[TroyLotus]

Just and update. I did receive word over the weekend that the part needed is in transit and shipped. I should have them today or tomorrow and will ship out on Wednesday or Thursday.

On a side note I did read over Lotustalk threads and others last week that the end of the cables can break and the sheathing can break also. I took mine apart to see if there is a solution or if it is a really a problem. What I noticed is that the solid portion of the cable is to short by design, especially on the crossgate cable. What can happen when using the stock linkage is the solid portion almost comes all the way out and then only a tiny portion is in and that puts a lot of stress on the end of the solid portion to braided cable inner. So when I see pics of the failure I know why it happens now. Now with the LETSLA more of the solid portion stays in the sheathing so it should have less chance of braking. Also the angle the solid portion comes out is straighter with the new cable bracket so there should be even less chance of breaking. I have also looked at both the 05 and new cable design that Lotus has on the 07-08 Exige cars and maybe Elise cars of that year and the only difference I can see is that the sheathing is 12.5mm thick instead of 11mm thick.

Now I did come up with a simple solution so that the cable ends and sheath are more protected just to be anal (these are the odd things that keep me up at night pondering). I also just want to put out there that I have not had any failures or problems with the cables or sheath like this at all or in any way in all the installs I have done or my own car. I am just super anal about making sure everything works right and for a long time. I debated on even making the sheath protector as I did not want to make it out that there were any failures and it might be construed that way, but I am thinking it is better to do it and make our cars better for the long run. Plus, I like making items and coming up with solutions to known problems. Now working on a cable solution also in the future I see how much cables cost so any extra protection is a good idea. What the solution is an aluminum tube that slides over the sheathing and clamps on it and also extends the sheathing size. It is a very simple solution, not super elegant and pretty, but simple. What this will do is basically make the sheathing longer so the solid portion of the cable does not have the chance to be at an angle and break the end of the sheathing or break away from the inner cable braided portion. I am going to include this with the kit now. You do not have to put it on when installing, but better to be safe and have no worries. The way I think about it is this, I put it on my own car because I would rather be safe then worry about it later so I would do it others as I do to my self. When I did the installs over the weekend I also put it on their cars when I showed them what it was and that made me decided to include it in the kit. So when ordering the kit just let me know what car you are putting it in as I will need to include the sheathing protector for the earlier model car or later model car.

Troy