Elan 6 speed

[ecamiel]

Has any one investigated a Honda S 2000 gearbox or engine/gearbox into a baby Elan?

It is a beautiful, sweet shifting box with good semi close ratios - one of the quickest, nicest feeling I have ever used.

The 2 liter motor is 2 engines in one thanks to variable cams. Below 6,000 RPM it is a docile, tractable street motor but above 6,000 it becomes a 240 Hp, 9,000 rpm screamer. And that with a 100,000 mile factory warrantee.
Later models are 2.2 with more torque but slightly less HP

Eric
64 S1 Hart

[rocket]

Sounds lovely but i couldnt drive a elan with a Japenese engine...would just seem wrong somehow..

Ian.

[SADLOTUS]

You mean like an M100?

[tower of strength]

I understand that ken myers in northampton has developed a 6 speed conversion for the elan and plus 2, I believe it uses the Mazda MX5 gearbox... i may be wrong however

[pauljones]

I could be wrong in a BIG way,but doesnt the Honda engine spin in the opposite direction.?

[trw99]

Chaps

Eight pages on this topic, discussed only six odd months ago:

elan-f15/speed-gearbox-for-the-elan-t18541.html

Tim

PS Can't see what's wrong with 4 gears myself.......

[ceejay]

5 speed - 6-speed elan, what is going on in the minds of elan drivers?
Are they: Lazy, or feel hardly done by with only four gears to play with?
while every other small sports hatch on the road today seems to have an
ever increasing number of gear ratios.

Now don't get me wrong, having a six speed box (manual or Auto) is a
nice thing, but isn?t it always said that one of the finest attributes
of the lotus elan is that magic gearbox which you "snick" from gear
to gear with the flick of the wrist.... it is amazing to think what
a wonderful gearbox this turned out to be... considering it's
humble Ford origins.

I run an ultra close ratio box in my elan with a 3.55 diff ratio...
(But I also have a 3.9 & 4.1 diff on hand) first gear with the 3.55
tops out at nearly fifty MPH, (yep, that's tall) and every other
closely stacked ratio makes it an absolute delight to use on
real lotus roads. But the tall gearing knocks the shine off
the standing start acceleration... but it's not bad all the same.

My elan (S2 DHC) rarely "visits" a freeway, so the absence of five or
six speeds is not a problem.... maybe the elan 5/6 speed wish list
guys who drive the freeways should take the "scenic route" more
often... it might be a lot more fun, there's often less traffic,
less cops, and this allows the opportunity to enjoy the magic
qualities of your lotus elan... rapid overtaking... sweeping
through fast corners, dicing through those twisty bits and using
that beautiful close ratio four-speed gearbox the way it was
meant to be.

But having said all of that, if you must have a five speed gearbox,
several Aussie elan owners have opted to use the Holden Gemini/
Isuzu 5sp gearbox, which apparently fits in quite well, but there
are several mods required.

But not for me... I'll stick with that delightful little
ultra close ratio four speeder thanks.
(snick.. snick)
CC

[bcmc33]

I'm in the process of fitting a Lotus 5 speed box to my 3.54 diff car.

One of the objectives is to get a better first gear ratio as I can't compete off the line with a friend who has the 5 speed.
Travelling along perfect Elan country roads in the UK demands mainly second and third gear work, and the ratios seem ideal to me. However, the last 10 miles of most of my Elan journeys involve 70/80 mph highways, and the fifth gear should be more suitable for coasting along with traffic - or am I just showing my age?

[Craig Elliott]

BCMC33 - no I don't think you are, having driven in convoy with a relative in a 4 speed Elan Sprint (I've got a +2 S130/5) there is a big difference in motorway performance. The 5 speed gearbox means that there's roughly 1000rpm difference at those sorts of speeds and it also seems to make a big difference to fuel use.

... and at risk of revisiting an old chestnut, I don't think the shift quality of the Lotus 5 speed is that bad although changing the spring that you push against to go into 5th would be a good mod.

Craig

[jimj]

On the one hand I have a Voight 5 speed in the Elan and find the benefit of the 5th gear outweighs the down side. On the other hand I have yet to see the benefit of a 6 speed box other than for the manufacterer`s marketing purposes. At higher speeds you never need the ratios to be close together, you just need a high top gear for reduced engine revs. like an overdrive. In the Elise, or my wife`s Golf, I ALWAYS just change from 4th to 6th. On track days, say, when you do want the ratios closely stacked, I have yet to need a higher gear than 4th. I don`t think they do track days down the Mulsanne straight!
Jim

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

I agree with CC's sentiments.
The original Ford 4 speed Box has a superb Gearchange which is a joy to use & is part of the Elan's character.
IMHO that Gearbox set the Benchmark for very many Years.
Amongst other reasons that is why I decided to retain that Box when I put the Zetec into my S4.
I have the good fortune of having a lot of Torque & a 3.54 Diff gives the car long enough legs without effecting the acceleration too much.
Having said that I'm extremely interested in the 6 Speed box that has been discussed & look forward to hearing Owners impressions (Gearchange, fit into Chassis, cost etc.) of it in the Elan.

Cheers
John

[jono]

If you must go 6 speed, why has no one considered the Caterham 6 speed box? Dimensionally it should be about right given the shared, albeit tenuous, Ford DNA between Caterham and Elan. The internals are Land Rover based but the bellhousing, casing and tail shaft should, I would have thought, be in the right ballpark.

I had such a box in my K series Caterham and it was an absolute peach, the ratios perfectly suiting the rev happy K, however I am not certain it would be the same or even necessary mated to a TC.

These boxes can be picked up for around ?1,200 second hand.

Jono

[SimonH]

Trouble with the Caterham 6 speed is that it is a 1-1 top just the same as the 4 speed so there is no overdrive. This being the driving factor for most moving to a 5 speed I would think.

That said for a more purely track or race car it would probably be good, except the tailhousing is a massive thing and so the gearstick would be miles back as the Sierra box and I dont know if it could be modified to bring it forwards at all.

Cheers,
Simon

[Lincoln62]

Has any one investigated a Honda S 2000 gearbox or engine/gearbox into a baby Elan?

Why not just buy an S2000, use that for long trips, use the Elan for shorter blasts?

Pete
66S2

[JJDraper]

I think the phrase 'Horses for courses' was meant for this situation. There is a spectrum of Elan & +2 owners ranging from track day specials to grand tourers. No-one is saying that you must at all costs fit a 5 or 6 speeder! Personally, the enjoyment of blasting down the peage for three or four hours at 4-5,000rpm without ear defenders gets a bit thin. The fun when you get wherever you are going does compensate, but the stress on both car and driver is corrosive.

I recently fitted a 3.54 diff which helps reduce the revs, but it does make 1st gear too tall. My little Ford Fiesta cruises at 3,000rpm at 70 with around 55bhp to play with, so why not my +2? What I really want is my snicky semi-close ratio 4 speeder, with an extra tall gear or two left over for motorways. I also tend to short shift with moderns, but this is when the situation allows - nothing wrong with that.

The 6 (or 5) speeder Mazda box seems to offer the best of both worlds, but I guess we need more 1st hand experience to make an informed choice. After all, electronic ignition, fuel injection and 14" wheels have been around for ages and still generates much (conflicting) advice! No-one offers a shrink wrapped solution yet, and this is unlikely due to the short production runs, so what we have is a bespoke market, with a lively industry supplying various solutions and DIY potential. Very healthy.

Jeremy