spyder elan +2 test driven

[olia]

went over to spyder cars and had a look at a highly specced +2 for sale

the reliable zetec appeals. 185 BHP, lsd, 5 speed box

the car drove very nicely, but 2 things i noticed. Firstly the steering was way too heavy for a 850kg car. It did have 14 inch wheels with 175 or 185 rubber, but stil felt like you had to muscle the wheel even when on the move

2nd is the ride height is very high.. looking under the car the exhaust is very exposed, and lowering the car an inch would really compromise the ground clearance..

thoughts appreciated

[Lotus 50]

The ride height issue is a common one with Zetec +2s, that said if it's just the exhaust I'm not sure why people don't just make the manifold shorter - is the sump low as well? The steering on a +2 shouldn't be that heavy unless they've used bigger/stickier tyres and a smaller steering wheel...

[forest07]

My Plus 2 has the spyder chassis but retains the Lotus Twincam engine.

Picas here http://flic.kr/s/aHsjJ9ZAzW

Tonyr

[roocarl]

I too would love one of these. But the ride height looks just wrong , I hear they are doing duratec conversions I wonder if they are the same ? The white Elan looks spot on , great stance and colour combo ! Are those 14" wheels on the white one ?

[Dave_newcastle]

Since no one has answered the question, the wheels on the white one look like mine in which case they are 14x6 minilite sports

[forest07]

roocarl said:

I too would love one of these. But the ride height looks just wrong , I hear they are doing duratec conversions I wonder if they are the same ? The white Elan looks spot on , great stance and colour combo ! Are those 14" wheels on the white one ?

Apologies for the delay in replying, yes they are 14" wheels from Tech Del.

TonyR

[sce7gk]

Tony/Dave,

Appologies for resurrecting an old thread but just wanted to ask...

What size tyres are you both running?

I assume the spinners are real and you both run original Lotus hubs?

Do you suffer any ground clearance issues with that setup?

Thanks,

Gavin

[forest07]

sce7gk said:

Tony/Dave,

Appologies for resurrecting an old thread but just wanted to ask...

What size tyres are you both running?

I assume the spinners are real and you both run original Lotus hubs?

Do you suffer any ground clearance issues with that setup?

Thanks,

Gavin

I'm running 185 x 14 x 60 profile tyres with knock on wheels, no clearance issues.

[Dave_newcastle]

175/70 R14 with no clearance issues and am running original hubs and spinners. My aim in choosing the tyre size was to keep the rolling radius of the tyre as close as possible to the original tyres on 13 " wheels.

Be aware - Clearance is not just a factor of tyre size - differing wheel offset will move the position of the wheel out or in in the arch and could cause interference with the wheel arch