[BOPHACK]

Hello everyone! I am a new and proud owner of an 05 Lotus Elise here in South Carolina. I have had my eyes open for some time, looking for the right car and then it finally showed itself. The bad news was, it was located in Chicago. I thought hard about all my options and after a long discussion with the family we decided to drive up to Chicago with the wife and kids and drive the Elise home. Now, I am pretty sure you have been watching the news about this Polar Vortex and all that and I thought I had done my homework but when we finally got to Chicago, it was a whopping 2 degrees outside and a windchill of -26. I have never been in such cold. The next morning snow was piled up in front of the dealership but the sky was clear so we did the paperwork as quickly as possible and we headed south as fast as we could. We didnt get far before it looked like a blizzard, my daughter was in the passengers seat taking photos and crying at the same time. Where is the road?!?!? She would scream. I dont know!!!! Snow was blowing across the road, everything was white and then, pop! The right front blinker popped out and was bouncing all over my front clam. I pulled over and with the best of my ability with no feeling in my face or hands, got it back in. Thank God the heaters work in these cars! 30 seconds seemed like a lifetime in that extreme. I got back on the road and slipped and slid around every time I crossed a bridge (you are not going to believe this but I did this trek on the original track tires) I got farther south and it was just as bad as when I left and then, pop! There went the left blinker. I lost the rubber seal this time and it was so cold I just disconnected the light and brought it into the car. Now, either I was extremely lucky, or its a testament to my driving skills but we made it to Nashville by nightfall. After a much needed rest and soaking of my sore hands (death grip) I woke to, you guessed it...snow. So we headed out again trying to out run the storm. Along the way I encountered many wrecked cars off the side of the road, sleet, snow, black ice, and lots of salt. Man, my car looked terrible! We made it to Asheville and the snow had finally stopped so we took some time to look around the area. I must go back!!! It was absolutely beautiful in those parts. I got some lovely black electrical tape and sealed the blinker back in so it didn't looks so bad to all the gawkers on the freeway. Anyway, we made it home safe and sound and the car has been cleaned and detailed and shines like a new penny. Now, as I sit and write this I cant drive my car. Something is going on that rarely happens in my neck of the woods...its snowing. :facepalm

 

[lotus90]

I bought my Elsie two years ago and drove home with snow on the ground. lucky it was only 60 miles. It was super scary as mine had sport pack and 0048 tires which a beyond bad ins snow. Glad you made it safe

 

[LotusGuy48]

What a great story, consider it your initiation to the Lotus brand and glad you made it home safe and sound.

 

[flyinglakland]

Wow what a story. I am glad you made it okay. I wouldn't have made that trip with the weather like it's been. How warm did the inside get with the heater in that weather? Did you get the blinker situation figured out?
Also get some pics up here!

 

[holmz]

Winter is not the best time to drive them. At least it was. Not a motorcycle, and it had a top.

 

[ZeRoSL]

I had to chuckle while imagining this in my head, glad you made it safe and back in one piece! Apparently those blinkers pop out all the time, but hasnt happened to me yet.

I haven't ridden on anything but my Extremecontact DWS tires, so the one time I drove through some light surprise snow, I had an easy time, but it must have been crazy for you man!

Trust me, when you get it out in good conditions you are not going to regret it!

 

[derrek1280]

What is this "polar vortex" you speak of? I have yet to see anything on the news. I think my tv stopped working because this -40 degree weather I have been living in has frozen the satellite signals.

 

[SwingLo]

You are a mad man!

My Elise is here - in Chicago - in storage!

I was driving my all wheel drive Audi on Sunday night and scared to death. Random blowing snow causing complete whiteouts. Couldnt imagine doing it in Elise.

Did you buy it from Bill Nuccio?

One thing - we bombard the roads with salt. Salt not great for aluminum chassis. I would recommend getting some Salt Away (West Marine). Spray off and hit the bottom of your car with the Salt Away.

Welcome and yes, you are crazy. You've take your first journey - which was a journey most will never take in these cars!!!

 

[maxvelocity]

Did he say track tires? What??? There are TSB's for many track tires that state during winter they are not to be rolled or used during temps below 15 degrees or damage might occur. Some have special storage instructions for winter. Many track tires have unique flexible compounds that are not suitable for use below 15 degrees. The loss of flex at those temps can lead to tire damage to render them dangerous to use. If you do indeed have used a track tire on your ride home during those conditions research for TSB's related to your brand and model of tire and/or inspect for damage. Using a high performance car at speeds on damaged tires can lead to catastrophic failure.

If you do not know how to access TSB's for your tire. Name the brand and tire model of the tire and I will try to look them up for you. It is very possible you are mistaken and you do not have a true track tire but have a performance all season tire. Which if that is the case you will be fine.

Cal H

 

[Man of Steel]

Welcome to the forum! There are several Lotus owners in Columbia, it would be great to meet! Not tonight though, my baby is snuggled up tight in the garage until the weather blows over.

 

[GR82DRV]

One thing - we bombard the roads with salt. Salt not great for aluminum chassis. I would recommend getting some Salt Away (West Marine). Spray off and hit the bottom of your car with the Salt Away.

What SwingLo said about aluminum and salt...X10!

If I were you I'd pull off the bottom panels and spray everything you can underneath too, especially around the junctions of the aluminum tub and the steel suspension arms. Then wipe it dry, and then spray it again. Don't wait.

Congratulations on the new wheels!

 

[BOPHACK]

Thanks everyone. To answer a few questions, yes it has the Advan A048 tires on the car. I know, dumb to even try to drive it in the snow but I did and its in the past. Yes, I did buy the car from Bill Nuccio! Actually his son but I met them both. I did take the car to a DIY car wash and sprayed the salt and grime off as soon as I could and as best I could. Make no mistake, I am not making light of driving the car in those conditions. If I would have known it was going to be that bad, I would have had it transported. I have taken some pursuit driving courses and adverse weather driving courses throughout my career so I tell myself I survived because of that. I really look forward to meeting some new friends here and learning all I can about my car! Thank you for the warm welcome!!

 

[BOPHACK]

 

[BOPHACK]

Welcome to the forum! There are several Lotus owners in Columbia, it would be great to meet! Not tonight though, my baby is snuggled up tight in the garage until the weather blows over.

Id love to meet up sometime!!

 

[maxvelocity]

It is good that you have superior driving skills but even professional drivers have been injured or killed by tire failure or rapid deflation of tires. So inspect the tires and use them per the tech specs.

It is not recommended to drive on these types of tires at temperatures below 40 degrees F (5 degrees C). It is recommended these types of tires be removed from the vehicle and stored indoors at temperatures maintained at above 32 degrees F (0 degrees C) when not in use. Tires accidentally exposed to temperatures of 32 degrees F (0 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 70 degrees F (21 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels, or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle. In order to allow gradual, uniform and thorough increase in tire temperature, these types of tires should be protected from direct sources of intense heat as they warm up. Do not apply localized heat, blow heated air directly on them, nor place them near a heat source.

Always inspect tires before use after storage periods.

While compound cracking is not a warrantable condition because it occurs as the result of improper use or storage, tires exhibiting compound cracking must be replaced.

Pictures in tech info shows examples of cracks in tire
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=221

 

[MTLDean]

Incredible story! Don't let the blinkers popping off scare you, the cold must have made all the materials contract and so forth.

Amazing how good the heater is in the Elise! I took it out one night, it was 0 Celcius and it felt like I was in a sauna. Astonishing.

 

[David Craig]

Welcome to LotusTalk. I'm glad you made it. Thanks for posting the story.

And many people think I'm crazy for driving my Elise in winter...but at least I have snow tires.

If you search about the turn signals you'll see that they often pop out. There are many suggestions on how to make them stay in place.

 

[Blue Devil]

Crazy

LOL, crazy story glad you made it home in one piece. Did they paint your 05 Elise Ice white? And as the guys said, those tires shouldn't be trusted for spirited driving this summer. They could have internal construction damage you can't see from using the car on A048's in those temps. I've never had my blinkers pop out.
Enjoy

 

[BOPHACK]

Yeah, I'm never going to track the car so I am going to replace the tires. I do plan on driving it as much as possible so I am going to try and find a tire that handles well in all driving conditions while maintaining an aggressive look/tread the car deserves. I hope my AC works as well as my heater because I was toasty warm. I even had to roll the window down a few times!

 

[Kujo]

Wow, glad you made it back home in one piece. As for you popping signal lights, make sure you implement the bungie cord fix that a lot of people use to keep the lights from popping out again. I'd do that to both light so it doesn't happen at the most inopportune moments. Again, congrats on your new car.