Spyder +2 zetec owners on elan.net?

[tablets32]

Hi,

Header tank to "T" piece copper pipe to heater then on water rail and back to rad.

[pauljones]

Thanks.

I have a race line water rail that id like to use but I have a Clive boy rad with twin fans that I'd still like to use too. Not sure, without mods, they are compatible with each other.

I like your header tank.where does it come from?

Looks like a very neat solution, your not down south at all are you..I'd love a look if I could? I'm now just north of salsbury.

[gavk]

I don't know why you all don't buy a kit car and have done with it!

Like a Lotus Elite you mean? Yeah, I'd love one but I would probably hanker for a little more power and everyday reliability

Anyway, back to topic

Good Work Alan

Positive response so far! That's approximately 15 of us on the forum, either with a Zetec installed or seriously considering it.

I am one of the people Alan referred to who has been PM-ing him over the last year. I must admit I have been avoiding writing Spyder/Zetec posts recently for fear of falling on deaf ears and wasting webspace which is why I went to Alan directly. Now I know there is interest in the community I will make my posts more public.

I'm not on the forum as much as I would like (a baby and a toddler in the house see to that) but I'm a very interested party and would like to share knowledge where possible.

A bit of background.....
I purchased my Spyder Elan +2 approximately 1 year ago and since then I have been racking up the miles. I'm a firm believer that cars need to be driven if they are to be reliable and my experience with the +2 backs this up. When I purchased the car is was 99.5% finished in its restoration/upgrade but had not done many miles or had a proper shakedown. I had a few teething problems in the first few months but nothing serious or unexpected. Since then the car has been a dream. I have done 9000miles so far this year and have returned a recorded average of 30mpg. Better fuel economy is certainly achievable but my commute includes heavy London traffic. My 2.0 Zetec has Jenvey throttle bodies and was setup by Emerald on their rolling road, pumping out 170bhp.

In summary, my car has turned out to be everything I had hoped, Lotus is a marque I have always loved and respected, the +2 is a simply stunning looking car (IMO) with fantastic RWD handling, good fuel economy (for a sports car), reliable, cheap to run/maintain, easy to work on, good & reasonably priced spares availability, 2 seats in the back for the kiddies, free road tax, an appreciating asset, I struggle to think of another car that ticks all these boxes.

If we can pull together to sort out the last few quirks or niggles in the Spyder/Zetec setup then that will be the icing on the cake

[Spyder fan]

I don't know why you all don't buy a kit car and have done with it !

Please excuse the troll, he's a friend of mine he owns the prototype Elan with a Ken and Neil Myers 6 speed conversion so definitely a purist and top bloke in my opinion

[elanfan1]

he's a friend of mine and top bloke in my opinion

Crap!

[gavk]

Please excuse the troll

Trolls welcome, especially ones with 6 spd boxes

[elan66]

Dont know why we dont just buy a kit? well if you have a "baby" elan you probably already have
Plus2s were a higher quality model and i am sure ABCB wanted to make sure they were spot on mechanically as plus2 drivers drive their cars much harder
Alan you will be pleased to know I have decided that i am going down the zetec route as i want a reliable track day toy with max bang for buck,and an engine i can replace complete for not much more than the cost of a set of twin cam bearings
regards
Paul

[niallf]

Hi Alan (and others).

Good timing for this thread. my +2's been in storage and off the road for a couple of seasons, and I've made a list of things to sort out, including looking into many of Alan's list of 'Zetec Upgrades' mentioned in his opening post.
I had a brief chat to Alan at the recent Club Lotus track day at Castle Combe about some of this, so will follow this stuff with interest, and maybe the occasional contribution. Here's my car with its stablemate...

Niall

[tablets32]

Hi Nial,

Nice ride height, what suspension set up do you have? Great colour scheme too.

Keith

[tablets32]

Paul
I got the header tank from Demon Tweeks. They have a good selection.
Keith

[pauljones]

Thanks..

I'll take a look after this weekends racing.

Paul

[niallf]

Hi Nial,

Nice ride height, what suspension set up do you have? Great colour scheme too.

Keith

Cheers Keith,
I think it has Spax dampers on the rear and ProAlloy (Maybe Gaz) on the front. Both have adjustable spring platforms and the ride height is, if anything a little too low, especially with my rotund backside in the driver's seat.
I never have problems with the sump, or the manifold scraping, but the long centre pipe in the exhaust has problems on speed bumps and roads with pronounced crowns. Good job its just a bit of mild steel pipe.
One of the jobs on my list is to raise the ride height a smidgen and also fit higher profile tyres. I think the 60 profiles don't really look right.

The car is Pistachio Lime Green, and the person who painted it (2 owners ago) did the most amazing job on the metal flake roof.

Niall

[Spyder fan]

Niall,
Big thumbs up on Pistachio I'm sure you noticed my S4 is in that colour!

I have problems with the manifold scraping rather than the rest of the system, but I do notice it happens a lot more if I have a passenger. My +2 has settled a bit lower since I last adjusted it when I fitted the 65 profile tyres.

One of the points in my list is to do with ground clearance rather than ride height. The Spyder manifold was designed for the cable clutch version of the MT75 that places the starter motor on the exhaust side therefore reducing the route options for the manifold meaning the whole thing has to come forward of the removable crossmember rather than fore and aft and this makes it extremely bulky and vulnerable to grounding especially on speed humps. For those of us who have the 2.4 Scorpio version of the MT 75 with hydraulic clutch the starter motor is in the normal position on the right hand side, therefore a neater design of manifold should be possible.

As my own manifold is getting on for 7 years old and has taken a whole lot of bumps and scrapes I'm keen to get a new one fabricated if anyone can recommend a good place to go in the South East of England, then if it's significantly better than the existing design I can ask the fabricator to keep a pattern so we can all benefit if needed assuming we have the hydraulic clutch gearbox of course.

[gavk]

Alan, I had my centre pipe and backbox done by Edwards Motorsport, highly recommended for custom stainless fabrications, they do a lot of work on race cars.

Plenty of pics on their website, only use high quality stainless, not the stuff that ends up going rusty!

http://www.edwardsmotorsport.com/site/9 ... .html#2705

My initial research in exhausts took me to Simpson Race Exhausts who come very
highly recommended on various forums but have a fairly high price tag too.

Mike Edwards did his time at Simpson and then setup his own businesses.

Nice small, friendly company and reasonable pricing.

[gavk]

Forgot to say, they are in West Drayton, by the junctions of the M25 & M4