Lotus -- Daily Driver Blog by Patrick Shim

[PatrickShim]

[Service #15] July 7, 2009- 34,041 miles

Stephan at Mulholland Motorsports changed the engine oil for me.




All the services since new

[Warranty Service Items]
- ECU (replaced) - LBH
- catalyst/downpipe (replaced 3x) - LBH/SSL
- camshafts (replaced) - LBH
- O2 Sensors (replaced) - LBH
- fuel injectors and coil packs (replaced) - LBH
- exhaust (Stage-II cracks, replaced 5x) - SMC/LBH/LC/SSL
- wiring harnesses - LBH
- passenger-side rear turn-signal (replaced) - SMC
- front/right turn-signal housing (replaced) - LBH
- A/C relay (replaced) - LBH

[Warranty Accessory/Part Items]
- passenger-side clear-bra damaged (since new, repaired) - SMC
- soft-top (not supplied by dealer; delivered damaged; repaired) -SMC
- soft-top bars (not supplied by dealer) - SMC
- hard-top velcro covers (not supplied by dealer; delivered) - SMC
- passenger-side rear wheel (damaged by dealer; replaced) - NE
- blower motor resistor kit (update) - LBH
- headlight recall (addressed) - SMC
- sticking door-lock recall (addressed) - SMC
- car delivered new with improper allignment (addressed) - SMC

[Undocumented-Warranty Items]
- front/right turn-signal bulb (replaced) - LBH
- loose handbrake lever (repaired) - LBH
- passenger-side window making wind-noise (repaired) - LBH

[Non-Warranty Items]
- engine oil change w/ Mobil Delvac Synthetic 5W40 (@ around 1,000mi, 7,000mi, 12,000mi) - SMC
- engine oil change w/ Havoline Synthetic 5W40 (@ around 17,000mi) - LBH
- engine oil change w/ Havoline Synthetic 5W40 (@ around 22,000mi) - LC
- engine oil change w/ Castrol Syntec Synthetic 5W40 (@ around 26,500mi, 34,000mi) - MM
- rear tires Yokohama ADVAN A048 (replaced @ around 12,000mi, nail in tire and wear) - NE
- rear tires Yokohama ADVAN A048 (replaced @ around 17,000mi, nails in both tires) - LBH
- front & rear tires Toyo Proxes T1R (replaced @ around 26,500mi, nail in tire and wear) - MM
- front brake pads w/ OEM parts (replaced @ around 18,000mi) - LBH
- rear brake pads w/ OEM parts (replaced @ around 26,500) - MM
- "ECU Upgrade" with factory upgraded software (added then removed/then added again) - LBH (SSL)
- new front clam and clearbra (Star Shield) - SCC
- new front clam and clearbra (Venture Shield) - MM

[Accessories Added]
- rear "round" Lotus badge (Sector 111)
- front tow hook (Sector 111)
- rear boomerang tow hook (Sector 111) - MM
- Lotus Cup/TRD airbox upgrade - LC

(*LC - Lotus Calabasas, *LBH - Lotus Beverly Hills, *SMC - Symbolic Motor Cars, *SSL -Silver Star Lotus, *NE - Newport European, *SCC - Specialty Car Craft, *MM - Mulholland Motorsport/Dent Works)



July 7, 2009- 34,080 documented miles

After a visit to Mulholland Motorworks, I stopped by at Silver Star Lotus for a quick check requested by Lotus USA. Stay tuned.

[PatrickShim]

July 11, 2009

No comment.



It was an interesting experience... Appropriate parties were contacted.


And then when I pulled over to check what happened, I got this....

[msink]

Patrick,

Based on the mileage you get from your tires, maybe you arent pushing the engine hard enough to keep the CAT happy. I say run it hard, keep it hot, and blow out the crud. It sounds like everything had been changed except the driver, or the driving style. Actually I have no clue, but I always like to think engines need some spanking to keep them inline.

Mark

[PatrickShim]

Originally Posted by msink

Patrick,

Based on the mileage you get from your tires, maybe you arent pushing the engine hard enough to keep the CAT happy. I say run it hard, keep it hot, and blow out the crud. It sounds like everything had been changed except the driver, or the driving style. Actually I have no clue, but I always like to think engines need some spanking to keep them inline.

Mark

Oh I can promise you that the car gets enough spanking...

[plastique999]

Originally Posted by PatrickShim

July 11, 2009

No comment.



It was an interesting experience... Appropriate parties were contacted.


And then when I pulled over to check what happened, I got this....

what the hell happened...

[PatrickShim]

Originally Posted by plastique999

what the hell happened...

I rather not say... It will be fixed.

[apk919]

Originally Posted by PatrickShim

I rather not say... It will be fixed.

Hey, this is an online blog...

You can't do that!

[Icedog_16]

Originally Posted by apk919

Hey, this is an online blog...

You can't do that!

+1+

[PatrickShim]

Originally Posted by plastique999

what the hell happened...

Originally Posted by apk919

Hey, this is an online blog...

You can't do that!

Originally Posted by Icedog_16

+1+

Haha, I'll post the details, only if the parties responsible don't take care of it. Otherwise, while it was quite scary and dangerous, it is just a small mistake.

[delise]

Not sure what we are looking at - so you were doing 90mph and your jock strap broke and snapped you in the eye, causing you to swerve off the road and run over Freddy Krueger or Edward Scissorhands ?

Originally Posted by PatrickShim

July 11, 2009

No comment. All when I was going 90+mph on the freeway...



It was an interesting experience... Appropriate parties were contacted.


And then when I pulled over to check what happened, I got this.... There were tons of debrees on the side of the freeway, and some nails...

[waydui]

Originally Posted by PatrickShim

July 11, 2009

No comment. All when I was going 90+mph on the freeway...

I've got one of those boomerang tow hooks and it must have taken some real force to bend it up like that. It's a hefty piece.

I'm guessing the diffuser panel took a wallop too.

Regards,
Wayne

[PatrickShim]

Originally Posted by delise

Not sure what we are looking at - so you were doing 90mph and your jock strap broke and snapped you in the eye, causing you to swerve off the road and run over Freddy Krueger or Edward Scissorhands ?

Originally Posted by waydui

I've got one of those boomerang tow hooks and it must have taken some real force to bend it up like that. It's a hefty piece.

I'm guessing the diffuser panel took a wallop too.

Regards,
Wayne

Yeah, it was quite a scene... I am sure the driver behind me almost crapped his pants...

[PatrickShim]

July 16, 2009

Something NEW happened today... In addition to repeated P0420 code, it threw another code!!! P0506 - "Idle control system RPM lower than expected". Not sure if those two problems are linked, but the Louts powertrain engineer was notified.

[Demonized]

Originally Posted by PatrickShim

July 16, 2009

Something NEW happened today... In addition to repeated P0420 code, it threw another code!!! P0506 - "Idle control system RPM lower than expected". Not sure if those two problems are linked, but the Louts powertrain engineer was notified.

gudammut! get a new Elise

I had that code too once, threw it same time I got a catalyst error... cleared it and haven't seen either since.

[PatrickShim]

July 18, 2009



I had a nail in the tire, so I drove around near home for an hour looking for a shop I can trust my Lotus with. Most shops I stopped by were the typical tire shops that work on all types of regular cars. As I was about to give up, I drove by a shop called Apollo Performance with a bunch of upgraded Subarus, so I knew they knew what they were doing. In the garage, there were a number of high-performance Subarus getting prepped for track events.

The guys were really careful with everything, and taped everything to avoid any kind of scratches or damages. They really paid attention to detail.

They patched the tire for me (from the inside), then balanced the tires for me.

They were awesome!

[PatrickShim]

[Service #16] July 23, 2009- 34,755 miles

Stephan at Mulholland Motorsports changed the trasmission oil, and did some other minor work on the car for me.




All the services since new

[Warranty Service Items]
- ECU (replaced) - LBH
- catalyst/downpipe (replaced 3x) - LBH/SSL
- camshafts (replaced) - LBH
- O2 Sensors (replaced) - LBH
- fuel injectors and coil packs (replaced) - LBH
- exhaust (Stage-II cracks, replaced 5x) - SMC/LBH/LC/SSL
- wiring harnesses - LBH
- passenger-side rear turn-signal (replaced) - SMC
- front/right turn-signal housing (replaced) - LBH
- A/C relay (replaced) - LBH

[Warranty Accessory/Part Items]
- passenger-side clear-bra damaged (since new, repaired) - SMC
- soft-top (not supplied by dealer; delivered damaged; repaired) -SMC
- soft-top bars (not supplied by dealer) - SMC
- hard-top velcro covers (not supplied by dealer; delivered) - SMC
- passenger-side rear wheel (damaged by dealer; replaced) - NE
- blower motor resistor kit (update) - LBH
- headlight recall (addressed) - SMC
- sticking door-lock recall (addressed) - SMC
- car delivered new with improper allignment (addressed) - SMC

[Undocumented-Warranty Items]
- front/right turn-signal bulb (replaced) - LBH
- loose handbrake lever (repaired) - LBH
- passenger-side window making wind-noise (repaired) - LBH

[Non-Warranty Items]
- engine oil change w/ Mobil Delvac Synthetic 5W40 (@ around 1,000mi, 7,000mi, 12,000mi) - SMC
- engine oil change w/ Havoline Synthetic 5W40 (@ around 17,000mi) - LBH
- engine oil change w/ Havoline Synthetic 5W40 (@ around 22,000mi) - LC
- engine oil change w/ Castrol Syntec Synthetic 5W40 (@ around 26,500mi, 34,000mi) - MM
- transmission oil change w/ GM Synchromesh (@ around 35,000) - MM
- rear tires Yokohama ADVAN A048 (replaced @ around 12,000mi, nail in tire and wear) - NE
- rear tires Yokohama ADVAN A048 (replaced @ around 17,000mi, nails in both tires) - LBH
- front & rear tires Toyo Proxes T1R (replaced @ around 26,500mi, nail in tire and wear) - MM
- front brake pads w/ OEM parts (replaced @ around 18,000mi) - LBH
- rear brake pads w/ OEM parts (replaced @ around 26,500) - MM
- "ECU Upgrade" with factory upgraded software (added then removed/then added again) - LBH (SSL)
- new front clam and clearbra (Star Shield) - SCC
- new front clam and clearbra (Venture Shield) - MM

[Accessories Added]
- rear "round" Lotus badge (Sector 111)
- front tow hook (Sector 111)
- rear boomerang tow hook (Sector 111) - MM
- Lotus Cup/TRD airbox upgrade - LC

(*LC - Lotus Calabasas, *LBH - Lotus Beverly Hills, *SMC - Symbolic Motor Cars, *SSL -Silver Star Lotus, *NE - Newport European, *SCC - Specialty Car Craft, *MM - Mulholland Motorsport/Dent Works)

[LARRY]

Stephan rocks!

Glad to hear your car is ok.

[PatrickShim]

Originally Posted by LARRY

...Glad to hear your car is ok.

The car runs fine, but still has the two codes -- P0420 and P0506...

[delise]

Originally Posted by LARRY

Stephan rocks!

Glad to hear your car is ok.

Couple hundred more miles and I will be dropping my car off for Stephan to do my 22K service and get the clutch fork lubed. It is so awesome to once again have a shop that is within a mile of my house !

[PatrickShim]

August 7, 2009 - Marconi Automotive Museum LotusTalk Meet

It was a fun day with a bunch of people from LotusTalk!





August 15, 2009 - Marconi Automotive Museum Open House



... on the way back, I got another "new" code -- P1301.... What can I do?

The will be back at Silver Star Lotus next week.