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Lotus Owners Gathering 27

August 24-27, 2007

When:	August 24-27, 2007
Where:	Aspen Snowmass, Colorado
Contact:	www.log27.com
Info:	Combine the clear skies of the Rockies, beautiful vistas, and lots of Lotus nuts…then throw in some racing notables and twisty roads, and you had a vacation that couldn't be beat. That was this year's LOG in Snowmass Village, CO. Our NJ club had a great turnout of members to the faraway location. The Naglers, the Haines, Russ Olesen, Jackie Feakins, Sue Howard, Dominick Munofo, Ralph Stechow, Bob Jasek, and Jim Cummings all took the trip. Not that we were the most courageous. One guy from Maine drove his Elise through 26 states to get to the event! Hope he had fun (and used a credit card to pay for his gasoline!) Several of the LEO members started their vacations early to see Colorado. Unlike past years we didn't have multicar caravans from the East Coast. But in the spirit of LOG Caravans past, the Naglers and we caravanned for the last 200 miles. Ahh, good times. On arrival at Snowmass, our first action was to visit a marble quarry arraigned by VA Lotus owner Bob Blanchard. No tourist-tour this, as we donned hard hats and wading boots and got to see the operation close-up. Amazing what it takes to saw off giant blocks of rock that will be monuments, public buildings, or counter-tops! Returning to the hotel, it was time for the traditional Reception, a chance to meet and greet fellow Lotus owners from around the world. We got to see many folks from the West that we had only corresponded with such as Sean Songolia of the OC Lotus Club and Harry Appleby from Viking Motorsports. Lotus Cars introduced the 2-Eleven Circuit Car and Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus 72 was on display, too. Saturday included the Tech Sessions and Concours. There was a large turnout of cars, one of the biggest LOGs ever! We pitched in to help with parking so that we would get to talk to the folks as they drove in. During the judging and panoramic photo shoot we listened as Alain de Cadenet told stories of entering LeMans on a shoestring. LOG Tech Sessions: Worth the Trip! Log always includes Tech Sessions, little seminars on various aspects of the different Lotus models. They have been special over the years. I'll never forget the first one I attended in 1994, where Arnie Johnson fielded inquiries about Esprits and other models. Priceless. Here is a report on one of them by Matt G: This year I attended the Elise/Exige tech session led by Nick Adams of Lotus Cars. He didn't have any material prepared for the event, it was just a huge Q&A session. I couldn't think of a better way of running that session - the questions were intelligent, insightful, and plentiful (we ended up getting kicked out, the session was going too long). Some memorable ones: - Nick explained the design details and philosophy of the 2007 bumpers...it's classic Lotus, they closely reviewed the rules and interpreted them in a creative manner. New part numbers for various items, new descriptions...the clamshells are now 'bumper skins' and allowed to be damaged in an impact! Lol. Likewise, the rear panel where the foam bumperettes are located is a license plate holder, and rear impacts will damage that part as well as the bumper skin (clamshell). The rear panel received some additional bracing to help carry the load to the subframe; the front (clamshell) received some fiberglass reinforcement to again help carry the load and ensure the crash structure was not damaged at all in a minor impact. - The biggest reason for the sponginess in the 2005 brake pedal is the pedal linkage, and is something Nick admits was a mistake. Since they wanted to use the aluminum pedals, but needed to revise the linkage, they inserted a steel part in the linkage system (to save cost over using aluminum). Due to mismatched thermal expansion of that and the aluminum bits, they used rubber bushings in the linkage, which give us some sponginess. The 2006+ pedal box is superior (does not have this design), but is in no way retrofittable to the '05. When asked if the '05 linkage could be redesigned using aluminum parts with solid bushings, he avoided answering directly for obvious liability reasons (no company in their right mind would ever consider selling such a modification to a critical safety system). It seems like it's something that could be easily engineered and produced for personal use. - He suggested using a crow's foot extension when checking the torque of the suspension bolts (many/most cannot be accessed using a simple torque wrench and socket). - He expects that Lotus will sell a supercharged Elise eventually, it's an obvious progression yet has no idea when that would happen. - The button you press to open the doors (from the outside) originates from a trunk release used on another vehicle, this is why there's no mechanical connection between that lock and the central locking system, there just aren't provisions for it in that lock. - The 211 uses a fourth iteration of the Elise chassis (first was S1, second was S2, third was federal Elise, fourth is the Fed Elise with higher side sills). Front upper a-arm is unique to this vehicle, as are the steering tie rods, to restore the suspension geometry (since the car is much lower than an Elise). - He considers the 2007+ headlight unit to be much better than the '05- '06...better optics, it wasn't just a simple fix to get it to pass the fed requirements. Not retrofittable to earlier cars (though I imagine with some soldering and maybe trimming of the clamshell behind it, it could be done?). - The roof scoop of the Exige is quite inefficient as the inlet is far back from the windshield header. The GT3's roof scoop is much better; I think he said the roof will be available in the US at some point? There's always the Sector111 roof option too, similar front scoop extension that will improve efficiency. - He didn't seem to be a big fan of a lower cam change, thought it wouldn't be best for performance. - That's all I can remember right now; I wish I had videotaped the session as it was very informative! A couple questions that did NOT get asked were regarding the clutch disc failures we've seen, and hesitation when cornering on a track. Now back to Atwell's summary....... Sunday morning was the autocross sponsored by a Caterham dealer, Rocky Mountain Sports Cars. The course was small and tight, best for the Elans and Sevens. Not to mention the intrepid LEO nuts Jim and Dom in their rental Focus… The boys at RMS did some smoky burnouts and doughnuts that capped a well-organized event. After that we hit the road onto some of the Scenic Drives. And, scenic they were…we turned them into LEO jaunts! Just picture tearing through the twisties in…a rental SUV? Still, it was fun as long as you pumped up the tires to a "sporting" pressure. As usual it was Atwell leading the pack on the way up to the Ashcroft Ghost Town and the Castle Creek Pass. Monday was the Track Day at the Aspen (Woody Creek) Club Track, a small venue close to Snowmass. As is common, there was an "incident" but no one was hurt, just a shunt. Emerson Fittipaldi did a few VERY quick laps in the 72 GP car (almost setting a new lap record in the process, WOW). But the best thing for those of us who flew in was the rides on the track in the "special" cars that were on hand. As someone who has done a few track sessions I get the BIGGEST thrill from exploring the capabilities of my Esprit. But a ride in the visceral Caterham of Rocky Mountain Sports Cars was definitely the next level of motoring! Imagine going Balls-Out in a lightweight car with no doors… Ohh! But even THAT didn't prepare me for the ride in the 2-Eleven with Lotus Cars' Nick Adams at the wheel. It was a higher level of motoring excitement! The day after everyone left, we drove the longest Scenic Tour by ourselves (200 miles!) and enjoyed the mountain passes one last time. LOG was a GREAT Vacation.