[Midlife]

Been browsing for a week or so and thought I would register and through my .02 in

A few weeks ago I was visiting some old friends in FL - in between storms, and found out that one of them has a new Elise. What a trip that thing is! It was really small, compared to my Z06, and really nimble! I was surprised by the body roll though, felt kind of tippy?? Had great grip in the process, just leaned more than I expected given its minimalist go racing look/feel.

Seems like it would be a fun 'toy' to replace the motorcycle my wife so dislikes. Plus she thought it was adorably cute She thinks it would be fun (drives a Mini now). From what I can tell there are more people who are going to dive them everyday than I originally thought. I wonder is the fun wears off.

 

[mikester]

Midlife, greetings right back atcha !

In England and elsewhere, drivers have had there Elises for upwards of 8 years or so. According to them, the fun definitely does NOT wear off !

 

[master]

Greetings

Midlife, welcome to the forum. We love VET guys here.

 

[Midlife]

Thanks! I love the Z but I keep thinking about how much smaller and lighter the Elise felt! The down side was the complete lack of usable power, but like the S2K more fun if you rev the crap out of it

Must be getting old...

 

[Derek]

The down side was the complete lack of usable power

It must be me... I just don't understand this statement. My Liz pulls great off the get go. Yes it goes bonkers when it kicks into the high-cam, but it still pull great below the switch over.

I think in many ways it makes the car easier to drive day to day. I've driven some pretty fast cars. Most are not very civilized in normal driving. The gas pedal is more of an on/off switch. They either want to stand still or drag race. This kind of car IMO can grow tiresome especially in rush hour traffic.
The Elise is quite civilized in stop and go traffic. It's great on hills and has plenty of torque for it weight. It can pass with out effort most cars you'll meet. And if you wanna get silly you can always be less sensitive to the needs of your poor clutch.

As for the body roll and the car feeling “tippy”… Hasn’t been a problem for me. I have NEVER heard anyone refer to the Elise as “tippy”

 

[master]

111R vs S2000

The S2000 is my daily driver.(stuck in upside down lease) only 26 months left. The best way i could say car vs car is the S2000 feels like a 4 the 111R feels like it has a small 8. And the sounds the Lotus wins this one to. I like the stock vs stage 2

 

[Midlife]

It must be me... I just don't understand this statement. My Liz pulls great off the get go. Yes it goes bonkers when it kicks into the high-cam, but it still pull great below the switch over.

As for the body roll and the car feeling “tippy”… Hasn’t been a problem for me. I have NEVER heard anyone refer to the Elise as “tippy”

In comparison to my Z06...
For example, when he and I were tooling around in the Elise it didn't feel like it had much go down low. If you let the clutch out easy and were just rolling and then mashed the gas it was slooow to respond. Do that in the Z06 and it pulls hard. Lots of low end torque. Thats all. Kind of like some of the high strung Honda's I have had. All top end power very little if any torque.

Not to worry they are just different.

As for tippy, there was a ton of body roll. It stuck really well, just had a lot of roll. But then again I am used to something else. I was searching today for some auto-x pictures and there are a few tight mid-corner shots where the Elise is all heeled over.

Not to worry, I thought the car was fun. I have had a wide variety of cars, and each had their strengths. The key is to know them and play to them.

 

[MattG]

Why is body roll a *bad* thing? Suspension geometry is usually designed with body roll in mind, and you can even use it to optimize tire contact patches (start with negative camper, as body rolls the camber will change if the car's designed that way). The only bad thing I see to body roll is transition times from one direction to the next - the body needs to roll back to a neutral position, then continue on to its new steady state position. Bottom line is, though, the Elise's setup works. Ready any review, any magazine, for any model year Elise. If a little body roll is necessary to achieve this level of handling, who cares?

 

[peck555]

howdy

welcome to the hotel lotus waiting room you can check in but you can never get your car. just kidding did you pick colors or options?:clap:

 

[Midlife]

Why is body roll a *bad* thing?

For me personally, I don't like excessive body roll. I know the Elise hangs on, I just didn't like how it does it...

 

[Surferjer]

Body roll? This car has the least of any I've ever driver. Of course I've never been in a Supercar before except for a short stint in a Testarosa (sp?)...

 

[GatorFL]

Hi Midlife, I'm kind of new here too. I've found the board VERY informative. So much so I got "on the list." Now the wait begins...