Thinking Lotus Elise/Exige - anyone got experience?

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Not sure you are comparing like with like - as in a professionally setup corner weighted seven vs a stock Elise. (It's what it sounds like).
They are most certainly not fwd in nature- they had to put a certain amount of understeer in as the neutrally setup s1 seemed to be attracted to hedges by hot hatch drivers. . My colleague lasted to the end of the road with his brand new Elise. Had to walk 1/2 mile back to the dealer and say 'er I've bent it'
Talking to most dealers if you last a year without incident then you should be ok
One thing to consider - the Toyota cars have abs rover cars don't (not even a servo).

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One thing in favour of sevens - you can pretty much fix anything with a hammer, cro bar, wd40 and gaffa tape:)

Don't get me wrong, sevens are fun and I like them but as an all round road and track car the Elise takes it just.

[Ian_C]

Personally I'd go for a 134 bhp Lotus Elise S as 535dboy mentioned - launched Sept 2006 on a 56, 1.8 Toyota Corolla engine which replaced the k series as the 'entry' Lotus, some handy model year changes including better seats.

Another Seloc fanboy here with adsgreen and 535dboy, different [random] username on there because Ian_C was already taken lol, I'm yet to take the plunge and buy a Lotus, but the above is the one I still hanker after (preferably a non Touring with manual window winders and pre airbag dash that arrived around 57 plate)

Something like this....

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... ed/1096534

Oh how Weird, mine had a leccy windows and was a base car plus a/c, didn't realise they came without.

It was a sep 06 car (noticed a pattern with me wanting the first of everything!)

The only other thing I added was an exhaust, they sound a bit dull without something!

Interestingly thats not the first time I've heard of a base car with manual winders but AC. Don't quote me but I'm not sure the Touring pack was available right from the word go - hence the slightly odd spec of some of the very earliest where options had to be added individually. You might be able to comment on this if you bought it new yourself. Saw a August 2006 '06' a while back, no doubt a press car or dealer demo. Red, no options bar AC, tiny mileage (something like 12k) with FLSH and it was absolutely unmarked

On the debate between S and R, you are spot on Ads regarding the second cam, the S makes 127 lb ft at 4200 whereas the R makes 133 lb ft at 6800

[535dboy]

Yes I bought new

I just added air con well in fact I didn't want it but lotus had a built one I could get immediately that had air con

No other packs

Dealer added stage 2 exhaust for me too

[Ian_C]

That must have been superb!

[535dboy]

That must have been superb!

Which bit?

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Hah "Air con" is probably a bit stronger description
Turns burning heat into "slightly less burning but still bloody hot" heat
If you are used to air conditioned euro barges then you may get a bit of a shock!

Air con has been around for a bit - it was available on the S1 Exige but for the S2 it was (I think) on the touring pack and a reason the "Race Tech" cars were bumped up the order quite fast. The first S2's were either "race tech" (ali simulated floor, 2 speakers) and "touring" (bits of leather, nice carpet and four speakers.

[Ian_C]

That must have been superb!

Which bit?

The whole car - none of the options and weight of the later cars. The AC might be basic but easier to demist than Elises and VX220s of old

[TimDogg]

So I'm thinking S2 111R - Toyota engine which has a/c, abs and airbags - I just like airbags, they are the one thing where I think 'I know I've got this horrendously wrong but a least there is a chance I might survive it.' Call me old fashioned.

Something like this http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... ory/817951 COLOUR CRIME ALERT!!!!

I think I might ping Will Blackham an email and get his advice too. Scott Walker doesn't seem to have much stock at the moment but I'm going to email him also. I'm looking for a local Lotus specialist in North Wales and getting all excited!!!! What was the SC that I read about? I've read alot about the 135R but want to avoid the HGF prooblems from the K-series and people say that you just cannot use this thing in the winter or wet - apparently it doesn't understeer at all - good for track, bad for road.

I may just go for an entry level 111S and mod the hell out of it - still searching - I love this bit of car hunting!!!

This one as an entry? http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 07/1234548

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Airbags on an Elise are a 'meh'.
I've had chats with several lotus engineers and I agree with them - airbags are mainly there to deal with people who can't wea seat belts properly. If you have a decent belt, properly adjusted and set 'just so' then you really shouldn't be able to hit the steering wheel.
Doubly so if you are wearing (as I prefer) full harnesses. I've never had an airbag in an Elise car and never felt unduly concerned. ABS... Yeah that's handy. I refer the feel of non assisted non abs and its more rewarding but on a road car you always get those 'aw feck' moments where abs really helps. And the lotus abs is stunning - on track you can *really* lean on it. But beware 'ice' mode - being light it's eaay to trip (usually when you brake and the rear goes light or goes over a man hole cover). When it trips, it shuts off much of the rear braking in order to maintain stability. But this makes the pedal really stiff which feels odd and can make you overshoot.

[Ian_C]

Will B has a good rep on Seloc. That 111R is well priced too. That S (note not 111S) is pricey though for a private sale - its 2500 more than the one I posted!

Agreed on the airbags - I agree with Ads - I'd rather have a four point harness and no airbag over a normal seat belt and an airbag

[535dboy]

I like the purple one !

[murph7355]

Not sure you are comparing like with like - as in a professionally setup corner weighted seven vs a stock Elise. (It's what it sounds like).

The factory's is professionally set up. It's just rubbish

...
They are most certainly not fwd in nature- they had to put a certain amount of understeer in...

Tinge of irony (I know what you're getting at though... And maybe the couple I've driven were ropey).

(To be fair this is, I think, why 7s are set up as they are from the factory - to make them "safe" for people coming from "normal" cars. And I guess either car can be set up to under or oversteer by people who know what they're doing)

... but as an all round road and track car the Elise takes it just.

Agreed. I just don't really understand having an RS4 for summer use and then wanting a car like an Elise with aircon. Electric windows. Airbags. Etc. When even a standard Elise is 200kg heavier than it needs to be

All lovely cars though and each to their own.

Btw, I love the purple Exige. Not many cars would better it for the cool factor. I'd have that over an S2. I also think the S1 Elise is the prettier car.

Head gasket failure on the K is a thing to look out for, but much sturdier gaskets are now available (have been for years) and 200bhp is easily safe from them with sensible maintenance. I know of people running 250bhp without issues. They are also light engines, and rev and sound great.

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Beset to drop Scott walker a line with some requirements - he sells cars very quickly so not all stock has time to make it to the website.
He is also (a self confessed) OCD sufferer when it comes to cleaning cars. When I bought mine *everything* was sparkling. Even the bottom of suspension components that you are not likely to see either!

He has a great custom built JPS 211 that he specc'd and designed himself (he secured build number #211 too) along with an esprit rebuild project.

The factory may be professional but unfortunately there were too many 'Friday afternoon' cars. Every single Elise/exige I've had new has required a geo as it wasn't quite set. One even had windows set so badly that they wouldn't go all the way up. You just have to accept that this is the way of British low volume sports card and treat it as a characteristic than a flaw.
Taking the camber shims out makes a huge difference.
Being a light car tyre choice and wear makes a huge difference- brand new yoko a48's are a joy on track but old pirellis are terrible.

S2 head gaskets are much better (metal instead of cork - I kid you not) and generally better put together. I've had 4 rover based cars and none of them missed a beat (the sport 190 did like to eat throttle sensors but easy DIY fix).
Very light engines and when properly setup will hit 8k rpm (which is quite a feat considering the long stroke).
I'm not a fan of the mk1 styling but that's just me. 200bhp is a good compromise for a road track car in terms of drive ability and reliability. 250 engines are hard to drive on the road as they are completely gutless below 4k rpm and cough and splutter below 3k. But that's the price you pay for single profile wild cams. Again, the idle of a tuned engine is a great feeling - it rough, un even, and occasionally misses but it just reeks of 'I may sound like <beep> now but just catch me if you can'

[535dboy]

My Elise came from the factory with the directional tyres the wrong way around!!!