SLM's thread of Lotus. I think I have some other cars too (??)

[Sad, little man]

Well, it sure is fun to look at. I don't think it could make it out of the garage right now though. I'm also afraid to touch it when it's this cold outside. Any one of several plastic/fiberglass parts would likely shatter into a million pieces.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=72&d=1389136116

72

[Sad, little man]

No... No definitely still not Lotus weather. :(

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=254&d=1392082365

254

[Yw-slayer]

You need to ship it somewhere where it IS Lotus weather. Somewhere like Hong Kong.

[Sad, little man]

Hmmmm. Maybe I could start some sort of charity that gives Lotuses to underprivileged attorneys that don't have a Lotus of their own. I'll call it "Lotuses for Lawyers." :up:

[Kchrpm]

Lotusi?

[Yw-slayer]

A worthy cause.

[Godson]

Lotusi?

Lotii

[Sad, little man]

I'm not sure what you call the snowy nastiness that gets packed in behind your wheels after you drive in the snow, but I think I should get an award for the best one. (This falls under my non-Lotus related automotive developments.)

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=351&d=1394742204

351

[Random]

Seals the aero gap between the car and wheel nicely.

[KillerB]

Fuck that shit. :lol:

[Random]

We had a truck come back from Modoc (NE California, mostly range land) looking like that, except it was all mud. :lol:

[Godson]

fantastic

[GB]

I'm not sure what you call the snowy nastiness that gets packed in behind your wheels after you drive in the snow.

Rust Belt Smegma.

[Sad, little man]

Fuck that shit. :lol:
Actually that's precisely how that happened. I got fed up with the constant snow this winter and my city's absolute inability to clear it off the roads, so I decided to just furiously gun it in second gear at about 5mph, knowing that I wouldn't go much of anywhere, but confident in the fact that it would throw a bunch of snow all over the place.

[Sad, little man]

For a year or two I have been putting off replacing the starter on the Miata. It's kind of a PITA to change, and I've actually already replaced it once. The replacement one I installed began to intermittently not work when the car was hot shortly after I installed it. But, it had a lifetime warranty, so it was just a matter of sucking it up and replacing it again.

Got another replacement from the parts store today, but due to some strange fluctuation in the price since I bought the first one, when I turned in the old one, they gave me back $12 along with the new starter. :lol:

Fuck yeah procrastination!

[Godson]

I love it when a small amount of procrastination pays off :D

[speedpimp]

There it is.

[Godson]

:lol:

[Sad, little man]

Well, I've come to the conclusion that driving the Lotus at night around here is somewhat ill advised at this point. There are just too many monster pot-holes lurking in the darkness. Seriously, these things are not fucking around. This is a photo of some from a recent news article.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=384&d=1395882220

I'm just going to have to go down to Ohio when I want to enjoy the car I think.

384

[Kchrpm]

My friend has gotten two or three flats this season alone, including a broken wheel that we previously discussed.

[KillerB]

Well when the average house costs about the same as an off-lease 328i, where will the tax money come from to fix the streets?

You see similar roads in the coal region.

[Kchrpm]

Eh, areas of Detroit are screwed but there are plenty of middle and upper class cities around it, I don't know if it's that easy.

*checks* the median house value in Michigan is $116,500, which is near the bottom of the state averages, so yeah, I guess that would lead to the M-road upkeep being underfunded. Who pays for local roads, local or state government?

[Kchrpm]

Potential solution: http://jalopnik.com/new-jersey-senator-wants-to-legalize-marijuana-to-pay-f-1553016849

[speedpimp]

Each county has their own "Road Commission" and in the more rural areas a "work crew" will consist of one guy in a truck who is hoping that some dumb ass doesn't plow into him.

[KillerB]

Local government pays for the roads that aren't state roads, US routes, or interstates. Within city limits it's the city, outside city limits it's the county.

Even though Detroit has some nice suburbs, unless they are within Detroit city limits, their taxes won't go to the city. It's a common issue in PA where cities can't annex their suburbs and so a place like Harrisburg has a metro area close to 800,000 people with some affluent suburbs but the city itself is under 50,000 people, a third of the land is taken up by state government which pays no property tax, and other than Restaurant Row on Second Street and the gay neighborhood (Shipoke) the residents are dirt poor and the real estate is almost worthless, so the city has very little tax income. They used to get by on parking fees in the city garages, but the incinerator debacle swamped them. But the problem is not that different in other cities.

Might vary a bit by state but that's the setup in every place I've spent enough time to care. :)

[thesameguy]

So, wait, if we legalize mary jane we can levy taxes and then use that money to run the government????

Mind. Blown.

Why did we do this sooner???

[speedpimp]

Why did we do this sooner???

Because they were too busy smoking up?

[Kchrpm]

Even though Detroit has some nice suburbs, unless they are within Detroit city limits, their taxes won't go to the city.
Yeah, I was assuming my friend's flats were happening in her suburb, not Detroit, but I never asked because I don't really care that much.

[Sad, little man]

Yeah, I'm talking suburbs here. The roads in Detroit itself being awful is just a given. Anyway... IT'S FINALLY LOTUS TIME!!!

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=389&d=1396217379

Of course, as soon as I decided to take it out for its first real drive of the year, the right turn signal popped out of the body going over a bump. Luckily the wiring harness kept it from completely falling off of the car. :o

I can't really blame our roads for this. It's a known issue. The little tabs that hold the turn signals in are kind of cheesy and break easily. I used this workaround to fix the problem:

http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elise/experience/maintenance/indicatorlens/indicatorlens.html

In conclusion... When driving and owning an Elise, you must always remember that Lotus engineers weren't all that concerned with designing any part of the car that isn't involved in acceleration, braking, or handling. :|

389

[Godson]

In conclusion... When driving and owning an Elise, you must always remember that Lotus engineers weren't all that concerned with designing any part of the car that isn't involved in acceleration, braking, or handling. :|


Sounds like my experience with a BMW

[Sad, little man]

So tempted. :lol: Maybe just for a little while, just to amuse myself.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=461&d=1398208957

461

[Godson]

Do it.

[Sad, little man]

Tried it, it looked completely stupid, took it off. :lol:

That car just wasn't meant to have any stickers on it.

[Random]

Sure it was...

http://www.ioportracing.com/images/product/decal-set-scca.jpg

:D

[Sad, little man]

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Vinylex? The stuff is like new plastic trim pieces in a bottle. Guess which side I already put it on?

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=539&d=1399741802

539

[Sad, little man]

Well, the time has come. I had been avoiding it, but there's no denying it at this point... It needs tires.

The Florida sun was not kind to the rubber compound on these things. I'm also sure that leaving them in -13deg temperatures over the winter didn't help either. Supposedly they are not supposed to even be exposed to temperatures below +19deg. I've tried to drive the car hard, but I can feel that there's nothing left in the tires at all. And, the tires protest this by developing nice big cracks in the shoulder.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=583&d=1400350484

As far as the rears go... Well, even when new, the ability of the Yokohama A048 to channel water away from the tire is a strictly theoretical principle. And at this point, there's no hope. (It's not like I take it out in the rain, so I don't really care, but it kind of restricts taking the car on any trips when I would encounter bad weather.) There's also some nice cracking on these things too.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=582&d=1400350484

Now, here's something you don't realize until you own a Lotus... (And this is a big reason I held off doing this for so long.) Buying tires for it requires a degree in mechanical engineering. Be prepared to spend long, hopeless nights pouring over tire size spec sheets and comparing revs per mile figures. And, just when you think you found a tire that will work, you will find that they don't make that tire in a size that will fit on the other end of the car. You'll start madly plugging numbers into tirerack, creating theoretical tire sizes that have never been spoken of let alone produced by any major tire maker.

I finally settled on the Hankook R-S3, which just started being produced in a Lotus friendly front tire size this month!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Ventus+R-S3+%28Version+2%29

Sorry, but I just couldn't justify keeping A048s on it. They really don't get very good reviews, and I don't think they're really designed for normal street use. I don't know what happened to the set that's on there now, but they're trashed! The Hankooks are much cheaper and generally get favorable reviews. I should be able to get much better mileage out of them as well.

582583

[samoht]

Makes sense to me, super-soft tyres make sense if you're trying to gain the last bit of lap time, but otherwise you need something that will work year-round and hopefully give decent grip and progression. I'm sure it'll still corner ludicrously quickly with the Hankooks anyway.

[Sad, little man]

Well, not really year round around here (see pg. 1). But anyway, once you get to a certain point with extreme performance tires, I don't think they are even really meant for normal street use, and I think they get finicky with regard to heat cycles as well. ie, they weren't really made for continuous, moderate driving. Really they do best when they're thrashed on for a little while and then allowed to cool.

I think the R-S3 is just about right for my needs. Not a racing tire, but it should still do the car justice. The thing will still out-handle almost anything even with those completely dried out Yokos.

[CudaMan]

RS3s are not known for cold weather performance (and by cold I mean by California standards - below 50 degrees). They like heat. Just so you know next time you go for a drive - they take time to start working. :) They thrive on a track because they can take the abuse lap after lap.

Those wee cracks don't look bad at all. That one tire is getting pretty low though, if you ever drive through rain.

As for the tire sizes, yes. Welcome to the hell of mid-engined cars with staggered sizes. I gave up on the MR2 and found a second hand (but never mounted) pair of discontinued rear tires for it. But there was no matching fronts, so I took a best guess at something similar. Bleh.

I could do OK if I didn't care about gearing and speedo accuracy. Or funny ride height as a result.

Even upgrading the wheels to larger sizes gives no comfort in tire selection. All of them are wrong!

[TheBenior]

RS3s are not known for cold weather performance (and by cold I mean by California standards - below 50 degrees).
Hell, I think all the (less aggressive) summer tires I've had had loss of grip below 45F or so that was even noticeable to me, manifested in either extra wheel hop or spin in my FWD cars, and the Miata going unexpectedly sideways.

[Sad, little man]

Not a problem Cuda. I rarely drive the Lotus when it's less than 50deg. Below that temperature, taking the top off is a dubious proposition, and who wants to drive around in a Lotus with the top on? :|

(For those wondering, yes, that leaves somewhere in the neighborhood of two days per year when it's nice enough to drive it. But on those two days.... Hoooooo boy!)

Also, those impressions you're referring to of the performance of the R-S3, is that the old tire compound? It seems like they revamped it significantly this year, so much so that tire rack considers them two different tires.

[CudaMan]

The V2 is indeed a revised compound but what I'm hearing so far is that it's not vastly different. It's supposed to be a bit better when cold, or heat up faster. On a 75 degree sunny day my first autox run on RS3s (the old compound) the tires feel dead and unresponsive. Then on the second run they work. They get better with every run.


who wants to drive around in a Lotus with the top on?
*raises hand*

Benior - the Dunlop Z2, for example, is pretty good in colder temps (again still above freezing) and it's in the same league as the RS3. It's just a different compound they've concocted. The flipside is the Z2 overheats quickly on a hot day when driven hard. Its character doesn't change but grip starts to fall away.

[Sad, little man]

Many developments in The Land of Lotus.

Aligned the rear toe using a rudimentary system of strings, masking tape, and aluminum bars. It was necessary because I replaced the parts that set the toe when I did the clutch last year. Found out the local dealer only charges $180 for an alignment, which is downright reasonable considering what's involved. Considering it, but I think I got the toe damn close on my own.

Got the Hankooks mounted on the rims. Ride comfort is lightyears ahead of the A048s. Yes, the car lost a certain connected feeling in the steering, but I'll take the tradeoff. It was downright abusive to drive on Michigan roads before. I wish I swapped out the tires a year ago.

I identified a leak coming from the transmission area. I was terrified that it might be the rear main seal leaking, which I replaced when I did the clutch. Turned out to be the passenger side axle seal (which was also replaced). I thanked the Lotus gods for the fact that I didn't have to rip the transmission out a second time. While the car was up in the air to have the wheels pulled off and taken to get new tires put on, I installed another axle seal. I think the spring that holds tension on the old one had become dislodged from where it should have been, allowing fluid to leak.

After a solid two months of waiting (!!), the radiator shrouds I ordered finally came. For some reason they were missing from my car. They help to hold the hood vent slats in place, and keep rain and hot radiator air off of parts that aren't intended to be exposed to it. I improvised some new fasteners to take the place of the original Lotus ones that were missing. Everything seems good, and I realized that the panels on the hood just behind the vents have never been installed correctly.




And now, I must rest, because very early tomorrow morning before the traffic has a chance to clog it up, there will be a bright orange Lotus hurtling down I-75 at speeds just slow enough to appease the throngs of trigger-happy Memorial Day weekend state troopers hiding in ever increasingly concealed positions.

[Yw-slayer]

I don't understand buying Hankooks, but definitely more power to you, bro, for swapping out the old ones. I'd personally have gone for something like Potenza RE11s (which are on the LEGACY, Y0) or similar.

[Godson]

Rs3 is nothing short of impressive.

[TheBenior]

I'd personally have gone for something like Potenza RE11s (which are on the LEGACY, Y0) or similar.

I almost got the RE-11 last year because Costco had a really good deal on them. I didn't because I wanted new wheels and it ended up being a fair bit cheaper to order some S04s already mounted on wheels as a package from Tirerack.

[Yw-slayer]

That makes sense. The S04s should be good, as are the PSSes. I think it's actually a matter of whether the tyre is suitable for that car. For example, the Primacys are horrific in the wet on the RWD BRZ, but are pretty much excellent in the wet on the FWD (yet 240hp) S-Max.

[Sad, little man]

Just checked, the RE11 is not available for the rear.

Seriously, I'm not kidding, buying tires for this car is like Gary Coleman shopping in a big and tall store. The options are limited, and the Hankooks seemed to fit the bill the best.

[Yw-slayer]

Wow, that's surprising. I would've thought that it's the sort of car they'd make those tyres for!

[Random]

I would've thought the wee front tires would be more limiting than the rears. Funny.

[Sad, little man]

It all just depends on what tire model you're after. For instance, with the Hankook, they have made the rear size for a long time, but just started making the front size this month.

So, basically it's two different sized tires, both of them kind of wonky, so there are very few tires that just happen to be made in both wonky sizes.

Anyway, the car performed beautifully all weekend. I found some great roads in Ohio. Because I hate to waste any miles put onto this car by doing boring highway driving, I devised a route back from Columbus to Michigan that used no highways. That was kind of a fun adventure. By my calculations, based on the route distance according to google, the car got 36mpg on that trip. :eek: If you keep it around 60mph, which you kind of have to on the state routes on memorial day weekend, the mileage is really phenomenal. I got about the same mileage last year winding my way down Michigan's east coast at a steady 60mph.

[FaultyMario]

Was that with the Moto or you had the car already?

[Sad, little man]

That was just last weekend in the Lotus. I sold the bike a year ago just before I bought the car.

The funny thing about that car is that all of the strategies it uses to get great performance also cause it to get amazing mileage for the car that it is.

[FaultyMario]

No, what did you use to "wind your way down Michigan's east coast at a steady 60mph"?

[Sad, little man]

That was also with the assistance of the Lotus.

[Sad, little man]

You know, there's a steady drumbeat that's been building in my head for the last several months...

The most powerful factory Exige I know of was the 260S, which made 257hp at the crank. It gets from 0-60 in 4 seconds flat.

There are somewhat affordable supercharger kits available for the Elise/Exige that boast 260-270 at the wheels. That puts it at a 0-60 time slightly less than 4 seconds. That's knocking on supercar territory. That's acceleration that people mortgage their houses to achieve.

I told myself that I would keep the Elise nice and stock and reliable after seeing how much fooling around I had to go through to turbo the Miata. But, in fairness, it's never left me stranded, and the biggest thing that I hate about adding the turbo, all the added coolant and oil plumbing, and the potential that brings for leaks, is not there with a blower.

The elise supercharger kits also use a reflash of the factory ECU... No cheesy or complex solutions to run the engine once it's been modified.

It's very nice to own a pretty fast car, but part of me just wants to know what it's like to own a really fast car.

[speedpimp]

Didn't you already own a Triumph that was really damned fast?

[Godson]

Didn't you already own a Triumph that was really damned fast?

He sold it for the Elise.

Local guy has(d)? supercharged elise.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OONlSgcS9zQ

I'd message him and see what he knows. It was charged for quite a while.

[Sad, little man]

He sold it for the Elise.

Yeah, rich knows, he used the past tense.

Anyway, the problem with bikes is that the 0-60 is kind of theoretical. Yes, they could potentially go 0-60 in about 0.2 seconds, but if you actually try to do that, the bike will either flip over backwards, throw you off of it, or both.

With cars, to achieve the 0-60, you just keep it pointed forward, mash the throttle, and grin like an idiot. And maybe shift once. It's fun instead of scary.

[Yw-slayer]

The more I read about the Elise, the more inclined I am to purchase the mechanical one, even though I already have the human model.

[Sad, little man]

Well then, if you're trying to avoid buying an Elise, I would definitely not watch this video. (Yeah I know, it's about the first gen Elise, but let's be honest, the second gen is just a sexier, more powerful first gen.)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-TiFKr2yb0

[Yw-slayer]

Sadly, I don't have time at present to watch a 2.5 hour long documentary. Perhaps over the weekend.

[Sad, little man]

It's worth your time.

[Yw-slayer]

I'm sure it is, but I'd rather play with the real one.

[Sad, little man]

Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of the second cam kicking in. :finger:

[Yw-slayer]

Using a cellphone while driving an Elise? You're actually in a Town and Country, aren't you?

[Sad, little man]

Most creative insult (I think it is at least) I've heard thus far from haters while driving the Lotus...

"My penis is heavier than your car." :lol: :lol:

[Yw-slayer]

It's a double-edged compliment.

[Sad, little man]

The state of Michigan has now deemed that its Mackinac bridge plate, which was orange, is too hard to read. Now it has been changed to this bland looking thing...

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=849&d=1412124602

I am soooooo happy I snatched one up when they were still orange. They were only for sale like this for about a year. So now, I have a rare car with a rare plate... Which matches the car. :D

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=850&d=1412124602

849
850

[21Kid]

Very cool. :cool::up: I was sad to give up my customized WI plates.

[GB]

Isn't it about time to put that thing away for 8 months?

;)

[Sad, little man]

Saturday is going to be 66deg and sunny. That sounds like top-off weather to me. :cool:

The Lotus tends to be able to be comfortable with the top removed at much lower temperatures than most convertibles due to its targa-ness. Just put the windows up and there is very little wind.

[Yw-slayer]

Also, colder weather means MORE POWER TO THE TURBO!!!! Oh, wait...

[neanderthal]

Also, colder weather means MORE POWER TO THE TURBO!!!! Oh, wait...

Mor powah to the cam!

[Sad, little man]

I have a fever, and the only cure is a supercharger.

Still desperately torn between being responsible and saving money, and dropping $6k to have a wicked beast of a sports car. I wonder what 0-60 in less than 4 seconds feels like.

[thesameguy]

In the fast cars I have driven or been driven in, everything below 5s blurs together. I can broadly tell a 5s car from a 6s car, but I can't tell a 4s car from a 5s car. I can't really tell my coworkers M4 from my CTS-V and neither of them from the likely fastest car I've ever been in (a 680hp 911). It's all over so fast it doesn't matter, it's barely perceptible. After a few crazy launches it just feels normal, and then you remember you're already at the speed limit and why it's more fun driving a slow car fast anyway.

[Godson]

Your Street triple was likely faster.


And 3 seconds isn't bad...it's just over fast. At least that was my experience in a FFR Cobra Daytona with 500+hp

[TheBenior]

Street Triples are good for a 11.3 quarter and a 3.4 second 0-60 time, at least in 2009 R form (http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/2009AugStrtTrplR.pdf).

[Sad, little man]

Oh yeah, I'm sure the bike was theoretically faster, but accelerating a bike that fast actually takes skill. I doubt I ever accelerated that fast on it. If I ever came close, the only emotion I had in response to it was terror.

I might just leave the car un-supercharged. $6000 would buy a lot of little cosmetic bits for it. Not aftermarket stuff mind you, there are just several little things in the interior that are just kind of beat up, and I'd like to replace them. Elises should not be at all beat up looking.

Also, I'm not sure if my insurance company would be ok with having a supercharger on it.

[Kchrpm]

Since when do you care what THE MAN would be ok with? REBEL!

[Random]

Also, I'm not sure if my insurance company would be ok with having a supercharger on it.

Just makes it into a roofless Exige, no?

[Sad, little man]

Mmmm, not really. AFAIK, even the hottest Exiges they sold here made 260hp, and those are very rare (Exige S260). Even the most mild aftermarket kits usually start out around 300hp.

Even so, I imagine that Allstate would probably try anything they could to get out of paying Lotus repair costs, especially since these cars total out very easily. "Oh, you had modifications that made the car 50% faster? Nope."

[Godson]

...don't tell them.

[Sad, little man]

One member of the Sad Little Fleet is going to pass a very significant milestone next month. Anyone know what that is? :D

[TheBenior]

No.

[Sad, little man]

I just changed the timing belt, water pump, crank seal, and cam seals on the Miata. In the process, I discovered that both the intake and exhaust cams were too far advanced by one tooth. I believe that they have been this way either since when I first bought the car ten years ago, or possibly since an incident in mid 2008. Either way, I think it's been this way for a really long time. :o The car seems to idle much more smoothly and definitely builds boost faster. It's also more powerful overall. While it is cold outside and the tires are about seven years old, it can break the rears loose pretty much on demand in first or second now.

I also discovered that what I thought was a leaking front oil seal was actually a leaking water pump which was mixing with a bunch of oily nastiness before dripping on the ground. I'm excited that the front and bottom of the engine may now cease to be covered with an oily, slimy mess for the first time in a long time.

[Sad, little man]

I'm going through the Miata and fixing a lot of little nagging problems that have been sucking the fun out of driving it.

-No more leaks due to the new water pump, car also goes like a rocket now that the timing is set properly. 1st gear is really only useful for taking off from a stop and for novelty purposes. The car may be faster than the Lotus at this point.

-Wrapped some electrical tape around the hood latch to tighten it up and eliminate an annoying hood rattle.

-It appears that the ultimate cause of my intermittent inoperative starter was a bad battery. I'm surprised that it was possible for a battery to cause this, but it appears to be the case. I think the old battery just sometimes didn't give the starter enough juice to engage it (the starter has been replaced multiple times.)

-Fixed the driver's heated seat by finding a pin that was pushed out of a connector going to the module that runs the seat heater.

-Fiddled around with the fuel door and finally got it to reliably pop up when the release in the car is pulled. Beforehand, it required pulling the release and simultaneously reaching back and pulling open the fuel door. It wasn't easy.

Next up, I need to track down an annoying exhaust rattle and fix the slow power windows once and for all.

To keep miles of the Lotus and still have fun, I plan to drive the Miata more this summer. I'm calling this period of time "the Miatassance".

[Kchrpm]

They made a Miata with heated seats?

:up: to maintenance spring cleaning

[Sad, little man]

Naw, they are aftermarket heaters (which I spent a huge amount of time installing underneath the original upholstery!)

I don't think they put in factory seat heaters until the third gen in I think 2007.

[Sad, little man]

Now I face a dilemma... With it becoming clear that the Miata is faster than the Lotus in a straight line, and with it apparent that the Lotus is a more capable car than the Miata in the corners, there is no one clear vehicle which dominates my garage. I find this troubling because the Lotus was purchased with the intent that it would be everything the Miata was and then some. :|

[novicius]

Do you want to corner hard or do you want to have ass-happy performance? Which style of driving is fun to you?

[Sad, little man]

I want one beastly vehicle that defies the laws of physics in every manner and on command.

[Godson]

Miata, big tires, good suspension.


Done.

[GB]

Supercharged Exige.

[novicius]

I want one beastly vehicle that defies the laws of physics in every manner and on command.
You sold that one. ;)

Seriously, a turbo Miata set a high bar, especially if you've got a history with it.

[Sad, little man]

I'm reviving the time honored tradition of towing shit with a family car.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1190&d=1430261808

1190

[speedpimp]

Oh cute, A TOY!:D :P Ask your neighbor if you can tow his boat.

[Dicknose]

only just saw this

I want one beastly vehicle that defies the laws of physics in every manner and on command.

Get a powerful motorbike

[Godson]

only just saw this


Get a powerful motorbike


He has previously said that motorbikes are too dangerous.

[Random]

I'm reviving the time honored tradition of towing shit with a family car.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1190&stc=1

Ho-hum. :p

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/v/t1.0-9/431859_10151604495893908_1912950198_n.jpg?oh=4a2f5 c7fdd2e2acb27a2b2d485560264&oe=55E03EDE
(Stake-side version of my tire trailer, taken on the way home from Memorial Day Camping a couple years ago)

[Sad, little man]

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-0628-ford-car-sharing-20150628-story.html#page=1


People below the age of 30 are much more likely to identify with their mobile and computing devices than the cars," said Arun Sundararajan, a professor of information, operations and management sciences at New York University. "Autos just aren't the identity-making purchase that they once were.

Ha... Haha... Hahahahahahahahaha.


















http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1297&d=1436833811

1297

[Godson]

I bet he doesn't know how to drive a stick.

[Sad, little man]

I love how they quote a professor of something that doesn't have to do with anything as if he's the expert on automotive tastes.

Even so, if he is right, perhaps if everyone stopped cramming themselves into all of these aborted SUVs we might actually be able to regain a passion for automobiles as opposed to the apathy we're facing.

[Kchrpm]

It may sound funny to those of us who still love cars, but there is a growing percentage of people in younger generations that think cars are more of a hassle than a privilege. Tight cities like NYC vs suburbs and Midwest skew that, things like Uber, the ever increasing cost of new cars and decrease in people under 25 with well paying jobs, and on and on.

An ever increasing number of people have been seeing vehicles as appliances for a long time, can't expect kids to get excited about appliances. They do get excited about electric cars that they could just plug in and that drive themselves, though.

In conclusion, the solution is cheap electric cars with automated highway driving but fun handling, and more jobs.

[TheBenior]

Young people still want to buy new cars, it's just that affording them gets in the way (http://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/manufacturing/articles/2014-gen-y-automotive-consumer-study.html).

Since, you know, high student loan debt and stagnant wages have a tendency of getting in the way of purchasing things that cost tens of thousands of dollars.

[21Kid]

Also, I think a lot of younger people are moving into the city instead of the suburbs. Which negates the need for a car. I didn't have one for 2.5 years living in Chicago. Public transport got us around the city. We just used a car-share whenever we needed to go out of town or something. And almost everything can be delivered now-a-days, even groceries.

I still got the itch to go drive every few months. But if I would have been raised in this type of setting, I don't think I'd see it the same way.

[21Kid]

Lotus Elise returning to US in 2020 (http://www.autoblog.com/2015/08/03/lotus-elise-us-return-2020-report/)

[Sad, little man]

If it looks anything like that concept they made a few years ago, then this news doesn't excite me.

[Sad, little man]

Strange times for a machine of this caliber indeed. Can a vehicle of this pedigree exist within a life that continually moves towards the simpler, the less perfect, the less concerned with appearances?

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1857&d=1469751309

1857

[GB]

Good to see the Michigan weather has finally warmed up enough to get this out of the garage.

;)

[novicius]

Great shot! :up: :up:

[Sad, little man]

$30k in proceeds from the sale of an Elise sure would buy a lot of nice camera gear.

Just sayin'. :|

[Godson]

Something that will appreciate versus something that will eventually become obsolete...

[Sad, little man]

To be fair, most camera lenses very rarely become "obsolete" and depreciation on them is usually very low. Cameras, yeah, those lose value, but not at a breakneck speed.

The fact that the Lotus may appreciate at some point is kind of its undoing as far as me owning it. I never just use it as a car. Now at 11 years old, and 5 years since you could buy them new here, I feel like I'm driving a rolling museum piece. I always worry about where I'm going with it and whether or not I can find safe parking for it there. I would have loved to take it up to northern Michigan this past weekend, but alas, I was camping somewhere down a mile long dirt road... Not Lotus friendly.

But, this same factor is the reason that I just don't think I'll ever be able to part with it. They will only get harder and harder to come by in this country. Sure, the new one will (might??) come out some day, but it won't be as light, and who knows if it will retain the beautiful styling of the current one.

[21Kid]

YOLO :finger:


Wait until you find something newer (to you) and shinier. No need to hold onto anything forever, IMO. If you've had your fun with it and find something better... move on up.

Unless of course, if you think you'd always miss it.

I don't think I could ever own a car and think of it as an investment.

[dodint]

To be fair, most camera lenses very rarely become "obsolete" and depreciation on them is usually very low.

An aside: I took all my 35mm lenses (one was like a 400mm, YUGE) and sent them to a buddy of mine in California who just started up his own photography studio. So they're living on in his DSLR which makes me happy.

[Sad, little man]

One of my favorite quirks about this car is the tachometer. It's just kinda like "Yeah, there are some things that happen below 3000RPM, but they don't really matter that much."

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1958&d=1475344809

1958

[thesameguy]

Probably would have had more room had they not thrown in an extra 2000rpm worth of space....

[Sad, little man]

There's really only 1000RPM of extra space. The rev limiter is 8500RPM. :)

[Sad, little man]

Gettin' em all washed up.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=2400&d=1496531998

2400

[Random]

:up:

[novicius]

Nice shot, SLM. :cool:

[Sad, little man]

When your dodgy British electrical system leaves you an hour and a half away from your destination with no headlights one hour before sunset.

2453

But you're in a bright orange car that's capable of trimming minutes off of your trip.

2454

[Cam]

:rawk:

[Sad, little man]

I have a strange desire to apply dozens of black vinyl pinstripes onto the car to create a psychedelic flow of lines that accentuate the car's shape... Change my mind.

[dodint]

http://www.fleerdiecast.net/product/nfl/2006/photos/nfl_bengals_2006_ertl_car_viper_1996.jpg

[George]

One vote for a Rust-Wrap.

This one is a bit extreme, but I like the concept.

https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fskepple.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F03%2Fdownload_20150828_ 134515.jpeg&f=1

[Godson]

Do what you want. I'll judge from a distance.

[TheBenior]

3011

[Random]

I have a strange desire to apply dozens of black vinyl pinstripes onto the car to create a psychedelic flow of lines that accentuate the car's shape... Change my mind.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/P90061940A.jpg?itok=uPnV2_qR

Sounds fun. :)

[Sad, little man]

FINALLY took this car to somewhere where it can really be enjoyed... There are GoPro videos!

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=3054&d=1528366263

3054

[Sad, little man]

I took this photo about four years ago and never posted it anywhere. It makes me chuckle.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=3932&d=1661227825

3932

[Crazed_Insanity]

Do you still have the car? Or did you trade it in for the RV van and the jet bike? :p

[Sad, little man]

Do you still have the car? Or did you trade it in for the RV van and the jet bike? :p
No I still have it. I don't think I will ever get rid of it because they are not making any more of them, the value is not dropping, and it's still a blast. Almost 10 years of owning it and it is still a crazy experience every time I drive it. I have not driven it enough lately, but yes I still have it. Not a whole lot to report other than one of the valve stems rotted out in June causing a flat tire requiring a tow, which was really stressful because it's low to the ground and easily damaged. I quickly threw together the wooden ramps in this photo, and got it onto the tow truck without issue. It was kind of a bummer because a flat tire which would normally be a minor inconvenience in any other car became a major crisis in this car. But I guess that's the price you pay.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=3933&d=1661280443

3933

[Crazed_Insanity]

Holy shit! You just created those wooden ramps on the spot?

You really should rename yourself a Resourceful Little Man you know?

Glad things turned out alright. Yeah, that car is definitely a keeper. :up:

[Sad, little man]

Holy shit! You just created those wooden ramps on the spot?

You really should rename yourself a Resourceful Little Man you know?

Glad things turned out alright. Yeah, that car is definitely a keeper. :up:

No actually it happened on a Friday night and I couldn't get a tow truck out to where it was that night, so I had to leave the car overnight and I made those the next morning before I went back to it to get it towed.

[Sad, little man]

Update... The entire gauge cluster has started to randomly drop out. I will have all winter to fix this, and I'd like to ASAP because I discovered that the odometer stops counting when this happens. A little searching online suggests that maybe just a loose solder connection in the cluster is the cause.

It will never cease to amaze me when I get waves in this car from guys on sportbikes. In the eternal strife between bikers and cars, this is the one car that apparently cuts through it.

[Godson]

I mean, the guys who built the original were Ducati guys trying to recreate the feeling...

[Crazed_Insanity]

Odometer stopped? Take the opportunity to ride it all over town for now you have unlimited mileage!!! :D

[Yw-slayer]

Because it's the best sports car ever, duh.

[Kchrpm]

It will never cease to amaze me when I get waves in this car from guys on sportbikes. In the eternal strife between bikers and cars, this is the one car that apparently cuts through it.

Sport bike riders give me a wave, too.