Lotus in the Peak 2024

[Tanz]

Great weekend with old friends and new - a few pictures.

[Pete Boole]

Great photos Phil! Yes - great to meet up again and see to see some new faces/cars

Pete

[MetBlue]

Nice pic's Phil.
A few of my attempts:

[Pete Boole]

More good pics - thanks Tony!

Pete

[MetBlue]

A few more:

[AndrewWebber]

A few more photos from me. Got back to Kent last night after a few days work in Staffordshire after the Peak, and want thank everyone for a great weekend. On the way we back took a session at a company called Vibration Free, near Bicester. As the name implies they analyze vibration in machinery (including cars). I went there because in the 3 years I've had it, the Elite has had some, not excessive, but noticeable, vibration of the whole car in the 55 to 70mph range. I've noted that in the time despite refurbing and balancing the prop and wheels/new tyres, overhauled drive shafts, wheel bearings, diff, drums, it has not really changed. I opted for a 'basic' 4 wheel 'on the car balance', which I realize means any changes I make to anything from here will change it, (and any heavy braking induced flat spots), but, I don't anticipate any more work in those areas for a long while and will mark up the wheel orientation on each corner....(the more advanced / expensive option is to strip everything to component level and they balance each part). Anyway the result is brilliant. I can't feel any untoward vibration at all now. The method is clever and involves sitting each corner via front wishbone, rear trailing arm onto a load sensitive 'pads' and aiming a strobe light at each wheel. When the pad gets the highest load on each revolution of the wheel (up to 100mph equivalent) it fires the strobe, which then picks out the radial point that is 'heaviest'. Add weights opposite, on a trial and error basis, until the point becomes 'random', and the load variation is at a minimum, and job done. In my case all four corners where contributing the vibration, but the drivers side rear, was the worse, with 60g on the inside of that wheel needed to compensate. They said most 'older' cars they check are in the sort of order, apparently most drivers / passengers will feel 30g. The vibration is now less than 5g and randomly positioned with speed which indicates shafts etc. moving around in bearings. It took a couple of hours, (including my time to adjust / tighten up a front wheel bearing) was 'expensive' at £300 but in my case well worth it. The 'Elite' experience has moved further on towards it's design brief...They were a great outfit to work with, have been at it 30 years, but in my case the young guy carrying out the work was fantastic.

Andy

[richardw]

Great pics everyone and that’s an excellent tip on balancing from Andy. Glad you all had a good weekend.

Cheers, Richard

[Pete Boole]

That's really interesting Andy. I'll remember it if I ever get the car on the road!

Pete

[Tanz]

I can't see Andy's pictures?

[AndrewWebber]

That's really interesting Andy. I'll remember it if I ever get the car on the road!

Pete

They balance some of the IOM TT front running bikes...and do engine parts as well

[KevW]

Thanks for posting your photos chaps.

Re Andy's wheel balancing. I'm reminded of the 1980s when my brother and I were impecunious young lads mucking about with Minis, Metros and Triumphs we always chose to have our alloy wheels balanced "on the car". Judging from the photo the machine being used looks identical to the machines used back then. In those days the price was around £30 per car and it really did work as Andy says. For some unkown reason tyre shops in my area all seemed to stop doing it in the 1990s.

[AndrewWebber]

I asked the guys about that and they said it is very difficult (cost prohibitive) to get the kit to comply with H+S regs if in a tyre shop or garage. They operate out of a 'farm' where apparently 'farm machinery' has enough exemptions to get it permitted...i.e rotating shafts, 'in running nips', debris flying out of tyres etc.

Andy

[KevW]

That explains it, thanks Andy. No doubt if it were done in a tyre shop these days the operator would have to have full head to foot PPE and be surrounded by a screen. Not that I'm at all against H&S for staff ( I once worked for the HSE) but I do sometimes feel it goes too far at times. If the motor car was invented tomorrow it would never be allowed to be sold to the public

[AlSmith]

Please delete if not allowed, but just came across this uTube video of us all leaving the breakfast stop...... most of the wedges are at the beginning, we are a little behind as Tracy was to busy chatting

https://youtu.be/XlmnnKdgRSE?si=v7nJFjqM5WbBkb0e

[AndrewWebber]

Hi, I've re embedded my photos in the original post to try and get it to work. Seems okay again now....

Andy