Good for you.
Note to new Elise & Exige Owners:
1. These cars have large (i.e. dangerous) blind spots. Multivex mirrors are NLA, but RLS (Really Light Stuff) offers very good tape-on replacements.
2. The horns are way too weak (quiet). There’s an inverse relationship: smaller the car, louder the horn needs to be.
Get something such as a Stebel Nautilus.
Stock: “Excuse me”
Stebel:
“HONK! LOOK OUT!”
Remove the stock horn; replace with louder.
(I drive with my finger on the horn button in any traffic. Iffy situations, my headlights are on.
Stay to the left of traffic, i.e. avoid passing on the right if you can.
Stop way behind trucks, SUVs, etc. Some have blindspots >50’. )
3. The early cars came with misaimed and dim headlights. If you drive at night, convert to HIDs. While better than stock halogen bulbs are available, HIDs throw more light. Stay around 5000k.
4. Ensure your car has had the work required by the recall for oil line fittings done. You could lose an engine and/or spin in your own oil.
5. The best transmission lube I’ve found is Redline MT-90 plus a little Power Punch Extreme Gear Oil Additive. (Note that it takes two changes to get rid of the previous lube.)
a) Early cars have wobbly shift towers. Look up Stan’s Mod (bolt and spacer;
http://www.billswebspace.com/ShifterReinforcement.pdf) and
Sector 111 long thru bolt that terminates under car:
re-ENFORCER - Shift reinforcement for the Lotus Elise and Exige - Sector111
These (lube, mods) make a huge change in shifting.
6. As per some engine builders on these sites, wait AT LEAST 10 (or 20) minutes after coolant has reached full operating temp before engaging cam switchover.
7. Rear toe-links can loosen and break with disastrous results. You can check tq periodically, or use Nordlock washers. Best is conversion to better engineered brace, such as BOE’s for one example.
8. While under the car with panel off, look around for hoses and wires chafing their way to failure. That’s how this was found:
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f311/cooling-ticking-timebomb-how-your-cooling-u-tube-47232/
9. Visit the Uber Thread
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f3/elise-exige-uberpost-read-everything-you-need-know-here-25131/
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