RE: Why the Lotus Elise still matters | PH Footnote
Discussion
SidewaysSi said:
My S1 Elise is very driftable. I have a Quaife LSD, decent tyres and a proper geo and it goes sideways with relative ease and gives very controllable oversteer.
As for gearchange, mine has the Eliseparts quickshift kit and it is perfectly good. I wouldn't say it is any worse than the 6speed change in my Caterham.
But a lot of the 6 speed Caterhams aren't great either (and the ratios are plain silly for anything other than a highly tuned K series)As for gearchange, mine has the Eliseparts quickshift kit and it is perfectly good. I wouldn't say it is any worse than the 6speed change in my Caterham.
Edited by bcr5784 on Tuesday 13th August 19:04
otolith said:
Kubevoid said:
I never connected with my Elise 111R. The sketchy rearward balance felt like a builders four pound hammer in the wet. Zero mass up front, like an empty biscuit tin didn't help balance much either.
I wish Lotus would make something front engined, such as the Caterham 21 or a Ginetta G4. Something where you can throw it about, hang it's arse out and hold it there just for the fun of it.
Yeah, it's not that kind of car, for sure. As you say, you wouldn't start off with a mid engined layout if you wanted that.I wish Lotus would make something front engined, such as the Caterham 21 or a Ginetta G4. Something where you can throw it about, hang it's arse out and hold it there just for the fun of it.
Kubevoid said:
It was an experiement of mine... trying my first rear engined car. It was also my last. I prefer a 'hoon' type of car where you can take liberties. Rear weighted cars force you to be overly sensible and keep it very neat and pointed forwards, especially if its damp. Not my thing at all.
i know what you mean, but with good geo and tyres and experience you can feel the slip on a dry hoon and know you're at the limit. definitely different to front engine and not so easy in the damp, but you don't need to tip toe. something to master.FR cars are great too of course.
There's certainly some truth in that. The Elise has a more rearward distribution than most mid engined cars - it's actually similar to the 911. The result is Lotus (and Porsche with the 911) build in more initial understeer than a Caterham, or , for that matter, an Alpine or Cayman. Personally I don't like that aspect of the Elise handling. Overall I prefer the Elise S220 to the alternatives (on the right road and day) - but that's very much because of the steering and width.
bcr5784 said:
SidewaysSi said:
My S1 Elise is very driftable. I have a Quaife LSD, decent tyres and a proper geo and it goes sideways with relative ease and gives very controllable oversteer.
As for gearchange, mine has the Eliseparts quickshift kit and it is perfectly good. I wouldn't say it is any worse than the 6speed change in my Caterham.
But a lot of the 6 speed Caterhams aren't great either (and the ratios are plain silly for anything other than a highly tuned K series)As for gearchange, mine has the Eliseparts quickshift kit and it is perfectly good. I wouldn't say it is any worse than the 6speed change in my Caterham.
Edited by bcr5784 on Tuesday 13th August 19:04
My Elise does around 17mph/1000 rpm in top..
I rate the Elise as the best, or one of the best, road cars to drive, but yes, the actual handling balance isn’t that great. Enjoyable, yes, I did several track days in mine including the Nordschliefe, but I’ve driven better handling cars. On the road though at lower speeds - fantastic. Curiously, the Cayman and Boxster have that sorted handling due to their bespoke engine mid mounted on the floor, but they’re nowhere near as good to drive. The Exige, 2-11, Evora and 3-11 of course all suffer from this same problem. That said, the handling of all these cars is way above average; it’s just that if you’ve driven a proper mid-engined car it’s difficult to get that handling balance out of your mind.What I’d love to see would be a proper mid-engined Lotus with the same mechanical layout as a single seater , now that would be good!!
Think the K Series is lighter than the Toyota engines so may make a difference to handling. Most of these cars can be tweaked to drive as you please.
S1 Sport 135 has to be up there as one of the best though I quite like the 135R too. Think EVO did an Elise test a few years ago - here it is:
https://www.evo.co.uk/lotus/elise/13380/lotus-elis...
S1 Sport 135 has to be up there as one of the best though I quite like the 135R too. Think EVO did an Elise test a few years ago - here it is:
https://www.evo.co.uk/lotus/elise/13380/lotus-elis...
Julian Thompson said:
Has any consensus been reached about which is the “best” Elise? Old or new?
That completely depends what you want and your priorities. For starters there's S1 or S2; personally I prefer the advancements made for the S2, but others prefer the S1. For a daily driver, my S2 111S was the best I tried, but it's close for me between that and the SC. For track days the S2 135R got a lot of praise, but so has the S3 Cup. They're all different and all excellent cars - choose your flavour 
Edited by RobM77 on Wednesday 14th August 09:29
Mr E said:
Julian Thompson said:
Has any consensus been reached about which is the “best” Elise? Old or new?
Usually whichever the respondent owns. So, clearly an early S2 111S with a short roof and no aircon. In black.
But that's because it offers the Elise / Exige S2 driving experience, and best performance / £ ratio (now that I've added a SC kit). In turn meaning I don't feel guilty leaving it outside 365 as its half the price of an equivalent performance Exige, but wears a boring Vauxhall badge..
gofasterrosssco said:
Mr E said:
Julian Thompson said:
Has any consensus been reached about which is the “best” Elise? Old or new?
Usually whichever the respondent owns. So, clearly an early S2 111S with a short roof and no aircon. In black.
But that's because it offers the Elise / Exige S2 driving experience, and best performance / £ ratio (now that I've added a SC kit). In turn meaning I don't feel guilty leaving it outside 365 as its half the price of an equivalent performance Exige, but wears a boring Vauxhall badge..
SidewaysSi said:
gofasterrosssco said:
Mr E said:
Julian Thompson said:
Has any consensus been reached about which is the “best” Elise? Old or new?
Usually whichever the respondent owns. So, clearly an early S2 111S with a short roof and no aircon. In black.
But that's because it offers the Elise / Exige S2 driving experience, and best performance / £ ratio (now that I've added a SC kit). In turn meaning I don't feel guilty leaving it outside 365 as its half the price of an equivalent performance Exige, but wears a boring Vauxhall badge..
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff