Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Is anyone aware of a source for adjustable camber plates for the rear strut on an Elan?

I don't think that any of the usual parts suppliers have upper strut mounts which are adjustable for camber, There is not a lot of room up there for adjustment. The common approach is to use control arms which are adjustable such as this item from Kelvedon:

http://www.kelsport.net/parts/product_d ... ctionID=26

Am aware of the adjustable lower arms, and have a pair installed. The reason for seeking some upper adjustment is to move the top of the wheel in a bit to gain fender clearance (on an S3) then dial in the final camber with the lower arms.

There is not enough room to move the Lotocone mount inwards any significant amount and it would require significant chassis mods to make it possible

I have seen a ball joint upper mount that replaces the standard rubber Lotocone. It may be possible to modify this to move it inwards to help the wheel clear the body

cheers
Rohan

Hi,
I made my own - moving the top in with standard wishbones will give about 2 deg and you then get the necessary clearance on the wheel arch that you are after

Regards
Steve

Does this mod cause wear on the inside edge of the tyres.
Alan

I made these years ago for my 26R

Dave

bigvalvehead wrote:I made these years ago for my 26R

Dave

nice and slick... did you make some sort of custom locotone (bonded) that would fit underneath the plate or did you just use a large rubber washer (what thickness) sandwiched between two plates ?

I used a spherical bearing in the top mount.
Similar things are available for other cars these days see link below

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adjustable-Ca ... SwUKxYYiBl

Dave

bigvalvehead wrote:I used a spherical bearing in the top mount.
Dave

Now I understand, a real improvement over the rubber - plus should be reasonably easy to adjust on early convertible with top access. If FIA compatible/tolerated I'll sure look into it...

Hi, below should be some photos of mine - lucky I have the diff out at the moment.
Mine are not adjustable I just made it to be right which means light weight - saved 500g compared to alloy racing ones which were previously fitted.
Dave's do look a better than mine but I can take mine apart and put back together without the hassle of having to remeasure.
Before making I measured the standard set up checked that both sides were equal and then worked from that.

Looking at the photos my painting is shocking!


Regards
Steve

Hi Steve
How thick is the plate you have used?
Cheers
Dave

patrics wrote:Hi, below should be some photos of mine
Steve

this should not pose any issue with the FIA ... and 2 or 3 sets could be made if one wanted to change camber for various uses.

Hi,
Below is a photo of the individual parts - not fully machined
Dave, the plate is 3mm thick - laser cut so cost is almost nothing

They obviously look simple / cheap to construct but I would recommend finish machining the spherical joint diameter and circlip groove after welding

One point is that to get to inner mounting bolt I have to pull the strut outwards to get on to the caphead

With a bit more effort they could also be made a lot lighter.

Regards
Steve