Elise Suspension

[cunni_c]

Just had my Elise 98R in for a 20,000 mile service to be informed that my tyres are wearing unevenly due to sagging springs. I'm informed that the ride height is now slightly lower and the handling will be affected. According to the dealer Lotus have modified the springs on post '99 models. Has anyone come across this problem and a cost effective solution ?

[adrianr]

>Has anyone come across this problem? Not sure I'd call it a problem. Lower ride height should actually improve the Elise handling, especially at the rear. The rear tyres do wear a _bit_ faster on the inside edges if you do mostly straight-line work but by the time they get illegal the remainder of the tread is pretty well worn anyway. >..a cost effective solution ? Have the car 4-wheel aligned to set the rear toe for the 'improved' ride height - should cost about £100. Then measure the ride height & write it down somewhere so you can check if it gets any worse (better) in a few months. Cheers, Adrian

[cunni_c]

Well having spoken to a few dealers the unanimous response was that they had never heard of sagging springs on an Elise. One dealer did say the following: "earlier elise models have been known to distort their rear damper top mounts but this has since been modified". Sounds like Williams automobiles have either got facts wrong or were trying it on. I'll let you know the outcome once I've challenged them.

[PeterMayhew]

I have heard reports of changes to the suspension from early elises due to noises of spring against damper. So a new unit came in with "bulging" springs and new mounting bracket. Got most of my info from Clive at SGT Maidenhead. (01628 605353) I had my standard suspension upgraded to Sports 160 spec.