RE: PH Carpool: Lotus Elise S1 Sport 135

[boobles]

Such a shame he didn't spend as much time inspecting the car as he did writing the article!

[kambites]

Maxus said:

Nice write up. In general do these cars suffer from mechanical niggles? I would love one but have neither the space nor ability for home mechanics.

Yes, they do. They got better over the years, but even a brand new Elise wont have been built with the quality control of a more mass produced car.

[NickGibbs]

Another hand-clap for the quality of the writing. Very good read

[DeadMeat_UK]

Nice one Danny - bought memories of my old (boggo standard) S1 flooding back.

I don't remember the back end being /quite/ that scary when tracking mine, unless you are lifting off, or not under power.
Mebbe you need to get another owner to drive it or try someone elses to make sure it's not a setup issue.

[DeadMeat_UK]

kambites said:

Maxus said:

Nice write up. In general do these cars suffer from mechanical niggles? I would love one but have neither the space nor ability for home mechanics.

Yes, they do. They got better over the years, but even a brand new Elise wont have been built with the quality control of a more mass produced car.

I owned one for 4 years from new and tracked it often. No real issues apart from getting an occasional wet leg on rainy days which was more of a design and quality issue I reckon.

[Shnozz]

andreas542 said:

Great read! I've always fancied one of these in the future, but I'll be hard pushed to pick one over, say, a Caterham when they're both intended as toys.

I don't need a car for commuting so the primary function of my car is fun. A Caterham remains as the most fun I have had on 4 wheels and I came very, very close to buying one as a toy. However, it's just that step too far over the line for me. Yes, on a summers day I may not get the same 100% Caterham experience on a decent country road or on a trackday, but the added benefit of being able to do a weekend in N Wales with ease, or drive to a trackday at Spa without a trailer, or do a European road trip etc etc give Loti that slight (and it is slight!) practicality that won the day. I wouldn't want to run either as a daily drive personally, but even as a weekend toy the Caterham is too limiting for myself.

[kambites]

DeadMeat_UK said:

kambites said:

Maxus said:

Nice write up. In general do these cars suffer from mechanical niggles? I would love one but have neither the space nor ability for home mechanics.

Yes, they do. They got better over the years, but even a brand new Elise wont have been built with the quality control of a more mass produced car.

I owned one for 4 years from new and tracked it often. No real issues apart from getting an occasional wet leg on rainy days which was more of a design and quality issue I reckon.

Well obviously there will obviously be exceptions, but I'd be willing to bet that the average (mean) Elise has a mechanical problem of some kind every year or two.

In five years of ownership (as a daily driver) I've had the following failures: Head gasket; battery; alternator; heater fan resistor pack; speedometer sender connector; lambda sensor connector; roof tensioner cable; and the lining is coming away from the soft-top.

Of those, only the head gasket cost more than fifty quid to fix, but they'd mount up if I'd paid a garage to sort them out.

Edited by kambites on Friday 13th January 11:52

[madmover]

Cracking article for an amateur and looks to be a stunning example! Hats off to you sir! im currently looking into an Elise and having read this has made me want one even more!

[Shnozz]

Maxus said:

Nice write up. In general do these cars suffer from mechanical niggles? I would love one but have neither the space nor ability for home mechanics.

The original Elise is not getting any younger. That said, the initial phase of replacing older parts may now have passed so look for a car thats had a lot of the original parts replaced and you could end up with a good triggers broom. If you look in my profile I kept track of the mechanical running costs of my S1 Elise. I bought a low mileage 1 owner car and it turned out to not be the wisest choice. In hindsight, I would look for a well maintained enthusiast car that has had faults ironed out and the consumables on their replacement set.

[shouldbenicholas]

Superbly written article - as they say at Black and Decker - Good Work Mate

[jcs25]

Good article.

I had an 99 S1 for 4 years of interesting ownership and still miss the fun it brought me. I used Lakeside Engineering in Addlestone for servicing 2 very helfpul guys who know their stuff. I found working on it not to be too bad, replaced the heater matrix which are known to go which wasnt too bad. The radiator was another kettle of fish as the front clam had to come off and it was in the crash structure 3 days later and appropriate amount of swear words later it was repalced.

Great car to drive, a little interesting in the wet and damp but its nice to know your alive. A mate had a scndal green sport 160 now that was fun and slightly scary

[otolith]

Frimley111R said:

I think its the best compromise between softer cars like Boxsters and hardcore cars like Caterhams.

That has been the Elise's USP, S1 and S2.

[Rawwr]

S135 was easily the best S1 variant.

[clanger]

Nice write up, great car.

Great cars and easy to work on. Mechanical problems are generally due to lack of maintenance and sympathy when warming the k series up - had 1 hgf in 150k+ miles of Elise ownership.

Elises are made for trackdays, such fun.

[Rich135]

I had S476 FGP - anyone know where it is now? I miss that car......

[Mutton]

Nice report. I had the chance of buying a mint Sport 135 3 years ago and really regret not buying it. Probably my favourite Elise - might not the quickest but it's a very sweet package, plus there's the rarity value.

[Pablo16v]

This wouldn't be the same Danny Milner who is the editor of MBR magazine?

[Frimley111R]

Maxus said:

Nice write up. In general do these cars suffer from mechanical niggles? I would love one but have neither the space nor ability for home mechanics.

As said, S1 Elise's are getting on a bit so you can expect one or two niggles but it varies from car to car and I think that you'd get issues with any car of this age. I have a 2005 car and have hardly had a single issue with it in 5 yrs. Elises are not complex vehicles so most things can be done yourself with a set of basic tools but there are also lots of specialists around to help too.

[prg123]

That article made me giggle as I remember when I had to change the battery on my S1 Elise (when I had it). That was a nightmare to do.

A few things had to be replaced under warranty though:-

1. Fuel tank
2. Pedal box
3. plastic engine cover broke.

Even though i had the issues above, I soooo loved driving it...

Mine was a '98 mustard yellow S1

Pete

[chevronb37]

DeadMeat_UK said:

Nice one Danny - bought memories of my old (boggo standard) S1 flooding back.

I don't remember the back end being /quite/ that scary when tracking mine, unless you are lifting off, or not under power.
Mebbe you need to get another owner to drive it or try someone elses to make sure it's not a setup issue.

I had a a similar issue on an even throttle in my Exige through Church at Anglesey - in mine that's taken at 80-85mph. Certainly raised the heart rate. Can't blame the car though really, it's me who's driving it, not the other way around. Too much ambition, not enough talent...

Great article and nicely sums up the pain and joy of Elise ownership. I have a battery to change this weekend as it happens. Oh good.