Thinking of an elise?

[leemarkadams]

Hello all,

Am due back in the UK soon and will have about £7500 to spend on a weekend/track day toy and have a few options:

1. Something Jap (Skyline GTR/Scooby RA/ Evo)
2. Something like an Elise

Now I am aware the Elise is not the quickest car off the line and a well tuned Skyile etc would thrash it on a straight line race, but still fancy an Elise as the wife would go in that too.

Now I know this is an Elise forum but was just wondering what people's thoughts are? As said it would mostly be a weeknd toy with track day use in mind also. Due to the Track day use would I need to upgrade the Elise a lot to make it more enjoyable?

Thanks

Lee

[F.C.]

To be fair on your budget you will probably need to find a well looked after S1 and hope you can get it for that money.
If you buy cheaper you will probably end up spending over your budget Re-building it up to an acceptable level.
As to mods it depends how much track you intend to do.
I'll leave it to the S1 officionados to answer that question for you.
F.C.

Edited by F.C. on Thursday 5th March 07:32

[Scuffers]

that's a very reasonable point, whist you can get an Elise for £7,500 don't expect it to be A1, more like C-.

that said, not sure you can get much of a Skyline for that cash either, and I know which one I would not be so scared off (in repair and running costs)

[leemarkadams]

Happy with the ppoints people are making, but I am not afraid to do some work on a car myself as quite hady wielding a set of spanners!

Lee

[boomshanks]

Agree with others - you'll be lucky to get a decent Elise for that money. You'd pick up a scooby for that - no worries, but they're not really in the same league (I used to have a WRX, which was fantastic, but it's not a track car IMO).

If it's purely for fun, you could look at a Westfield or an old Caterham? I think they tend to be a bit cheaper.

b

[leemarkadams]

Agree about the Westfield, but for some reason the wife will not let me get oneas she says they are too dangerous! I have been in a Bike Engined Westfield and was VERY impressed, but she knows I also want a Bike and there is NO chance of that as she is a nurse!!!

Lee

[GR4]

Price range for private sale standard S1's is probably £6k - £9k, with Cat D's and rough ones at the bottom end, and perfect low milers at the top. Good ones are out there in your price range, but you may need to look at a few to sort the good ones from the not so good. Also, the competitively priced ones tend to sell quickly, so be prepared to move fast. Look at Auto Trader as well as PH classifieds. Good luck.

[Chris49]

Is this right?

Looking at selling up soon and was thinking £7.5k was about right for a loved S1.

I'll add an extra few quid on then should I sell!

[chris7676]

You will spend another 7500 if not more soon if you buy Skyline due to the high tracking costs I believe.

[mikey P 500]

I used to be into high powered jap cars (300bhp mr2 turbo last car) however I am now a full convert to light weight sports cars. They are much cheaper to run and use on track and generally more fun. I think you should get a very good Elise for £7.5k maybe only the base model but still a well looked after car. I have used mine on track and its fine stock (only upgrade was better brake pads). I have since upgraded seats, suspension, exhaust etc but all of these are through choice rather than a requirement as it was all fine stock really.

[leemarkadams]

Thanks, am planning to look at a few different options when I get back, ranging from a 550bhp skyline to an elise etc...

I know running cost wise the Elise will win hands down, but will see how they drive!

Thanks

Lee

[TIPPER]

On your budget your in standard (120bhp) Elise territory. Quick enough not to be embarrassed up to about 70/80 but after that they slow markedly - you'll probably soon find yourself wanting a bit more poke: £1750 for head porting, cams, 4-2-1 and ecu add-on will give you about 160bhp (you'll need to do the spannering though.
Before that you might wantg to look at the brakes and suspension though. Most Elises have uprated brakes but as a minimum you'll want EBC discs and Yellowstuff pads (circa £500). Suspension? Most S1s in your budget will need rebushing (say £200 depending on choice of bushes), new ball joints (about $140 - you can get them cheaper but they don't always fit), if you're going to run sticky tyres then you'll need to uprate the toe-links (£220 ish), the steering rack might need a refurb, and you really want to fit something like Nitron dampers with uprated springs for track work (£1250). Throw in harnesses and bar (£350-400) and you should be about there
Incidently the costs I've mentioned assume doing your own spanner work.

[miro]

leemarkadams said:

Thanks, am planning to look at a few different options when I get back, ranging from a 550bhp skyline to an elise etc...

I know running cost wise the Elise will win hands down, but will see how they drive!

Thanks

Lee

no idea about the skyline but you have no chance of getting an SC for £7500 and if you are looking for a track day toy and have 20k+ to spend then its the Honda/Audi converted cars that will be best suited

Is it a £7500 118bhp S1 you are after or is that just the depisit for something grander ....

[Gad-Westy]

£7500 is enough to get a good Elise at the moment. In fact every now and then you'll also find ones that have been fettled for trackwork for this kind of outlay. If you're going to be on track a lot I'd try and find something that's had Nitron dampers and uprated brakes fitted and ideally the close ratio gearbox. After that, not a lot is needed unless you start looking for more power.

To avoid big bills, when looking at cars focus your attention on the suspension and brakes. These are the parts that are going to hurt your wallet if anything needs doing. The engine side of things is pretty cheap to deal with but do look out for early signs of HGF or look through the bills to see if work has been done to rectify it.

[chris7676]

Surely the shocks should have been replaced if you want a car to be enjoyable drive as opposed to OK. Don't think there is any need to upgrade brakes as such (ok, maybe good fluid and then pads, though I still have been using wooden lotus ones until they have finished now;)).