Re: Mods you have done - Hits winners, misses and loosers
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 2:51 pm
ripley wrote:As an Elan newbie (never driven one; mine isn't ready yet) I would like to know what the guys with experience think about a strut brace(?). I've seen both versions: At the front or/and at the rear (both between the shock mounts). Does it really make a difference by making the axles stiffer?
Fred
Fred,
There was this thread...
elan-racing-f12/front-susp-cross-brace-t15605.html
Having seen the awful state of the original frame on mine, when I removed it, I considered what might be done. FWIW I came to the conclusion that for a road car they weren't necessary. (G.Arnold gave an emphatic "No" in Club Lotus Newsletter to the same question). At the front I felt that collapsed turrets were God's way of letting you know that corrosion has got out of hand! At the rear I didn't think it necessary either...the turret "ears" had given way leaving the turrets themselves untouched. I put this down to the adjustable Koni inserts which had been on granite-setting, and the presence of the pressed steel brace across the top of the rear "firewall".
However, the rally prepped Elan described here had bracing added front & rear...
download/file.php?id=13094&mode=view
...maybe to give a sense of security, rather than increasing torsional stiffness of the frame overall.
Cheers - Richard