Elise 111R potential purchase
Discussion
Hi all,
Been looking at a 111R for sale near me that I'd like to use as a weekend/track car - it has some interesting track mods such as nitrons, good discs, pads, tires but wondering about a few things:
- Owner openly states it's been used mainly as his track car. Car has 62 thousand miles, and has just had a new engine put in 2k miles ago (apparently a rebuilt/recon unit, dont have any further info on that - apparently the car had an issue with the valves?
- He's more than open to doing a camshaft wear check
- Nitrons have been put on around 15 years ago - he says they feel fine but I suspect they'll need a rebuild by now or replacement?
- front clam has a lot of stone chips from use on track and road, rear clam has pretty noticeable spiderweb cracks...Looks great otherwise
- Moroso baffled sump
- Exige seats
Car is saffron yellow (my favorite color for these) and comes with 3 sets of wheels - team dynamics, exige wheels and stock 111r wheels, all with Nankang crs tires.
Main question I have is - should I be worried about the engine rebuild? I thought that as long as the camshafts are ok that they'd be relatively bulletproof?
I imagine with this type of use and age, Id be looking at also having to replace bushings?
I think it could be a great car to own as a track tool but I dont want to buy someone elses tired track car and ending up having to replace a bunch of stuff.
An extra 10 grand will get me a 20 thousand mile exige NA which has also had an engine rebuild that im also considering but besides the look of the car, there dont seem to be many differences?
Thanks in advance for any help/advice!
Been looking at a 111R for sale near me that I'd like to use as a weekend/track car - it has some interesting track mods such as nitrons, good discs, pads, tires but wondering about a few things:
- Owner openly states it's been used mainly as his track car. Car has 62 thousand miles, and has just had a new engine put in 2k miles ago (apparently a rebuilt/recon unit, dont have any further info on that - apparently the car had an issue with the valves?
- He's more than open to doing a camshaft wear check
- Nitrons have been put on around 15 years ago - he says they feel fine but I suspect they'll need a rebuild by now or replacement?
- front clam has a lot of stone chips from use on track and road, rear clam has pretty noticeable spiderweb cracks...Looks great otherwise
- Moroso baffled sump
- Exige seats
Car is saffron yellow (my favorite color for these) and comes with 3 sets of wheels - team dynamics, exige wheels and stock 111r wheels, all with Nankang crs tires.
Main question I have is - should I be worried about the engine rebuild? I thought that as long as the camshafts are ok that they'd be relatively bulletproof?
I imagine with this type of use and age, Id be looking at also having to replace bushings?
I think it could be a great car to own as a track tool but I dont want to buy someone elses tired track car and ending up having to replace a bunch of stuff.
An extra 10 grand will get me a 20 thousand mile exige NA which has also had an engine rebuild that im also considering but besides the look of the car, there dont seem to be many differences?
Thanks in advance for any help/advice!
The 2ZZ can suffer from oil starvation on track (research I did indicated that with sticky tyres (like this example has) it was an issue requiring baffled sump minimum, but that may not be enough). "Regular" road use and moderate track use running road-biaised tyres is generally seen as fine, at least from what I read.
I'd certainly be having a full inspection done by a specialist as it sounds like it's been used hard but also looked after.
And yes, yellow is the best colour for any Lotus, that's just a fact
I'd certainly be having a full inspection done by a specialist as it sounds like it's been used hard but also looked after.
And yes, yellow is the best colour for any Lotus, that's just a fact
He could have buzzed the engine (too low a gear on track, going from 4th to 5th but putting it in 3rd) which may have damaged it.
Engines are very tough and it is the spray bar that can get blocked causing wear but I think this is rare. A baffled sump is always a good idea but not really necessary if you're on road tyres.
There is a big difference between rebuilt and reconditioned though. If its rebuilt it may have forged internals (great but watch for higher oil usage!).
Engines are very tough and it is the spray bar that can get blocked causing wear but I think this is rare. A baffled sump is always a good idea but not really necessary if you're on road tyres.
There is a big difference between rebuilt and reconditioned though. If its rebuilt it may have forged internals (great but watch for higher oil usage!).
_Neal_ said:
The 2ZZ can suffer from oil starvation on track (research I did indicated that with sticky tyres (like this example has) it was an issue requiring baffled sump minimum, but that may not be enough). "Regular" road use and moderate track use running road-biaised tyres is generally seen as fine, at least from what I read.
I'd certainly be having a full inspection done by a specialist as it sounds like it's been used hard but also looked after.
And yes, yellow is the best colour for any Lotus, that's just a fact
back in the day Moroso made a really good baffled sumpI'd certainly be having a full inspection done by a specialist as it sounds like it's been used hard but also looked after.
And yes, yellow is the best colour for any Lotus, that's just a fact
Thanks all, appreciate your feedback.
Owner is a race mechanic and he's had it as his fun/track car for the past 8 years apparently, only selling it to get into a gt4. I think it's a safe bet to say he's used it hard but I hope also taken care of it.
I am always a bit weary of owners selling their cars shortly after a big repair like an engine rebuild/recon - makes me wonder if the repair isnt right so they'd rather just pass it onto someone else.
(and yes, agreed on yellow being the best color!)
The exige na I'm also looking at is also in yellow...
Owner is a race mechanic and he's had it as his fun/track car for the past 8 years apparently, only selling it to get into a gt4. I think it's a safe bet to say he's used it hard but I hope also taken care of it.
I am always a bit weary of owners selling their cars shortly after a big repair like an engine rebuild/recon - makes me wonder if the repair isnt right so they'd rather just pass it onto someone else.
(and yes, agreed on yellow being the best color!)
The exige na I'm also looking at is also in yellow...
Loafers92 said:
Thanks all, appreciate your feedback.
Owner is a race mechanic and he's had it as his fun/track car for the past 8 years apparently, only selling it to get into a gt4. I think it's a safe bet to say he's used it hard but I hope also taken care of it.
I am always a bit weary of owners selling their cars shortly after a big repair like an engine rebuild/recon - makes me wonder if the repair isnt right so they'd rather just pass it onto someone else.
(and yes, agreed on yellow being the best color!)
The exige na I'm also looking at is also in yellow...
I think I'd be a bit concerned as well. You have links to the ads for the cars you're looking at, may help with more specific advice from here?Owner is a race mechanic and he's had it as his fun/track car for the past 8 years apparently, only selling it to get into a gt4. I think it's a safe bet to say he's used it hard but I hope also taken care of it.
I am always a bit weary of owners selling their cars shortly after a big repair like an engine rebuild/recon - makes me wonder if the repair isnt right so they'd rather just pass it onto someone else.
(and yes, agreed on yellow being the best color!)
The exige na I'm also looking at is also in yellow...
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