Discussion
Hi all,
First post!
Had a test drive in my first Elise yesterday, a rather nice 135R from Gordon Lamb (Sheffield)
www.gordonlamb.co.uk/cgi-bin/pnDbSearch.cgi/%7C6%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C1::0::user::::vehicles::%7C%7C%7C::
A very nice example. Just under 2 year old and only 3000 miles! Anyway I'm hooked, I don't think I'll be able to get that particular car but will definately be getting a 135R.
On that note, how do you find the 135R compares to the 111s? Obviously chalk and cheese but humour me! :-)
Cheers
First post!
Had a test drive in my first Elise yesterday, a rather nice 135R from Gordon Lamb (Sheffield)
www.gordonlamb.co.uk/cgi-bin/pnDbSearch.cgi/%7C6%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C1::0::user::::vehicles::%7C%7C%7C::
A very nice example. Just under 2 year old and only 3000 miles! Anyway I'm hooked, I don't think I'll be able to get that particular car but will definately be getting a 135R.
On that note, how do you find the 135R compares to the 111s? Obviously chalk and cheese but humour me! :-)
Cheers
135R is more track focussed, 111S more road use orientated.
the wheel/tyre/suspension package on the 135R is worth about £3K aftermarket...the 135 upgrade is quite good and with a sports exhaust/induction kit should make 140bhp. Comes std with a close ratio box, so the 5th gear is quite short - approx 140mph at the red line and 5K revs cruising at 95-100mhp (quite tiring/noisy on motorway) The A048 tyres fitted as std dont last long, also they are not very good in wet/cold/standing water...Id recommend some std wheels and rubber for winter use...some would say otherwise, but theirs also a fair few people who have ended up with written off cars in bad weather
111S is comfier, optional air-con leccy windows on later models, 156bhp...with a few bolt ons 165bhp. Has a gearbox with 5th gear in between the Std S1 box and the CR box - about 150-55mph in 5th,and 4-4.5K revs at 95-100mph - better for long distance cruising etc
early 135Rs were prone to head gasket failure - the 135 kit was fitted aftermarket by Lotus - no real admission/statement as to why it happens..so make sure you get a good warranty - most went under 10K miles...something to watch out for.
If I was buying an off the shelf Elise as a weekend car, with lots of track use then the 135R is better suited as std.
For a daily driver Id go 111S, with air-con...and then when youd got used to exploiting the std set-up and wanted to do regular track days, maybe upgrade to a 2nd set of wheels/LSS etc as per 135R...then you have 2 cars in one
all depends on what you want out of the car really...
the wheel/tyre/suspension package on the 135R is worth about £3K aftermarket...the 135 upgrade is quite good and with a sports exhaust/induction kit should make 140bhp. Comes std with a close ratio box, so the 5th gear is quite short - approx 140mph at the red line and 5K revs cruising at 95-100mhp (quite tiring/noisy on motorway) The A048 tyres fitted as std dont last long, also they are not very good in wet/cold/standing water...Id recommend some std wheels and rubber for winter use...some would say otherwise, but theirs also a fair few people who have ended up with written off cars in bad weather
111S is comfier, optional air-con leccy windows on later models, 156bhp...with a few bolt ons 165bhp. Has a gearbox with 5th gear in between the Std S1 box and the CR box - about 150-55mph in 5th,and 4-4.5K revs at 95-100mph - better for long distance cruising etc
early 135Rs were prone to head gasket failure - the 135 kit was fitted aftermarket by Lotus - no real admission/statement as to why it happens..so make sure you get a good warranty - most went under 10K miles...something to watch out for.
If I was buying an off the shelf Elise as a weekend car, with lots of track use then the 135R is better suited as std.
For a daily driver Id go 111S, with air-con...and then when youd got used to exploiting the std set-up and wanted to do regular track days, maybe upgrade to a 2nd set of wheels/LSS etc as per 135R...then you have 2 cars in one
all depends on what you want out of the car really...
Pretty much what I was thinking!
I was offered a pretty good deal on a <10 day old 111s, <400 miles for £2k below list plus tracker. Seemed like a good buy.
I'm looking for a everyday car and that deterred me from the 135R to be honest. However the wheel/susp/brake package is something special on the 135R.
I think, back to the drawing board. (incidently, what did we go back to before drawing boards were invented?)
I will have a blast in a 111s and compare the difference.
I was offered a pretty good deal on a <10 day old 111s, <400 miles for £2k below list plus tracker. Seemed like a good buy.
I'm looking for a everyday car and that deterred me from the 135R to be honest. However the wheel/susp/brake package is something special on the 135R.
I think, back to the drawing board. (incidently, what did we go back to before drawing boards were invented?)
I will have a blast in a 111s and compare the difference.
Yeah - a nearly new 111S is very good value - they were £30-31K before Lotus re-aligned the prices when the 111R was launched - lopped £5K of the value of some peoples cars overnight
Ive added the wheels/suspension/brakes etc to my car - to be honest, on the road, the std set-up is excellent. The suspension is ideal for bumpy B road blasting, and the understeer that is present 'on the limit' never really bothers you, as driving an Elise at 10/10ths on the road is pretty suicidal
When you start to get into trackdays then you do start to see the difference between the 2 set-ups - but for most the std car is more than enough.
Most people upgrade the brake pads anyway on all cars - Pagid RS42s are excellent and what Lotus fit on the 135R IIRC...as well as braided hoses (you dont need these except for heavy track use)
So yeah - for an everyday car Id get the best specced up, newest (but not new) 111S I could find
Ive added the wheels/suspension/brakes etc to my car - to be honest, on the road, the std set-up is excellent. The suspension is ideal for bumpy B road blasting, and the understeer that is present 'on the limit' never really bothers you, as driving an Elise at 10/10ths on the road is pretty suicidal
When you start to get into trackdays then you do start to see the difference between the 2 set-ups - but for most the std car is more than enough.
Most people upgrade the brake pads anyway on all cars - Pagid RS42s are excellent and what Lotus fit on the 135R IIRC...as well as braided hoses (you dont need these except for heavy track use)
So yeah - for an everyday car Id get the best specced up, newest (but not new) 111S I could find
I have a 04 Saffron yellow 135R I have covered 4500 miles. Before this I had a S1 exige (190)and before the exige a S1 std elise. Obviously the exige was the quickest, but the 135R is by far the most practical for road / track. The S1 was a little under powered, the exige was to lumpy for road use but the 135R is a well balanced car with plenty of power but still a sensible car for road use as well. If your looking for a good track car with road use as well then this would be the car I would look for. Lotus motorsport only built 150 135R cars, 50 in mica silver, 50 in mica blue, and the last batch was 50 in saffron yellow with the black OZ alloys. I don't think you would be dissapointed in the 135R, and because of the ltd amount made should hold their price better to.
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