LETSLA Short Shifter Linkage

[tvacc]

Just took mine for its first test drive. I did not have 1st or 2nd. Did a little adusting and got it right.

I will let you all know after our LOONY breakfast tomorrow how it drives

My comments:

This is a VERY well engineered kit and hats of to Troy.None of my comments below should be contrued as to take any of that away from Troy. Just thought I would try and help out future versions and future installers.

In my opinion, the current state of the documentation makes this for first timers a job for the not faint of heart.

I consider my self a decent mechanic having built a few Caterhams and done more than a few engines. But that was the old cars. I really have no concept of these new fangled cable shifters. Only one I ever saw was my M100 Elans. That was my problem. You need to have a good concept of that this is supposed to look like.

I only figured it out after I blew up and printed the many pictures from the instructions and the postings.

Some of the things I see right away and had to figure out:

I was not sure how the sheaths went on and how far to put the rubber boots on.

I had a heck of time figuring where the plastic square went so that it operated the cross gate. It was only after I got it in place and felt around that I found it. I must have flipped that thing over 20 times before I figured it out.

Had a hell of time getting the nut off the shifter connection to the counter weight. If I had removed it before I took the assembly off it would have been a snap.

I had to look at the picture to see how the different parts were mounted.

This can all be fixed with a better set of instructions with LARGE pictures. Pictures helped me alot.

I am sure the next 2 I am doing will go smoother. And faster.

So to all doing this....take the time to look at the pictures.

Good job Troy....very nice from the short drive I did.

[British_Marques]

I finally ordered the 2nd gen upgrade kit and plan to install the entire works upon arrival. Very excited when I drove Dave's two weekends ago.

[darkSol]

Originally Posted by British_Marques

I finally ordered the 2nd gen upgrade kit and plan to install the entire works upon arrival. Very excited when I drove Dave's two weekends ago.

I also had the poly motor inserts, the Stan console securing mod and the Stan clutch stop bolt mod in addition to the LETSLA... well that and the TVS of course.

I'll reiterate - this kit is very, very nice. I haven't had any issues at all with it - I'm considering not doing the Truleo upgrade since it's working just fine.

That high rpm tizzy overrun noise is also completely gone. That zzzzzz sound drove me completely bonkers

[tvacc]

Took the Elise this morning for a LOONY breakfast.

The shfit linkage is amazing. One of the best if not the best upgrade I have done. I also have the mount inserts.

I had to adjust it one more turn on the crossgate on the way back. I think that backing the crossgate link at the tranny linkage just two turns is not enough. I am thinking of removing mine and getting it a little longer.

I am concerned that I have it "out" an awful lot at the shifter side. I dont know how much I still have in the link up front...but I must be getting close to to running out.

Great Job Troy. This is how the car should have been. Have you thought of selling this to Lotus? Maybe they would put it on their cars from stock.

[TroyLotus]

tvacc- Thanks for the comments on the directions. I have gone over them a few times and changed them a bunch already by people’s suggestions. I find it hard because I take so much for granted knowing the kit and how it works so well. I take for granted just knowing where the black plastic piece goes on the crossgate end and how to put it. For me at this point I do it all without looking at the parts and just by feel. I will try to add some new pictures that are much bigger and maybe thumbnails so you can click really big pictures.

tvacc- On your cables they may be a tiny bit longer than most so you may have to turn the rod end on the crossgate on the LETSLA out a few a few turns and then turn the console side in. I found some cars take a different amount depending on when the cable when done or how stretched it is.

On a side note to anyone doing the install. Please read the directions all the way through before doing the install and then have them ready when doing the install.
1- When installing it make sure you self align the base when it is a just barley snug by moving it into gear by hand back there. It really helps.
2- Make sure you adjust the cable rod end the right way. 95% of all calls and emails are on that subject. If you have a mechanic make sure they read that and do it the way it says. I know they may think they can adjust it at the trans side, but they really need to pull the console to do it right. I think the more mechanics know the less they read directions on things until they are good 3-4 hours in the job and then realize it later when the read the directions and it should have been an hour to two at most job.

MTribe- I have looked at both the 05-06 shifter and the 07-09 shifter a lot. The difference is really in the amount you can put it in reverse. The newer ones do not let you go to far to the left and put to much pressure on the cable so if you are not slamming reverse like you stole the car and are running from the cops it works the same. There is not any play in the shifters themselves so they work the same. You do not have to get the new one and do the cash on that. I would say get the LETSLA first and see how it feels before we worry about the cables.

On the cables I am still working on that and just needed to finish up the 2nd gen kits and get all the orders done first. Now that I am finally caught up and up to speed I can attempt that again. I really need a stock cable, broken in fine to do it so I can send it to the manufacture for fitment. I do not want to use the one from my own car so I can not drive it for a month or so. If anyone has an extra one or old one that wants to sell it let me know.

[Manxman]

Troy - I attended my first track day since fitting the kit last weekend and the difference it made was amazing. Last September I went to a lapping day and when the instructor drove my car he commented on how vague the 2nd to 3rd shift was, which was where I was having problems. Most of the time it would shift fine, then for no apparent reason intead of third you would find yourself in no-man's land.
Last weekend I attended a 2 day driving school and the gearshift was fast, accurate and confidence inspiring. A huge difference.
Your upgrade kit arrived last week, but I may wait until next winter to install, as it's working so well as-is.
Thanks for making such a great product and for your 100% customer service.

[HKFEVER]

We tried to upgrade to the 2nd gen. The following is what we experienced:
- We double and tribble check & study the installation inst.
- Did every mod to the 1st gen to become 2nd gen based on the installation.
- After everything, we found:
a. The shifter is not vertical, it lean to the left;
b. The shifter is so stiff, that totally different from the 1st gen, missing the gate;
- We tried 2 hrs adjustment with no success, so we decided to take out the seam, after took out the seam the shifter became smoother and was back to vertical position. But not as smooth as 1st gen.

Can anyone help out?

[tvacc]

Originally Posted by HKFEVER

We tried to upgrade to the 2nd gen. The following is what we experienced:
- We double and tribble check & study the installation inst.
- Did every mod to the 1st gen to become 2nd gen based on the installation.
- After everything, we found:
a. The shifter is not vertical, it lean to the left;
b. The shifter is so stiff, that totally different from the 1st gen, missing the gate;
- We tried 2 hrs adjustment with no success, so we decided to take out the seam, after took out the seam the shifter became smoother and was back to vertical position. But not as smooth as 1st gen.

Can anyone help out?

Dont mean to be stupid here....what is the "seam"? Do you mean Shim?

[HKFEVER]

Originally Posted by tvacc

Dont mean to be stupid here....what is the "seam"? Do you mean Shim?

Sorry, the spacer.

[TroyLotus]

The LETSLA might not be self aligned to the base. Did you drill out the base with a 1/2" drill on both holes? What you can do is just loosen the two 14mm bolts that hold base to the transmission so they are just a tiny bit lose so the base can move around a little bit. Then go in the car (not running) and shift it through some gears. This will let the LETSLA base self align with the crossgate to inertia weight portion. Basically it lets the cylinder that the plastic piece sits on align properly with the inertia weight. An easy way to tell if it is not aligned is to reach your hand down and do the bellcrank by hand. It should go in and out without feeling friction. You should be able to do it easy and it should just like pop and move into gear. If you need to push it all the way loosen the two bolts holding down the base so the base can move a bit and then try to move the bellcrank by hand. If you can the base was just not aligned correctly and now can tighten it down again and it should solve the friction. Most cars do not have this, but on some where the crossgate goes in the inertia weight can be slight different. I hope all that makes sense, I am a bit tired here while writing this.

Can anyone help out?

[HKFEVER]

Thanks Troy:
- I did drill out those 2 holes;
- I will try to re-adjust those 2 bolts;
- In your instruction, there has a word " can ": ......so the base can move a bit and then try to move the bellcrank by hand. If you can the base was just not aligned correctly and now can tighten it down again and it should solve the friction. Do you mean can or can't ?

[xtn]

Troy means that if you move the bellcrank by hand and there is friction... and then you loosen the bolts and try again and you can do it without friction, then a misalignment was indeed the problem.

xtn

[HKFEVER]

Originally Posted by xtn

Troy means that if you move the bellcrank by hand and there is friction... and then you loosen the bolts and try again and you can do it without friction, then a misalignment was indeed the problem.

xtn

Thank you, please correct me if I am wrong:
- Do you mean I have to keep on trying to move the bellcrank until I feel the min. friction, then tighten the bolts?

Next question:
- Is your shfter line up 100% vertically or slight lean to LH side?

[MTribe]

Originally Posted by TroyLotus

MTribe- I have looked at both the 05-06 shifter and the 07-09 shifter a lot. The difference is really in the amount you can put it in reverse. The newer ones do not let you go to far to the left and put to much pressure on the cable so if you are not slamming reverse like you stole the car and are running from the cops it works the same. There is not any play in the shifters themselves so they work the same. You do not have to get the new one and do the cash on that. I would say get the LETSLA first and see how it feels before we worry about the cables.

Troy, you seem to know more about the shifter differences than anyone I've encountered. I've seen pictures of both, but not the 08+ in person. It *looks* a lot more robust, and a better, more solid platform for shifting overall. Just less chintzy with the linkage, frame, etc. Is that the case, or is the stuff that counts the same? I've just heard at least one person say the shifting was a lot better on 08+ cars, and he had a lot of experience on an 05. Thanks for any more thoughts on that! Just looking for the best shifting possible since it's a key part of the experience.

[TroyLotus]

Here is one more thing it could be on yours. On step 14 of the upgrade instructions is says put two washers in. You can try to put 3 washers in there. You want to make sure the crossgate arm itself it not hitting the interia weight. I have only seen this once, but you never know and it could be worth a try.

05 vs 07+. I found no real difference in feel when I have driven both and felt both and I have felt a few. Now on that case I have felt some 05's vs other 05's that feel better than each other. It just depends on which you have. Now all have felt much better when the LETSLA was install. What I saw when looking and looking hard the 08 is that the reverse can not go over so far as the 05. When putting it in reverse you can put to much pressure on the cable in the push direction and cause the cable to break. Lotus had a lot of recalls on cables and tried to address this with the shifter fix. They also made the sheaths bigger in the 07-09 cars to help with that. I studied it for a long time and that is all I could come up with. Both work the same. I did not find any play in the shifters so they both work the same. The other thing also is that he console is a little different so the newer ones can be stiffer. The console stiffener I include should help with this and make it the same. On that note I have found vast differences in console stiffness from car to car. Some are great and stiff and others are flimsy.

[Chococar]

Hi Troy,
Are you still working on improved cables?
Thanks,
Joe

[ozracer]

There was a webiste that I saw from a company in Japan that made some sort of brace to go inside the console to reduce flex and or stiffen the whole set up regarding the actual frame that holds the shifter. Surely these would be a good upgrade or retrofit as well. I can no longer find the link.

[basstwo]

I think it's made by JAE Racing. Google it.

Originally Posted by ozracer

There was a webiste that I saw from a company in Japan that made some sort of brace to go inside the console to reduce flex and or stiffen the whole set up regarding the actual frame that holds the shifter. Surely these would be a good upgrade or retrofit as well. I can no longer find the link.

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by ozracer

There was a webiste that I saw from a company in Japan that made some sort of brace to go inside the console to reduce flex and or stiffen the whole set up regarding the actual frame that holds the shifter. Surely these would be a good upgrade or retrofit as well. I can no longer find the link.

BSK has them, but I think it's only for right hand drive cars...

[jpryor27]

Troy....you are the man. wow.

LETSLA, Manly mounts, and Redline Mt-90.......um.....yeah.