[Notorious L.R.G.]

One of the coolest things on the early Esprits was the rear louvers over the engine cover. I have seen a few of these (usually crazy expensive) available, typically with much of the expense being the shipping from Europe.

Anyway, I would appreciate it if those who have done it could post a pic of the fitment, review the quality of the part, and from where they bought it.

I am wondering in particular:
1. What does it do to the view out the rear window?
2. Any unexpected wind noises, etc.?
3. Does it actually aid in engine bay cooling?

VSA Motorsports has them in carbon fiber, the leading contender for me thus far: http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f95/carbon-fiber-evora-parts-117666/

 

[invictusmaneo]

VSA part:

Fitment was pretty good. Make sure you find a window installer who is willing to work on the Evora rear window (relatively easy with a wire, though mine had silicon AND polyurethane evidently put on at some point during one of my trunk moisture warranty visits. Also make sure they have STRONG adhesive and some decent primer, as the carbon fiber is bound to warp a little in the cure process and required some weight and a strong adhesive to fully hold down. The dimensions were perfect and overall quality pretty good. Weave could be better but in general great. It is nice as it folds over on all the edged so it literally sits on the factory mount. Definitely be sure you have a glass shop comfortable doing it. I was lucky to have an awesome one here in Tampa.

IMPORTANT NOTE: They are now aware of it after my install, but the VSA part is NOT a drop in replacement and REQUIRES PERMANENT MODIFICATION OF THE HATCH. I only say that so no one orders it unhappily. I am totally happy with it as the modification is relatively reversible with some steel/aluminum and epoxy. You must cut out the horizontal strut that supports the base of the factory glass and the mesh screen, as this part replaces both the mesh and the glass in one piece, and will not fit otherwise. A clean cut will allow you to put this piece back in if you ever need to, and remount both factory pieces.


I also received a PB Racing one which I in turn sold as it was terrible as far as carbon goes. They told me they have since fixed the issue, but it was essentially fiberglass with a layer of carbon cloth over it and a little gel coat. It is an exact copy of the Lotus Racing fiberglass louvered glass delete. I sold it to someone as a perfect candidate for a sand, coat of primer, and coat of black plaint and clear coat as the carbon was worthless, but the fiberglass and venting was great.


I have also seen the lotus racing fiberglass hatch and it fits nicely, I'm sure a few who have them will comment.

I am sure it helps with venting, but around the same time I added ceramic coated headers, did the intake, lost all my cats, deleted the engine cover and strut and added the intake scoops..so I have no valid before and after other than to say my complete project made a difference.

 

[Allan Gibbs]

Thank you. Would you mind taking a picture of the view in your rear view mirror when you have a chance?

 

[invictusmaneo]

Sure whenever my clutch is fixed. But it's terrible. So I added a rear view camera and a monitor to replace my mirror 24/7. Hopefully that helps

 

[Notorious L.R.G.]

I am thinking about blowing another grand on the carbon sail panel.

The factory sail panel wins my award for "most embarrassing part" on the Evora. Not fond not the little mesh screen below the glass either, hope my shop can do the cut just fine. I have an excellent glassman, but he is just that, a glassman.

Do you have a closer shot of the weave? Thinking about doing a carbon wrap on the A pillars, but am betting the weave will not match. Does that matter, since they are so far apart?

Any comments on the noise? Annoying wind noise, or pleasant engine sounds?

How about weight savings? Was the original glass substantially heavier?

 

[Notorious L.R.G.]

I went into the garage to look for the metal support piece. Did not find it, I presume it is only visible with the window removed.
I did find a heat shield type device screwed in by 4 nuts. Does that remain?

I forgot how much I did not like the screen....it is BIG. (2nd most embarrassing part on Evora.)

 

[2011 chrome orange]

I am thinking about blowing another grand on the carbon sail panel.

I have been seriously contemplating the CF sail Panel from VSA. I also thinking about their CF barge boards too. :clap:

 

[F1 SML8R]

2011 Chrome Orange, if you call them, tell them you are interested in 2 sets of the barge boards (1 for me) and see if the will match or even beat their group buy price from July/Aug of last year. You can PM me if it looks promising. BTW, I'm in So Cal. So, I would probably just go to their shop for the install as well.

 

[invictusmaneo]

That piece you have pictured is what has to be cut off. The black piece is metal but the metal I mentioned would be to secure the fiberglass portion if you epoxied it back in.

No noise I've noticed but my car is um loud. To be honest I don't think it will make a difference except at idle outside the car you will hear the tappets more.

Weight savings is negligible. Maybe 3 pounds. The glass is pretty light you'd be surprised. The weave is 3k so whatever other carbon parts you have will match if they are 3k. All my carbon is 3k.

Look closely at my picture it will make more sense the vsa panel replaces both the glass and the mesh below it, and everything behind it must be cut out.

No new pics my car is in irlando for a few weeks at the dealer. I'll add the carbon sail panel eventually, but it's pricey. But it matches the louvered hatch well.

Here is a video of my rear view

Rear view mirror mod evora - YouTube

Fwiw you can still see a little out of the louvers but I have a wing too, and the view isn't great even without

 

[Tdady]

Carbon wrapped pieces

Since both my passengers side "A" pillar AND my rear sail are now cracked, I decided to give the wrap a try before spending tons of cash on carbon replacement pieces. The shop did a great job and you can barley see the pillar crack and there is no evidence of the crack in the sail at all. Had the mirrors done as well.

 

[CPA4S]

they put a carbon wrap on my roof and really looks good.

 

[2011 chrome orange]

2011 Chrome Orange, if you call them, tell them you are interested in 2 sets of the barge boards (1 for me) and see if the will match or even beat their group buy price from July/Aug of last year. You can PM me if it looks promising. BTW, I'm in So Cal. So, I would probably just go to their shop for the install as well.

F1 SML8R, I emailed Stephan to see what he could do on sail panels and barge boards. I was looking for 6k weave to match what I already have. Here is his reply:

“Normal price on the barge boards is $1149, $1399 on the sail panel. All the parts are standard 3k (2x2) weave. Another buyer asked about other weave options a few months ago. The factory isn't willing to make the parts in anything else. Finish is available in either matte or gloss.

I can give you 10% off of those prices if we sell 4 pieces (2 sets of boards and 2 sail panels).”

So, he's making a generous offer to knock off 10% for just the 4 pieces. But, now I’m not sure if I want to proceed. I don’t know how it will look with some 6k (A pillars, mirrors, side scoops) and some 3k (sail panel and barge boards) plus my black stripes (that I copied you on :bow: ), black GT4 wing and the OEM black parts already on the car. It might start to look a little too busy.

Thoughts?

 

[invictusmaneo]

I have a mix of OEM black (a pillar, sail panel) and carbon, though all the weave is the same. Eventually I'd like to switch the sail panel to carbon for sure. I have mixed feelings about the a pillars since I have such dark tint here in FL, the gloss black makes the pillar disappear even better. Carbon for me would take that affect away, but this is on my car.

In short, I don't think the mix of black/carbon will detract. Am unsure on the weave sizes though. I think the most noticeable would be the scoops, since they are closest to both barge boards and sail panel.

This sort of help shows in profile the mix of carbon/black from a distance. Subtle I think and not too noticeable until you get closer, and would be for you as well methinks.

 

[F1 SML8R]

Chrome, I'm in the same boat as you. I have HK's mirror covers and side scoops in 6k. I've seen pics of the vsa barge boards and I think they look pretty good even in 3k. I'm not worried about it looking off since this is it for carbon for me. If you decide to go with the barge boards, count me in.


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[2011 chrome orange]

Chrome, I'm in the same boat as you. I have HK's mirror covers and side scoops in 6k. I've seen pics of the vsa barge boards and I think they look pretty good even in 3k. I'm not worried about it looking off since this is it for carbon for me. If you decide to go with the barge boards, count me in.

F1 SML8R, I will definitely let you know if I go for it. But, we would still need one more to get the -10%.

I’ve been looking at photos of different CF weaves trying to figure out if it will look ok or not. If they were 6k like the rest of my CF, it would have been a done deal already. I just hate to spend that amount of $ and not like it.

For reference, here is a picture HK had posted to show various weaves in his side scoop thread. As he wrote “I placed the 3K prepreg carbon fiber fabric and the 6K prepreg carbon fiber fabric on a big piece of 12K normal carbon fiber fabric. The 3K and 6K are prepreg. That means they are carbon fiber fabric mixed with resin already. So they are not as glossy as the 12K normal carbon fabric which is without resin” :

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f95/group-buy-2-evora-cf-side-scoops-171129/

The difference is noticeable to me ,so I have to think about this. But, knowing me, I'll probably regret it either way..

 

[F1 SML8R]

It's definitely noticeable side by side, but at a distance, I feel like it'll look o.k. Also, look at pics of the VSA barge boards installed. You'll see how the weave isn't prominent, because of where they are located and the shadow from the adjacent body panels at certain points.

Either way, keep me posted.

 

[2011 chrome orange]

This sort of help shows in profile the mix of carbon/black from a distance. Subtle I think and not too noticeable until you get closer, and would be for you as well methinks.

invictusmaneo, thanks for the input. I think you are right about the carbon and black.

BTW, your car looks great in that photo . And, we're still waiting for that write up of mods!

 

[2011 chrome orange]

Either way, keep me posted.

Ok, I thought about it again. I’m in for the sail panel, but I’m going to hold off on the barge boards. That way, I’ll see if I like the 3k in relation to the 6k I already have. If I don’t like it, at least I won’t be stuck with both parts and out all of the $.

So, I’m going to go for the sail panel. If you definitely want the barge boards, we just need one more sail panel and one more barge board to get the (4 piece) discount from VSA.

Anybody else interested?
(Normal price on the barge boards is $1149, $1399 on the sail panel. All the parts are standard 3k (2x2) weave. Finish is available in either matte or gloss. 10% off of those prices if we get 4 pieces (2 sets of boards and 2 sail panels).

 

[F1 SML8R]

Yeah, hopefully we'll get the two extra people we need to get this done.


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[invictusmaneo]

if I weren't going through the clutch thing carlos I would be in for a sail panel....damn good chance I'm missing