Project Build - Elise GT: Honda Swap / Widebody Conversion

[campbell]

Very sensible. Although I'm sure Eliseparts or Eliseshop would happily ship to USA with some bulk bits! The clams could be tricky, right enough. Your Lotus dealer sponsor might be able to assist?

Great to see you out in the car though and using it like it was meant, and it must turn some heads with its rarity factor.

[MacLotus]

It's the bulky bits that are the problem. No one will ship them... and if they did, the shipping is more than the bits. I can't tell you how much I'd like to have spare body parts. They won't even ship the Motorsports kits.

In short, a car this rare (over here) should not be pushed. One bump against the wall gets REAL expensive. No replacement parts (new or used). Engine bits & brakes... no problems from EP or ES. This is the exact reason these cars are not raced here.

[Gourlay83]

Thanks for the update Ken, looks great.

Some of the 340Rs over here have found specialists to make moulds from the existing body panels, as they're no longer available. It might be worth considering doing the same, might even be a market for them ?

Alan

P.S Love your set-up, you really no how to do things over there. I have never seen a trailer with a vestibule before On one of my more organised days I brought a folding seat...

[Gourlay83]

Scottish Set-up



American Set-up



Alan

[MacLotus]

LOVE it Alan!! Cheers mate!!

[MacLotus]

Ahhhh... the sound of K-power and iVTEC!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x26VNl13iJM

[MacLotus]

I was going to sell my Lotus for an opportunity to build a new CSR race car, but had a change of heart given all the work I've put in to it. That and it truly is a blast to drive!

This past season, I had the opportunity to take a ride in a light track car with MUCH wider tires. It was then that I came to realize that one of the weaker links my Lotus has is it's narrow tires. That said, I've decided to address the issue rather than sell the car and build another.

This winter's DIY project will be to widen the car's track 5", adding 2.5" (62.5mm) of rubber to each tire. 17" wheels in the front, 18" wheels in the rear with extreme low profile Hoosier slicks (to maintain approx OE tire heights.

In order to pull this off, the car's look will change radically from 'track prepared' to 'sophisticated street custom'.



This project will be starting a new thread soon, and will detail rim/tire selection, sizing, and potential handling changes (i.e. scrub radius). Much of the post will focus on forming the wide-body fenders and custom composites.

[foz01]

Cool! Always interested in stuff like this

[MacLotus]

I just got my trailer back from my cabinetry guy. Looks pretty good! Notice the spare tires/rims below. Air Conditioner/Heater in the lower left cabinet... Generator in the lower right. Some of you may be asking why the flat screen monitor? I'll use this trailer to provide track-side promotion of 'Digital Dash Designs', as well as BIR Driving School promotion at local car events. I also record various racing events and play them for entertainment at weekend track stays. Now to install the new sound system with sub-woofer and custom lighting.



Maybe a spinning disco ball too??

[MacLotus]

It's time for an update. Here's where I'm at...

This is by far the most challenging project I've undertaken with my Lotus. I think that's because in addition to a steep technical learning curve of composites and bodywork, this project requires innovative engineering application/thought and creative artistry. It's not as black and white as an engine swap and the finished product will be 'front and center' evident in craftsmanship and detail. The scary part is that I have no back-up clam shells available to fall back on, so I better hit the target on the first try.

In early December, I finalized the design. Note I've decided to install HID projector beams and all LED lighting. I shaved the front turn indicators and will install LED lights in the brake-air intakes. These are 'always-on' super bright LED's for daytime running lights (DRL's) and change to flashing amber for turn signalling. Very cool product! I've also removed the OE Driving Lights and will install new custom grille's (front, side & rear).



Lastly, the front fenders (just behind the front wheels) have been widened similar to the Hennessy Venom GT (below).



In order to get a sense of what the front end mods would look like, I did some photoshop mods to a photo of an Elise-to-Exige conversion.



In order to pull this off, the first thing needed was a healthy budget and a ton of time. By that I mean $10K in materials (minimum) and 300-400 hours in time. The up side is that the car will be unique... one of a kind. If I'm lucky, someday I may get half of what I've got invested. :boink:

The first big ticket item... custom 3-piece wheels from SSR. I ordered these last week and found that they have a 3 month lead time (made to order from Japan). It was difficult to find wheels with such a radical offset. Cost $3K. Here's a photo of the SSR SP1 - Flat Black - 18x10.5 3 Piece Custom Wheel.



These wheels are not available in the 4x95.25mm PCD, but were available in 4x100mm PCD, so that's the way I ordered them. I removed the Lotus hubs and took them to my local machine shop where they drilled them with a 4x100mm pattern. Ordered some new press-in lug studs so I'm set to go.

While I'm increasing the wheel diameter 2" (front and rear), I'm maintaining OE tire height by going with super low-profile Hoosier slicks. This will maintain the fantastic look of the Elise and keep the ride height where it is.

To that point, I wanted to maintain the OE wheel openings when widening the fenders/wheels 2.5". I'd need to build some forms to support the liquid foam I intend to use for sculpting. I taped some paper to each wheel well and put a light behind it. Now it was pretty easy to trace the exact curvature of each well.



From that, I created some wood forms that will serve as the base for my mold that will form the foam wheel well shape. I also created the mold support for the front lip. Note that I shaved the turn signal lights, the front k'nards, and the aftermarket front splitter.



While I've not yet cut out the single headlamp to accommodate (2) HID projectors, I did order a Hella 90mm lamp for exact measurement and fitment.



Now I've never done fiberglass composite work, so before tackling my car's fenders and such I wanted to get some practice on a smaller project so I'd know what I was in for. While most composite parts (fiberglass and carbon fiber) are created using a waxed mold, the first custom part is typically made using a mold-less composite process.

This means the fiberglass needs to be layed-up (wet lay-up) on foam or wood. Obviously foam is much easier to sand and sculpt, but lacks the structural strength of wood. Depending on your project, you might choose one or the other... or a combination of both.

I purchased some Styrene foam (insulation) from Lowe's down the street to form the mold for my first project... a center console. I wanted a console that would hold my engine gauges, Traqmate Data Logger display unit, and a few lighted switches. It will ultimately be a combination (as will the rest of the new interior) of black suede and carbon fiber. I'll also be replacing the seats and racing harness belts.



So this week I'm preparing to lay-up my first composite project. I'll keep you posted.



Mac out...

[campbell]

[Dominic]

This is very interesting to follow. Thanks for sharing.

Given that one of the key things that make the Elise / Exige so great is it's light weight, and low unsprung weight at the wheels, do you know how much the modifications will effect the car's weight? You are clearly going to get good down-force with the splitter etc, and mechanical grip through size of the tyres. It will be interesting to hear how it performs after the modifications in comparison to before. Irrespective of any performance gains, I think it should look very special.

[mckeann]

This past season, I had the opportunity to take a ride in a light track car with MUCH wider tires. It was then that I came to realize that one of the weaker links my Lotus has is it's narrow tires.

I love what you've done with the engine conversion, but not sure i agree with your comment above. I think the big improvement you noticed when you drove the other car was its lighter weight, i dont think adding bigger tyres is required, but it does seem to be the american way

A few of us on here have raced or driven high power elises. The highlight of my elise based driving was a 400bhp rotrex SC honda. It didnt need wider tyres. Chris Randall on Seloc has raced his 330bhp exige and 400+ bhp europa very successfully in brit car against ferraris and porches without the need to widen his track.

Of course, its your car, you can do whatever you like, i just wanted to say that i think you WANT to widen the track, but you dont NEED to.

[MacLotus]

Want... need... yes, you're probably correct. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that much of my motivation to go wide-body is driven by esthetics. And yes, many have been successful with the prepared OE platform. BTW... I've seen Chris Randall's Europa videos. YIKES!! Putting that power down to the roadway is a HUGE challenge, and I'll bet there are days where he wished those tires were wider. But Kudos to him for managing and channeling all that power into wins! Awesome car!

It's funny mentioning 'bigger tires' as the 'American way' and adding ungodly amounts of power seeming European. Looking back on racing history, I always thought it was the other way around... where us Yanks went for the horsepower (i.e. GT40)! Ironic... eh? All in good fun!

But I can't help but point to the many examples of manufacturers of production-based street cars that introduce high-performance models for track enthusiasts. Porsche's 911 widebodys, the RSR... Audi's wide-body RS6... Lotus GT1... a widebody in it's own right... and even the Exige conversions. They all get wider tires. And it's not just about widening the track, but more so about widening the tire... widening that little patch of rubber where machine and roadway meet.

Less contact/less traction... more rubber contact/more traction... higher g's = higher speeds capable through a turn. Can't argue with physics.

But the reality is, taking a Lotus to wide-body... or widening it's tires is somewhat subjective... not right or wrong, just different.

Just for FUN: Here's a Lotus wide-body that has crushed the competition in SCCA ProSolo.... winning multiple National Championships '08-'11. No one has come close to beating his wide-body Lotus. His formula... wider tires!

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f163/bl ... tie-58050/

[MacLotus]

Still shaping the body. I had to wait for the wheels to arrive before finalizing the fender lines. Mounted the wheels & tires to get a better idea of exactly where I wanted my fender lines to be.

Via Photoshop, I did add in the carbon fiber bits in the air ducts to get a feel for the new look. Still tweaking the shape and lines. It'll be awhile before this thing rolls into the paint booth.