Another great experience at the Lotus Propulsion Laboratory

3586 Views 23 Replies 13 Participants Last post by nicolae, Sep 1, 2020

Serebo1

Discussion Starter · Jun 16, 2009 (Edited)

4

I was getting ready to leave for a trip to go camping in Fresno, when suddenly, my radiator bit the dust. It was ugly - engine temp shot up to 237 on the freeway. I immediatly pulled off, and nursed the car home in five trips; what should have taken 15 minutes took over an hour.

This was Wed. night, and I was leaving on Friday. So, I called Allen Strommer and Aidan, and was told to bring it in the next day. Sure enough, the radiator was diagnosed as bad. I told Allen I needed to leave Friday by noon. Allen was booked, but told me to bring it in Thursday after closing. Allen and Aidan worked on the car until almost three in the morning, and then finished Friday morning.

You cannot pay for that kind of dedication, guys. Just unreal. They also discovered some faulty work which had essentially turned the a/c core into a one-time-only use item. This was around midnight, and just happened to have the core in stock.

The car is running better than ever, around 183 on the fwy.

Kudos to Allen, Aidan and the LPL for saving the day, again.

They're located at the corner of Melrose and Gramercy, in Los Angeles, enter off Gramercy.

709 N. Gramercy Place
Hollywood, CA 90038

Contact phone: (323) 345-6292
Email: [email protected]
Website is a placeholder for now, but the site is The LPL - it is coming for you!

They are open Monday - Friday.

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Reactions: 1

1 - 20 of 24 Posts

Sideoiler

· #2 · Jun 16, 2009

outstanding service. Glad they got you taken care of.

MickOpalak

· #3 · Jun 16, 2009

I had my radiator crap out last December too. Replaced under warranty. Seems to be the 111's weak spot.

catapult

· #4 · Jun 16, 2009

That's great service and a good lesson on how a company builds customer loyalty and a great reputation.

delise

· #5 · Jun 16, 2009

Nice write up and great to support great shops ! But when doing so it might be nice to included their info? What is LPL, where is it, contact info, website, email , authorized warranty etc ? :shrug:

Murix

· #6 · Jun 16, 2009

Lotus Propulsion Laboratory

Allen Strommer's new place after Lotus Beverly Hills. Great shop, great people, great service. They are at the corner of Gramercy and Melrose in Los Angeles.

cobrabyte

· #7 · Jun 16, 2009

183 on the freeway? I'm running about 188 on freeway and temp's shooting up rather easily at stop lights.

Is there any way to diagnose that it's a radiator problem?

BTW, excellent work by the LPL guys. That's true dedication. Much, much more than I can say about our local Lotus shop.

knucklehead

· #8 · Jun 16, 2009

+1 for LPL a great bunch of guys who care about their customers and their work. Allen has gone above and beyond in more than a couple of occasions to help me with my car.

delise

· #9 · Jun 16, 2009

Murix said:
Lotus Propulsion Laboratory

Allen Strommer's new place after Lotus Beverly Hills. Great shop, great people, great service. They are at the corner of Gramercy and Melrose in Los Angeles.

Thanks yeah he did mention that it was Allen's new shop, but not any contact info about it. Anybody have any solid contact info - phone number or email, website? are they open on weekends, do they do warranty ? :shrug: Not finding any info on them with GIS.

Serebo1

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jun 16, 2009

delise said:
Nice write up and great to support great shops ! But when doing so it might be nice to included their info? What is LPL, where is it, contact info, website, email , authorized warranty etc ? :shrug:

delise said:
Thanks yeah he did mention that it was Allen's new shop, but not any contact info about it. Anybody have any solid contact info - phone number or email, website? are they open on weekends, do they do warranty ? :shrug: Not finding any info on them with GIS.

Sorry guys, good point.

Like Murix says above, they're located at the corner of Melrose and Grammercy, enter off Grammercy.

Contact phone: (323) 345-6292
Email: [email protected]
Website is a placeholder for now, but the site is The LPL - it is coming for you!

They are open Monday - Friday.

Serebo1

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 16, 2009 (Edited)

My answer to the warranty questions above.

As of now, no.

But I will say this. We NEED an authorized repair shop in the Los Angeles area, and who better then guys who:

A) Love and are loyal to the Lotus brand.
B) Have a real interest in seeing Lotus thrive.
C) Have a built-in rapport with the Southern California Clientele and are centrally located.
D) Have a built-in fan base.
E) Are excellent technicians and diagnosticians
F) Will work tirelessly to succeed.

This is the LPL.

Allen, Phil, Aidan and co are not guys just pulling down a paycheck. They have put their butts on the line opening this shop, and you get the sense that every job they do leaves with their name on it. THAT'S the kind of shop that, in my humble opinion, Lotus wants to be associated with.

I think...no, I know, that this would be a good move for LCU.

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Serebo1

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 16, 2009

cobrabyte said:
183 on the freeway? I'm running about 188 on freeway and temp's shooting up rather easily at stop lights.

Is there any way to diagnose that it's a radiator problem?

BTW, excellent work by the LPL guys. That's true dedication. Much, much more than I can say about our local Lotus shop.

I'm not a tech, but I'd say you're fine at 188. The fans come on at 207, and you should see cooling at that point.

Allen and Aidan were extremely patient and did a tremendous job on the bleed, taking much more time to get every bit of air out then I imagine most shops would do, so that may account for the lower temps. They also added a container of Motul MoCool for good measure, and I think that added some cooling benefits to a job already well done.

Serebo1

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 16, 2009

MickOpalak said:
I had my radiator crap out last December too. Replaced under warranty. Seems to be the 111's weak spot.

Agreed.

delise

· #14 · Jun 16, 2009 (Edited)

cobrabyte said:
183 on the freeway? I'm running about 188 on freeway and temp's shooting up rather easily at stop lights.

Is there any way to diagnose that it's a radiator problem?

BTW, excellent work by the LPL guys. That's true dedication. Much, much more than I can say about our local Lotus shop.

Do you smell occasional coolant in the cabin when idling in traffic ? Pop off the drivers side turn signal (or have somebody do it ) If there is coolant pooled in the crash structure or signs that it has in the past and your car is a 2005/2006, then it might have a leaky plastic side tank. When very hot it expands and leaks slightly but does not when colder

Murix

· #15 · Jun 16, 2009

5

I am going to clutter your post with more LPL relevant pictures.

Allen installed one of his new supercharged sized exhaust and upgraded rear calipers on my car last Friday. He put a lot of extra time and effort to get the car buttoned up and right. Every time I take my car to him it always comes out better, even if it something small I did not think of. He also has saved me a lot of money in not buying parts that do not work.

The exhaust is absolutely amazing. The rear caliper makes a pretty big difference too.

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Serebo1

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 16, 2009

Murix said:
Allen installed one of his new supercharged sized exhaust and upgraded rear calipers on my car last Friday. He put a lot of extra time and effort to get the car buttoned up and right. Every time I take my car to him it always comes out better, even if it something small I did not think of. He also has saved me a lot of money in not buying parts that do not work.

The exhaust is absolutely amazing. The rear caliper makes a pretty big difference too.

NICE! I'm running their dual tip diffuser exiting exhaust, and it's the best I've owned. No packing inside, dual can. Great build quality, especially on the welds. Bonus: little to no drone, and it sounds like a proper sports car.

Slipstreamer

· #17 · Jun 16, 2009

Serebo1 said:
NICE! I'm running their dual tip diffuser exiting exhaust, and it's the best I've owned. No packing inside, dual can. Great build quality, especially on the welds. Bonus: little to no drone, and it sounds like a proper sports car.

+1

Murix

· #18 · Jun 16, 2009

+2

kaz

· #19 · Jun 17, 2009

cobrabyte said:
183 on the freeway? I'm running about 188 on freeway and temp's shooting up rather easily at stop lights.

188 is perfectly fine, some would even say a little cool. Mine runs (well as of last week) a constant 195 after the built and sleeved engine. Before that on my stock system the car ran very cool at around 174-178 on the freeway - what temps are you seeing on the track? they could be lower based on more airflow...in traffic my car will hit 205 easy. I just got new huge PWR radiator and heat exchangers installed so my car should be running cooler...

cobrabyte

· #20 · Jun 17, 2009

I'll be on the track on Saturday so I'll see what the temps are like there.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I may start looking around for a better radiator as it looks like that could be a weak spot on our cars.

Love that exhaust above. Very clean.

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