Derek,
good story. Did you get the liz w/ the sport suspension?
good story. Did you get the liz w/ the sport suspension?
Nope... Street setup! Handling is phenomenal!bellotech said:Derek,
good story. Did you get the liz w/ the sport suspension?
I got it on July 26th. BRP. Here is the thread where I posted the pictures. There are even more on the next page over.shay2nak said:cool story.
when did you get your car? this is new to me. what color is it? did you post any pics of it?
oh yeah...now i remember. Great color! Congratulations....again!Derek said:I got it on July 26th. BRP. Here is the thread where I posted the pictures. There are even more on the next page over.
Girlracer made the more valid point. My nerve would run out far before the car's limits were even approached. You don't realize just how high the limits are on this car until you start to understand the feedback that it sends you. I guess what would be fairer to say is that I could finally acknowledge what the car was telling me, but somewhere in my mind I had a hard time comprehending that the limits could possibly be so high. I have never driven a car like this… It is far more talented than me.grudkin said:The problem with doing this on the street is road condition -- if you'd hit a patch of dust/oil/water, or a mid-corner bump, your story may have ended a little differently -- damaged car or injury to self/others. You didn't see the decreasing radius coming, so what else might have been 'round the bend?
Better to keep the 'trust the grip' stories on the track, in a 'controlled' environment
Please don't slam on the brakes 1/3 through a turn when you think you've overcooked it. That is probably the quickest way to find yourself wrapped around one of those trees. :no:Surferjer said:... About 1/3 of the way in I pussied out and slammed on the brakes. Thoughts of me being the first one to "run out of talent" and wrap my car around one of the many trees off that curve raced through my mind ...
AuS4, speaks the truth. DON'T SLAM ON THE BRAKES OR LIFT OFF THE TROTTLE DURING HARD CORNERING! The weight transfer will kick the tail out and YOU WILL SPIN!Surferjer said:I recently went around a turn I usually struggle to maintain 40 in my Spyder, and I was at 65 in my Liz. About 1/3 of the way in I pussied out and slammed on the brakes. Thoughts of me being the first one to "run out of talent" and wrap my car around one of the many trees off that curve raced through my mind. How do you trust? Is it a gradual buildup? Do you blindly trust? At some point it will be too much.
Now, I ran an IRL car in Las Vegas last year, and I remember going into turn one thinking that there was NO WAY I wasn't hitting the wall. But I followed the coach in another car, and went through with no problem. As a matter of fact, the next lap I went through wayyy faster. But I had a coach car to show me the line and that it was possible.
My point is that I know the Elise is capable, but how capable, and how do you make that determination? I will take it slow and build up, I suppose.
Not to be a smartass/know it all but do you really think that after 1 day in a go kart you will understand the dynamics and limits of your Elise by pushing your car that hard???. Maybe so maybe not. The track is a semi-controlled environment and the streets are not. A pebble here and there will alter your perceptions and roadfeel very quickly. Yes, you will be a better driver and the feel the limits of your car with karting but this takes time and alot of practice and repetition IMO. I have to be honest, I havent driven the Elise yet but Im pretty sure it wont feel like a go kart. A go kart doesnt have a suspension and going down straightaways at 80mph, I cant see clearly cause my head is vibrating so much and I doubt the Elise will feel like that...but I do understand why people say the Elise feels like a go kart and Im sure there is some truth to that...its just a matter of time before someone gets too cocky with the Elise and runs off the road...dont be that guy(it will prob. be me...Derek said:Took the Liz out for a drive yesterday. I went up to the local racetrack. No, not to race the Elise. I was there to rent a kart. It was my first time in a real kart, and I can tell you that those little things grip like crazy. By the time I was done I was sore from how violently I had been slammed from side to side as I slide through the corners. I will recover and it was fun.
As I headed back to the car I noticed five guys standing around it. My first thought was I hope everything is OK. Then I remembered that the Elise always draws a crowd. They asked several question and we chatted for awhile. Then it was time for me to head out.
As I started on my way I started to realize why so may have commented that the Liz handles like a shifter kart. When I was racing the kart I initially did not trust its level of grip. I found myself stepping on the brake too hard before a really sharp corner. This had consequences however, as the Kart I was racing in only had rear brakes. This meant that it would kick out the rear and spin out instead of going around the corner. This dog learned the new trick eventually, and I started to trust the kart to have enough grip to pull me around the corner. Guess what? It worked like a charm. Granted even karts have their limits, which I found out several times. The most important thing I learned was the difference of when it was near the limit and when it was pushed past the limit. I learned what the kart was trying to tell me.
Now back in the Elise I understood better where the limit were. I could feel things that I had previously not taken note of. To the turnpike I headed. The sharp 20 mph onramp would normally have seen me slow to a daring, but sane 40 mph. I didn’t slow down. I could feel something. I had started to understand the lesson that she was teaching me. 64 mph into the corner, then I realized it was decreasing in radius. Instinct is to lift, or apply brake… Just then a vision of my tail swinging free flashed though my mind. I remembered the lesson of the kart… To trust it... To trust the Liz. As I sped through the corner I could feel she had far more grip than I could have imagined. Then as the corner sharpened a voice in my head said, "just turn the wheel and have faith... "
Sitting at home sipping my tea I thought to myself, “It was nothing for the Elise, I’m sure she could have managed much more.”
The kart allowed me to safely explore what the feedback meant. Once you can interpret the signals you really start to understand the car in a whole new way. It’s kinda like finding money in those old trousers you never wear anymore. It’s a good feeling.