Jump to content

litp.jpg

Lotus in the Peak
28th - 30th June 2024

Help Me Fall In Love With My Elise Again...


GreyKnight

Recommended Posts

Hi guys

 

Not been around much over the past few years. Put quite simply, life has gotten in the way (marriage, baby, buying a house, being a dad etc) and my Elise has suffered quite badly from neglect and lack of use. I've had my S1 Elise for 9 years now - in all those years it's only covered 20,000 miles. Those of you who know me will remember I used to come on lots of runs, came on the Lakes trip a few times, did a Walshy day or two amongst other stuff. I used to enjoy the club atmosphere and took pride in Lotus ownership, but I suppose I've been going through a phase of my life where cars are a secondary concern. I've also definitely suffered from a lack of funds to really do much with the car. Houses are expensive things! When I first bought the Elise I would take it every year for its proper A/B/C service at a Lotus specialist. These days I wouldn't dream of spending that kind of money. I either service it myself or take it to a local guy who I trust for fluid changes etc. After all, my belief is that it's "just a car", it has one of the most common engines and gearboxes in the country so you just don't need to pay through the nose for a "Lotus specialist" to do the basic stuff. Anyway, more importantly I think I grew a bit bored of it over the years and once my son was born that was the end of me going places in it with the Mrs. There were no runs happening any more, meets seemed few and far between. So it just sat there on the drive never moving with a permanently flat battery.

 

WELL NOW IT'S ALIVE AGAIN!

 

I spent the past couple of weekends replacing the broken alternator and now it fires up and runs perfectly. It's clean, it's not in bad shape, everything works, engine is sweet as a nut. So - I went for an hour's blat this evening and...

 

...came home feeling a bit "meh" about it. It just felt rattly, bumpy and not fast enough. Okay, it needed some right foot and some good braking to get it all free'd up and running like it should, but I think I'm just far too used to what it can / can't do and too used to the creature comforts of my every-day car.

 

Bottom line here is, it's not doing it for me right now and I don't quite know why. My thoughts are:-

 

1) I've had the same car too long and I should try something else.

 

2) I've outgrown its currently capabilities and need to upgrade it.

 

So - what I'd like is some sensible suggestions for what might make me feel differently about the car. I still don't have tons of cash to throw at it, but if it was really likely to make a difference I'd consider spending "some" money to make some changes. One option is to get it to DVA, but I have no experience of just how much of a difference it would make.

 

I either need to put the sparkle factor back in to owning the Elise, or I need to bite the bullet and sell it. Trouble is everybody who I say that to goes "You can't sell it it's lovely!". Makes me feel like I'd be a dick to sell it... sad.png

 

So come on - give me some ideas! smile.png

 

Graham

 

p.s. I'm not going to start doing track days as I simply don't have the spare cash for those and I've never been very interested in track driving. I'm more in to the "ownership experience".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 32
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Think you and Dean should come out in mine. With a few sensible engine mods you may fall for it again. Is it standard now? Or drop a 160 engine in for a couple of grand. Or go DVA. Four into 1 zorst.

 

Mine's a standard 118bhp engine yes, it has a hurricane filter and a Janspeed zorst but that's it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Graham

 

You got some pictures?

 

I use my S1 as my daily drive, I love it!!!

 

A few mods and tweaks you will not want to sell it. For me it's not just snout speed, its about being in an Elise, something everyone looks at and admires! ( I even had someone stop at a petrol station and start taking pictures of my Elise!) lol

 

Find a sunny day, some good roads and enjoy!!

 

:)

 

Plus series 1 Elises are going up in value!! xD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Graham maybe you just need to drive it a bit more and the magic will come back? You might need the right road, at the right time with the right weather and so on....we had good fun on the breakfast run in Derbyshire this morning, perhaps come on the next one of those?

 

I hear what you say about track days but have you been on one? When there are a few MLOCers together on a track day the craic is good. I would recommend coming along for some passenger rides and you might enjoy it.

 

I have no spare cash - all my hard-earned also goes on the house and the kids. If I had some spare though it would go on a ported big valve DVA head.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also on the thought of mods, suspension might be a place to start making it more responsive.

I'd personally either drop a VVC lump in it

Or send it off the dva for his 140/150 kits. Both would be similar cost wise.

 

Come out in it to the next breakfast club run into Derbyshire (if you are local) that's something that's highly likely to reignite a love you seem to have lost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi

Graham,

Good to here from :)

Glad all is going well, life wise, I remember a few of your trials and tribulations from mloc 4/5 years ago !!

 

I got my first Elise not long after my son was born as that's was when my job/savings allowed, so have only ever known balancing family life with my passion for all things 2 seater, noisy/ rattly/ inpractical and FUN. So can imagine that when you have had that freedom To do what you want When you want, runs wise or weekends away or just a 4 hour boat for the sake of it, when that's gone and you have to plan your use it's loses its spontenatity.

Also houses,wives and kids are generally more important than sports cars and certainly take up a large proportion of your time, so I honestly believe if you were running a Lamborghini you would feel similar at the moment, nothing at all is more important than family.

 

I suggest you try and run the car this summer as it is, get the roof off, come to chatsworth and 1 or 2 other meets as realistically that's all you'll make and see if you still enjoy it.

I don't think it's a power / upgrade issue, and you'll not make much of the money spent back if you decided after upgrading that you still have lost that passion/ pleasure for the car or the club experience.

My lad is 11 now and time has flown by, he loves my exige. So much so that he was up at 6.30 on a Saturday with map in hand ready for a father and son road trip through wales ( it's the first decent run we have had in the car since last summers johnathan e Shropshire/ wales run) but we had a fab day, just spending time together, talking cars, school, angry birds, top gear, nuclear power stations and all the other stuff that occupies 11 yrs olds minds. We could of done the trip in my daily Mazda but neither of us would have smiled as much and we sure wouldn't have been as quick through the bends :)

 

Failing all that drop the car round at mine and I'll put a few miles on it for you, keep it well maintained and you can sell it at a profit in 4/5 yrs time if prices keep appreciating :)

 

Rich

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alex

(Sorry graham)

 

Mine is a 111s with 160 throttle body and hurricane intake, SS exhaust and S2 suspension.

 

I'm having interior fully retrimmed and the paintwork tidied up. What would u suggest to do to it performance wise? Anything?

 

Cheers Ash

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys.

 

Alex, it has about 48,000 miles on it. It had 28,000 when I bought it off Graeme (GCCK) in 2005. You say maybe a DVA 140/150 kit. Does that really make THAT much difference? I'd been thinking that if I went DVA I'd go for a 165/170 kit...? Also, it has S2 Bilstein suspension, Nitrons etc are f*****g expensive...

 

Dean - maybe I do need to drive it more yes, trouble is as you probably well know there's precious little time for it when you work full time and have kids. I didn't know about the meet today actually, but unfortunately I was working today anyway so couldn;t have come, but the next one is a possibility. I can't really do pax rides on track days - gay as it sounds I get motion sickness badly as a passenger and I'd be throwing up in minutes :( Anyway, it's really not my thing to be honest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi

Graham,

Good to here from smile.png

Glad all is going well, life wise, I remember a few of your trials and tribulations from mloc 4/5 years ago !!

 

I got my first Elise not long after my son was born as that's was when my job/savings allowed, so have only ever known balancing family life with my passion for all things 2 seater, noisy/ rattly/ inpractical and FUN. So can imagine that when you have had that freedom To do what you want When you want, runs wise or weekends away or just a 4 hour boat for the sake of it, when that's gone and you have to plan your use it's loses its spontenatity.

Also houses,wives and kids are generally more important than sports cars and certainly take up a large proportion of your time, so I honestly believe if you were running a Lamborghini you would feel similar at the moment, nothing at all is more important than family.

 

I suggest you try and run the car this summer as it is, get the roof off, come to chatsworth and 1 or 2 other meets as realistically that's all you'll make and see if you still enjoy it.

I don't think it's a power / upgrade issue, and you'll not make much of the money spent back if you decided after upgrading that you still have lost that passion/ pleasure for the car or the club experience.

My lad is 11 now and time has flown by, he loves my exige. So much so that he was up at 6.30 on a Saturday with map in hand ready for a father and son road trip through wales ( it's the first decent run we have had in the car since last summers johnathan e Shropshire/ wales run) but we had a fab day, just spending time together, talking cars, school, angry birds, top gear, nuclear power stations and all the other stuff that occupies 11 yrs olds minds. We could of done the trip in my daily Mazda but neither of us would have smiled as much and we sure wouldn't have been as quick through the bends smile.png

 

Failing all that drop the car round at mine and I'll put a few miles on it for you, keep it well maintained and you can sell it at a profit in 4/5 yrs time if prices keep appreciating smile.png

 

Rich

 

Thanks for the reply Rich, good to hear an empathic reply smile.png I'm very aware of the future benefit of keeping the Elise for when my lad is old enough to appreciate it. Dan is only 15 months old at the moment so not quite there yet, but one day wink.png

 

As for the value, I can't honestly see what everyone is going on about - the S1 prices on Pistonheads look about the same as they've done for years. Maybe I'm missing something.

 

Anyway, yes, I'll try and make some meets this year. The good thing is my Mrs is very supportive of me having the car and actually said a couple of months ago "No, you're not selling it, it makes you happy and that's important". At least I don't have any pressure from that quarter...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Graham, even with different responsibilities and perspective you need some YOU time occasionally. Make time to come to Chatsworth. Take the roof off and thrash it there and back. Do you grin all day? yes, keep it. No sell it and move on :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys.

 

Alex, it has about 48,000 miles on it. It had 28,000 when I bought it off Graeme (GCCK) in 2005. You say maybe a DVA 140/150 kit. Does that really make THAT much difference? I'd been thinking that if I went DVA I'd go for a 165/170 kit...? Also, it has S2 Bilstein suspension, Nitrons etc are f*****g expensive...

 

S2 billy's are meant to make a huge difference. If you can get a set second hand, nitrons are well worth the cost however i know Jody runs Gaz Golds on his S1 and they perform equally well.

I'm only just entering into the land of S1 ownership, however i had an s2 k series 120bhp which i replaced with a 111r 190bhp and that made a surprising difference to the drive of the car, so much quicker. when looking to replace the 120bhp k i looked at a 160DVA'd k series and the difference was chalk and cheese the DVA kit made the car pull hard through all the gears and rev more freely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All totally my opinion so feel free to ignore the following, as I'm sure others will disagree :)

 

After owning and driving all sorts of bhp elise's (and engine types) the buzz of more power is a short lived one and you soon get used to it. To get the sparkle back it's all about enjoying the Elise experience again no matter what bhp or set up you have, just make sure it works well, is set up properly (important imo) and you take it out on those warm days with the roof off (or even a cold day with the roof off and a big wooly scarf!). If budget is limited I'd say don't spend it to modify parts that you've currently got that work, spend it on petrol and getting back to meets and runs.

 

One of the main reasons I've been around the Elise so long is the people and the experiences with it (for me it's trackdays and the friends I've made there), but it's the same on the runs and mets. Get out there again and go on the runs, there seem to be loads around the Midlands now - infact they seem to have blossomed again just after I left and moved to the Cotswolds! :(

 

There's nothing more short lived than having a nice car and having nobody to enjoy it with! So whether it's with the family or with us fellow Lotus owners get back out there and enjoy it :D and as Martin said if it doesn't ignite the flame again then maybe it is time to sell up for a bit, you can always come back when you are in the mood again :)

 

HTH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All totally my opinion so feel free to ignore the following, as I'm sure others will disagree :)

 

After owning and driving all sorts of bhp elise's (and engine types) the buzz of more power is a short lived one and you soon get used to it. To get the sparkle back it's all about enjoying the Elise experience again no matter what bhp or set up you have, just make sure it works well, is set up properly (important imo) and you take it out on those warm days with the roof off (or even a cold day with the roof off and a big wooly scarf!). If budget is limited I'd say don't spend it to modify parts that you've currently got that work, spend it on petrol and getting back to meets and runs.

 

 

 

 

Hear hear!

One of the main reasons I've been around the Elise so long is the people and the experiences with it (for me it's trackdays and the friends I've made there), but it's the same on the runs and mets. Get out there again and go on the runs, there seem to be loads around the Midlands now - infact they seem to have blossomed again just after I left and moved to the Cotswolds! :(

 

There's nothing more short lived than having a nice car and having nobody to enjoy it with! So whether it's with the family or with us fellow Lotus owners get back out there and enjoy it :D and as Martin said if it doesn't ignite the flame again then maybe it is time to sell up for a bit, you can always come back when you are in the mood again :)

 

HTH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Terms of Use