[Cary]

what car would offer a comparable ride in terms of stiffness. All the cars I've owned have been fairly stiffly sprung compared to an average sedan. I currently drive daily a BMW M coupe, and previously drove a 351 saleen. Both would be considered too stiff by most Americans, however they've become "normal" to me. That leads me to question, how stiff is the elise? Most likely I won't have a chance to drive one before committing to standard or LSS, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Cary

 

[agent.5]

Even driven any Ferrari?

 

[Evl]

Umm... its not clear to me that anyone outside lotus has driven a federal elise yet. Most reviews, etc I've seen have been for test cars or EU spec, and the cars that were at the LA show are apparently not the absolute final thing either.

Anyway, according to one dealer, "10% stiffer than a boxster S sport pack".

 

[Evl]

BTW, that was for LSS. The stock version is 10% less stiff, hence about the same as boxster S sports pack.

 

[Cary]

just a 1984 512 boxster bbi. Can't say I was remotely impressed with the handling, however wasn't my car so I wasn't interested in pushing it beyond 7/10s, much less in an unfamiliar car.

Ever drive an M coupe? I know there was a pic of an elise parked next to one, just not sure who. Thanks for the replies.

 

[ex-M3]

I cannot comment on the Fed Elise, but I did drive the 111S and it was at least as stiff as my E36 M3

 

[shinoo]

I drove a S2 111s and it was much stiffer than my stock e36 M3 and my stock 993.

The Elise makes stock BMWs feel like Cadillacs. If you want a go-cart for the street feel, the Elise is it.

 

[James A]

I haven't driven a Fed. Elise yet but have driven SII Elises on two occasions, and driven most of BMWs M cars. I don't think the M coupe or roadster is that stiffly sprung, in fact most of the M cars are adequately sprung in my opinion. The SII Elise seems to be sprung about where the M coupe and roadster are, but there was a lot of time between drives for me. I thought both cars were about right in terms of a comprimise for road use.
I did order LSS in the hope it would be firmer than the stock SIIs I drove.

 

[Cary]

I should have said SII 111s. Thanks for the replies everyone. It is difficult making a decision like this without any baseline, and your thoughts are more info than I had. My concern was that lotus makes/made great race cars that handle really well. What is stiff to them? Would it be so excessive it couldn't be enjoyed on anything but perfect pavement? I think you've all helped relieve that fear. James A, agree it still isn't stiff enough. H&Rs and bilsteins showed up last week, should be a step in the right direction. Dealer wanted $2500 to replace with stock shocks/struts! Doing it myself saves me 1500 and still gives me a much better suspension!