Patrico and SexyNSX,
Your assertions and assumptions on my knowledge and experience demand a response.
Facts and personal observations on the Lotus Esprit.
Frame:
There is none. Just a chassis made out of light gauge, mild steel.
Undo the body mounts, if memory serves me right there's about eight, oh yeah I've been there and done this, HAVE YOU or SEXYNSX?
Here's a picture of what you will find. BTW that metal is not aluminum. It's old technology mild steel.
That's it! Now when you two boys are out riding together you are sitting to the right and left of the center rail on a floor of hand laid, fiberglass that is about 1/4-3/8ths of a inch thick. How safe are ya? Dated design?
There is no frame surrounding you. Most kit cars have tube frames that surround the occupants. Not here though.
Now a 1963-67 Corvette has the same type of fiberglass body(after that they switched to a better grade until they did away with fiberglass in 1982 and switched to sheet molded compound SMC).
It also had a frame of mild steel but it went around the perimeter, offering some protection to the people inside, but this car does not. It still was like driving a Molotov cocktail, and so is the Esprit.
It should have a unit structure with crush zones and made out of HSLA steel or varying grades of aluminum. Both are technologies that are about 25 years ahead of this design.
Now the suspension on this car is so great right? Talk about dated.
Look up there in the front boys. See the top of the control arms. That's where the camber shims are. SHIMS. Not a CENTRIX but shims like the OLD DAYS. You do know what a centrix is don't ya boys?
Now when you went in to get a computerized alignment on any of your modern cars you might of noticed the tech adjusting the camber and watching the screen as he went, dialing it in.
Not with this car. Uh Uh.
This is how you do it to a Esprit.
You set it up, measure and record. If the camber is out you go to the top of the control arm and add or subtract the PROPRIETARY shims that are there. I mention that they are proprietary because they are not off the shelf shims and if you need one or more you call, NJ, Atlanta or California and hope they have what you want.
Now the last time I got lucky. I was able to take a shim from one side and compensate the other enough to get the car in spec.
Now each time you move a shim you put it back together and start over again. Now, you know this right? Like me you've done this before right?
Now about that tranny. Get under the car while it is on the lift. You have two tranny mounts in the rear to the right and left of case.
Now look above your head. See that bulge in the floor? Tell me do you know why it is there?
Well that is so that when the tranny when placed under torque and lifts up, yes read me right, when it lifts it won't hit the fiberglass floor.
Why don't they make a better tranny mount? Too hard, too sophisticated. Easier to make a bulge in the floor.
Fellows there are so many soft spots on the Esprit that to compare it to a Viper or NSX, it is easy to come off as sounding mean. I don't want to do that. I do respect your passion but you keep provoking and kicking sand, or try to.
I have been a fan of Lotus since I saw my first Elan in our shop, when Iwas a young'in, probably before you two were born.
One of my all time favorite cars is the Green Formula One Lotus driven to victory by Jim Clark.
I like the Lotus but it's no Viper Killer or NSX walker.
You two are buddies and like riding together and come to one and other's defense so I understand. Please be careful and don't let anything hit you when your out cruising because it won't be hitting a car, it will be hitting YOU.
The Esprit looks great. Stunning. Timeless.
I really love the look and it is fun to drive. I just said it wasn't walking from a NSX. I didn't mean to make it personal, you just took it that way and kept it up.
Goodnight, and for heaven's sakes, don't be wiring up your privates looking to see if it is as much fun as a NSX. What happened to that poll? Lud no like?:biggrin:
:biggrin:
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