TVR Chimaera & Lotus Elise - What could possibly go wrong?
Discussion
Why?
After two years with my Mazda, and three and a bit years for Dad with the Boxster S we both felt like it was a time for change. Both the cars had been wonderfully reliable costing next to nothing (consumables aside) to run. However, Dad had always had a TVR itch he wanted to scratch, and this car came up at the perfect time. For me, I had done 26,000 miles in this car in just under two years. It had served as my daily driver for the last year (roof down every day) and I was genuinely sad to go. However, a move of office, and a advancement in my job meant I could start to look at options for a weekend toy to run and commute during the week on public transport.
The Trevor
Both Dad and I have an absolute love of these things. They're silly, stupid, loud and brilliant! He had come close a couple of times in the past to buying one, but a dodgy dealer, and a dodgy example put him off.
This car is a 1995 (early serpentine for those interested) 400. It's powered by a 4.0 Rover V8. The book says it puts out 240bhp, in reality this is probably 220ish. It appears this example was used quite sparsely in it's early years, covering only a couple of thousand in year one and two. It jumped 10,000 miles one year, and then that dropped again. However, in 2003 it went into storage, and only came out this year. The result is we've bought a 20 year old Chimaera with 18,000 miles.
The car was supplied by Fernhurst. If you know them, you'll know what an excellent reputation they have for their cars. Their opinion was that the car would sell itself to us, and didn't it just! A deal was done, but before we collected it, there was a small amount of work done including, but not limited to:
- New tyres all round (alignment and balancing)
- Refurbished wheels in grey
- Clear indicators and repeaters
- Dashboard top recoved in blue.
- Levin aluminium dashboard and stalks.
To drive it couldn't be any further from the Boxster if it tried. No power steering makes town driving a bit heavy, but maximises feedback. The shift between gears is short, but just right. Handling, well, is crap if you've just jumped out of a Porsche, but I like a challenge! It's an occasion and feels special with the Boxster just didn't feel so.
Lots of Trouble Usually Serious
I had seen this car on eBay some time before I bought it. It was at a good price and looked in good nick. It also had the benefit of the Probax seats from the newer Elise/Exige fitted, a favourable mod for S1 owners.
The car was based in South Wales which was a deterrent I think for other buyers. I watched the price come down until I couldn't take it any more, I had to see it! It was as described and looked amazing in person. A deal was done and I came away with some extra goodies including the original red leather seats, a set of AWI 5-Spoke wheels on track tyres and the original exhaust (sports one on the car).
It's noisy, uncomfortable, uncivilized and unrefined and I bloody love it. It doesn't even have a radio, but I don't care because I wouldn't hear it anyway. The roof takes 10 minutes to take off and you need an Alan Key to secure it in place, again I just don't care.
It's a drivers car through and through, and despite the minuscule 118bhp the K Series engine puts out, it gets down the road very rapidly too. Up to 100mph I think this has to be one of the most fun road cars there is. It doesn't do much after 100 anyway!
Plans?
Use them both as much as possible. Dad and I believe the key to a reliable car is using them properly. The summer is spent doing a lot of events for the Sporting Bears (can't wait for 2016), and we still plan to drive them in winter (aside from on very salty roads).
The TVR needs nothing doing yet. It's serviced and ready to drive. Aside from a sudden case of the windscreen wipers going on strike and the ashtray falling out of the drivers door, nothing has gone wrong *touch wood*.
I have so far put new tyres on the Lotus all round (Toyo T1 R's). It has also had a through mechanical inspection and some minor fixings done at Maidstone Sportscars. Now mechanically perfect, I plan to tackle the cosmetics slowly. Plans I have are:
- Full exterior and interior details
- Repaint wheels in grey.
- Replace door sills with black ones.
- Transfer private reg and replace sticker one with a proper one.
- New exterior stone guards.
- Retrim the steering wheel.
- Lots and lots of trackdays (Goodwood completed already).
Edited by Dalto123 on Sunday 20th December 17:52
Thanks for the replies all. They're a great pair and I will do my best to keep this thread up to date.
It was the PH trackday on 12/12/15. If you have any pictures that would be amazing
carphotographer said:
What trackday was that at Goodwood ?
I had a couple of S1 Elises - fantastic cars and despite that I've got a Caterham now I miss the Elise.
Thank-you. I love it, it's like a little go-kart. A Caterham was one of the cars I considered closely, but for the money I got a better Lotus. It's certainly on the list of car's I'd like to own in the future though.I had a couple of S1 Elises - fantastic cars and despite that I've got a Caterham now I miss the Elise.
It was the PH trackday on 12/12/15. If you have any pictures that would be amazing
Very much approve of your Lotus, especially since the drive of it the other week. Obviously it's never going to set the world alight in a straight line (and nor was it ever supposed to), but the delicacy of the handling is something else! Can't wait to have it on track, where I think we'll be able to surprise some far more powerful cars 
Never been the biggest TVR fan (I'll hand in my PH membership on the way out), but love the spec, and noise, of the Chimaera
Never been the biggest TVR fan (I'll hand in my PH membership on the way out), but love the spec, and noise, of the Chimaera
Sorry for the late reply chaps!
James - You're very welcome to drive it again. As you say it won't set the world alight in a straight line, but the acceleration is more fun than the outright speed, and the feel & feedback this gives is excellent.
Tickle - Cracking 111s you have there, I'd love for my car to be in the same colour as yours! TVR couldn't be more different to drive, handling in comparison is 'clunky', but the acceleration and the similar feeling of being an event to drive make it a very enjoyable car to have
James - You're very welcome to drive it again. As you say it won't set the world alight in a straight line, but the acceleration is more fun than the outright speed, and the feel & feedback this gives is excellent.
Tickle - Cracking 111s you have there, I'd love for my car to be in the same colour as yours! TVR couldn't be more different to drive, handling in comparison is 'clunky', but the acceleration and the similar feeling of being an event to drive make it a very enjoyable car to have
So I thought this thread was overdue an update.
Things have been going well for the Lotus & TVR - But there’s a few things worth noting.
Mechanically the TVR has been fine. However, on New Years Day a fuse blew (not uncommon) meaning that everything aside from the clock on the dashboard died. Thankfully this was rectified promptly and easily.
With the Elise living outside I invested in a hardtop. This has helped make it a lot more weather proof, and just as well I did because the day after I picked it up this happened:
Without the snow, it looks like this
Shortly after this I noticed that the heater fan had been playing up a little bit (ie. It wouldn’t start working unless I put it on the fastest speed/would cut out intermittently). Some searching around suggested the resistor was on it’s way out, and upon inspection, that certainly appeared to be the issue.
Some Elise’s had three small resistors (one per fan speed) or one large one with three separate connectors (like this). One of them was so corroded/rotten that the second I touched it, it fell off. When I was driving afterwards having unintentionally turned on the fan it was shorting out and smoking rather a lot at the front
So I’ve taken the car to another specialist to be taken care of. While they’re at it they’re going to align the window as it wasn’t quite right and was letting a tiny bit of rainwater in.
Today’s wonderful weather meant that the TVR got it’s first wash since October. For a 21 year old car it’s scrubs up very well, although you do need to use a lot of leather cleaner for the interior - I also had a chance to add this to it:
Of course whilst I had the car out of the garage it would be rude not to take it for a proper drive (roof off naturally). I stopped off and got this picture whilst I was at it.
Sadly I didn’t get any video, but I did find a small tunnel to go through - The noise is just infectious!
That’s all for now, and will update in due course
Things have been going well for the Lotus & TVR - But there’s a few things worth noting.
Mechanically the TVR has been fine. However, on New Years Day a fuse blew (not uncommon) meaning that everything aside from the clock on the dashboard died. Thankfully this was rectified promptly and easily.
With the Elise living outside I invested in a hardtop. This has helped make it a lot more weather proof, and just as well I did because the day after I picked it up this happened:
Without the snow, it looks like this
Shortly after this I noticed that the heater fan had been playing up a little bit (ie. It wouldn’t start working unless I put it on the fastest speed/would cut out intermittently). Some searching around suggested the resistor was on it’s way out, and upon inspection, that certainly appeared to be the issue.
Some Elise’s had three small resistors (one per fan speed) or one large one with three separate connectors (like this). One of them was so corroded/rotten that the second I touched it, it fell off. When I was driving afterwards having unintentionally turned on the fan it was shorting out and smoking rather a lot at the front
So I’ve taken the car to another specialist to be taken care of. While they’re at it they’re going to align the window as it wasn’t quite right and was letting a tiny bit of rainwater in.Today’s wonderful weather meant that the TVR got it’s first wash since October. For a 21 year old car it’s scrubs up very well, although you do need to use a lot of leather cleaner for the interior - I also had a chance to add this to it:
Of course whilst I had the car out of the garage it would be rude not to take it for a proper drive (roof off naturally). I stopped off and got this picture whilst I was at it.
Sadly I didn’t get any video, but I did find a small tunnel to go through - The noise is just infectious!
That’s all for now, and will update in due course
I think it's time for another little update:
Lotus
All is well in the land of Lotus - I've had the car for about 9 months and covered about 8000+ miles (as a weekend car only). It's fair to say in this time I've become quite acquainted with it now.
Since February it has had it's MOT and annual service. I also bought and had clear lenses to the front and sides fitted, the stick on number plate removed and replaced with a standard one. I also transferred my plate onto the car.
I had the work done by a specialist in Surrey who I have to say are absolutely top notch. There was a advisory on the MOT for slight misting of oil from one of the shock absorbers. A look back through the search history showed that all 4 springs, and three of the shocks were replaced over a couple of years - this was the only original one left. I had this replaced and now the suspension is all good - But I am tempted by an S2 Suspension upgrade some time in the future.
As part of an Advanced Driving course (won't go too far into it as I don't think you'll be interested) I spent a couple of hours at Bruntingthorpe testing out limit handling on the car. This certainly highlighted the Elise’s phenomenal mechanical grip.
I've also done a couple of SELOC runs (highly recommended group) and let fellow PH'er Synchromesh have a drive in the better weather we had recently. I'm sure he'll agree that it is good fun, but perhaps not so much as his latest acquisition (get a thread up James!)
Another task was the old stone protectors on the side. These had been bugging me since I got the car, but was quite nervous about removing them. Brave pills taken, and armed with a hair dryer, an old IAM membership card and some Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover, I cracked on with the task removing them.
All in, it took me about a couple of hours or so to remove the old protectors and the glue residue. As much as I'd like to have the car without the protectors, I know that it'd be get chipped and annoy me immensely. So I bought some new ones from Elise Parts and got them fitted.
The interior was also in dire need of a proper clean. So the seats came out and this was how it looked
Several buckets of warm water and a magic sponge later
Annoyingly I forgot it to get a picture at the end. It was Bank Holiday Monday at 7PM and I'd spent enough time outside on the car that day - please forgive me
Next on my task list is to get the AWI 5 Spoke wheels refurbished and fitted to the car. I'd also ideally like to get a new intake system fitted as the current one is looking a bit worse for wear.
As part of the Supercar Siege (with Tunerfest South) in mid June I managed to do a short 15 minute session around Brands Hatch with some rather nice other cars. I wasn’t pushing the car too much (the worry of driving without track insurance, let alone sharing the track with a LaFerrari being driven in an ‘interesting’ manner) meant that I could push the car as hard as I wanted, but still enough for me to enjoy. Another trackday is certainly on the cards.
Bitten by the limit handling bug, I signed up for the SELOC Activity Day at North Weald Aerodrome as a birthday treat for myself (seeing as that was the day before it). An amazing day where you could freely throw the car out of control in an open environment and not worry about hitting anything. It was also immense fun, in particular the final autosolo type course at the end! Video to come soon.
Dad and I went to The Supercar Event this weekend just gone. I have previously volunteered for this event for about 6/7 years in the pit crew, but decided that I would instead spend this year with the Sporting Bears. Saturday’s weather was sketchy, but I managed to take a few passengers out. Sunday from 11am to 4pm was non-stop, and it was wonderful.
As a bonus, we got invited on track at lunchtime to do some demonstration laps to the crowd, and show the cars on offer to ride in, in action. So I quickly set up my GoPro and got this: https://youtu.be/PI4VcpJ0hiE
The event raised £90,000 for the Children’s Trust, £9200 of which was done by the Bears. I’m already looking forward to next year.
TVR
This car has simply been wonderful. And before anyone asks if it has broken down, I’m sorry to report (for you) that no, it has not.
My parents enjoyed a week's holiday in the car taking it down to the west country covering about 800 miles total and behaved impeccably despite being left to stand for a few days. Only on the last day did fuse 14 (which powers the dashboard) decide to take a break - but this was quickly replaced with assistance from the Steve Heath TVR Bible.
We also took both cars on a family holiday near Malvern. We popped across to the Black Mountains, swapping cars part way through, thoroughly enjoying the scenery, the driving experience, and being able to drive these cars on the roads they deseve to experience more often than they do.
I also took it to Bournemouth at the start of the June for the Bournemouth Wheels event and covered 410 miles in two days. An afternoon of passenger rides for the public ensued, and I was genuinely surprised at how much positive attention the car got!
It was a hot day with quite a bit of town traffic and I did notice the temperature raise to circa 100/110 degrees at which point I let the car have a break. I think the positioning of the licence plate in the centre of the grill is not helping matters,so this has been moved down. A gentle(ish) drive home bought the temperature back down to an acceptable 90 degrees. Somewhat surprising was the economy, figures were double checked, but it appeared with a very gentle drive (between 65-70mph in 5th gear) I achieved 35mpg! Normal service was resumed later and got 22mpg out of a tank.
Some pictures from Bournemouth
My parents are planning a 3 week tour away in the car to France in September, and if things come together nicely (which they were before Brexit!), I’ll be flying down to Nice to collect the car from them and drive it home (via the Route Napoleon naturally) - Only time will tell if this does go ahead, but I sincerely hope it does!
Lotus
All is well in the land of Lotus - I've had the car for about 9 months and covered about 8000+ miles (as a weekend car only). It's fair to say in this time I've become quite acquainted with it now.
Since February it has had it's MOT and annual service. I also bought and had clear lenses to the front and sides fitted, the stick on number plate removed and replaced with a standard one. I also transferred my plate onto the car.
I had the work done by a specialist in Surrey who I have to say are absolutely top notch. There was a advisory on the MOT for slight misting of oil from one of the shock absorbers. A look back through the search history showed that all 4 springs, and three of the shocks were replaced over a couple of years - this was the only original one left. I had this replaced and now the suspension is all good - But I am tempted by an S2 Suspension upgrade some time in the future.
As part of an Advanced Driving course (won't go too far into it as I don't think you'll be interested) I spent a couple of hours at Bruntingthorpe testing out limit handling on the car. This certainly highlighted the Elise’s phenomenal mechanical grip.
I've also done a couple of SELOC runs (highly recommended group) and let fellow PH'er Synchromesh have a drive in the better weather we had recently. I'm sure he'll agree that it is good fun, but perhaps not so much as his latest acquisition (get a thread up James!)
Another task was the old stone protectors on the side. These had been bugging me since I got the car, but was quite nervous about removing them. Brave pills taken, and armed with a hair dryer, an old IAM membership card and some Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover, I cracked on with the task removing them.
All in, it took me about a couple of hours or so to remove the old protectors and the glue residue. As much as I'd like to have the car without the protectors, I know that it'd be get chipped and annoy me immensely. So I bought some new ones from Elise Parts and got them fitted.
The interior was also in dire need of a proper clean. So the seats came out and this was how it looked
Several buckets of warm water and a magic sponge later
Annoyingly I forgot it to get a picture at the end. It was Bank Holiday Monday at 7PM and I'd spent enough time outside on the car that day - please forgive me
Next on my task list is to get the AWI 5 Spoke wheels refurbished and fitted to the car. I'd also ideally like to get a new intake system fitted as the current one is looking a bit worse for wear.
As part of the Supercar Siege (with Tunerfest South) in mid June I managed to do a short 15 minute session around Brands Hatch with some rather nice other cars. I wasn’t pushing the car too much (the worry of driving without track insurance, let alone sharing the track with a LaFerrari being driven in an ‘interesting’ manner) meant that I could push the car as hard as I wanted, but still enough for me to enjoy. Another trackday is certainly on the cards.
Bitten by the limit handling bug, I signed up for the SELOC Activity Day at North Weald Aerodrome as a birthday treat for myself (seeing as that was the day before it). An amazing day where you could freely throw the car out of control in an open environment and not worry about hitting anything. It was also immense fun, in particular the final autosolo type course at the end! Video to come soon.
Dad and I went to The Supercar Event this weekend just gone. I have previously volunteered for this event for about 6/7 years in the pit crew, but decided that I would instead spend this year with the Sporting Bears. Saturday’s weather was sketchy, but I managed to take a few passengers out. Sunday from 11am to 4pm was non-stop, and it was wonderful.
As a bonus, we got invited on track at lunchtime to do some demonstration laps to the crowd, and show the cars on offer to ride in, in action. So I quickly set up my GoPro and got this: https://youtu.be/PI4VcpJ0hiE
The event raised £90,000 for the Children’s Trust, £9200 of which was done by the Bears. I’m already looking forward to next year.
TVR
This car has simply been wonderful. And before anyone asks if it has broken down, I’m sorry to report (for you) that no, it has not.
My parents enjoyed a week's holiday in the car taking it down to the west country covering about 800 miles total and behaved impeccably despite being left to stand for a few days. Only on the last day did fuse 14 (which powers the dashboard) decide to take a break - but this was quickly replaced with assistance from the Steve Heath TVR Bible.
We also took both cars on a family holiday near Malvern. We popped across to the Black Mountains, swapping cars part way through, thoroughly enjoying the scenery, the driving experience, and being able to drive these cars on the roads they deseve to experience more often than they do.
I also took it to Bournemouth at the start of the June for the Bournemouth Wheels event and covered 410 miles in two days. An afternoon of passenger rides for the public ensued, and I was genuinely surprised at how much positive attention the car got!
It was a hot day with quite a bit of town traffic and I did notice the temperature raise to circa 100/110 degrees at which point I let the car have a break. I think the positioning of the licence plate in the centre of the grill is not helping matters,so this has been moved down. A gentle(ish) drive home bought the temperature back down to an acceptable 90 degrees. Somewhat surprising was the economy, figures were double checked, but it appeared with a very gentle drive (between 65-70mph in 5th gear) I achieved 35mpg! Normal service was resumed later and got 22mpg out of a tank.
Some pictures from Bournemouth
My parents are planning a 3 week tour away in the car to France in September, and if things come together nicely (which they were before Brexit!), I’ll be flying down to Nice to collect the car from them and drive it home (via the Route Napoleon naturally) - Only time will tell if this does go ahead, but I sincerely hope it does!
Dalto123 said:
II've also done a couple of SELOC runs (highly recommended group) and let fellow PH'er Synchromesh have a drive in the better weather we had recently. I'm sure he'll agree that it is good fun, but perhaps not so much as his latest acquisition (get a thread up James!)
It is good fun.Thread will be up when I've got pics, which relies on getting a chance to clean the thing!
Just a small update as I've now comfortably passed the 10k mile mark in this car. This weekend just gone I did about 550 miles around Oxfordshire, Leicestershire and up near Derby at three motoring events in three days! Saturday was the Young Driver's Day with HPC - my first year as a 'Graduate'. Highly recommended for any driver aged 26 or under to gain exposure to another style of driving.
On Sunday I was at Donington's Fast Car Festival for the PH Sunday Service. A gentle run up there with no traffic was quite pleasant - as was spending the day in the company of friends I haven't seen for quite some time.
However, this Monday was one of the day's I had been looking forward to most; a charity trackday, taking members out for hotlap rides in the car around Bruntingthorpe.
I duly set up my GoPro and external mic - placement yet to be perfected; RIP Headphone Users - and got took this footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXjQbKjlUDA
And as a big bonus, I was allowed to takevictims passengers in this!
I can confirm everything you've heard about these. It's truly, truly nuts. The biggest adrenaline fix I've had. The rate at which speed was gained on the straights, carried through bends, and lost on the approach to them was out of this world. Acceleration was relentless and we topped out at 145mph on the main runway.
Suffice to say my Man Maths is working overtime to try and justify one...
....Oh and I'm back at Brunters this Saturday too...With the TVR for company!
On Sunday I was at Donington's Fast Car Festival for the PH Sunday Service. A gentle run up there with no traffic was quite pleasant - as was spending the day in the company of friends I haven't seen for quite some time.
However, this Monday was one of the day's I had been looking forward to most; a charity trackday, taking members out for hotlap rides in the car around Bruntingthorpe.
I duly set up my GoPro and external mic - placement yet to be perfected; RIP Headphone Users - and got took this footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXjQbKjlUDA
And as a big bonus, I was allowed to take
I can confirm everything you've heard about these. It's truly, truly nuts. The biggest adrenaline fix I've had. The rate at which speed was gained on the straights, carried through bends, and lost on the approach to them was out of this world. Acceleration was relentless and we topped out at 145mph on the main runway.
Suffice to say my Man Maths is working overtime to try and justify one...
....Oh and I'm back at Brunters this Saturday too...With the TVR for company!
Update time again!.
So it’s been just over a year since we took ownership of the cars. I think this update will serve well as a reflection of that time.
Lotus
Now with around 66,000 miles on the clock, this means I’ve added 15,000 miles to the car in a year and a bit - not bad I think. It's thrown a little hiccup here and there along the way (Heater resistor, alarm rewiring and shock absorber replacement) but I have to say generally, she’s been very very reliable.
In September I went to Woodbidge circuit with my mate Callum. Throughout the day we both managed to progressively build up our pace to the point where I certainly felt like I was getting very close to my limits. A ride in a Honda'd S1 with the Nitron suspension setup has convinced me that the £1500 I'd probably spend on getting it is worthwhile. What a car!
Pics from the day can be seen below, and the video can be seen HERE and HERE
This month I finally got my AWI wheels that were included in the sale refurbished and fitted to the car. Personally I think they look ace, but accept that it's subjective colour choice. As winter is coming, the hardtop also got fitted, so this is how she presently looks
In other news, a few months ago I also swapped cars for a few day with Callum. He had the Lotus and I had his E92 M3 Competition Pack. Two very contrasting cars with different interpretations of being a 'sports car'.
I must say the E92 was seriously impressive. Most of the time it was docile and easy to drive, just like a normal 3 series. But when the fancy took you, it could seriously shift. It had enough torque/power to get along nicely, but you if you wanted to press on, you still needed to put your foot down to get it going - surprising for a 400bhp car.
My only slight gripe is that it's so well insulated, you feel cocooned, and the sense of speed isn't there until you're well into licence losing territory. The Lotus is more raw, and whilst the written performance isn't anywhere near that of the E92, is just a bit more fun. Nonetheless, as a fast daily driver/only car, the M3 would be seriously tempting.
Just a couple of days ago I was at Bruntingthorpe for a track day. It was an excellent chance to once again push the Elise, but this time in much more challenging conditions. Ice on the last corner, and just before the road through to the runway from the perimeter road allowed me to experiment with the limits of the car’s grip in a safe environment. This did result in some rather nice oversteer moments, which due to forgetting to set up my camera - I didn’t capture
With Christmas just gone, I got new black leather sill pads to replace the worn red ones already fitted. There’s currently a few jobs that are going to be done.
As I’ve managed to pile on quite a few miles, it needs another service. While it’s there, I will investigate having the following jobs done too.
1. Fit new sill pads.
2. Fit air intake (to be purchased)
3. Remove carpet fixers (I plan to fit them down with velcro - much better than the current fixers)
4. Buy/fit Yokohama AD08r tyres.
Longer terms plans include:
1. Recover crash pad and door cards in alcantara, and have custom carpet mats made.
2. New air intake fitted.
3. Either fit Probax with harness holes, or original seats recovered.
4. Fit harness bar and hardness.
5. Upgrade to adjustable suspension.
..Yeah, it's probably cheaper to run a B6 RS6
TVR
Truth be told, I’d planned to post this update sooner. However, due to an unforeseen incident, this did not happen. Anyway, I’ll get to that later.
The main update on this car is that it did indeed go to France. My parents took it on a two and a half week, 2300 mile trip all the way down to Monaco and back via the back roads (OK, and some autoroutes). The trip was such a success that they're already planning the next trip back for next summer to the lavender fields in Provence, and who knew with all the luggage they had it could still hold 20+ bottles of wine!
The car behaved impeccably with no issues. Most surprising my Dad reports, was the reaction to the car. Quite often he'd come back to the car with small crowds around it, and tried in his best (usually wrong) French to have a chat with those who were interested. The police even pulled them over in Monaco because they wanted to show my parents a picture of another Chim they'd seen and wanted a closer look at their one
Coincidentally, my very good friend and PH'er Matt lives very near to Monaco (and drives a lovely Jaguar XJ SV8) - Imagine my surprise one evening when I find messages from my parents and from Matt one saying they're spotted a UK registered Jag, the other that they've parked behind a TVR - Small world!
Unfortunately - There was a rather unpleasant surprise. Upon coming home and having its inspection done at a nearby specialist, it transpired that the suspension was pretty knackered. The shock absorbers whilst not leaking fluid, were working properly resulting in the car just riding on its springs. A full replacement of shocks and springs was recommended.
Secondly, the diff also required a rebuild. This wasn’t a total failure, but my very basic understanding of the situation was that the bearings inside were loose/seals not working properly (don’t quote me on that!) This was part of the reason the car was slightly juddery at lower speeds.
Anyway - A couple of weeks ago, I collected the car. It’s now running on Nitron shocks and springs, and the diff is rebuilt. It’s transformed the way the car rides and handles. Round town it’s much smoother and no juddering to be found. The ride is smoother and feels more planted.
On Christmas day, me and a couple of mates decided to venture up to London and get some photographs of our cars in various locations. The idea being that there will be very little traffic about. My photographer friend Dan is responsible for these (I can only dream of being this good!)
And the best news - I’ll be on the insurance on a permanent basis from 5th January so I can drive it even more! Roll on 2017
So it’s been just over a year since we took ownership of the cars. I think this update will serve well as a reflection of that time.
Lotus
Now with around 66,000 miles on the clock, this means I’ve added 15,000 miles to the car in a year and a bit - not bad I think. It's thrown a little hiccup here and there along the way (Heater resistor, alarm rewiring and shock absorber replacement) but I have to say generally, she’s been very very reliable.
In September I went to Woodbidge circuit with my mate Callum. Throughout the day we both managed to progressively build up our pace to the point where I certainly felt like I was getting very close to my limits. A ride in a Honda'd S1 with the Nitron suspension setup has convinced me that the £1500 I'd probably spend on getting it is worthwhile. What a car!
Pics from the day can be seen below, and the video can be seen HERE and HERE
This month I finally got my AWI wheels that were included in the sale refurbished and fitted to the car. Personally I think they look ace, but accept that it's subjective colour choice. As winter is coming, the hardtop also got fitted, so this is how she presently looks
In other news, a few months ago I also swapped cars for a few day with Callum. He had the Lotus and I had his E92 M3 Competition Pack. Two very contrasting cars with different interpretations of being a 'sports car'.
I must say the E92 was seriously impressive. Most of the time it was docile and easy to drive, just like a normal 3 series. But when the fancy took you, it could seriously shift. It had enough torque/power to get along nicely, but you if you wanted to press on, you still needed to put your foot down to get it going - surprising for a 400bhp car.
My only slight gripe is that it's so well insulated, you feel cocooned, and the sense of speed isn't there until you're well into licence losing territory. The Lotus is more raw, and whilst the written performance isn't anywhere near that of the E92, is just a bit more fun. Nonetheless, as a fast daily driver/only car, the M3 would be seriously tempting.
Just a couple of days ago I was at Bruntingthorpe for a track day. It was an excellent chance to once again push the Elise, but this time in much more challenging conditions. Ice on the last corner, and just before the road through to the runway from the perimeter road allowed me to experiment with the limits of the car’s grip in a safe environment. This did result in some rather nice oversteer moments, which due to forgetting to set up my camera - I didn’t capture
With Christmas just gone, I got new black leather sill pads to replace the worn red ones already fitted. There’s currently a few jobs that are going to be done.
As I’ve managed to pile on quite a few miles, it needs another service. While it’s there, I will investigate having the following jobs done too.
1. Fit new sill pads.
2. Fit air intake (to be purchased)
3. Remove carpet fixers (I plan to fit them down with velcro - much better than the current fixers)
4. Buy/fit Yokohama AD08r tyres.
Longer terms plans include:
1. Recover crash pad and door cards in alcantara, and have custom carpet mats made.
2. New air intake fitted.
3. Either fit Probax with harness holes, or original seats recovered.
4. Fit harness bar and hardness.
5. Upgrade to adjustable suspension.
..Yeah, it's probably cheaper to run a B6 RS6
TVR
Truth be told, I’d planned to post this update sooner. However, due to an unforeseen incident, this did not happen. Anyway, I’ll get to that later.
The main update on this car is that it did indeed go to France. My parents took it on a two and a half week, 2300 mile trip all the way down to Monaco and back via the back roads (OK, and some autoroutes). The trip was such a success that they're already planning the next trip back for next summer to the lavender fields in Provence, and who knew with all the luggage they had it could still hold 20+ bottles of wine!
The car behaved impeccably with no issues. Most surprising my Dad reports, was the reaction to the car. Quite often he'd come back to the car with small crowds around it, and tried in his best (usually wrong) French to have a chat with those who were interested. The police even pulled them over in Monaco because they wanted to show my parents a picture of another Chim they'd seen and wanted a closer look at their one
Coincidentally, my very good friend and PH'er Matt lives very near to Monaco (and drives a lovely Jaguar XJ SV8) - Imagine my surprise one evening when I find messages from my parents and from Matt one saying they're spotted a UK registered Jag, the other that they've parked behind a TVR - Small world!
Unfortunately - There was a rather unpleasant surprise. Upon coming home and having its inspection done at a nearby specialist, it transpired that the suspension was pretty knackered. The shock absorbers whilst not leaking fluid, were working properly resulting in the car just riding on its springs. A full replacement of shocks and springs was recommended.
Secondly, the diff also required a rebuild. This wasn’t a total failure, but my very basic understanding of the situation was that the bearings inside were loose/seals not working properly (don’t quote me on that!) This was part of the reason the car was slightly juddery at lower speeds.
Anyway - A couple of weeks ago, I collected the car. It’s now running on Nitron shocks and springs, and the diff is rebuilt. It’s transformed the way the car rides and handles. Round town it’s much smoother and no juddering to be found. The ride is smoother and feels more planted.
On Christmas day, me and a couple of mates decided to venture up to London and get some photographs of our cars in various locations. The idea being that there will be very little traffic about. My photographer friend Dan is responsible for these (I can only dream of being this good!)
And the best news - I’ll be on the insurance on a permanent basis from 5th January so I can drive it even more! Roll on 2017
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