[Lifespan]

I am new owner of an 05 Elise, but I've got a problem. The salesman I purchased the car from claimed that it had traction control and I made the mistake of not hunting around the interior for the on/off button. As I flipped through the manual, I noticed no mention of it, so I searched around and found that traction control was not even an option on the 05. I'm pretty pissed about the situation, but there is nothing I can do about it. So my question is, is it possible to retrofit traction control on to an Elise that does not have it?

Thanks

 

[mrcarcrazy]

I am new owner of an 05 Elise, but I've got a problem. The salesman I purchased the car from claimed that it had traction control and I made the mistake of not hunting around the interior for the on/off button. As I flipped through the manual, I noticed no mention of it, so I searched around and found that traction control was not even an option on the 05. I'm pretty pissed about the situation, but there is nothing I can do about it. So my question is, is it possible to retrofit traction control on to an Elise that does not have it?

Thanks

Best traction control you can ever buy is Right foot control.

HPDE events are a great place to start. also AutoX

There are generic "traction control" things available, but I doubt anyone has fitted one to an Elise.

Just don't lift mid turn, and you should be fine.

 

[1986esprit]

I am new owner of an 05 Elise, but I've got a problem. The salesman I purchased the car from claimed that it had traction control and I made the mistake of not hunting around the interior for the on/off button. As I flipped through the manual, I noticed no mention of it, so I searched around and found that traction control was not even an option on the 05. I'm pretty pissed about the situation, but there is nothing I can do about it. So my question is, is it possible to retrofit traction control on to an Elise that does not have it?

Thanks

well it would need a new dif as the traction control requires the limited slip differential. not to mention a ecu tune, and electronics, wire harness for the button and traction control system. it would require lots of time and money.

 

[Clovis]

well it would need a new dif as the traction control requires the limited slip differential. not to mention a ecu tune, and electronics, wire harness for the button and traction control system. it would require lots of time and money.

That is not true at all....no LSD required for traction control. Add the switch, wiring harness, and have the dealer reflash your ECU with traction control and you're set. Running the wiring harness from the front of the center console, through the firewall, and to the ECU is the most time consuing piece. Did mine in about 2 hours. BTW, you have to drill an approx 1" hole in the composite firewall for the harness grommet.

 

[glennsmooth]

My Exige S has traction control but I usually turn it OFF. If our cars had 500+HP then it might be of use.

 

[Lifespan]

I am planning on taking an advanced driving class in my Elise this winter, but because I am up here in the NW and will be driving very regularly in wet conditions, I thought traction control would be a good idea. I drive carefully as is, but sometimes you will just come around a blind corner to find standing water on the road and I don't want to lose my tail at that point.

 

[Clovis]

I am planning on taking an advanced driving class in my Elise this winter, but because I am up here in the NW and will be driving very regularly in wet conditions, I thought traction control would be a good idea. I drive carefully as is, but sometimes you will just come around a blind corner to find standing water on the road and I don't want to lose my tail at that point.

Sounds like you are looking for statbility control. Lotus doesn't offer that. Traction control only limits wheel spin under accel.

 

[1986esprit]

That is not true at all....no LSD required for traction control. Add the switch, wiring harness, and have the dealer reflash your ECU with traction control and you're set. Running the wiring harness from the front of the center console, through the firewall, and to the ECU is the most time consuing piece. Did mine in about 2 hours. BTW, you have to drill an approx 1" hole in the composite firewall for the harness grommet.

oh i assumed you did as you have to get the differential if you want the traction control if ordering a lotus.

 

[RoadDad]

oh i assumed you did as you have to get the differential if you want the traction control if ordering a lotus.

:wallbang: Fact checker please... as that's not true either. You have it backwards.

You can get TC without LSD.

You can not have the LSD without the TC.

 

[JnC]

The Lotus TC only regulates throttle not brakes. It's not a stability control. It's merely to help with wheelspin when applying nearly full throttle power. I ordered it on my 06 and wished I'd saved my money. It's rare that it trips and usually is from overcooking it on launch or some corners. I've not encountered any situation in 27k miles where it has been essential. Regarding wet conditions, I played with spins at a wet skidpad and it didn't trip once nor prevent the spin once I broke traction. Again... it's not a stability control.

 

[Clovis]

oh i assumed you did as you have to get the differential if you want the traction control if ordering a lotus.

Hmmm....FWIW, I think there are quite a few Elise/Exige out there with traction control only. Lotus doesn't really care to put LSD on cars unless it is special ordered. They do seem to like to put the traction control in though....it's on most supercharged variants I've seen.

 

[RoadDad]

well it would need a new dif as the traction control requires the limited slip differential. not to mention a ecu tune, and electronics, wire harness for the button and traction control system. it would require lots of time and money.

You seem to be unaware of how the Lotus TC works. It does not require LSD at all. It is ECU controlled cut of engine power.

 

[Lifespan]

Fair enough, I guess I misunderstood traction control. Time to get on a skid pad...

 

[JnC]

Time to get on a skid pad...

And regarding skidpads, that was very underwhelming too. The surface is typically black asphalt with a sealer on it. When you add water it's very slick. Unfortunately, it's so slick that it makes all cars nearly equal. The traction limit is not very high on that surface, and quite hard to play around on the knife edge of breaking away.

The alternative, being a dry skidpad, would allow you to better feel the breakaway transients. But, a skid on a dry surface can be very hard on the suspension, particularly during shuddering lateral loads. I wouldn't recommend it for the potential $$$ outlay.

So if you get the chance, sure take it just for grins. But it didn't help me learn any limits that I could apply to driving on non-skidpads. The difference is just that great.

 

[Simba]

The traction setup from Lotus is pretty marginal, you're not missing much without it. If you really want a decent TC system, RaceLogic's setup works very well on the car and is adjustable, so you can actually set it where you need it versus some pre-defined amount of slip.

With that said, the cars really do not need any sort of TC unless you're making a lot more power than stock.