French 2 car garage

[Natha]

Hello from France !

I've always been interested in tools and garage organisation since I was a kid helping my father around the house.
A few years ago when I started working and looking for a house to buy, I spent some time lurking this forum to get some ideas.

We bought the house in July 2017 and I've been trying to progressively improve the garage since.
Started with a big floor jack, then a Facom rolling cabinet in 2018.
This summer I went further and got nice wall cabinets, which made me thinking again about GarageJournal and all the nice spaces we can see here !

My garage is now starting to look the way I want it to, so it's time to share it with experts here, to get ideas for future improvements.

The garage is used mainly for car and mountain bike maintenance, and the occasionnal woodworking project.
I manage to keep a decent working space where I put a table top on sawhorses if needed.
For woodworking, cutting and sanding is made outside.

There are a few drawbacks with this place : it's narrow so impossible to get a proper lift with 2 cars inside (scissors lift not adapted with my car full undertray), we have no basement nor real attic (only a small shed outside) so a lot of stuff has to be stored in here.

I plan to have a sink installed soon, would like to move some wheels from the floor to a wall mounted rack, but not much wall space left.

Lighting is OK for me now, wondering if I should shift to LED ceiling lights, but I already have some on my workspaces, and if I'm in or under the car I'll need a flashlight anyway.

Please share any thoughts or ideas about this space.
It's relatively modest compared to some big barns and workshops around here but I'm sure you can help me improve it.

Thanks.

 

[Natha]

Some pictures through the process :







More to come from the rest of the place

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Nice Lotus.

 

[4xdog]

Very nice, and welcome. You’re in the southwest (31), yes?

 

[Natha]

Thank you.
The car was originally sold in the 31, but I'm in the department on the front plate (57).

The Lotus Elise has been my dream car for about 15 years, a great achievement when I got one in 2018 !

 

[Natha]

A few more shots without the cars.
Ordered the sink, it will hang on the wall next to the ladder.
Still waiting to receive the pegboard to install my cabinets, Beta sent me the wrong one.
The old wooden cabinet at the back with much stuff on top will go as soon as it is done.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

It looks great.

 

[4xdog]

Thank you.
The car was originally sold in the 31, but I'm in the department on the front plate (57)...

The other point of the hexagon!

I've enjoyed all the time I've spent in France, all over your country. There's a lot of car history in your area, especially to the south, of course, in the Haut-Rhin.

Very nice Lotus.

 

[Natha]

Yes it's quite a nice region for car enthusiasts, although french government is trying hard to kill fast cars.
We have the chance to live near Luxembourg for cheap gas (still no as cheap as in the US) and less than 2 hour drive from the best racetracks in the world : Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps.
Alsace is indeed very historic, with the Bugatti factory and the Schlumpf collection museum in Mulhouse

 

[111R]

I see you have the Cup 'R' wheels on your Elise. I have the same ones now, but silver instead of black. I've kept my Sport Pack wheels, as they are original to the car. Mine were anodized vs. painted, so they were impossible to keep clean. The 5 spoke wheels I have now are painted and much easier to deal with.

 

[GoldCar]

Hi Neighbor,

Welcome on GJ, nice garage and very nice car... I love and drive Englich cars too ;-)

 

[wout]

Welcome and greetings from a neighbor country. Really nice Lotus and already good-looking garage.

Wout

 

[Natha]

I see you have the Cup 'R' wheels on your Elise. I have the same ones now, but silver instead of black. I've kept my Sport Pack wheels, as they are original to the car. Mine were anodized vs. painted, so they were impossible to keep clean. The 5 spoke wheels I have now are painted and much easier to deal with.

Yup these forged wheels are awesome, some say they are the lightest production wheels by Lotus. They were standard on the S2 Exige 240R and the 2-11.
Nice combination with your car's paint !
I also have a set of Team Dynamics wheels in alternance.

Hi Neighboor,

Welcome on GJ, nice garage and very nice car... I love and drive Englich cars too ;-)

Salut ! Oui on est pas loin, ton garage est super

 

[Natha]

Quick update, the sink is mounted to the wall, gotta schedule the plumber to install the faucet


I should receive my missing pegboard tomorrow and finish cabinet installation

 

[Kent_B]

Hi, Natha. Very nice space you have.
I was lucky enough to spend a couple weeks in Quillan in the Aude district last year. I'm very hopeful that we can return some day. I loved it there.

Please keep posting pictures of your shop

 

[Natha]

Thanks Kent, a lot of nice places in France.
I was once in the US (Florida) a few years ago, would like to visit your big national parks.

 

[Natha]

Big step today as I finally received the missing pieces of my wall cabinets, 2 months after the order and on the fourth shipping... Beta is a top quality brand, nothing to blame on them but the freight company was awful.

So I rushed to finish the installation and enjoy my new workspace.



I already upgraded the cabinets with a sheet of anti slip steel on the inox workbench, added a multiple socket with USB charger and installed an old but really good set of speakers with an additional Bluetooth receiver.



Also a small but powerful LED projector, designed for outside use



I have plenty of storage for my tools and goods now, the build quality is awesome, very sturdy.
Still have a decent workspace in the middle, about 2.5 x 2m, where I can set a table up, work on it and still walk around.



I'm verry happy with the garage now, next step is to finish the sink installation and add a water hose with a wall mount.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Things are looking good. That jack in interesting. It looks almost like it was made to go under that tool box, and I have never seen one with that kind of handle before. Is that a normal french jack handle or something special?

 

[Natha]

The jack is from KS Tools, a german brand also available in France.
I just recently discovered that floor jacks could fit under a tool box, thanks to someone on garagejournal who stored his one that way ! Tried it with mine and it fits perfectly, big space saving.
About the handle, most floor jacks here just have a straight pole with nothing on top. When I was looking for a jack, I wanted one for AC Hydraulic, a brand widely used in motorsport in Europe, mostly in WRC. They also have this big handle which makes it really easy to use with both hands. AC hydraulic is hard to source and very expensive, so I went with this one, also saw it around in amateur motorsport service parks.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I realized one of the things you really NEED in a shop is a sink with running water, for various reasons. Hot water is better, but no water is horrible!!!

 

[Natha]

Yup, emptying dirty water in the kitchen sink is far from ideal, nor is washing everything in the garden on the ground.

One more picture with the worktable set up :


This way I have a lot of work surface !
Also discovered that my tool box top is level with the cabinets workbench, will be useful to handle very long pieces of material

 

[Natha]

Did a front brake disc change on the Elise this morning, they probably overheated during a trackday, causing rattles while braking hard.



Also had the sink installation finished by a plumber, and added a water hose on the wall for the front of the house.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

A shop sink is an incredibly handy thing. Even if they just have cold water.

 

[Ralf11]

Thank you.
The car was originally sold in the 31, but I'm in the department on the front plate (57).

The Lotus Elise has been my dream car for about 15 years, a great achievement when I got one in 2018 !

with that location, shouldn't you have some German cars too?

Garage is tres belle

 

[111R]

What kind of pads and rotors did you install? This is a subject of hot debate on this side of the pond for Elise/Exige.

 

[Natha]

Thank you for the kind words.

Ralf, absolutely ! We see a lot of german cars around here, mostly Audis. I had a VW Golf from 2005 to 2018, now my daily is a Skoda Octavia Combi (not sure if you have Skodas in the US). It's a Czech auto maker, bought by VW decades ago. Basically it's a VW car, just a little cheaper. Mine has a 1.5 TSI (must sound tiny for you) with 150 hp. Drives really nice and plenty of room for kids or bike stuff.
My wife has a VW Polo.

111R, in France too there are many pages about brakes on the forums. What setup do you have ?
When i bought the car, it had stock drilled rotors with Carbon Loraine RC6 pads. The braking power was massive, even too much for the road. But RC6 are really aggressive for the discs, one of mine cracked. Besides RC6 brake dust can also ruin the bodypaint.
After a little research I got EBC BSD grooved discs. Didn't wanted drilled discs anymore (risk of cracking and have to clean the holes everytime), and EBC has a solid reputation plus they are quite cheap (around 100 euros each). Been really happy for 2 years, now I think one is done due to overheating. I will continue with the same discs

For the pads, I chose Ferodo DS 1.11 on all corners. They work perfectly from cold (I also drive on the road sometimes), make relatively little dust, squeak just what you need to feel like you're in a racecar. Stopping power is massive too.
Really happy with these, will continue with them on the front. For the rear I will probably put Ferodo DS2500 (a little less powerful) just to try it. Some people say the Elise has too much brake on the rear and compensate with less aggressive pads. Didn't feel it's a problem myself but I like to try different solutions.

 

[GoldCar]

Salut Natha,

I also have a KS TOOLS jack, I'm satisfied with this tool...

Here in use with my wife old car.

 

[111R]

I used DBA rotors with Hawk HPS (High Performance Street) pads front and rear. No track time, so they're fine for the street. The HPS pads are not too good if you do much track time at all.

Rotors:

https://knsbrakes.com/c/car-series/1522_2005+Lotus+Elise+All+Models/264_DBA+T3+ClubSpec+4000+Series+Slotted+Rotor+-+Single+Rotor

Pads:

https://knsbrakes.com/c/car-series/1522_2005+Lotus+Elise+All+Models/825_Hawk+HPS+Brake+Pads

 

[morshane]

Bonjour de l isere natha , très belle Élise et beau set up d outillage

 

[Matias]

Salut!

You're off to a good start with the garage! It's really hard when you don't have a big space, you need to think how to efficiently use every last corner and wall space you have. I would probably go with storing some things overhead, if space is needed.

I like the cabinets, and that sink and water will prove to be handy. Now that I have one in my garage, I find that I use it nearly daily, even if it's just to wash the hands after working on something before going to the house.

And that Elise is cool!

PS. J'ai bien aimé que près de la porte il y a les patates et les champignons

 

[Natha]

Salut Natha,

I also have a KS TOOLS jack, I'm satisfied with this tool...

Here in use with my wife old car.

Salut, Yes very handy for fast wheel changes !

I used DBA rotors with Hawk HPS (High Performance Street) pads front and rear. No track time, so they're fine for the street. The HPS pads are not too good if you do much track time at all.

Rotors:

https://knsbrakes.com/c/car-series/1522_2005+Lotus+Elise+All+Models/264_DBA+T3+ClubSpec+4000+Series+Slotted+Rotor+-+Single+Rotor

Pads:

https://knsbrakes.com/c/car-series/1522_2005+Lotus+Elise+All+Models/825_Hawk+HPS+Brake+Pads

Nice I also looked at the DBA rotors, many people with V6 Exiges use these around here.

Bonjour de l isere natha , très belle Élise et beau set up d outillage

Merci Morshane !

Salut!

You're off to a good start with the garage! It's really hard when you don't have a big space, you need to think how to efficiently use every last corner and wall space you have. I would probably go with storing some things overhead, if space is needed.

I like the cabinets, and that sink and water will prove to be handy. Now that I have one in my garage, I find that I use it nearly daily, even if it's just to wash the hands after working on something before going to the house.

And that Elise is cool!

PS. J'ai bien aimé que près de la porte il y a les patates et les champignons

Hi Mathias !
Thanks for the advice, I was inspired by some garages here and moved some stuff in the rafters like garden tools. Still have some space up there but most of it is taken by kids stuff.

Oui on stocke quelques légumes à cet endroit car il y a la cuisine juste derrière la porte.
Je vois que tu as une belle collection de Renault en Finlande, sympa !

 

[Natha]

Hi, not much new in the garage, just added a power outlet to the ceiling between the cars, right in the center of the garage. It will be very handy to vacuum cars or the floor.
With leftover cables, it cost almost nothing.



Currently I have no more ideas to improve my garage, please share any thoughts about it.

This afternoon, I did a small woorworking project to ease into the week-end.
I built small shelves to complete the dressing cabinets I installed in my daughter's room last week-end. Had a few unused planks, it will nicely fill the room between cabinets and wall. Will install it tomorrow.

 

[Natha]

Last week I took my old kid tools at my parent's house and organized them in an empty drawer of my cabinets.



Now the girls will play with me in the garage !

 

[GoldCar]

 

[Hugo L.]

Ça fait du bien de lire un peu de français sur GJ!

Dans quelle ville es-tu situé?

 

[Natha]

Time for a little update !

Not much about garage organisation or tool, but I made a big project around Christmas, building a huge crane in the garage !





A lot of fun building and playing with it ! It's taller than my daughter

And another big news this year, the Elise is gone, replaced by a british beast



Not many opportunities to drive it yet thanks to bad weather, in the process of a nice interior/exterior detailing at the moment.
Hope Covid will let me take it to the track a lot this year.

 

[111R]

Is that an Exige with V6 engine?

 

[Natha]

Absolutely, Exige Sport 410
I guess you don't have these in the US, it's the same engine as the Evora.
410 bhp / 1110kg for this one

 

[111R]

We have them, but they're not legal to drive on the street - only for track days. The US Department of Transportation has strict guidelines for bumpers and airbags. The only reason we got the Elise between mid-2004 until 2011 was that Lotus was given an exemption due to being a small manufacturer. Once the exemption ran out, all they could sell was the Evora.

We do have something called the "25 year rule", which allows importation of non-compliant cars after they become 25 years old. This rule was mainly put into place at the request of certain manufacturers such as Mercedes, who complained that European versions of their cars were being imported at an alarming rate due to significant price advantages. Our Congressmen listened to them and made this law. Canada has a similar law, but only 15 years.

By the time the Exige like you have is legal to import, electric cars will rule the highways and Lotus will no doubt lose interest in maintaining spares, as they typically do for their older cars. The Evora GT is very nice, but a little heavy and very expensive. Plus, they tend to depreciate like crazy, perhaps now more than ever if the upcoming Lotus 131 isn't some kind of lame hybrid with paddle shifters.

 

[Natha]

Upadte after a looong time !

I ve enjoyed the Exige for the past 4 years, driving it on several tracks in Europe. A real beast of a car !

Time flies, the kids are growing, and I also grew a passion for endurance sports, mostly cycling.
I don't have time to enjoy everything, so I took the decision to sell the Lotus, it has found a new owner since last month. Its probably the end of trackdays for me, but I don't think I'll regret it, I have a lot of fun racing my bikes and playing with the kids.

The garage space left by the Exige is being transformed into a home gym. I kept it simple so far but I'm looking forward to any ideas to improve it !

I also have got the rear part of the garage to work on bikes.