Lotus; where to start

[Richie200]

Always fancied having a Lotus; in fact I even named my first daughter Elise
If you were a relative novice in all things Lotus, which would be the best car to buy. For me the most important factors are:

-Must sound good (probably rules out any supercharged versions???)
-Lightweight with phenomenal handling (I guess this covers the whole model range)
-Reliable (not sure how possible this is given the acronym 'lot of trouble....')
-Something that holds its value
-Must be quick
-Cost up to £30k (doesn't mean I want to spent this much as you guys might suggest a 10k car is all I need)

Many thanks for your time

[Richie200]

fridaypassion said:

If you've come from a 420bhp car I would put your wallet away and steer clear of NA tuning. It's diminishing returns from the offset. It's not eyewateringly expensive on the k series but the gains are relatively modest if you have been playing with turbocharged cars previously. The 111R Plus sc kit would be the way to go. The kit is excellent value and will give proper noticeable results.

Could you please explain what is this kit and do you have a link to where it can be purchased.

Many thanks for all the replies guys. It would seem I need to do a little genning up on all things Elise/Exige to have a better understanding of all the variations you guys have suggested.
Somebody recommended a 135; would the 160 not be a better buy? It's just the price seemed similar when I did a brief search.
Is there a basic guide anywhere along the lines of:
A basic Elise = blah blah blah
111S = Basic Elise + x,y,z
135 = 11S + ...

Once again a great response from you guys and any further recommendations gratefully received

[Richie200]

If I went for a bog standard S1 118BHP. What would be needed to bring it up to say 160bhp and any idea of cost. Ideally I would like to avoid going for a SC or turbo. Is this possible for a reasonable power hike. What is the maximum you can expect sticking to NA upgrades on the stock 118bhp engine.
Once again many thanks for all your help guys

[Richie200]

Gooby said:

Before you start with the willy waving power numbers etc, perhaps you should do a few Walshy days and learn how to use the power properly with some skill.

Sorry Gooby, an Elise is the last of my cars I would be using for willy waving power figures. What makes you think I don't know how to drive and need tuition on this front??? Thanks for your input

[Richie200]

Gooby said:

Richie200 said:

Gooby said:

Before you start with the willy waving power numbers etc, perhaps you should do a few Walshy days and learn how to use the power properly with some skill.

Sorry Gooby, an Elise is the last of my cars I would be using for willy waving power figures. What makes you think I don't know how to drive and need tuition on this front??? Thanks for your input

You are right - obviously you are a world class driver who knows everything about driving and is more than capable of exploiting those techniques. Your F1 and rally driving credentials precede you and I bow before your genius. Your 400bhp shopping cart is credentials for being a driving god and your omniscience oozes from your posts. I must have missed the news about your seat for mercedes / redbull / Mclaren etc.

I have a 520bhp V10 M5 and I have recently been driving a 650bhp Merc AMG SL. None of which a decent set up for driving a liz. Tuition from an ex F1 driver will allow you to exploit the elise. Not only is it fun it will teach you how to drive an elise / exige or any other car. Cross country the liz is faster as long as you can exploit the elise. If you think you are so good that you can't learn from Walshy then you are an incredible driver and you are not only barking up the wrong tree, you are in the wrong woods because there is nothing you could learn here. Walshy tuition is so good my brother comes over from California for it. He races Porsches as a hobby.

Over the years so many have turned up with "I want more power" blah blah blah. A few have stacked them shortly after. Sod the engine, more power does not really make the car more fun. If you want the best from a liz, then learn to drive it. Pretty soon you will figure the best upgrade is to the driver then suspension, then start the power hikes and brakes. The bottom line is induction / zorst kits do very little. You will want a supercharger and then if you are still serious an engine swap for (probably) a honda lump with a SC is the way to go.

Drag racing an Elise? oh god. Stick to your over powered shopping cart, and carry on reading max muppet. It would be far cheaper to go buy an old subaru WRX (at least the chassis is good) for 3-4k then stick a big turbo and a dump valve so you can make "Psssst" noises at the pub.

You are welcome for my input.

Gooby I can only assume you got out of the wrong side of your bed. You are making too many assumptions and have absolutely no idea about me, my driving or my cars. Up until now the advice here has been fantastic (many thanks to all the Lotus sub forums users for your help However I can now see why there is a thread here regarding why this place has lost it's soul. I don't know what you are on about with a 400bhp shopping trolley or any of the other offensives slurs you have chosen to use. What Non Lotus cars you have or have driven, is not really of any concern to the question in hand.

I have no idea who Walshy is that you refer to. Any professional driver tuition is obviously of benefit to anyone who wants to improve their driving specific to whatever platform is new to them. I have driven many circuits along side Lotus cars and from my experience they are superb cars in many areas but like every car they also have their flaws. Power is a major concern for me as my local tracks are the Nordschliefe (40mins away), Spa and Hockenheim (both around 1hr 20mins). These are all big power circuits not suited to an Elise. Many here have suggested the base S1 car is the one to have so based on this advice and the fact that I like to build and set-up my own track cars; twirling the spanners on the S1 to suit my requirements seems a logical cause of action to take.

If you had taken the trouble to investigate my GT3RS shopping trolley you may have realised that you couldn't be any further away with your ridiculous derogatory Max Power comments.

Please lighten up and don't judge people, it really doesn't come across very well on a public forum

[Richie200]

Is it really as simple as portrayed here. Usually considering an engine swap from another car would normally mean Exhaust fabrication, wiring loom modification, new ECU, compatibility issues with ECU, engine mounts, gearbox bell housing matching...
If heavier it could also induce handling and braking issues.
Is the 160 Trophy lump much heavier and are there any links to the conversion?
Does a converted car lose value or are they more sort after; I haven't noticed any for sale?

[Richie200]

fridaypassion said:

The 160 is basically the same engine so it fits straight in. Same gearbox and everything from the manifold onwards on the exhaust is the same. Dan Jude from sps automotive did mine. Roadboy on seloc. It's been faultless. Highly recommended.

Many thanks for this info FP, good to hear it is a straight swap. Are these engines easy enough to come by and are they generally considered reliable? Good to hear that you are happy with yours and that you've had no dramas Is the ECU also a straight swap using existing loom?