S1 Lotus Elise 111S

[Joehow]

MTW said:

Looks spot on mate, green roof suits it well!

Thanks my man

[Joehow]

I am an odd individual for this but the new expansion tank is particularly satisfying and really freshens the old engine bay up.

Also had some anti rattle shims fitted as had a bit of pad knock.

Car feels absolutely mega now and I think I've just about got it back to fresh plus a bit.

I have a tiny tiny cam gasket seal weep which I'll deal with when we do a big service when the car goes back in April to Simon for a big service before road trip to Germany.

[Joehow]

Managed a really long run today in the car (I'm trying not to be precious about the weather as it needs painting anyway really)

The hard top really is a revelation, I hated having a roof in the caterham and when I owned various Boxsters including Spyders I never had the roof up. But for some reason it just makes the Elise feel even more special, like a genuine little old group C car inside.

[Joehow]

The process of piling on the confidence miles continues...

Saturday 14th Jan:

Set off to do a specific motorway trip to see my Nan and watch the footie with her. Extended it a bit as I've done no real motorway miles...Overall 80 mile round trip mixed between M20, M25 and M2. With the roof on it really isn't that mad sitting at 65-70 where it feels most comfortable at just under 4k. 75-80 just feels a bit too thrashy!

Need to do 470miles in one hit in May so just wanted to get used to it. Also tried the stereo.... Absolutely useless that!


Today spent a bit more time on fast sweepers. Even in low grip the car feels absolutely mega with small corrections making it feel truly alive.

Considering I really wasnt sure about the car in the first few months it has now really got under my skin.

I'm lucky to have owned some really cool and really fast stuff but the Elise is right up there as an experience

[bigmowley]

The gearing is a bit of a challenge at motorway speeds . I only really do long trips on the way to and from track days.
I use Bluetooth noise canceling headphones and stream entertainment from my phone. Added bonus is the Waze commands come through as well. You can cruise at a decent lick then which is nice.
I love driving mine in cold dry weather. There is virtually no grip at all but the car is a delight, it dances about totally predictably, you can drive it everywhere on the throttle, wheel spin in the first 3 gears. Ultimately the speeds are quite low but it is just the most fun
One thing mine does in really cold weather is spit great flames out of the exhaust. At night it actually lights up the road behind. I can turn it off in the ECU but my inner child wins out every time (and I’m 61 )

[bencollins4]

Joehow said:

The process of piling on the confidence miles continues...

Saturday 14th Jan:

Set off to do a specific motorway trip to see my Nan and watch the footie with her. Extended it a bit as I've done no real motorway miles...Overall 80 mile round trip mixed between M20, M25 and M2. With the roof on it really isn't that mad sitting at 65-70 where it feels most comfortable at just under 4k. 75-80 just feels a bit too thrashy!

Need to do 470miles in one hit in May so just wanted to get used to it. Also tried the stereo.... Absolutely useless that!


Today spent a bit more time on fast sweepers. Even in low grip the car feels absolutely mega with small corrections making it feel truly alive.

Considering I really wasnt sure about the car in the first few months it has now really got under my skin.

I'm lucky to have owned some really cool and really fast stuff but the Elise is right up there as an experience

Brilliant stuff, Joe! As I said earlier on the FB group, you’ve inspired me to get mine out of hibernation early this year. Hopefully we can meet up for a drive at some point if you’re ever down this way (Etchingham).

I bought my car from near Wolverhampton years ago and drove the 200 miles back home in East Sussex with the roof off and it was fantastic. Way better than you would expect on such a long journey, and I regularly do 200+ miles in a day in it in the summer for work trips. A genuine 45mpg is a bonus, too.

I’ve always loved Elises, but I genuinely think you can’t do any better for road fun and interaction. They are so usable and so cheap to run compared to most performance cars. I have a Sport 135, but a yellow 111S was what I was after initially - still the best Elise colour in my view.

I’m glad you’ve warmed to it because I think you would really regret moving it on so soon.

[Joehow]

bencollins4 said:

Brilliant stuff, Joe! As I said earlier on the FB group, you’ve inspired me to get mine out of hibernation early this year. Hopefully we can meet up for a drive at some point if you’re ever down this way (Etchingham).

I bought my car from near Wolverhampton years ago and drove the 200 miles back home in East Sussex with the roof off and it was fantastic. Way better than you would expect on such a long journey, and I regularly do 200+ miles in a day in it in the summer for work trips. A genuine 45mpg is a bonus, too.

I’ve always loved Elises, but I genuinely think you can’t do any better for road fun and interaction. They are so usable and so cheap to run compared to most performance cars. I have a Sport 135, but a yellow 111S was what I was after initially - still the best Elise colour in my view.

I’m glad you’ve warmed to it because I think you would really regret moving it on so soon.

Thanks pal! That's not far from me at all so deffo up for a drive and a coffee! Just drop me a pm or email!

And yeah I agree I really would have regretted selling it.

Sport 135 is a special thing!! Would love to see it

[911Spanker]

Joehow said:

bencollins4 said:

Brilliant stuff, Joe! As I said earlier on the FB group, you’ve inspired me to get mine out of hibernation early this year. Hopefully we can meet up for a drive at some point if you’re ever down this way (Etchingham).

I bought my car from near Wolverhampton years ago and drove the 200 miles back home in East Sussex with the roof off and it was fantastic. Way better than you would expect on such a long journey, and I regularly do 200+ miles in a day in it in the summer for work trips. A genuine 45mpg is a bonus, too.

I’ve always loved Elises, but I genuinely think you can’t do any better for road fun and interaction. They are so usable and so cheap to run compared to most performance cars. I have a Sport 135, but a yellow 111S was what I was after initially - still the best Elise colour in my view.

I’m glad you’ve warmed to it because I think you would really regret moving it on so soon.

Thanks pal! That's not far from me at all so deffo up for a drive and a coffee! Just drop me a pm or email!

And yeah I agree I really would have regretted selling it.

Sport 135 is a special thing!! Would love to see it

These cars are fantastic road cars aren't they? I have a Sport 160 which will never be sold - it give me a hit whenever I drive it. Had it around 12 years and still don't tire of if.

[Joehow]

911Spanker said:

These cars are fantastic road cars aren't they? I have a Sport 160 which will never be sold - it give me a hit whenever I drive it. Had it around 12 years and still don't tire of if.

12 years is a great stint!

[Joehow]

Birthday this morning and my other half was getting her hair done so a perfect excuse to go for a slide about. I've always loved being in little cars cocooned in warmth on a sunny winters day.

One thing I gave noticed is just how terrible the standard wiper is, it doesn't hold contact with the windscreen enough and as such can't clear anything properly.

Anyone have any experience of putting a better blade on one of these and maybe even a shorter one?

Next thing for me is to decide whether I want to upgrade the head unit and change the speakers. Currently it's useless and I never use it but can't but think on long trips it would make it a bit better.

Also really loving having the roof on.

[911Spanker]

Joehow said:

911Spanker said:

These cars are fantastic road cars aren't they? I have a Sport 160 which will never be sold - it give me a hit whenever I drive it. Had it around 12 years and still don't tire of if.

12 years is a great stint!

Yep, it's a great thing. I have made mine my own by throwing loads of upgraded bits on it so it's a bit raw. Problem is there is nothing short of spending a couple of hundred grand on some sort of restomod which would match it for thrills.

So I have just kept it and enjoyed it care free.

Interestingly I only took my hardtop off for the first time this summer so have gone the other way and am enjoying open air thrills for the first time in my ownership

Try an S2 wiper - it's a bit better than the original. Can't help with the stereo though as I just use some noise cancelling headphones.

[Joehow]

911Spanker said:

Yep, it's a great thing. I have made mine my own by throwing loads of upgraded bits on it so it's a bit raw. Problem is there is nothing short of spending a couple of hundred grand on some sort of restomod which would match it for thrills.

So I have just kept it and enjoyed it care free.

Interestingly I only took my hardtop off for the first time this summer so have gone the other way and am enjoying open air thrills for the first time in my ownership

Try an S2 wiper - it's a bit better than the original. Can't help with the stereo though as I just use some noise cancelling headphones.

Good tip on S2 wiper! I also have headphones like yours but complete wipeout of any engine or car noise freaks me out a bit.

And don't worry hard top will definitely come off when the weather is better

[Joehow]

Crashed a Porsche meet this morning to meet the old man in his Spyder.. and ticked over more miles in the last 6 weeks than I've had in the last 6 months. However with today's weather I did wish I had no hard top on.

Fixed a couple of annoying jobs!
- squeaky clutch pedal, bit of wd40 on the hinge point helped but broke my back doing so.
- fixed a funky squashed rubber in the rear glass which had been squeaking since I popped the roof on.

One thing I haven't fixed is I had a broken centre cap for the victory wheels. Still have it but the tabs are broken, annoyingly these are completely different to any other Elise wheel so I think I need one 3D printing. If anyone is able to do that for me here it would be brilliant!

Finally a thing I'm mentally battling with is the head gasket. I don't have any history of it being done but the car runs perfectly, temps are spot on and there's no mix of coolant / oil etc. Might get a leak down test just to be sure and go from there but I'm reluctant to open an engine I don't need to.

[Tickle]

Joehow said:

Crashed a Porsche meet this morning to meet the old man in his Spyder.. and ticked over more miles in the last 6 weeks than I've had in the last 6 months. However with today's weather I did wish I had no hard top on.

Fixed a couple of annoying jobs!
- squeaky clutch pedal, bit of wd40 on the hinge point helped but broke my back doing so.
- fixed a funky squashed rubber in the rear glass which had been squeaking since I popped the roof on.

One thing I haven't fixed is I had a broken centre cap for the victory wheels. Still have it but the tabs are broken, annoyingly these are completely different to any other Elise wheel so I think I need one 3D printing. If anyone is able to do that for me here it would be brilliant!

Finally a thing I'm mentally battling with is the head gasket. I don't have any history of it being done but the car runs perfectly, temps are spot on and there's no mix of coolant / oil etc. Might get a leak down test just to be sure and go from there but I'm reluctant to open an engine I don't need to.

Get the head gasket done when you have a C service with water pump too. That's if you want it done for piece of mind of course.

[Nyloc20]

Joehow said:

911Spanker said:

These cars are fantastic road cars aren't they? I have a Sport 160 which will never be sold - it give me a hit whenever I drive it. Had it around 12 years and still don't tire of if.

12 years is a great stint!

They are absolutely brilliant little things, we have several members in our local Lotus club who’ve owned them (and S1 Exiges) from new and will never sell them. Sadly arthritis prevented me from owning one but I managed 4 fantastic years in an S2 Elise before I had to give up on it.

[ta264]

Or make a booking with DVA or Sabre Heads to have the head ported and you'll get a new gasket and a power bump

[Joehow]

Thanks for the replies! Annoyingly had cambelt done last summer and waterpump was fine.

I check it pretty much every time I use it so maybe just wait to see if I get any signs it's starting to go and then get it done.

I had thought about Sabre heads but he sounds like he can be a bit tricky to get hold of

[ta264]

I've just rebuilt my engine and had the head ported by Roger at Sabre Heads. I spoke to both him and DVA Power and I found both very helpful and responsive via email. DVA is normally booked out a long way in advance whereas Roger tends to do less planning and can fit stuff in when it comes up.

Once he started working on it I got loads of updates and pictures. I would very much recommend his services!

[Joehow]

ta264 said:

I've just rebuilt my engine and had the head ported by Roger at Sabre Heads. I spoke to both him and DVA Power and I found both very helpful and responsive via email. DVA is normally booked out a long way in advance whereas Roger tends to do less planning and can fit stuff in when it comes up.

Once he started working on it I got loads of updates and pictures. I would very much recommend his services!

Okay this is good! Promising so certainly am option!

[ta264]

Happy to answer any questions about the experience if you want more detail