thinking of buying your thoughts please
Discussion
hi all, seriously thinking of buying an elise 111r with my budget i will be looking at an early one to be honest. but wondered if iam suited to the car, i had a go in a couple of 111s and didnt feel they were quick enough for me, as in torque / seat of the pants feel, and also didnt like the brakes much. now i gather along with the extra horse power the 111r has a brake servo so this could be my cup of tea. does the 111r "feel" more powerfull and do the brakes have more power?
regards al
oh and if anyone wants to sell, let me know
regards al
oh and if anyone wants to sell, let me know
Don't be too offput if you do not drive nonservo brakes at the moment, they feel weird to start with but you get used to them. Undoubtedly the elise is more about making it sing rather than it feeling fast in all circumstaces so if that's what you're after, buy a TVR, nothing comes close for the money (ignoring service costs)
brakes are easy and cheap to upgrade on an elise... bung some pagid pads in there and off you go.
i would have an elise any day of the week over a tvr... i qualified to say that as i have a tvr and have had 3 elises.
a 111s with ali-belled discs, pagid pads, braided hoses, a gear-linkage kit, a sporty zorst with induction kit and perhaps some nitron suspension (or similar) will give you a car that looks, sounds and goes like you would hope... all without even looking at the engine.
a 111r is also a great tool, but you will still have to do most of the above to make it 'feel' special.
if you can hunt out a 135r then you will get much of the above as standard... less power (circa 135hp) but you would never feel it.... the elise is all about 'feel'... it's so light and 'chuckable' it doesn't really need headline bhp to put a smile on your face.
i would have an elise any day of the week over a tvr... i qualified to say that as i have a tvr and have had 3 elises.
a 111s with ali-belled discs, pagid pads, braided hoses, a gear-linkage kit, a sporty zorst with induction kit and perhaps some nitron suspension (or similar) will give you a car that looks, sounds and goes like you would hope... all without even looking at the engine.
a 111r is also a great tool, but you will still have to do most of the above to make it 'feel' special.
if you can hunt out a 135r then you will get much of the above as standard... less power (circa 135hp) but you would never feel it.... the elise is all about 'feel'... it's so light and 'chuckable' it doesn't really need headline bhp to put a smile on your face.
Sharpy1975 said:
You correct in what you say about the 111s and its brakes, however you do get used to it and actually the preform very well.
With the 111R, you gain extra horsepower from 156bhp to 189bhp, but also with a 6 speed gearbox.
How much were you thinking of spending?
You also get ABS on 111R. Just be aware that all that extra power is only apparent once the power cam kicks in at 6250rpm (or 5750 with the sport ecu) below that the 111S may well feel torquier. If you want lazy power then an elise might not be for you - it needs revs.With the 111R, you gain extra horsepower from 156bhp to 189bhp, but also with a 6 speed gearbox.
How much were you thinking of spending?
John D. said:
Boggy said:
1st thing 1st go and drive a 111r at a dealer's, there’s no point in going any further until you've driven one
Yes the R is quicker than a 111s but not much, I'd drive 1st
One’s a Toyota power plant R, the other’s a Rover 111s
Boggy
Is there not a Toyota 111s too? Yes the R is quicker than a 111s but not much, I'd drive 1st
One’s a Toyota power plant R, the other’s a Rover 111s
Boggy
The 111S which the OP refers to is a Tover K powered car and has the 156bhp version of the K.
The confusion probably comes from Lotus' internal model designaion for the Elise as Model 111 however there have only been two (Rover powered) versions of the 111S which were badged 111S: the S1 version with 143bhp and the S2 with 156bhp.
To the OP. Its worth remembering that the Elise isn't really about straight line speed: it has just enough performance.
If you really want straight line speed from an Elise for your budget (assuming £16k?) then it might be worth looking for a Honda converted S1 - they pop up occasionally at that sort of price.
If you really want straight line speed from an Elise for your budget (assuming £16k?) then it might be worth looking for a Honda converted S1 - they pop up occasionally at that sort of price.
TIPPER said:
John D. said:
Boggy said:
1st thing 1st go and drive a 111r at a dealer's, there’s no point in going any further until you've driven one
Yes the R is quicker than a 111s but not much, I'd drive 1st
One’s a Toyota power plant R, the other’s a Rover 111s
Boggy
Is there not a Toyota 111s too? Yes the R is quicker than a 111s but not much, I'd drive 1st
One’s a Toyota power plant R, the other’s a Rover 111s
Boggy
The 111S which the OP refers to is a Tover K powered car and has the 156bhp version of the K.
The confusion probably comes from Lotus' internal model designaion for the Elise as Model 111 however there have only been two (Rover powered) versions of the 111S which were badged 111S: the S1 version with 143bhp and the S2 with 156bhp.
Up until a little while ago I thought the only Toyota powered Elise was the 111R. Then when I started scanning the classifieds I noticed there was another; the 'S' (which is where my confusion regarding the 111S came from).
bmx said:
hi all, seriously thinking of buying an elise 111r with my budget i will be looking at an early one to be honest. but wondered if iam suited to the car, i had a go in a couple of 111s and didnt feel they were quick enough for me, as in torque / seat of the pants feel, and also didnt like the brakes much. now i gather along with the extra horse power the 111r has a brake servo so this could be my cup of tea. does the 111r "feel" more powerfull and do the brakes have more power?
regards al
oh and if anyone wants to sell, let me know
I sold my 282 bhp TVR Griffith 4.3 big valve and started looking at Elises. I first drove a 111S and while the handling was up to expectations I (naively) was disappointed with the lack of shove. So I started looking at 111Rs and then drove one. Again, disappointment. It gets vaguely exciting as the second cam kicks in, but then it's all over.regards al
oh and if anyone wants to sell, let me know
I went back to looking at 111Ss with revised expectations and started to like what I found. A (seemingly) torquier response and all the performance of the 111R up to 7k rpm.
IMHO the brakes are better. It must be all but the same disc diameter and pad area, so braking 'power' is the same (after all if you can lock up, you've got enough brakes). But the servo (?) and abs pump in the 111R simply denude the brakes of feel and progression (relatively speaking). The 111R is a step forward in terms of usability and marketability but I'm not sure you won't go through the same cycle as me once you drive one. Which is of course the only way to really answer your question.
iam contemplaiting an exige now, the one with the same engine as the 111r, about a 2005/6 i really think this is more me as i probably would never have the top off and want some weekend fun with the odd track day thrown in. could anyone think off a reason why not to go for an exige over a 111r appart from the roof?
i think i will live with the power, im hoping the fun and thrill of driving such a gorgeous car will be enough for me
i think i will live with the power, im hoping the fun and thrill of driving such a gorgeous car will be enough for me
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