kayj_prod

Probably likely, Martin! I doubt my meter is particularly accurate and that would explain why the car still started. Thanks for the idea Timbo. Good long term solution for the winter months as the garage gets sun throughout the day.

A little update. I decided to turn the engine over even though my head was saying the battery was reading too low a voltage... no problems at all. Fired up with no hesitation at all. All is well! I'll keep putting the Optimate on at intervals and hopefully get to a point where its actually testing and maintaining.

I can't plead ignorance on this: my car has been sat for three months now and of course the battery is flat- measured at I think 1.6V back on Tuesday. I even have an Optimate, but as I don't have any power in the garage I just hadn't plugged it in. Anyway, thanks to the warmer weather, I've had an extension lead hanging out a window during the day and the battery is now showing 12.3V. This is perhaps after 24hrs total time over three days. The Optimate is still showing as charging, but has not yet reached a test cycle phase. The battery is only two years old (fitted by dealer), so this is only the first deep cycle it has had. Is it worth persevering with the Optimate to see if it fully recovers the battery, or shall I start shopping? (Eurocarparts has a sale on at the moment, so all batteries are 50% off.) If so, I'm debating a lightweight battery- as much for the boot capacity as anything else!

Resurrecting an old thread here while I wait for my computer to finish installing some software. I know I would have a deLorean by now. Nothing about performance obviously, everything about having something quirky and tinkerable with that makes me smile.

It’s the S2 that has the U or hook type wiper arm IIRC. I upgraded to an S2 arm on my old Elise purely to have more options for blades. If you worried about originality, you could always keep the S1 arm and revert to it if needed. As im sure you’ve read, the flat ‘aero’ blades are quite effective on the curved Elise/Exige screen. You could also look at changing the wiper relay- but then that wouldn’t be original.

Dean, Janey and I are happy to help. I'm up for leading a group as the OH will be kept busy!

Agree with all the above, plus: When the fuel gauge says ‘refill’, just do it (and ideally before then as they’re not that trustworthy). Take your time with the soft top- those cam fixings that pull the back tight onto the body are heavy and pointy and will easily mark/scratch/chip your probably pristine 20k paintwork if allowed to flap.

Can’t advise on PPF, but as for your other question about seat bolts, I would recommend good round headed long Allen key drivers. Don’t forget the correct thread lock fluid too!

You can build a route plan on Google Maps on your desktop (obviously Mac or PC). If you mean that you’re using an iPhone, then there’s no way to transfer a route plan over to your mobile device and Google Maps on iPhone doesn’t support multiple way points. Apple Maps definitely doesn’t either! I use an app called Copilot- used it for years. Yes, it’s paid, but you only need to buy the geographic areas you need. I’ve used it for navigating in a lot of countries without any issue and as you download maps to your device, you don’t need data for it to work. The only issue I have had is here in the UAE where the map data can lag behind the rate of road building and road closures/diversions. You can enter way points, choose to avoid motorways/tolls etc. save and load routes, and it will dynamically adjust your route if you make a mistake or if traffic delays warrant it. HTH

Really sorry to read this Kurt. Well done for holding your temper. Not going to go against some many others' recommendation of Option 1, though I had my Elise repaired up in Louth and was really pleased with the work. All fibreglass damage. As others have suggested, a good repairer will deal with the insurance company/assessor visits. My repairer tried to get a new clam but that wasn't happening, nor was a full respray. (I ended up paying the difference as to be fair, it was something I had already considered.) I can't remember who was insuring me at the time, but I had to refuse their insistence on using another repairer. Despite the hassle and costs (my car was parked, the other vehicle drove off- no details), I had an immaculate car to enjoy after it all.

Totally understand where you're coming from Kurt. I got back to the UK for a few days a couple of weekends ago and couldn't wait to get into Lexi. 200 miles from Norfolk up to Lincolnshire and back was so great! Even the fact that it was torrential rain all the way back was fine. It just proved that Lexi will start after being out in the rain (unlike my S1), that the interior remains dry (unlike my S1), and that semi-slick tyres aren't so bad in wet conditions after all. Back in July and looking forward to racking up a few more miles for LiTP.

Agreed, use the above guides. Suspension removal was one of the first things I did to my S1. The only major issue I had was with one extremely stubborn (corroded) bolt that necessitated a trip to the local garage and a spanner being welded to the head!