Which elise to buy for my money? Help

[genno]

Hello everyone im totally new on this forum so will say hello first! I come from a motorcycle back ground working on and racing in british superbikes. I fancy a change for this year and have my heart set on an elise and have done for a while but fancy treating myself now!!
Unfortunatly i dont know alot about cars mechanicly or model wise!! I can drive them fine though!
I know you have prob had this discussion 1000 times before but please help!!
I have £15000 to spend and want to know what is going to be best! It will be my main car and more than likely be used in winter to but not 100% yet! I doubt il be doing any track days but you never no i have done one in a car before but that isnt top of my list! Just really into the elise and wanna know which is best for me.... i.e Best engine? modle? year? etc.
Any posts with help will be much appreceated!! Thanks

[bogie]

Hi and welcome

for that sort of money and your usage I would try and find a late model S2 111S - a great all-rounder.

check out www.elises.co.uk for a good model guide

and www.seloc.org for a good tech-wiki and busy on-line community

cheers
bogie

[NWTony]

I would say for that money you're looking at a late 111s or an early 111r, although I haven't checked the classifieds. I'd imagine the 111r is easier to live with daily, but I manage with a K series Elise every day.

There is lots to say about buying n condition rather than mileage and the Rover K series engine has it's detractors but as always the best advice is arrange some test drives and see what you like driving best.

[genno]

When did they introduce the toyota engine and what were the benifits? Iv heard rumous of the k-series being un relible? is that the case?

[Gad-Westy]

genno said:

When did they introduce the toyota engine and what were the benifits? Iv heard rumous of the k-series being un relible? is that the case?

It was essentially introduced because Rover went bust and so K-Series engine supply was dwindling. That coupled with the cost of developing the K-Series to meet US emission requirements was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for the K-Series.

They're not especially reliable however, neither are they particularly unreliable. Everything is relative. Most engines have an Achilles heel, for the K-Series its head gasket failure. Do bear in mind though, that this is only around £500 to fix and once done, should be a permanent cure. I'm not particularly pushing the K-series over the 'Yota but just wanted to put your mind at ease if you do decide to go for a K-Series. Test drive both a 111S and 111R, the engines are very different in character so it'll come down to your personal preference.

Edited by Gad-Westy on Wednesday 16th April 20:43

[genno]

Im i right in sayin the 111R is the toyota enging and the S is the rover? Is the spec of the car the same? thanks for all your help

[Gad-Westy]

genno said:

Im i right in sayin the 111R is the toyota enging and the S is the rover? Is the spec of the car the same? thanks for all your help

You're half right. It goes something like this:

Elise S2 (and a couple of other derivatives) - K-Series
Elise S2 111s - K-series VVC
Elise 111R - 189 bhp VVTi Toyota engine
Elise S - 140 bhp Toyota Engine.

Others can fill in the rest of the spec changes better than I can.

[tomo2006]

Gad-Westy said:

genno said:

When did they introduce the toyota engine and what were the benifits? Iv heard rumous of the k-series being un relible? is that the case?

It was essentially introduced because Rover went bust and so K-Series engine supply was dwindling. That coupled with the cost of developing the K-Series to meet US emission requirements was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for the K-Series.

They're not especially reliable however, neither are they particularly unreliable. Everything is relative. Most engines have an Achilles heel, for the K-Series its head gasket failure. Do bear in mind though, that this is only around £500 to fix and once done, should be a permanent cure. I'm not particularly pushing the K-series over the 'Yota but just wanted to put your mind at ease if you do decide to go for a K-Series. Test drive both a 111S and 111R, the engines are very different in character so it'll come down to your personal preference.

Edited by Gad-Westy on Wednesday 16th April 20:43

If you are worried about HGF just get the AA warranty they cover up to 500 per claim I got it for my elise coz i was worried looking at all the posts about this and 6 months later the I had HGF but it was on my HDI citron !!!

[JTBUSH]

Gad-Westy said:

genno said:

When did they introduce the toyota engine and what were the benifits? Iv heard rumous of the k-series being un relible? is that the case?

It was essentially introduced because Rover went bust and so K-Series engine supply was dwindling. That coupled with the cost of developing the K-Series to meet US emission requirements was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for the K-Series.

They're not especially reliable however, neither are they particularly unreliable. Everything is relative. Most engines have an Achilles heel, for the K-Series its head gasket failure. Do bear in mind though, that this is only around £500 to fix and once done, should be a permanent cure. I'm not particularly pushing the K-series over the 'Yota but just wanted to put your mind at ease if you do decide to go for a K-Series. Test drive both a 111S and 111R, the engines are very different in character so it'll come down to your personal preference.

Edited by Gad-Westy on Wednesday 16th April 20:43

I think the K Series is very very reliable. Pretty bullet proof bottom end actually. Never heard of one going majorly wrong down there that hasn't been tuned to within an inch of its life.

The problem is with head gasket yes, but commonly, especially with early S2s are issues with the cylinder head. Softness and porosity round the fire rings which leads to a leakage path, no matter how good your new head gasket is. The way to solve this is to avoid early S2s and 135Rs. Well, not avoid them, (esp the 135R as its top), but be prepared to maybe change the head for an early S1 head (about £150 plus the fitting).

As said above, get AA parts and Labour. Paid for my Head Gasket work to be done!