Elise Geometry Setup - worth doing?

[SeanyD]

Bit of advice needed please...

My 2002 Elise S2, has full Lotus service history, fairly new tyres, balancing/alignment checked, and generally very well cared for with regular TLC. Question is, as far as I know the geometry has never been checked. Given its now around 7 years old, and has best part of 60k on the clock, and has over its lifetime been subject to many a pothole bang etc etc, is it now time to get the geometry checked out.

Any experiences, is it worth the money, does it genuinely make a big differece?

Car is road use only - no track days done or planned.

Any advice appreciated

Thanks in advance

Sean.

[noodleman]

Without doubt, it as least worth getting it checked and adjusted if necessary.

It made more difference to my car than the change to S2 suspension.

[F.C.]

I had my Exige done a month after I bought it new.
There were adjustments needed, I hear they only have a couple of minutes on the production line to do the alignment.
F.C.

[bogie]

every year you should have it done, maybe at service time ....just think how many people out there are driving badly setup Elises thinking its the bees knees

..then they go for a geo at a specialist and suddenly proclaim its the holy grail and they will worship them for life

...because theyve given them the car they should have had from day 1 ....doh

[21TonyK]

Had my Exige done last week with a fast road setup. Comment from MSE instructor who drove it last week "one of the best handling cars he's driven" and he used to have a Lotus himself. For me it just felt more stable at high speed, I'm not skilled enough to fully exploit the car, yet ;-)

[CooperS]

I think I’m going to need it done every year tbh.

How quickly does the geo get knocked out?

I live in Edinburgh and on my daily run encounter 2 cobbled streets, plenty of small potholes and then tackle the forth road bridge which is horrendously bumpy.

How much should I look to be paying?

[21TonyK]

If it's just toe adjustments then £50. I had toe and camber which was 2.5 hours so £120. If it had been castor as well then another couple of hours again.

I was happy to part with £120 for the results.

[bogie]

as TOny says - depends what needs doing and how much the labour rate is where you go

£40ph at small specialist

£120 p.h at dealer in London

its time based - say it takes 30mins minimum to check, get the car on the machine, set-up etc, then they usually advise you on what it looks like now (computer printout) and what it should be (or what you want it to be if you have speficic settings you prefer)

then its just time to adjust things

if youve just had new suspension all around and want a full ride height, suspension set up and geo - then a day should cover it ....if it just needs the toe tweaking then maybe another 30 mins

...a good specialist will advise .....

its not like taking a runaround car into Kwik fit and paying £40 for "the tracking"

[CooperS]

bogie said:

its not like taking a runaround car into Kwik fit and paying £40 for "the tracking"

Ah no, hence the question.

Do you know how quickly living in a city will the good work be undone.

I.e. by the time i get home or after 6 months of tackling appauling streets and bridges.

Thanks

Tom

[bogie]

it depends ....usually things are done up tight and 12 months is a fine interval to check it

I used to do 25K miles a year, cities, motorways etc and even every 12 months it didnt need much adjusting to keep it correct

if you go through a 12" pot hole and can prove its knocked out - get the bleedin council to pay for it !

[TIPPER]

21TonyK said:

Had my Exige done last week with a fast road setup. Comment from MSE instructor who drove it last week "one of the best handling cars he's driven" and he used to have a Lotus himself. For me it just felt more stable at high speed, I'm not skilled enough to fully exploit the car, yet ;-)

South West Lotus?

[21TonyK]

TIPPER said:

21TonyK said:

Had my Exige done last week with a fast road setup. Comment from MSE instructor who drove it last week "one of the best handling cars he's driven" and he used to have a Lotus himself. For me it just felt more stable at high speed, I'm not skilled enough to fully exploit the car, yet ;-)

South West Lotus?

Worth the trip. Felt a bit oversteery on road but on track was spot on. Only took out one cone and span twice at well over 120

[TIPPER]

My car felt very pointy after Phil and his boys did the same for me but it was just a matter of adapting to the new pointiness. Feels even pointier now but I knew it would when I started playing!

[SeanyD]

Thanks folk for the useful advice - had the car in for an A service yesterday and got the geometry checked out. As suspected its way out, so booked in next week to get sorted. Hopefully worth the expense.

Thanks again

Sean.

[herebebeasties]

Can't recommend doing this enough.

[lee111s]

SeanyD said:

Thanks folk for the useful advice - had the car in for an A service yesterday and got the geometry checked out. As suspected its way out, so booked in next week to get sorted. Hopefully worth the expense.

Thanks again

Sean.

You getting it done at F1? They will probably put it back to factory standards unless you ask them for a specific setup

[SeanyD]

lee111s said:

SeanyD said:

Thanks folk for the useful advice - had the car in for an A service yesterday and got the geometry checked out. As suspected its way out, so booked in next week to get sorted. Hopefully worth the expense.

Thanks again

Sean.

You getting it done at F1? They will probably put it back to factory standards unless you ask them for a specific setup

Yeah Lee, f1 doing it Wednesday, they've done the check and its way out, so probably just restore back to factory settings.

[ludo]

SeanyD said:

lee111s said:

SeanyD said:

Thanks folk for the useful advice - had the car in for an A service yesterday and got the geometry checked out. As suspected its way out, so booked in next week to get sorted. Hopefully worth the expense.

Thanks again

Sean.

You getting it done at F1? They will probably put it back to factory standards unless you ask them for a specific setup

Yeah Lee, f1 doing it Wednesday, they've done the check and its way out, so probably just restore back to factory settings.

had mine put back to factory settings, made a huge difference (but then mine was way, way, way off!)

[Dixie]

Hmmmmm. Had my Elise 5 and a half years and never had it done. Feel like i could be missing out now.

Any suggestions for getting it done in the north? Other than Horizon in brum?

[TF240Cup]

Dixie said:

Hmmmmm. Had my Elise 5 and a half years and never had it done. Feel like i could be missing out now.

Any suggestions for getting it done in the north? Other than Horizon in brum?

Phoenix Motorsport in Accrington. They set up my track cars, service and price is fantastic!

Speak Olly or Greg and tell them Sean recommended you. 01254 384071