[Beeswing]

Hello, I am new to the forum!

I picked up a silver 2005 elise with 6000 miles yesterday. It has a red interior, hardtop, starshield, touring, lotus car cover, and is in near perfect condition.

I am extremely pleased. It is definitely intense to drive, and also and attracts much attention. Some of this is unwanted: a modified Evo 8 filled with kids really wanted to race - idiots. They would be definitely faster in a straight line anyhow.

It's a bit hard to heel-toe, and the shifter could be more "precise" feeling(?). Pedal distance feels very close left to right, and the brake pedal when depressed is fairly low compared to the accelerator.

2 questions:
1) When the hardtop is on, the back is slightly above the "rollbar". Should this be completely flush? The screws on all 4 corners seem tight and aligned.
2) How do I adjust the front to back position of the rearview mirrors. When I go to manually push the mirrors outward, it just flexes on the spring mechanism. It does not actually stay as forward as I'd like it.

I look forward to being a part of this community,
Beeswing

 

[RoadDad]

Hello, I am new to the forum!

I picked up a silver 2005 elise with 6000 miles yesterday. It has a red interior, hardtop, starshield, touring, lotus car cover, and is in near perfect condition.

I am extremely pleased. It is definitely intense to drive, and also and attracts much attention. Some of this is unwanted: a modified Evo 8 filled with kids really wanted to race - idiots. They would be definitely faster in a straight line anyhow.

It's a bit hard to heel-toe, and the shifter could be more "precise" feeling(?). Pedal distance feels very close left to right, and the brake pedal when depressed is fairly low compared to the accelerator.

Congrats on the car. If the pedal placement is a problem for you and you can't adjust your HT style, you may want to keep an eye out for one of the Sector 111 Heel and Toe Pads. It attaches to the brake pedal effectively raising the pedal height.

2 questions:
1) When the hardtop is on, the back is slightly above the "rollbar". Should this be completely flush? The screws on all 4 corners seem tight and aligned.

This was almost universal on the '05s. Search for threads started by Bane. He has an aftermarket fix for the bulge based on Lotus' own fix.

2) How do I adjust the front to back position of the rearview mirrors. When I go to manually push the mirrors outward, it just flexes on the spring mechanism. It does not actually stay as forward as I'd like it.

It takes a little practice with some. Mine do the same thing. I usually twist it "up and down" first and then adjust "front and back." It will adjust and stay. It just may take a bit of extra movements first.

I look forward to being a part of this community,
Beeswing

Welcome.

 

[RoadDad]

Hardtop bulge fix:

Post #20 shows the pictures
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f92/have-elise-hardtop-does-fit-properly-58905/

 

[milehitom]

Congrats and happy driving! To get a much better shifter feel, check out the LETSLA shifter linkage upgrade. It's made a huge improvement in my '05.

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f25/letsla-short-shifter-linkage-67881/

Also, search for the "Stan mod" to help stabilize the base of the shifter.

I've got the Sector111 heel n toe pad and it makes the process second-nature (plus it looks nice!)

Tom

 

[Beeswing]

Thanks for the replies.

I will definitely check out the brake pedal pad.

Great tip on the hardtop, I'll see if my local dealer can retrofit it to my hardtop.

Want to drive!

 

[macdady2424]

Before you check out the brake pedal pad, try adjusting your brake. You can adjust the piston fork to raise/lower the brake pedal. I've done mine and watch 2 others do it and they all say it's 100x better are happy. Search the forums on how to adjust it. If you're small enough, all you need is 2 wrenches to turn two nuts.

And congrats on the car. Now go drive the heck out of it.

 

[Mr. Know]

Welcome to the Lotus Family!

I believe HNTpad ? (Heel & Toe) from Sector111 is what you need for the brake pedal (pic shows a red anodized, but its only available in clear/silver).

 

[obanaga]

Congrats! Welcome.

 

[shay2nak]

congrats!

 

[Shine]

Before you check out the brake pedal pad, try adjusting your brake. You can adjust the piston fork to raise/lower the brake pedal. I've done mine and watch 2 others do it and they all say it's 100x better are happy. Search the forums on how to adjust it. If you're small enough, all you need is 2 wrenches to turn two nuts.

And congrats on the car. Now go drive the heck out of it.

I agree with Macdady. Before buying another part (HNTpad) try the full range of adjustments already available on the car. You can move the brake pedal to the left or right simply by drilling out the rivet and replacing with a bolt. You can adjust the position of the pedal up or down (I raised mine) and you can adjust the position of the gas pedal up or down (I lowered mine). After about 2 months of experimentation, I finally found the perfect set up and heel and toe downshifts are no problem. I tried the HNTpad first, but because of my long legs, I found that it put me in the wrong driving position.

 

[Beeswing]

Sounds good. I will try to adjust the pedals.

 

[mrcarcrazy]

Welcome to the Forum, and to the sickness. sounds like a great color combo, pics are always welcome.

And the LETSLA Shifter is worth every penny. You still have a cable shifted car(still gonna have a bit of slop), but the throw is shorter, and much more precise feeling...it will take time to get used to. but I can't imagine the car w/o it now.

 

[Beeswing]

Here are a few pics:

Beeswing

 

[goelise]

CONGRATS!!! Welcome aboard!