To modify or not to modify?

[Mellow Yellow]

Not sure if there is already a thread with this probably common question but I couldn't see one so...

I'm over the moon with my new (to me) S2 Elise Sports Tourer, but there are a few parts I would like to replace which are showing the expected signs of use. Steering wheel centre Alcantara section, gear knob, centre console, seats and front badge (the yellow in the badge has gone silver). I'm not a big fan of changing the car as I will sell on in a few years and hope to get a good price for it when I do + I feel cars such as these should be treated with more respect in this area. These parts are not in particularly bad condition although I'd prefer them to look new and shiny like the rest of the car.

I guess my question is what modifications can I do that will modernise the car without losing it's originality and where is the best place to source original (ish) parts at a good price. For example a front badge from Bell & Colvill is £60+ and on EBay you can pick up an enamel effort for £10.

Andy

[j2 lot]

I have tweaked and personalised most of the Elises etc that I have had but all just minor personalisation that in most cases can be reversed at time of sale.
It is your car to do with as you please but be mindful that if you do anything substantial that isnt easily reversed you might limit future markets and will probably be made to go stand on the naughty step by the SE equivalent of the fashion Police .

Actually you have reminded me that I have a box of bits that I should sort through and put in the classifieds

[Corranga]

I have found that Lotus owners generally don't care as much about modifications and that mods are much more acceptable than with other cars.
Personally, I put this down to them being a limited run manufacturer, and there being many after market parts that improve significantly on original items, or and also there being a large number of bits that suffer from premature wear and tear.

You mentioned that you feel cars like these should be treated with more respect, and I can appreciate that, but my mind has changed over the years.
I personally now believe that there is a huge trade off between originality, usability, maintenance and availability.

For example, a completely 100% original early S1 Elise would be virtually unusable regularly nowadays - tyres no longer available, suspension no longer available, known issues that after market parts fix etc..

I think also that the things you are talking about are minor in the realms of mods, all of which are fairly easy to reverse too.

I guess, I'm maybe not the best example mind as my car has evolved over time..
I bought a pretty much standard S1 7 years ago.
I discovered it had a red plastic clutch pipe, which is a renowned problem, so I changed it for a braided one, doing the brake pipes at the same time.
From there, I set about owning and driving the car, and when something breaks, I consider better alternatives which are often also cheaper or prevent the issue occurring again.
Over the years have changed:
Wheels
Seat retrim (from red to green)
Soft top from black to green
Whole exterior resprayed in green (was silver)
Rear clam is a later type following minor accident damage.
The engine (to another K series due to HGF, but with bigger valves, ported head)
Better toe link kit
Various bits of heat shielding
Air filter
entire exhaust system is non standard
Replacement bilstien (rather than original, and now unavailable koni) shocks
Front badge is a £10 eBay enamel one

Actually, I'm on my 2nd eBay enamel badge (I think). The 1st one lasted maybe 4 years and faded a lot so I just replaced it again.

Supplier wise, the usual suspects (3rd party) eliseparts, elise-shop, esmotorsport, hanger111.
Then of course there are main dealers such as murrays, bell colvill, seriously lotus - some of these even supply and fit 3rd party bits, and of course eBay.

There are then more specialist places for certain bits, forge for radiators for example..

I guess if there is something in particular you'd interested in, just ask and I'm sure someone will have some advice.

I'm not trying to change your opinion, I understand that originality is important to a lot of people.

Chris

[Stephen]

What he says. There is a plethora of better parts to choose from that will improve the car. From my point of view I wouldn't change the look at all. I think the addition of spoilers and other tat actually detracts from a look that lotus got spot on with the S1 (the S2 is only marginally less pleasant on the eye)
I think this is borne out when you look at the 111s and the S160. The changes are minimal.

[Mellow Yellow]

Agree with all of the above guys and I think my opinion is much the same in terms of not adding extra spoilers and stick on parts which would detract from the look of the car. I'll check out those sites mentioned and see if I can pick up original looking parts which may be of better quality than the oem stuff. Anything I do change will be subtle and tasteful. I may look at fitting one of the Momo steering wheels, is that a big no no? I did this to my old
mk2 Golf Gti and I felt it added so much more to the look and feel of the car.

One more question, are Murray Lotus the best place to go for repairs and servicing? I see there was a guy called Ali who ran a place called SLS which was only a few miles from me but appears to have moved or closed down?


Andy

[j2 lot]

Look in the Testimonials and feedback section, that will tell you all you need to know. MMC
Not even sure if SLS is still trading?

[Sanjøy]

Honda.

SEOT

[Dominic]

Not even sure if SLS is still trading?

Last I heard he had started working somewhere else.

[jimbo]

Last I heard he was an unscrupulous bandit...

[campbell]

Ali was no bandit. Well-meaning, succumbed to over-trading. Basically.

[Stephen]

No bandit at all

[Corranga]

Ali was no bandit. Well-meaning, succumbed to over-trading. Basically.

I think this sums it up perfectly. He was simply a 1 man band that found himself surrounded with more Lotus than he knew what to do with.
He wanted to take on the jobs, and simply didn't have the time.
Car repair wise, his skills were well suited to the task, prioritisation/time management wise, not so much.
I don't recall him doing anything that bad, other than having a car for way to long (mine included).
Then he gained a bit of a reputation, people stopped using him, and Murray upped their game and of course are also Edinburgh based.

Anyway, back on topic - I agree with others that anything other than subtle visual mods will likely see a few pointing and laughing, but who cares, its your car.
I painted my car bright green. I get 2 reactions from people, they either love it, or think it's horrendous, but I don't care, I wouldn't change its appearance 1 bit!
The only other thing to consider is if / how it'll affect the driving. The standard wheel is slightly offset (ie, more at the top than the bottom) so a perfectly circular wheel with a central boss might be worse, but I doubt a MOMO would be.

Elise parts even sell Lotus horn pushes for them:
http://www.eliseparts.com/products/cate ... ng-wheels/

[Shug]

I had a Momo in my old one. Definitely preferred the slightly beefier rim (fnurrr) And it had a removable boss, which was the ultimate theft deterrent!

Golden rule I tried to use with mine was when something wore out, upgrade it. There will usually be something better than what Lotus put on it, for your specific use (exception to that might be the standard Bilsteins if its purely a road car - there are better dampers for track, but not, IMO, for road use).

Learn to use what it's got, then move on when you've worn it out. Might only work completely if you keep your car for the thick end of ten years, like I did, mind you!

[Stephen]

I have a sparco 330mm and a 280mm momo wheel in the house if you want to try them out.

[graeme]

One key point to note about steering wheels is that the hub mount bit of the standard lotus steering wheel is not in the centre of the wheel... it's offset slightly low. If you rotate the wheel in your hands you'll see the "top" of the wheel rise and fall against a fixed visual reference point, such as the top of the instrument cowl. I didn't notice until Walshy pointed it out, but after you wrap your head around it, it's genius. It means that when you're mid corner, your hand position is offset slightly towards the inside of the corner, which contributes something to that Lotus steering feel, and tells your brain a bit more about which way the front wheels are pointing at any time.

Some aftermarket wheels have the right fitting, but are dead-centre mounted, not offset. If you do change the wheel for a centred one, beware that you're losing a little something that the Lotus guys designed in. Whether that's even perceptible or matters at all is for the individual to decide.