[Stan]

Woohoo! I'll post some PICs. I have to check them over carefully to be sure that they are SCCA legal in terms of several details. I know for sure that the factory springs can be used though which is critical for SCCA stock class. They have remote reservoirs and have adjustments for rebound, compression, and gas pressure along with ride height. I think I may have to set them or lock them into a stock height or height increment though.

Here is roughly what they'll look like, they use an HRC body. Per Ohlins: "The shocks will be an aluminium cylinder tube 36mm Hose type with Rebound and Compression adjuster, adjustable ride height and springs are included. " They claim that not only is handling improved, but ride too.

 

[Au111]

$$$???

 

[Stan]

>>>$$$???<<<

About $2100 for a set including their springs (which I won't be using). They come with suggested rebound and compression settings for street and track applications as a good starting point. They just brought in a couple sets into the country and emailed me about it so I pulled the trigger.

 

[aletes]

Did you get them from Lotus or from the aftermarket?

 

[008]

where did you get them from? It looks like they are remote resevoir. Do you know where you're going to mount the canisters? Have you used Ohlins before, and were they succeptible to nitrogen leakage? I've only had Motons myself, but I hear great things about the Ohlins, congrats. I'd love to see some time comparisons on track.

 

[Stan]

>>>Did you get them from Lotus or from the aftermarket?<<<

I got them from Ohlins down in Hendersonville, NC which is their US office. Lotus also has part numbers for them.

 

[Stan]

>>>where did you get them from? It looks like they are remote resevoir. Do you know where you're going to mount the canisters? Have you used Ohlins before, and were they succeptible to nitrogen leakage? I've only had Motons myself, but I hear great things about the Ohlins, congrats. I'd love to see some time comparisons on track.<<<

Got 'em from Ohlins USA. They are remote reservoir units with aluminum damper bodies. Compression is adjusted at the remote, and rebound is adjusted at the knob you can see in the PIC.

I am not sure about leakage but they are a street/track design. And other variations are track only. They can also have the gas pressure changed or tweaked. They are also supposed to have low friction, which helps with traction among other things.

 

[meat]

Stan - let me know if you need some suggestions on mounting the reserviors. I came up with the good spots I think on my S1 Exige.

 

[Au111]

>>>$$$???<<<

About $2100 for a set including their springs (which I won't be using). They come with suggested rebound and compression settings for street and track applications as a good starting point. They just brought in a couple sets into the country and emailed me about it so I pulled the trigger.

That's not bad at all.

Do you know if their settings were developed on the 111R/Fed Elise, or are they supplying dampers/settings developed for the rest of the S2 range? Also, what spring rates are the included springs (and do they have a range of rates available)?

Where do you plan on mounting the resevoirs?

So many questions, sorry. Good luck with 'em.

 

[008]

they look fantastic.

I'm excited to see how you like em. I'm expecting a full writeup after you had a chance to play with them a little. Looks like a great price too.

ps. one last question, did they give you a range of spring rates these were tuned for? Since I won't be rule restricted I would ideally like something in the 4-500 range. thanks.

 

[Stan]

>>>Stan - let me know if you need some suggestions on mounting the reserviors. I came up with the good spots I think on my S1 Exige.<<<

Fire away. In the PICs it appears that Ohlins just mounted them under the upper a-arm. I understand that the reservoir can be mounted in a variety of spots for SCCA purposes. It would be nice if both rebound and compression were easily reachable.

Maybe the rears could be in the trunk, and the fronts under the access covers... Or if they can still be accessed somewhere in the wheel wells that would be fine too.

 

[Stan]

>>>That's not bad at all. Do you know if their settings were developed on the 111R/Fed Elise, or are they supplying dampers/settings developed for the rest of the S2 range? Also, what spring rates are the included springs (and do they have a range of rates available)? Where do you plan on mounting the resevoirs? So many questions, sorry. Good luck with 'em.<<<

I'm not positive on the development, however there is quite an adjustment range. The street settings are about 14 clicks from full stiff the guy tells me.

The supplied spring rates are 200/343 lb/in. That's softer than stock up front and about the same as non-LSS in the rear. So those are likely rates for the earlier cars, but are close enough to work on later cars. Their springs have a 46 mm ID and our springs are roughly 48s so that is close enough to work.

 

[meat]

Stan

I mounted my front left to the radiator surround. I just drilled four holes in it and wire tied it. The right front I mounted the plastic cover for the wiper motor. In my car this sits just below the windshield - again, drilled 4 holes and wire tied it.

In the rear, do you have to leave all of the boot carpet and padding in for auto-x?

 

[John Stimson]

Stan, for the height setting, you should match the dimension from the center of the eye on the body to a point on the spring perch. If the stock spring perch is contoured to cradle the shape of the bottom of the spring, you should technically use the stock spring perch or something with an identical shape. Once you've set the height, you should mark the position somehow so that you'll know if it moves. The suggestion that I like is to run a stripe of silicone from the threaded body up onto the spring perch. That way if it turns, the silicone with peel off.

Meat, you're allowed to remove whatever carpet or padding that isn't held in place by fasteners. But you are also allowed to cut holes big enough to accomodate adjusting the shocks, in case you're thinking of mounting the reservoirs behind carpet or lining.

The under-the-control arm location looks pretty good, actually. I was thinking you meant attached to the control arm, which is of course unsprung mass. But now that I see the photo, I understand.

 

[offroadr35]

that seems really soft. I have been looking for a double adjustable shock alternative. The key is in the setup. What did they choose the valving and spring rates based on?

 

[Stan]

>>>The key is in the setup. What did they choose the valving and spring rates based on?<<<

Not sure what you mean exactly but Ohlins made this to be a streetable track option. Ohlins tuned it and so did either Lotus or Lotus Sport. It comes with suggested settings for various uses. It has both Lotus and Ohlins part numbers. It has more than enough range to accomodate different spring rates and preferences. It can also be revalved to suit, shock dynoed etc. It's lighter than stock too in terms of unsprung weight. I'm sure there will be a number of similar offerings coming out between now and Spring time. It's not the actual hardware brand that matters most, it's the tuning IMO. Like how which PC an author uses may not matter a great deal. So for example the guys working on the Penske option are working with some top tuning folks and I'm sure will come out with some great stuff. Ohlins can go 2-3 levels above the setup I am getting too, but that gets really, really pricey fast. I need an option that can do street and track and that can fit and work well with the LSS 270/370 lb/inch spring rates with the small ID (~1 7/8) Lotus springs. And it has to meet certain SCCA requirements such as being close (+/- 1 inch) on length, only two damping adjustments besides gas pressure, etc. Many will have fewer restrictions should they choose to upgrade this part of the Elise. For example apparently some options can't use the Lotus springs but have you use other also excellent springs... that is something I may wish to do but cannot do for rules reasons.

 

[meat]

For the rear reservoirs I did the following.

On the Exige, in the boot on each side of the car there are 3 bolts that run "north and south" on the car. They are on a flat surface behind the motor and on each side of the boot (under the quarter panel, if you will). I believe these bolts hold the boot structure to the subframe, but I can't remember for sure.

I cut a piece of 1/4" AL and tapped holes to correspond to 2 of the existing bolts. I made the AL piece large enough that it overhung the "shelf" where these three bolts live. On the overhang I drilled 4 holes and then I wire tied the reservoir to these holes. I put down some foam padding between the reservoir and the AL, however.

I can't really describe it any better than that. I'll try and get some pics this weekend.

 

[Stan]

Here they are...they came wonderfully packaged in fitted molded styrofoam / boxes. They included mounts for the remote reservoirs, tuning and installation instructions, etc. I took off all of the yellow Ohlins springs. Two of the dampers have a Lotus spring installed in the PIC (one F, one R)and two don't...so that you can see the details. Street settings have less rebound and a bunch less bump than the track settings. The springs are not mounted with a preload at the moment so they are fully extended...it looks like you could lower the car quite substantially with this setup. I'll do the install either today or during the week.

The rebound adjusters are the black knobs near the shaft ends, and the compression adjusters are on the reservoir ends. Lessee...street suggestion = 18 clicks from full stiff for rebound and 12 clicks for compression. Track = 12 clicks from full stiff R and 1 click B. It's nice that there is quite a bit more rebound adjustment range as that is super critical for autocross.

I need to check various dimensions to ensure SCCA compliance.

Meat: They suggest using the cross bars at the inner ends of the a-arms for mounting the remote reservoirs. They include rubber bits (see pic) that are shaped to mate with the reservoir and the suspension tube. They say that you can make all adjustments without pulling wheels.

 

[Stan]

BTW a subtlety...look at the yellow Ohlins springs and the Lotus/Eibachs. The Ohlins are normal straight coil springs. When springs like that are long and narrow, they tend to bow when compressed. So Ohlins installed the black plastic thing on the damper body near where the shaft comes out. If the spring bows it can rub on the body without creating excessive friction or damage. Lotus had a problem with this on the early Elise and went to an even better idea: Barrel springs that are of larger diameter away from the end coils. This leads to less bowing in the first place along with more room to accomodate any that does occur. On Europas folks wrap the damper bodys with teflon sheet as that car uses very long, soft springs that bow like crazy. Some folks grease things up too. The problem with the barrel spring idea is that there are only two options for the Elise...LTS and LSS. If you want different rates, you can get then but make sure you look into rubbing issues from spring bowing.

 

[meat]

The lines are too long to on the Dynamics to mount to the A-arms I suspect.

Also - mounting to the A-Arm increases un-sprung weight, correct?

I can adjust both bump and rebound without pulling a wheel. One adjustment is on the top of the damper (dampers are upside down so this is mounted on the bottom) and the other is on the reservoir.