Thought about a Lotus...and bought one!

SoCal RV Flyer

SoCal RV Flyer

En-Route
Joined
Apr 27, 2016
Messages
3,037
Display Name
Display name:
SoCal RV Flyer
Lots of car guys on the board here, so just wanted to share.

Since my 23xx-lb. ND Miata was feeling a little porky, I just took possession of a 2005 Lotus Elise, at just a hair under a ton.

IMG_4798.jpg

Pretty neat little ride. For those unfamiliar with it, the Elise has an aluminum tub chassis made of extrusions and castings that are largely glued together with structural epoxy; then the whole shebang is cooked in an oven to cure. Fiberglass bodywork, with no impact bumpers (Lotus managed to get a waiver on this), but a considerable composite crash box on the front of the tub for frontal collisions. Tweak the tub in a collision and it's a write-off!

Reliable Toyota drivetrain...2ZZ-GE 1.8-liter inline-4, Yamaha-designed head with variable lift/timing on the intake side, and Toyota 6-speed manual gearbox. Tuned for 190 bhp with 8500-rpm redline (8500 allowed for short bursts, then defaults to 8000).

Sooo much fun! Your butt is about 9 inches off the pavement, steering is 2.7 turns lock to lock, and with the noise and direct handling, 60 mph seems like 80. Sportbike noises at redline. Priuses tower over you.

Difficult to get in and out of, but once inside there's quite a bit of leg- and head room. Sills are quite wide, so occupants are centralized and very much shoulder to shoulder (like my RV-9A). The perfect weekend toy.

Currently going through it to get maintenance up to date, plus new rotors and aggressive pads, and a heavily baffled high-capacity oil pan. It'll see some track day/autocross use. I needed a project, and got one!
 
There’s always a good debate on Corvette vs Lotus in many forums. Corvette being heavier and more powerful, the Lotus being light and nimble. I have read that some things can be a bit of a maintenance headache on the Lotus, but it may be more hearsay than actual truth. Truly a driver’s car though and a perfect progression from a suped-up Miata.
 
Nice! I've always lusted after a Lotus 7, but my NA Miata is so much more practical...
 
SoonerAviator said:
There’s always a good debate on Corvette vs Lotus in many forums. Corvette being heavier and more powerful, the Lotus being light and nimble. I have read that some things can be a bit of a maintenance headache on the Lotus, but it may be more hearsay than actual truth. Truly a driver’s car though and a perfect progression from a suped-up Miata.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you do have to chase after tightness on suspension bolts...especially the rear toe links. The previous owner already did an update here that includes an extra bracket for the inboard attachment points, a must for a car used on the track. There's other funky stuff, like having to remove the left rear fender liner to change the air filter. But many parts are cheap if not ordered through Lotus...the airbox/filter is from a 2003-2007 Toyota Matrix XRS, for instance. I've owned a C6 Vette and a '12 Mustang with the Coyote 5.0, and while the power is nice I just don't like the bulk!! Lotus-sized tires are quite a bit cheaper than the Vette ones; ultimately I'm going 205 front, 235 rear.

Dana said:
Nice! I've always lusted after a Lotus 7, but my NA Miata is so much more practical...
Click to expand...

Yes, Miatas are great. Mine's a keeper, even though it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to have two 2-seat sports cars.
 
Here's a fun pic of the bare chassis. You can see the orange epoxy at some of the joints:

140674-2181bc1ef5700f02e07e03e87f57ef75.jpg

Sorry that pic was a little small. Here's RF corner, and another shot of the driver's footwell & pedal cluster. It uses the same brake discs at all four corners, and I'm guessing the same hub/bearing cartridge, judging from the splines.

IMG_4834.jpg


IMG_4845.jpg
 

Attachments

  • image.png
    image.png
    1.1 MB · Views: 11
  • image.png
    image.png
    880.3 KB · Views: 11
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ted
I test drove an Elise a number of years ago. If I had the money, I’d buy one. Those are fun little cars. And they’re cool looking.
 
Colin Chapman:
“Simplify, then add lightness”
“Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.”

....but then:
“You won’t catch me driving a race car that I have built.”

I briefly owned an Elise when they first became road legal, just wasn’t using it, and found my Caterham Super Seven Sprint even more a visceral experience so I sold the Elise and haven’t looked back. For the track and autocross couldn’t wish for a better tool. Have fun!
 
I purchased one new, but for my own personal reasons including the ingress/egress challenges, sold it after 600 miles of ownership. Mine was Ardent Red over Biscuit interior.

I'm sure you've got great experience with mid engined cars, and I mean no disrespect when I suggest this, but find an empty parking lot to learn the limits of this vehicle. I was part of a Lotus group and saw far too many of these vehicles leaving the roadway backwards and ending up in a scrap yard when driven enthusiastically on SoCal backroads.

Congratulations and enjoy! :)
 
Dana said:
Nice! I've always lusted after a Lotus 7, but my NA Miata is so much more practical...
Click to expand...
There’s an apocryphal story re the design of the Lotus Seven and precursor tube frames that they successively removed tube segments “adding lightness” until the chassis fell apart, then they reinserted the last removed and moved the design into production. Apocryphal indeed....Seven chassis are stout.
 
wrbix said:
‘60s or 90s iteration?
Click to expand...
Oh, the real one. I don't remember the model year but I owned it in the early or mid-1970s.

I don't remember exactly when I sold it but the next toy car was a 289 Cobra. I just watched "Ford Vs Ferrari." "Shelby" was driving my car! More memories.
 
wrbix said:
There’s an apocryphal story re the design of the Lotus Seven and precursor tube frames that they successively removed tube segments “adding lightness” until the chassis fell apart, then they reinserted the last removed and moved the design into production. Apocryphal indeed....Seven chassis are stout.
Click to expand...

Mario Andretti tells of making Colin Chapman extremely mad by having the pit crew tape a string diagonally across the Player Special F1 Lotus cockpit then jack up the front corner of the car and showing Colin that the string sagged by more than an inch. He was showing that his complaints about the chassis being soft were true...
 
A coworker of mine had an '89 Lotus Esprit. It had a turbocharged four cylinder engine. Total blast to drive, but it also spent a lot of time in the shop.
 
Yes. That opening for the damned driver really screws up the stiffness of the chassis. I drove a FF Swift for about ten years and ended up adding a "gusset plate" (per SCCA rules) to tie the top two tubes on each side of the driver opening together. Whether it helped I don't know for sure but there was enough stress to loosen the CherryMax rivets after a while.
 
Awesome! I lust for a Lotus, though as of late I've been bitten by the big horsepower bug (traded my 460hp C7 Corvette for a 560hp CTS-V Wagon). It's amazing what the Elise/Exige models sell for (they command a pretty good premium).
 
Congratulations! I love Lotus cars and they're on my bucket list. Picking the Toyota 4-cylinder I think was a smart move in a lot of ways (especially in terms of getting a good, reliable drivetrain), but a lot of me would've liked a proper Lotus-derived engine (just because I'm an engine guy). I've driven a derivative of that engine in a Pontiac Vibe (Toyota Matrix) before and I think its VVT-i high-revving/peaky engine that would be a great fit.

Looking forward to more pictures and video. :)
 
FormerHangie said:
If you like Lotus cars, it's well worth your time to visit the Barber Motorsports Museum, they have a nice selection of early Loti. They also have an astounding collection of motorcycles.
Click to expand...

It is amazing! I was fortunate enough to do a 911 GT3 Cup school at Barber, and had time afterward to take a long look-see at all the Lotus baubles.

rtk11 said:
I purchased one new, but for my own personal reasons including the ingress/egress challenges, sold it after 600 miles of ownership. Mine was Ardent Red over Biscuit interior.

I'm sure you've got great experience with mid engined cars, and I mean no disrespect when I suggest this, but find an empty parking lot to learn the limits of this vehicle. I was part of a Lotus group and saw far too many of these vehicles leaving the roadway backwards and ending up in a scrap yard when driven enthusiastically on SoCal backroads.

Congratulations and enjoy! :)
Click to expand...

I'm glad you had the experience of ownership.

Yeah, they are difficult to get in and out of, and I'm 6'2" & 200 lb. I figured that now is the time to get one, as it won't get any more flexible when I'm 70!!!

Lots of mid-engine experience here, and I've already had an afternoon of hot-lapping an Elise at VIR, which is a big part of why I bought the car in the first place. I'm getting great setup advice from Shinoo at InoKinetic, who's something of a guru in Lotus Elise circles. Ride height will be a little higher than ideal just to make negotiating driveways easier. Suspension is old school A-arms with camber adjustment by shims at the tops of the two part hub carriers, and caster set with washers that move the upper arms fore/aft within their mounting boxes.

Typically , after any suspension change, I'll hit my favorite extra-wide cloverleafs at about 11 pm and experiment with gentle and more abrupt lift-throttle behavior. I'll probably run Buttonwillow first time out, because I've done enduros there and know it extremely well.

I love doing all the little things to trick it out. Today's project was re-glassing the front spoiler, which had a few nicks and gouges in it.

I have new tires, but wheels are back-ordered. Fronts on the car now are original, highly fossilized with a 2004 date code! So minimal use until I get the fresh sticky rubber on there.
 
Last edited:
Here's the new oil pan, a $500 TIG-welded thing of beauty. The box around the pickup really helps to prevent oil starvation. I had a similar Moroso pan on my MR2 Spyder (1ZZ, similar short block) that saw track duty.

IMG_4804.jpg IMG_4805.jpg
 
You farging eyesole. Now all my Harmon Rocket dreaming is gonna have to go towards Lotus research.
 
Sac Arrow said:
A coworker of mine had an '89 Lotus Esprit. It had a turbocharged four cylinder engine. Total blast to drive, but it also spent a lot of time in the shop.
Click to expand...
Relative to its peers (late 80's, not Japanese, 2 seats, couple hundred built per year, >100hp/litre, styled like a doorstop), I'd bet it wasn't a lot of time.
 
asicer said:
Relative to its peers (late 80's, not Japanese, 2 seats, couple hundred built per year, >100hp/litre, styled like a doorstop), I'd bet it wasn't a lot of time.
Click to expand...

It had some odd operational requirements. A lengthy take it easy warm up period, and a cool down period prior to shutoff. I understand common problems included coked turbochargers and burnt valves.
 
The Elise takes a while to warm up too, especially with the high capacity pan. Add to that two oil coolers in the nose, and the plumbing to reach them.

It's funny how Lotus never got the whole oil fittings thing nailed, at least through the Elise. Lotus bought a bunch of new engines for original Esprit owners (total pressure loss because of faulty fittings), and there was a recall on the Elise for the same thing. Mine's been refitted, thankfully.

Funny story on the Elise chassis. Somewhere later in the production run, Lotus changed suppliers for the structural epoxy, and its color changed from the original orange as well. The rumor got out that if the epoxy wasn't orange, the chassis had been overstressed and was a write-off!! :eek: No truth to it, but it made for a lot of concerned Elise owners. :)
 
Fun car! I have never owned one but I have had some seat time in them and they are really enjoyable. Unfortunately, I had to trade out a student who had an Exige (the coupe version) at an HPDE because I could not fit in his passenger seat with a helmet on. I'm 6'6" and the Elise without a helmet is tight but the Exige with one is a non-starter...
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
I'm getting great setup advice from Shinoo at InoKinetic, who's something of a guru in Lotus Elise circles.
Click to expand...

Awesome that you're familiar with the Elise on track! It's definitely a fun track car. Shinoo Mapleton was part of that early EliseTalk forum group I used to hang out with. I think it was Randy Chase that owned that forum and had an Elise too. I lost touch with that group after parting with the Elise...

Here's a pic of mine from March 2005 when I brought it home...
0C905889-65F0-4F61-9769-BE448535D0CA.jpeg 12139675-5F74-4BA6-AAE0-2DA2D11D58AD.jpeg
 
Cool!

Now, what I'd be really curious about is how it compares to the original Tesla Roadster, which was a Lotus Elise glider with a Tesla drivetrain. Guessing that the Roadster was significantly heavier but possibly had a lower CG...
 
They look so right with the 17" rears and 16" fronts.
 
Good news from InoKinetic...the Nitron coilovers have arrived and are shipping today!! A short journey from Temecula to South OC.

Much rain (much needed!) is forecast for the next week or so, so I can fill my time wrenching instead of flying. I'll definitely post some pics.

Here's a few more shots, including progress on the spoiler. I fitted a new Pioneer head unit, because the original Blaupunkt Acapulco was 15 years old, had a very lame volume control and would buzz on startup (some phantom "eject CD" error code). Previous owner covered the center console with leather...big improvement over the silver-painted stock treatment, although I think Lotus went this route with later cars. I need to go out when the weather clears and get a bunch of good shots in late afternoon light.

IMG_4855.jpg IMG_4857.jpg IMG_4854.jpg IMG_4862.jpg IMG_4865.jpg
 
Some of the 2ZZ engines experienced high wear of the "lift" lobes of intake camshaft, so job one was to pull the cam cover. Fortunately, everything looks great. I replaced what they call "lift bolts" too (bottom of frame). They're tapered on the end and locate the shafts for the cam followers. Originals looked fine, but the bolts are only about $1 apiece, so while I'm in there...


IMG_4808.jpg
 
I self-quarantined myself in the garage and put on a new set of coilovers from UK-based Nitron. I have to get some better photos...was darkish in the garage. To anyone who's dealt with these, it's a long, tedious job to set ride height with the adjustable spring perches, especially if you don't have a good baseline setting. Adjust perches, put wheels on, lower car, roll back and forth for suspension to settle, measure, jack car back up, take wheels off, adjust perches again. Do this five times or so so get it just right. Whew! If I were truly serious about competing, I'd corner-balance, but I'm gonna drive it and see how it feels. If I do go the corner balance route, I'll farm it out to a shop with scales.

Gotta go with a slightly higher ride height than I'd like as I have a steepish driveway. Camber was really wonky...about -1.0 degrees on three wheels and -1.8 on the right rear! Now set at about -1.6 up front and -1.8 in back. Setting toe next with the time honored string method. Just waiting for garage to warm up a little.

You can see where the camber shims go, just beneath the upper ball joint. The bracket that holds the ABS sensor plug is also a shim, and can be removed for additional negative camber. That's what I did up front, and used zip ties to secure the plug.

IMG_4869.jpg
 
Last edited:
A suggestion if you're going for all-out handling: You may want to get some scales for all 4 corners. You'll want to ensure you're adjusting the spring perches not only by weight, but the weight jacking effect as well. (If you want to get super precise, you can add sandbags or bags of rice (that you may have acquired for this pandemic) to the driver's seat to equal your weight before you adjust the spring perches and balance the weight.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top