Fact or Fiction?
I can imagine that for many Lotus elan owners the word “adjustable” could mean lots of things. Some might even be horrified by the word. But fear not, it’s all good in the adjustable world.
So what are we actually talking about here?
Was that famous tongue in cheek quote actually said by the late great Colin Chapman… “Make it adjustable, and they’ll get it wrong”. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.
That assumption may have been self serving several decades ago, but moving forward to 2023, I’d say no, Mr Chapman’s quote is incorrect.
So what can you make adjustable on the elan that will make it more refined… the answer is, many things.
But before we get into the nitty, gritty, I have to tell you a little story.
Several years ago, the writer organised a lengthy day drive, a 380KM sports car drive into the Aussie Alpine regions, the group consisted of: Two Healey’s, one of which was a much modified 3000, the other Healey 3000 of pretty much standard set up. One MGB, driven by a serious ex racer and skilled Driver, a lotus elan Sprint, of standard presentation, another S4 elan with a pretty warm engine and well sorted suspension… and the writers modified S2 elan… which, at the time, was fitted with an extremely tired twin cam engine which was far from peak performance… making 80, perhaps 90 BHP on a good day if it was really lucky.
It would be fair to say that a group drive can end up being an unknown outcome, IE, someone may suffer a breakdown? Could someone end up off the road? Or become lost after losing contact with the main group, there are always many things that can go wrong, but we are always mindful and lookout for each other.
But long story short… what the writer wants to point out here, is that the modified S2 elan (Writers elan with a very tired engine) turned out to be a remarkably quick car… the standard S4 could not keep pace with the S2, the other modified S4 and my S2 were very evenly matched… and the drive through the twisty bits was absolutely awesome… but when we arrived at the half way point to re-group… some cars were missing, it must have been a good five minutes before the two Healey 3000’s, the MGB and the yellow S4 sprint arrived… How could all of these cars/drivers be so far behind?
Yes, each individual driver can create a big point of difference to be fair.
Lets discount the Big Healey’s first, because they are simply not in the same street as the Lotus elan when it comes to cornering, handling and performance, so they are going to be naturally slow on the tight and twisty winding and roads.
(Without wishing to upset the Healey enthusiasts out there, one of the Healey drivers mentioned that he didn’t want to ever see this particular road ever again-I wonder why?)
The MGB, a well sorted car, great driver, but not quite up to the task.
This particular drive proved a point… that even an elan fitted with a tired twink can still out perform other sports cars, especially when the chassis and suspension have been fine tuned for optimum handling… it really does make a noticeable difference.
Fine tuning of the writers elan chassis/suspension units began during the body off first time restoration rebuild. Working on the bare chassis and grafting in the required stiffening gussets and plates etc, all of this base work makes a difference on the twisty/windy roads.
Following is a list of suspension items that can be changed, converted, made adjustable:
- Front Suspension: Upper wishbones – To alter camber and caster – Inc installation and tuning of top hat design Urethane suspension bushes, but this job is more technical than what most people think.
- Front Shock absorber’s are Koni – Fitted with up-rated springs sitting on adjustable spring perches (Coil Over Shocks).
- Rear Lower A arms: Install toe adjuster kit – Plus inner adjustable bushes for camber adjustment, including the installation of Urethane bushes same as the front suspension.
- Rear struts: Install up-rated springs – With adjustable spring platforms – plus the essential Aeon bump stops – And also the special machined risers that sit on top of the strut housings.
- Wide wheels and sticky tarmac rally soft compound tires.
- Carry out complete front and rear suspension set up on laser aligning bench.
- Rear suspension option: Install rear blade adjustable Anti Roll Bar system.
Of course, all of the above upgrades will involve a large amount of time, effort, and work, and lets not forget the expense, which could be substantial if carried out in a commercial workshop, but the skilled DIY fabricator mechanic could also do the work if he is confident and has the required fabricating, machining and welding skills.
In the writers case the upgrades were done over several years, so it was just a matter of doing them when the time was available.
The much improved handling is largely due to the many small changes made via the adjustable parts, and then being able to dial all of these things in for a much improved handling experience.
A considerable amount of time has now passed, and one of the S4 elan’s is now fitted with a 195HP BDG, a replica if you could call it of the famed Broadspeed elan built in the UK many decades ago.
This elan is quick – period.
It will leave the writers 170hp S2 elan in its dust on a straight stretch of road… BUT, come the tight and twisty alpine roads, the writers S2 elan is all over the Broadspeed elan, because it doesn’t have the suspension set up, nor does it have the sticky tarmac tires, but its driven by a very skilled driver.
Needless to say we have an absolute ball on the chosen roads that we drive.
Apologies for no pictures or videos with this article, but much of what we mention re various adjustable mods can be found elsewhere on our blog.