how should the steering feel on a series 2
Discussion
After failing to convince my wife that a Caterham is just what we need now the kids are older Ive nearly convinced her that an elise is a good alternative.
I drove a race tech 15000 miler today and was impressed with overall package but found the steering slightly off putting. Very light and a bit like it wasnt fully connected to the front wheels when in the straight ahead normal driving position. It certainly felt light and responded to steering input easily into bends and changes in direction.
Is that a reasonable general description of how these cars steer/feel
I drove a race tech 15000 miler today and was impressed with overall package but found the steering slightly off putting. Very light and a bit like it wasnt fully connected to the front wheels when in the straight ahead normal driving position. It certainly felt light and responded to steering input easily into bends and changes in direction.
Is that a reasonable general description of how these cars steer/feel
I have S2 111 that exhibited the same problem which was not fully resolved after a 4-wheel alignment. The car felt a bit boaty and light at the front. I'd had a S2 previously and knew how it should have behaved
Although I still run Bridgestones they were pumped to recommended Lotus pressures when I bought it. These are much too high and I now run 24.5F 26R. You won't believe the difference this can make and it should feel like a different car. The best thing to do is reduce the front pressures first to get the feel you like and then bring the rears down if necessary
Also check that the steering column clamp is tight as some movement can occur here too
I also run a front splitter.
Good luck
Although I still run Bridgestones they were pumped to recommended Lotus pressures when I bought it. These are much too high and I now run 24.5F 26R. You won't believe the difference this can make and it should feel like a different car. The best thing to do is reduce the front pressures first to get the feel you like and then bring the rears down if necessary
Also check that the steering column clamp is tight as some movement can occur here too
I also run a front splitter.
Good luck
To be honest, that doesn't sound an unreasonable description of how the steering feel should be, compared to a Caterham. Being mid-engined, the Elise does feel a wee bit lighter and less 'connected' at the front end than a Caterham (despite the fact that the Caterham has quite a rearward weight bias for a front engined car).
By all means, drive a few more Elises to get an idea for how they should feel, but expect them to feel different to the Caterham; weight distribution and location of the driver's hear (which - usually - contains your balance organs
) are quite a bit different and Elises, like 911's, have a pretty unique feel to them.
By all means, drive a few more Elises to get an idea for how they should feel, but expect them to feel different to the Caterham; weight distribution and location of the driver's hear (which - usually - contains your balance organs
) are quite a bit different and Elises, like 911's, have a pretty unique feel to them.
Unless Im way off the mark I wouldnt have thought a genuine 15k miles car would have any significant steering defects. Its obvious from the owner its been lovingly cared for, full JCT600 history, hes owned it from it being 2 months old.
Is it just that these cars feel so different to drive and steer when compared to your average mondeo.vectra.whatever?
Is it just that these cars feel so different to drive and steer when compared to your average mondeo.vectra.whatever?
Yes, they do feel dramatically different to a Mondeo/Vectra or whatever. Descriptions of handling and steering feel can be incredibly subjective, though - your description stikes me as a perfectly plausible assessment of the Elise's steering feel but it's difficult to get a clear understanding of such subtle nuances from a brief description on the internet.
The low mileage doesn't necessarily indicate that it's right; as others have said, the car can be very sensitve to tyre pressures, but in any case it's not unknown for the geometry to be out on a car fresh form the factory, if it's a Friday afternoon job.
The low mileage doesn't necessarily indicate that it's right; as others have said, the car can be very sensitve to tyre pressures, but in any case it's not unknown for the geometry to be out on a car fresh form the factory, if it's a Friday afternoon job.
LivinLaVidaLotus said:
Until you get towards half lock, I think the steering is very light on an S2, once you get past that it starts to firm up.
my experience too. i thought there was something wrong with mine initially, but i had it looked at and nothing untoward was found. i've since driven others that are similar as well.Caught me out on my very first test drive, as it's so easy to turn in to start with, then it becomes a lot firmer (especially if you were used to stupidly light power steering), which you don't want to be finding out when you realise the corner you're going round, suddenly tightens up a lot, fortunately I wasn't going fast.
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