Lotus help , driving characteristics

[wtdoom]

Hello lotus forum ,

I have no knowledge of lotus driving , I have some history of the brand , Colin chapman and his ethos etc but no real driving experience .
Fate , karma and Sod's law have conspired to make me race a lotus for a signature ( I drive old cars with engines in the wrong place usually ) .

Any tips as how to get the best out of them / not crash is greatly appreciated .

Regards and best wishes
Wt

[marshalla]

Which one will you be driving ?

[wtdoom]

marshalla said:

Which one will you be driving ?

Elise

Edited by wtdoom on Tuesday 20th May 20:25

[RC Developments]

Momentum is the key along with maximising the braking performance. Having a good heel and toe on downshifts makes a big difference to stability at the rear on turn in as well. What spec is the car and where are you racing it?

Ross

[kazste]

Go on a car limits course or similar, that would be my hollow advice. Hollow as I keep promising myself I will but in eight years still haven't got round to it.

[HereBeMonsters]

I found on track the dip of the front under braking greatly helped initial turn in, and taught me to be really smooth taking the brakes off.

[Lotus 50]

Basically as smooth as possible = as fast as possible (think Clark/Button) rather than going sideways. Early Elises had a reputation for snap oversteer in extremis in the racetrack although this can be dialled out with suspension mods.

Sounds fun!

[braddo]

The weight distribution of an Elise and an old 911 aren't actually that different, I believe, so my guess is that there is probably a surprisingly large amount of commonality between how to get the best from an old light 911 and an Elise (e.g. trail braking is vital; the pendulum effect and good traction out of corners will still be traits of the Elise but obviously to a lesser extent than a 911).