[DML] Re: New Delorean production....

["cbl1739" <cbl302@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Basically as stated on my previous post,Lotus DID not want 
a "better" car than theirs,so you nailed the description right on 
the head as far as Lotus 
was into Engineering of the Delorean frame/body etc,they of course 
made it "basic safe" engineering wise,BUT as you can tell they went 
with the BASIC "Minumin Engineering" standards,in other words they 
were only interested in getting as much Money out of the Engineering 
of the Delorean, BUT making it subpar to their Lotus,if you notice 
they engineered it using the NON TURBO Lotus specs,all the way down 
to the 4 lug wheels.They of course could have used the engineering 
of the Turbo Esprit,but why make a Better car than their car.
Later GM  did the same thing to Lotus,when they bought Lotus 
Engineering,they "Stole"(outright took) the Lotus V8,that Lotus had 
Developed for their upcoming(1988 or 89 V8 Lotus Esprit),and GM 
turned around and used it for their Limited Production ZR1 
Corvettes,which meant Lotus Engineering had to start from Scratch,to 
Develope a new V8 for their Esprits,which of course they did,and put 
it into their production cars.What goes around comes around(and 
bites you in the ass)


--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Tom Niemczewski" <dmctom@...> wrote:
>
> Speaking about the frame I have a question to the people who have 
actually 
> seen or compared the DeLorean frame and a Lotus frame. Does Lotus 
have 
> equally poor engineered suspension as the DeLorean?? I have my 
frame 
> completely stripped at the moment and while looking at all the 
components 
> only one thing comes to my mind "What were they thinking?"
> The rear suspension is OK... I would expect more of it, but it is 
ok. 
> Nothing more though.
> The front suspension is a $^#^% mistake to say the least ;)
> The bad things are:
> Rear:
> TABs
> TABs mounting on both sides
> Shock mounting on the bottom - the mount should be turned 90 
degrees
> Thin and weak hub carrier
> No adjustments except for toe
> 
> Front:
> Pretty much everything....
> Upper control arm - should be stronger
> Lower control arm  - should be stronger A-arm
> Sway bar that controls caster and toe
> Spring putting load on the lower control arm and the entire weight 
of the 
> car on the lower ball joint
> No adjustments except for toe
> 
> This design would be poor for one of those tiny matchbox sized 
European city 
> cars but the DeLorean was suppose to be a sports car! The Esprit 
is 
> definitely a sports car and I wonder how good the suspension is.
> 
> BTW, I am redesigning the frame and pretty much the entire 
suspension on my 
> car. My frame is beyond repair as it turns out that the previous 
owner has 
> wrecked the car pretty bad. I am building a new stainless steel 
frame from 
> scratch! It should be interesting... I can't wait to drive the car 
on that 
> new frame and suspension. Oh, my frame will still use much of the 
same parts 
> as the original - ball joint, bushings, bolts, etc.
> 
> 
> Tom Niemczewski
> vin 6149 (in Poland!)
> Google earth: 52°25'17.30"N 21° 1'58.00"E
> dmctom@...
> www.deloreana.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, mike.griese@ wrote:
> >>
> >> The Esprit does not have an identical frame.  They share the
> >> center backbone and trailing link suspension layout, but
> >> the front suspension mounts and engine cradle are completely
> >> different.  There is a lot more torsional rigidity in the Esprit
> >> frame than in the DeLorean, which is the main issue with
> >> adding significantly more horsepower.  The DeLorean would
> >> flex too much, compromising handling.
> >>
> >> The reason you can't buy a new Esprit is because it couldn't 
pass
> >> crash testing anymore.  The car had been brought in on waivers
> >> since the late 80's and Lotus finally couldn't get them renewed.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Mike
>




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