135r

[CHN]

So the Alfa GTV Cup and 996 C4 have now gone, incoming is a Elise 2003 135R and I pick it up next week.

I had an Elise several years ago, standard S1 and enjoyed it and wanted to replace the 2 cars above with a fast road weekend blaster.

The next 7 days can't come quick enough!

Edited by CHN on Saturday 7th September 10:57

[tanman]

I drove a 135R back for my mate once and loved it! It felt extremely well planted on the road, even better than my Exige I had at the time.
A damn fine choice! Enjoy it

[CHN]

Cheers, glad to hear a positive response.

I've read a few reports from people saying the setup is not ideal for the road and that theres no warning when its about to step out so I have a few concerns. I understand that they have adjustable suspension as standard? If so I suppose this can be adjusted to give a better ride? If not, how does the 135R take bumpy unlevel back roads?

[Thorburn]

Not sure how many will still be on the LSS Bilsteins to be honest. Most will have had a refresh and/or been upgraded by now as around 10 years old.

[CHN]

That hadn't crossed my mind, there's less than 20k on the clock though. How frequently are the shocks changed on the Elise on average?

[crackthatoff]

mine was absolutely brilliant, country lanes are a little bumpy but totally predictable don't worry yourself (only span it twice in 3.5 years
Really really miss it

[crackthatoff]

[CHN]

Thats the same colour as mine.

How did you find the lack of power? Were you hankering for more or was it acceptable?

[crackthatoff]

to be honest i was considering a sc honda conversion but in retrospect the cornering speeds were far more than ample.
I tried to do a doughnut to finish off the tyres... alas far far to much grip in the dry no joy.
I'm pretty much a novice.
I met a fellow pistonheader at oulton park that wanted one, he had a x reg 911 convertible that looked pretty smart and was thinking about a swap for a "bit of flash" anyhow we flew round oulton and after being hounded and hounded pulled over to let a brace of standard s1's pass. (and the guy with the 911 knew how to drive) that made my mind up.

day 2

my first track day

pretty much pissed on everything bar a superlight 500

the m3 was funny, they would not pull over for a 1.8 rover, on the 2nd lap the instructor give me the nod to do them.
Like I said I'm no racing driver, but we absolutely minced them round the u bend at anglesay circuit .... Fantastic !
get the geo done, a larini club sport and a hurricaine.
job done.
when the kids grow up I'm staying with lotus for sure!
stay with the a048's they are truely fantastic

[crackthatoff]

crackthatoff said:

to be honest i was considering a sc honda conversion but in retrospect the cornering speeds were far more than ample.
I tried to do a doughnut to finish off the tyres... alas far far to much grip in the dry no joy.
I'm pretty much a novice.
I met a fellow pistonheader at oulton park that wanted one, he had a x reg 911 convertible that looked pretty smart and was thinking about a swap for a "bit of flash" anyhow we flew round oulton and after being hounded and hounded pulled over to let a brace of standard s1's pass. (and the guy with the 911 knew how to drive) that made my mind up.

day 2

my first track day

pretty much pissed on everything bar a superlight 500

the m3 was funny, they would not pull over for a 1.8 rover, on the 2nd lap the instructor give me the nod to do them.
Like I said I'm no racing driver, but we absolutely minced them round the u bend at anglesay circuit .... Fantastic !
get the geo done, a larini club sport and a hurricaine.
job done.
when the kids grow up I'm staying with lotus for sure!
stay with the a048's they are truely fantastic

Edited to add, if you want it for traffic light fun, forget it. i got slaughtered by a t5 on the day I bought it but the handling is fantastic.

[CHN]

A T5!

Hang on, that is a Volvo T5 and not a VW???

Glad to hear about the track performance, I've seen a magazine review where it lapped Rockingham faster than pretty much anything, on par with the R400 caterham. I suppose the track has very vew straights?

Good to hear your review, it sounds great as long as you're not going in a straight line.

[subaqua]

I think expecting a 135R to match an R400 (with similarly skilled drivers) is a bit much.... the elise will be giving away 200bhp/tonne.

Perhaps that would be possible on the oval with cats crap aero (ie even worse than an elise) but not likely through the twisties

[CHN]

subaqua said:

I think expecting a 135R to match an R400 (with similarly skilled drivers) is a bit much.... the elise will be giving away 200bhp/tonne.

Perhaps that would be possible on the oval with cats crap aero (ie even worse than an elise) but not likely through the twisties

Of course the R400 is far quicker, what I'm talking about is the times around Rockingham, a very tight and twisty course. The tight twisties are a leveller, not the other way around.

Anyway, heres a link to the magazine report, laptimes listed for all cars.

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f307/autocar-magaz...

Edited by CHN on Thursday 12th September 20:49