Newbie looking for S1 135 or 160

[campbell]

I had to wait 6 months for a backorder flange for UJI. It's now in my local stock, awaiting the next failure

[Shug]

I had to wait 6 months for a backorder flange for UJI. It's now in my local stock, awaiting the next failure

I live in the (perhaps misguided) hope that because my car has only had 2 wheel bearings needing replaced (I know, it's a miracle) that the uprights and flanges won't have been pressed in and out without the heating/cooling that I believe helps avoid stripping out the material. Plus, I'm on steel rears.

So, a good few bearing changes before I need to start looking at flanges and the like I hope.

[campbell]

I think one or both of my fronts were a bit tired, however the most recent ones were changed preventively IIRC. With my much reduced mileage, less even in winter, far fewer track days etc etc etc etc, I too live in hope

[robin]

Steel rear uprights are deffo an advantage, but even then the drive flanges are not tough enough it seems. Sticky tyres and prolonged track usage definitely make this problem worse as you put a lot of heat into the bearing which makes it fail much more quickly it would seem and the failure then translates into wearing out the flanges - i.e. it's not the number of times you've pressed it out but the number of hot revs it's done while loose.

After the hot Charade track day a couple of years ago I think I wobbled the wheels on 3-4 S1s and they all felt as though all 4 wheel bearings were shot. By the next morning they had cooled down and there was no play in the bearings anymore. But they had still done 1,000's of hot revolutions while loose and no doubt worn a thou or two off the flanges ...

Of course it's all relative; the S2 still needs racks, balljoints, bearings etc. and plenty of other stuff still breaks, some of it unique to the S2 - neither the S1 nor S2 in K-series guise will win any reliability awards, especially once you start pounding them on track.

Cheers,
Robin

[campbell]

neither the S1 nor S2 in K-series guise will win any reliability awards, especially once you start pounding them on track.

Are the Toyota flavours any better / different, do you think, or is it too early to say?

[robin]

Don't really know - they have their own foibles but are presumably out of the OP's budget ...

Cheers,
Robin

[SteveJB]

Thanks for the comments & advice. Might sell my granny & look at an S2 111s. Will PM shug & see if its ok to come along to the knockhill event on the 23rd & hopefully there will be someone that will let me be a passenger in a 111s.

Steve

[tut]

How boring would life be if you knew when the next breakdown would be?

However it would be nice to get through FF without the only component that you had not anticipated goes pop.

tut

[ceejam]

I agree with Robin in that its all about the corners, however i could still not bring my self to buy a standard S1/S2. My old 135, now Dom's always felt perticuarly quick, i was very disapointed after driving Mckeann's 135R as it just felt flat!

Would love a Scandal 160

I had great fun lapping closely with Mike at Knockhill a couple of years ago.
The look on his face when I told him mine was standard was rather amusing

[Mike Scib]

I agree with Robin in that its all about the corners, however i could still not bring my self to buy a standard S1/S2. My old 135, now Dom's always felt perticuarly quick, i was very disapointed after driving Mckeann's 135R as it just felt flat!

Would love a Scandal 160

I had great fun lapping closely with Mike at Knockhill a couple of years ago.
The look on his face when I told him mine was standard was rather amusing

If i remember correctly you only kept up as my brake lights were not working so you kept missing your braking points!

[tut]

I am building up a stock of S1 spares. This is for S_E so not interested at selling for a profit, just so that they are available when something packs in, which would then give you time to source a replacement.

More and more S1 parts are no longer available from Lotus as they have stopped making them, Geary and Yvo have taken up the slack and are producing many of them, but not all, so it is down to the used parts market and the prices are steadily going up. I was watching a pair of MMC disks on eBay last week and they went for £350. An original five spoke wheel was £120, and ali hub carriers etc are going the same way. Regardless we have to keep finding the spares to keep the S1 going.

tut

[Shug]

I am building up a stock of S1 spares.

That's no way to speak about N3

[campbell]

I am building up a stock of S1 spares.

That's no way to speak about N3

Most of the bits are the wrong way round anyway...remember, it's from Belgium FFS.

LOL.

Actually Tut has the right idea. Within reasonable limits of personal working capital, a peer to peer network of unusual or bespoke spares makes a lot of sense, even if it just helps someone get back on the road fast whilst awaiting the backorder part to go back into "stock" with the kind donor. I like the idea. A lot. I've a few bits n pieces rattling around here too.

[m400kay]

yes the spares is the only way, my car is very sympathetically run now due to costs budget to fix, i am also keeping eyes open for parts, maybe a group buy of some thing accident damaged or lower priced cars may be a way forward, but when will my bonus improve enough to let me help.