Gull Wing Roof on Elise/t-roof
Discussion
Hallo chaps,
During the last Minihoon I had the usual problems getting in and out of a nice little
Elise.I remember vaguely that there might have been an after-market solution with some kind
of T-Bar-Roof (??) Autostyle Solutions?
Has anybody got experiences with that kind of device,are they still in business??
or....shall I do some more contorsion-Training ;-)
I might go for that little gem sometime.
Thank you for your co-operation
They're available through Greenwich Lotus (New York) painted and fitted. Manufactured by Production Glassfibre Co. in the UK .... I'm just trying to find a website for a UK supplier ...
.. OK - I can't seem to find a UK website but I have found threads on other motoring forums complaining of non-delivery (NOT a good sign!)
Here's the US site, if you want to contact them for any UK retailers:
www.lotusofgreenwich.com/elise_gullwing.php
.. OK - I can't seem to find a UK website but I have found threads on other motoring forums complaining of non-delivery (NOT a good sign!)
Here's the US site, if you want to contact them for any UK retailers:
www.lotusofgreenwich.com/elise_gullwing.php
Formula One garage in Newcastle Upon Tyne used to be a supplier. May still be. They had a gullwing on my 111s when I bought it last year... www.theformulaonewebsite.co.uk
I had one of these fitted to my elise S2 and not too happy with it:
1. It is hard to fit, we had to take the rear wheels off to be able to reach some bolts. Also the fixation at the front caused some minor cosmetic damage.
2. It leaked a lot. Only after 4 attempts my dealer was able to sufficiently reduce leakage. It required lot's of tape and silicon ...
3. According to the shop who painted it, the build quality was not good at all, they needed to do a lot of work to get it into shape.
4. It rattled terribly!
5. A marketing argument is that the gullwings can be taken off and placed in the boot. But you'll find yourself never doing that. It's a hard top, you use it during winter, so most of the time it's too cold to take them off. On top of that it is risky to put them in the boot while driving around, you could easily damage them I think.
6. I was so used to crawl in and out of the elise, most of the time I just forgot or did not bother to open the gullwings. I think it takes more time: open gullwing, get out, close gullwing.
On the positive side: it looks exclusive :-)
If had known all this before, I would have bought a Lotus hardtop. Now I have my softtop fitted again for summer and I'm not sure if I'll fit that gullwing hardtop ever again.
>> Edited by dhouthoo on Wednesday 3rd May 19:13
1. It is hard to fit, we had to take the rear wheels off to be able to reach some bolts. Also the fixation at the front caused some minor cosmetic damage.
2. It leaked a lot. Only after 4 attempts my dealer was able to sufficiently reduce leakage. It required lot's of tape and silicon ...
3. According to the shop who painted it, the build quality was not good at all, they needed to do a lot of work to get it into shape.
4. It rattled terribly!
5. A marketing argument is that the gullwings can be taken off and placed in the boot. But you'll find yourself never doing that. It's a hard top, you use it during winter, so most of the time it's too cold to take them off. On top of that it is risky to put them in the boot while driving around, you could easily damage them I think.
6. I was so used to crawl in and out of the elise, most of the time I just forgot or did not bother to open the gullwings. I think it takes more time: open gullwing, get out, close gullwing.
On the positive side: it looks exclusive :-)
If had known all this before, I would have bought a Lotus hardtop. Now I have my softtop fitted again for summer and I'm not sure if I'll fit that gullwing hardtop ever again.
>> Edited by dhouthoo on Wednesday 3rd May 19:13
www.productionglassfibre.co.uk/ - click on the green icon thing and select "Lotus Elise Roof" towards the bottom.
Podie said:
www.productionglassfibre.co.uk/ - click on the green icon thing and select "Lotus Elise Roof" towards the bottom.
good post, finally other pictures then the orange car
I think thos eroofs will add also a bit weight but how much more instead of the tandard hardtop?? Also you can take parts out the roof and take it with you I believe? so its a fine system when all works and does not leak or blow out at high speeds??
GTRene
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