Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Now this is something I've never seen before, and certainly have never thought about doing. Some creative person in the past of my latest Elan project apparently thought they needed to increase the roll stiffness in the front end. So they fastened an extra ARB to the original with a few hose clamps, and hey presto!

Not sure how you would calculate the increase in stiffness with "stacked" bars.

They sawed off the ends of the "auxiliary " bar... Oh my...

.................calculating this "invention" DOES require quite a bit of guess work - movement/flex all over the place: for those who don't know: roll bars are 7/8inch BUT ALSO available in 1 inch: that's what i'm using and maybe even lighter BUT also stiffer without any doubts! sandy

Look what someone did to mine...




John

john.p.clegg wrote:Look what someone did to mine...



John

Not sure from that photo, but I'm a bit rusty on original bits = maybe, removed the non removable cross member, fitted an alternator, and a gear reduction starter? Or maybe forgot to put oil in the engine (no drips ).

Whats more surprising is the cheesy Jubilee clips haven't fallen to bits the first time it went round a corner.... Maybe the Anti roll bar modification (and i use the word Modification very loosely) was done about the time the engine came out?

Just looking at the damage to the front of the Chassis maybe that bar was put there as some protection? looks like the last owner liked to do a bit of off roading.


BTW nice S1 in the background

[quote="john.p.clegg"]Look what someone did to mine...

No oil filter?

Putting a second bar in parallel I have seen done a number of times on racing MGBs and Midgets / Sprites and other cars where the bar is visible. It works and should not be dismissed totally as bad practice. Its all in the details of how its done and this example has a few issues as commented upon.

With modern tyres the Elan handling benefits from increased front roll stiffness so a bigger bar or doubled bar is a useful modification

cheers
Rohan

No,no,no ....you've all missed it,the anti-roll bar has an increased diameter between the hangers....

John

Hi John
An interesting way to get a stiffer roll bar and again a perfectly good solution if done right . Personally I think its easier to get a thicker bar made and modify the drop links to hold it.

cheers
Rohan

Some the 'usual suspects' do sell uprated roll bars ...

I, or rather my suspension guru, has decided to do away with the ARB and control matters with properly designed dampers, springs and droop limiters.

The proof etc.....

Interesting that a "guru" would deem an ARB superfluous. All rear race cars and high performance street cars use them. And they've been in use on prosaic passenger cars since at least the late 1930's because they reduce/limit body roll without adding undue stiffness.

I imagine you CAN limit body roll with springs and dampers, but it would be so god-awful stiff you wouldn't want to drive it on the street.

But I'm not a "guru", so what do I know.

Agreed, they do. However, they are often a crude device used to compensate for inadequacies in the suspension.

I had planned to fit a rear ARB and got as far as designing and making it, including installing fixings in the chassis and on the bottom wishbone. I have left these in place for now, just in case

The added bar doesn't appear to be Elan so most likely a U pull bar. One has to hand it to the guy for frugality!

Kurt.