Picking up my S2 111S on wednesday...

[R2Dn00b]

Hey all, I am picking my Storm titanium S2 111S up on wednesday.

The car has 0 miles on it and therefore what shall I do about 'breaking' the car in? Do you have to take it easy for the first 1000 miles or is that an old wives tale in this day and age?

I mean obvioulsy I am not going to redline it off the forecourt but what advice can you give me.

Cheers guys'n'girls

[cheekymonkey]

i was told run it by the book for say the first 3-400 then start to give it some welly now and again. By all accounts the harder it's run in the faster it will be later in life. you will have a rev limiter so from cold you can't rag it anyway to protect the engine.

just focus on using the gears lots to start with, keep the revs fairly consistantly between 2500 - 3500 ish, this will also help bed in the gearbox, dont go for a 400 mile motorway drive!

[Davey S1]

I am not sure what the procedure is on a 111S but there will be details on it in the owners manual.

Make sure you follow it as the dealer will download all the data from the ECU at the first service and send it back to Lotus. If you havent complied with the correct proceedure Lotus will just rip up your warranty.

The ECU print out is about a meter long and shows the top 5:

0-60 times
Standing starts
Top speeds
Highest revs

[R2Dn00b]

Ok thanks

Hey cheeky what Elise do you have?

[tonyhetherington]

Fine choice of car, dear boy, bravo

The running in period will be explained by the dealer you're picking up the car from - and do stick to it, as Davey says above!

Oh, and then buy yourself a Larini exhaust

[therossatron]

On the R and the S with the variable valve timing, it is advisable during the running in period to take the car up to revs where the 2nd cam kicks in occasionally. Otherwise these won't be run in at all after the AS service.

According to the Lotus Club international magazine.

[R2Dn00b]

Thanks for all the advice so far, another question..

I will be driving it for 70 miles on the motorway because the dealer is in Bristol and I live in Exeter.

Will the gear ratios allow me to drive below 4000rpm in 5th on the motorway at about 65-70mph? Or will I have to drive it real granny style?

[tonyhetherington]

from memory, 4000rpm in 5th is 80mph, so you'll be fine!

[kevin ritson]

It's 3,000 max for the first 600 miles (about 68-70mph in 5th depending on wind, roof on-off etc), then 4,500 up to the first service on the 111S. Also only use up to three-quarter throttle openings.

It's a different type of valve-timing system to the Toyota so no need to blip the throttle.

B&C told me to just drive it normally (albeit without using over 75% of throttle and over 3K revs). Personally, I'd take the scenic route home. You won't get bored, you'll have time to get used to the brakes and you'll start to realise just why you won't be using the motorway much from now on

After picking mine up it was a 50-mile drive and I loved every minute of it (apart from having the hard-top on!)

[cheekymonkey]

R2Dn00b said:

Ok thanks Hey cheeky what Elise do you have?

S2 111s - there's a pic on my profile... www.pistonheads.com/gassing/profile.asp?h=0&memberId=50495