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Joonbug's 1990
Joonbug from Oakland, CA US owns a 1990 SE in Calypso Red, with a Parchment interior.
Model:
SE Year: 1990 Colour: Calypso Red Interior: Parchment Driving Style: I'm on the track Miles per year: 1,000 — 2,000 Owned Since: 1997 Purchase from: Private Sale Serviced at: mostly myself Other Cars: '67 Mercedes 250SE (my other SE), Mitsubullshit Ecrapse Previous Lotus': None Why an Esprit: I've loved the Esprit ever since I could remember. It's beautiful and it's fast. Definitely the most bang for the buck possible. Upgrades: Dual Flowmaster exhaust with dual tips — orgeline wheels-17x8.5/17x9.5 — SS clutch line — orterfield brake pads — Momo race seats, shiftknob, and pedals — Sparco harnesses — Aluminum fascia — HKS turbo timer — Compustar Alarm with pager — Chrome reverse collar — E-code headlights — Clear bumper lights and sidemarkers — Sony MD player with Alpine amp — Subwoofer in passenger footwell — Leatherique dye from tan to parchment — Black carpet — Lotus aluminum brake handle — Momo steering wheel — chip upgrade — BOV — SS brake lines — Performance chip upgrade — Porterfield brake pads w/Motul 600 — K&N air filter — Speedbleeder brake nipples — All the usual fluids Problems: The car was flawless when I got it, the PO took very good care of the car. So I've been fortunate not to have any major problems. Only things I did have to do was the impeller rebuild, replace the red-hose, the fuel vapor lines, one of the fuel flap solenoids, replace coolant hose connector into the turbo, rear cam seals, the accel. cable, the clutch master and slave cylinders, and a few other minor things. In my opinion, the Esprit is a very reliable car...especially for how hard we drive them. That's why it's the best sub-$100K car in the world...no doubt. Info: Everything on the car I've installed or made myself except welding the flowmaster and installing the turbo timer.
Above left: This was my car when I first bought it in 1997. And the viscious beast guarding it is my killer attack dog Kobe. (Isn't he the cutest dog ever?) Kobe knows how much I love that car and would probably guard it with his life. And for when Kobe's off duty, I installed a Compustar Alarm with pager. This car CANNOT be started without the key and remote... by anyone, not even me.
Above right: Forgeline RS custom wheels — 17x8.5 — 17x9.5 Nitto NT-555 Extreme tires — 225 40 ZR 17 — 285 40 ZR 17. I had to make the Lotus centercaps myself as they're larger than most other centercaps. The new bigger, wider, stronger, and yet lighter wheels grip and handle so much better than the stocks. They stick out a little further which makes it look much more aggressive...what a supercar should look like. And the Nittos are probably the best tires I've ever had, grip is good and still they're rock hard. Been to at least 6 trackdays and I don't even notice any significant wear yet.
Above left: E-code headlights Clear bumper lights and sidemarkers I made the clear bumper lights by cutting two clear light covers I found at a local shop and glued them together. Now my parking lights match the head/foglights and sidemarkers — all with super white lights.
Above right: New rear Esprit Decal, Dual Flowmaster exhaust, Double chrome tips on each side — I love the sound of the Flowmaster, especially at it's resonance. It's pretty loud but not obnoxiously loud. The sound now matches how the car looks like it should sound. I originally had one tip on the right side, then two dinky tips one on each side, and then double tips on each side. But in order for the larger double tips to fit, I had to cut out a little bit of the valence and paint it.
Above: New black carpet, Leatherique dye from tan to parchment — This was during my carpet change and leather dyeing. Those two things alone made my interior look 10 years newer and much cleaner. It took a lot of time to do, but a nice interior makes driving so much more enjoyable...in the end, it was well worth it.
Above left: Lotus aluminum brake handle, MOMO aluminum race pedals, Aluminum diamond plate floorboard, Aluminum door sill protectors — The diamond plate floorboard was put in to secure the 6pt. harnesses, but it also eliminated the annoyance of the floormat shifting. Got the diamond plate idea from Johan and his SuperBee. I realized after making it that the Extreme Esprit site sells them. It would have been worth it to buy it rather than making it.
Above right: Momo race seats, Schroth 6pt Hybrid Harnesses-driver, Sparco 4pt harnesses-passenger — I had to dismantle the driver's seat to recline it a bit and to make some room around the arms. I couldn't shift into second and I didn't like sitting so upright. After welding it back together, I put the fabric cover back on and now it's more comfortable than the stock seats were. And here's a better view of the parchment leather color. I don't think these seats would have worked with the old tan colored leather.
Above: Aluminum fascia, MOMO Millenium steering wheel, MOMO Sphere aluminum shiftknob — I made a new fascia in aluminum to replace the obsolete looking wood fascia, it goes much nicer with the wheel and knobs. Made about 6 sets before I was actually satisfied, the final one I ended up polishing the aluminum.
Above left: Sony MD player with Voice Command, HKS turbo timer, Chrome reverse collar — I installed the turbo timer into the space above the radio — I don't think I have the patience to own a turbo car without one of these. I also had to make a new reverse collar after shortening the shifter rod to accomodate the Momo knob. Ended up making it in chrome rather than black like the stock collar. Chrome definitely looks better with both the old red knob and the new Sphere knob.
Above right: Ported subwoofer w/two 5" drivers, Alpine V12 amp — I installed the subwoofer in the passenger footwell which was the most unobtrusive spot I could think of. It fits in there so perfectly that most people don't even realize it's there. Also, the footwell in itself creates sort of a natural subwoofer effect and results in the tiny sub pumping out a whole lot of bass. It definitely lacked bass before installing the sub, but with it... there's more than enough.
Above left: SS clutch line — Here's the old red hose and the new SS line which I routed on the opposite side. My reverse sometimes got difficult to engage when it got hot but the SS line totally cured it.
Above right: Motoconcept Blow Off Valve — Very easy to install. Lag is reduced and should extend the life of the turbo... if you don't mind a loud PSSSSSSSHHH between gears.
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