The Lotus Cars Community banner
  • Hi there! Why not register as a user to enjoy all of the benefits of the site? You may register here. When you register, please pick a username that is non-commercial. If you use a name that appears on any search engine commercially, you must pick another name, whether it applies to you or not. Commercial usernames are for supporting vendor use only. If you want to become a supporting vendor and grow your business, please follow this link. Thanks!
41 - 57 of 57 Posts
You know, the decision to not get the sport suspension would be a ton easier if the LSS wheels were just uglier. Damn, they look nice and weigh less too. Now if we can just get past the rough ride and potential snap oversteer issues.

It's kinda like dating a beautiful woman who can cook but who has a bit of a temper and can get a little rough in bed. Then again, that doesn't sound that bad does it?

I'll take an LSS too please! :D

Jim
 
the feedback I got at the LA show was similar- LSS is set up for sticky tires and will be a harsh ride. Take lots of driving breaks if on a road trip, women should wear their sports bras, etc.

Unless you really really need track capabilities and are shooting for the SoloII championship, the 'stock' suspension still is a fast setup. Yes the extra .2g translates into 9% higher corner speeds, driver skill and experience will make up a lot of that difference. But the 'stock' car is going to be pretty amazing I think.

I see stock cars beating highly set up cars all the time in autocross events- good driving beats equipment w/o skills all the time. and having less sticky tires will be easier to learn on to develop those skills, too.
 
David,

Your right on the money except the 911 is rear engined, not mid like the Esprit and Elise. There is a big difference between a mid and rear engined car. I had to finally goto LCU to get a final word on the LSS as well and based on the discussion, I've decided against it. As Nick mentioned, you can get it put on by the dealer later if you really feel the need. Yes, it will be more expensive but chances are I'm never going to push my car that hard. Like mentioned elsewhere on this thread, when Pontiac says Sport Package and Lotus says Sport Package they mean two entirely different things. Pontiac means chrome wheels, body cladding and a 3 spoke steering wheel. Lotus means a track suspension.

Jim,

The guy at MAG is either stretching the truth or not listening to Lotus or intends to get himself in a heap of trouble. The LA show cars will be making the rounds through out the country over the next few months but not for test drives. They will be seen next in Houston at the Superbowl. After that look for them at the major autoshows. Dealers may get the cars for show but have been told that they are absolutely not for test drives. Lets just say that LCU could have had better experiences with "test drives" when the euro models made their rounds last year. Cars were in accidents, abused and frankly a few of us have ruined the opportunity for the rest of us.

JD,

Are you hinting that I should organize something? Are you willing to help? What exactly do you have in mind?
 
wallabyguy said:
JD,

Are you hinting that I should organize something? Are you willing to help? What exactly do you have in mind?
I'm thinking that around October of this year, a decent amount of the cars will have been delivered. Enough so that a good group of East coasters (or any owners for that matter) could get together at a "midway point" to see the different colors and options of the cars, swap experiences etc. for maybe a three day weekend. If became a regular annual event, it could attract aftermarket vendors, tire companies, and who knows who all else to take advantage of a large amount of Lotus owners in one place. Sponsorship for a meeting of a group of such high-profile cars such as these should'nt be tough to garner.

The leaves will be turning in the mountains so the scenery will be beautiful, there are any number of great driving roads in the middle section of the east, and possibly some Lotus dealers, Pistonheads (they seem to have taken an active interest in the Fed car) or Elisetalk (or all) could sponsor the event. The possibilities are pretty limitless and there's a good amount of time to plan it. I would be happy to help if it's determined to be feasible.
 
JD,

What's very important is that the event not challange LOG (Lotus Owners Gathering). I believe this year's LOG is scheduled for September in Alabama. I think your idea is a good one and if you want to talk about it more, PM me.
 
Nick at Symbolic told me that the yellow test car (120 hp car that I drove last February) is back in La Jolla; in fact, I believe he took it for a spin today to clear his head from the abuse that he received on the official forum site for trying to explain how Symbolic is handling their waiting list. It has been rather badly beaten up in its travels. I only got to drive it for 10 minutes around the streets of Beverly Hills, so I know it wasn't me!

I don't think too many of my friends are going to be driving mine after it gets here.
 
wallabyguy said:
...The guy at MAG is either stretching the truth or not listening to Lotus or intends to get himself in a heap of trouble. ...
No trouble to be had, he just indicated that they would have them on hand to look at and sit in or "try on" as I put it. No test driving until their federalized demos arrive later.

Jim
 
Tripledigits said:


Spring rates stock vs. LSS F 42.5 47.5 N/M
R 60 65

If those spring rates are in N/mm, then in lb/in we have approx:
STD LSS
F 242 271 (12% increase)
R 342 371 (8% increase)

Well, heck. In a 2000lb car, those rates seem downright reasonable, and with well-tuned dampers I wouldn't expect them to result in a "harsh" ride. (Admittedly, this is coming from a fellow who drives a 3500lb car with 600 lb/in springs on all four corners as a daily driver. (And occasionally plays with a 2400 lb car on 700F/325R springs.))

I'm violating all sorts of rules in buying this car: no test drive, first year of production, colour unseen in person - and now, worst of all, second guessing my choice not to get LSS. I don't believe the "hairshirt" comment at all with those spring rates - perhaps Lotus underestimates us "soft" Yankees?
 
Don't forget, the actual spring rates are modified by the suspension motion ratio, which can be different from car to car. So it's not always enlightening to compare spring rates directly between cars.
 
How a spring acts depends on where it is attached, and the angle. Imagine that the lower end of the spring is attached to the middle of the suspension arm. In that case, the spring will be compressed 0.5" if the wheel moves up 1". This means that you have a motion ratio of 0.5.

To quote Fred Puhn: "First, the stiffness of a suspension is not the stiffness of the spring all by itself. The important stiffness is that seen by the wheel or the body, which may be different on account of leverage." He uses the example above, and for an 800lb/in spring in the middle of the suspension arm, the vertical stiffness is 200lb/in. In the general case, you multiply by the motion ratio squared (Puhn uses the term "mechanical advantage" for the inverse of the motion ratio).

Edited for correct definition of motion ratio, see http://www.rc10.com/racerhub/techhelp/marc/Handling.5.html.
 
ConeFusion said:
How a spring acts depends on where it is attached, and the angle. Imagine that the lower end of the spring is attached to the middle of the suspension arm. In that case, the spring will be compressed 0.5" if the wheel moves up 1". This means that you have a motion ratio of 0.5.
[/url].
Ultimately engineers are most concerned with "Wheel Rate". Spring rate is a component of the Wheel Rate, as is the sway bar and bushings.
 
41 - 57 of 57 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top