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Lotus
Esprit World based in Bedford, UK runs a 1992
SE Highwing in Black, with a Magnolia leather interior and is a
Model:
Year: Colour: Interior: Driving Style: Miles per year: 2,000 - 4,000
(limited mileage of 5,000 on insurance by ClassicLine)
Currently paying £259 per year, with brother & friend on policy (both younger)Owned Since: Purchase from: Serviced at: Other Cars: Previous Lotus': Why an Esprit: Upgrades:
Replaced cracked rear light, damaged door handles & glovebox lock, recovered engine cover (see guide) new headlamps (see installation here), door rubbers (see guide), reprayed front spoiler, treated leather, locking wheel nuts (new removed), alarm. Braided Clutch Hose (see installation here), Replaced internals in Chargecooler and Sunroof rubber all from SJ Sportscars. Dump Valve from Meanmachine (see installation guide). Sports Exhaust from SJ Sportscars. Cat-bypass-pipe from Lotusperformance.co.uk. Ram-Air convertion (see guide). K&N Air Filter (see installation here). S4/GT3 17" Alloys, Painted Mesh. Sport 300 Seats (see installation guide here), Turbo Timer (see installation guide), Stainless Steel door sills (see installation guide), Alloy Gearshift Surround (see installation guide), Alloy handbrake sleeve, New drilled rear brake discs and Portifield pads from Ramspott & Brandt (see installation guide now replace), removed rear High-Wing, Elise style side indicators (see installation guide), Clear front indicators (see installation guide), GT3 Gearknob (see installation guide), Carbon Fibre Sunroof (see installation guide), Uprated Clutch from PUK Esprit Racing (see install guide) , New Wilwood Master Clutch cyliner from PNM Engineering and standard slave cylinder, Uprated powder coated suspension from a GT3 (now replace with SE, soon to be 2006 SE suspension). New front 6-pot caliper brake kit from PNM Engineering (see install guide). Sport 300 front blip (see install guide). New front wheel bearings. S4 Steering wheel (see install guide). Oil Catch Tank/Breather Filter (see install guide). Sport 350 Alloy Pedals (see install guide). New interior carpets (see install guide).Carbon Fibre Headlight surrounds (see install guide). New Air Horns (see install guide). New rear brembo caliper brake kit from PNM Engineering (see install guide). Carbon Fibre Airbox (see install guide). Crankcase Breather Filter (see install guide) New master gearshift unit with shortshit. Carbon Fibre Sport 350 wing (see install guide). Flamebeater Extingusher (see install guide). Upgraded bulbs (see install guide) Glow fuse kit (see install guide) Sport 300 LSD Gearbox, Sport 300 flywheel, Sport 300 Clutch, V8 Radiator, Uprated Oil Coolers, Sport 300 Engine rebuild, Sport 300 Chargecooler, 'New' Turbocharger, Recon'd Oil Pump, Recon'd Water Pump, 'New' Uprated Motorsport spec Fuel Pump, Fuel tanks stripped and recoated, Electric Speedo with digital display (S300). 6-pot HiSpec Monster Six Calipers with discs, bells and V8 front hubs. 320mm Rear Brake Discs & Bells. New Sport 350 Mag Alloy wheels. New Forged Dump Valve in Aluminium to replace old Red Bailey Dump Valve. A voltage gauge from an earlier Esprit replaces the old boost gauge to the charging system can be monitored. Honda S2000 'Engine Start' button. Full body respray in Sport 350 black. Carbon sunroof and wing have also been sprayed body colour. New glass-fibre rear bumper.
Problems:
Info:
This is the second Esprit, a 1992 SE High Wing, 34,000 miles (when purchased, now 55,000), 3 owners, FSH, Magnolia leather, glass sunroof (now carbon fibre), A/C, electric windows & mirrors, central locking, Lotus mats. A Sigma M30 Cat-1 Alarm with additional 800m pager. It's still got the wind deflector and storage bag for the sunroof. There's a fire extinguisher installed as you never know, also a small car toolkit for some roadside maintenance.
LEW was originally looking for an earlier Esprit due to cost, but after looking at quite a few in poor condition, It was decided to spend a little more and get something in good condition. Unlike others, LEW's a fan of the High Wing. Not the wing as such, but the model. The Esprit's without the body kits look a little cleaner. The glass backs of the earlier turbos aren't as modern looking and the high wing was the first Esprit Turbo without the glass back. The bonnet vents are also first seen on this model.
Lotus Esprit World Movie Starring LEW's Esprit
TYRES
Front tyres: Dunlop SP9000 235/30 ZR 17
Rear tyres: Dunlop SP9000 285/35 ZR 18
Spare tyre: 175/70 R 14 (not carried)
This is how it originally looked. in the Donington carpark in 2001EXHAUST
Stainless Steel Sports Exhaust from SJ Sportscars running from a Stainless steel Cat-replacement pipe from Lotusperformance.co.uk. This has now been replaced by a Sports System from SWLC and the Cat re-installed.
WEIGHT:
Weight saving including, seats, sunroof, exhaust, sound deaderning removed, carbon fibre airbox, carbon fibre headlamp surrounds and sparewheel removal has saved 41kg of standard.Kerb weight: 1298 Kg (measured by Lotus Engineering in 2005)
STANDARD EQUIPMENT:
The standard equipment for the Esprit SE includes: tilt/removable glass sunroof, air conditioning, electric windows, central door locking, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors, three phase ice warning system, front foglamps. 'SE' full leather interior with polished burr elm instrument panel.Run on
now on
EXTRA EQUIPMENT:
Apple iPod 4gb MP3 Player, now replaced by a simple Ipod Shuffle, linked to a Alpine MRP-T406 Amplifier 90wx2CH Max, running Alpine SPS 170A 6inch rear speakers and Infinity kappa 4inch 2-way front speakers. 2x Clarion SRV303 active sub boxes.Sigma M30 Cat-1 alarm with additonal 800m pager
Blitz DTT Dual Turbo Timer with digital boost gauge
TomTom GO 300 SatNav with camera locations
Road Angel Blackspot detector (mk1)
Flamebeater Fire Extingusher
UPGRADES From STATUS – Fitted 001 Esprit Mats London Lotus Completed – LEW 002 New Exhaust back pressure valve (now removed) London Lotus Completed – London Lotus 003 New rear dampers
London Lotus Completed – London Lotus 004 New Steering Rack & Universal Joint London Lotus Completed – London Lotus 005 New CV seals London Lotus Completed – London Lotus 006 New Sunroof Rubber Seal SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 007 New Air Horn Halfords Completed – LEW 008 New N/S mirror glass SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 009 Rebuilt Chargecooler SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 010 New Header Tank Lotus Service Centre Completed – Lotus Service Centre 011 New Exhaust Manifold Lotus Service Centre Completed – Lotus Service Centre 012 Cam Belts changed Lotus Service Centre (twice) Completed – Lotus Service Centre 013 Braided Clutch Hose SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 014 New O/S Rear Light Cluster Lotus Performance (2nd hand) Completed – LEW 015 iPod installation DIY Completed – LEW 016 Dump Valve Justin Mcaulay Completed – LEW 017 New S/S Sports Exhaust SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 018 CAT Replacement Pipe Lotus Performance Completed – LEW 019 New Door handles (straight replacements) SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 020 K&N Air Filter Race Speed Completed – LEW 021 New Main/Dip Headlamps SJ/Lotus Performance Completed – LEW 022 Recovered engine cover DIY Completed – LEW 023 New Cigarette Lighter (N/S) SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 024 New door seal rubbers SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 025 New E/Mirror Control unit SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 026 Removal of Rear High-Wing DIY Completed – LEW 027 Rear hatch painted and holes filled AutoTech Completed – AutoTech 028 O/S rear wing painted AutoTech Completed – AutoTech 029 Numberplate surround body colour coded AutoTech Completed – AutoTech 030 Front & Rear Mesh painted silver DIY Completed – LEW 031 17" S4 Alloy Wheels & Tyres Private Sale Completed – LEW 032 Turbo Timer installed Racelogic Completed – LEW 033 New Sport 300 seats SJ Sportscars/Lotus Trim Shop Completed – LEW 034 Stainless Steel Door Sills Alan Paterson/LEW E-Shop Completed – LEW 035 Road Angel GPS Carnoisseur Completed – LEW 036 Elise 'Style' Side indicators Carnoisseur Completed – LEW 037 Clear front indicators PNM Engineering Completed – LEW 038 Alloy GT3 Gearknob PNM Engineering Completed – LEW 039 Alloy Gearshift Surround Alan Paterson/LEW E-Shop Completed – LEW 040 Alloy handbrake cover CustomLotus Completed – LEW 041 New Drilled rear brake discs Ramspott & Brandt Completed – LEW 042 Portifield rear pads Lotus Performance Completed – LEW 043 Rear braided hoses PNM Engineering Completed – LEW 044 Carbon Fibre Headlight Surrounds Esprit Engineering/LEW E-Shop Completed – LEW 045 Carbon Fibre Sunroof Dave Walters/LEW E-Shop Completed – LEW 046 Carbon Fibre Airbox
Carbon Cerbie Completed – LEW 047 Lotus Alloy Dust Caps Christopher Neil Completed – LEW 048 Upgraded Suspension (Sport 350) Private Sale Completed – PNM Engineering (replaced) 049 Used GT3 Springs & Dampers Second-hand Completed – STS (replaced) 050 Upgraded Clutch (+35%) P.U.K. Esprit Racing Completed – PNM Engineering (replaced) 051 Upgraded F Brakes (Hi Spec Calipers, Hawk pads) PNM Engineering Completed – LEW 052 Upgraded R Brakes (Brembo Calipers, Hawk pads) PNM Engineering Completed – LEW 053 New front wheel bearings SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 054 Sport 300 front blip SJ Sportscars Completed – LEW 055 S4 Steering Wheel Bought 2nd Hand Completed – LEW 056 New Slave Clutch Cylinder PNM Engineering Completed – LEW 057 Oil Catch Tank Demon Tweeks Completed – LEW 058 New Interior carpets Lotus Cars Completed – LEW 059 New front boot carpet Lotus Cars Completed – LEW 060 Base Box behind the seats Clarion Completed – LEW 061 Drill Alloy pedals South West Lotus Centre Completed – LEW 062 Holes in leather fixed fabricated Completed – Allon White 063 Powder coating Suspension Second-hand Completed – Beaver Industrial Coatings 064 Electric Chargecooler pump WC Engineering Completed – LEW 065 Crankcase Breather Non-return Valve Christopher Neil Completed – LEW 066 New gearshift master unit (short shift) Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 067 Translator ball joints Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 068 Exhaust mounting Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 069 Heater cable Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 070 IAC valve Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 071 Gearshift master unit Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 072 Wilwood Master Clutch Cylinder (0.7"bore) PNM Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 073 Wastegate Rod Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 051 Rotor & Annulus in Oil pump Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 074 Big End Bearings Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 075 New SE Springs & Dampers Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering (replaced) 076 Crankcase Breather Valve Christopher Neil Completed – LEW 077 Crankcase Breather Filter Demon Tweeks Completed – LEW 078 Chargecooler Rubber Mounting Christopher Neil Completed – LEW 079 Throttle Sensor Christopher Neil Completed – LEW 080 Boost Control Frequency Valve Christopher Neil Completed – LEW 081 Carbon Fibre Sport 350 Rear Wing Second-Hand/SWLC Completed – LEW 082 Flamebeater Fire Extingusher Elise Parts Completed – LEW 083 Upgraded Bulbs Lotus Performance Completed – LEW 084 Glow fuses Elise Parts Completed – LEW 085 Black Lotus Nose Badge Hangar 111 Completed – LEW 086 AWI V8 Alloys New Rears/Re-con'd Fronts Completed – LEW 087 Sport 300 LSD Gearbox SWLC Completed – SWLC 088 Sport 300 flywheel SWLC Completed – SWLC 089 Sport 300 Clutch SWLC Completed – SWLC 090 V8 Radiator SWLC Completed – SWLC 091 Uprated Oil Coolers SWLC Completed – SWLC 092 Sport 300 Engine rebuild SWLC Completed – SWLC 093 Sport 300 Chargecooler SWLC Completed – SWLC 094 'New' Turbocharger SWLC Completed – SWLC 095 Recon'd Oil Pump SWLC Completed – SWLC 096 Recon'd Water Pump SWLC Completed – SWLC 097 KMI BOS74-MS In-Tank Fuel Pump (motorsport spec) SWLC Completed – SWLC 098 Belts & Leads SWLC Completed – SWLC 099 Fuel tanks stripped and recoated SWLC Completed – SWLC 100 6-pot Hi Spec Front Calipers PNM Engineering Completed – LEW 101 2006 Spec SE Springs & Dampers Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 102 New Lotus Poly Bushes (Rear) Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 103 Adjustable rear links Lotus Engineering Completed – Lotus Engineering 104 Sport 350 Mag Alloys Lotus Parts Sale Completed – SWLC 105 Forge Dump Valve in Silver PNM Engineering Completed – LEW 106 Rear 320mm Disc & Bell PNM Engineering Completed – LEW 107 Halford's Calcium Battery HCB065 (7.3.08) Halfords Completed – LEW 108 Complete Respray in Sport 300 Black Surface & Design Completed – Surface & Design 109 Replacement Glass-fibre rear bumper SJ Sportscars Completed – Surface & Design 110 Electric Speedo with digital display (S300) SWLC Completed – LEW 111 Carbon-fibre dash Esprit Engineering Completed – LEW 112 Honda S2000 Starter Button EBay Completed – LEW 113 Original Lotus Voltage Gauge LotusBits.com Completed – LEW 114 Replacement headlamp Lift Motor RHS PNM Engineering Completed – LEW 115 Momo V8 Steering Wheel Ebay to fit 116 Lazy Headlamp kit EBay to fit 117 Sport 300 Turbo LEW to fit
LEW removed the High-Wing, later replaced by a Sport 350 wing. Mesh has been painted silver (see pic right) and the numberplate surround has been colour coded the same time the o/s rear wing, rear hatch and Sport 300 seat backs painted.
New Exhaust and Cat-Bypass-Pipe. Completely rebuilt front lights with carbon fibre pod surrounds. Carbon Fibre Airbox.
New door handles (picture from before and after – roll mouse over image) and new elise style indicators. Lotus badged dust caps finished off the S4 Alloys, which were later replace by V8 AWI's then Sport 350 Mags.The SE's engine of the floor at the Lotus Factory. Getting a new manifold. info here.
Upgraded rear drilled brake discs and EBC GreenStuff pads, were later replaced with PNM's rear brake kit, with ventilated discs and brembo calipers. The discs were then upgraded to 320mm disc & bells. PNM front brake kit, with HiSpec 4 pot calipers, drilled/grooved discs and hawk pads on the front. LEW ended up changing the calipers to silver ones (same spec) as the colour matches the car better.
The new brake kits before they were fitted, which includes new discs, calipers, hoses and pads. They didn't last too long, before we upgraded again. This time to PNM's Monster 6 kit with new V8 hubs and disc and bells, which look great.
The Sport 350 springs and dampers where sourced off Phil C's Esprit, while he upgraded to a TRAXSPAX kit. On testing the 350 suspension (see left), it has been found to be too hard for use on 4-cylinder Esprits, as the difference in weight between the 4-cyl. and V8 is too large. LEW then replaced the suspension with GT3 spec dampers and springs, that have been powder coated (see pic above middle left). LEW then helped out with the Lotus Spring & Damper Programme, which saw our Esprit fitted with standard SE springs and dampers. Finally LEW got a set of the new suspension which rocks!
Carbon Fibre Headlight Surrounds are a nice touch! The new carbon fibre sunroof keeps the sun out and saves a little weight. This has now been painted body colour, but inside you still get the carbon look! GT3 Gearknob and alloy surround brighten up the interior. The S4 steering wheel also gives a more modern feel along with the alloy hand brake sleeve.
The new Sport 300 Seat. Shells from SJ Sportscars and trimmed at Lotus. You can also see the Stainless Steel door sills in the middel picture. The new carpet kit from Lotus replaced the 12 year old originals. Also fitted new door rubbers, supplied by SJ Sportscars. Crankcase Breather Filter used after carbon fibre Airbox was fitted and the Catch Tank was removed.
LEW cured the red hose problem, by replacing it with a stainless steel braided hose. A must for all Esprit owners. The SE's also had a new uprated clutch fitted (old and new above). New Master and Slave Cylinders finishes off the Clutch modifications. The pedal started taking a second to return to it's position and the gears started to grind. As there was a new clutch and hose, guessed it was one of the cylinders. Changed both and everything's working fine now! During the engine rebuild a S300/S4s clutch and flywheel were fitted.
The interior continued with it's revamp. Sport 350 Alloy pedals have been fitted, the old carpets have been removed and new black with magnolia leather trim have been fitting and finally, the tunnel has been retrimmed by Lotus. A Honda S200 starter button has been fitted in early 2008.
During the carpet install, it was decided to rewire the stereo system and add some different rear speakers. 2 clarion active bass speakers where also added behind each seat to give more low range, which is always missing in the Esprit. The install is nice and neat due to the carpets and interior being out. Carbon dash replaces wood and voltmeter replace boost guage.
April 2006
Finally we've fitted our Sport 350 wing to our wingless high wing. After talking to Lotus about removing wings they advised us to either fit a wing or a larger transom so not to have a negative effect on the handling. On wind tunnel testing the Sport 350 carbon wing gave the best results for stability and downforce. So that's the one we went for. We sourced a second-hand wing from SWLC and bought brand new end-plates, struts, gaskets and fixings with our 5% discount at SWLC. Fitting wasn't too bad and the brake light wiring was the hardest bit. We think it looks great. It should do for the price! We've changed our nose badge to a black version to compliment your black paint.
From the LEF
Our comments on the Sport 350 wing
Lotus did full wind tunnel testing on every wing before it made it's way on the back of an Esprit.The sport 350 wing is the best for both down-force and stability of all the wings available.
If it's about performance over style (the lotus way), then the Sport 350 wing is the lightest (unconfirmed) and most efficient available.
This is the only reason that LEW's Esprit received a Sport 350 wing. In it's then current form, with the high-wing removed, it was the worse set-up, short transom and no wing, that was possible on an Esprit. Reduced down-force, less stability, and if I remember rightly (which I normally don't), promoted oversteer.In the end it's your choice, Style or substance! On the style side, we prefer a Sport 300 wing, but it's not the best we could put on. Plus it reduces rear visibility and needs painting, is heavier the isn't practical for using the rear storage space or for jumping in to work on the engine.
The Sport 350 wing is the best original wing you can put on an Esprit, not just a marketing ploy to sell more cars. Don't think MAX POWER, think lightweight performance in the Lotus way.
Damper Programme @ Lotus Engineering
In July of 2005 LEW's Esprit was part of the Lotus Damper Programme for the Esprit. LEW's Esprit was used to help set-up the specs for the replacement suspension being developed by Lotus. Lotus did some work on the car to make sure it was at 100%. Lotus had the Esprit for around 3 weeks and the work they performed on it was amazing.
Work done included: New gearshift Master Unit. Translator body was replaced with a unit of the ‘short shift’ type. The existing ‘Pivot’ was modified to gain the necessary working clearance with the tie rod ball joint (necessary as this shift variant was not designed for the L/H shift gearbox). New Ball Joints were used on cables and rod. A new Wilwood Master Cylinder with 0.700” bore was fitted along with a new pedal clevis pin. The Steering Rack was inspected, lubricated and refitted. The exhaust downpipe was repositioned and new rubber mountings fitted to Muffler brackets. A new cable was fitted between the facia control and the water valve for the heater controls. A new IAC valve was fitted. A new wastegate rod end was fitted and the preload set to the Lotus specification.
The Oil Pump was removed for checking (inc. relief valve operation). The Rotor & Annulus were found to have some wear that could account for a reduction in oil pressure. The sump was removed and the ‘Big End Caps’ removed for the bearings to be checked. The bearings were found to be in poor condition - the upper shells had significant wear (2 & 3 worst) and the lower shells had minimum wear. The check strap was adjusted to set the max. door opening to design specification. Door opening was excessive and door was contacting body at full opening.
The car has been fitted with new Esprit SE springs and dampers. The Ride Height (at Mid Laden) is currently 162 front & 180 rear.
The rear is high as the car is approx. 40Kg light (mainly at the rear). The original springs & dampers will be returned with the Vehicle. Kerb Weight was measured at 1298Kg, with the balance being 565 Kg. Front 733 Kg. Rear.September 2006
After suffering low oil pressure for sometime, we had our oil analysed and found there to be some contamination which led us to believe our engine was suffering from excessive wear. Before it decided to let us know, we had SWLC strip and rebuild our engine to Sport 300 spec.
While it was there, we also had a few more bits done, including our fuel tanks, oil coolers, radiator and all the little extra bits along with the engine rebuild, like water, fuel and oil pumps, new turbo, leads, belts and a polished and ported head.
Hearing SWLC had a brand new sport 300 gearbox with LSD (Sport 300 gearbox isn't a limted slip dif it's a torque-baising transmission), we couldn't let our baby leave without it. And a Sport 300 flywheel and clutch! So our SE leaves SWLC like a new car, with big jobs like engine rebuild, fuel tanks, radiators all done! Think our Esprit has a long life left on the roads of Britain!
Damper Programme @ Lotus Engineering
Fitting on the New Suspension
In July of 2005 LEW's Esprit was part of the Lotus Damper Programme for the Esprit. LEW's Esprit was used to help set-up the specs for the replacement suspension being developed by Lotus. In October 2006 the suspension work was complete and Lotus Engineering took LEW's Esprit back to fit the new kit.
The pictures above show the front suspension fitted to our Esprit and our new Monster Six Brake Calipers. While the Esprit was at the factory, we got them to fit some rear adjustable links, which are essential with the new V8 wheels. During the programme, Lotus have also been looking at Polyurethane Bushes to replace the old rubber versions. The rear kit was ready, just as our Esprit was having the suspension fitted. So we got them fitted. We will help see how they feel on the 4-cylinder cars. Only the rears are currently available, with development work still ongoing on the front kit.
Once the Esprit is back in our hands, we'll be review the new suspension to see how it fars against the standard stuff.
Donington 2007
We've got our Esprit back now! New wheels (from the parts sale) and a run-in engine, it's now time to put some miles on and test out our new engine, suspension and brakes! We're looking forward to the summer.
Finally back in our hands
April 2007
We've not had too much time to play, but it's nice to have the Esprit back, especially with so many new bits on it!
We'll be doing a page on our Engine Rebuild soon and we've already fitted a new Dump Valve from PNM that matches our new engine.
The Mags are so nice! Especially with the Monster Six Calipers! Stopping ability is very impressive. A new sports Exhaust give a nice deep sound. Lotus Suspension has improved the handling of the Esprit no-end!
Works not quite finished yet though! We still have our new S300 speedo to fit and we've thinking of fitting an Air/Fuel guage at the same time. And of course, we still have an original Sport 300 turbo to fit! BRING ON THE LAG!
LEW's Esprit hangs out with it's new buddies at the Oxford meeting in April 06 after having a Sport 350 wing fitted.
May 2008
A new digital speedo was finally fitted as the previous speedo wouldn't attach to our new Sport300 gearbox. Mileage starts from Zero, but we have the original and a record of the mileage done before the new one was fitted. A carbon dash from Esprit Engineering replace the slightly dated wood dash. After some alternator issues and a dead battery, we decided to fit a voltmeter in place of our boost gauge, so we can keep an eye on the charging system. A digital Boost gauge allows us to monitor our boost.
2004 Calendar Shoot Pictures
These pictures were taken at the London Glider Club as part of the 2004 Calendar Photo Shoot.
Documentary Filming
As LEW was helping organise the Esprit TV Documentary with NMTV, LEW's Esprit was used for some of the filming. DVD now available to purchase here.
Esprit Driver Training 2005
LEW took part in the Esprit Driver Training on a wet day in Oxfordshire. These are a few picture of our Esprit from the day.
Nick Whale Esprit Day
22nd July 2007
Stoneleigh Parts Fair
November 2007
LEW's Esprit
The Good and the Bad (March 08)
LEW's Esprits been busy lately, we've finally fitted the new digital speedo, as the old cable driven one wouldn't fit the S300 gearbox. It's working and calibrated, but does seem to cut out at very low speeds. Unfortunately our mileage reads 186 instead of 57860, but we have the total mileage documented, so a quick total up will give us it's true mileage. We've also fitted a carbon dash from Esprit Engineering to replace the wooden version. A new dump valve from PNM Engineering has also been fitted to match the new engine colour. Nice and nosiy ;-)The Esprit also was in need of an MOT (annual test), so it was booked in last week. On the short journey, the radio sounded funny and it nearly stalled at the lights. Turning up at the MOT garage, the Esprit was stopped and start a couple of times before making it on the ramp. Once the test started, the command to put the lights on, resulted in the pods struggling to raise and the engine starting to die. Evently there wasn't enough power to get the indicators to work! Give a charge up, the Esprit limped through it's Mot and just about made it home, with no lights on and plenty of rev to keep it from dying. Next day a new battery was purchased from Halfords. We went fo a Calcium version, as the car is left for long periods sometimes. So £80 was spent on a HCB065 with a 4-year guarantee. Checking our records to see how long our last battery lasted, we found that it had been in the car since August 2001. So not a bad return. Seems the trickle charger was a good investment.
On the bad side, someone decided to hit the Esprit in a supermarket carpark and drive off. The rear bumper has been damaged by the collision, but it does seem to be more paint and less body. We've been arranging a respray for the Esprit, which we will be detailing on the site, so hopefully it won't be too much extra work. The respray will be in the same colour, but will get rid of the years of stone chips and scratches that have built up. We hope to show you all the information and details you need to know about getting an Esprit resprayed during the work, so watch out for that this summer. You should be able to check out the new paint job at this Summers Oxford meeting.
Oxford Meeting
29th June 2008
Esprit Respray
Our Esprit get a new skin (June 08)
LEW's Esprits was resprayed at Surface & Design in Blackpool over June 2008. We had a full respray including the carbon fibre sunroof and our sport 350 wing. We decided to keep it black and after some thought decide to keep it a Lotus colour. We a few blacks to chose from, we finally went for the same Black as the limited Sport 350 came in. With only 2 or 3 of these being done, we've joined an exclusive club of Black Lotus Esprits.
Our bodywork was in pretty poor condition after 16 years of sweat and tears on the British roads. Plenty of stone chips, scratches and some peeling, gave an unfetching look close-up. We also needed a new bumper after the damage that was done. Surface & Design have done a remarkable job on the Esprit. We been over it with a fine tooth combe and it's pretty much perfect. No overspray, glass finish and the scratches, dents and stonechips are nowhere to be seen. We are very impressed with the finish. More details on our respray soon, with a full guide coming.
These are the first pictures of the new paint job. You really can't see how good it is from them. Picture above from the Oxford meeting are better, but you can't see the finish that looks like glass. Just need to keep the dust off how! Unfortunately it's been rained on everytime it's been out on the road, so needs a wash and polish.
Factory Frolic 09
18th October 2009
LEW's Esprits gets an outing to the factory. These pictures are alongside the Lotus test track after doing a few laps.
MoT Time 2012
18th February
LEW's Esprits needed it's annual MOT test done. With our normal tester fully booked, we tried another business who said they could handle a low car on their ramp. Close to the town centre and with friendly service, our Esprit sailed through the test.
First Esprit
The first Esprit was a Silver 1988 NA with full grey leather, FSH and 55,000 miles on the clock, It was kept for one year and did around 5,000 miles. This wasn't the best buy in the history of second hand Esprits, it was only the second one seen and I didn't even drive it before it was purchased, it wasn't even running properly on the test drive, it was from Kent Sports Cars, who aren't recommented. But saying that it never had any real problems, only a front brake caliper siezing and small things like sticking windows, rubber around sunroof and the central locking playing up. This course of action isn't advised, when the second Esprit was bought it was treating it like the world depended on getting a great one.
kato's Lamborghini Chase
On a trip to France (Monaco) in the summer of 1998, I encountered my first Lamborghini Diablo. On exiting a toll of around 12 lanes long, I spotted somthing out of the corner of my eye. A quick double take, and a bright yellow Lamborghini was pulling away. As the lanes merged into 3, the Diablo was infront, chasing him (as you do), I overtook him at only around 90mph, I then slowed to let him overtake so I could get some more pictures.
Shortly afterwards he turned off towards Milan, and my experience was over, didn't stand a chance in my 174bhp N/A, but it was an experience I won't forget. My Lotus Esprit overtaking a Lamborghini Diablo. If you'd have told me I'd be doing this one day when I was a boy (come to think of it at any age), I wouldn't have believed you. Lamborghini's have always been my preferred Italian choice over Ferrari's. I loved the Contach in the 80's and was gobsmacked by the Diablo in the 90's. An easy second choice behind the Esprit and something I'd love to drive one day. I'd have to get a black one, yellow's not my colour, but it still look awesome.
Feel free to e-mail us at admin@lotusespritworld.com with anything Esprit related. If you hadn't guessed own this site and I'm always looking for new pictures, information and owners to add to the site, and am happy to talk to perspective or new owners about what to expect and how to deal with common Esprit problems.
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