Newbie

[Jackf]

Firstly, I just thought I’d make a post to say thanks for letting me join, seems like a friendly forum.

I don’t own an Elise currently, but ever since I had some passenger laps around donington park as a teenager a good 15 years ago I’ve always wanted one.

Currently have an mr2 and want to stick with a Toyota engine, so I gather I’m looking at an S or 111r model?

Hope to see some people at some meets soon.

[DeanB]

Welcome to MLOC Jack.

If you are looking to buy an Elise don't rule out the Kseries cars - I have one and they have a lot of advantages. 

Come to a meet and ask some questions - if you can get yourself to Hassop Station Cafe for 9.30am on Sunday 3rd March I might even take you for a quick spin in mine - see events section

 

👍👍👍

[Badger02]

Where are you based Jack ?

I've got a K series Elise and just sold a Toyota Elise, both are very good I think.

[Mutley00]

36 minutes ago, DeanB said:

I might even take you for a quick spin in mine - see events section

👍👍👍

I wonder if his facial expression will look anything like mine when you took me for a quick spin in 'Tigger' 😁?

[Jackf]

3 hours ago, DeanB said:

Welcome to MLOC Jack.

If you are looking to buy an Elise don't rule out the Kseries cars - I have one and they have a lot of advantages. 

Come to a meet and ask some questions - if you can get yourself to Hassop Station Cafe for 9.30am on Sunday 3rd March I might even take you for a quick spin in mine - see events section

 

👍👍👍

Thanks for the welcome.

I’ll keep an open mind on the k series,  its more of sticking to what I know.

Sure I’ll come to that meet and have a nose around.

3 hours ago, Badger02 said:

Where are you based Jack ?

I've got a K series Elise and just sold a Toyota Elise, both are very good I think.

I’m just north of derby near Ripley 

[winthattt]

I’ve had both. My view is the k series is a good engine but is fragile, Toyota needs a super charger as it has no grunt but it is reliable.  
 

Hard hat on.  The Toyota gearbox is not good, baulks when pushed on fast trail braked changes. Honda box in k series is much better.

[Jackf]

22 hours ago, winthattt said:

I’ve had both. My view is the k series is a good engine but is fragile, Toyota needs a super charger as it has no grunt but it is reliable.  
 

Hard hat on.  The Toyota gearbox is not good, baulks when pushed on fast trail braked changes. Honda box in k series is much better.

Thanks for the views.

Current experience with a 1ZZ is pretty maintenance free bar some oil top ups every now and again. Is the k series fragile in reality?

[winthattt]

I’ve had a head gasket fail in an s1. However, it’s not the end of the world as most garages have changed 100s of Rover head gaskets. Bottom end is strong. 
 

Gearbox is the big plus for me with the S1. 

[Mutley00]

I think the days of 'fragility' of the engine are long gone. The original head gasket wasn't up to the job, but I suspect every S1 out there will have had theirs replaced by now. If you are getting a K series, you need to ensure it has been changed, by whom and replaced with a 'payen' one.

Assuming the Yota engine is the same as in my Celica GT, the 140-90 bhp range 'kicks in' at about 6K revs when the Celica is screaming, so it must be very loud in an Elise, whereas the progression is much more linear in a K Series.

Get a Sport 190 and become part of an exclusive club 😃

[Oakman]

Welcome to MLOC Jack. 
 

I’m another S1 owner.  The K series is a good engine and torquey.  Very suited to the lighter series 1 car.  Available on a lot of early S2’s too,  as no doubt you know. 
 

If you felt you craved more power there’s a stack of well proven tuning options for the K up to the factory 190bhp spec, no doubt more for race prepped cars. 
 

Mines a standard car with the larger diameter metal throttle body, that makes a noticeable difference without any deficits to driveability, actually improving the low end pick up and in gear flexibility. 
 

Enjoy your search for the right car for you. 

[Jackf]

Interesting, I’m being swayed haha. To be fair, I’ve always thought the S1 was a nicer looking car.

Thanks for the views shared.

[duncx]

Welcome Jack

Although the K-series is a characterful engine and less problematic than folklore suggests (and can be easily tuned), I'm still going to vote for the Yota engines. No HGF to worry about (they still can fail on the K), no cambelt to change, and I think that the gearboxes have a nicer (more slick) change.

The 134bhp 'S' is the same 1.8 engine and 5-speed box as the pre-facelift MR2, both are bulletproof in the Elise, problems are extremely rare. I reckon that this Elise is perhaps the most underrated of them all, it's perfect for road use.

The 189bhp 111R is the same 1.8 engine and 6-speed box as the Celica 190. Engine is brilliant, the cam change at 6250rpm (can be lowered to 5500rpm with a ECU reflash) is addictive and the car feels FAST. The gearbox is nice to use but the syncro in 3rd gear is a bit weak - it can feel a bit notchy when the car is cold. Still, very few actual failures on standard 189bhp cars.

Depending on budget (i.e. more money!) there's also the younger (2010 - 2016 I think?) 1.6 Toyota engine in the S3 bodyshape. I love the clean lines of the S3 and the cars in general are less rattly/squeeky and a bit nicer inside. This engine is unbelievably frugal and although it's not very torquey it's still fast enough if it's driven hard.

A couple of generic points;

the roof on an S2 or an S3 is much quicker and easier to operate than on the S1 (and the early 'longtail' S2), although none of them are anything like as easy as on your MR2 😄 , and, the sills on an S2 (and S3) are a bit lower than on an S1, making it just that little bit easier to get in/out.

They are all great cars, a few little points to watch out for and don't think too much about age/mileage - buy on condition.

 Finally, if you're going for as spin in Dean's car don't forget to wear brown trousers 👍

Cheers.

 

Edited February 23 by duncx

[Guido]

Welcome!

I don’t think you can go wrong with either of them. I had a S1 Elise (K series - 120bhp) back in 2001 and I now have a S2 Elise (Toyota 1ZZ - 134bhp). Neither look quick on paper but for fast road use, both of them would give you all the smiles you could wish for.  For me, it’s all about the twisty stuff not straight line speed. You’d be surprised how many ‘more capable’ cars you meet cannot keep up round bends!!!

😀

[Jackf]

Thanks again for the info, especially duncx for the write up.

Budget wise I’m at £20k so that rules out S3 by the looks of it.

Interesting point on buying on condition, I saw two 111r late last year, didnt really have the budget in place then but wanted to get an idea of what they were like.

One with a dealer in Wakefield, one with a private seller. The one at the dealer was in nicer condition and cheaper, I thought this would be the other way round.

 

13 hours ago, Guido said:

Welcome!

I don’t think you can go wrong with either of them. I had a S1 Elise (K series - 120bhp) back in 2001 and I now have a S2 Elise (Toyota 1ZZ - 134bhp). Neither look quick on paper but for fast road use, both of them would give you all the smiles you could wish for.  For me, it’s all about the twisty stuff not straight line speed. You’d be surprised how many ‘more capable’ cars you meet cannot keep up round bends!!!

😀

Exactly why I’m after an Elise!

[Mutley00]

17 hours ago, Oakman said:

Mines a standard car with the larger diameter metal throttle body, that makes a noticeable difference without any deficits to driveability, actually improving the low end pick up and in gear flexibility. 

Hmm that could explain alot. SWMBOs S1 is a standard 118 bhp car (supposedly), but it came with a dyno test result of 135 bhp. I've noticed it seems quicker 'off the mark' than my Sport 190. I seem to recall many moons ago, Jody mentioned it may have had an undocumented throttle body upgrade. May have to do a size comparison with another standard S1 on our next outing.