TVR Chimaera & Lotus Elise - What could possibly go wrong?
Discussion
Thanks Lynch - We're very happy with it now, it's also a lot easier to keep looking nice as the arm rests used to wear/look dirty very soon after washing.
Kieran - We only got pulled over in Germany
Agreed, it certainly goes well for what it is, but the S2 has better seats (I prefer the standard ones with adjustable lumbar support), lower and slimmer sills, and a more conventional interior. It means that for an only car, it's slightly more bearable than mine which is a bit hardcore.
Kieran - We only got pulled over in Germany
Agreed, it certainly goes well for what it is, but the S2 has better seats (I prefer the standard ones with adjustable lumbar support), lower and slimmer sills, and a more conventional interior. It means that for an only car, it's slightly more bearable than mine which is a bit hardcore.
Hi Mark - Thankyou. Reims was an excellent stop. It was great to have a wander around the old grandstands. Only a couple of hours or so from calais too IIRC so about the right time for a little break!
For breakdown cover I went with the RAC. It cost me around £130 for the top level/best cover they offer for the week.
For breakdown cover I went with the RAC. It cost me around £130 for the top level/best cover they offer for the week.
Dalto123 said:
Agreed, it certainly goes well for what it is, but the S2 has better seats (I prefer the standard ones with adjustable lumbar support), lower and slimmer sills, and a more conventional interior. It means that for an only car, it's slightly more bearable than mine which is a bit hardcore.
I think you would miss the S1, particularly if you do track days....Dalto123 said:
Agreed, it certainly goes well for what it is, but the S2 has better seats (I prefer the standard ones with adjustable lumbar support), lower and slimmer sills, and a more conventional interior. It means that for an only car, it's slightly more bearable than mine which is a bit hardcore.
Fair point, I guess a slightly higher purchase cost is offset by a reduction in split trouser repairsJames - 95% of the use is road. I do trackdays, but not that often - for the road, I think the S2 may be a better choice. However, I do agree that the S1 is probably more 'pure'.
Kieran - Cheeky git
But in my defence, it was only one pair of jeans that I was pushing the boundaries of fitting into anyway. Lesson learnt!
Kieran - Cheeky git
But in my defence, it was only one pair of jeans that I was pushing the boundaries of fitting into anyway. Lesson learnt!Looks like the Elise has hit the market?
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
What's happened Phil?!?!
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
What's happened Phil?!?!
Hello all,
A very short update for now. After I put the car up for sale in August, I decided I couldn't bear to let it go quite yet.
Unfortunately, it became clear that running the Elise just wasn't a wise decision at the moment (I've taken on a mortgage), and rather than let jobs rack up or skimp on maintenance, it was best to part ways whilst she's in excellent order.
It sold very quickly to a specialist dealer based in the Netherlands, and quite frankly was the easiest sale I've had.
Yesterday she was collected and taken to her new home. I popped a note in the history folder to the new owner stating if they have any questions about the car, to get in touch. It would be great to know the next chapter of the car's story.
So there we are. 2 years, 3 months, 4 weeks and a day, and nearly 30,000 miles with an S1 Elise. There's a pang of regret if I'm honest, but I'd feel worse if I ran the car into the ground.
For those interested, I kept a log of the costs spent on the car (excluding fuel). This covered 2 sets of tyres, 3 services, an inspection as well as bits & bobs and upgrades. Thankfully, the appreciation in value nearly covered this cost.
Anyway, onwards and upwards - let the hunt for a replacement commence!
A very short update for now. After I put the car up for sale in August, I decided I couldn't bear to let it go quite yet.
Unfortunately, it became clear that running the Elise just wasn't a wise decision at the moment (I've taken on a mortgage), and rather than let jobs rack up or skimp on maintenance, it was best to part ways whilst she's in excellent order.
It sold very quickly to a specialist dealer based in the Netherlands, and quite frankly was the easiest sale I've had.
Yesterday she was collected and taken to her new home. I popped a note in the history folder to the new owner stating if they have any questions about the car, to get in touch. It would be great to know the next chapter of the car's story.
So there we are. 2 years, 3 months, 4 weeks and a day, and nearly 30,000 miles with an S1 Elise. There's a pang of regret if I'm honest, but I'd feel worse if I ran the car into the ground.
For those interested, I kept a log of the costs spent on the car (excluding fuel). This covered 2 sets of tyres, 3 services, an inspection as well as bits & bobs and upgrades. Thankfully, the appreciation in value nearly covered this cost.
Anyway, onwards and upwards - let the hunt for a replacement commence!
All sorts of things going around my mind at the moment. My budget is quite tight and the car needs to be reasonably cheap and easy to run, as well as a bit different and fun.
I have an idea, but will update the thread when I have something.
In terms of the TVR it's still here. I took it on the PH Kent run this morning and appear to have damaged a coolant pipe (or similar). So it had to be recovered. Bloody thing did it just as we got to the good roads and weather, so I was a little miffed.
I have an idea, but will update the thread when I have something.
In terms of the TVR it's still here. I took it on the PH Kent run this morning and appear to have damaged a coolant pipe (or similar). So it had to be recovered. Bloody thing did it just as we got to the good roads and weather, so I was a little miffed.
Update time. There’s a lot to cover!
TVR
All is better with TVR. It was failed gasket that was causing the coolant leak. It just so happened to also fail at the same time as the fuse that powers the dashboard. An unrelated, but lucky coincidence.
Since then, it’s had shiny new diff fitted that featured in the latter Chim’s. The original one was rebuilt along with the new suspension, however, in about August last year, the rebuilt unit started whining badly. In my limited knowledge/mechanical understanding, there is a small part of the GKN diff that is no longer manufactured but commonly fails. The result is a perfectly functional diff, but also whines more than Donald Trump about 'fake news'.
With the new BTR diff fitted (limited slip, of course) it’s transformed the drive of the car. It’s far, far smoother at all speeds. Rev’s do seem a tad on the high side when on a motorway cruise, but I can’t remember what they were before. Perhaps I’ve just got used to more refined cars recently
In any case, the only real task left is leather care/clean treatment for the seats as they’re needing some love. My parents will be taking it away for its third trip to France next month. As a grand tourer it’s a brilliant tool for the job.
I took the car to a rather less glamorous Portsmouth a few months ago for a charity fundraiser. As a club, we raised £2000 for the Little Troupers charity giving rides to the public in return for a donation. Stand-out moments of the day included a small child licking the front panel whilst her mother screamed at her, and Darth Vader posing with it.
Other than this, it’s been used quite regularly over the last few months. One of my particular highlights was a few weeks ago, going for a long weekend away in Oxfordshire and spending three days pottering about on roads designed with this car in mind. Must do this more often!
One last note on the Lotus
And just before I move on from the Elise, there is one last post. In January I saw a post on one of the Lotus groups on Facebook. A new magazine dedicated to the Lotus brand was soon to be launching, and they wanted the main feature in their first magazine to be a group test of all S1 Elise variants.
I jumped at the chance and emailed the editor. To my delight, I was told that he would be delighted to feature it.
So on a very cold Thursday morning. Myself and a number of other owners all met up in Surrey for the shoot. It was wonderful to see every variant of the Series 1 all together - the stories of each owner were a joy to listen to. The magazine came out in May - if you have any interest in the marque, I highly recommend you give it a read. The only downside is that it makes me miss the thing greatly
The Replacement
The replacement car is where it gets interesting, because I actually just sold it and got my replacement.
I purchased a 2014 Abarth 500. I’d test driven one at a dealer and was impressed. It’s about as far removed from my old car, and having previously discounted ‘hot hatches’ as being a bit rubbish, I was impressed with the way it drove.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/qckG3K9T[/url][url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/YxXJodey[/url][url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/cZ174hNP[/url]
I purchased this in the glorious town of S
hrope on a miserable March day. To cut a long story short here’s the pros and cons:
Pros
Seats are decent
Comfortable on a long journey
Practical-ish
Great on track
Sounds ace with a proper exhaust
Cons
Seats may as well be on the roof of the car you’re so high up
Crap ride on the road
So why didn’t I pick these up sooner? Well, it wasn’t obvious on the test drives I had. The ride was bone shakingly bad on fairly normal UK backroads. I think the combination of short wheelbase, 17” wheels and very firm suspension is the cause. Along smooth road even it bounced over the place. Even the Elise rode better.
It has electric steering which wasn’t the most feelsome. In ‘Sport’ mode it weighed up, but still wasn’t just right. It’s hard to explain, but it just missed the mark, personally.
I found round town in normal mode the engine was just not gutsy enough. The throttle was a bit dead, and was slow up pick up. The lack of torque too made itself apparent (unlike on the open road).
These things are shame because I had the pleasure of a few track experiences (Rockingham & Bedford) in it, and it was great. I think an older one would have good track day car potential if certain element were sorted out.
By July I was just sick of the car and wanted to move on. Fortunately a good purchase price (the reason behind the trek to Shrorpe) meant that across my 5 month ownership and 5000 miles, it effectively cost £100 per month to run.
The Replacement’s Replacement
As I write this, I have not long collected my new addition. In my very limited ownership period I’m already smitten. The headlines are:
265bhp
RWD
Normally Aspirated straight 6
Hydraulic Steering
It’s an E87 130i. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a huge amount about these cars. However, the near consistent nagging from my two good friends with them finally wore me down and I caved in.
….And I hate to admit it, but they were right. I shouldn’t have got the 500.
So what attracted me to this car?
The owner preview to the last one (from whom I bought the car) had the it looked after by an official BMW dealer with no expense spared up until two years ago. The chap I bought it from worked on the car himself and a mechanic friend, and seems to have done a sterling job. He’s also kept a stack of receipts and all the original parts that he replaced. Currently it’s running:
Refreshed (slightly lower) suspension, comprising of new springs, dampers, mounts, bushes etc
135i exhaust with Y piece
New water pump and other vanos/gasket related stuff a month ago (to the tune of £2400
)
New clutch 12k miles ago
New brakes (discs, pads, lines)
…..And much more
A deal was struck and I brought the car home, complete with spares a couple of weeks ago, and next week I’m headed to Germany and the Nürburgring. Whether or not I’m brave enough to drive it around the Nordschleife remains to be seen.
TVR
All is better with TVR. It was failed gasket that was causing the coolant leak. It just so happened to also fail at the same time as the fuse that powers the dashboard. An unrelated, but lucky coincidence.
Since then, it’s had shiny new diff fitted that featured in the latter Chim’s. The original one was rebuilt along with the new suspension, however, in about August last year, the rebuilt unit started whining badly. In my limited knowledge/mechanical understanding, there is a small part of the GKN diff that is no longer manufactured but commonly fails. The result is a perfectly functional diff, but also whines more than Donald Trump about 'fake news'.
With the new BTR diff fitted (limited slip, of course) it’s transformed the drive of the car. It’s far, far smoother at all speeds. Rev’s do seem a tad on the high side when on a motorway cruise, but I can’t remember what they were before. Perhaps I’ve just got used to more refined cars recently
In any case, the only real task left is leather care/clean treatment for the seats as they’re needing some love. My parents will be taking it away for its third trip to France next month. As a grand tourer it’s a brilliant tool for the job.
I took the car to a rather less glamorous Portsmouth a few months ago for a charity fundraiser. As a club, we raised £2000 for the Little Troupers charity giving rides to the public in return for a donation. Stand-out moments of the day included a small child licking the front panel whilst her mother screamed at her, and Darth Vader posing with it
.Other than this, it’s been used quite regularly over the last few months. One of my particular highlights was a few weeks ago, going for a long weekend away in Oxfordshire and spending three days pottering about on roads designed with this car in mind. Must do this more often!
One last note on the Lotus
And just before I move on from the Elise, there is one last post. In January I saw a post on one of the Lotus groups on Facebook. A new magazine dedicated to the Lotus brand was soon to be launching, and they wanted the main feature in their first magazine to be a group test of all S1 Elise variants.
I jumped at the chance and emailed the editor. To my delight, I was told that he would be delighted to feature it.
So on a very cold Thursday morning. Myself and a number of other owners all met up in Surrey for the shoot. It was wonderful to see every variant of the Series 1 all together - the stories of each owner were a joy to listen to. The magazine came out in May - if you have any interest in the marque, I highly recommend you give it a read. The only downside is that it makes me miss the thing greatly
The Replacement
The replacement car is where it gets interesting, because I actually just sold it and got my replacement.
I purchased a 2014 Abarth 500. I’d test driven one at a dealer and was impressed. It’s about as far removed from my old car, and having previously discounted ‘hot hatches’ as being a bit rubbish, I was impressed with the way it drove.
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/qckG3K9T[/url][url]|https://thumbsnap.com/YxXJodey[/url][url]|https://thumbsnap.com/cZ174hNP[/url]I purchased this in the glorious town of S
hrope on a miserable March day. To cut a long story short here’s the pros and cons:Pros
Seats are decent
Comfortable on a long journey
Practical-ish
Great on track
Sounds ace with a proper exhaust
Cons
Seats may as well be on the roof of the car you’re so high up
Crap ride on the road
So why didn’t I pick these up sooner? Well, it wasn’t obvious on the test drives I had. The ride was bone shakingly bad on fairly normal UK backroads. I think the combination of short wheelbase, 17” wheels and very firm suspension is the cause. Along smooth road even it bounced over the place. Even the Elise rode better.
It has electric steering which wasn’t the most feelsome. In ‘Sport’ mode it weighed up, but still wasn’t just right. It’s hard to explain, but it just missed the mark, personally.
I found round town in normal mode the engine was just not gutsy enough. The throttle was a bit dead, and was slow up pick up. The lack of torque too made itself apparent (unlike on the open road).
These things are shame because I had the pleasure of a few track experiences (Rockingham & Bedford) in it, and it was great. I think an older one would have good track day car potential if certain element were sorted out.
By July I was just sick of the car and wanted to move on. Fortunately a good purchase price (the reason behind the trek to S
hrorpe) meant that across my 5 month ownership and 5000 miles, it effectively cost £100 per month to run.The Replacement’s Replacement
As I write this, I have not long collected my new addition. In my very limited ownership period I’m already smitten. The headlines are:
265bhp
RWD
Normally Aspirated straight 6
Hydraulic Steering
It’s an E87 130i. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a huge amount about these cars. However, the near consistent nagging from my two good friends with them finally wore me down and I caved in.
….And I hate to admit it, but they were right. I shouldn’t have got the 500.
So what attracted me to this car?
The owner preview to the last one (from whom I bought the car) had the it looked after by an official BMW dealer with no expense spared up until two years ago. The chap I bought it from worked on the car himself and a mechanic friend, and seems to have done a sterling job. He’s also kept a stack of receipts and all the original parts that he replaced. Currently it’s running:
Refreshed (slightly lower) suspension, comprising of new springs, dampers, mounts, bushes etc
135i exhaust with Y piece
New water pump and other vanos/gasket related stuff a month ago (to the tune of £2400
)New clutch 12k miles ago
New brakes (discs, pads, lines)
…..And much more
A deal was struck and I brought the car home, complete with spares a couple of weeks ago, and next week I’m headed to Germany and the Nürburgring. Whether or not I’m brave enough to drive it around the Nordschleife remains to be seen.
Edited by Dalto123 on Friday 10th August 11:53
Edited by Dalto123 on Friday 10th August 11:56
Thanks both.
What's quite attractive about the car is how compact it is. I'm quite weird in that I love small cars like the Caterham/Elise and huge barges like Jags. Unfortunately it's also this car's detractor as rear space I must admit is quite marginal.
One thing I would say is that whilst the Caterham/Elise are incredible to drive, they make a replacement a complete pain to work out because they're so good to drive!
What's quite attractive about the car is how compact it is. I'm quite weird in that I love small cars like the Caterham/Elise and huge barges like Jags. Unfortunately it's also this car's detractor as rear space I must admit is quite marginal.
One thing I would say is that whilst the Caterham/Elise are incredible to drive, they make a replacement a complete pain to work out because they're so good to drive!
Small update off the back of my last post. I've just arrived home from my mini eurotrip. All in, mileage was not far off 1150 miles, and I must say the car has done a sterling job.
Last Wednesday I headed to the Nurburgring to meet with an old school friend was driving up from his home in Zurich (in his rather lovely E46 330i). The journey itself was quite uneventful, the car soaked up the miles and it felt like I made it there in no time. We based ourselves in Adenau, our hotel room at the Hotel an der Nurburgring offered an excellent view of the Ex-Mühle section of the circuit. BMW & Mercedes were testing a range of cars at the time, including the new Z4, and what I assume to be the X6M. I had contemplated taking the 130i round for a gentle lap during the touristenfahrten, but after watching some of the cars on these bends, I didn't have the nerve (or the money for the barriers if it went pete tong).
Thursday evening and Friday morning's plan was to catch some parts of the ADAC Rally so a leisurely drive from Anenau via the L70 (pic below of the route) to Saarbrücken, where our hotel was booked, was the order of the afternoon. After enjoying the tree lined country roads surrounding the Nurburgring, we hit the Number 1 motorway.
There was a special stage for rally taking place near to Sankt Wendel in the evening, so we popped up for dinner at an excellent restaurant and caught some of the action afterwards.
All the rally cars were parked up in the main square, including a rather tasty Cayman GT4 (that sounded the mutts nuts on the move).
The rally stage itself was around what appeared to be an industrial estate. The crowds were huge, and vibe was electric. We spent a couple of hours here before calling it a night.
The next morning we headed to Trittenheim to watch the cars driving between the stages. There's something quite odd/fascinating seeing these full blown rally cars that had been screaming past us the night before 'blending in' with traffic on the road. Note to self; must watch more rallying.
From here, it was a blast up to Cologne to meet up with my family (we were visiting some extended family based out here) for the weekend. Saturday saw us return to the Nurburgring for the 6 hour endurance race. The racing was close, and featured an eclectic mix of modern GT racers such as AMG GT's, M6's and Ferrari's with older E90's, E46's 911's, FWD hatches and a classic VW Jetta and Opel Manta (which died on the parade lap). In the evening we went to the Früh brewery & restaurant. Instead of serving drinks in steins or pint glasses, you get a small glass of beer that's replaced with a fresh glass when you finish. The only problem is that it's very moreish!
Prost!
Naturally, while is in Germany, it would've been rude not to have made the most of the derestricted autobahns. In this region of the country, I found a few of them were speed limited, and when they weren't, there was a bit too much traffic or the roads were too twisty to push on properly. Most times I ended up cruising at about 110-120mph...
...But that's not to say that I didn't get an opportunity to give the car a good workout! My three highest speed runs were 147mph, 145mph (just before we hit NL actually!), and 142mph . The car felt strong and was still pulling at those speeds. I'm in no doubt whatsoever that it will hit 155.
All in it was a great trip. The car behaved perfectly, and was hugely comfortable for the distance. It has brought up a few things that I work to address:
1. Slight squeak from aircon which increases with fan speed.
2. Slight pull to the right. The insides of the front tyres also wear quicker than the outside. At higher speed, there was a marginal wheel wobble. It's barely noticeable, but there. A GEO, Alignment and Balancing is in order I think.
This aside, I'm on a task to 'De-Chav' the car (apologies to the previous owner if you're reading this).
With some help from very good friends and PH'ers, we removed the 'carbon' wrap film from the wrong dashboard and handle trims. I've had new original bonnet & boot badges and wheel centre caps (currently wearing black & white BMW logo ones). The original chrome kidney grills had 100k miles or dirt on them as well as a dodgy faded M badge. I thought they were past it, however, after some time and elbow grease, they've cleaned up very well.
At some point, I'd love to spend a couple of days detailing the car and remove some scratches. Both front and rear bumpers are showing their age. A respray is what's needed, but no idea on cost.
I think that's pretty much it for now! Thanks for reading.
Last Wednesday I headed to the Nurburgring to meet with an old school friend was driving up from his home in Zurich (in his rather lovely E46 330i). The journey itself was quite uneventful, the car soaked up the miles and it felt like I made it there in no time. We based ourselves in Adenau, our hotel room at the Hotel an der Nurburgring offered an excellent view of the Ex-Mühle section of the circuit. BMW & Mercedes were testing a range of cars at the time, including the new Z4, and what I assume to be the X6M. I had contemplated taking the 130i round for a gentle lap during the touristenfahrten, but after watching some of the cars on these bends, I didn't have the nerve (or the money for the barriers if it went pete tong).
Thursday evening and Friday morning's plan was to catch some parts of the ADAC Rally so a leisurely drive from Anenau via the L70 (pic below of the route) to Saarbrücken, where our hotel was booked, was the order of the afternoon. After enjoying the tree lined country roads surrounding the Nurburgring, we hit the Number 1 motorway.
There was a special stage for rally taking place near to Sankt Wendel in the evening, so we popped up for dinner at an excellent restaurant and caught some of the action afterwards.
All the rally cars were parked up in the main square, including a rather tasty Cayman GT4 (that sounded the mutts nuts on the move).
The rally stage itself was around what appeared to be an industrial estate. The crowds were huge, and vibe was electric. We spent a couple of hours here before calling it a night.
The next morning we headed to Trittenheim to watch the cars driving between the stages. There's something quite odd/fascinating seeing these full blown rally cars that had been screaming past us the night before 'blending in' with traffic on the road. Note to self; must watch more rallying.
From here, it was a blast up to Cologne to meet up with my family (we were visiting some extended family based out here) for the weekend. Saturday saw us return to the Nurburgring for the 6 hour endurance race. The racing was close, and featured an eclectic mix of modern GT racers such as AMG GT's, M6's and Ferrari's with older E90's, E46's 911's, FWD hatches and a classic VW Jetta and Opel Manta (which died on the parade lap). In the evening we went to the Früh brewery & restaurant. Instead of serving drinks in steins or pint glasses, you get a small glass of beer that's replaced with a fresh glass when you finish. The only problem is that it's very moreish!
Prost!
Naturally, while is in Germany, it would've been rude not to have made the most of the derestricted autobahns. In this region of the country, I found a few of them were speed limited, and when they weren't, there was a bit too much traffic or the roads were too twisty to push on properly. Most times I ended up cruising at about 110-120mph...
...But that's not to say that I didn't get an opportunity to give the car a good workout! My three highest speed runs were 147mph, 145mph (just before we hit NL actually!), and 142mph . The car felt strong and was still pulling at those speeds. I'm in no doubt whatsoever that it will hit 155.
All in it was a great trip. The car behaved perfectly, and was hugely comfortable for the distance. It has brought up a few things that I work to address:
1. Slight squeak from aircon which increases with fan speed.
2. Slight pull to the right. The insides of the front tyres also wear quicker than the outside. At higher speed, there was a marginal wheel wobble. It's barely noticeable, but there. A GEO, Alignment and Balancing is in order I think.
This aside, I'm on a task to 'De-Chav' the car (apologies to the previous owner if you're reading this
). With some help from very good friends and PH'ers, we removed the 'carbon' wrap film from the wrong dashboard and handle trims. I've had new original bonnet & boot badges and wheel centre caps (currently wearing black & white BMW logo ones). The original chrome kidney grills had 100k miles or dirt on them as well as a dodgy faded M badge. I thought they were past it, however, after some time and elbow grease, they've cleaned up very well.
At some point, I'd love to spend a couple of days detailing the car and remove some scratches. Both front and rear bumpers are showing their age. A respray is what's needed, but no idea on cost.
I think that's pretty much it for now! Thanks for reading.
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