Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Nitron Upgrades Have Arrived!

We just received Nitron's latest bits for install. We will be installing these onto an Exige Cup car that is getting campaigned in the Lotus Challenge Series. Running extremely low ride heights, which is desirable on a race car, results in poor performance with the stock Lotus geometry. The Nitron uprights will allow for a 25mm drop in ride height while still keeping the geo working well. We will be moving the stock Lotus Sport AP calipers to the rear with this kit. The race spec AP Pro 5000+ calipers are getting installed on the front. We will run Pagid Rs14s to start.
This close up shot shows the quality of the machining on the uprights. Amazingly they have the ability to eliminate all of the mill marks completely - but then the parts look like cast bits!

We post up our progress soon.

Friday, December 18, 2009

New Lotus Shifter System























Shift 'feel' is one of the weak links in the Lotus. The throws are long and sloppy. Earlier OE shifters were recalled when it was discovered that heavy handed shifting would break them. We offered a sequential shifter to help address this issue but it was expensive and the install was onerous. Tim at Innovative introduced me to his completely new shifter solution a year ago. He has been working closely with Brent as well to sort in a more comprehensive package. It has gone through several significant changes in this last year.

The latest version is now ready for testing. This package will include everything: shifter housing & mechanism, gear knob, cables, and new brackets and linkage in the back. Parts are being machined to very high spec so we expect very good shifting feel. The length of throw and height of shifter are all adjustable allowing each driver to tweak this system to their liking.

This kit is getting installed in a couple of race cars first to test durability. Expect a limited release soon thereafter.

Oh, yes, I am very excited about this one!

BTW: That is a ReVerie XRC FIA approved seat that is very wide. This is the solution for those clients with larger waists who want a superbly safe racing seat for their Lotus.