Should I sell my 911 & buy an Elise ?

[eddiethedog]

Although I love my 911 (1988 3.2 sport) I can't get in it with a helmet on, which means I can't do trackdays. Recently I've found myself wondering if I shouldn't sell it & buy an Elise. Part of me says I'll regret it, but I don't use my 911 that much (3K miles in the last year) and I think I'd probably use the rollerskate more. Does anyone have any comparitive experience or advice to offer ? I'm not rich, so I can't afford to spend huge chunks of money modifying my 911, and I think if I keep the mileage down an Elise will probably be cheaper to run..

[warmfuzzies]

I've driven a Elise once or twice "ahem" round the track @ Silverstone etc and I thought they were great little cars, well balanced and nippy, but not the full blooded machine the 911 is. I wouldn't trade mine for the sheer exhileration that the howl at 4000rpm gives me, and the push in the back that feels just great.
Don't get me wrong the Elise is a fine car, but a 911 it just aint.

[MauriceC2S]

Have the same problem, Eddie. But having had several Lotii, I won't go that way.. Seats, ie the right seats, can fix the problem, don't have a specific 'cos I haven't done it, but have heard Sparco Milanos, Recaro SPD etc..

Cheers, Maurice

[interloper]

Have you investigated getting an after market seat of some sort to get you a lower driving position?

I've passengered in elise's (or is the plural elisi?). I think their fantasic just cant afford one at the mo, otherwise I'd have one as my only car.

You might on the other hand miss the noise and torque of the flat 6.

Have you considered maybe a westfield for track days, reasonable ones seem to start at around £5-6000, should be even more raw and exciting when compared to an elise.

[flatflyer]

Hi I'm new to this forum although I've been reading it for a while.

I've just sold my elise for a 993 C2 '94. I had the elise, standard S1, for 4 years from new and was getting a bit fed up with the poor seats, lack of luggage space etc. I also found that in the last year I was looking for a lot more power than it could give me. I loved the elise but I'm loving the 993 a lot more. It's a lot more practical as an every day car and has plenty of power in reserve when I want it. I must admit that the Elise could be a lot more fun to drive on the right road than the Porsche, but not enough to go back just yet.

Tom

[samro]

Hmmm, can't comment on day to day stuff I'm afraid, but I've driven an Elise on a track. It did handle superbly, but after about 30-40 MPH it felt a little gutless... I'd stick with a bigger engine with some real power, and investigate the seat option. Didn't help that the wheel fell off the Elise, which spun me round 3 times and cut short my session! Quite an experience though...

[Roy W. Olivier]

I have a two 996s and an Exige (190hp). I would not drive an Elise/Exige as a street car, however, they are great track cars. My Exige is setup for track use only and the only P cars that can run with me are well setup/driven TT's and GT2s (no GT3s over here). I had an Elise Sport 190 and it is also very fast on track. Either the Exige or the Elise 190 will run away from any normally asperated 911 except the gt3.

Too me, the Elise/Exige is very uncomfortable for street use. They are much "rawer" than 911s imo.

Good luck
Roy
www.lotussource.com

[eddiethedog]

Perhaps I should clarify that the 911 (and therefore an Elise) is not my daily driver - I have a very boring estate for my business & the boss has a TDi Golf for cheap long distance motoring.

Thanks for replys so far.

[Gallen]

NO.

[rubystone]

If you do just want your second car as a track/plaything, buy a Caterham (or a Westfield if you can find a brown paper big in that size) Elises are slow on track, feel edgy in standard set up, brake way too early for corners are spin at Paddock Bend given half the chance Exiges aren't that much better really unless the dirver is very good - they let go suddenly and in a scary way. A Caterfield flatters the driver and is unbelievably light on tyres and brakes - whilst I do have a set of track day tyres for mine, I've done Brands in the damp on my road tyres and apart from a bit of graining they didn't suffer at all.

Or failing all of that, stay loyal to the Porsche fold and buy an ex 911 racecar or a 968 clubsport/sorted 944...there are plenty of those out there priced anywhere from £6k upwards and they should be able to run an Elise closely on track (I have my eyes on an interesting "GT2" project at the moment)

[peter_964rs]

Gallen said: NO.

ditto: No

[Thom]

YES

[lx993]

Thom said: YES

NO

3:1

[MrD]

lol at rubystone elises are slow on track ??

I have one and they are not slow at all, only on straights where you do over 100 mph.
I love mine and beat most things on track m3's and boxter s included but i now need more power so looking to buy a 911 of some sort. If you want a track day car you can use on the road the elise is your best bet and cheap to run.
www.s2elise.co.uk/lls/frontside.jpg
o and look the dogs :-)

[eddiethedog]

Thanks all - I'm going to keep my 911 & buy a race seat instead.

[rubystone]

Sorry Mr D but my comments are to be taken with a fair dose of tongue in cheek and concerned the performance of the Elise through corners. I own a Caterham Superlight R...and virtually anything is slow through the corners compared to that...the SLR flatters the driver - what other road car would allow one to adjust one's line through Paddock with impunity?

The Elise is a good compromise between track day car and road car, there's little doubt of that, altough minor damage to a clam can easily cost 4 figures to sort can't it?

Anyway I see that you're thinking of selling the Elise in favour of a 911...