Out the box track street cars

I can get about 5 DE days (20+/- HCs) out of new Hoosiers before they are toast in a 2700lb 190HP 911 running 1:01's (best during a race weekend was 1:00.752). I can't possibly imagine running a much heavier car, with over twice the HP, at the same or faster, will have any tires on it afterwards....

 

Thats a pretty great time there, given the hp and weight. What suspemsion mods do you have? I played lead follow with a similar 911 at Monticello and we were pretty much equal lap for lap.

 

PCA Stock D class, just stiffer torsion bars and sways, Bilstein sport shocks, poly bushings. All else 1978 tech, eng & trans stock.. I ran about 2740 with me in the car, 2705 was min weight.

 

Same as car at monticello, his had 150K on it and motor was still untouched. they just dont make em like they used to.

Lap record at LRP toyota GTP Pj jones.

Since we are talking out the box, wonder what a cayman Gt4 with slicks will do.

 

Prolly blow it's wet sump motor from oil starvation.. LOL

 

Depends on the pan and baffles. Wet sump can work, although dry better for all sorts of reasons. But then when they make aGt4 with Gt3 style motor, that will be the one to have.

 

A Cayman with a Metzger GT3 dry sump transplant would be a beast..

 

Was kidding, supposedly there is a new type of secondary scavange pump just for this type of situation, if I read the article correctly.

 

Here is hoping we see that type of motor on a GT4 Rs for 100k, even if its not Metzger, just a derivation of current Gt3, even if 25hp less for form, and shorter gears. If I had to spec the perfect car, thats it.

 

Loti suffer from oil stravation, one of the changes if youa re going to track is an avaid wet sump with spring loaded door baffles, works fine.

On my Gt40 went with a drysump, which requires a belt driven external oil pump for the sbf, in some ways overkill because you dont get the benefit of lowering the motor, but oil is the lifeblood of an engine and 575hp from a bored 302 is pushing it..

 

its not really so bad.

drive hard five minutes (1.00 laps) then slow down to 1.05 laps for couple laps. i couldnt concentrate enough to do 20 minutes hard lapping anyway. cooling down helps brakes and tires last too. and why i only changed oil once yr, coolant every other year.

2 other guys with stock gtrs would drive hard entire session (faster than me too) and would wear parts out really fast just like you described. sold my gtr last november and will be driving stock lotus elise this year. will probably drive same cool off technique despite not being necessary in lotus.

 

If you are tracking an elise make sure you change the rear toe links, put in bafflled sump and better rotors. The stock toe links and sump can lead to disaster, warped stock disks are justa pain, a good race brake fluid not abad idea either.

BTw I change my oil every 3 days at track, but then I dont back off after a few laps. Hoefully I get quicker with each one untill tires start reach their plateu. Also wnat the mtor to last years, oil cheap insurance..

 

whoa, I did not know any of this. thanks. where should I look for parts?

 

So I take it the Elise could not be considered out of the box track worthy, what about the exige?

 

You are missing FRS/BRZ.

But at the end of the day I gave up on heavy track use of a street car years ago. It ends in tears. I'll track the street cars, but not heavily. So I am partially just being a firebrand in criticism of them.

 

I disagree in part. I've never warped a rotor and the rear toe links hold up fine so long as you check torque on the stud, as what happens IMO is the nut gets loose and the stud fatigues and breaks. My street car has been fine with only a Moroso pan.

 

Keith you input is always greatly welcomed.

 

As you can see from Keiths coments its fine, for track

Any elige is gong to make any other street car feel like pickup truck, and elisge feels closer to a single seater in response.

If you want to check torque every few k miles on rear toe links, keep as is. For $400 I would just replace them. Moroso oil pan is fine. Brakes I prefer the aftermarket rotors. 4 seasons no issue running track pads. I also installed a harness bar so I can have a 6 point harness.

Elise and exige have same chasis and basic suspension componants, exige is suprcharged and has some aero. Its also heavier. Depending on the exige it may be 240 or 260HP, Exige may have a big brake setup(in which case everythign is there brake wise) and an exige probably has adjustable suspension. These features all got added by year, so the later ones have everything, whereas an 06 exige is not even supercharged.

Elises came with track pack or without, some are also 220hp supercharged.. The track pack has a pretty hard suspension.

If you want to drive your lotus on street, and you live in the Ne where roads are variable unless you choose your route, in an elsie you want stock suspension or adjustable, the track pack can be pretty brittle at lower speeds, at highway speeds track pac will absorb bumps that would fell a regular car. Track pac works fine on smoother roads.

It all depends what youa re lookign for, an exige has more power and some more bits, the top does not really come off and the supercharger is a bit grating on street.

My theory was as an eilse is lighter and as anything that comes on an exige can be gotten from the aftermarket (but better) and added to an elise I wanted to grow with the car and also use it on street.

I started with track pac oil pan and harness. I added r compound yokohamas and just drove to the track. 4 track days later, the tires were loosing it.

A lotus is all about momentum, the skill and entertainment is drivign at the limits, keeping speed through bends braking as little as possible. Thats how you beat the big guns. By the time the tires were on the way out, it was pretty clear the rotors were warping.

Next change was aftermarket rotors, pagid rs14 black pads(last 20-25 days), which to me have all the stopping power you need and can still work just fine on street.

I did a computer remap to get the second high lift cam to come in at 5700rpm not 6500. The difference is not power, but when you shift from 3rd to 4th the motor stays on cam, which is the backstraight shift at LRP. At Lrp there are two gears you use 3rd and 4th, and on the main straight 5th by the time you ht the flagmans stand.

2nd year started runnign slicks, then 3rd year I went to adjustable ohlins lowered the car a bit, corner blanced and adjustable sway bar.
Great thing about ajustables shocks and ohlins is springs not too stiff so you keep the lotus ethos of letting the suspension work and good damping, plus they work great on street.


While asupecharger would add more oompf down the straight I never felt the need for it, and the power in the bends is more than the tires will take, in any event its all about momentum and balance.

Stock cars as I said do the toe links oil pan harness bar and 6 point harness and youa re good to go. Brakes all you need to do on an elise is rotors when they go and pads. All in all you are talking maybe 1.5K in parts. This for acar thta you can lean on all day long and not have to be backing off, at monticello I run 5 40 min sessions, eventualy the tires are shot.

If you have a car spercharged from the factory remapping can take you to 275 hp at the crank. The aftermarket TVS supercharger can take you past 300hp at the wheels, more than that and the transmssion is your weak link.

Parts come from sector111.com

Intermechanic in mamroneck Ny preps and takes care of a lot of these cars, Waldir who owns the place is a really nice giuy and 80% of is buisness is elige. If you want I can put you in touch. There is also a really nice community of people who track their loti in the NE.

Apart from the track, its pretty much the most enjoyable backroad car you can drive, on the other hand it feels really tiney on the highway in traffic.

As you can tell I am a big fan.

 

Depends on year and options:

06 and 07 Exige has the same brakes as Elise. 08+ Exige has upgraded front disks and calipers.

The Track Pack option includes reinforced rear toe link joints, although the rod ends wear out quickly. (Track Pack was also available on the Elise, but rarely specced.)

The rare Exige Sport 260 edition has an Accusump, although a baffled oil pan is a simpler and possibly more effective approach.

The aftermarket provides modestly priced toe link solutions, baffled oil pans and brake kits that work with any Elise or Exige.

 

The more i read this thread the more i realize trackimg street car the way many here do it is oxymoron. If your intention is to drive 2 hrs at qualifying speed on slick tires, you need a race car. All street cars are going to have issues unless heavily modified and trailered back and forth. Doesnt matter if its new vette, gtr, gt3/4, bkw, lotus. These cars are for tracking at 3/4 speed with some time to cool off brakes/motor. Thats what i do with few fastest laps mixed in w no issues. If want more than that get anything from spec miata to ferrari challenge, porsche cup, nascar retired road racer, etc and be happier than w new streetcar. Cost to buy is similar too

 

That is exactly what I said earlier especially when everyone was on the GT3 bandwagon. In 100% stock form it can do HPDE events no problem. But going 9-10/10ths all day in stock form, yeah right. If that were true then all these race teams have it wrong. All they need to do is buy these stock cars and put safety equipment in it. Would be much cheaper. This thread seemed to blur the lines between race ready and HPDE capable. Big difference.

 

This is why the 928 GT/S is an exception to the rule. They feel like a hairy chested sports car, but are over-engineered GT's built to run and run.
Fine for trackdays. Racing is a different matter though.

 

When it comes right down to it, I think most modern street cars can survive a 7/10ths track day, especially with a brake fluid/pad upgrade. Watch the temp gauge, come in if it goes too high, have fun until that happens. The issue to me on the track nowadays is the plethora of high speed, high powered, trailered "track day" cars out there now that cause anything but to be driving in their mirrors...

 

Very frustrating.

 

Are the runs not separated into street leagal vs non street legal cars..?