Objective: Button Relocation and AC Removal 2

Since the removal of the dash, we had a few loose buttons to secure. The more we take out of the car, the simpler things seem. By removing the plastic side sill cover we revealed the perfect location for our lights and horn button.

Since we labeled the new horn button “Move!” we needed a horn that was a little more motivating for other drivers. A dual trumpet air horn set up should do the trick.

Next on our list was the removal of the AC compressor. Since we will need to remove the clams for the cage to be made, this seemed like as good a time as any to pull them back off and give ourselves a little more room to get the AC compressor out.

With the compressor out, and the new belt in place, we had to go for a test drive. So we put the wheels back on…

And took the car out for a spin…While Neil finished up some testing, I did some driving of my own!

AC Removal Stage 2 Weight Savings: 26 lbs.

Next week the car gets sent over to Burke Built Motorsports to have a custom cage put in and Neil and I get creative on ways to work on the car with out actually having the car.

Objective: Tasty Bits.

Every cool car out there has at least a couple sweet parts. Lamborghinis have their vertical doors and crazy paint and wheels. BMWs have their “Angle Eyes” and SMG. The S class Mercedes always comes up with new firsts in the industry. The S111 Spyder already has a lot going for it. No windshield, exposed roll bar, and the huge rear wing all set the car apart from the rest. But that wasn’t enough.

One item that had not been sorted out yet was the wheels. Our current TE37s are light, strong, and look hard core.

Anyone who is familiar with good JDM tuning knows that if a car has TEs, they generally aren’t messing around. But the offsets were not quite right and they required things like spacers and hub-centric rings to fit the car. There are several options out there for 16 and 17 inch wheels, but a good set of 15/16 inch wheels are more difficult to come by. As usual, Sector 111 had the solution.
Not only were the SJ Racing wheels made specifically for the car, but they were a step up because of the increased track and contact patch. We were also able to keep the 15/16 inch size that Neil desired.
Sector 111 also supplied the car with the very cool Ikeya Formula Sequential Shifter. I must admit that this seemed like a bit of a toy when I first saw it. Maybe it is, but after installing the Ikeya Shifter, the entire driving experience changes. Not only is this car going to look like a hard core race car, but it feels like it too! Even just driving around town made me feel like I was cruising the streets in a full fledged race car. While the end result is great, the install to get there was a little more difficult.

This was one of the most difficult steps of the project. It required a lot of patience and careful observation of the instructions. Luckily we had two heads to put this one together. The install itself took a day. It might have been shorter but we had to chase down some parts and tools. By mid morning of the following day the car was back on the road. Despite the constant tweaks that had to be made and still need to be made while we fine tune it, I would say the shifter was well worth the effort.

New Wheel Weights: 11 lbs. (Each front) 14.5 lbs. (Each rear)

Added weight for Ikeya Shifter: 3.55 lbs.

Next week we’ll have a little fun pushing buttons and shed some more weight by removing the AC compressor.

Objective: Window Removal and Clean Up

Since we have plans on removing the windshield, we will have no need for the side or rear windows. Removing the side windows was easy enough and had a nice bit of savings, but the back window was a different story. While I was tackling that Neil had some clean up to do. Eight hours later I had the back window out. In order to achieve this I had to remove the roll bar cover as well. No sense in putting it back on seeing as there would be no windshield and the only real function of the cover was to hold the top on. While we were at it, we decided to remove a few more little things for some extra weight savings. Some say we went over board, but I think not!The finished product was great and got everyone excited to do more!

Side Window Weight Savings: 34 lbs.
Rear Window Weight Savings: 3 lbs.
Roll Bar Cover Weight Savings: 7 lbs.
Key Weight Savings: 52.3 lbs.

Next week we are going to get some new wheels from Sector 111 and an Ikea Formula Sequential Shifter!

Notes: Since the start of the project, we get people asking what we do with the spare parts. Neil and I both have artistic backgrounds and sometimes our creativity gets the best of us.

Objective: Dash Removal

If you look at race cars like the Sport Exige and the Ferrari Challenge Stradale, you may notice they still have a dash.

For us that just wouldn’t do. Instead a light weight dust shield seemed more suitable. Naturally the first step for this swap was removing the dash.

The dash removal was interesting because the more we removed, the better it started looking. When removing the dash, we also took off the door panels and sill covers. The sill covers concealed some sharp edges on the chassis. In order to prevent getting cut on the sharp aluminum we used a series of files to dull the edge. At this point we have removed enough weight that we are really starting to feel a difference.

Total Weight Removal: 47.3 lbs. (Including side sills)

As you can see, the dash is starting to look better, but the doors need some work. Next week we are going to remove the side windows, rear window, rear roll bar cover, and have a little fun with the angle grinder!

Objective: Works Bell/Personal F1 Install and 1st Weigh In

Details: If you look at any race car, they will all have one thing in common; a sweet minimalist steering wheel. If you have ever driven an Elise you know how hard it is to get in and out, especially if you have a deep bolstered seat. A quick release is not only a nice compliment to the steering wheel, but it is going to help when it comes to getting in and out of the car. For our project we went to the top. What better wheel than the little brother of the same wheel used in the McLaren F1 LM!

To mount this wheel we couldn't use just any hub and quick release. We went with the Rapfix II by Works Bell. These products were donated by Aspec Products and Works Bell USA.


This leads us to the moment of truth; the first weigh in!










The first weigh in gave us an official starting point. From then on the car would go from a nice street car to something a little more hard core. Now it’s time to part ways with the ordinary.

Total Weight Savings: 3lbs. (Quick Release and Steering Wheel)

Thanks to the following sponsors:

Works Bell USA
Aspec Products

Next week marks the beginning of the end. The dash is coming out as our project Spyder continues with the Sector 111 diet.

Objective Light Weight Radiator Install

Details: At over 50,000 miles the Elise started show some wear. One of the major maintenance items that needed attention was the radiator. The plastic end caps started to leak and with a track day right around the corner, we needed a fix. It seemed silly to replace the radiator with another stock one that was bound to fail after another 50,000 miles. Instead we opted for a fully aluminum radiator made by Flex Co. Ltd. in Japan. Not only did we prevent future problems from occurring, but the new radiator weights just over a pound less then stock! It’s not much, but we will take every little bit we can get. The radiator worked so well that we now offer it to U.S. Lotus owners.

Finding the right radiator was the easy part. I must say that removing the front clam for the first time was a bit intimidating. After digging up all the information we could on this project, it was time to step up to the challenge.






Half way through the job we realized that we could shave some weight by removing the ac condenser and some of the lines. Since the electric fans mount to the condenser, we had to create some custom rails to mount the fans directly off the radiator.


Roughly 10 hours later, the car was back together and the new radiator was ready to be tested at the track. There’s no doubt that removing the clam was a lot of work for the average do-it-yourselfer, but it was one of the most important stepping stones in this project. It gave us the confidence and desire to continue with the project, plus we earned over 5lbs. in additional weight savings.

Notes: When it came time to fill the cooling system back up with coolant, we ran into a couple snags. After putting in less then a gallon of coolant, the system appeared to be full. This couldn’t be as we had drained it from the radiator, but after trying to run the car to the point where the thermostat would kick on, the reservoir remained full. We also got worried when the electric fans wouldn’t kick on after the engine reached the 210 degrees or so where they were supposed to. That is when we realized the importance of the mystery box on the passenger side fender lining. Even after fixing the fans, we still couldn’t get the system to take an adequate amount of fluid. It turns out an air bubble was preventing the lines to fill and we had to burp the system. That was an interesting hour or so to say the least, but at the end of the day we could look back and laugh at it.

Radiator Weight Savings: 1.1 lbs.

AC Removal Stage 1: 4 lbs. (condensor, front lines, bracketry and hardware)

Next week we are going to install a quick release steering wheel hub from Works Bell, and a steering wheel that was inspired by one of the greatest cars of all time; the McLaren F1 LM. We are also going to look at how our efforts have paid off so far.