lotus elise

[REMillers]

There are turbo kits out for them though, and there is a bigger version of the Elise made by another company that uses the same engine platform.

 

[Katya4me]

These cars are amazing on autox courses. I've seen about 6 of them so far, maroon, grey, yellow, green, I don't think I've seen black yet. If I had a spare $40K, I'd buy one in a heartbeat. In particular, this one w/ the US exemptions. Because the next ones are going to be totally different, bigger, little taller and wider, different headlights. They will get a slightly bigger engine too.

 

[AGR]

I'm currently on the waiting list for an Elise down here... and I have STANDING invitation to DRIVE the demonstrator at the dealership whenever I want!!!!!

Say what you like, the car is AWESOME!!!!! Handling is near perfect, the 2zz engine which has nothing down low in the Celica has power EVERYWHERE because the car is so light...

The ONLY worry I have is reliability: Lotus is BAD historically... so I'm keeping my eye on how it does and when my turn to order comes up (in about a year...) I'll make a final decision then...

Nice! Like the Beck 550 Spyder, the lighter weight is a great advantage. 'Still think it's a bit on the high side. But Hey! It's a Lotus, right?! But yes; reliability might be a concern. Being 6'4", I think my head would be above the windscreen! I know on the Beck 550, it is slightly. Ha!!

 

[N2OInferno]

I don't think any of the previous turbo kits will be used on this new Elise.. The old ones were popular with B16/18C engines, and the new one comes with an even more tuned 2ZZGE engine which is the same thing that's in the Toyota Celica GT-S. However, they DID fix the problem with not being able to keep it on the switchover cam when VVTL-i engages, so you won't land under 6.2k when you shift now like you ALWAYS did in the Celica.. So hard to keep that car in its powerband.

 

[RyanJayG]

there is a celica supercharger that would go nicely with the Lotus' super light weight.... real monster.

 

[N2OInferno]

Yeah the Blitz one. I don't know how you'd run the FMIC though..

 

[noclue119]

Yeah the Blitz one. I don't know how you'd run the FMIC though..

supercharger does not need a fmic. The pulley is not as hot as the exhaust gas

 

[WillisW555]

These are bad ass. I saw a blue one the other day. They sound pretty awesome too. Yeah it's not the fastest in a straight line, but not exactly slow and boy can they handle.

I wish I could find the video clip of the Euro elise beating up of F40s and F50s. The Ferraris would haul ass down the straight and the Elise would just stay inside and out brake. (drive)

 

[N2OInferno]

No it doesn't absolutely have to have the front mount, but the Celica was only making around 220-225 wheel horsepower with the full kit, including the FMIC. I remember because I researched the crap out of the kit when I had my GT-S. Mind you it was a GREAT kit for everyday driveability but if you wanted the full effect you had to have the FMIC.. That and when it came out it ended up being around 6 grand.. Thus one of the reasons I sold my Celica and got a P5 (haha which is even slower, go figure.) However, I think that with it running really hot without an IC would make it even worse, as the Lotus-tuned engine in the Elise yields higher horsepower numbers than the Celica did. Not much, but it does. And I'm sure that the 11.5:1 compression is a big factor in forced induction as well. I suppose you could run a different pulley without the FMIC which won't produce as much boost, but then you'll be losing quite a bit of power for the amount of money you dropped...

 

[Mach 3.5 Turbo]

Here's a pimp site about all kinds of supercars(mainly TVRs). I love the top gear reviews. In the lotus exige review, the reviewers dare the British army to follow the car around the track in an apache and try to get a missle lock on the car. Damn fine video with amazing production value for a car review show. Check out the videos, they're freakin huge, but equally freakin cool. I''ve spent hours watching these reviews. Cool stuff.

http://www.sleepy-fish.com/other_veh.htm

 

[N2OInferno]

Haha last night I watched the Exige one. That was awesome and I love those cars.

I love that show, and I totally wish that they would bring it to America. I'd buy a Tivo just so I could see it all the time, lol. Well, at least some form of DVR.

 

[YuYuRena]

Lotus Elise is a great car. It handles terrific and it's aerodynamically sound. You'll not find a car with that much engineering quality for performance packaged at such a price. People are putt of by the measly 190 hp, but it's alot when the car weights like a feather compared to current cars out on the road. Whatever you want abou it, that chassis is terrific, probably one of the best out of production. If you really want to change engine you could look into putting Honda b18 into it, or a TRD 2ZZ.

No dissing the 2zz, it's a great engine and the VVTL-i problem it had earlier was due to a gearing issue with the gearbox.

And supercharged or turbocharged when you compress air you raise the temperature of it, so if you raise boost a significant level you'll need an intercooler. 2zz is a high compression enigne already so you can't put too much boost in it.