[DetailersParadise]

This weekend I spent some time in Aspen with the Colorado Exotic Car Association. On Saturday we had a little show in downtown Aspen. Sunday was spent at Woody Creek Raceway.

I had a chance to enjoy a lovely Elise flying by at speed. I believe this was the guy's first time on a track and he was having a great time. There was some drifting and serious oversteer going on. The owner was very generous with his car and time. He must have taken every kid there out for a lap or two.

My only disappointment was with the car's exhaust note. I don't know if it is because the exhaust on my TT has such a deep rumble, or because the Elise was sharing the track with a Tubi-throated Modena. Either way, the car sounded a bit tinny. I guess I will be looking into the stage two when my car arrives.

 

[_JD_]

Great pics. Where do ppl get the gonads to sit up against cars? The guy with the camera in his hand leaning against the 360 just pisses me off (unless it's his of course). I always have customers and contractors that try to put their drinks or binders and other things on the hood of my car a lot and it really ticks me off.

 

[Hans Stuck]

Never heard of that track before....but it looks beautiful.

I can just feel the lack of humidity! Ahhh.

[we had a mid-day storm roll through here and it's now 90 degrees with 90% humidity. My ass is sweating just looking out of my window at the steam coming off the pavement. Ugh. It's a Maryland thing.]

 

[GabbaGabbaHey]

I wonder if that is a demo from the Denver dealer. I'm curious to hear how much the altitude decreases its engine response.

 

[khamai]

There was no decrease or change in engine response at Lake Tahoe in May (6200 ft).

 

[DetailersParadise]

JD-Thanks, that was my first time taking pictures at a track. I can't tell you how many shots of half cars I got. BTW, that is the owner leaning on his F-car.

The track is a private club track nestled in the foothills just north of Aspen. It is up the road from the Woody Creek Bar where Hunter Thompson sips a tasty beverage.

It's a rather short track with the fastest lap time of the day coming in at about 64 seconds. It has some very nice turns and elevation changes. The owner of the Elise said he hit 120 on the straight.

That is actually the second Elise delivered by Ferrari of Denver. The guy driving was the owner. He seemed very pleased with the performance, but I can tell you from my experience with my S2000 that above 8000 feet, the car lost considerable power. After I sold my S2000, I drove a GTI with the 180hp 1.8T. I could easily hang with my old S2K chums coming off corners and into the straights.

 

[khamai]

Loss of response vs loss of power at elevation are different. With any normally aspirated engine you'll see loss of power at altitude. I would believe the Elise would be no different. We were estimating that at Tahoe the Elise was down some 25% on power from sea level in the SFO bay area.

 

[zvezdah1]

Loss of response vs loss of power at elevation are different. With any normally aspirated engine you'll see loss of power at altitude. I would believe the Elise would be no different. We were estimating that at Tahoe the Elise was down some 25% on power from sea level in the SFO bay area.

Just another good reason to live at sea level!
Chris

 

[DetailersParadise]

Loss of response vs loss of power at elevation are different. With any normally aspirated engine you'll see loss of power at altitude. I would believe the Elise would be no different. We were estimating that at Tahoe the Elise was down some 25% on power from sea level in the SFO bay area.

I guess we are debating semantics.

When you push on the gas, the car is not getting enough oxygen to make a proper explosion. This results in a loss of immediate response. As the car gains motion, the lack of proper explosion continues and thus a lack of power. Response or power both come down to lack of oxygen with the result being the same; weak explosion.