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Post by wannabe on Jun 19, 2019 16:56:12 GMT
Lotus... Steering is very light due to skinny tyres and no front mass, which is good. Small inputs reward with direct response. It's harder to balance than a 5, but there's so much communication it makes the 5 feel numb. May I ask if your 5(s... lol) have had standard bushes and PAS? or if you've run polybushes and depowered rack? I've driven both mine and V6's car - mine being polybushed and DePAS, and V6's being standard bushes (IIRC??) and standard PAS rack - and I think there is a definite difference in 'feel'. I think I prefer my steering 'feel', even if it's an utter biatch to park and the polybushes make the ride almost intolerable on dual carriageways with those sharp, regular transverse ridges between concrete sections, lol. |
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Post by Vindi (Russell) on Jun 19, 2019 17:09:18 GMT
It's harder to balance than a 5, but there's so much communication it makes the 5 feel numb. May I ask if your 5(s... lol) have had standard bushes and PAS? or if you've run polybushes and depowered rack? I've driven both mine and V6's car - mine being polybushed and DePAS, and V6's being standard bushes (IIRC??) and standard PAS rack - and I think there is a definite difference in 'feel'. I think I prefer my steering 'feel', even if it's an utter biatch to park and the polybushes make the ride almost intolerable on dual carriageways with those sharp, regular transverse ridges between concrete sections, lol. I've had both, most have had poly bushes and I'm 50/50 on pas or manual. I prefer manual as long as it's set up for it. It's such a personal thing though, handling / feel etc. Looking at the pure facts, the Elise is faster everywhere, all the time. That's less than half the story though. At the moment, I'm still being amazed by how quick it is as it's all new. Once that's worn off, I'll have to see what's left. A faster, but possibly less useable car? Fun is a hard thing to pin down as well, going fast is fun and I'm enjoying that at the moment ... the car has a nicer feel, more predictable on the corners and you can feel everything that's going on. The thing is, you need to though. Driving an MX5, you can maybe get 80% out of it fairly easily and the rest comes with practice as & when conditions allow. With the Elise, you can get maybe 60% easily, and the rest is a lot harder. Having had it all of a month, I'd say the Elise at 60% is faster than the 5 at 80%. That's not all good though, I'm going faster in a car that's harder to control at the edge ... so if it goes wrong, it could go badly wrong. Is there a place for that on the road anyway? I think overall the 5 is a better road car and the Elise is a better track car. I just need to work out if I can keep one of each, or if I can't, then which do I want more?! Russell |
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Post by V6 on Jun 19, 2019 17:24:14 GMT
It's cool if you prefer the elise. I just never got comfortable with all the weight out the back. It's personal. I just found it dangerous. Where as the five is so playful and easy to do anything I want. Maybe you are a superior driver and you won't get my views. That's fine if so. But for me, I won't own another rear engined car again.
By the way mine was a mk2. I presume yours is too?
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Post by howardb66 on Jun 19, 2019 17:45:59 GMT
Watch the Elise on the limit, they have lots of grip but can be a little unforgiving. I used to drive a Honda powered fully sorted sprint car- it was brilliant & really rewarded neat+tidy driving. I found you need quick hands if it really does let go though. Keep it precise & they’re an absolute weapon. A friend has one with 500+ hp & it’s never been passed on a trackday- we were passing new GT2s if they were being driven by my Grandmother!
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Post by V6 on Jun 19, 2019 18:03:33 GMT
The mk1s had wider front tyres sourced from off the shelf hot hatches at the time. The mk2 ended up with skinny front tyres which may have added more a twitchy front end. Although I only spent about twenty minutes in a mk1. They are the best looking version but the noise was totally insane. Makes a semi stripped MX5 feel like an S Class for sound levels  If you've been talking about a mk1 I can't comment on the limit as I didn't go there. BTW, check out the Z cars conversion for the elise. They didn't like the rear weight so much. They put a much lighter Hyabusa bike engine in there for a bit more speed (250bhp) but also better balance. |
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Post by V6 on Jun 19, 2019 18:05:25 GMT
A friend has one with 500+ hp & it’s never been passed on a trackday- we were passing new GT2s if they were being driven by my Grandmother! prarrie canoe the bed. Balls of steel. WTF |
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Post by howardb66 on Jun 19, 2019 18:33:30 GMT
A friend has one with 500+ hp & it’s never been passed on a trackday- we were passing new GT2s if they were being driven by my Grandmother! prarrie canoe the bed. Balls of steel. WTF Yeah it was used in time attack. Forged 20V 1.9 Audi hybrid turbo engine, bespoke carbon bits & bobs, oh & 2 stage NOS. Applogies to Vindi for thread drift. Good luck with the Lotus! |
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Post by Vindi (Russell) on Jun 19, 2019 18:49:47 GMT
Ha ha, no need for any apologies ... all thoughts / opinions / thread drifts welcome!
Mine is an S1, so apparently a bit lighter than the S2. I've been lucky really ... the guy I bought it off has been into S1 Elises for years and has done pretty much everything to them that's possible. Mine has had everything done to the chassis that makes sense doing ... could just do with a bit more power
Russell
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Post by V6 on Jun 19, 2019 19:07:45 GMT
In that case my opinion on how yours drives has no merit. My opinions are all about my mk2 which is a totally different car: weight, tyres, ride height, rover to Toyota engine (heavier?)... loads changed. I actually went to the dealers to buy a used mk1 / S1. Mainly as they looked so cool. But after a test drive it was clear the noise was so far beyond useable, even as a semi every other daily car (I don't commute). So I skipped it. Maybe a mistake in hindsight. The salesman sold me the idea of a new S2 instead... Just put that 50% deposit on a new one instead of that noisy old thing One car I really wish I bought years back... Ginetta G4. Sexy looks, apparently one of the few cars which has beaten Caterham lap records. Front engine, RWD balance. |
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Post by Vindi (Russell) on Jun 25, 2019 19:18:51 GMT
Took advantage of the nice weather and used the Elise loads over the weekend. It's getting better and better as I get used to it, which is cool. What's not cool is that I took my wife and kids out in it (not all at once!) to give them a go and get their thoughts ... Reuben (oldest son) loved it as I'd thought. Lawrence (youngest son) thought it was too noisy, and Jen, my wife, was also unimpressed by the noise, the bumpy ride, and how hard it is to get in & out.
Not as nice as the MX5 was the conclusion ... sigh ... it's hard to justify having £10k in a car that won't get used much, so I'm cutting my losses and selling it on before I start spending money on it. I'll get my money back easy enough ... and I'm really glad I kept my caged 5 as it looks like I'll be putting it back on the road sooner rather than later!
Russell
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Post by V6 on Jun 25, 2019 20:35:21 GMT
Good news you are keeping the five 😎
To my mind... If I were to own a car as crazy as the S1 I may as well go for a Caterham or something else mental and fly weight. Money aside of course.
Looking forward to your caged build
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gbuk
Chats A Bit
Posts: 130 
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Post by gbuk on Jun 25, 2019 20:46:24 GMT
Hey ho, itch scratched then. At least you have now experienced it for yourself, just a shame you could't convince the others.
Now to get Reuben interested in the 5 again - hopefully better than in the Subaru XV advert?
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Post by V6 on Jun 26, 2019 17:36:45 GMT
An LFX in that caged weapon... Could be one of the best. Do it 😁
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Post by Vindi (Russell) on Jun 27, 2019 8:19:19 GMT
An LFX in that caged weapon... Could be one of the best. Do it 😁 I'll try to make it happen ... would be fun! The hard part is importing an engine. Your comment about getting a Caterham or similar is spot on. The S1 is a lot more raw than I'd thought ... noisy, rattly, roof leaks etc. A kit car is that as well, but faster and depending on the make / model, cheaper as well. Thinking back to my last kit car ... the Vindicator had 100bhp more than the Elise, weighed about 120kg less and I sold it for £4,500. Russell |
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Post by carl4x4 on Jun 27, 2019 10:49:42 GMT
Interesting to read your latest thoughts on the S1 Elise, I use to Sprint & Autosolo an S1 which was probably the most successful car I ever competed in, but I swapped it for an MX5 after trying a friend's mk1 many years ago. Since then I have had three MX5's but just the one Elise. If you take the Elise on the track it holds on much harder but then snaps & bites with much less warning than a MX5. I sold it after spinning at a sprint and parking neatly inbetween two trees. I Figured that was a sign !
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If you've been talking about a mk1 I can't comment on the limit as I didn't go there. 
le sigh