my first Lotus...yay!

[gsjones]

ok ok, i may be getting ahead of myself, but hopefully, inspection pending, i'll be picking up my S2 Sports Tourer on Saturday!!!! Whohoooo!!!

ive waiting for aaaaages to get one and i'm bricking it, hoping the inspection comes back positive and the car has a clean bill of health! (i need another beer! cool it jonesy - cool it!!!)

I took the car for my first Elise test drive last week and all seemed ok...and other info e.g.service, mot, v5, etc..all in place.

The seller has replaced the rad with a new race rad and also the hoses...is this common or is it linked to nasty problems??? Trying not to think about it! Also has changed door pins to stop rattling, janspeed exhaust, but no other mods.

anyway, just wanted to say hi, and look forward to future chats and hopefully meets...

cheers

G

[Hollywood Wheels]

Welcome to the club!

You have no mention of previous cars on your profile.......ever driven a rear-wheel drive or mid-engined car before? If not........ www.carlimits.com ..........we swear by it here, kind of like a right of passage!

The rad is a clam-off job, but wouldn't worry too much at this stage.

Door pins are a good upgrade, I personally wrapped some electrical tape around mine which had the same effect, but then I'm a pikey....

Enjoy learning it whilst the roads are dry, because without sounding like a doom-merchant, these things can lethal in the wet....

Edited by Hollywood Wheels on Wednesday 5th September 23:46

[gsjones]

Hey late posters...last car was mk4 golf, alfa spider, rover coupe - all front-wheelers...i'll need to get some quality time behind the wheel of the Elise to get used to it. ohh woe is me!

the seller is a big lotus enthusiast and owning 7's and seems pretty sounds and knows his stuff, which to a degree is re-assuring.

no worries - good advice about the dry-road driving and will be defo' taking it easy to some time yet...but im absolutely gagging the pick it up now! how many minutes left???? (maybe i'll get to sleep after another corona???

dont suppose anyone knows of any clubs or meets in South Wales area do they???

G

[gsjones]

i really should read through my posts before submitting - beer-typing's kicking in!

[cyberface]

These cars aren't widow makers. Driver training is **always** a good idea, regardless of whether you have a 350 bhp Audi-engined S1 Exige or a Vauxhall Nova. Don't be so scared of the car that you don't learn how it drives... if you want to be able to handle the car at the limit on road or track then you'll need training, but you will find very quickly that the limits of all of these cars are well above sensible driving on road.

If you're regularly breaching the limits on road.... well you'll be trying very hard.

I agree that a session with a specialist like Walshy is a good idea, but don't be put off driving the thing enthusiastically, just don't drive like an idiot. I spent months driving like a pussy in my first 911 because I'd been spooked by the 'widowmaker' comments, only to find on my first trackday with it that it was very controllable and the limits were astonishingly high. Likewise the Elise and the VXT. You have to be trying ridiculously hard to get it out of shape on a dry road, and have to be foolish to stack it in the wet.

You've bought the car to enjoy it, so make sure you do!!!

[R.P.M]

Congrats on your first purchase of a 'proper' car. But as I did, I suspect you are making a huge mistake.
If you go ahead with the purchase, you will present yourself with a massive problem.
A problem so big that after over 50000 miles in my Elise I still haven’t solved.
What BLOODY car to replace it with!
After just coming back having driven 4500 miles in a 911 around Europe over three weeks, I wasn’t looking forwards to returning back to my 'daily whip'. I shouldn’t have worried as these little things offer a driving experience like no other vehicle, and there in lies the problem.

SO CONGRATS ON AN AWESOME CAR!

ps, don’t listen to all those doom and gloomers that will soon be along, the Elise is a completely predictable car so long as you remember the configuration of the car and the laws of physics!!

All the best
RPM

[stevie111s]

nice comments RPM, agree with you

[fleetelise]

gsjones said:

ok ok, i may be getting ahead of myself, but hopefully, inspection pending, i'll be picking up my S2 Sports Tourer on Saturday!!!! Whohoooo!!!

ive waiting for aaaaages to get one and i'm bricking it, hoping the inspection comes back positive and the car has a clean bill of health! (i need another beer! cool it jonesy - cool it!!!)

I took the car for my first Elise test drive last week and all seemed ok...and other info e.g.service, mot, v5, etc..all in place.

The seller has replaced the rad with a new race rad and also the hoses...is this common or is it linked to nasty problems??? Trying not to think about it! Also has changed door pins to stop rattling, janspeed exhaust, but no other mods.

anyway, just wanted to say hi, and look forward to future chats and hopefully meets...

cheers

G

Hi,

Just a very quick suggestion - have an HPI check done before the inspection, it could work out cheaper. An example from me: was looking to buy an S1 and the inspection gave it a reasonable clean bill of health, looked to have been in a very minor accident (car-park type of incident) and I was all set to buy. Nagging doubts made me do an HPI check and it came back as an insurance right-off Cat D (repairable, not repaired). This didn't really affect the car as such as it had been fixed, but in my eyes it made the car worth less than the seller was asking and I backed out of the sale. If I'd had the HPI done first then I would never have needed the inspection and therefore saved myself money. I'm sure you'll be fine, but it was a lesson to me about how buying privately works.

Enjoy the car!

[gsjones]

thanks for the replies everyone... another day nearly gone...another step closer...!

regarding the last post...already there fella...had a car check done first - Clean. Had a drive and preliminary check -fab. Lastly, saturday morning having the full-on inspection, so fingers crossed all will be ok....CMON SATURDAY!!!! bring it on...

G

[edp190]

Many congrats! Enjoy it but treat it with respect!

[gsjones]

Anyone know good/ recommended cleaning products for the Elise. Not really been too bothered before using Zip Wax/Wash and turtle wax.

any suggestions...good wash/ shampoo, wax and soft-top cleaner???

cheers

G

[NathanE]

Hollywood Wheels said:

these things can lethal in the wet....

They really aren't that bad :/ Just don't drive it like you would in the dry with sticky tarmac and you'll be fine.

When it's wet (like it has been most of the summer) I just drive like everybody else. 1/4 throttle on acceleration and no more

Edited by NathanE on Thursday 6th September 18:54

[gsjones]

heard a lot about Elises being best car in dry, worst in the wet - so will be aware...

anybody tried meguiers clay bar? - not sure whether this should be on another thread?

G

[miro]

My first ever lotus drives were in torrential rain. this summer. didnt feel bad whatso ever . had to respect the conditions but the car was fine .. the S2000 i drove on the same day ... that was twitchy.

[Handbag]

Hey there, welcome aboard

There's an active group here in South Wales. Club Lotus South Wales meets every 2nd Thursday of the month nr. Cardiff and there's also a South Wales Region on Seloc.

I'll drop you an e-mail now with all the details

[R.P.M]

gsjones said:

heard a lot about Elises being best car in dry, worst in the wet - so will be aware...

anybody tried meguiers clay bar? - not sure whether this should be on another thread?

G

worst in the wet???? Am I the only person in the world that gets excited when I look out of the window in the morning and find a light precipitation (especially after a period of hot weather!!). WET=FUN!

re clay bar, it basically works by 'grabbing' all the surface contaminants off the paintwork leaving the surface ultra clean and ready for a good coat of wax. Requires little effort to do, and gives you alot of satisfaction, because you can see everything you have removed, on the clay. just remember to use loads of the supplied lubricant and keep the clay bar ultra clean. I recommend the product.

[gsjones]

Nice one Handnag! that would be fab!

I seen a load of Elises coming from Ogmore-by-Sea (just outside Bridgend) a couple of weeks ago...so though it might have been a meet or something..

any, cheers for that...

RPM - thanks for the clay bar info. qucikie - do you have to was or polish the car after the clay bar??

cheers

G

[R.P.M]

gsjones said:

Nice one Handnag! that would be fab!

I seen a load of Elises coming from Ogmore-by-Sea (just outside Bridgend) a couple of weeks ago...so though it might have been a meet or something..

any, cheers for that...

RPM - thanks for the clay bar info. qucikie - do you have to was or polish the car after the clay bar??

cheers

G

you dont have to wash the car after, as you polish the lubricant off with supplied cloth. To me it would be a waste of time if you didnt finish the job off with a couple of coats of finishing wax after the clay bar. it makes washing the car next time round an absolute doddle, and often heavy rain gives the car a 'rinse'. I clay and wax every 3-4 months and it makes such a differance.

remember to post pics when she arrives!

cheers
RPM

[gsjones]

pics - will do!

ahh, so wash, clay bar, wax, admire, drive/get dirty, do it all again!

that sound about right?

G

[Handbag]

gsjones said:

pics - will do!

ahh, so wash, clay bar, wax, admire, drive/get dirty, do it all again!

that sound about right?

G

You'll soon need to squeeze upgrades into that lot
What colour is it? If I see you I'll give you a wave.