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Lotus in the Peak
27th - 29th June 2025
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About this blog

Living with my Elise - who said mid life crisis

Entries in this blog

16 Months Later

Its been ages since I've posted anything on MLOC, in fact September 2009 seems to be my last entry.   I'm still enjoying life with my Elise, a red 58 reg R on a private plate, with a Pipercross kit. I've done just over 13k miles, so am on my second set of rear tyres and heading for my second service.   Having bought the car new from Stratstone Leicester, I decided to try Lotus Silverstone for the first service. They are about the same 35 miles from home and offered a more interesting choice
Martin G

Martin G

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8 Months Of Lotus Fun

I've had my Elise for 8 months now and am up to about 5,800 miles. Its still going really well and I feel very comfortable that it will not bite me unless I do something really stupid!   Had a new hood under warranty a few weeks ago and they sorted a brake recall at the same time. My nearest dealer is in Leicester, 40 miles from work, which is a pain though.   Still not done a track day yet, I guess that will have to be next year now.   The car gets loads of nice comments from all sorts of
Martin G

Martin G

0

Back Again

It's been a couple of months of trouble free motoring in the Elise since my last blog. I've got into Twittering in the meantime (www.twitter.com/martingibbs)   Mileage now nearly up to 4,000, well and truly run in and nicely loosened up. Doing about 250 miles everytime before the fuel light comes on and then it takes about 35 litres to fill up, which is 32mpg.   We had a great day in the Peak District last weekend, blasting about on a Phil & Kirsty style property hunt. Had to keep the ro
Martin G

Martin G

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Normal Service Resumed

Took the Elise to BT Tyres in Rugby on Monday morning. They had a look at the nail and concluded it was worth trying to repair the tyre, as the only other option was a new replacement, which they said was dealer only.   So, out came the pliers and..... it turned out to be a half inch screw which had gone sideways into the tread block. End result, no air leaking and no puncture and I'm on my way . Three days on and all is well.   Quite impressed with BT Tyres, the blokes there were very help
Martin G

Martin G

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Nail In My Tyre

Today, Sunday, it was a really warm sunny morning. My son was having his mates round for band practice (3 guitars, drums, noise etc), so we decided to go out in the Elise, roof off and visit some friends.......   So, I thought I'd wash the car first. Good job I did, because I found a nail in one of the rear tyres   Playtime over before it even started.   I think its probably not repairable but I will try and get it sorted tomorrow.
Martin G

Martin G

0

Snow Stops Play

Finally back in the Lotus today now that the snow has gone.   RWD and 223bhp/tonne concentrates the mind a little.....
Martin G

Martin G

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Pipercross Vis

Anyway, the first service was last Wednesday and I picked up my Elise R (Ardent Red, 58 plate, 1,250 miles) on Thursday afternoon - all sorted, valeted and with a Pipercross VIS292 fitted.   Wow!! . I now have a completely different car.   At normal driving in 30 and 40mph speed limits, you would not know any difference - other than the throttle seeming slightly smoother.   Then under acceleration, particularly in 3rd gear the induction roar is just fantastic - we cannot get enough of it
Martin G

Martin G

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The New Avenger?

First service this week for my Elise R, at Stratstone in Leicester - more of which later.   Anyway, they had arranged a courtesy car for me and on the basis that the Lotus dealer is part of Evans Halshaw, I envisaged a Focus or a Fiesta or even a new Ka.........But no.   Seems Stratstone used to be a Chrysler dealer until last year and what they had for me was.....a Dodge Avenger!!!! I had never heard of the Avenger (other than the Hillman variety). My guess is that they never actually sold
Martin G

Martin G

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First Service This Week

1,100 miles done now and my Elise R is going very nicely and returning 32 mpg on 95 RON fuel as well.   Anyway, the first service is booked at Stratstone in Leicester on Wednesday. At the same time I'm having a Pipercross VIS induction kit put on, which will be interesting....   Direct Line didn't agree, relieving me of another £80 on the insurance for the next 7 months.....and upping my excess as well.   We are loving the Elise. It may not be practical, but every journey is fun and we act
Martin G

Martin G

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Camtastic

We've done 850 miles now and have been able to bring the Elise on cam this week. It's a great party trick, but I've only seen the change up lights twice, so some might say I'm not trying hard enough!   Next up is the first service which will need doing soon after 1,000 miles. I'm going to put a Pipercross VIS induction kit on it at the same time, which will make it a bit louder (even louder I should say) and sharpen up the cam change.   If anyone was any thoughts on induction kits I would be
Martin G

Martin G

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Nearly There On Running In

Sunday 11 Jan and 586 miles done. Just 14 more and I can try out the cam change for the first time. That should be on the way home from work tomorrow.......   Its been very cold and slippery this week, so I was going very gingerly on Monday and Tuesday. If you just have to pootle along in cold weather limited to half revs, the Elise can feel heavy and uncomfortable with a very hard ride. However when you can push it a bit and take it by the scruff of the neck, it comes alive and just feels fan
Martin G

Martin G

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Is The Tc Really There After All?

The PDI on my new Elise last week showed that the traction control was not working - I am still waiting for a new TC switch from Hethel to activate it.   Anyway on a Sunday morning drive today, pulling out of a right turn junction, the Elise let go at the rear (which was fun), but a blue tell tale came on on the dashboard, which the handbook seems to show was the TC.   Did I catch the slide or is there TC lucking in the background even though it is not activated?   Anyway, back home with
Martin G

Martin G

0

110 Mile Trip To Sainsburys - Running In

Running in continues..   We had to go to Sainsburys, which is a mile away in Dunchurch....and we needed to go in the Elise.   So we went to Banbury Sainsburys via Witney, which was nice.   Top tip - do not put butter in the boot next to the engine.   Up to 260 miles now and only 340 to go until we can try out the cam change.
Martin G

Martin G

0

New Year's Day

Picked up my new Elise R in red with touring pack, air con and traction control from Andy at Stratstone in Leicester, on New Year's Eve. Goodbye to my Audi TT, hello Lotus. Both Andy and Mark at Stratstone know their stuff.   One problem though, the traction control does not work....the car will have to go back to Leicester in a few days when a new switch arrives.   First impression.... it looks fabulous. But 600 miles of running in!! I need to get that out of the way ASAP.   Compared to t
Martin G

Martin G

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