Lotus Club Queensland
Dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of the Lotus experience
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Monthly Meeting
    • Join the Club
    • Stay informed
    • Membership Application
  • Events
    • Current Events
    • Day Run Sign On Form
    • Articles
    • Lotus 2019
  • DTC
    • DTC Entry
    • 2020
      • DTC Live Results Sept 2020
      • DTC Live Results August 2020
      • DTC Live Results June 2020
      • DTC Live Results March 2020
    • 2019
      • DTC Live Results Oct 2019
      • DTC Live Results Sept 2019
      • DTC Live Results July 2019
      • DTC Live Results March 2019
      • DTC Live Results Feb 2019
    • 2018
      • DTC Live Results Aug 2018
      • DTC Live Results July 2018
      • DTC Live Results April 2018
      • DTC Live Results March 2018
    • 2017
      • DTC Live Results Aug 2017
      • DTC Live Results July 2017
      • DTC Live Results June 2017
      • DTC Live Results March 2017
    • DTC Articles
  • Calendar
  • For Sale
    • Classifieds
    • Merchandise
  • Technical
    • Expert Panel
    • Model Info
    • Driving
      • Paul Stokell’s Driving Events
    • Autokhana Layouts
  • Links
    • Suppliers & Parts
    • Video Links
    • Lotus Racing
    • Lotus Cortinas
      • Lotus Cortina Articles
      • Lotus Cortina Videos
  • Galleries
    • All Galleries
      • Gallery 2020
      • Gallery 2019
      • Gallery 2018
      • Gallery 2017
      • Gallery 2016
      • Gallery 2015
      • Gallery 2014
      • Gallery 2013
      • Gallery 2012
      • Gallery 2011
      • Gallery 2010
      • Gallery pre-2010
    • Articles
  • Magazine
    • Magazine 2020
    • Magazine 2019
    • Magazine 2018
    • Magazine 2017
    • Magazine 2016
    • Magazine 2015
    • Magazine 2014
    • Pre-2014
      • Magazine 2013
      • Magazine 2012
      • Magazine 2011
      • Magazine 2010
      • Magazine 2009
duratek-alt-relocation

Duratec Madness – Part 1

By Joe Arico.

Mike Moore and I have been busy putting Duratec’s into our Elise’s. You will know Mike’s install well from all the great articles he’s written. While our builds use common components, they do differ quite a bit. The most essential ingredient though is the same – they are both built by a couple of car nuts in a shed.

After 18 months of work the car has been a runner now for about 4 months. The first couple of months were painful, sorting out teething issues with the tune. Fortunately, I did get it ready for the final round of the QLD Super Sprints in September (literally the night before!). It was a baptism of fire for the car but I’m glad to report that it survived a 400km round trip to the track and competed all weekend without issue. I even came away with a trophy.

So, let’s rewind back to the beginning. One of the biggest goals when I set out to do the conversion was to be able to retain the air conditioning. In the 8+ years I’ve owned the Elise I’ve put a lot of time into getting the AC to work effectively. I wasn’t going to let all that work go to waste! Besides, if you realistically want to use the car in summer in QLD you really don’t have a choice.

It very quickly became apparent that keeping the AC wasn’t going to be easy though. It was clear I was going to have to think outside the box and do something a bit different. The only way I could fit everything in was to move the alternator to the back of the engine and run it on a shaft. The AC compressor was easy – a standard Mazda 6 compressor bolts straight up to the engine block. I wasn’t making life easy for myself but I was determined not to give up on the idea and give it a go! I just had to make sure that everything else I did supported this design goal.

While I worked out what to do with the AC it also became clear (to both Mike and I) that the partial “kit” purchased out of the UK was not engineered to the level required. Most of the components supplied were good quality but the mounts put the engine in a position that was most definitely going to be problematic. To get acceptable clearance around the front of the engine they needed to be redesigned. This is where the project suddenly got a lot more complicated!

It’s worth saying at this point that when I set out to design all these parts I had none of the CAD skills required. I have a long engineering background but I had never used a 3D design package before. However, I had always wanted to learn. I was fortunate to have access to such a package through my work. It was a steep learning curve but after some head banging I eventually got the hang of it. It really is amazing what you can do with the technology available today!

I was also fortunate to have a good friend at work with a 3D printer so I prototyped many of the parts in plastic before committing to manufacturing in aluminum. After a bit of careful measuring I ended up redesigning the mounts to lower the engine 13mm in the car. This may not sound like a lot but it made a massive difference.

Anyway that’s where I’ll sign off for this issue. I’ll leave you with some pictures of early prototype plastic mounts.

LCQ member helps Porsche to 2nd title ICC Regularity Oct 2016

Related Posts

t-supercars-banner

Articles, Caterham, Events, Gallery 2020, Homepage

Townsville Supersprint 2020

morgan-park-banner

Articles, Events, Gallery 2020, Homepage, Racing

Morgan Park Sprints – Aug 2020

looks-a-bit-newish

Articles, Caterham, Technical

The Covid Cam

Random images

img_1106
IMG_0301
IMG_9149
IMG_0041
P1010080
Ploughman's Lunch
MG_6936
Goodwood_Car_Park1
F1000004
main-3a
Robyn-and-Chris
main-5
Carolyn,-Moira-and-Daryl-
Mar-main-23
main-7
Fire-lighting-challenge
IMG_7374
IMG_8566
0069
IMG_8039
IMG_6352
P5250034
IMGP7333
P8310121
IMG_3873
Club_Lotus_Dec_08_017
P1050558
P1060279
IMG_1358
PICT7311
112_1299_IMG
IMG_0922
IMG_7617
IMG_6621
IMG_5029
IMG_5320
IMG_3348
image_091
image_171
image_188
IMG_8419
IMG_8794
IMG_3774
IMG_6508
Stearman_Toowoomba
IMGP1265
mt-mee
george-rowe-in-suitable-attire
seven-plus-seven
IMGP3185
An-interesting-way-to-settle-any-domestic-differences
MG_7635
15-Martin-mixing-with-the-BMWs
2-Winding-mountain-road-1
IMG_4908
Cootha-Map
Russells-Elise-2
The new boys
vintage-royal-enfield-and-sidecar
Mitch and Martin
Clive chasing Martin
20170424_133139
_MG_0471 as Smart Object-1
Martin amongst it
nathan-06
Steve-Mary-Anne
Outright-winners-Paul-and-Kate
DTC-Pits
Paul-Stokell-provided-mentouring-on-the-day-by-Emma-Morley
Shane and Dick
Shine-for-the-show
2000-Start-Line
mike's-gt40-photo-by-vyv
vyv-photo-5
Signing In
jon-turns-up
John and Penny
IMG20200204163036
IMGP8221-the completed restoration
tonys-eleven-1
MG_3929
On-route-to-Mt Mee-gw
D74_9592_full
IMG_1425
BBQ-lunch-Woodenbong-Style
Pattys Gin Palace
IMAG5969
At-the-Golden-Grove_GW
Pit Pass
Monaro
Transport-Museum-1
main-32
aston-martin
IMGP8491-1
main-40
Joe, Garry & Jason
bsa-2
IMGP8602
IMAG6013
IMAG6172

Recent Articles

  • Townsville Supersprint 2020
  • DTC – Friday 14 August 2020
  • Morgan Park Sprints – Aug 2020
  • The Covid Cam
  • Noosa Winter Hillclimb – August 2020
  • Stokell Track Day – July 2020
  • Lakeside DTC – Sunday 21 June 2020
  • Lotus Club Drive In a Covid 19 Environment

Latest Gallery Images

The-Europas Shanes-Seven Europas-new-and-old Daryls-Seven Daryl-manning-the-timing IMG_20200621_104957

Search articles by category

Archived articles

Lotus Club Queensland
© Lotus Club Queensland   |   Site by Black Eye Studios