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100k Mile Maintenance

2K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Krazykevin 
#1 ·
I am approaching the 100k mark and wanted to ask about maintenance suggestions. I have had the car about a year and have put 15k trouble free miles on it.

Done in the last 10k miles:
air filter
Belt
Oil (2x)
Inspect cams
Replace leaking coolant hose
Check all suspension fasteners for tightness

Plan on doing this winter:
Brake fluid flush
Oil change again
Coolant flush
Transmission fluid change
New brake pads (maybe rotors as well)
Lift bolts, valve cover gasket, clean oil screens
New thermostat
Closer check of ball joints, tie rods, and suspension bushings
Remove front oil coolers (have rear cooler)
Check Alignment

Is there anything that I am missing? Any thoughts or suggestions for any of these?
 
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#2 ·
Spark plugs and coils? Just did mine at 50k and car seems to start and run alot smoother. If you have stock rad, maybe take a look to make sure no leaks.
 
#3 ·
If your plugs are more than 30k old, I'd definitely swap them out. Clean and renew the dielectric grease on the coils while you're at it. If the suspension bushings and swaybar bushings haven't been done, it's probably time for that. Even if they're not actually sloppy they will have more give than desirable at 100k miles of age if stock. For that matter, which/how old shocks? - definitely a wearing component.

Beyond that, a lot of things are years-not-miles items - things like lubricant for the wiper mechanism, wheel bearing grease drying out, etc.
 
#6 ·
I recently purchased a set of Nitron Street series. It is more for street use so I found these to be the most cost effective for my application. I needed a "softer" ride vs my sport bilsteins on our Chicago roads. I'm still in the process of installing, just did the fronts last night and will do the rears sometime this week. PM me if you want more info on them.
 
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#7 ·
Congrats, we have several clients who have gotten to 100k and a couple that are over 200k! Your list looks smart and the suggestions above are solid. The recommendation for shocks refresh is at 50k miles so that would be a very noticeable improvement. Have a look at our Tech Ref page: HERE for some good info like our 60Pt Prep.
 
#9 ·
I've got some older 46mm Nitron singles on my '05 and am quite pleased with the tunability. The Penske doubles consistently get the best reviews for street ride quality and adjustability, but cost a lot more money. I'm pretty sure my Nitrons came from Shinoo a decade or so ago.
 
#11 ·
When I inspected my suspension bushings closely, multiple were shot. I went with the OEALT from inoKinetic because my car is mostly street and I wanted something that would last with minimal maintenance. It took me about 13 hours (alone) total to replace all 16 suspension bushings, as well as remove some camber shims and re-align the car. The bushing tool makes the actual bushing work very easy (though I recommend getting a longer & higher grade bolt).

It feels like a new car. I was not expecting a big difference but it is HUGE. Since I bought the car, bumps have always been very harsh. I assumed that this was simply because it is a light aluminum chassis and part of it being a Lotus. However it is soo much better now. I now realize that most of the harshness was actually coming from where my a-arms were contacting the chassis directly with no isolation because the bushings had slipped. It feels great and it also looks like most of the ball joints have been replaced semi-recently.

I suggest anyone with a higher mileage Elise to have a close look at their bushings.

On to the next task...
 
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