Ren Man Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Definitely respect the quick & nimble Lotus. They give my supercharged Miata a good run for the money. Did you come to Indy for the Lotus gathering last summer? I came across a group of them down in the southern part of the state during one of their rallies. Real nice people to talk to (at least the few I talked to). I didn't make it down there for the gathering unfortunatly previous commitments kept me away. The Miatas are always a fun car as well, what do you run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Adam's Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 The Elise is a really cool little car... theres a big group that gets together and drives the local canyon roads once a month. Seeing as I'm in my SSUV I usually just pull aside and spectate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70'sChevyGirl Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Rich is right, vette guys, and gal's, just love pictures :D:D:D :D Oh, and heres the detail shot: Check out that Shine!!!! :thumbsup: I love the Lotus. It looks like an extremely fun car to drive. I have never even riden in one before. Tell me what its like. Your event sounds like a ton of fun.:burnout: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetDaddyDelicious Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 (edited) Definitely respect the quick & nimble Lotus. They give my supercharged Miata a good run for the money. Did you come to Indy for the Lotus gathering last summer? I came across a group of them down in the southern part of the state during one of their rallies. Real nice people to talk to (at least the few I talked to). I did come to that gathering. That was called LOG28 (Lotus Owners Gathering- 28th year for it) and this year I am on the planning committee for LOG29 in Birmingham. LOG was a blast and I'm really looking forward to it again this year. I met many of my "online friends" in person and a lot of my customers as well. I've stayed in contact with many of them over the phone and e-mail over the past year. Overall it is a very fun group of people. The crowd overall is a little different than other "car crowds" i've been a part of. They tend to be more track junkies and very "performanced" based. If a mod it made for bling, you are going to get chastised. It has be lighter and add performance. Very much purists. An extremely high percentage of owners track their car. They stick to Colin Chapmans philosophys very much so. If any mod is done its usually how much does it weigh? is the first question asked. Very few people do mods like adding subwoofers or amps. No one puts on chrome wheels, there would be no faster way to get laughed out of the community. Lambo doors are for Lambos, Civics, and tossers. :D Check out that Shine!!!! :thumbsup: I love the Lotus. It looks like an extremely fun car to drive. I have never even riden in one before. Tell me what its like. Your event sounds like a ton of fun.:burnout: The first thing about driving a Lotus is to "put on your car" You don't get into the car. You put it on like a suit jacket. lol. You have to climb in over the frame and then sit down inside it. They are extremely sparten. The philosophy is to "add power through light weight" Think about how your motorcyle only has 100 HP but is extremely fast. The Lotus doesn't have a lot of power- but it has a great power to weight ratio- on par with your "supercars" which makes it very fun to drive. It's something like a thousand pounds lighter than a vette. 800 lbs lighter than a mini cooper, even several hundred pounds lighter than a Miata. A lot of people compare it to a "motorcycle with 4 wheels" I think those people are idiots and don't ride bikes- as a bike is just extremely different and you are part of the handling dynamic. I think what they mean is it just extremely communicative and you feel very connected to the road. Often reviews refer to the "feel" and the feedback of the steering. (it does not have power steering and does not need it) Light weight helps with all 3 things a sports car needs to do. Go, handle, stop. More weight hurts all 3. Then brakes get bigger to stop it, adding more weight, tires get bigger...adding more weight, etc. Adding lightness just helps all around. I think the experience is like riding in a car sized go cart, on the street. It is mostly made to be a street legal track car and that is what it is. It is not a GT or a luxury car- if you want that go buy a Porsche. The aluminum frame of the car is largely exposed inside. It is loud. You don't really have any gadgets. Lotus asks not what the customer needs, it asks what can they do without? Tilt wheel? nah. Cruise? Forget it. The passenger side seat does not even move. The only adjustment is a lumbar pump. I do not find it uncomfortable at all and can drive for extended periods in it. The seats feel molded to me. That is not the case with many people though. I am young and flexible so I can spring in and out of it pretty easy. For a lot of people getting in and out is a chore and several people sell them because of it. I think it's part of the appeal. Sure it's a little bit of effort- but those comprimises make it all worthwhile and to me add to the experience and make it more fun. You don't feel like you are in a normal car. The stereo stinks, the air is not so good, and you still love it. There is a warning on the soft top that it's not made for extreme conditions and and some water may still get inside if used in such. Can't take it through a car wash. It's extremely low so you have to be careful on driveway entrances not to scrape it. It has the Queens Mark of Excellence on the rear window. A neat little touch. It very much feels the hand built British car that it is. Automatic is not an option. The pedals are very close together and art in themselves made from extruded aluminum. They are set up from the factory for heel/toe shifting. You sit inches off the ground. It's all you can do to make a slam dunk in the toll booth basket. You can't see the person at the drive through, you reach up to them and when on the highway you look over right at the center cap of a big rig tire. Most sedans door handles are at eye level. The engine revs to 8600 RPM. At 6200 RPM is switches to the second cams and the fun starts. A switch is flipped. You get an awesome boost in power and sound. It feels like on an old car when the 4 barrel opens up, or like a mild turbo just came on its power band. Winding through the 6 speeds makes a metallic clunk each time you shift. My buddy thinks its sounds cheap and crappy. It reminds me of playing Ivan Stewart's Off Road in the arcade as a kid. I love it. 8600 is a lot of RPM's. It adds a lot of fun. If you want to drive normal it does it well as well. I can get 27 MPG going 100-120MPH up to my grandparents house 200 miles away. Or I can go 80 and get 33 MPG. One more place light weight is nice. I suppose if I went 55-60 I'd get about 40 MPG but in 45K miles of driving I've just not had a chance to try that one yet. It is an eggshell. You have one huge composite front clam shell, and one huge rear one. If anything happens, if you get bumped a 1 mph by an SUV you are at a bare minimum of $10K in damage. This goes for parallel parking too. Don't do it. It doesn't have ineffective bumpers, it doesn't have 5 mph bumpers- it has a federal exemption to not have bumpers. An SUV did indeed bump me once at about 1 MPH. It was a 2 wheel drive Suburban, the rear bumper hit the top of my headlight and went over, the entire front "bumper" was cleared (and so was the crash structure and radiator) The bill came to $13,600, and 2 months in the body shop waiting for parts from England. Also had a rental car for 2 months. Insurance is not cheap. It was purely cosmetic. The frame is all aluminum, if it is bent, the car is totalled. They should not be straightened as it is not safe. The crash structure is carbon fiber, and bonded to the aluminum frame. If anything touches the crash structure the bill is minimum $20K and at that point they usually just total them. The dealer charges $300 for an oil change. I do all maint. myself. From their perspective it's still cheap- they would rather be charging their Lamborghini customer $1,500 for his oil change. We are kind of a waste of their time. You comptemplate driving under the toll booth arm, or trying to squeeze under a tractor/trailer. It would do it if not for the tire carrier hanging down. I did park under the front of one at a show once. The handling is what is all about and it is where they shine. There is a reason that when other cars are referered to as handling good, the Lotus Elise is often what they are referred to. It is a bench mark as one of the best handling cars in the world, and that it is. A short tight track or mountain road is where they shine. If a curve is marked 25 mph usually doing about 70 won't give you any issues at all. You do drive it like a Porsche though, with the engine in the rear "never lift" is the general rule of thumb. There is a saying that its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. On a road course the curves are what makes it fun. I think being able to break much later and carry much more speed through the turns really adds to the fun factor and driving experience. Sure anyone can have a bunch of power and romp it on the straights. It doesn't take the same skill nor do I think gives the same rush as doing 80 MPH coming out of a turn with your foot to the floor. On a tight track we can show much higher power cars a thing a too, and that is just a blast. Being able to do a better lap than a GT3, Z06, Ferrari, Gallardo, Viper etc on a short tight track is a real thrill. Granted with long straights the story changes. It also gets you into a really fun group of cars guys. Its' a real kick for the guy in the Ferrari jacket with his new F430 to appreciate your car and be taking pics of it. It's a blast to get 15 of them together and do a mountain run up the winery for lunch. It's a ton of fun to do a charity ride for kids and for a youngster to get a thrill out of it when cars 4 times the price surround us. It's neat to be "spotted" and your photo put up on Ferrarichat in the exotic spotters section. It gets an obscene amount of attention. Wanted and unwanted. You are a car to people- that part is kind of lame. Camera phones are always taking pics of you. (what do they do with the photos) Sometimes it's hard to just stop and get gas, get into the restaurant, or go about your business. People make assumptions and judge you based on your car. Cops wait in the parking lot for you to come out of a bar/grill. You look like a good and easy source of revenue. People look or they refuse to look, but one way or another there is a reaction to the car. Once you are all done it's time to get out. It makes getting in look not so hard. The drivers side is easier. You can push off with your elbow against the steering wheel. If you passenger is wearing a skirt- you help her out and get a show. Well it's either that or whoever is approaching you in the lot does. Does that give you a "feel" for it? Guess I got a little wordy there..... Edited April 20, 2009 by SweetDaddyDelicious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70'sChevyGirl Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Does that give you a "feel" for it? Guess I got a little wordy there..... :banana: I got the feeling!!!! WooooooHooooooo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetDaddyDelicious Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 :banana: I got the feeling!!!! WooooooHooooooo I added even more.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenaliDan Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Does that give you a "feel" for it? Guess I got a little wordy there..... I can definitely relate to that philosophy. Miata groupies are a mixed bunch. Some are about performance, others are just out for a nice drive, and then you have some in-between. I think that's one of the strenghts of the Miata, it can satisfy both extremes very well. I haven't had my Miata very long so getting it out on the Texas Motor Speedway next month will be my first time on a track. I'm a little leary of it because I'm afraid I'll get the bug and want to go full autocross. But autox is not very convenient for me at this point so maybe I can control myself. Time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetDaddyDelicious Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 Miatas are great cars and can be a blast on the track. I mean they are modern Elan- just heavier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-RAPTOR Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Hey whats up. I just joined this forum as well. I know you from Lotustalk and have ordered form you before. If any one is looking for graphics or numbers Keith is the man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetDaddyDelicious Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 Hey V-Raptor, thanks for the kind words. Welcome to the "Vette Forum" lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now