📓 Journals Adding Lightness

[Steve24]

I didn’t think I’d like it with the wheels off the car at first but I think it goes well with DV — classy look.

I like them too. Remind me of Ferrari F430 wheels, which were one of their best designs.

 

[Speedy Emira]

For the prospectors!

Anyone keeping the first engine oil in for 10,000 mi is insane.

I never understood why owners pay so much for a car and skimp out on oil changes.
Mine was done at 1000 miles and I did the gearbox oil at 1 year. I intend to do the gearbox oil yearly and the engine oil every six months.

 

[benjh1028]

It's Archoil 9100 https://www.archoil.com/

Anytime you can reduce resistance to movement, that frees up the energy that was being used to overcome that resistance. This is how and why it's worth reducing drivetrain loss.

I’m sorry, as an engineer I have to say it’s not that simple. And I have yet to find manufacturer claims that their product frees up HP - and if it does and is measurable they would absolutely be touting it.

That said, changing to a better fluid that creates smoother gear changes is absolutely worth it.

 

[Eagle7]

I’m sorry, as an engineer I have to say it’s not that simple. And I have yet to find manufacturer claims that their product frees up HP - and if it does and is measurable they would absolutely be touting it.

That said, changing to a better fluid that creates smoother gear changes is absolutely worth it.

One of my stated goals is reducing drivetrain loss, so that's why I'm posting things in my thread here. It's meant to be something fun and enjoyable, not a knock-down drag-out wrestling match over every stinking little detail. I'm not accusing you, just trying to reset expectations for everyone who might be reading this. It's a mod thread, not a scientific dissertation.

Now, as far as what you said, of course it's not that simple, few things are, but within the context of my mod thread, I'm posting what I'm doing and trying to document the results for those who are interested in this sort of thing. I'll have to check, but I think I remember reading somewhere that Archoil was improving the performance of engines (it might have been diesel) and resulting in a bit more power. Actually, maybe I'll write to Archoil and see what they say. I think I'll also go a step further, and after I get the trans oil changed, get a dyno run before I do anything else. It's a 360 mile drive to the Lotus dealer, and the same back, so I'll have almost 400 miles on the trans with the new oil and Archoil in it by the time I get it back on the dyno. That should give it plenty of time to have its effect. That will be a dyno run with Archoil in both the engine and trans, and hundreds of miles of wear-in. That's the best I can do as far as providing some kind of proof of results.

 

[benjh1028]

Would appreciate your assessment on if the fluid change improves smoothness of gear changing. Thanks

 

[Eagle7]

Would appreciate your assessment on if the fluid change improves smoothness of gear changing. Thanks

You bet. Based on what I'm already hearing with the engine, I expect it's going to make the trans quieter too, which will be nice. I'm not crazy about the farm tractor gear growl at low rpms. It sounds like I'm in the wrong gear, and I'm not lol.

 

[benjh1028]

You bet. Based on what I'm already hearing with the engine, I expect it's going to make the trans quieter too, which will be nice. I'm not crazy about the farm tractor gear growl at low rpms. It sounds like I'm in the wrong gear, and I'm not lol.

Agree 100%

 

[crestima]

One of my stated goals is reducing drivetrain loss, so that's why I'm posting things in my thread here. It's meant to be something fun and enjoyable, not a knock-down drag-out wrestling match over every stinking little detail. I'm not accusing you, just trying to reset expectations for everyone who might be reading this. It's a mod thread, not a scientific dissertation.

Now, as far as what you said, of course it's not that simple, few things are, but within the context of my mod thread, I'm posting what I'm doing and trying to document the results for those who are interested in this sort of thing. I'll have to check, but I think I remember reading somewhere that Archoil was improving the performance of engines (it might have been diesel) and resulting in a bit more power. Actually, maybe I'll write to Archoil and see what they say. I think I'll also go a step further, and after I get the trans oil changed, get a dyno run before I do anything else. It's a 360 mile drive to the Lotus dealer, and the same back, so I'll have almost 400 miles on the trans with the new oil and Archoil in it by the time I get it back on the dyno. That should give it plenty of time to have its effect. That will be a dyno run with Archoil in both the engine and trans, and hundreds of miles of wear-in. That's the best I can do as far as providing some kind of proof of results.

Sorry if I missed some detail already made clear in the sequence of this thread. I''m interested in your trial and experience of a new spec of oil that improves engine operation and performance, but just to be clear, is your reference to "transmission oil" related to an automatic transmission or a manual ?

 

[Eagle7]

Sorry if I missed some detail already made clear in the sequence of this thread. I''m interested in your trial and experience of a new spec of oil that improves engine operation and performance, but just to be clear, is your reference to "transmission oil" related to an automatic transmission or a manual ?

Mine is a manual, but it should be the same benefits for an automatic.

 

[Eagle7]

After driving around some with the new wheels on, there seems to be a reduction in road noise. The only thing different is the new Aerie wheels. I have the same tires (I had them transferred from the factory rims). As crazy as this sounds, now I'm wondering if it's the factory rims that are creating some of that roar. Is it wind noise from the spokes? The tires on these new rims are quieter, and I'm driving on the same roads as before.

Has anybody who's switched to 3rd party rims noticed any difference in road noise levels?

 

[Speedy Emira]

Hi Eagle 7
Are you going to use a different product for your gearbox?
I’ve been on the Archoil site and there are so many products so unsure. I’m thinking of trying it out in my Landrover engine and gearbox as they could always do with being quieter and wait for your feedback.

 

[Eagle7]

Hi Eagle 7
Are you going to use a different product for your gearbox?
I’ve been on the Archoil site and there are so many products so unsure. I’m thinking of trying it out in my Landrover engine and gearbox as they could always do with being quieter and wait for your feedback.

No, I'm using Archoil 9100. It's for engines, transmissions and differentials. If you have any questions about how much to use, just email them (they respond quickly) and let them know what you have and they'll tell you the correct amount. I believe there was a different amount for differentials by themselves, unless they were part of a transaxle like our Emiras have. If it's just an engine and transmission, then it's 1.2 ounces per quart of oil.

[email protected]

Based on how much quieter my engine is now, I'm thinking of putting it in my Alfa, but it's AWD so I'm going to ask about quantities for the transfer case for the AWD.

 

[Eagle7]

I've noticed on front shots of the car, you can see the hex head bolts underneath holding the front body pan on. When I saw a picture (great shot too) that @kitkat posted of his red car, I decided to do something about that with mine.

I went to the local Ace Hardware store and got black button screws (M6x16) to replace the hex bolts. The manual says to torque them to 3 ft lbs (4 nm) which is a hand-tighten. The hex head bolts need an 8 mm socket, and the button screws used a 4 mm allen wrench.

As I was doing this, I noticed two things. One, there are 4 hex head bolts that bolt straight into the body panel, and for some reason they didn't have any washers under them. You can see the two in the front of the car in the photo below. If you'll look closely, you can see there appears to be an imprint in the body where there was a washer at one time. What this means I don't know. ?? So I'm going to go get some washers and use them when I replace the hex head bolts with the button screws.

The other thing I noticed was the aluminum underbody panel makes a lot of noise, like a drum. Now I'm thinking some of the road noise may be coming from at least this one underbody panel vibrating, and maybe others too. Next time I have the car up on the Quickjack, I'm going to remove this panel and put some Damplifier mat on the backside, to dampen it and stop it from vibrating. This may be the source of at least some of the road noise, which will be a lot easier to remedy than removing wheel well liners.

 

[kitkat]

Those would be way less noticeable! Might do that myself.

 

[scc.131.fe]

I've noticed on front shots of the car, you can see the hex head bolts underneath holding the front body pan on.

Howard Hughes would approve! Not quite flush, but gotta be a drag improvement!

 

[LuckysDad]

Man, there's like 1,000 screws under there.

 

[seriously]

Man, there's like 1,000 screws under there.

Yeah it’s kind of annoying. Like the flat undercarriage but surely could have been done with not 1000 bolts!

 

[LuckysDad]

Yeah it’s kind of annoying. Like the flat undercarriage but surely could have been done with not 1000 bolts!

And an access point for oil changes

 

[Steve24]

Howard Hughes would approve! Not quite flush, but gotta be a drag improvement!

I want to know what the weight saving is!

 

[LuckysDad]

Now you've got me thinking