Drivers seat

[STRaNGe BReW]

Hi

Any info on the cause and hopefully fix on the following.

When I hit the brakes hard the drivers seat twists a little.

The outer side seems to be fixed in firm but the inner side seems to run forward twisting slightly as it does.

Easy fix ??

Oh I have an Elise S3 and i do move the seat back when getting in and out

Andy

[@ndy]

Hi Andy,

Are you sure both runners are fully engaging when in the locked position....

If they are then you probably need to carry out some adjustments, I've had to tweak my seat runners in my previous V6 Exige and my current S3 Elise, Info on what to do can be found <HERE>

Andy.

[STRaNGe BReW]

Thanks for the reply

I have had chance to put my ass into the seat this morning.

I cant seem to replicate the problem just by sitting in the seat and moving it back and forth so it might not have been engaged properly in the past.

However there is a certain amount of play when moving my weight about in the seat.

when I test the seat with no weight in it there is also play, feeling like it rocks a little front to back across the diaganal.

Is this normal?? or should the seat be tight in all positions?

All visible bolts and screws etc are tight.

[@ndy]

Play in the runners is common, I had mine replaced under warranty in my V6 but within a few months the new one was the same, In the end I took the seats out and squeezed the runners and described in the link above, they didn't need doing again before I sold the car, I've also done the same in my Elise Cup about 12 months ago and so far they are still OK, even doing 6 track days 

[STRaNGe BReW]

Hi Andy

I have had the seat out today and there is a lot of play between the two halves of the runners so I have slotted them back in while I contemplated my next action.

and that I want to get out in the car this weekend. Then it rained so I did some more research.

After a fair amount of googling I found this. Item number 14 isnt on my car because it is a later modification from lotus.

 

Here is the modification

Its from this thread

https://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/92601-exige-s3-loose-drivers-seat-thread/#comments

If you go to about page 6 on the topic you will find reference to it.

and according to the people who have fitted them it works a treat. Many have had them fitted under warranty. bit late for me ☹️

Trouble is its they are £41.94 from here.

https://www.sjsportscars.com/parts-and-accessories/A142V0001K.htm

Even more through the lotus parts site Deroure

Just wondering if its worth trying to make a pair.

Cheers Andy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[STRaNGe BReW]

You get 2 of these

[@ndy]

Very interesting...... I didn't see any of these on my runners, at £40 a set I'm sure these can be made if you can find some suitable material, I may have a go next time I have some free time over a weekend.

Thanks for sharing 

[STRaNGe BReW]

I have had my seats again today after the peaks run and I have managed to make some.

Details later!!

First impressions are that it works. The seat is nice and tight now.

 

 

[STRaNGe BReW]

Hi

Almost forgot about this.

This is the material I made the seat runner tensioner out of.

It is an electricians draw tape for conduit. I am aSparky by trade.

Kinda lucky really because this was due to be thrown out as it was going rusty in the back of the garage.

It is made of spring steel and if you are not careful it will snap when trying to put a sharp bend into it.

This was the first try at making the tensioner.

Unfortunatly I didn't make it long enough, I forgot about having to bend the other end up once fitted.

But I,m sure you get the idea.

[pa28pilot]

Speaking as one of those with the benefit of having the modification fitted, I can vouch for its effectiveness - with a caveat.  The rocking is completely eliminated, but at the expense of losing the very smooth fore/aft slide action; seat adjustment becomes quite stiff when compared with unmodified seat runners.

I would also advise caution if attempting to fabricate the spring insert.  If it breaks in-situ, you may jamb the seat slide - which could make subsequent removal of the seat very difficult.  Lotus took considerable time developing the fix and in selection of the most appropriate material for the job.

It’s down to personal choice, but given the potential cost of resolving a failed DIY job (remembering that seat security is a serious safetly consideration), I’d be inclined to be safe a spend the relatively modest cost in obtaining the official part.  If nothing else, this might potentially have implications for insurance.