On-track Fuel Starvation

[tropsmr2]

Well, long story short, I thought I might be having oil starvation - loss of power in hard left hand corners. It's confirmed to be fuel starvation - WITH A HALF of TANK of gas.

Are there others with the same reported issue?

Thanks!
t

[R'elise Me]

Nope - only when the car is near empty. I haven't heard of anyone having the same problem as you. Have you checked the pump connection? It may have a loose one that is reacting to the g's. Good luck - hope it's easy to track down the problem. Post result, please.

Edited 7/13/08
Actually, I'm getting feul starved on very tight left turns, max g's with as much as 7 gallons of feul. Apparently the baffles tend to leak as the sealant fails so sustained g's will cause the pump to starve. Solution is to remove the tank, cut it open, weld the leaky baffle seams, reweld the tank shut. That or swap the tank and I'm not sure if the latest version solves the weak sealant issue. According to Lotus BH, if the car is still under warranty the tank is covered, however you have to guarantee that if they remove the tank and find that the tank is in proper order, the R&R labor is owner covered.

[ace10]

here a few threads on the topic:
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28403
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17571
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28642
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36828
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14461

[Kiwi 2-11]

Originally Posted by tropsmr2

Well, long story short, I thought I might be having oil starvation - loss of power in hard left hand corners. It's confirmed to be fuel starvation - WITH A HALF of TANK of gas.

Are there others with the same reported issue?

Thanks!
t

My 2-11 has a major fuel starvation issue. I beign a race with a full tank of fuel..(all that additional weight!). and when the tank is down to 50%.(and only after 6 laps of a 3.5k's track) I get fuel starvation only on left hand corners.
I have escalated this to the factory. The reply was " we have not experienced this problem before, we will look into it". Yeah right. They are now offering a Tank Bag (approx 70 litres) as an option. The cost is approx 3000 pounds and 6 hours of labour..the worst this is that the tank bag has a life of around three years before it begins to breakdown (a plastic/fuel issue).

[Casey@ForcedFed]

We are beginning to undergo testing on this setup.....should fix the problem.

[ace996]

That is the DEAL!!!!! Awesome job, please let us know when it's available.

[fzust]

Originally Posted by tropsmr2

Well, long story short, I thought I might be having oil starvation - loss of power in hard left hand corners. It's confirmed to be fuel starvation - WITH A HALF of TANK of gas.

Are there others with the same reported issue?

Thanks!
t

Yep. I had probably the worst known case of this with my auto-x car. My solution was to remove the tank and build a new one. The lotus fuel tank is a POS. Casey's fuel cell/2nd pump is the goods!

[Jack]

Originally Posted by Kiwi 2-11

They are now offering a Tank Bag (approx 70 litres) as an option. The cost is approx 3000 pounds and 6 hours of labour..the worst this is that the tank bag has a life of around three years before it begins to breakdown (a plastic/fuel issue).

The ATL fuel cells Lotus has been installing in Cup cars usually have a lifespan/certification of 5 years from date of manufacture. Hopefully, the "tank bag" they have for your 2-11 is better than the optional fuel cell that Lotus initially installed in the '07 Cup cars, since all US Cup cars with them experience fuel starvation.

Lotus says that they now have the fix, but all of the US Cup car owners are still waiting for the new and improved (anti-fuel starvation) fuel cell.

I love my Lotus, but I think Lotus needs to do some more in depth testing before releasing some of these options.

[Pestodude]

Per the afore-mentioned treads, I thought Lotus had acknowledged the problem and are covering it under warranty?

[Jack]

Originally Posted by Pestodude

Per the afore-mentioned treads, I thought Lotus had acknowledged the problem and are covering it under warranty?

In some cases, yes....but only if you haven't had a water-to-air charge cooler installed. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

[Pestodude]

Originally Posted by Jack

In some cases, yes....but only if you haven't had a water-to-air charge cooler installed. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

You're quick!!

[Brent Bauman]

Jack, is the ATL fuelcell your speaking of different than the Lotus Sport version in your cup 255? Have they always been ATLs? I made patterns and designed a cell with ATL for my blue car. Surgetank, bantam material, Bosch 44 in tank; I wonder if ATL is selling it now? How was Willow? In some of our racecars we have had problems with swirlpots/feed tanks pre-heating fuel, now all our cells have a in cell surgetank, thank helps in heat disipation.

[Kiwi 2-11]

Originally Posted by Pestodude

Per the afore-mentioned treads, I thought Lotus had acknowledged the problem and are covering it under warranty?

Im interested in having a conversation with my dealer about a warranty claim.
What is the "fix"?, as Lotus have been aware of this problem for a while and they are still building the 2-11/Exige etc with the fuel pickup in the left side of the tank.
The fix to me is relatively simple, dual outlets on the tank..one of the left, the other on the right and dual pumps.

[FIRME]

Even though Cup Cars and 2-Elevens have no warranty, Lotus does try and step up to the plate and help customers, especially regarding the fuel starvation problem. That being said, if you have an Elise (N/A or 220hp) or Exige (N/A, 220hp or 240hp) ecountering this problem at the track, Lotus will not cover it under warranty however, if you can reproduce the same problem on city streets, than Lotus might cover it...case by case

[Kiwi 2-11]

Originally Posted by FIRME

Even though Cup Cars and 2-Elevens have no warranty, Lotus does try and step up to the plate and help customers, especially regarding the fuel starvation problem. That being said, if you have an Elise (N/A or 220hp) or Exige (N/A, 220hp or 240hp) ecountering this problem at the track, Lotus will not cover it under warranty however, if you can reproduce the same problem on city streets, than Lotus might cover it...case by case

What do Lotus do to fix this? Acknowledging the problem is one thing..but do they have a solution?

[plastique999]

bump....has Casey finished developing the 2nd fuel system?

[Matthews Auto]

Curious: 2005 Elise with a full tank of gas is having a hesitation in sweeping left hand turns. Fuel starvation? This car is scheduled to become a dedicated track car and this issue is irritating and needs to be corrected. What's the fix? Thanks, Matt

[Casey@ForcedFed]

We did indeed finish testing the fuel swirl tank....and it did indeed cure the issues we were having. We just aren't sure if we will offer the kit as a package due to the the difficulty it would create with al the different configurations(n/a...turbo...supercharged) and due to the availability of smaay's fuel rail.

[ads_green]

Originally Posted by Kiwi 2-11

Im interested in having a conversation with my dealer about a warranty claim.
What is the "fix"?, as Lotus have been aware of this problem for a while and they are still building the 2-11/Exige etc with the fuel pickup in the left side of the tank.
The fix to me is relatively simple, dual outlets on the tank..one of the left, the other on the right and dual pumps.

Technically the proper fix is the 70ltr bag tank. But thats not cheap and only a 5-7 year lifespan.

However I'm looking at replacing the stock tank with a unit from Pro-alloy. I went down and had a look at their workshop and they are a really good bunch of guys (who also race in the Elise trophy).

The unit is slightly larger at 54 litres and importantly has one way valves in the baffles to prevent the fuel moving away under left hand load. Under testing they claim no fuel surge down to 3 litres in their VX220 test car.

It can also be foam filled improving saftey and also further helping the fuel surge issue.
Pro Alloy Ltd - The UK's Number One for Alloy Racing Tanks, Radiators & Intercoolers...

[Mr. Oz]

Does the Pro-alloy unit fit the US spec 2-Eleven's?

Originally Posted by ads_green

Technically the proper fix is the 70ltr bag tank. But thats not cheap and only a 5-7 year lifespan.

However I'm looking at replacing the stock tank with a unit from Pro-alloy. I went down and had a look at their workshop and they are a really good bunch of guys (who also race in the Elise trophy).

The unit is slightly larger at 54 litres and importantly has one way valves in the baffles to prevent the fuel moving away under left hand load. Under testing they claim no fuel surge down to 3 litres in their VX220 test car.

It can also be foam filled improving saftey and also further helping the fuel surge issue.
Pro Alloy Ltd - The UK's Number One for Alloy Racing Tanks, Radiators & Intercoolers...