Lotus Elise 111R
Discussion
Light is Right 
Quick pre-trackday update.
I went to Malton on Easter Sunday for the annual car meet, great weather and good turnout as usual but I had a slight drama en-route as my drivers side front indicator flew out, till tethered by its wiring it then started smacking into my clam :!
I pulled over on on a shoulder-less dual carriageway and quickly unclipped the wiring and carried the indicator the rest of the way, inside the car.
Mercifully the clam sustained no damage, not even any marking. The indicator is lined with a plasticky rubber trim which I'm guessing took most of the contact. Either way, happy boy. The cause was known to me before I even pulled to the side of the road, the indicators are infamous for snapping a clip and flying out. I knew my passenger one had previously come out and been bodged as it has a makeshift clip on it from a previous owner.
There are a few documented workarounds involving home made clips and tethers, the clip closest to the camera has been snapped off:
...but there is enough of the stub left to drill a hole into:
I then used some particularly hi-tech string to tie it to part of the clam mounting... hopefully preventing this from happening again but without resorting to less temporary fixings such as glue/sealant which some people use...
With a small amount of tension on the string, the indicator actually sits better into the clam than it ever has before - so I may replicate on the passenger side when I have time!
Other than that, the car has had a clean and a final spanner check before Cadwell tomorrow. GoPro mounting has been tested (got a new GoPro over winter, with 4K capabilities this time...) and everything seems to be good.
Hopefully nice weather tomorrow, some good pictures/footage and a safe drama free day.
I went to Malton on Easter Sunday for the annual car meet, great weather and good turnout as usual but I had a slight drama en-route as my drivers side front indicator flew out, till tethered by its wiring it then started smacking into my clam :!
I pulled over on on a shoulder-less dual carriageway and quickly unclipped the wiring and carried the indicator the rest of the way, inside the car.
Mercifully the clam sustained no damage, not even any marking. The indicator is lined with a plasticky rubber trim which I'm guessing took most of the contact. Either way, happy boy. The cause was known to me before I even pulled to the side of the road, the indicators are infamous for snapping a clip and flying out. I knew my passenger one had previously come out and been bodged as it has a makeshift clip on it from a previous owner.
There are a few documented workarounds involving home made clips and tethers, the clip closest to the camera has been snapped off:
...but there is enough of the stub left to drill a hole into:
I then used some particularly hi-tech string to tie it to part of the clam mounting... hopefully preventing this from happening again but without resorting to less temporary fixings such as glue/sealant which some people use...
With a small amount of tension on the string, the indicator actually sits better into the clam than it ever has before - so I may replicate on the passenger side when I have time!
Other than that, the car has had a clean and a final spanner check before Cadwell tomorrow. GoPro mounting has been tested (got a new GoPro over winter, with 4K capabilities this time...) and everything seems to be good.
Hopefully nice weather tomorrow, some good pictures/footage and a safe drama free day.
Good news, I survived another trackday with the car in one piece! 
Cadwell was a great day, cracking weather (for once) and I ended up really enjoying the last few sessions. It was a slow burner though, I didn't feel comfortable all morning and wasn't enjoying my time on track much at all...
It was MSV organised and dominated by Ford Fiesta, some of which were incredibly quick running boost and slicks in some cases.
I'm not sure what it is about Cadwell, but this is my third time there (first in this car) and I've never felt like I was driving quickly around it. I was VERY slow the first time there in my Subaru, similarly slow the second time and this trackday wasn't feeling much better.
I think it was a combination of confidence in the car (ie, are the brake calipers going to come flying off next time I stomp on the brakes at 110mph...) and poor track knowledge despite all of my time there so far. I faffed around with tyre pressures a bit, which made a bit of difference but I was in so much of a fluff that I was setting my fronts higher than the rears as I would have done in the Subaru... rears should be slightly higher pressure in the Lotus, doh.
By 11am I went into the MSV office and booked a tuition session for 12:10 as I still wasn't feeling it, and needed to try something.
The tuition went really well, and the intro lap that I did with the instructor was actually pretty good which set the tone for the session nicely. He bought me LOADS of speed through the Park/Chris/Gooseneck section and set me at ease a little bit.
After lunch I had loads more fun, though I'm still miles off the pace of this car - for once I came away from Cadwell feeling like I wanted to go straight back and keep building up. Previously I've just been happy to survive it :lol:
The MSV photographs were excellent, and as I've only ever run with Lotus on Track up until now I've never had on-track photos of my Lotus... so they had some of my money for this lot:
The car was great, still some tweaking to make to damper settings and tyre pressures but I'll do this in a more familiar environment like Blyton Park. I had some scrubbing on the left hander into Mountain which you can see in the pictures, so not sure if I need to stiffen up or add more ride height... will see what the damage is like to the arch liners and take it from there!
Oh, video of a few laps too - in 4K for those with appropriate monitors/TVs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiY3ikZRdds
Cadwell was a great day, cracking weather (for once) and I ended up really enjoying the last few sessions. It was a slow burner though, I didn't feel comfortable all morning and wasn't enjoying my time on track much at all...
It was MSV organised and dominated by Ford Fiesta, some of which were incredibly quick running boost and slicks in some cases.
I'm not sure what it is about Cadwell, but this is my third time there (first in this car) and I've never felt like I was driving quickly around it. I was VERY slow the first time there in my Subaru, similarly slow the second time and this trackday wasn't feeling much better.
I think it was a combination of confidence in the car (ie, are the brake calipers going to come flying off next time I stomp on the brakes at 110mph...) and poor track knowledge despite all of my time there so far. I faffed around with tyre pressures a bit, which made a bit of difference but I was in so much of a fluff that I was setting my fronts higher than the rears as I would have done in the Subaru... rears should be slightly higher pressure in the Lotus, doh.
By 11am I went into the MSV office and booked a tuition session for 12:10 as I still wasn't feeling it, and needed to try something.
The tuition went really well, and the intro lap that I did with the instructor was actually pretty good which set the tone for the session nicely. He bought me LOADS of speed through the Park/Chris/Gooseneck section and set me at ease a little bit.
After lunch I had loads more fun, though I'm still miles off the pace of this car - for once I came away from Cadwell feeling like I wanted to go straight back and keep building up. Previously I've just been happy to survive it :lol:
The MSV photographs were excellent, and as I've only ever run with Lotus on Track up until now I've never had on-track photos of my Lotus... so they had some of my money for this lot:
The car was great, still some tweaking to make to damper settings and tyre pressures but I'll do this in a more familiar environment like Blyton Park. I had some scrubbing on the left hander into Mountain which you can see in the pictures, so not sure if I need to stiffen up or add more ride height... will see what the damage is like to the arch liners and take it from there!
Oh, video of a few laps too - in 4K for those with appropriate monitors/TVs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiY3ikZRdds
Crikey, I've been neglecting this thread!
I've been using the car as much as possible, starting with a drive down to Hethel for the Lotus on Track track day there back in April(?!) The car was bang on all the way there, back and during the track day. I didn't get any GoPro on the day, no idea why - must have been an SD card cockup.
Next up I had a track day at Blyton, again with LoT and we had a bit of a drama... causing my first ever red flag! Luckily the issue wasn't too serious, but it has resulted in a bit of a job list on the car...
I came round the final right hander before the start/finish straight (just before pit entry) and heard a great big thud in the back of the car. I backed off, then part way round Lancaster the car started kangeroo'ing before coming to a complete halt. I got a tow back, after finding my battery had come loose in the boot and had tipped upside down and disconnected itself.
Despite a very under-booked track day (13 runners all day!) I had no shortages of offers for help, and a few hours later I had a new battery and enough straps/cable ties to allow me to finish the day:
After the track day, I thought for a few days about a permanent fix for this - if you remember I had to previously bodge my battery anyway due to a failing in the OEM clamp so I wanted something proper. I eventually decided to go lightweight, and fit a smaller battery with a proper bracket.
I've fitted it with an isolation kill switch on the negative lead, so when it's parked up during the week I don't put any unnecessary drain on the wee thing.
Again, no decent footage due to all of the days dramas - but ultimately a successful day.
Aside from the track days, I've been out and about as much as possible - and hope to get out this week if the weather sorts itself out.
Couple of random pics to remind you what it looks like...
I've been using the car as much as possible, starting with a drive down to Hethel for the Lotus on Track track day there back in April(?!) The car was bang on all the way there, back and during the track day. I didn't get any GoPro on the day, no idea why - must have been an SD card cockup.
Next up I had a track day at Blyton, again with LoT and we had a bit of a drama... causing my first ever red flag! Luckily the issue wasn't too serious, but it has resulted in a bit of a job list on the car...
I came round the final right hander before the start/finish straight (just before pit entry) and heard a great big thud in the back of the car. I backed off, then part way round Lancaster the car started kangeroo'ing before coming to a complete halt. I got a tow back, after finding my battery had come loose in the boot and had tipped upside down and disconnected itself.
Despite a very under-booked track day (13 runners all day!) I had no shortages of offers for help, and a few hours later I had a new battery and enough straps/cable ties to allow me to finish the day:
After the track day, I thought for a few days about a permanent fix for this - if you remember I had to previously bodge my battery anyway due to a failing in the OEM clamp so I wanted something proper. I eventually decided to go lightweight, and fit a smaller battery with a proper bracket.
I've fitted it with an isolation kill switch on the negative lead, so when it's parked up during the week I don't put any unnecessary drain on the wee thing.
Again, no decent footage due to all of the days dramas - but ultimately a successful day.
Aside from the track days, I've been out and about as much as possible - and hope to get out this week if the weather sorts itself out.
Couple of random pics to remind you what it looks like...
Edited by Fonzey on Wednesday 31st January 09:32
Dam! These are great looking cars. I should really get out to Blyton more often, even just to watch. Its down the road.
You got lucky with the battery. Good job its mostly fibreglass around there, else could have had a shorted battery and a fire! Lightweight battery seems the perfect solution for it.
You got lucky with the battery. Good job its mostly fibreglass around there, else could have had a shorted battery and a fire! Lightweight battery seems the perfect solution for it.
...another late update.
I did another Carlimits.com circuit training day at Blyton this month which was far more successful than my last attempt in which heavy fog and torrential rain pretty much killed the day.
The focus of the day is not on lap time, it's never even discussed - but it's about raising confidence in the car which will passively gain you lap time anyway. It's suited for all ability levels, I understand that established racing drivers occasionally attend and are able to get value from the day - as it's only 4 to 1 tuition, there's plenty of opportunity for custom exercises and feedback.
I've done a few track days in my Elise now, felt I was getting somewhat comfortable with it but I would never push myself or the car anywhere close to the limits because I wasn't sure how it would respond. I'd watch more confident drivers chucking their Eliges around all over the place and was a bit envious tbh as I knew I wasn't getting the most from my car.
We had an hour or so of "open pitlane" at the end of yesterday where we could put the various exercises to use, I wasn't focused on getting a good lap time but was concentrating more on finding the limits on each corner, stepping just beyond them and then recovering. Even with this more "playful" approach to driving, I can see from gopro footage that I'm still a full second clear of any previous lap I've done around Blyton. I think with a full open pitlane track day in the near future I would bring that down considerably more.
I'm not talking about full on WRC drifting around corners, just pushing the car to understeer and then tightening the turn with throttle and steering angle to carry momentum. Using subtle lift-off oversteer to rotate the car into tighter turns and generally not being too scared of the car. I've still got a LOT of work to do to find the perfect balancing point between sliding and momentum, but I now feel that I've got enough confidence and capability to at least start exploring that... hopefully that confidence is not dangerous!!
Here are a few clips from the final hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_YOJEvWEHE&t=
Aside from that, I'm going through a difficult patch atm considering listing the car for sale. This was always intended, my financial situation over the last few years has been a little bit odd - I bought my first house at the worst possible time (5mins before the economy died) so I lost almost 30% of my value which never recovered in the 7 years that I had the house. I outgrew the house (met my wife) and we had to sell up, borrow money to settle the mortgage and then rent somewhere, our current house until we could recover again.
In the meantime, I had been building up money in my cars by borrowing and aggressively paying off before borrowing again to upgrade. Through my car purchases I have ended up with the Lotus that owes me nothing, and in parallel I've paid off my previous mortgage. Yay!
As for the intended bit, I've also been delayed from having another mortgage due to being self employed - but as of next April I should be in a position to get back on the ladder again. The plan was to sell the Elise, add to our savings and then buy in Summer 2018. I considered selling the car now, as it frees up ~£70 of tax/insurance each month and I can get about 30p worth of interest on the money over winter. The trade-off to this is that I'll be miserable for the best part of 7 months, bored - and I'll be in danger of blowing the money on other crap to keep me distracted!
I'm now leaning towards keeping it until Spring, maybe it's worth a few hundred quid more in spring - or at the very least is an easier sale. I get to maybe do a couple more drives out before winter settles in - and maybe a cheeky trackday too! There are a couple of odd jobs I can do to it over winter to tidy it up ready for sale, and SORN'ing it in November will further reduce how much it's costing me to have sat around.
Sad times, but as soon as I get the keys for a new house - needless to say I'll be back with another project. Probably another Lotus, I have unfinished business with this type of car especially after my lessons learned with Carlimits this month.
I did another Carlimits.com circuit training day at Blyton this month which was far more successful than my last attempt in which heavy fog and torrential rain pretty much killed the day.
The focus of the day is not on lap time, it's never even discussed - but it's about raising confidence in the car which will passively gain you lap time anyway. It's suited for all ability levels, I understand that established racing drivers occasionally attend and are able to get value from the day - as it's only 4 to 1 tuition, there's plenty of opportunity for custom exercises and feedback.
I've done a few track days in my Elise now, felt I was getting somewhat comfortable with it but I would never push myself or the car anywhere close to the limits because I wasn't sure how it would respond. I'd watch more confident drivers chucking their Eliges around all over the place and was a bit envious tbh as I knew I wasn't getting the most from my car.
We had an hour or so of "open pitlane" at the end of yesterday where we could put the various exercises to use, I wasn't focused on getting a good lap time but was concentrating more on finding the limits on each corner, stepping just beyond them and then recovering. Even with this more "playful" approach to driving, I can see from gopro footage that I'm still a full second clear of any previous lap I've done around Blyton. I think with a full open pitlane track day in the near future I would bring that down considerably more.
I'm not talking about full on WRC drifting around corners, just pushing the car to understeer and then tightening the turn with throttle and steering angle to carry momentum. Using subtle lift-off oversteer to rotate the car into tighter turns and generally not being too scared of the car. I've still got a LOT of work to do to find the perfect balancing point between sliding and momentum, but I now feel that I've got enough confidence and capability to at least start exploring that... hopefully that confidence is not dangerous!!
Here are a few clips from the final hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_YOJEvWEHE&t=
Aside from that, I'm going through a difficult patch atm considering listing the car for sale. This was always intended, my financial situation over the last few years has been a little bit odd - I bought my first house at the worst possible time (5mins before the economy died) so I lost almost 30% of my value which never recovered in the 7 years that I had the house. I outgrew the house (met my wife) and we had to sell up, borrow money to settle the mortgage and then rent somewhere, our current house until we could recover again.
In the meantime, I had been building up money in my cars by borrowing and aggressively paying off before borrowing again to upgrade. Through my car purchases I have ended up with the Lotus that owes me nothing, and in parallel I've paid off my previous mortgage. Yay!
As for the intended bit, I've also been delayed from having another mortgage due to being self employed - but as of next April I should be in a position to get back on the ladder again. The plan was to sell the Elise, add to our savings and then buy in Summer 2018. I considered selling the car now, as it frees up ~£70 of tax/insurance each month and I can get about 30p worth of interest on the money over winter. The trade-off to this is that I'll be miserable for the best part of 7 months, bored - and I'll be in danger of blowing the money on other crap to keep me distracted!
I'm now leaning towards keeping it until Spring, maybe it's worth a few hundred quid more in spring - or at the very least is an easier sale. I get to maybe do a couple more drives out before winter settles in - and maybe a cheeky trackday too! There are a couple of odd jobs I can do to it over winter to tidy it up ready for sale, and SORN'ing it in November will further reduce how much it's costing me to have sat around.
Sad times, but as soon as I get the keys for a new house - needless to say I'll be back with another project. Probably another Lotus, I have unfinished business with this type of car especially after my lessons learned with Carlimits this month.
However sad I'd be to see the car go*, I don't think you'll benefit financially by keeping it over Winter.
They are a rare a sought after car. Yours is a particularly good one. I think you'll be able to name your price.
When I listed mine, I had call within 3 minutes and an empty garage the next day.
They are a rare a sought after car. Yours is a particularly good one. I think you'll be able to name your price.
When I listed mine, I had call within 3 minutes and an empty garage the next day.
- I can't believe I'm feeling sellers regret for a car that's not mine
Sorry to hear you are selling in the near future, you have done some cracking jobs on the car. Whoever buys it will be getting a well sorted 111r. I think you fully embraced Lotus ownership... it's not just a case of getting a service and MOT!
Hope you are back in another once sorted on the property front
Hope you are back in another once sorted on the property front
Cheers Rick/Tickle, appreciate the comments on the car but I really do view it as unfinished business. Don't get me wrong, it would be a fantastic car to buy (hint hint!), all of the 111R and generic Elise weakpoints I feel have been addressed - but so much more potential to get from it in regards of my usage for it.
This weekend hasn't helped my dilemma, we got some nice weather - so took the car out for some lunch and spent Sunday just tinkering around on it. I took each corner off, gave it my twice monthly (or so) spanner check that I can't stop doing since the suspension refresh. It still looks really fresh under there, and there are so many reminders of the work that I put into the car last winter.
@ Rick I don't for a minute think that keeping the car over Winter will represent any kind of financial gain, but the way I see it - my losses are going to be minimal. The car will cost me £5-600 just to have sat there in tax and insurance, granted - but compared to what I could spend in that same length of time just trying to entertain myself doesn't bare thinking about. I get satisfaction simply from having the car sat in the garage, and can easily fill my time tinkering around on it and keeping it clean! There's also no guarantee that I can step into a mortgage come April 18' anyway, and although I'm in no rush - and could easily wait another year for a house if I needed to... I'd be bloody gutted to have to sit through a summer without the car and with another year added to savings... I could probably/maybe/almost/I hope buy a house AND keep the car(!) Some serious man-maths have gone into this, but my Wife can't bear the thought of me being miserable for six months... so she votes that the car stays, for now.
Let's see if I could get a trackday in before winter...
This weekend hasn't helped my dilemma, we got some nice weather - so took the car out for some lunch and spent Sunday just tinkering around on it. I took each corner off, gave it my twice monthly (or so) spanner check that I can't stop doing since the suspension refresh. It still looks really fresh under there, and there are so many reminders of the work that I put into the car last winter.
@ Rick I don't for a minute think that keeping the car over Winter will represent any kind of financial gain, but the way I see it - my losses are going to be minimal. The car will cost me £5-600 just to have sat there in tax and insurance, granted - but compared to what I could spend in that same length of time just trying to entertain myself doesn't bare thinking about. I get satisfaction simply from having the car sat in the garage, and can easily fill my time tinkering around on it and keeping it clean! There's also no guarantee that I can step into a mortgage come April 18' anyway, and although I'm in no rush - and could easily wait another year for a house if I needed to... I'd be bloody gutted to have to sit through a summer without the car and with another year added to savings... I could probably/maybe/almost/I hope buy a house AND keep the car(!) Some serious man-maths have gone into this, but my Wife can't bear the thought of me being miserable for six months... so she votes that the car stays, for now.
Let's see if I could get a trackday in before winter...
What a coincidence - I mentioned way back in this thread about your car being on the forecourt at Castle when my dad bought his 111S, I sat in your R and tried to convince him it was the better car etc. Just this week he's put his Elise up for sale too 
His reasons far different from yours however; he's struggling to use it as frequently as he'd like and doesn't have access to another car every day. So it's going in favour of a Z4. Some 600kg heavier!
His reasons far different from yours however; he's struggling to use it as frequently as he'd like and doesn't have access to another car every day. So it's going in favour of a Z4. Some 600kg heavier!
I remember that!
There was a few people viewing "my" car when I arrived in the carpark (all the way from North Yorkshire!) to view the 111R and I freaked out a bit... all that way to find it had JUST been snatched from under me. Luckily they were there for the 111S (perhaps this was you, or it could have been another car) and they were just poking around the 111R waiting for paperwork to be sorted, or something.
Seems like such a long time ago.
There was a few people viewing "my" car when I arrived in the carpark (all the way from North Yorkshire!) to view the 111R and I freaked out a bit... all that way to find it had JUST been snatched from under me. Luckily they were there for the 111S (perhaps this was you, or it could have been another car) and they were just poking around the 111R waiting for paperwork to be sorted, or something.
Seems like such a long time ago.
I SORN'd the car tonight for Winter, though I imagine the first crisp/dry Sunday morning we have will have me clawing at the gov.uk website...
I've had a few runs out in the car since the last post, did a Blyton Park trackday with Javelin - a frustrating day as I forgot how overcrowded these days were, particularly when used to the Lotus on Track trackdays...
By the time the circuit got quiet, it was slashing it down - so didn't get a clear run all day. I did manage to just about finish off my rear tyres though, and go out for some leisurely fun in the rain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_ypIq_X9AE
On Sunday just gone, it was dry and sunny so I went for an impromptu blast over the Pennines - had a look around Oakmere Lotus and a nice chat with the staff, then back home again.
Car still feels great, after all the work I did to it last Winter I've been rewarded with a rather good year with it.
Plan is now to get it jacked off, get the floors off and have a good clean/poke around when I get a quiet weekend. Make sure everything is as I left it, and then maybe give the car a proper strip back, machine polish and wax. Once Spring turns up, I'll see if I can squeeze in a trackday (or at least a driving weekend somewhere) before the inevitable for sale ad needs to be written!
If somebody approaches me in the meantime with adequate cash in hand, I may be tempted to expedite plans though!
I've had a few runs out in the car since the last post, did a Blyton Park trackday with Javelin - a frustrating day as I forgot how overcrowded these days were, particularly when used to the Lotus on Track trackdays...
By the time the circuit got quiet, it was slashing it down - so didn't get a clear run all day. I did manage to just about finish off my rear tyres though, and go out for some leisurely fun in the rain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_ypIq_X9AE
On Sunday just gone, it was dry and sunny so I went for an impromptu blast over the Pennines - had a look around Oakmere Lotus and a nice chat with the staff, then back home again.
Car still feels great, after all the work I did to it last Winter I've been rewarded with a rather good year with it.
Plan is now to get it jacked off, get the floors off and have a good clean/poke around when I get a quiet weekend. Make sure everything is as I left it, and then maybe give the car a proper strip back, machine polish and wax. Once Spring turns up, I'll see if I can squeeze in a trackday (or at least a driving weekend somewhere) before the inevitable for sale ad needs to be written!
If somebody approaches me in the meantime with adequate cash in hand, I may be tempted to expedite plans though!
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