Sector111's Tasty Innovations Blog

Lotus Cup Infineon 2012 - Power to Weight!

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:08:00 +0000

The Infineon race is now officially in the books and we are back in the office. We achieved an Open Class win on Friday and a second place on Saturday. Glen worked hard to stay with the 2-11s and managed to set the second fastest lap of the weekend which put him at P2 for Saturday's race. On Friday, he started P3 as both Andy and Robb inched us out by .5sec. Overall we are happy with the results as Infineon has a significant amount of elevation change which challenged our Art Car.

There were five 2-11s competing in the race weekend and a total of about 20 Lotus. You can see from the first picture that the 2-11s dominated the front of the grid. We recognize that competing with these lighter cars is a challenge but it is the type of effort that keeps us on our toes. We reduced the weight of the Art Car before this race by replacing the windshield with our new OpticArmor Lexan Winscreen. For improved comfort, we installed a heavier Recaro race seat from Glen's Elise, so lost some of the 16lb savings that the Lexan Windscreen provided. Still the Art Car weighed 2009lbs with driver and full of fluids - which is about 180lbs heavier than the 2-11s.

To improve our lap times, we tried several tactics, including suspension adjustments and even added a larger ReVerie rear wing to our car (1700mmx300mm vs. 1700mmx200mm). We added the larger wing on Sat. morning and it gave Glen some added rear grip to address the oversteer that was challenging us all weekend long. Glen then nailed a lap time that beat all the times set on Friday. We were excited about the result, but his time would not stand for too long. Andy soon layed down a scorching time that would remain the Fastest Lap of the weekend! Ultimately Robb won both races with his blue 2-11 seen in these pix. Congrats to Robb!

Infineon has several cresting corners that are off camber and in some cases blind. See pics above and below. The climb into the first two corners was especially a challenge as the elevation change is significant. The next race will be Laguna Seca which also has two big climbs that will be difficult. Lighter cars have distinct advantage in these conditions - both ascent and descent. 2-11s are amazing cars and Lotus have done a fine job with them. They can be trickier to drive than the Elise/Exige but they have amazing potential and remain the cars to beat! But we knew that going into this season...8^)

Two Types of Brake Pads

noreply@blogger.com (tech@sector111) — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:04:00 +0000

There are 2 types of brake pads; those with abrasive friction and those with adherent friction. While these sound like big words they are very simple.

Abrasive friction simply means the brake pad provides friction by touching and rubbing on the rotor itself to create the necessary friction for stopping. Break-in is much easier with this type.

This type of pad is abrasive, and the rotors will wear much more rapidly.

Adherent friction means that the brake pad is transferring a layer of pad material onto the rotor. As a result, brake performance comes from pad material against pad material. With this type of pad, rotor life is generally much higher. Trail braking can be done very smoothly with this type.

One negative with these types of pads is that bed-in is more difficult. If you don't do it properly, an uneven transfer layer on the rotor will cause a vibration that appears to be 'warped' rotors. Luckily you can clean the rotors of the uneven pad layer and start once again with proper bed-in. We recommend purchasing pads of this type already 'Pre-bedded'.

Properly bedding your pads and rotors in will greatly extend their life and give you maximum performance. Follow the manufacturers recommendations for best results.

More on wheel vibrations

noreply@blogger.com (tech@sector111) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 03:21:00 +0000

Wheel balancing issues can lead to pesky, unwanted vibrations and can also rob you of your track time by having you running back and forth to the tire guys. A simple way to keep your wheel weights where they should be is Duct Tape. Use a good quality Duct Tape to double secure the weights to your wheels, as shown in the photo below

Buttonwillow Results + Prep, Tuning & Coaching

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:56:00 +0000

We had great results at the second Lotus Cup race weekend at Buttonwillow. We managed to secure two Open class victories and one overall win. We also secured the fastest lap all weekend again - beating the entire field including the 211s that we're attempting to compete against. Our driver Glen is doing a superb job along with the team in prepping the Art Car. We also had help from our friend and driving coach Dave Thilenius.

Challenges
The weekend did not run 'issue-free'. We suffered from an electrical cut that killed the car on the first day during practice. Patrick managed to figure out that one of the wires in our ignition was loose and secured it. We have kept the stock key and start button on our car. Glen's knees are quite close to these wires and he believed his knees were brushing the wires causing the cut out. Unfortunately for us, the problem cropped back up on the second race - while we were in the lead, on the last lap! Luckily Glen had a clear enough mind to wiggle the wires under the steering column and get the car started. He managed to get in behind Andy and secure the Open Class victory and second place overall. Eliminating this wire is now high on our list of reliability improvements.

AiM Data Coaching
We're big advocates of using data to lower lap times. We also use it as an R&D tool as we develop our products. At Buttonwillow we were graced with Dave T's presence and benefitted from his extensive expertise with coaching via data. Reviewing the data allowed Glen to adjust his shifts, braking points and more in order to achieve the fastest lap of the weekend. Our friend Andy has used data to secure LCU championships with his 211 and is one of the fastest drivers in our series. We have a new AiM product that makes getting into data much more affordable and practical for track day enthusiast and racers alike. See the new Solo DL.

Adjustments
The guys were taking tire temps and pressures and adjusting pressures and camber. Amazingly we are running less than -2deg of Camber with this kit and getting even tire temps. Typically these Yokos require -3deg. We also softened the High Speed Compression to improve our grip over the curbs. In doing so, we stiffen the Low Speed Compression as well to quicken the turn-in. Buttonwillow is a much bumpier track than Chuckwalla so a softer set-up is ideal. Our new raceUPRIGHTs are running beautifully and allowing for an amazing low ride height. We kept our ride height at 103mm/110mm to insure we did not bottom out. These ride heights can not be achieved in an Elise or Exige with stock uprights. We are now conducting our Set Down process to see how the raceUPRIGHTs are fairing. I peeked at them and they remain in great shape after 5 track days. Expect another Blog posting reviewing the condition in more detail.

Car Prep
A key tool that we use to prep and insure our car is running well are simple Checklists. We use these lists to confirm that we checked critical areas on the car before it leaves for a practice session, qualifying or race. Every time - not just at the beginning of the day. It takes a bunch of time to run through these checklists but we've found it is a key way to ensure our car runs as well as it can. Since we are running with the LCU leaders, we can't afford to make mistakes with the car prep. If any of you would like copies of our Checklists, let us know. They are an effective tool for the casual track day enthusiast to the hardcore racer.

What's Next?
We can't be happier with our results so far this season. We have some work to do before the next race - including a Lexan Optic Armor windshield that should shave another 16lbs from our Art Car. Infineon is the next race in mid May and we will be competing against a bunch of NorCal locals who know the track well. We'll need to bring our 'A' game to keep our track record as it will be very competitive!

Now watch Glen turn the record lap...

Determining Wheel & Tire Vibration

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:21:00 +0000

A common problem faced by owners of light cars with light wheels is high speed vibrations. We faced a serious vibration problem at the last Lotus Cup race and wanted to determine the source. Typically the following areas can be the cause:

Wheels
Tires
Balancing
Suspension

After returning from the races, we conducted a comprehensive set-down on our car. We scrutinized the suspension components to see if any parts had come loose. We were testing our new raceUPRIGHTS and new Delrin Bushes so we checked everything closely. Nothing was loose or found to contribute to the vibration problem. We then turned our attention to the ETHOS wheels that we had used.

We decided to send the wheels that we ran and were suspect to our supplier, Tom Merrifield, for measurement. I called Tom to discuss the issue and he was open to conducting a Run-out test on the wheels. Poor run-out in wheels could be from either poor manufacturing quality or track/road damage. We decided to measure these wheels to see if they were out of spec.

Tom made a nice video showing the test method. See below:

He found that the wheels had less than .004" of run-out. According to Tom, vibrations can not be felt under .015" of run-out. We are well under this amount.

This leaves the Tires or Balancing. Since the tires are from Yokohama, the quality is generally very high. I spoke with the tire supplier and he was also confident that the tires were OK. We've run them many times with good success. Of course since we did not test them, we're not 100% confident. In our mind, this left Balancing as the most likely source.

We arrived at the event with a set of scrubbed-in tires that we had locally mounted and balanced on a set of ETHOS. They performed with no problems and Glen set the Fastest Lap of the Weekend. We bought a new set of tires, at the track, and had them mounted and balanced to a new set of ETHOS. These vibrated badly around 70mph.

Balancing done at the track is usually difficult because of time constraints. There is usually a line of racers waiting for their turn, so the poor guy balancing never really gets enough time. This was the case at this first race. The tire supplier graciously offered free mounting and balancing so had their hands full!

Our local wheel balancer, Frank, advised that plenty of lubrication is needed for these tires and that proper time needs to be taken along with careful balancing to get these light wheels and tires sorted correctly. He also agreed with the run-out spec that Tom follows. We're attending this weekend's race with new tires and old ones that Frank balanced to the same two sets of ETHOS wheels that we ran last time. Running the old tires (that vibrated), balanced by Frank, will determine if the track balancing was the problem.

What's the moral of the story? Get an extra set of wheels and use a local tire balancer who will take the time to install and balance your race tires before you leave for your track event. Follow this rule and you won't likely have the same headache that we faced.

The Thrill of Pole Position and the Agony of....

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 23:52:00 +0000

We brought our Art Car to the first Lotus Cup USA event last weekend with our friend, Glen Irani, our partner and driver this year. Glen has been competing in LCU since the first season with his NA Elise. He is a talented driver who has won his class and frankly is known for his aggressive style and out-right speed. Plus he is a cool guy who beat cancer last year and is building back his strength and focus in the car. He is driving our Art Car to help us push the parts we are developing, in race conditions.

Our goal is to prove that a well balanced Elise can compete against cars like 211s and highly modified Exige Cup cars.

The Thrill
If the results of this weekend are any indication, we've got the Cup cars covered with seconds to spare and are giving the 211s a run for their money...Glen set the fastest lap of the entire weekend with a 1.54.7 sec blast around Chuckwalla Raceway.

Starting the race in Pole Position on Saturday exceeded our expectations as the field included five 211s including one GT4 car. Two of the 211s were driven by very experienced and talented LCU drivers who typically are the pole sitters and have won LCU championships. So we're happy to report that we ran with some very qualified drivers with very well sorted 211s.

The Art Car
Glen, like us, believe that the Elise is a great platform as it is lighter than an Exige and has better aero potential than a 211. We aren't delusional enough to think that the Elise is better than a 211 - we just think we can compete. So what was on our Elise to make it competitive? Our car weighed 2020lbs with driver & a full tank of fuel. It makes 243 rwhp (see Dyno). Here's the list of tasty bits:

Proven Parts: KATANA265, Nitron Race Pro 3-Way, 308BBK + FCRbracket, RACEunderAERO, ReVerie: 1700x200mm rear wing, XC seat, Steering wheel, Canards, Side scoop, transCOOLER, subSTIFFY, ULTRAdisc, Carbotech pads (XP12 & XP10), AiM race pack, R3cage, DSbrace + S99pins, OSGiken LSD, Drexler gears, Fidanza V2 Clutch & Flywheel, proRAD, coolantHOSES, CF hardtop, FIAtank, raceVIEW mirror, Spec Elise Clams

New Parts:

Dry Sump: We've been successfully running this Dailey Engineering/S111 developed solution for several months with great success. We ran the car without the twin oil coolers and saw a max of 259degF (80degF Ambient). We will add a cooler when ambient temps start climbing. We are offering this kit to experienced shops. If you are interested, please contact us.
raceUPRIGHTS: This new upright solution was engineered by my friend Dennis@Palatov Motorsport. It is designed to allow us to run lower ride heights than stock. We ran our car at 102mm(F) & 110mm(R). They also allow us to run less camber than is typically required. We were very happy with the performance. These uprights allow you to bolt stock brakes, hubs, steering arms, toe links onto it. They are a very cost effective kit and will be available soon.
Delrin Wishbone Bushes: We developed this bush solution to deliver the stiffness required by slick tires with better resistance to adverse weather conditions. Similar solutions are used extensively in off-road racing and perform well in dusty and sandy conditions. These bushes are also more affordable and very easy to install. They are working well.
ETHOS 16x7 & 17x8 Wheels: We are very happy with the quality of the ETHOS and feel they are a great value for racers. Two other 211 owners were running these wheels this weekend. I expect to see more clients pick them up as they are light, strong and affordable.
TRACKpipe: Our new muffler has been on our car for several track events. It is another great value solution that we are offering. The sound is great and we think clients will find it to be a good solution.
DSbrace: Our new toe link brace has been run now for several track events. It uses the tried and true parts from our RTD2brace in a lower cost solution.
Nitron Hydraulic Spring Perch: We installed two of these adjusters onto our Nitron shocks and they allowed us to corner balance our Elise quickly and easily. These perches use hydraulic pressure to adjust ride height on the Nitron with a simple knob. We will be offering them shortly in both diameters for fitment to any Nitron shock we've sold. They are an excellent solution for any racer who spends time adjusting his corner balance.
raceRACK: Our faster (2.2) race-oriented steering rack continues to run well. Production parts are now in being built for us by Titan. The car does not feel nervous with this rack.

The Agony

That sounds a bit dramatic but we suffered a broken stock shifter on our car at the start of the first race - luckily we had run several session before with no trouble and set the fastest time of the day. Murphy's Law?! This shifter is one of the pre-recall shifters. You can tell if you have one by its hexagonal cross section. The upgrade has a round cross section.

This car was a Lotus Press car so it is a shame it did not get the update - but in the end, we are at fault as we missed upgrading the shifter. Shame on us, though the driver gets some of the blame as well...;^) John did a great job of welding up the shifter so that Glen could run on Sunday. Special thanks go out to Jim@LCU who is sending us an upgraded shifter so we can fix the Art Car properly!

Of course when you race a car, it sees significantly higher stress than street use. We had a couple of other issues that popped up. On Sunday the SSC shifter cable housing failed and the Art Car was stuck in 5th gear for the second half of the race. Glen did a great job of keeping the car competitive and ended up with a 4th place finish overall finish.

Additional 'challenges' included some poor fuel management by us which resulted in fuel starvation. Our FIAtank is the original test tank that lacked some bleed holes so the fuel stays captured within the baffled area that holds the fuel pump. You could say it traps the fuel too well! The lack of a bleed causes the fuel gauge to read higher than the actual amount. We've corrected this in the production tanks by adding some bleed holes in the baffle that allow fuel to level out slowly when it sits in the pit. We also suffered some tire balance issues that we are still sorting now. Initial evaluations did not prove conclusively what caused the issue.

The Conclusion

Overall the team, John, Matt & Glen did a great job at this first event. We proved that an Elise can be made fast with moderate levels of power. Our Art Car showed great promise and we plan to come to the next event at Buttonwillow with a car that is ready to take on the 211s once again. I also want to thank the Lotus Cup team, Jim and Robbie. They are working hard to create a great venue for Lotus competition. They are doing a great job - running any race series is a challenge and they are doing a fine job. Stop by the Lotus Cup website and learn more: HERE.

Brake Flush is Necessary: fact or fiction?

noreply@blogger.com (tech@sector111) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:24:00 +0000

Spring is upon us and with it comes maintenance, especially for those of you in colder climates where your cars have been in hibernation for the last few months. Most Lotus/Ariel owners perform the required maintenance, but many overlook one very important service: the Brake Flush. This service is very important for modern vehicles with complicated ABS systems. The fluid sitting idle in the system likely holds moisture and contaminants and should be replenished. Why? The water will expand when it gets hot causing brake fade and poor feel/performance - especially on track.

You may be wondering how water/moisture enters the brake fluid. It's very simple: most automotive brake fluid with the exception of DOT 5 (which is a silicone based fluid) is hygroscopic. This means it has the tendency to attract and absorb moisture from the atmosphere.

So, how can you tell if your car needs a brake system flush? They make special test strips which can detect high levels of moisture present in the brake fluid, but I prefer the old-fashioned eyeball method, personally. Remove the brake master cylinder cap and visually inspect the condition of the fluid. Brake Fluid should be clear or with a slight yellowish-tint. Black or dark colored dirty fluid should be changed out. You can also test it with a refractometer or a fancy electronic tester.

My personal recommendation for street-driven cars a biennial flush (every 2 years) but if you are taking your car to the track frequently, adjust accordingly. Sector111 recommend at least once per year for a track oriented car. If you are racing, we suggest even more frequent flushes...we've been very happy with Motul RBF600.

Height matters

noreply@blogger.com (tech@sector111) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 01:03:00 +0000

Ride height is crucial when setting up your car. Light weight cars are very sensitive to proper set-up and right height is a key criteria that should be managed carefully.

First, pick a spot to measure from. The best spots to measure ride height on a Lotus are from are points A and B shown in the above picture. Make a mark where you measure the first time, so you can check the same exact spot each time thereafter. Being precise in your measurements matters and the little details are key.

We measure ride height with a telescoping gauge. When measuring the gauge, use a digital micrometer if possible, as this is much more precise than a ruler. Above, you'll see a picture of the front of the car, and as you can see, in this position it is very easy to access and not touch the car.

This is the point at the rear of the car where we measure. Once again, it is in a spot that is easy to check and where you're not at risk of touching the car.

This can be a long and tedious task. Be patient. Remember: details and precision matter when setting a car up for the track. We believe that correct setup is one of the most important things you can do to ensure you have a fast car.

Here are some other tips as you plan on setting your ride height:

Make sure tire pressures are set at your preferred track pressures
Make sure your suspension is settled before checking anything
Try not to touch your car after settling it
Fill up your fuel tank so that it is full

Wide Tires Can Be Bad!

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:24:00 +0000

As more power is added to our cars, we naturally look for more rear traction. Wider rubber with wider wheels becomes the natural solution. Ensuring you have good clearance is important as you can rub many different parts on your car, including:

Fenders
Wheel well liners
Wishbones
Suspension
Chassis

Remember your tire (maybe even you wheel!) can flex under heavy cornering loads. This reduces your clearance so it is critical that you leave room.

The picture above shows a Nitron race shock that has a remote reservoir attached by a hose. This joint can come in contact with an improperly sized wheel/tire combination.

Recently we learned that a Lotus owner knocked this hose loose and lost his shock performance at the track. He blamed the clip that holds the hose fitting to the shock. We've never had any failure from this design but recognize that if something rubs it - like a tire - it could come loose. Frankly, we think properly sizing your tire is the correct solution.

Recent track testing of our ETHOS 17x9 with 245 Hoosiers revealed that we were rubbing the outside fender. Adding ReVerie rear fender flares would resolve this completely. We will be adding these fenders soon to test but for now, we would admonish all y'all to watch clearance when adding wider wheels or tires to your Lotus!

Wheel Offsets and You

noreply@blogger.com (tech@sector111) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:01:00 +0000

Wheel Offset is the relationship of the wheel center line to the mounting flange of the wheel, as seen in the picture below.

Manufacturers determine offsets by taking several aspects into consideration; such as:

Fitment - the given space of the wheel well during all conditions of wheel movement; whether that be the up and down motion of the suspension or the turning of the front wheel during steering.
Styling - cars just look better with the wheels somewhat flush with the outer fender line of the wheel well.
Performance - cars have a tendency to handle better with the wheels pushed out away from the center line of the vehicle.

The Lotus & Ariel have positive offset wheels with wheel bolt spacing that is unusual. Spoke clearance from the caliper is a challenge with both of these cars as they use opposed piston calipers. We developed many different wheels for these cars and generally have found that reducing the offset - which pushes the wheels outwards, has helped handling. Generally pushing your wheels out by 5mm works well on these cars.

Don't strip it!

noreply@blogger.com (tech@sector111) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 03:46:00 +0000

The undertray and diffuser are parts on our vehicles that need to come off a lot; whether that be for making repairs or just to check for leaks, tears etc. However, the stock undertray bolts can make this a real pain.

The stock undertray bolts are button-head alleys which can strip. The problem usually stems from improper use. An allen head bolt starts to strip from overtighting them, or not putting the allen key all the way inside the head of the allen bolt. (This goes for all allen heads. Not just the undertray and diffusers. Allens are used alot on these cars, so pay attention that your key is all the way in when removing and be careful not to over-tighten.) Conversely, if you do not remove your undertray much, the bolts start to seize inside the hole, due to rust.

One of the easiest ways to get them out, without drilling, is to get a cutoff wheel and cut a straight line through the head of the bolt. Use a punch and hammer, and tap the bolt in the direction to loosen it. You can try to use heat, but the undertrays are very sensitive to torches due to the material and the fact that it's so thin.

The easiest way to avoid all of this: replace the button heads with a standard hex head and add a little Anti-seize. You can purchase these bolts at any hardware store (M8-1.25x25 for both the undertray and diffuser). The only way to strip these bolts is by using the wrong size tool. Even if these do seize in the hole, they will come out with a standard wrench.
Highlighted in red are two of the bolts and where they should be replaced.

Working on these cars for as long as I have, and repeatedly seeing this issue, I started to change these bolts on any service, or, any time i had to remove the undertray or diffuser.

Here's a chart that is a great guide for torque specs.
http://www.imperialsupplies.com/pdf/A_FastenerTorqueCharts.pdf

Have you inspected your MAF lately?

noreply@blogger.com (tech@sector111) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:08:00 +0000

Modern Fuel Injection engines require the measurement of the air into the engine.
The common Mass Air Flow sensors available include:

Hot Wire
Vane Type
Hot Film
Karmen Vortex
Speed Density

The MAF found on the Lotus is of the Hot Wire type.

Most common hot-wire MAF sensors use a platinum wire or filament heated to a prescribed, maintained temperature above ambient, located centrally in the incoming air stream. These sensors function on the electrical principle that resistance decreases with temperature. As intake air moves past the wire or film, the cooling effect causes a measurable drop in resistance, and thus lower voltage is required to maintain the prescribed temperature. The hot-wire MAF control unit is sent a reference voltage of 5V, and returns about .4V to.5V at idle and from 4.5V to 5V at full throttle. Based on a fixed data set, an accurate assumption of air mass is made.

However, when these sensors become contaminated, they can send false readings to the Engine Management system and cause driveability issues.

Cleaning these sensors is quite easy and can restore performance to your engine. You will need Mass Airflow Sensor cleaner. Do not use anything other than this, as other cleaners (ie. Brake or Carb Cleaner) can leave residue on you sensor

After cleaning, you should not see any dirt and that the wires are clean.

Make Sure Your Radiator Hose is Fully Attached

noreply@blogger.com (tech@sector111) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:33:00 +0000

One of the important issues of any engine is keeping your engine at the right temperature. One of the best ways of doing that is making sure it won’t leak! Coolant leaks are caused by radiator failures, leaking reservoir bottles, old hoses or improperly installed hoses. This post discusses hose related issues.

1. Check your hoses to see if they are in good shape. Over time the stock hoses will start to crack and split, some start to swell etc. With our cars starting to get up in age, it is never a bad time to replace hoses or at least have a closer look at them.

2. Make sure your hoses are on correctly. A lot of leaks occur at the two front hoses that bridge the hard lines, to the radiator. Generally it is caused by hoses that are incorrectly installed. This is the area where the car is drained for coolant flushes. One of the reasons is because the hard line is so close to the crash structure, and with such little flex from the coolant hoses, it is hard to get the hose clamp in the correct position because it almost pinches the clamp against the crash structure and with the stock coolant hose being so stiff, it is hard to see where the flange on the hard line is. There is also a little movement from the hard line when trying to push the factory coolant hoses back on, which causes you to not be able to get the hose on enough of the hard line needed for a proper seal with the stiffness of the factory hoses.

We run silicone hoses and they fit great. They are very flexible which makes it easier to put the hoses on. They slide right over the flange and allow almost no movement from the hard line. This lets you get the hose clamp on easier and in the correct position. Since they are flexible, they also allow you to see exactly where the flange is and that helps make sure your clamp is in the correct position and your hoses are safe and secure.

Single vs Double Shear Explained

noreply@blogger.com (tech@sector111) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

We know the rear toe link joint is a weak point in the Elise/Exige - mostly with track driven cars. There is a misconception that the toe link is weak - it is actually the joint where the stock balljoint meets the subframe. This blog entry discusses how we reinforce the joint, with our new DSbrace and RTD2brace, by placing it into Double Shear.

The easiest way to explain the differences between Double & Single Shear is to think of when you were a child and fighting over a stick or piece of wood with a friend. He grabs one end, trying to pull it out of your hands, the stick starts to go back and forth, you can hear it starting to crack and then you grab the other side of the stick putting his hand in the middle of your hands. He keeps pulling as hard as he can, but you have full control and there is no more tension on the stick. His force with one arm is now dominated by the strength of your two arms. Now, replace the stick with a bolt, and you and your friends arms are metal rods. The same applies to the bolt as it would the stick.

The strength of a Double Shear joint is effectively double of a Single Shear joint. Here is a picture that helps illustrate the shearing actions:

Dry Sump Track Testing & More

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:14:00 +0000

We conducted track testing this past Sat. at Spring Mtn with the Lotus Cup racers. We tested a few products:

S111-Dailey Dry Sump
ETHOS 16x8 & 17x9 wheels
DSbrace - affordable toe link brace
TRACKpipe - track muffler

We made a quick video to share some info:

Overall we had great results with the Dry Sump and are ready to release it to other race teams and shops. Amazingly we ran the car with no oil coolers. Oil temps slowly climbed over the course of the day to about 280degF. Clearly a small cooler will be a good idea when the ambient temps are hot. I think a laminova oil cooler will be perfect and should allow us to delete the front coolers. We think the complexity of a Dry Sump does not lend itself to the average shade tree mechanic. If you are interested in a solution, give us a call so we can discuss your needs.

The TRACKpipe is our new track muffler. We've been running it for a few weeks and have shown sneak peeks of it and sound clips in recent videos like this and this. The sound is not loud and has a great tone to it. We think track guys are going to be pleased with the price and quality.

The DSbrace is our new affordable toe link brace. It uses the same components as our tried and true RTD & RTVbraces. We eliminated the central brace and added lower cost, but still effective, brackets to place the toe link joint into double shear. This product also bolts on with absolutely no modifications to the chassis. This kit delivers the highest joint strength of any solution we are aware of.

The ETHOS wheels ended up coming off the car as we experienced some rubbing at the rear. We ran 245 Hoosier A6s at race ride heights and experienced some rubbing on the outside fenders. We took them off and installed our back up wheels/tires. We think these will work with Lotus that are running flares. They are perfect for their primary application: the Ariel Atom.

We recruited our good friend Dave T. to push the car hard. He turned some of the fastest times of the day with only 211s beating his times. This allowed us to push the car hard and see how it would perform. He turned 2min56s times on the 3.5mile config. Overall it was a long but productive test day for our team.

Dry Sump Dyno Results

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:57:00 +0000

We had the opportunity to dyno our Elise at K&N Engineering this past weekend. This was the first dyno run on her since adding the Dry Sump kit. We expected to make some power but that was not our key goal with the kit. The chart below shows the power that we made. We are are quite happy with the results as it translates to about 275hp at the crank. More track testing is planned for Jan 7th.

We created a quick video of the run:

The sticky cluster needle

noreply@blogger.com (tech@sector111) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:29:00 +0000

Many of you have had concerns with the cluster needles sticking in your Elise or Exige. There is a trick you can try before taking it in to your Dealer that may fix the problem - especially if it is nothing more than just a stuck needle. Here are the steps:

Open your driver's door

Press and hold the trip button (Located on left side of steering column)

Turn the ignition key on

You should see your needles shimmy or it will cause the stuck needle to fall down. If it works, great! If not, you will most likely need a new cluster, so head over to the dealer.

Lotus Dry Sump Testing 12/6/11

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:47:00 +0000

We have been diligently working on our drysump system for the Lotus Elise/Exige/211 throughout this year. Our last test brought out two issues to sort:

Low hot idle oil pressure
Excessive oil blow-by from the tank venting

We made a few changes to the system and brought The Art Car (akaThe Blue Car) to test at Willow. We recruited our friend Jack, again (Thanks Jack !) to handle the driving duties. Overall the results were good and we were pleased with them.

Since our last track test, we made a couple of changes to address the low oil pressure. We changed the gear in the pump but that was still not enough. So we then disconnected the oil cooler lines/radiators and added a remote oil filter. The pressures still remained low so we began questioning the accuracy of oil pressure readings from the point in the block that we are measuring from. As it turns out, our hot idle oil pressure was actually within Lotus spec. Lotus states hot idle oil pressure at 39 kPa min, which is 5.65 psi.

We redesigned our tank to address the excessive blow-by problem. Our original design allowed oil to creep into the vent line. We had it remade by Petersen and reinstalled it. Space for a tank is the biggest challenge but we managed to keep things tidy even with the new filter location.

One new product we also tested was a 7" muffler that exits above the diffuser. This muffler will be tested over the course of the next few weeks. It sounded great throughout the test.

The weather at Willow Springs Big Track was on the other end of the temperature spectrum than our last test at Spring Mountain. The weather gave us a chilly 55 degrees with just a bit of wind. Jack made several short runs (1-4 laps each) in the morning so we could check the operation of the system and ensure everything was working well. We experienced very little blow by about (1/2oz) while oil temps were stable around 220-240F and most important the oil pressures were quite good. We completed a quick inspection in the garage for leaks and car condition. Everything looked good for a longer session.

After lunch Jack ran a couple of longer 20 minute sessions for us and the results were very promising as well. We had a bit more blow by (approx 2 oz) in the catch can but nothing compared to our first test in September. Oil pressure at idle remains low when rpms drop but were excellent at higher rpm where it is critical. Oil temps rose to 240degF and remained stable throughout the entire 20 min sessions. We obviously had a bit of help with the cool ambient temperatures but were happy with the stability of the temps.

Jack ran the car at moderate speeds per our instructions so we could load the system and monitor it carefully. He did a great job and delivered very consistent laps. Our syncros on our trans are giving up due to an overly aggressive clutch we had previously run earlier this year. This made the 5th to 4th downshift much slower than it should be. We could see this clearly in the AiM data with spikes in the rpms and oil pressures.

We reviewed the data back at the office with Bill Dailey and did not see anything that would make us change the current system. Oil temps were good and oil pressure is fine. We will add another oil pressure sensor to a spot suggested by Bill and compare the readings with the original. We will then be ready to go hammer the car and see if the system can live with 10/10s driving. We'll recruit our good friend and professional ride and handling engineer for this task....oh, and we have a Hewland Dogbox in transit that we need to assemble and test.

Weights Savings in Your Oil Lines

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:20:00 +0000

As many of you know Lotus has implemented a recall for oil lines on federal Elise/Exiges that were manufactured between June'04 & Nov'06. If you have a vehicle that is affected contact your local dealer for service. With that said, Sector111 have some solutions for those owners craving additional weight savings. We know that the innovative ULTRAliteLINES save about 4.2lbs but cars with a single oil cooler can save more than 6lbs and deliver more reliability....here's how:

Lotus use this hardline so that they can use the same oil lines on one or two cooler cars. It keeps their SKUs and assembly process simplified. This hardline and two fittings can be deleted with either our RACEoilLINE or ONEcoolerLINES products. These two solutions provide one continuous line from the engine, along the RH side, across the front to the drivers oil cooler. Deleting two fittings also eliminates 2 potential failure points for an oil leak.

Hardline and fittings from a one oil cooler car represents ~1.85+ pounds alone

(note; we're weighing our lighter fittings instead of the heavier Lotus).

We recognize not everyone wants to delete their freshly installed Lotus lines but some of you may want to eek out just a few more pounds by eliminating the stock RH side lines and fittings.

If you have been data logging your oil temps and have found, like us, that these cars are taking much longer to get to proper operating oil temperature with two coolers, then you might want to delete an oil cooler. If your car is only driven on the street then you really only need one cooler. But we don't recommend blindly deleting a cooler, unless you have been logging temps and know your car is running cool...we'll post up how we've been logging the data in a future entry.

Continuous Improvement - Oil Control

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Oil control on track is a weakness of a stock Toyota-powered Lotus. Our baffled oil pan, the gPAN has been a reliable solution that has kept many, many cars safe with good oil control when subjected to 1+g loads. We initiated a serious dry sump effort to develop the next level in oil control but continued to look at the gPAN to see if slight improvements could be made. Both our dry & wet sump solutions are discussed in this post.

A wet sump solution like the gPAN is truly the best option for most owners as it remains street friendly. I cut my engineering teeth at Pontiac Fiero where continuous improvement was part of our daily mission and expectations. In the 90s, I worked with the Japanese OEMs, while working at 3M Automotive, and saw it applied at all areas of their business. From the Japanese I learned that small improvements, done continuously, can have a big impact over time.

The new gPAN2 is an example of a product that we have been able to improve through small design changes. Our latest improvements are horizontal ledges in the side of the pan. The chart above shows oil pressure data measured from two of our Elises(Nirvana & Blue Car). They were equipped with basically the same modifications: Nitron 46mm Triples, Hoosier A6s, SJ Racing wheels, RACEunderAero, titanQR and KATANA265. The Blue Car had our new ULTRAliteLINES vs. stock oil cooler lines in Nirvana, which may account for the slightly higher average oil pressure. The data is from the Lotus Cup events at Laguna Seca in 2010 & 2011, with yours truly doing the driving. We took laps that were close in time and also compared the g loads (over 1g) to insure we were loading the cars equally. The data is shifted a bit as our Start/Stop point were a bit different for each car so the peaks and valleys don't correspond perfectly.

The variation between the two pans is the most striking difference. Both gPANs do a good job with keeping the oil pressure in an acceptable range - the gPAN2 simply controls the variation better. Will this make any difference to wear and tear on the engine? Hard to say as we don't have the ability to test longevity. The engineer in me says that it must be better as it varies less. Though there would be added cost of material and labor for welding the ledges, I felt it would be an improvement worth incorporating. It was also a big enough improvement that a new name was in order. So we put on our creative hats and came up with... gPAN2...8^)

Dry sump development continues in earnest. We took Blue Car to Spring Mtn racetrack two weeks ago to test her. We first ran her on a dyno to insure we had a working solution then made the trek out to SMMP. The oil tank in our solution is a modified tank from Peterson. Ryan spec'd a design and had it built. He wanted to see how well the solution would work so installed a temporary clear top on the tank so we could view the oil in action. The Dailey pump that we choose includes the air separation stage as external oil pumps can add a ton of air into the oil causing foaming. His separator works amazingly well as shown in our video: Tank in action

We recruited our friend Jack to drive the car at the track in 105deg F weather. He ran the car under specific directions from Ryan so we could check various issues. Oil pressure readings were excellent once we determined the correct oil level. The two issues that we experienced were our breather set-up and low hot idle oil pressure. The breather plumbing from our tank was not adequately shielded from the incoming oil under high revs, so too much oil was getting into our catch tank. You can see a bit of this in the video above. We're now making a change to the vent design. The hot idle pressure required that the pump be removed and tweaked by Dailey. The pump was adjusted after we returned and the tank is now getting modified. We should be ready for testing again soon.

Purple Elise Build Cont...

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:48:00 +0000

We finished Jerry's car this Tuesday and put it onto a transporter. We are really pleased with the results. This Elise started out as a basket case and is now going to be a fun, reliable and fast machine. We had the factory forged wheels painted black and added the graphics for that special race car finish!

The ReVerie 3 Element diffuser and Rear Panel Eliminator add some downforce and aggression to the rear while the Jubu front spoiler added the same to the front. When we introduced the naked rear look to the US, six years ago, we met some market resistance. Frankly it now looks so natural and has become very common! Note the plastic mesh that was installed in the front intakes. These are simply zip tied in place and are far more durable than the stock grills. We think they look better as well. This is also a race car mod - it would not pass muster with the white glove set!

The interior of the car features a Sparco race seat that is wider than normal. This seat just barely fits and is a bit of pain to install. The seat is more comfortable because of the added width. It also requires that the center console be moved over so it is not a good street solution.

The KATANA265 is shown below along with our QWKcans. We believe this is the max power that a stock trans can take with track use.

The Larini Header, Decat & 6" muffler sound great with the HKS intake. This combination is amazing.

The Before and After shown below is an amazing transformation. The wishbones were freshly powdercoated - what a difference they make. I think many cars are old enough now that undertaking this freshening is a worthwhile task. Its not just my OCD kicking in...

We installed new discNOIR rotors to save some unsprung weight along with Carbotech XP12 (front) and XP10(rear). We're running this pad combination on our car (with bigger calipers). The car came equipped with stainless lines so we simply added fresh Motul RBF600. We aligned the car to specs we prefer but the beauty of these cars is how easy the alignment can be tweaked.

I am planning on attending the Lotus Cup event next Friday at NJMP where this car will run for the first time. The car still has a couple of issues to sort but I'll work with Jerry's team to get this car shook down! Many of our customers and Dealers will also be in attendance so it promises to be a great time.

All in all, it was a fun project. This build proved to me why the Elise/Exige will be iconic cars. They are so easy to refurbish and tune. Additionally they are cost effective and too much fun to run on track. As more and more enthusiasts come to learn about these cars, they will become more and more valuable!

I would like to thank my team at Sector111 for all the hard work. We finished a months worth of work in just over two weeks! Thanks Guys and Gal!!!!

The Purple Elise Meets The Track Trilogy of Terror

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:18:00 +0000

As we created our list of parts to add to the Purple Elise, it was clear that the Track Trilogy of Terror would need to be addressed in full. Our Lotus are truly fantastic cars straight out of the box. They are a blast to run on the street and track. But once you take your car to the track, three issues pop up that need to be addressed. We call these the Track Trilogy of Terror: Oil Starvation, Fuel Starvation and Weak Rear Toe Link Joint. Naturally we will be addressing them in this build. The car will receive our gPAN, V2 Fuel Tank with PNPpump - since she is getting a KATANA265, RTVbrace and S99 Toe Pins.

We've been using AiM data systems for the last couple of years after being prodded by our good friend Ralph@V2. The Blue Car is loaded with AiM data recording systems as is Ralph's Exiges. Together we've accumulated some interesting data that shows that you can fix the Track Trilogies with some tasty bits. View the graphs below:

Oil Pressure Data:

Fuel Data:

Purple Elise Track Car Build

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:26:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, we received a commission to build a track-only Elise by a client in NJ. Jerry requested that we build him a fast, fun and reliable car. He gave us a good budget but a tight timeline, so we went to work without delay. Luckily we knew of a vendor who stocked Tasty Lotus Bits....

We found a partially built spec Elise and bought it for him. This car needed some TLC but had a straight chassis and a good engine. The car was originally used as a Lotus Driving Experience car at Spring Mtn. After taking delivery of the car, we fully inspected it and found that it needed most of the typical wear items replaced. We dug into her in earnest and developed our project plan - 78 hrs of work to get her right. I figured we'll spend at least double that as these projects tend to be motivated by passion...a Balanced Approach was our strategy.

During the tear down, one area that I noticed needed improvement was the steering arm bolts. They were the older Grade 8.8 spec that came on some of the early cars - Lotus uprated them to Grade 10.9 in later cars. By installing 10.9 bolts, this joint, which sees significant load, will be stronger. We have some friends who have installed even higher grade bolts than this. The Grade 10.9 is an excellent compromise with added strength over the 8.8 yet still ductile enough.

The existing cage in the car was not installed to our standard. Unfortunately it was too expensive to fix, so we decided to tear it out and replace it with our new R3cage. Welding can be a challenge but there are experts who can do it properly. We would encourage anyone who is getting a cage installed to first inspect the welding capability of the shop you are hiring. Check out this picture to see an example of a poorly welded cage (as originally found on the Purple Elise). We're very happy with our new cage and will be able to sleep at night knowing Jerry will be well protected.

One of the typical wear points on the Lotus is the a-arm (wishbone) bushings. Under heavy braking, especially with track use and/or sticky tires, these bushes tend to wander. Eventually the wishbone will come in contact with the chassis - as shown below.

Most of the top bushes suffered from this on the Purple Elise so we decided to replace them, with MONOballs along with the ball joints - that we now get from our partner Seriously Lotus. We took the opportunity to get the wishbones powder coated as they were quite oxidized and nasty looking. The corners of the car will be sexy with newly finished wishbones, Nitrons, brake rotors and pads.

The rear subframe was another component that suffered some cosmetic damage. A battery had clearly come loose at some point in this car. The acid made a mess in the trunk and the leaked onto the subframe. This caused the steel to rust. My buddy, Ducati John, lent us an experienced hand over the weekend as he was quite interested in this build. We Scotchbrited the rust off and scuffed up the rest of the subframe. We primered it with Rust-Oleum high temp primer and then painted it as well. The cage was painted with the 'Hammered' finish Rust-Oleum. The subframe was reattached to the chassis and looks ten-fold betta.

Most of the work is being executed by Chris. His race experience clearly helps, as he is cranking through this car at a great clip. He installed a gPAN in the time it takes most people to read the install instructions. More blog entries are coming as we have alot more work to do....anyone note the Larini header peeking out the back? KATANA265 is getting installed....

More Track testing: 2ZZopg, Brake Pads, etc.

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:21:00 +0000

We were at the track again last week for more testing. We pulled our engine and had Bruce Nogrady install our new oil pump gear, the 2ZZopg. We went to Willow Springs to test after confirming that the gear was running fine on the street. We also needed to test another brake pad compound and an improvement to an existing product. My good friend and fast LCS racer, Jack, met us at the track and was our official test driver. Jack has many, many laps on this track and could be trusted to put the car under high loads to confirm the performance of parts we are developing.

Jack ran the car for a few sessions and I ran one session as well. I downloaded the data from our AiM system between each session. The oil pressure looked fine and the car was running well even in the 97degF heat. See graph with data below. The gear is the same dimensions as stock but made from higher grade steel. Since it passed our testing, we added it to our website today. It is now ready for anyone building a motor and looking to upgrade over the stock sintered gear - which is known to break apart under high rpm, oil starved use.

We continued to test brake compounds with the 308BBK & Front OE caliper relocation set up. We had run the Carbotech XP12 front & XP8 rear at the last two track tests with good luck. We decided to test out the more aggressive XP10 in the rear this time. The car remained stable under heavy braking. Jack even felt it dived less. The added bias to the rear was noticeable over the XP8 but not nervous like the last time I tested different pads at Willow: previous test.

The brackets used to relocate the front caliper have been ordered and are expected to be in stock this week. I think it will be the solution for many of the power junkies out there who are looking for a BBK that still retains their hand brake.

I am very happy with these pads - Ralph@V2 has been swearing by Carbotech pads for years with his racing efforts. We had first tested these pads last year and have recently added them to our stock. Trail braking is great with these pads and amazingly, the dust is low and easy to clean. The only negative so far is that the pads must be bed with care, though we get them pre-bedded to ease this process.

The ULTRAliteLINES continue getting tested along with a couple of new products. We are very pleased with the data that we are gathering. The FuelSafe fuel cell was removed from the car before this test, filter cleaned and replaced. It ran well and remains a great solution though you must monitor the fuel consumption. We are working with them to improve the fuel reading as I had described in a previous post.

The engine was yanked out today by Chris. We take it to Bruce tomorrow to prep it for the Dailey Dry Sump system. Ryan will be done with the tank for this system this month. We will be back to track test it with Dave T. at the wheel. The Blue Car must be ready for LOG31!

Canyon Drive For Fun & Development

noreply@blogger.com (Shinoo) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:28:00 +0000

I took my Atom3 out on my favorite local 'development' road recently. This road is one I know well and is quite challenging. It is one of our test loops because of the variation it offers: rough & smooth pavement, tight corners, off-camber, serious elevation changes, fast sweepers, you name it, this loops offers it.

View Larger Map
Even with these varied conditions, I recognized that it is not enough to develop every product we work on. A few key durability tests are difficult to replicate on the street: repeated heavy braking, high speeds, sustained Wide Open Throttle (WOT) & 1+g-loads. We've found the track is the best place for those parts that truly need to see more severe testing before getting released. Clearly there is a reason that most automotive companies have their own test tracks!

Over the years, we have taken many, many clients on this loop and most had an exhilarating experience - while a few had a frightening one! I feel fortunate that we have great roads, much like this one, for basic testing and frankly, for fun. Our cars are made for these roads so 'testing' on them becomes one of the great burdens we must suffer...Next time you are in town, give us some warning and we can take you out on our test loop!