bloomer
Title: need front shocks
Message: I am a new Elan owner. I am the second owner of this particular car and it is very stock. I am reading all I can about the "standard" upgrades and plan to begin this month. My immediate need however is for a source for front shocks. I have replace my wheels and tires (with aftermarket) and have picked up a nasty shake between 60-75mph. I know I am in need of front shocks and am hoping that it will help with my "shake, rattle and roll". Any suggestions whould be greatly appreciated.

Apr 20, 2001 - 14:07 - From: Geoff Robins
Title: Pristine Elan for sale
Message: I have reluctantly decided to part with my 4900 mile Elan. Getting a bit long in the tooth for open top motoring now! Full details in the "For Sale" section and pictures in the "owners Gallery". The best Elan in England.

Apr 20, 2001 - 18:37 - From: Guillermo
Title: And finally I got it !
Message: Hi all, I am proud to announce that after 4 years of near abstinence I now can park my Elan at home ! I lived always near the city center, so I should have rented a parking for the Elan, but for nearly 100 EUR (modern times, aren't they ?) a month it was out of question, so the Elan was stored at my parents 150 km away. Yesterday I drove with a friend of mine (another car-freak, Porsche 924+Bertone X1/9+Alfa 33+Moto Guzzi (2x)) to bring it "back home", WHAT A DRIVE !!! We looked after pressure, liquids, drive gently first, later no so ... great ... but after the trip he said that he saw some light "smoke" at changing gears (high speed, travelling at 160 - 210 kph), what should I look after first ? Any ideas, please ?

Apr 20, 2001 - 23:06 - From: Doug
Title: Guillermo
Message: You go G! Was it really when changing gears or was it at full throttle and high rpm just before shifting. Under full acceleration I believe the car errors on the rich mixture side and you do get some excess emmisions as I have seen this on other Elans. Hey, you got to wring the deposits out of the engine every so often ;-)

Apr 22, 2001 - 11:19 - From: Peter Seow
Title: CV joint problem/solution
Message: I had the cv joint replace BUT Lotus was having a sale and I got them at 1/3 the regular price...yes they are unique and not GM parts...an alternative is to rebuild them. Btw does anyone know of an active Lotus espirit message board??? I need some help with my espirit.

Apr 22, 2001 - 17:04 - From: Rod
Title: Esprit
Message: You could try here : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lotus-cars as a starting point to find Esprit information

Apr 22, 2001 - 17:33 - From: Mark
Title: Smells and Smoke
Message: Does anyone else experience a petrol type smell a low speeds - usually around town, especially noticeable with the hood down. Is this normal? Everything looks fine under the bonnet, clean as a whistle. Also last week when overtaking in 3rd gear at about 6500rpm, when I changed gear I noticed what looked like a puff of smoke in my rear mirror just after changing gear - is this the same thing that Guillermo is taking about and if so is nothing to worry about or do I need to look for something more? I haven't noticed any smoke since.

Apr 22, 2001 - 17:58 - From: Rod
Title: Fuel Smell
Message: I believe USA owners have reported a problem with the fuel filler pipe. Not heard this mentioed for a RHD car though.

Apr 22, 2001 - 18:07 - From: Guillermo
Title: Mark
Message: If you smell petrol, you should look after two things: the pipe that connects the fuel filler hole with the fuel tank (look chapter/page 4401 in parts list), are they fitted tight ? This seems to be most frequent failure. The access is through the bottom of the soft top compartment, stripping out the carpet, you then find a square you must open. Be careful, petrol as gas is very explosive ! Second is a look at the tank itself, mine "broke" 6 inches below the connection to the pipe first mentioned. The car smelled more if the tank was full. It also lost petrol when full and standing with front lower the back. I saw the holes searching from below the car. A specialist did a fine job "welding" the holes (they were more lines than holes), so I did not need a new tank.

Apr 22, 2001 - 18:57 - From: Rod
Title: Petrol Tank - Welding !!!!!!!!!!
Message: I thought the petrol tank was plastic ?

Apr 22, 2001 - 19:47 - From: charlie
Title: welding
Message: Rod, you can weld plastic too =)

Apr 23, 2001 - 05:39 - From: jeremy
Title: overboost?
Message: Richard/Steve,... my elan seems to be overboosting so I took it to Chris Foulds for a look at the wastegate. He spat and polished etc and the car still registered a map 31 code (with a low voltage which apparently means it isnt the sensor). Could the fault be due to a sports thru exhaust and reduced back pressure etc? Chris Foulds however were great and are going to try and work it out. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Apr 23, 2001 - 07:15 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: Lotus Garages
Message: A few months ago the factory service centre were charging £60 per hour whereas Stratton Motor Co., just down the road from Norwich, were charging only £40. I would recommend Stratton to anyone. When I was working in Ipswich a couple of years ago, they came and collected it in a covered trailer for free and everyone from manager to mechanic seemed to do their job properly. It made a refreshing change.

Apr 23, 2001 - 18:24 - From: charlie
Title: 41
Message: off the top of my head isn't 41 CAS relate (As well as 31)

Apr 23, 2001 - 18:27 - From: Doug
Title: overboost
Message: Just wanted to be sure you guys don't waste your time and money thinking that reduced back pressure can give you overboost--it won't! I can attest to driving with a completely gone downpipe (zero backpressure!) for a good while with no untoward effects on the boost at all!! It sure did sound good though! If it were the exhaust it would be from some type of restriction or something, but you would have found this out a while ago so it would not be a new problem. Be sure to jiggle all the engine sensors as those buggers are unually the culprit!

Apr 24, 2001 - 05:26 - From: Ian
Title: Haydon Daytune Gone!?!?
Message: Nightmare.... after my experiences with LLC, It was a real pleasure to take my car to Haydon Daytune to be serviced and now they are apparently gone. Richard, do you have any contact details for the place you are reccomending? (Stratton?) Also... do you know if they would pick a car up from north London and if so, what sort of money it would be. Thanks very much.... now desperately looking for somewhere to get my car serviced!

Apr 24, 2001 - 07:19 - From: MartinC
Title: Ian - Servicing etc
Message: Ian, If you are in N London then Barry Ely in Stratford (E London) maybe a good bet. He is a Lotus specialist, not Lotus authorised, but very much a Lotus enthusiast. I've used him for 3 years including my B&C with no probs. On another matter I have been looking at the Fish&Chip Run website for the past few weeks and they have planned a mass rally to the Hethel Factory in Norwich for this Sunday in protest at all the recent sackings and general dissapointment at the way Lotus is currently being run. I probably won't be able to make it but if you are in the area they would be dead keen to have your support. Just to set the tone, you must arrive with black ribbon attached to your wing mirror and be wearing a black armband!!! Those Elise owners area serious bunch! I will though be going on the Surrey Run on 6th May.

Apr 24, 2001 - 07:26 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: Stratton Motor Company
Message: Contact details are: Stratton Motor Company (Norfolk) Ltd, Ipswich Road, Long Stratton, Norwich, NR15 2XJ (01508 530491), sales@strattonmotorcompany.com. I think they will collect from anywhere but it won't be free and you might have to fit in with when their transport chappie is heading your way. Probably a three day round trip too. Since I was in Ipswich, a Lotus dealer seems to have sprung up there as well. Don't know anything about them but they are called Edmundson on 01473 322630. I wonder if LLC or Lotus Cars check on this message board to monitor owners views?

Apr 24, 2001 - 09:30 - From: Geoff
Title: I've finally got an elan!
Message: Hi all! Well, after much researching, deliberatring, test driving, etc, I finally have an elan. I am over the moon with how good the car is. It is so lovely to drive, and instills so much confidence when cornering! I would recommend to anyone who is intending to purchase one that they really should drive as many as possible before parting with their money. I drove several, and they all had their own personalities. This message is mainly to thank all those of you who gave me assistance in my purchase, by answering all my queries on this message board - You were all fantastic with your advice. Happy motoring, and I'll speak to you in a couple of days, when I've broken down...

Apr 24, 2001 - 11:26 - From: KARL
Title: LOWERING MY ELAN
Message: DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST ME TO LOWER MY ELAN PLEASE (CHEAP AS POSS HA HA) IM RUNNING ON 17" AND I WOULD LIKE TO PUT THEM NEARER THE ARCHES, IM A NEW OWNER OF AN ELAN AND DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE CAR YET, ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.........THANKYOU KARL (BURTON ON TRENT UK)

Apr 24, 2001 - 15:12 - From: Bill Luton
Title: LOwering Springs
Message: We do custom lowering springs for all the Isuzu cars. The most expensive we do are $198 per pair because the ends must be turned down by hand for that particular spring. Typical cylindrical springs range from $118-178. I have mentioned before that I would be more than happy to do springs for the Elan, but most have responded negatively saying the car is too low to begin with. Something I may not have stressed is that we do truely custom springs, meaning the customer states the ride height and stiffness they want and the springs are made to order. Some of the ones I prefer om my own cars are what might be equated to a police "interceptor" package, springs that are much stiffer to enhance handling but reduce ride height only 1/2 inch or less. This is more typical of highway patrol chase cars. I am in an area that cars can not be lowered too much and I am not looking to squeege the pavement, but like to corner at 1.0+ g. That might be something for those not wanting to lower the car at all or very much but want much better road handling._ _ _Bill Luton

Apr 25, 2001 - 04:02 - From: Rod
Title: Lowering
Message: Karl, a couple of things, I wonder if your 17" wheels have the same "offset" as the standard 15" wheels the car was in production with ? If not I expect your wheels are sticking outside the wheel arches ( hence splattering mud up the side of your car ? ) ?. I also doubt you will be able to go too much lower, as the front suspension design is not really made to do this, and also if you do damage the front suspension raft I expect it will be expensive to repair.

Apr 25, 2001 - 09:36 - From: Dave Schmid
Title: Lowering Suspension
Message: Karl, Bill has a great economical option for lowering, vs the race suspension that I am using, see after market (suspension). One area of caution, the suspension dynamics will change as you lower it and you will need to make adjustments to camber, caster and toe-in to keep the entire tire patch on the ground. I have found that the "Lotus Spec" is not anything close to what is now working with my set up. If I use the specified camber, 25% of the inside of the tires do not touch the road, as a result I am running positive camber of 3/4 to 1.25 degree, spec is 1/4 +0, -1/4. This also varies with the tire size. I have a "SmartCamber" gauge and made my own lazer toe-in setup because of making constant changes, you should probably find a suspension expert shop to help you with these adjustments.

Apr 25, 2001 - 11:04 - From: peter
Title: central locking not working
Message: netties can you help me ! My central locking seems to be on the way out, every now and again it works and then it doesn't. Is this a typical Lotus problem with a well known cure (I HOPE) Next thing, is there a upgrade available so that you get a warning noise when and if you leave the side lights on. I beleive someone mentioned somewhere that the S2 has this feature (mines a s.e.)any help will be appreciated.

Apr 25, 2001 - 11:09 - From: KARL SHERRATT
Title: LOWERING
Message: THANKYOU FOR YOUR ADVISE ON LOWERING, THERE IS SUPPOSE TO BE A STANDARD LOTUS SUSPENSION THAT SOMEONE HAS USED (LOOK AT THE PHOTOS SECTION - GREEN ELAN ABOUT SECOND IN) HE HAS GONE ON HOILDAY AT THE MO I WONDERED IF ANYONE KNEW ABOUT THIS, HE SAID IT COST 1200 GUILDERS WHICH IS ONLY £340 HELP!!!!!!! AND HAS ANYONE PUT A SERIOUS SYSTEM IN AN ELAN YET BEHIND THE SEATS, I HAVE JUST HAD A FULL BOOT INSTALL AND YOU CANT HEAR IT UNTILL U POP THE BOOT DOH!!!!!

Apr 25, 2001 - 11:37 - From: Ian
Title: Central Locking
Message: I've had my SE for about a year and the whole of this time the central locking has played up. Sometimes it works when you turn the key, sometimes it doesnt. It also has a habit of randomly locking and unlocking as you drive along. It was playing up so much when I had the alarm put it, that the guys installing the alarm couldnt wire it up to the central locking. Which is a shame... two different lotus dealers tried to claim though that the alarm was responsible, despite me telling them that it did this long before an alarm was ever put in. If you find any solutions regarding this, please post them here as I would love to have it work properly

Apr 25, 2001 - 12:33 - From: Rod
Title: Lowering
Message: Karl, sounds like the other chap means he has fitted the Elan S2 suspension parts to an Elan SE. The Elan S2 has 16" BBS wheels as standard, where the UK spec Elan SE Turbo had 15" OZ wheels fitted. You should get an 8" sub behind the passenger seat and a decent amp behind the drivers seat. Get the best quality speakers you can afford fitted into the doors. You will need custom builds behind the seats ( watch out if drilling the bulkhead behind the passenger seat as you will be drilling into the plastic petrol tank ! ) and if you want >6" speakers in the doors you need to custom build the door panels. Dynamate / spray if you do take the car apart, and consider a microwave type alarm system ! Hope that helps. Oh and please could you turn off "caps lock" and type in lowercase letters - thanks :-)

Apr 25, 2001 - 12:35 - From: Doug
Title: Locking problems
Message: From memory, there is a "microswitch" in the system that decides when the door is fully shut or not--when the door is not fully shut then the locks will pop back up. It is likely that one of these switches has poor contact and is getting an intermittant circuit!! Someone has told us about this problem before but I can't remember who--check the archives!

Apr 25, 2001 - 13:22 - From: peter bentley
Title: locks or not !
Message: Thanks doug i'll go into the archives, many thanks peter

Apr 25, 2001 - 21:41 - From: Doc Fizzix
Title: Locks
Message: Peter, I had a similar situation with my looking system. I found that one side would lock correctly with the key from the outside but would not automatically lock the other door correctly. If I locked the other door from the out side then it would automatically lock both doors correctly. Also, when the none functioning door was left open I could lock my self out because the broken door was not correctly sensing the position of the open door. I ended up removing the automatic locking mechanism and found the problem to be a missing screw the did not allow the automatic locking mechanism to be properly aligned. I will tell you that in order to remove the locking mechanism you have to remove the window and that includes the outer rubber scraper that is attached to the top of the door. It was no fun! The good news is that after looking at the mechanism I realized that it is pretty basic in design and the sensors are nothing more than easy to fix switches if that is your problem. I would check the alignment after my experience. Al

Apr 26, 2001 - 03:28 - From: jeremy
Title: wheelie
Message: I am building a wall in front of the house and needed a couple of bags of sand and one cement which I went to ge on the way home from work yesterday. Instead of getting the missus's toyota, I went in the elan. I opened the boot and piled them all in. The suspension at the back settled by about 2'' and then a fairly heavy stream of water began to pour out of the back, just by the exhaust exit. After excreting myself, I decided that the water was not coolant or screen wash but rather rain water that had sat in the car from the rain earlier in the day. Drove home, checked temp, etc and all was well. wierd eh?

Apr 26, 2001 - 03:35 - From: jeremy
Title: wheelie2
Message: sorry,... forgot to say that about 2 pints came out, then the water stopped.

Apr 26, 2001 - 13:16 - From: peter bentley
Title: Exhausts & Factory Visit
Message: Just finished fitting a satinless steel sports exhaust from S.J. sportscars in devon. Not a difficult job although the old system was keen to stay where it was. The new one looks great with a polished silencer and tailpipe, it even sounds better to. Not to Loud but a little deeper. I'll be interested to see if it feels like i have gained any performance benefit. otherwise anyone on the list heard of this trip to the factory on Sunday and is going along ??

Apr 26, 2001 - 14:38 - From: Ben
Title: coolant temperature
Message: I replaced a faulty temp gauge sender unit and also replaced/drained (not flushed) the coolant (about 50/50). The temp gauge needle climbs up fine when idle is normal (fan also kicks in @ 3/4). But here's what's puzzling me, as soon as I start driving even at lower speed the needle drops to BELOW THE FIRST MARK -- seems running the engine well below the normal temp. This should be cool if I live in Death Valley, but I'm not :-) (I noticed lost of power also when it's low temp like this). Could this be a failed thermostat in an open position, or something else. Why would it drop dramatically like that! I'm reading Doug's write up on Thermostat, any recommendation on where I can purchase both the thermostat and housing gasket. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Apr 26, 2001 - 15:58 - From: Doug
Title: Running Cold
Message: Ben, if you are running cold there may be a t-stat problem as you have surmised--unless you have some "special" coolant in there with strange physical properties! A good motor parts store should have the t-stat in question, although the one I referenced here is the Isuzu Impulse one of the same engine. Perhaps the Lotus part has a tad bit wider opening of the t-stat but it is 99% the same. Be sure to get the right temperature opening number for it as specified in the t-stat write-up.

Apr 27, 2001 - 07:03 - From: Geoff Baldry
Title: Where can I get silicone grease?
Message: Richard, you mentioned to Maggie earlier that she could try some silicone grease on her seals to try to keep the water out. Do you know where I could get some to give it a go? If you could tell me a brand name, then that would help a lot also. I tried on homebase and halfords web sites, but could only find sealant - Don't think I want to use that! Cheers, Geoff

Apr 27, 2001 - 09:15 - From: Steve
Title: Ruote OZ decals
Message: Just had some Ruote O.Z. decals made, to finish off my repainted wheels. They are not perfect, but a reasonable match. Would anyone else be interested in a set, for a small fee ?

Apr 27, 2001 - 10:00 - From: Dave M.
Title: ESP and tight belts
Message: Steve, I've just sent you an e-mail on the wheel stickers. You read my mind as I'm just sending two wheels out today to be repaired/refinished. The previous owner met a curb and alloy lost. They also didn't clean off brake dust apparently as the finish is eaten away in spots. The other two are fine - go figure. If anyone is interested, I'm sending them to Precision Wheel Service in MN. I was quoted $125/wheel. I'll report in a bit on how they turn out. On another front, I was surveying the underdrive pulley replacement last night and it appears the alternator and a/c compressor belts are real buggers to loosen. The bolts are (per usual) oh, so conveniently located. Anyone ventured there and have any knuckle-saving tips?

Apr 27, 2001 - 10:15 - From: jeremy
Title: silicone grease
Message: Geoff,.. I believe chandlers and diving shops will sell silicone grease to use with wetsuits. Silicone apparently wont rot the rubber.

Apr 27, 2001 - 10:15 - From: Bill Luton
Title: AC/PS belt
Message: The AC/PS belt is loosened by loosening the bolds on the power steering pump and pivotting it down. A 3/8 inch drive ratchet and a 12 mm extended socket will get around the belt and to the nut and bolt on the top and bottom._ _ _The alternator shouldn't be too bad, just a question of reaching through at the end of the intake manifold nect to the fire wall and loosening the top and bottom bolts similar to the power steering pump._ _ _Bill Luton

Apr 27, 2001 - 11:54 - From: Loren
Title: CV Boot Replacement (Bill Luton)
Message: Bill: Any chance of obtaining a complete set of CV Joint Boots, clamps, grease, snap rings, axle nuts for my M100? thank you, Loren

Apr 27, 2001 - 12:33 - From: Bill Luton
Title: Axles
Message: The wonderful thing about Lotus, they have no jobber pricing. This means that any repair shop or parts dealer who calls up Lotus and orders parts, pays the same as any customer or private car owner who walks in to the dealership and orders parts at the counter. So there is no markup, and this is the reason that there are so few people willing to work on Lotus cars along with the fact that the few who do charge about $25 an hour more than what they would to work on any car with a different name on the fender. So, basically, you would fair a lot better going directly to the dealership parts department because I would have to mark up from retail just to pay for the gasoline to and from our local dealership._ _ _That said, if I were you, I would call up Raxles in Florida, they can rebuild just about anything and have the resources to find all the parts without going through Lotus. They have done several Isuzu axles for us and I am extremely happy with the quality of the work. A little more than some rebuilders, but higher quality parts and labor and much less than new axles from the dealership, like half the price or less, and they use billet steel axle ends instead of stamped._ _ _Bill Luton

Apr 27, 2001 - 14:25 - From: Dean
Title: Wheels
Message: It turns out that you can get an wheels rebuilt by Oz (original stickers and all). I have a set of 3 that need to be restored, and I intent to try them.

Apr 27, 2001 - 15:47 - From: Loren
Title: Isuzu/M100 axle (Bill Luton)
Message: Bill: Can Isuzu axle parts be subsituted for M100? - because NOBODY including Raxles could supply any axle parts per my inquiry for the M100. The Lotus dealer who got my order is charging about $150 for 4 rubber CV joint boot kits plus a few snap rings and nuts. I shudder to think what a complete axle shaft plus joints will cost when the need eventually comes and it will. thank you, Loren

Apr 27, 2001 - 16:05 - From: Ed
Title: Tops...
Message: Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if you can get a top for the M100 in anything other than black? Just trying to picture a BRG one with a tan(ish) top and a natural color leather interior.

Apr 27, 2001 - 16:19 - From: Bill Luton
Title: axles
Message: The Lotus and Isuzu axles I do not believe are the same or share much of the same parts except for the spline pattern on the transmission end. I keep forgetting that I call up these places and go at it with more of a "take a look at this and tell me what you think you can do" type approach. It would probably be a little different with someone wanting to put their car back together and drive it as soon as possible._ _ _Bill Luton

Apr 27, 2001 - 22:58 - From: George
Title: seat adjustment knob.
Message: Guys, I just found out that my passenger seat's adjustment knob is doing some free rotation. In another word, no angle adjustment anymore... The thing is just turning. Is there a way to fix it? What could be the cause of it? Well, besides letting my friends drove it... I am not sure if there is a mechanism that's borken inside or if there is a connector that just popped off. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Apr 28, 2001 - 03:18 - From: Doug
Title: George--seat solution
Message: George, in the center of the adjuster wheel is a cylinder-shaped inner plastic piece. Pry this out with a flat screwdriver. Beneath it is a bolt that holds the wheel to the mechanism beneath! This bolt has come loose and just needs to be tightened. Simple as that!

Apr 28, 2001 - 03:19 - From: Ben
Title: Re: Running Cold
Message: Doug, that was it --a failed thermostat in a wide open position. And I thought I did put some alien mysterious coolant in it. Got the Isuzu spec thermostat ($5!) from local Kragen shop plus added Redline WaterWetter in the coolant and works like a charm now. Thanks!

Apr 28, 2001 - 03:56 - From: Doug
Title: Ben
Message: No problem -- I've been there !

Apr 28, 2001 - 19:02 - From: donald
Title: New owner with quick question
Message: Hello everyone - I have just got into this elan ownership thing. I've ordered the lotus workshop manuals and parts list (before I read this site and found they could be obtained cheaply). Anyway - I haven't got them yet - my MOT test is on Tuesday and the horn doesn't work. I hear a click from the dash when the button is pressed - but no noise. So - where is the horn hidden. Thanks in advance Donald..

Apr 28, 2001 - 22:49 - From: Raymond
Title: Lotur Elan Se turbo (M100)
Message: I have a Lotus Elan Se turbo 1990 model 1.6l,Ihave problem getting the power steering rack unit and mine is a right hand drive version can any one of you out there help. highly appreciated. Thank you.

Apr 29, 2001 - 11:47 - From: Ade
Title: Horns
Message: Donald, if its the actual horns you are after, (there are two) they are behind the o/s wing liner(splash protector)just behind the front bumper.Take of the wing liner and you will see them.

Apr 29, 2001 - 16:12 - From: Mark
Title: Silicon Grease
Message: Geoff - try http://www.southernmarine.co.uk/ for your silicone grease - SIKAFLEX 221 comes (in black) should do the trick - I was advised from this message board a few months ago to use this to seal leaks on my hood I never got around to getting any - rather got a cheap runabout for when it is chucking it down and keep the Elan for the dry.

Apr 29, 2001 - 17:57 - From: Jason Crellin
Title: Ian Hampson - Overboost.
Message: Ian, I had this intermittantly on my car. The performance was fantastic but it worried the hell out of me. It turned out to be a sticking wastegate. Check the operation & lube it up. I'll bring those pads for you - honest!

Apr 29, 2001 - 18:03 - From: Jason Crellin
Title: Midlands Run
Message: Saw mention above of Southrun above so....... In the same way that Northrun & Southrun have spun off from F&C, we've set up a "midlands Run" group. Second run is next Sunday, starting just off J28 of the M1 (Swanwick), and running through the Peak district. Lunch is pub - no F&C :( Anyone interested join up to the e-group on yahoo. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midlandsrun Currently about 14 signed up. No elans as yet!!!! J

Apr 29, 2001 - 18:04 - From: Jason Crellin
Title: Fuel Smell
Message: Common cause is a blocked overflow pipe running from the tank in to the filler cap area.

Apr 29, 2001 - 21:11 - From: Dal
Title: Aqua Blue / Pacific Blue Elan Want
Message: Im currently on the market for an aqua blue elan, preferably a 1992 - onwards model with under 50000 miles and full leather. I would also consider a pacific blue or black elan. Please email me with details if anyone knows of any for sale. Thanks

Apr 30, 2001 - 02:23 - From: Nebor
Title: brakes, alignment or steering
Message: Hello all. A friend of mine suggested this board for excellent Elan source. I should have used it more often before I purchased my car. I'm a new Elan owner and my new car pulls right when braking during high speed. As responsive as the Elan is when I try to compensate when it pulls to the right I end up swirving left and right because a little tap on the steering wheel the car will respond immediately. And this brings my second question; I've only driven two Elans before I purchased mine -when driving straight away in freeways I seem to have a little problem controlling the car in the same lane, again when it tries to move left or right and I try to center the car by gently using the steering wheel the car is so responsive it moves quickly to the direction I steer it to and continues to go to that direction until I move it again to the other direction -like no steering play whatsoever. This makes me like I'm driving drunk when this happens. But I can handle the car very well on roads that have lots of turns. I know the Elan is a greatly engineered sports car, but does it really suppose to handle this way. I have not checked my brakes, alignment and steering yet. Well, this brings my question if this is my brakes, alignment or steering problems -or even combination of the three. I will owe you big time if someone can "steer" (no fun intended) me to the right direction.

Apr 30, 2001 - 02:59 - From: George
Title: Nebor
Message: Your steering problem may be due to a stuck caliper or uneven wear on the pads. The Elan is an extremly responsive car. Check if your brakes are fine before you do anything else. After I got my new tires, my car has been behaving much better. It is a very controversive issue, but I found that after I got bigger tires (225/45/16), my car does not have the twitchiness it used to have.

Apr 30, 2001 - 08:17 - From: Richard A Clifton
Title: Three wheels on my wagon ....
Message: Dean. What kind of car do you have that only has three wheels in a set? Seriously though, keep us informed of the what, where and how much of OZ repairing your wheels.

Apr 30, 2001 - 11:02 - From: karl
Title: thanks rod
Message: thanks for the advise mate, i will look for some s2 stuff (sorry about the caps), im having 10" subs behind the seats in a custom build including two amps and two 6" speakers behind me. do you know n e one that does pneumatics, i would like to list my boot vertically about 2 foot to show off my boot install (which is the only way you can hear them ha ha the elan is too well sealed ha ha) thanks for all the advise, if you have a pic of your elan i would like to see it regards karl

Apr 30, 2001 - 15:33 - From: Dean
Title: Seat Adjustment Problem
Message: I had a similar problem with my seat back rake adjustment. It was a fairly simple fix, requiring a special tabbed washer from Lotus. I know of one other individual who had this problem. He fixed it by making his own washer, although that was a very involved process.

Apr 30, 2001 - 17:03 - From: Jack Bloomer
Title: Steering wheel adapter
Message: I am looking to replace my stock Elan wheel. I have noticed some pictures with what appear to be Grant wheels installed. Can anybody tell me which adapter kit I would need for the steering column? Or any other alternatives other than Grant? THANKS

Apr 30, 2001 - 18:06 - From: Doug
Title: Nebor
Message: Nebor, yes you should check out the brake condition, but it sounds to me like there is an alignment problem. What you describe sounds like too much toe-out--this makes the car darty to the sides. A bit of toe-out is specified for the Elan to help it slice into corners, but too much will cause it to be unstable to the sides like you describe. See the "Alignment" info in the maintenance area and find a good 4-wheel alignment place.