track advice please
Discussion
i've reserved some track time this weekend, to testrun my '84 and confirm it is performing to specs. i plan to try some 0-60 sprints, and hoped some of you professionals had some hints on a good shift sequence. the previous owner of my vehicle, destroyed the original gearbox playing the same game, so i am a bit hesitant to experiment. also, the lotus manuals tell me the minimum oil pressures at given RPMs, but neglect to suggest maximums. thanks for any guidance you may posess.
You would have the C5 gear box... Can't give you much advice but this is what I have learned...
* warm up good. The second gear sycro is not the strongest in the world, but seems to do well once warm.
* Not sure how much you have driven your Esprit, but they generally are not fond of "speed shifting". Keep the changes deliberate and smooth. You will get better times...
* If you are really giving it go, run a couple laps and check your tire pressures. My car likes 28psi all around... but each car and tire type is different. Play with it a bit and you will find the correct psi for you Esprit.
*Remember... it is a 4 pot. They go pretty good, but go nuts trying to run with a 8 pot or 10 pot car that may also be on the track.
*Walk the track first if allowed. Then drive a couple slow laps and 'wiggle' a bit. I find that I can locate the right "groove" or drive line this way. Sounds silly, but it works for me. The Esprit's strong point is in the curves! not the straight...
Have fun! To date I have not had an overheating problem. Best to check the oil level on the stick once warm. The low pressure lights on these cars can sometime light up at idle if it is hot outside and you have been running hard...
Drive topless!!!
Cameron
* warm up good. The second gear sycro is not the strongest in the world, but seems to do well once warm.
* Not sure how much you have driven your Esprit, but they generally are not fond of "speed shifting". Keep the changes deliberate and smooth. You will get better times...
* If you are really giving it go, run a couple laps and check your tire pressures. My car likes 28psi all around... but each car and tire type is different. Play with it a bit and you will find the correct psi for you Esprit.
*Remember... it is a 4 pot. They go pretty good, but go nuts trying to run with a 8 pot or 10 pot car that may also be on the track.
*Walk the track first if allowed. Then drive a couple slow laps and 'wiggle' a bit. I find that I can locate the right "groove" or drive line this way. Sounds silly, but it works for me. The Esprit's strong point is in the curves! not the straight...
Have fun! To date I have not had an overheating problem. Best to check the oil level on the stick once warm. The low pressure lights on these cars can sometime light up at idle if it is hot outside and you have been running hard...
Drive topless!!!
Cameron
HI,
First off, don't concentrate on sprints... your car won't like you and may mis-behave... the Esprit isn't made for it and you could easily break something... something aggrevating and expensive. Besides, you'll have the most fun in the twistys
.
Raise tire pressures to at least 25PSI front and 28PSI rear, maybe as high as 30PSI in the rear (cold). Take extra care if operating on old (two years old or more - regardless of tread depth and/or mileage) tires. Old tires get hard and loose adhesion.
Likewise with brakes (the '84's weakest spot). If on old pads, bring a new set, already gassed and bedded in. If feasible, flush and bleed the lines with new, fresh fluid. On average, two year old fluid averages 8%-15% moisture content (Source-SAE). This effectively lowers the boiling point of the fluid to equal plain water! On a 2.5 mi. road course, expect about 7 hot laps before the brakes go away, and this is with new pads and fresh fluids. Baby the brakes your first couple laps to get the feel. Once you overheat them to the point that they have faded, due to the very poor cooling, you'll have to pit to cool them off, on a road course, there won't be enough straight to do the job.
The gearbox isn't made for speed/power shifting. Don't force the synchros, they're soft brass and +$250 each, not to mention the aggrevation of pulling the box and getting them in. Shift just B4 the rev limiter for max performance, double clutch any <- shifts.
Be sure the battery is well clamped down and that all loose gear in the bonnet and boot is secure. Do the obvious, check all belts, hoses, especially the coil HT lead (this can work loose in serious driving).
A good idea is to check the float heights and tune the carbs for greatest performance. The carbs have a tendency to starve in +G right-handers.
Otherwise, as mentioned, walk the track, speak with others who have experience. Choose their line and brake early to start, the car can make it up at the apex on out. You should find it pretty neutral in handling, a little understeer on throttle. Most of all, have plenty of Safe Fun!!!
Happy Motoring! ...Jim '85TE
First off, don't concentrate on sprints... your car won't like you and may mis-behave... the Esprit isn't made for it and you could easily break something... something aggrevating and expensive. Besides, you'll have the most fun in the twistys
. Raise tire pressures to at least 25PSI front and 28PSI rear, maybe as high as 30PSI in the rear (cold). Take extra care if operating on old (two years old or more - regardless of tread depth and/or mileage) tires. Old tires get hard and loose adhesion.
Likewise with brakes (the '84's weakest spot). If on old pads, bring a new set, already gassed and bedded in. If feasible, flush and bleed the lines with new, fresh fluid. On average, two year old fluid averages 8%-15% moisture content (Source-SAE). This effectively lowers the boiling point of the fluid to equal plain water! On a 2.5 mi. road course, expect about 7 hot laps before the brakes go away, and this is with new pads and fresh fluids. Baby the brakes your first couple laps to get the feel. Once you overheat them to the point that they have faded, due to the very poor cooling, you'll have to pit to cool them off, on a road course, there won't be enough straight to do the job.
The gearbox isn't made for speed/power shifting. Don't force the synchros, they're soft brass and +$250 each, not to mention the aggrevation of pulling the box and getting them in. Shift just B4 the rev limiter for max performance, double clutch any <- shifts.
Be sure the battery is well clamped down and that all loose gear in the bonnet and boot is secure. Do the obvious, check all belts, hoses, especially the coil HT lead (this can work loose in serious driving).
A good idea is to check the float heights and tune the carbs for greatest performance. The carbs have a tendency to starve in +G right-handers.
Otherwise, as mentioned, walk the track, speak with others who have experience. Choose their line and brake early to start, the car can make it up at the apex on out. You should find it pretty neutral in handling, a little understeer on throttle. Most of all, have plenty of Safe Fun!!!
Happy Motoring! ...Jim '85TE
thanks for all the expert advice. i'm sure i'll be the only classic esprit out there, and everything i've read here is invaluable. at this point, all the obvious problems with my car have been repaired or replaced. it'll be fun to open it up on the oval. i'll get about 20 minutes alone to run time trials, or whatever. not racing this weekend. the car still needs some upgrades, but i want to see how well it performs factory stock first, so i have a point of comparison. from jim's recommendations, it seems like the 6.1 sec 0-60 takes some practice to achieve without stressing the car. last week, a ferarri 308gts wanted to race me from an intersection. i gave it a try, but didn't rush the gears. consequently, i was way behind until i eventually got to 5th gear. i got to within a car's length away by the next intersection, but he ran the red light, and that was the end of it. does skipping gears get the car up to speed faster?
bojangles said:
every one know that overfilling is as bad or worse than running at the low level for motor oil...
Hi,
In general, I agree with you. But, on a road course at speed, overfilling by .25 Quart or less is a good idea on a wet sump 9XX engine. Dry sumps don't require it.
Oil starvation is a real issue on these cars. Lotus progressively added baffling to the sump pans to avoid having oil move away from the oil pick-up under high lateral 'G's, and the 'G' turbos, while better than the S1's or S2's, aren't as well designed as the SE's, S4's or S4s's.
The fact that the head is also fairly well canted, again under high lateral 'G's, it can accumulate oil rather than returning it under gravity to the sump. This just magnifies the result of the poor sump pan baffling.
A .25 Quart overfill will not be enough to cause issues, but will help to mitigate the ones caused by the two items discussed above. It helps insure that there is sufficient oil supply in both the top and bottom ends. But .25 Quart won't be enough to add any appreciable drag on the crank, especially since the actual oil level in the sump itself won't usually be over it's normal level.
For street driving, slight overfilling is unnecessary, agreed. But, if Rock 'n Rollin' on a road course, or even a speed track with sustained tight radius turns, it's a good idea. The important thing is not too much - no more than .25 Quart.
Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE
.25 quarts sounds right. i've seen the weekend VW racers, draining about half a bottle out the top with a drill pump, before driving home. been told it does stress the engine, although none of this is substantiated. as for the oil starvation issue on my car, i've lost power just playing the highway clover onramps. worse in one direction than the other.
teigan said:
... as for the oil starvation issue on my car, i've lost power just playing the highway clover onramps. worse in one direction than the other.
Hi,
The issue you describe about losing power on the cloverleafs isn't oil related, it's starvation in the carburettors as I mentioned above.
The fuel will, under right-hand lateral 'G's, rise up the sides of the fuel bowls and prevent the floats from dropping to allow more fuel in through the needle valve(s). This momentarily starves the engine of fuel. Once you come off the 'G's, the float(s) drop as designed, the needle valve opens and the fuel bowls refill to their proper levels.
This is what I meant about adjusting the floats. Spec is 14mm, if you reduce that to 12.5-13mm, you'll reduce the likelyhood that the carbs will starve-out. However, if you maintain that setting in street driving, the possibility of flooding the carbs rears up - I recommend this adjustment for track time only. Hope this helps.
Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE
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