Noise from the gearbox of an S2 Elise
Discussion
Hi
I am in the process of buying an S2 Elise and have just had an AA inspection on one. The report for the road test says that there is "Noise from the gearbox in 3rd, 4th and 5th gears when acelerating and deccelerating" Does any one know what this could be or if it happens on all S2's as the guy that did the inspection had never driven one before.
The inspection also mentioned that the front tires need replaceing. Does anyone know how much this will cost? The current owner has already replaced the rear tyres with Avons so I guess I should go for those on the front as well.
I am in the process of buying an S2 Elise and have just had an AA inspection on one. The report for the road test says that there is "Noise from the gearbox in 3rd, 4th and 5th gears when acelerating and deccelerating" Does any one know what this could be or if it happens on all S2's as the guy that did the inspection had never driven one before.
The inspection also mentioned that the front tires need replaceing. Does anyone know how much this will cost? The current owner has already replaced the rear tyres with Avons so I guess I should go for those on the front as well.
beechy said:
Hi
"Noise from the gearbox in 3rd, 4th and 5th gears when acelerating and deccelerating"
Usually that's normal. The PG1 gearbox sounds like a bag of spanners in the higher gears. Especially 4th and 5th are very noisy on overrun/decelerating.
The lack of soundproofing in the Elise means you hear all these noises much more.
beechy said:
The current owner has already replaced the rear tyres with Avons so I guess I should go for those on the front as well.
AVON?!?!? AAAAAARRGGHHH!! Evil! Eeeeeevil!
Wow.. You probably have about 0.0% grip at the back right now..
Definitely not the type of tyre you want on an Elise..
BTW.. The S2 uses a very specific set of tyres made for the car.
The front tyres (size 175/55R16) are only available from Bridgestone in the RE040 type. The rear tyres (size 225/45R17) are more common, but the S2 uses a specific Bridgestone RE040 for this a well. The DOT code on the tyre should have the letters 'DCK' in it. (the VX220 uses similar tyres, but these have 'CJC' in the DOT code)
Some people move up to 185/50R16 on the front to combat understeer and there are a few other manufacturers who make these (Toyo, Dunlop, Michelin)
You can fit 195/50R16 at the front, but it's getting very tight on both the wheel and inside the wheel arches (may rub the arch liners and wear holes in these).
Once you have fitted new tyres, also get the geometry of the car checked. It can 'drift' over time and if it's re-set to the proper values it will transform the car's handling.
Bye, Arno.
About £450 for a full set of Bridestones - get exactly the ones Arno has said above specific compund for the Elise - no other tyres are recommended fitment except Yoko A048s with optional OZ motorsport rims.
Geo check is around £150 at Sincalires www.sinclairebodyshop.co.uk depending on what need adjusting. Basically on a normal car you get the tracking done to make sure your tyres wear evenly etc
On an Elise correct suspension geometry is critical to the handling - they will check and adjust camber, castor, toe in/out etc etc - the full monty is adjustable ...so you need to go somewhere where they have a Hunter laser alignment machine ...not just normal tracking jobbie down at Kwik-fit
as above - gearbox whine is normal, you get used to it
Geo check is around £150 at Sincalires www.sinclairebodyshop.co.uk depending on what need adjusting. Basically on a normal car you get the tracking done to make sure your tyres wear evenly etc
On an Elise correct suspension geometry is critical to the handling - they will check and adjust camber, castor, toe in/out etc etc - the full monty is adjustable ...so you need to go somewhere where they have a Hunter laser alignment machine ...not just normal tracking jobbie down at Kwik-fit
as above - gearbox whine is normal, you get used to it
I had an AA report done on one vehicle before I brought it. I was spending more than I had ever before so wanted to be sure. It gave me piece of mind, and bearing in mind the car only had 9,000 miles there is probably very little to report. But I wasnt over impressed.
Even more shocked when I went to view another car, the guy had a AA report done just before he brought (three weeks earlier) so he clearly wasnt responsible for my findings. It was a shed. The report had failed to pick up that the car had clearly had *alot* of paintwork repaired (very poorly repaired too).
I felt quite sorry for the guy, unsure if he had taken him 3 weeks to realise the state of his car or if he was selling it non the wiser, with the fairly plausible reason he gave me. I didnt say much, just thanked him for his time and went on my way.
Even more shocked when I went to view another car, the guy had a AA report done just before he brought (three weeks earlier) so he clearly wasnt responsible for my findings. It was a shed. The report had failed to pick up that the car had clearly had *alot* of paintwork repaired (very poorly repaired too).
I felt quite sorry for the guy, unsure if he had taken him 3 weeks to realise the state of his car or if he was selling it non the wiser, with the fairly plausible reason he gave me. I didnt say much, just thanked him for his time and went on my way.
Thanks for the help. I think I'm gonna go for it then.
As far as the AA inspection is concerned I was pretty disapointed. I expected a bit more detail + most of the stuff that the guy has writen in there are pretty much irelevant observations instead of usefull info about the car.
The history check that you get at least gives you some pice of mind that it's not stolen or crash damaged. I went to see one that was advertised as "great condition" but turned out to have had some serious crash damage that the guy only admitted after a bit of questioning.
As far as the AA inspection is concerned I was pretty disapointed. I expected a bit more detail + most of the stuff that the guy has writen in there are pretty much irelevant observations instead of usefull info about the car.
The history check that you get at least gives you some pice of mind that it's not stolen or crash damaged. I went to see one that was advertised as "great condition" but turned out to have had some serious crash damage that the guy only admitted after a bit of questioning.
I wouldnt use AA or RAC myself as they are not experienced enough with the Elise
When I was down Sincalires on Sat morning there were a couple of guys there - buyer and seller. They met up, the car was inspected, charged an hours labour or so (£45 ish) and when happy made the sale...gotta be the best way of doing it as these guys deal with Elises every day of the week and now all the niggles and problem areas etc ...cheaper too
When I was down Sincalires on Sat morning there were a couple of guys there - buyer and seller. They met up, the car was inspected, charged an hours labour or so (£45 ish) and when happy made the sale...gotta be the best way of doing it as these guys deal with Elises every day of the week and now all the niggles and problem areas etc ...cheaper too
it should have had
1000miles - 1st service, oil change basically after running in
9K miles - A service, another oil change and check everything
18K miles - same again
service intervals are 9K miles in the following order
AABAACAABAAC
where A is oil change, check up etc
B is the same + plugs and a few bits n bobs
C is the big one (54K miles)with cam belt change + same as others
but most people change the oil every 4.5K if doing trackdays and also change the cambelt early (had mine done at 26K miles)
1000miles - 1st service, oil change basically after running in
9K miles - A service, another oil change and check everything
18K miles - same again
service intervals are 9K miles in the following order
AABAACAABAAC
where A is oil change, check up etc
B is the same + plugs and a few bits n bobs
C is the big one (54K miles)with cam belt change + same as others
but most people change the oil every 4.5K if doing trackdays and also change the cambelt early (had mine done at 26K miles)
Also remeber that the S" has the close ratio box as standard, like on most track cars 1st gear is of little use and always clunky.
Unless you have a death wish switch back to Lotus specified Bridgestone Potenza or go for Yokohama if you plan to do a lot of track days(these will wear more quickly then Bridgestones with motorway use).
Lotus will confirm that while the original Elise was made from modified parts, the S2 was built using Lotus specified bespoke components - everything on the car is there for a reason - using Avons is trying to run in wellington boots.
Unless you have a death wish switch back to Lotus specified Bridgestone Potenza or go for Yokohama if you plan to do a lot of track days(these will wear more quickly then Bridgestones with motorway use).
Lotus will confirm that while the original Elise was made from modified parts, the S2 was built using Lotus specified bespoke components - everything on the car is there for a reason - using Avons is trying to run in wellington boots.
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