Putting on weight through the years

[Jimbo S2]

1996 and the S1 launches with a on the road weight of 725kgs, the launch of the S1 160 see's it shed 10kgs, the S1 Elisesport 190 claims 670kg.

The S2 launches and claims 757kgs, VVC S2 at 780kgs.

340R tips the scales at 675kgs, on the 190 version with track pack this drops to 568kgs.

In the meantime the S2 goes Yota powered and reaches 750kgs.

S2 Exige with Yota 780kgs.

VX220 n/a 875kgs, turbo 930kgs.

Anybody know if these claims are anywhere near the truth, has anybody weighed an Elise/Exige?

She has put on a few pounds over the years!

Jimbo

[chouca]

Jimbo S2 said:

... In the meantime the S2 goes Yota powered and reaches 750kgs. S2 Exige with Yota 780kgs.

the 111R is more like 850 without Touring Pack and Aircon
the Exige is > 900 kg

[Jimbo S2]

If t6hats the case then it's worse than I thought, but I do wonder if these figures are accurate? Some may be dry weight, car less fluids battery, tools, etc.

Would be intersting to know if the claims are true.

S2 Exige touring pack over 900kgs? Colin would not be happy.

Jimbo

[lawrence5]

VX220 turbo is more like 980kg - the same as the elise GT1 which has a 270kg v8 in the boot !!

I'm suffering the same problem.... 20yr old 11 stone, 22yr old 12 stone, 24yr old 13 stone, 26yr old 14stone, now 29yr old and 14 1/2

All par for the course.........

[cej]

I would love to see Lotus go back to the original idea of the S1. Lightweight ==> no need for a high power engine to be fast. The new elises weigh as much as my Honda Civic now. Sad

Guess I'll stick with my S1 for a while

[eyore]

Agree there's a lot to be said for the S1 ,light and simple.............

[dss123]

I agree, it's a shame to see the Elise / Exige putting on so much weight.

Saw a lovely S2 Exige in Stratstone today (dropping my car off for the floor job). It looked the business but it just seemed to have "more car" about it. Not the bear bones of the S1 that I love so much. Lots of spangly stuff inside and just seemed such a long way from the original Lotus ethos.

Guess they are aiming at a slightly different market but I will definitely be going the SC S1 route when the piggy bank allows!

Dunc

[piooly]

A load of us have just done a airfield day and one of the fastest cars around the track was a standard S1 and S2. Just goes to show that the new 111R and exige arnt much faster on a short track, Mainly due to the Standard K series having more bottom end torque than the Jap engines. Interesting to watch though.

[bogie]

theres a spreadsheet kickaround somewhere from a RR day where all the cars were weighed in road trim with full tank- very few of them were as low as Lotus official figures.

Most late S1 and S1 VVCs were around 740-760Kg including S160s and S190s etc
Very early S1s with MMCs were 730Kg

340Rs need a lot of extra titantium/CF bits to dip below 700kg in reality most are just over

Std K series S2 in sports tourer trim were 785Kg and S2111S with aircon is 815Kg

Yota engine cars in base spec are 860Kg..but no-one has base spec...most have touring packs which add 30Kg + of sound deadening pack and few other bits...900Kg+ cars

S2 Exige even heavier still - in full road trim with all options 930K-940Kg

So you can soon see why an early S1 with a 220bhp Honda in weighing 760Kg ish feels a lot quicker than a 111R or S2 Exige..........best car for comfort/trim and options would be a S2111S with Honda/Audi engine IMO - should be about 820Kg with 220-330bhp

[shnozz]

bogie said:

Most late S1 and S1 VVCs were around 740-760Kg including S160s and S190s etc Very early S1s with MMCs were 730Kg

unfortunately though my discs are shagged and it means the Lotus offer to lose my MMCs.

I'll have to shed 20kgs from my waist line to compensate

[bogie]

LOL - when you see the real figures though from real owners and car on the same day, same scales then you realise why a lot of the guys who are have the car for heavy track day use are reluctant to 'upgrade' to one of the new Yots engined cars....you are 150Kg heavier and have an engine without too many tuning options at present.

If you have an early S1 or S2 and its paid for and already modded then splashing out £15-20K to swap to a new 111R or Exige sometimes dosent make as much sense as spending £10-13K on a new 220-330bhp engine and pocketing the rest...which of course is where the market for the HOnda/Audi/Duratec conversions came from........

[jaker]

lawrence5 said:

I'm suffering the same problem.... 20yr old 11 stone, 22yr old 12 stone, 24yr old 13 stone, 26yr old 14stone, now 29yr old and 14 1/2

that's a pretty identical weight pattern me.. now 31 and 15 and a bit.

still, could be worse. A farmer once told me that a Bullock puts on 1 lb in weight every day of its life. Despite all the sh@gging they do.

[shnozz]

bogie said:

LOL - when you see the real figures though from real owners and car on the same day, same scales then you realise why a lot of the guys who are have the car for heavy track day use are reluctant to 'upgrade' to one of the new Yots engined cars....you are 150Kg heavier and have an engine without too many tuning options at present. If you have an early S1 or S2 and its paid for and already modded then splashing out £15-20K to swap to a new 111R or Exige sometimes dosent make as much sense as spending £10-13K on a new 220-330bhp engine and pocketing the rest...which of course is where the market for the HOnda/Audi/Duratec conversions came from........

My bank manager is already starting to dislike you Bogie.

[bogie]

...its a tough decision to make if you want a fast track car and dont like giving the dealer £3K to change and throwing away £10K in depreciation for nothing other than to drive a new car......saying that I would kill to have aircon in my car, central locking would be nice too and the general fit n finish of the new models is great.

Ive driven the Yota cars and really liked them - if buying a single car for everyday use again and didnt know any different(had only driven 120-160bhp cars) then Id probably have one now...only thing is Ive the bug for trackdays n sprints, and already spent £££££ on my own car, and already know that I wouldnt be happy with the performance of anything less than a 240R...which are big money/depreciation/total cost of ownership....so ended up where I am today.

[GTRene]

Here are some test results on the Hockenheim track in Germany;
PS NM V-max 0-100 80-120 tracktime hockenheim
Lotus Elise (2001) 122 168 200 6,4 6,9 1.18,9
Lotus Elise 111R(2004) 192 181 241 5 5,9 1.16,5
Lotus Elise 111s(1999) 145 174 213 6,5 7,2 1.19,9
Lotus Elise 111s(2002) 160 175 212 6,1 8 1.18,5
Lotus Elise 49(2000) 120 166 202 7,1 7,9 1.21,1
Lotus Esprit V8(1998) 354 400 282 6 - 1.16,9
H&H- Elise Kompress(1999)200 245 239 5,4 6,3 1.18,7
Komo-Tec Elise(2004) 220 214 250 4,5 4,2 1.13,9
Pero-Lotus Elise(2002) 200 253 225 5,2 5,9 1.17,3

You can find all this and much more also in English on;

www.track-challenge.com/main.asp

GTRene




>> Edited by GTRene on Saturday 28th January 17:13

[chouca]

lawrence5 said:

... I'm suffering the same problem.... 20yr old 11 stone, 22yr old 12 stone, 24yr old 13 stone, 26yr old 14stone, now 29yr old and 14 1/2

me too...

22 yrs old 52 kg, 26 old 53kg, 30 old 55kg, 33 old 56kg and now at 37 I´m 57 kg

life´s hard

my Elise (Racetech S2 with Honda K20A2) is 760 kg without fuel. Not too bad for an S2

[MJK 24]

bogie said:

theres a spreadsheet kickaround somewhere from a RR day where all the cars were weighed in road trim with full tank- very few of them were as low as Lotus official figures. Most late S1 and S1 VVCs were around 740-760Kg including S160s and S190s etc Very early S1s with MMCs were 730Kg 340Rs need a lot of extra titantium/CF bits to dip below 700kg in reality most are just over Std K series S2 in sports tourer trim were 785Kg and S2111S with aircon is 815Kg Yota engine cars in base spec are 860Kg..but no-one has base spec...most have touring packs which add 30Kg + of sound deadening pack and few other bits...900Kg+ cars S2 Exige even heavier still - in full road trim with all options 930K-940Kg So you can soon see why an early S1 with a 220bhp Honda in weighing 760Kg ish feels a lot quicker than a 111R or S2 Exige..........best car for comfort/trim and options would be a S2111S with Honda/Audi engine IMO - should be about 820Kg with 220-330bhp

I think you've been a touch harsh on the std S2 models. The RaceTechs were definately lighter that S1 111s models.

A very early S2 brochure quotes the dry weight as 710kgs. Add to this 4kg for engine oil, 1.5kg for gearbox oil, 8kg for coolant, 1kg for brake fluid, 2kg for washer fluid, 32kg for petrol gives a total of 758kg.

EDIT to put modeern weights into perspective, a Citroen AX 1.0 weighs 680kg wet! Though you would never want to crash one.

>> Edited by MJK 24 on Saturday 28th January 19:16

[chouca]

MJK 24 said:

... a Citroen AX 1.0 weighs 680kg wet! Though you would never want to crash one.

neither would I want to drive one...

[Esprit]

piooly said:

A load of us have just done a airfield day and one of the fastest cars around the track was a standard S1 and S2. Just goes to show that the new 111R and exige arnt much faster on a short track, Mainly due to the Standard K series having more bottom end torque than the Jap engines. Interesting to watch though.

Racing at a trackday in Taupo with CLNZ a month or two back the best time of the day was an S2 Exige on 048s.... I was 0.2s behind in second place in my nar-standard (Hurricane+Sports exhaust) S1 on street rubber... at the same track the following week I dropped a further half second from my laptime.... apart from straight-line pace, I've yet to find an Elise that can keep with a standard S1 provided it's not modified to hell.... the S1 was and still is a landmark car.... never has so much been achieved by adding so little!

[RobM77]

chouca said:

MJK 24 said: ... a Citroen AX 1.0 weighs 680kg wet! Though you would never want to crash one. neither would I want to drive one...

The rather superb little MR2 mk3 weighs 980kg IIRC, which is less than a VX220 Turbo...

What I want to know is how an Elise manages to weigh as much as it does! Does anyone have a breakdown?

I remember reading that the S1 chassis weighs 70kg with brake discs and hubs attached. Adding 150kg for the engine plus diff and driveshafts, a generous 25kg for the clams and exterior fittings such as lights, and 20kg for interior trim and seats etc and I get to 265kg. Add 15kg a corner for suspension, wheels and tyres and you get to 325kg. Where's the weight in an Elise then?!

Another way of looking at it is that a Caterham R300 weighs about 480kg (not a million miles away from my estimate above), and other than the different chassis I can't see many other major differences in mechanicals or trim between the two cars, other than the lack of a propshaft in the Elise.