[switch311]

So I have been a long time BMW forum member where these threads are very common. I have only seen a couple on here but hopefully if we can get more to motivate more people into looking into the evora perhaps this could build more support for lotus. Either way this is the progress I have made so far on the car and hope to shed light on what lotus uses to put these cars together so parts can be sourced more easily.

This is the day I bought the car. It was a 1 owner car that was traded in at Jaguar of Bellevue.

The anthracite wheels on the grey car were the first thing that needed to go. I felt the colors blended and caused the entire car to look washed out. I did love the interior however and couldn't be happier.

The first thing I did notice was a brake squeal and how much rust had collected on the rotors. I am surprised that I have now seen there are quite a few on lots that have had this.

So after a couple weeks I decided to get started on the build.


The first thing to get removed was the suspension and brakes. The Calipers are manufactured by AP racing along with the pads (on the 2010 NA cars atleast but I imagine most). The suspension is bilstein AK series shocks and eibach springs. I am hoping to find the valving and spring rates on these but I havent had any luck yet.

The car was on stands and getting a bit of reverse engineering going into it so the rotors were next to get cleaned up. A bit of hand sanding and some high temp header paint later they looked great.

After looking around and trying to decide on wheels I settled on a set of CCW C140. The build time was expected to be 3-4 weeks but circumstances changed and it had to be delayed a couple more weeks. Thankfully CCW did end up sending the wheels overnight after the wait was over. I decided on Michelin Pilot Super Sports and its a 265/30R20 in the rear with 225/35R19 front

There will be much more to come on this car hopefully in the very near future. Happy motoring guys :shift:

 

[invictusmaneo]

I'm planning on a set of CCW myself hopefully in a few months. Looks good

 

[ddimensia]

Keep the info and pics coming, helps give the rest of us info on what we can/should do to keep these cars looking and driving their best.

One of these days all the Western Washington owners will have to make a coordinated effort to meet up at Exotics at RTC or something. BTW, anyone know of someone they trust to detail cars in the Seattle area, mine has a few scratches that I don't trust myself to remove.

 

[goussama]

I have some nice upgrades on the way, will hopefully post em within a month or two

 

[Julian73]

...


The first thing to get removed was the suspension and brakes. The Calipers are manufactured by AP racing along with the pads (on the 2010 NA cars atleast but I imagine most). The suspension is bilstein AK series shocks and eibach springs. I am hoping to find the valving and spring rates on these ...
There will be much more to come on this car hopefully in the very near future. Happy motoring guys :shift:

What are your goals and mod plan?, why did you tear down the suspension, are you I stalling the Lotus Motor sport parts? Bilstein rates will not be published as lotus proprietary, you will need to put new ones on a shock dyno. As to springs, Eibach PN on spring will give you length and rate.

 

[switch311]

What are your goals and mod plan?, why did you tear down the suspension, are you I stalling the Lotus Motor sport parts? Bilstein rates will not be published as lotus proprietary, you will need to put new ones on a shock dyno. As to springs, Eibach PN on spring will give you length and rate.

Well the Eibach PN wasnt one listed online anywhere but I havent contacted them directly yet. The Bilstein part # were of no help really either when it came to researching it online.

I would like to lower the car about 1" but the front overhang on these cars means that height adjustability on the fly will need to be present. I am working on a solution for this right now and given the straightforward design of the suspension this wont prove too difficult I am hoping.

I have been fabricating and working on cars for several years now and currently in the process of opening a shop here in Seattle. Hopefully by June it will be fully operational. I think these cars have a lot of potential but have been hurt by a lack support in the US has led to slow sales. It would be nice to see some of the areas the evora is lacking be improved on by aftermarket companies, but the slow sales have sent tuners to look into more profitable markets. Seeing the sales of them pick up in the recent months is encouraging though as I have a dealers license too so I can see how quickly they are moving through auction.

 

[Julian73]

A few Ohlin adjustable mount shocks already available for this car. Have you checked the lotus GTN catalog and VSA race conversions?

 

[switch311]

A few Ohlin adjustable mount shocks already available for this car. Have you checked the lotus GTN catalog and VSA race conversions?

I did come across the Ohlins online and if I was going the route of tracking the car full time or serious about not daily driving it then I would definitely be mounting a fixed position suspension. However with the front overhang on the car there is no way it would be feasible to drive around Seattle comfortably without worrying about destroying your bumper. The Lamborghini Gallardo has a very short overhang but they addressed this issue as well with the height adjusting suspension. This is the route I am planning on taking I am working on engineering a solution which I can hopefully provide to other people interested too. I would like to lower the center of gravity, introduce adjustable height on the fly in the front and adjustable dampening all the way around.

 

[CFRP_King]

Will be follow this build. It seems that the current options for the Evora are between 5-7k for suspension parts. Are you thinking about creating a "lift" system that is incorporated into the suspension?

 

[Plackslayer]

Very nice. Looking forward to more information and pics.

 

[switch311]

Will be follow this build. It seems that the current options for the Evora are between 5-7k for suspension parts. Are you thinking about creating a "lift" system that is incorporated into the suspension?

Yeah I am designing a system that will keep the suspension geometry where lotus intended but will allow the front to raised 1-3" up from the lowered ride height for clearance over bumps and for entry into most places. The spring rates and valving I would like to keep very close to OEM specs as the car rides very well, however adjustable dampening I will probably be adding. I will definitely keep you posted on my progress.

 

[Lckitty]

Do you still have the old wheels? I "may" be interested depending on what I get in the future.

 

[ddimensia]

I was thinking of asking the same thing, the anthracite wheels look good with red. Just don't know if I need a set of dedicated track tires/wheels now that I have the MR2 to flog around the track.

 

[switch311]

Sorry guys the anthracite wheels are sold locally. The guy I sold them too however has a set of silver wheels that could be easily powdercoated anthracite I know where this can be done for $200.

 

[gsweney]

Sorry guys the anthracite wheels are sold locally. The guy I sold them too however has a set of silver wheels that could be easily powdercoated anthracite I know where this can be done for $200.

The CCW wheels look stellar! Great contrast with your paint color. Your "old" anthracite wheels are working out quite well on my blue Evora. Yes, I do plan to sell the cast silver wheels, just haven't had time to get pricing and post them. If anybody is interested please message me. They only have 400 miles on them.

 

[Bobsy Racer]

After looking around and trying to decide on wheels I settled on a set of CCW C140. The build time was expected to be 3-4 weeks but circumstances changed and it had to be delayed a couple more weeks. Thankfully CCW did end up sending the wheels overnight after the wait was over. I decided on Michelin Pilot Super Sports and its a 265/30R20 in the rear with 225/35R19 front



What are the widths, offsets, and weights of the wheels ?
Why did you go with 225/35R19 and 265/30R20, rather than the 235/35R19 and 275/30R20, like the Evora S ?

 

[MotoGeek]

The RCR Superlite has a front lift system option. It might be a good starting point.

 

[switch311]

img]https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2816/13709027754_544f4af64b_h.jpg[/img]

 

[switch311]

What are the widths, offsets, and weights of the wheels ?
Why did you go with 225/35R19 and 265/30R20, rather than the 235/35R19 and 275/30R20, like the Evora S ?

Wheels are 19x8.5 et +49 20x10 et +52

I have not had a chance to weigh them yet. I went with the tire size based off past experience with those wheel size and tire brand. Tire sizes are not always a direct cross over. You may find that BFgoodrich run wide while some other brands run small. So you cant always count on them working exactly as planned when you havent had first hand experience with them. I have run probably 30+ sets of wheels/tires on different cars I have owned over the last few years so this comes from having run into these problems myself rotfl

 

[CPA4S]

switch - those look amazing - really a great set of shots thx for posting them