Suspension Failure!

[DeanB]

Thanks Gaz :-)

 

Pm sent

[robinchild]

It is beyond me why lotus thought that a single shear M10 bolt was sufficient! and that they carried the same weakness over to the S2, yes it is fine for normal driving and providing everything is torqued up correctly, and your ball joints don't dry out, witch they do, but there doesn't seem to be any safety margin, especially when the rest of the car is so over engineered, with the exception of the front suspension pick up points, but that's a different matter!

Anyway I think if that had happened to me I would look into getting hold of some later S2 (toyota engine) rear uprights, and use the standard lotus outer ball joint with the much stronger tapered ball pin, you would lose the bump steer adjustment and you would need to check that the lotus ball joint is compatible with your kit. I assume the later uprights are the same geometry? Or buy the elise parts billet rear uprights as they put the out rose joint into double shear plus you keep the adjust-ability, they are a bit pricey though. 

[Spitfire]

A couple of points worth consideration, the toe link component offers a degree of frangibility which would have been calculated by Lotus, yes, you can make it much stronger but then you increase the risk of transferred damage and the next stop is the subframe. Not so cheap and easy to change as the links. As an example we do offer an M12 option for the early recessed uprights but we only recommend this for serious track cars where the increased risk of possible subframe damage is outweighed by the requirement to keep racing even after suffering considerable damage. Definitely not for road use!

This doesn't mean it is acceptable to have toe link failures in a non high impact scenario, the system can be strengthened quite nicely to withstand any track forces with minimal risk to the subframe as long as the uprated components are correctly designed, made from the correct materials, use the correct grade/quality of fasteners and come with comprehensive instructions to avoid as much as possible any fitting errors. This is the reason all our kits are fully assembled, correctly orientated, handed and set for bump (where the current setup is given to us).  

As for the later tapered uprights. They are stronger in OE form though no stronger than the early uprights when converted to M12 as above. As the inner bolt now becomes the weakest point there is no requirement to double shear the outer it will just add weight.

All our kits have full bump steer adjustability including the tapered uprights.

http://www.spitfireengineering.com/toe-link-kit-general/

Gaz

[DeanB]

A quick update on this.  I took your advice and contacted Gaz at Spitfire who was, as people have said, very helpful.

He reckons the collet design on my kit may not be ideal and could contribute to another failure even if I use the correct spec and quality bolts (he uses 10.9).

As this is only an issue at the hub end of the link he has agreed to supply me with a pair of his (top spec!) outer rod ends (bearings) which are necessary to accept his collets which he will also supply along with nuts and bolts for inner and outers, both sides.

Hopefully that should get me back on track safely.

I will keep you posted. 

Thanks for your advice and a big thanks to Gaz at Spitfire 

 

☺

[Ruxpin]

Great to hear you have a plan to sort the issue. Toe link failures always look very scary.

We will certainly be speaking to Gaz/Spitfire when we change the toe links on the 340R, his products do seem very well engineered and designed.

[DeanB]

So yesterday I took off the wheels, diffuser, toe links and toe link brackets. All by myself!  

Today Gaz from Spitfire popped by with some outer bearings and collets and I fitted them, albeit under Gaz's supervision. Did someone say Gaz was a nice guy?  Not 'arf!

The car is now back together but could do with the geo re setting.

Good news in the end, although I am cross with myself for forgetting, at the age of 47, that if you buy cheap you buy twice

 

 

 

 

A quick update on this.  I took your advice and contacted Gaz at Spitfire who was, as people have said, very helpful.

He reckons the collet design on my kit may not be ideal and could contribute to another failure even if I use the correct spec and quality bolts (he uses 10.9).

As this is only an issue at the hub end of the link he has agreed to supply me with a pair of his (top spec!) outer rod ends (bearings) which are necessary to accept his collets which he will also supply along with nuts and bolts for inner and outers, both sides.

Hopefully that should get me back on track safely.

I will keep you posted. 

Thanks for your advice and a big thanks to Gaz at Spitfire 

 

☺

[Phil S1]

Flipping ' eck! You'll be renaming your house 'Unit 4' next ;-)

Gaz sounds like a top bloke, glad you got it sorted. Sounds like a trip to see Paul Shipley is on the cards now to get the alignment put right :-)