Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

this 1inch rollbar (swaybar) makes the front get MUCH more "bite", keeps the front much more steady and gives u more confidence with regular a529 yokos (havent tried the 048s) . the brakets are nicely machined using turned teflon slitted bushes and unibals up top (chassis) - reminds me of my various mike wilson karts AND special engines (125cc) via mike by the BOSS MR GRANA, IAMA + Parilla (ask any kart champ who he is!! - i wasnt fast enough and at 6"4 too long! so the engines i got where better than I sandy with a fantastic mod!

Hi Sandy

Stiffening up the front of an Elan in roll with a big bar is definitely advantageous with modern sticky tyres even if the springing is still relatively soft.

The only thing you need to be careful of is the loads on the front shock threaded pin that the bar arms connect to as these can break off with 1 inch bars. Appears no problem with 7/8 inch bars but the loads can get to great with bigger bars.

cheers
Rohan

.......now that's a criteria i didn't think of: the front shocks are koni adjustable by TTR : i could turn and design 5/8 (id) bush with a 7/16unf od and open up the bar! sandy -- i'll solve THIS problem. thanks rohan PS: it's worth the better BITE!

And where do you get sticky tires in "stockish" sizes. I don't want to flair my fenders (arches). My SS now has Yoko A001 that are getting long in tooth and my Coupe's restoration is progressing and the ancient Kleber rally tires (early 1980s) will need replaced. I'd love to find something in a 165/70-13 or something that fits stock wheel size.

I'm not doing any serious speed work in the Elan as I race vintage events in my 20/22 FJ. I just want the Elans to be enjoyable road cars.

Roger

hi roger - i'm using the 175 60 13 A539 Yokohama which is just a modern tyre and softer than the puney 145 80 13 some folks are using - they were made for the 1500cc elans (90hp!) - lots of today's elans have more than 130! so: you don't need semi slicks BUT an adequate set of proper RUBBER!! sandy

For a 1 inch sway bar I strongly recommend increasing the diameter of the hole in the end ad chamfering the edges of the hole to avoid binding and breaking the stud on the bottom of the shock.

Eric
64 S1 Hart

didn't mention it so far, but the end of the damper/thread has about 2mm "clearance" - bought it that way: just added some yeller!! sandy