[mpesik]

Hello.
Bit of a goofy question but Im still curious.
Considering what these cars are made of and the positioning of the fans you'd expect something phantomish!

I owned an 81 Vette and heard the stealth stories from many fella's about radar. Although from what I can remember the Rad. was verticle.

Is the Lotus Esprit more stealthy to radar than most?
Curious.

 

[sleekgt]

There's a 5 year old thread on this topic that is still relevant regarding RADAR; it's a little dated for LASER:

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f164/how-radar-stealthy-our-cars-67206/#post1194189

My own experience - I agree that the Esprit is not that transparent to Ka RADAR although my Bel 200 certainly knows when it gets painted.

I don't have hard proof, but I have anecdotal evidence my Esprit is difficult, if not impossible, to lock on with LASER.

My 88 Esprit has a blue/yellow California plate (1979) that is non-reflective. LASER guns depend on the reflectivity of the license plate for speed measurement. This may be my car's advantage according to this website:

http://mr2.com/TEXT/FAQonLidar.html

 

[Gunpilot]

Do some research on stealth technology, does your Lotus look like a stealth bomber?

Honestly, if your whole goal is to evade the PoPo, technology is evolving faster than you can keep up with.

Sign up for a track day and get it out of your system...............

 

[JWA]

Back when Car & Driver started doing their radar detector tests they found that a Europa with the front bumper removed was almost impossible to hit on radar. Not sure how that transfers to the Esprit.

 

[GR82DRV]

No, but there is a new SmartPhone app that will make your car invisible to cops... :up:

 

[Almighty]

Back when Car & Driver started doing their radar detector tests they found that a Europa with the front bumper removed was almost impossible to hit on radar. Not sure how that transfers to the Esprit.

I've never seen a Europa with the bumper removed, but I find those results VERY difficult to believe. Gunpilot is right, unless we have some multifaceted radar/laser absorbent surfaces on our cars... we're not invisible to radar/laser.

 

[kestrel74]

Although the Europa is little...and has a GREAT c/d ( .27 or .29 IIRC ) even if you remove the front "bumper" ( which isn't that much metal anyway ) there's still the radiator up front...lots of metal to reflect radar.

 

[carbuff]

No, but there is a new SmartPhone app that will make your car invisible to cops... :up:

an Esprit invisible? NEVER. Too good-looking.


But I'll bite. what is the app and platform (I0S or Android)?

++++++++

All of the above is true. unless you own that Chrome-wrapped Esprit in the UK, the ability to get a "fix" on an Esprit (with no front plate) is greatly reduced. Chalk it up to the tilted radiator, down-facing headlamps, and wedge shape. All of which disperse a lot of the reflected beams...

You still have to be alert....and all the stealth in the world won't prevent a cop from pulling you over so he can get a look at the car. (Ask Yellow Hornet)

 

[JWA]

That's what they found. The Corvette with the headlights down was really good too. This was in the '70s. I'm not sure how advanced the speed radar was back then.

 

[4380r]

Years ago I had a Pontiac Fiero. Plastic body, radiator up front, engine in the back.

Drove down to Richmond to visit my cousin. His two best friends were Henrico County cops, and they both came over to his house where we drank a few beers and talked cars.

They both said the Fiero was very hard to pick up on radar. Now, they weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer, so maybe they didn't know how to operate the radar.

I know for a fact my Exige was not invisible to speed cameras on I695 and 295 in Maryland, in Bowie, Maryland, and in Ashton, Maryland. I have the pics and check stubs to prove it.

 

[cyow5]

Just to egg everyone on - the original post did not say "invisible" but harder to detect. I'm sure it has a smaller radar signature due to the shape, but still very detectable


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[Lotus Dave]

Yup.......State trooper clocked my stealth Esprit at 135 mph. Totally invisible !!!

Dave
90SE

 

[carbuff]

Yup.......State trooper clocked my stealth Esprit at 135 mph.

Dave
90SE

See, you had the time to slow down! anic:anic:anic:

 

[jfitz981]

Check out the mods on Alex Roy's M5...that's quite a bit of tech just to avoid getting pulled over:

 

[4380r]

Yup.......State trooper clocked my stealth Esprit at 135 mph. Totally invisible !!!

Dave
90SE

Now that you mention it, radar got me in my G Body Esprit in Ocean City, MD.

 

[philethier]

Back when Car & Driver started doing their radar detector tests they found that a Europa with the front bumper removed was almost impossible to hit on radar.QUOTE]

Not true. They found that the Europa has great reflectance, probably due to the flat front of the frame. Now I suppose someone will have to find the article to show which one of us remembers it correctly.

 

[MRDANGERUS]

Hello.

Is the Lotus Esprit more stealthy to radar than most?
Curious.

Not really, unless you paint the whole car with Mil.grade "Prism" paint, which is shockingly expensive and probably not available to the civilian population.

 

[firefighter1c57]

Much less front cross section than an Esprit. Comprised mostly of plastic and rubber(in my case, carbonfiber, fiberglass, and rubber), still gets picked up on police radar...

 

[sleekgt]

Back when Car & Driver started doing their radar detector tests they found that a Europa with the front bumper removed was almost impossible to hit on radar.QUOTE]

Not true. They found that the Europa has great reflectance, probably due to the flat front of the frame. Now I suppose someone will have to find the article to show which one of us remembers it correctly.

i remember the original article (and might have a copy stashed too). The Corvette was found to be very good; nearly half the detectable distance as a normal car. one of the writers proclaimed if the small frontal profile of the Corvette was good, the Europa would be better

But my recollection is same as Phil - the Europa was no better than a normal car. at the time i attributed the Corvette's retractble lights as the advantage

 

[Uncle Sam]

I remember the C/D article pointing out that the Vette was better not just because of the fiberglass and fold-away headlights, but because the radiator was angled back about 45 degrees. I had a 79.

The Elise should be good with a radiator parallel to the ground and low frontal area. I am much closer to the "Your Speed" detector signs in the Elise than other cars before they light up, if they do. It may be the angle of the detector not being set for such a low car, though.

:mw: