Discussion
I should add that I attended a track day in a monsoon last year in the Elise (the rain was deafning - it was that heavy!) and it was absolutely fine if you were careful and smooth. No nasty tricks up its sleeve at all. Much less of a handful on a wet track than either of my Caterhams, and certainly less of a handful than plenty of other cars I've driven on track.
Same as above really. Just be careful and feed in the throttle gradually in the wet. I've always run Yoko A048's on my Exige & in the wet you can feel the car wiggle under you, particularly when the tyres are part worn (they only come with 5mm when new).
Best advice is smooth with everything, throttle, steering etc. that way you'll be fine (hopefully!)
Best advice is smooth with everything, throttle, steering etc. that way you'll be fine (hopefully!)
I run Yokohama A038's on our standard (apart from ITG induction kit) S1 and have found no real problems in the wet, even in the 'monsoon' conditions we have experienced recently - As everyone else has said above, just pay standing water its due respect, watch out for manhole covers on roundabouts(!!) and don't be tempted to boot it out of a corner too soon!
burnsburnsburns said:
Wow, thanks for all the advice. So just treat everything smoothly and I should be okay.
You mention standing water, what exactly should I do when I hit standing water?
Burns
As little as possible, You mention standing water, what exactly should I do when I hit standing water?
Burns
- Do not brake
- Keep wheels pointing straight
- Try and keep a constant throttle
burnsburnsburns said:
Wow, thanks for all the advice. So just treat everything smoothly and I should be okay.
You mention standing water, what exactly should I do when I hit standing water?
Burns
Put your wipers on You mention standing water, what exactly should I do when I hit standing water?
Burns
Believe it or not i know someone who said thst during their driving test.
Chris49 said:
As said, a heavy right foot has nearly cost me dear.
No computer aids to help you so it is a different feel from any other car (except caterhams, etc!!!)
Just nice and smooth and you'll have no problems.
It's worth mentioning than feel and control go a long way to preventing brown trouser moments! The Elise has feel and control in spade loads, and consequently very few brown trouser moments.No computer aids to help you so it is a different feel from any other car (except caterhams, etc!!!)
Just nice and smooth and you'll have no problems.
I've had fewer scary moments in the Elise (none actually) than in any other car I've owned due purely to the fact that its the most feelsome car I've owned. Yes, more so than even the Caterham, because in the Caterham you're sat over the rear axle, so can't feel what's going on up front as much. The car that delivered the most scary moments for me was my BMW E46 330 coupe - it had rubbish assisted controls that had a mind of their own and would get you into all sorts of trouble if you tried to drive at anything like a decent pace. I dread to think of the number of BMW driving executives who probably think rear wheel drive is scary and never go near a sports car, but driving the Elise after some big barge with assisted controls I feel a lot safer!
Don't do as I did, 3 Week old Elise 111R (1st) Sorry Ben).
Drive up to bend at 50 mph + (Damp) throw the thing in and hope for the best
Result damaged front clam that had to be repaired not going to mention the cost, also highly embarrassed as I was trying to show off in front of my father in law, mother in law, and very angry wife (Who'd paid for the bloody thing)
Do
Get some driver training and learn by your mistake's in a controlled environment
Boggy
Drive up to bend at 50 mph + (Damp) throw the thing in and hope for the best
Result damaged front clam that had to be repaired not going to mention the cost, also highly embarrassed as I was trying to show off in front of my father in law, mother in law, and very angry wife (Who'd paid for the bloody thing)Do
Get some driver training and learn by your mistake's in a controlled environment
Boggy
Edited by Boggy on Thursday 11th October 17:29
Without wishing to sound arrogant at all, I should add that I've been racing since I was 22 and am fairly used to being on and over the limit. I'm only mentioning that as I suppose it has to be taken into consideration when I say that my Elise is really safe and secure in the wet - it feels like that to me but everyone is different. I can honestly say though that the combination of low power and really high grip feels pretty secure to me. Just thought I should add that in case someone crashes and blames me for saying the Elise is fine in the wet!
Smooth, straight as possible, little on no brakes, easy on the gas..
As was said earlier, even on a track day (I was at donnington in torrential rain this year) it is still fun, albeit a "different" sort of fun. Certainly learnt more on a track in those 2 hours than at any other time (excluding driver training)
As was said earlier, even on a track day (I was at donnington in torrential rain this year) it is still fun, albeit a "different" sort of fun. Certainly learnt more on a track in those 2 hours than at any other time (excluding driver training)
Careful in a straight line in the wet too http://www.aouv49.dsl.pipex.com/Aquaplane.wmv Lifting off the power can have its problems even on a straight it seems.
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