[Stan]

Most of us have seen those alloy "Elise" front plates that fit onto the rectangular detail on the front of the car. They come with L/R decorative sills, see below.

Here's a peak after a first-pass install...

But this leads to them being visible from the outside when the door is closed...time for some sorting... Has anyone else installed this accessory? Looks like they could be repositioned inward and forward, but this slightly compromises their door-open appearance.

 

[wallabyguy]

:huh:

I was going to pick these up but they shouldn't be showing when you close the door! I hope I'm missing something because that's terrible.

 

[LarryB]

The pic or two I've seen had them installed on the very top of the sill. If you want to install them there moving it all the way forward might help them not stick out. Not sure how good it'll look.

 

[Stan]

>>>The pic or two I've seen had them installed on the very top of the sill.<<<

On top of the black plastic frame rail cover? In that location they'd certainly fit but then they'd be visible inside the car when the door is closed. I wonder if they'd get scuffed up...

 

[LarryB]

Yeah, think that's how they design it to work. But your right if they made it to properly fit the spot you first put them in, it would be a cleaner look.

 

[Vantage]

Not sure what the point of these things are besides looks.

Perhaps you can install them vertically on the bit of fiberglass that is perpendicular to the black part of the sill. Not sure if that allows you to close the door, or if it even fits. Sound silly.

Will moving the piece inwards towards the chassi help hide it when the door is closed?

 

[Miguel]

>>>The pic or two I've seen had them installed on the very top of the sill.<<<

On top of the black plastic frame rail cover? In that location they'd certainly fit but then they'd be visible inside the car when the door is closed. I wonder if they'd get scuffed up...

The BRP in Dallas had them over the door plastic sills, I think it will help to prevent some scuffing from shoes on the plastic frame.

 

[pinmagic]

On top of the plastic? Nah. Stuff would get caught on them, and they'd pull up and get bent.

Those are obviously a generic shape that someone slapped an Elise logo on, without any though about whether they fit this car. I'd find another use for them -- decorate your cubicle, or something.

 

[Stan]

>>>On top of the plastic? Nah. Stuff would get caught on them, and they'd pull up and get bent. <<<

That's what I was thinking!

>>>Those are obviously a generic shape that someone slapped an Elise logo on, without any though about whether they fit this car. I'd find another use for them -- decorate your cubicle, or something<<<

You may be right...I think the Esprit sill plates are about the same size...

 

[wallabyguy]

The problem I have with the generic statement is that they are sold by Lotus Dealers as a package which includes the front plate and both sills. You'd think they would have thought about tihs fully before selling them as a dealer accessory.

 

[Stan]

>>>The problem I have with the generic statement is that they are sold by Lotus Dealers as a package which includes the front plate and both sills. You'd think they would have thought about tihs fully before selling them as a dealer accessory.<<<

They don't come with instructions....does anyone have a picture of them installed properly?

 

[OneFastLotus]

I wish they'd make a protector for the large plastic area that you actually have to touch as you get in and out of.

I personally never touch the area where that "skid" plateabove is being put. Im worried about scuffing the main sill.



Oh, and there's no way that the sill should show outside the door.

 

[wallabyguy]

I wish they'd make a protector for the large plastic area that you actually have to touch as you get in and out of.

I personally never touch the area where that "skid" plateabove is being put. Im worried about scuffing the main sill.



Oh, and there's no way that the sill should show outside the door.

The plastic on the upper sills was changed as recently as the time between the press launch and the production cars. It was matte and smooth finished and is now somewhat texured which is a vast improvement. Still, You are right that this area will quickly get scuffed esspecially as we head into the winter and spend more time driving with the roof on (thus squeeze our bodies through the small door openings).

 

[atyclb]

I'm pretty sure they're supposed to go on the black plastic

 

[_JD_]

I'm pretty sure they're supposed to go on the black plastic

And Lotus should have designed them much wider and in the same shape as the sill with flaps that would stretch over the inside and outside of the sill so that there would be no edges to catch clothing, jewlery, etc. Those would seem to provide more annoyance than sill protection.

 

[cbolz]

I was hoping that they would come up with a carbon fiber piece that would cover the entire black plastic sill.

 

[wallabyguy]

I'll be shocked if within a year Sector111 (Shinoo) doesn't have a carbon fiber or other solution available.

 

[Prolene]

I'll probably try something like the 3M Starshield material on the sills. This should be able to protect the edges which would be the surface prone to being scratched. It would look a heck of a lot better than the out of place looking rectangular piece, imo.

 

[Stan]

>>I'll probably try something like the 3M Starshield material on the sills. This should be able to protect the edges which would be the surface prone to being scratched. It would look a heck of a lot better than the out of place looking rectangular piece, imo.<<

Some of the films have a different appearance than others...some have a more obvious orange peel look to them, for example.

I think that the sill plates are just a cosmetic, subjective tweak thing. If they protect the sills, they themselves would tend to get scuffed. Then again they could be filmed over...

 

[Ancient Wedgie]

You'd think they would have thought about tihs fully before selling them as a dealer accessory.

I agree with you. Laser blue wannabes may have similar senses for other details of the elise besides the best color.

I think this is evidence that there are two design teams at Lotus, one of which could care less as to how anything looks as long as their bosses think they can rake in a coupla hundred quid without doing any real work.

This kind of miscue may nearly be enough to make the chief designer quit in disgust. Which may happen anyway when after they adulterate his S2 design in order to meet U.S. safety standards.