Richard_W

I have a pair of cloth seats in decent nick which I think are S type seats... Can send pictures this evening if useful.

Thanks both, that is really useful. If I can I'll take some pictures and post them. By the early 90s the cars seem to be cross overs with a mix of what is now and what was in the past. It's never easy... :)

Hi, It's a 93 car so still has the handbrake under the dash etc, guess it may fit??

Doh! Should have mentioned that! It's a dedion

Title says it really. I'm about to overhaul the suspension on the car so with the rear dismantled it would be a good opportunity to change the bar if anyone has one kicking about. Not to bothered about how it looks as I can tidy it up easily enough if need be.

Hi, I have some older style S3 cloth seats. I'm not sure if they are a version earlier than you are looking for but can send pictures etc if interested. Richard

Not easily, there really isn't any space behind the seats. You could squash it in but that wouldn't be good if it was wet. The Elise roof was / is a complete afterthought, it was not meant to have one, so its not the best as far there was no real provision to store it once its off.

I've not owned an Elise 250 but I have owned an S1 Elise, and S2 Exige and a series 2 Europa, the latter being very much maligned but when set up properly probably the best of the lot. Putting aside performance if you are looking at useability the Caterham is no better or worse than any of the Lotus cars. With the roof on, the Elise is much harder to get in an out of, not just because of the entry slot but also the Elise has a very deep sill that you have to get over. Linked to this, I think the Caterham with the hood off is a much nicer place than any Elise variant with the hood or roof on. I have never used a hood of an sort on my Caterham, but in an Elise with the hood on there is not much headroom and with the engine behind you it can get very noisy, plus they steam up a lot in the winter! I love all the Elise variant cars and if I had garage space would have another S1 in an instant. But, if useability is why its being considered then think really carefully as you may not get what you want in terms of comfort etc and for a pure driving experience the Caterham is better. Have you considered a Boxster or a Cayman? Not quite a pure as a Lotus, but not far off, but much more useable day to day.

Thanks, that is great; 11mm will make a difference! I also thought that 205s would be OK... The car is a standard S3 and is 1.4 Supersport so currently it is probably a tad over-tyred on the rear. I'm looking at R888r's as it is currently on ZZRs. Richard

Hi all, I'm sure this will have been asked a lot of times but I can't quite suss out a couple of questions about tyres and wheels. I was running 185/60 tyres all round on 14 inch wheels, but have shifted to 13 inch wheels with 185/55s at the front and 215/55s on 8 inch rims on the rear. I much prefer the the 13s but in the switch I have lost a lot of ride height... I haven't actually hit the sump yet but I do think I have touched down a couple of times! :) I've been looking at options for getting some ride height back, mainly around changing the shocks and springs and adding adjustable platforms, which I will probably still do. But I also wondered whether changing he tyres to 60 profile would actually get me a more useble height, obviously. It will, but is it going to be noticeably worthwhile! So a couple of questions... 1. How much extra clearance would 185/60s and potentially 205/60s actually give of 185/55s and 215/55s 2. Can 205/60s be fitted to 8 inch rims? I think its on the margins but there seems to be a lot of mixed opinion across different sites I have looked at. Apologies if this has been asked a lot before but any advice is appreciated! Richard

Indeed! Its all being pulled apart anyway so it can be done then. I'm not much of a cleaner really but that will just brush off with a bit of encouragement!

Thanks Stu, Thats great, exactly why I asked, now I understand that through the tube means the mounting bolt it makes complete sense... I was probably being a bit slow!

Hi all, I am about to replace my aged rear shocks and springs but I need to work out whether my current shocks are mounted through the De-dion tube or outside it... To me they seem to be outside but one persons definition is probably different to another! The picture attached is taken from below the rear left shock, at the bottom of the picture you can see the De-dion tube and how the shock is mounted. Can anyone advise as to whether this is defined as through the tube or outside. Thanks!

Hi Brett, Just replied. Thanks Richard

Hi, PM replied Thanks

Going to give this lot one more go on here before stuffing it all on ebay... All offers considered as this stuff is just taking up space at the moment Thanks Richard

Thanks all, those articles are useful. I guess my question was whether one was inherently better than the other, my initial thinking being that more triangulation seemed like a good thing. The conclusion seems to be that both are better than what I have and it comes down to what fits best! By the time I've finished I'll have replaced significantly more of the car than I expected! Good job I've been working at home for three months and not gone anywhere... The fuel savings have updated the car!

Hi All, I am sure this has been done to death, but I haven't quite got the info I am looking for from doing archive searches. I am doing some update to my car and as ever things mushroom... Having decided to fit new adjustable dampers and springs all round I decided that with the rear dampers out I may as well change the standard bar currently fitted to one that allows me to run in club track days etc. I have also pulled the rear arches but that is another mushroom effect... I am in the process of thinking about ordering a new bar and am deciding between a single diagonal and a double diagonal. What are the pro's and con's of each? I never use the hood, I've taken the frame etc out of the car, so hood clearance and bar height doesn't bother me; so which is best to go for? I am angling towards a double diagonal at the moment. The car is an imperial, De-dion S3 on the off-chance that anyone has a spare bar kicking around!! Thanks!

Hi, Yes, I have sent you a PM. Richard

I'm in west Reading, just on the edge. But, if people want stuff I am happy to meet elsewhere, mid-distance etc, within reason to make things easier. Richard

Hi, I have some S3 parts that need to be cleared out following a few changes made to my car. Everything is shown below: Standard mirrors, decent condition with no cracks etc: £25.00: SOLD Rear wheel rack and lockable spare wheel mount. The rack has been cut off of the back of my car as I won't be using it. Therefore, it has lost approx 30mm in depth which would need to be taken into account. The lock on the mount works. Someone may be able to make use of it: £25.00 Seat support / stay or alternative head restraint that can be bolted to the roll bar. I bought it and then bought some new seats so never used it: £20.00 - SOLD 14 inch KN Jupiter wheels, full set of 5, four have Pirelli Centuro tyres which are in good condition and have plenty of life left in the them. The fifth has a Goodyear Eagle tyre which I certainly wouldn't use and is probably better suited to a museum! The wheels are ford pattern / de-dion and in good useable condition, they were on my car until a week ago, but could also do with a refurb as there is some flaking paint in the insides etc: £250.00: RESERVED Cloth seats, taken from my car. They are in decent condition with no rips or tears and come with the runners. At the moment the mount stiffeners are still on the runners as I replaced mine but I will see if I can get those off. They are surprisingly comfortable, there are stoppers where the head restraints would mount but I have not checked to see if they do fit: £150.00 Some of the this stuff could be posted, that can be discussed, but the seats and wheels would be best picked up. Thanks Richard

Thanks all! They are out, taking them out and then dismantling them out of the car was the way to go... Now to get the new seats in...

I think it may be a rivnut but I'm not sure, there is no bolt head under the car... What I have are two, seemingly reinforcing strips that run inside the car from just in front of the seat to just behind the seat. They are mounted using 4 bolts / nuts which you can see under the car. The seat runners are mounted on the strips using the nut in the picture, so I can only get to the bit I can see... You can see the reinforcing strip under the runner, that is the front right one looking towards the back of the car. I am thinking the easiest way may be to take out the seats, runners and reinforcing strip as one assembly and then try any take it apart without contorting myself to much!! :) Thanks Richard

Hi, I am about the replace my older style seats with some newer ones. Getting the new seats in and fitted looks pretty simple but only after I can crack the challenge of getting the old seats out! The seat / runner assembly appears to be fitted to the supporting strips (inside the car) by four nuts But I can't work out how to get them out, they look like the picture below. No doubt they will be a world of pain to get out anyway but what tool do you use? I have tried different types of allen key but nothing seems to fit. All four of these are easily accessible. Any advice would be welcome! Thanks!

Message sent about lots if stuff!! Richard