The deposit is down following the test drive. WOW
Discussion
Hi all, first post
Went to Christopher Neil my local Lotus / TVR dealer on the weekend and put a deposit on a 1999 Azure 111s. Following the test drive it was hard to do anything other than buy it. Can't wait to pick it up (20th December hopefully sooner).. Just need to keep mithering the Bank Manager.
At the same time my bud bought a new 111s and has managed to 360 it already. Its probably coz the tyres were'nt scrubbed and it was wet after all. You could say its probably made me think about it a bit more as I was in the car and it was'nt pleasant. Can anyone offer any driving / cornering tips / experience (no pi** takers please) apparently, a key one is not to back off mid bend... I am used to front wheel drive cars and have been driving for years.
If anyone can offer any good advice on roads / journeys in the North West that would be helpful too.
Is it true that you can visit Lotus and spin there cars on tarmac for a day rather than your own ?? Anyone know the costs please.?
Thanks
Paul
Went to Christopher Neil my local Lotus / TVR dealer on the weekend and put a deposit on a 1999 Azure 111s. Following the test drive it was hard to do anything other than buy it. Can't wait to pick it up (20th December hopefully sooner).. Just need to keep mithering the Bank Manager.
At the same time my bud bought a new 111s and has managed to 360 it already. Its probably coz the tyres were'nt scrubbed and it was wet after all. You could say its probably made me think about it a bit more as I was in the car and it was'nt pleasant. Can anyone offer any driving / cornering tips / experience (no pi** takers please) apparently, a key one is not to back off mid bend... I am used to front wheel drive cars and have been driving for years.
If anyone can offer any good advice on roads / journeys in the North West that would be helpful too.
Is it true that you can visit Lotus and spin there cars on tarmac for a day rather than your own ?? Anyone know the costs please.?
Thanks
Paul
Hi Paul,
Good choice, you won't regret it!
Advice for handling the car go as follows (all in my opinion of course)
1. If fitted, replace the P-Zero tyres that were standard fitment on the S1 immediately with Yokohama Advan Neova LTS. They have much better wet handling ability and are just as good as P-Zeros in the dry.
2. Take it really easy for the first few months. Never stab the accellerator sharply and don't accellerate hard unless you're driving in a straight line. Cornering technique: Slow in, fast out.
3. Practice emergency stops. It's easy to go quickly so you need to know how to stop quickly too. It's easy to skid without ABS especially in this season so find a quiet road/area to practice on. Most people haven't tried emergency stops since their driving test, and that was from 30mph. It's a different kettle of fish from 70mph.
4. Get some tuition/practice on an airfield. If you can make the trip down from Manchester, a day with Andrew Walsh of 1st lotus www.1stlotus.com is well worth it! A bargain for what you learn and great fun too.
Feel free to ask any more questions you might have as you find your way around your new car.
>> Edited by Bonce on Tuesday 3rd December 13:10
Good choice, you won't regret it!
Advice for handling the car go as follows (all in my opinion of course)
1. If fitted, replace the P-Zero tyres that were standard fitment on the S1 immediately with Yokohama Advan Neova LTS. They have much better wet handling ability and are just as good as P-Zeros in the dry.
2. Take it really easy for the first few months. Never stab the accellerator sharply and don't accellerate hard unless you're driving in a straight line. Cornering technique: Slow in, fast out.
3. Practice emergency stops. It's easy to go quickly so you need to know how to stop quickly too. It's easy to skid without ABS especially in this season so find a quiet road/area to practice on. Most people haven't tried emergency stops since their driving test, and that was from 30mph. It's a different kettle of fish from 70mph.
4. Get some tuition/practice on an airfield. If you can make the trip down from Manchester, a day with Andrew Walsh of 1st lotus www.1stlotus.com is well worth it! A bargain for what you learn and great fun too.
Feel free to ask any more questions you might have as you find your way around your new car.
>> Edited by Bonce on Tuesday 3rd December 13:10
No P*ss take bits of advice 
:
RWD = slow in - fast out. Any corner you approach slow right down and then drive through the corner on the accelerator (the brakes are a definate no-go area mid-corner). As you see the exit straighten up you can start to apply the accelerator. A good piece of racing driver knowledge I heard was imaging that there is an egg under your foot/acclerator, if you stamp your foot down the egg will break, if you apply gradual pressure you will be able to apply a lot without cracking the surface.
The best way to describe it is to go into the corner as if a parked bus was in the middle of the corner. Certainly the people I know that have spun RWD cars have done it by being over confident into the corner (hey I've done it). Your worst time will be about a month into ownership, by that time you will be confindent of the handling and overcook it.
There are skid pan training courses and a friend told me they were very good. If you're just used to FWD cars it may be worth going on one of them and ask the instructor to mimic a RWD car. They will also tell you how to control the skid as it breaks.
Finally tyres: If you're on Pzeros get rid ASAP, they were designed for a heavier car and as several members have described here are dreadful in the wet (even at low speeds). Better tyres are the Bidgestones and Yokos.
The Elise is a fantastic handling car, you will be amazed how good it actually is. The feedback through the wheel and seat are excellent. Use that as a guage, I would recommend going to a NSL country road you know really well and going through some corners starting slow and building up until you get a hang of the feeling.
I hope that helps, knowing that there could be a problem is half the battle won.
Edited to say bonce beat me to it, you're a quick typer mate
>> Edited by smeagol on Tuesday 3rd December 13:14
: RWD = slow in - fast out. Any corner you approach slow right down and then drive through the corner on the accelerator (the brakes are a definate no-go area mid-corner). As you see the exit straighten up you can start to apply the accelerator. A good piece of racing driver knowledge I heard was imaging that there is an egg under your foot/acclerator, if you stamp your foot down the egg will break, if you apply gradual pressure you will be able to apply a lot without cracking the surface.
The best way to describe it is to go into the corner as if a parked bus was in the middle of the corner. Certainly the people I know that have spun RWD cars have done it by being over confident into the corner (hey I've done it). Your worst time will be about a month into ownership, by that time you will be confindent of the handling and overcook it.
There are skid pan training courses and a friend told me they were very good. If you're just used to FWD cars it may be worth going on one of them and ask the instructor to mimic a RWD car. They will also tell you how to control the skid as it breaks.
Finally tyres: If you're on Pzeros get rid ASAP, they were designed for a heavier car and as several members have described here are dreadful in the wet (even at low speeds). Better tyres are the Bidgestones and Yokos.
The Elise is a fantastic handling car, you will be amazed how good it actually is. The feedback through the wheel and seat are excellent. Use that as a guage, I would recommend going to a NSL country road you know really well and going through some corners starting slow and building up until you get a hang of the feeling.
I hope that helps, knowing that there could be a problem is half the battle won.
Edited to say bonce beat me to it, you're a quick typer mate
>> Edited by smeagol on Tuesday 3rd December 13:14
All excellent advice
Also - yes lotus run handling days at Hethel test track - however they are around £400
Much more useful would be to go to a book a track track day at elvington (nr york) and book the instructor for a session - usually you can find track time to test lift off oversteer and general hooning.
all for £99 - so kill your old tyres there !
I too was nervy with the rwd thing - I did the 1st lotus day £135 - and it was excellent - learnt a lot.
Enjoy 111s is possibly the best variant in terms of useability !
Your info and advice is much appreciated.. Again, any more info will be great..
I have priced the Yokos from Lotus, can get fronts for £79+VAT and rears for £110+VAT. Is this likely to vary between dealers?
The Man at Lotus reckons that seeing as the Lotus is a second car and I am not really going to be driving it much in the wet I should see how I get on with the PZeros..
Whilst taking your advice at the same time, is it safe to say that the Pzeros are good in the dry? I have them on my Celica, they are crud in the wet but great in the dry...
Thanks again, very grateful.
Paul
I have priced the Yokos from Lotus, can get fronts for £79+VAT and rears for £110+VAT. Is this likely to vary between dealers?
The Man at Lotus reckons that seeing as the Lotus is a second car and I am not really going to be driving it much in the wet I should see how I get on with the PZeros..
Whilst taking your advice at the same time, is it safe to say that the Pzeros are good in the dry? I have them on my Celica, they are crud in the wet but great in the dry...
Thanks again, very grateful.
Paul
For the first time, recent,y, I nearly totalled the Elise in the wet. Travelling in a atrsaight line, gently in first, biy more of a boot in second, and the back let go, kicked out to the left, and shoved me into the oncoming traffic.
I assume that your 111s has more torque than my sport 135, so be careful.
I assume that your 111s has more torque than my sport 135, so be careful.
pzeros - it is not strictly a case of wet and dry - it is really the weight of the car is not enough to generate real grip.
as a side issue i got about 10% better fuel economy when i swtched tyres
price sounds good on tyres - check with - www.buyatyre.com - they sometimes can source these (i know they are supposed to be lotus only - also www.bookatrack.com have tyre reviews for the elise which may be interesting
as a side issue i got about 10% better fuel economy when i swtched tyres
price sounds good on tyres - check with - www.buyatyre.com - they sometimes can source these (i know they are supposed to be lotus only - also www.bookatrack.com have tyre reviews for the elise which may be interesting
Excellent choice, you will have a great day with Andy and learn so much!
The area Andy has is pretty big, I was easily getting 90. The size of the area isn't so important really because of the nature of the course. You will probably be doing emergency stops from 70, learning to take a corner as fast as possible (spinning the car at 70 is something of an eye opener) steering exercises, balancing the car on the throttle and then at the end of the day a track round some cones. As there are only four of you on the day you get plenty of one on one and there's no chance of collinding with any inanimate objects or other cars. It's all fun, fun fun and I really ought to book myself on another one!
The area Andy has is pretty big, I was easily getting 90. The size of the area isn't so important really because of the nature of the course. You will probably be doing emergency stops from 70, learning to take a corner as fast as possible (spinning the car at 70 is something of an eye opener) steering exercises, balancing the car on the throttle and then at the end of the day a track round some cones. As there are only four of you on the day you get plenty of one on one and there's no chance of collinding with any inanimate objects or other cars. It's all fun, fun fun and I really ought to book myself on another one!
Andy will supply his own Liz to drive at a higher cost though, you are better off IMHO driving your own car rather than one that is unfamiliar even though it is the same model, has been 'used' well!!!
North Weald is a lot of fun, especially the course at the end of the day. We were all trying to outdo each other and also drove each others cars. S1 111S & S2's.
I think however that it did for my valve spring, but then I was being 'enthuastic'.
PC
North Weald is a lot of fun, especially the course at the end of the day. We were all trying to outdo each other and also drove each others cars. S1 111S & S2's.
I think however that it did for my valve spring, but then I was being 'enthuastic'.
PC
There are skid pan training courses and a friend told me they were very good. If you're just used to FWD cars it may be worth going on one of them and ask the instructor to mimic a RWD car. They will also tell you how to control the skid as it breaks.
Pointless if you aren't in your own car. Everything reacts differently. The ones on casters are doubly crap. Book on a www.1stlotus.com driver training day on an airfield in a wet month and experience it properly. You learn so much.
Tommorows the day ! Any ideas from anyone on the best car cover for an Elise? I will be keeping the car in a garage so its a dust cover rather than a waterproof one.. Lotus want to sell me either an Outdoor cover costing about £150 or an Indoor one that costs about £310!!! Any ideas about the differences please and why the indoor one is more expensive ? Or any alternative suppliers..
Thanks
Thanks
When I first got an Esprit ( 12 years ago now ) I span it twice in the first month or so. A mate with a TVR told me the following : Do not touch the brake pedal or the accelerator unless you are in a straight line. I think that's pretty good advice.
Also, burn your PZeros, they are a sack of sh*te in the wet.
Cheers
Adrian Mugridge
www.adrainmugridge.co.uk
Also, burn your PZeros, they are a sack of sh*te in the wet.
Cheers
Adrian Mugridge
www.adrainmugridge.co.uk
Nothern Boy, fair comment.. But I've never been a person that does things by half..
As for the tyres. Think I am going to keep them on until I've gone to see Andy at 1stLotus (trash as much tred as poss) then replace with Advans as reccomended by everyone. (Will probably keep the POs for track days etc. The car is a second one anyhow so at a push I will avoid taking it out in the wet until I've got the muller saved up..
>> Edited by cranep on Tuesday 10th December 09:33
As for the tyres. Think I am going to keep them on until I've gone to see Andy at 1stLotus (trash as much tred as poss) then replace with Advans as reccomended by everyone. (Will probably keep the POs for track days etc. The car is a second one anyhow so at a push I will avoid taking it out in the wet until I've got the muller saved up..
>> Edited by cranep on Tuesday 10th December 09:33
Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff