UniBrain Trust

Lotus Cars brought a UK spec Elise 111s to the Lotus Club Track day / West Coast Lotus Convention.

At the end of the day they were giving rides around the track to anyone who wanted one. I was on the track taking a ride in a friends Esprit and got to the Elise line about 10 minutes before the end of the day.

Just my luck, as I got into the passenger seat there was an incident on the track that brought the session to a halt. During the waiting period the driver and I talked about the driving line and other pieces of chit chat. The organizers announced the track would be open for 5 minutes. Instead of pulling out, the driver from Lotus told me to get in the drivers seat and, “Bring it back when you’re done.” He hopped out, I hopped in and was off. The session turned out to be about 15 minutes, a very fun 15 minutes.

During the session, I slowly built up speed and found the car very well balanced and a lot of fun. More power and better gear ratios would have been nice as the car was a bit sluggish coming out of turn 12. In the turn 3/4/5 complex, the car was very controllable in a slight drift and the brakes are just incredible.In a couple of laps, I was braking almost as deep as I do in the Seven.  

Lotus has tuned the car to have a slight bit of understeer and there has been a lot of discussion about the necessity for the optional wider front wheels. I don’t know if this car had the wider wheels, but the car felt like the backend would never slide.  The drive renewed my enthusiasm for the car and I need to think about making room in the garage. On the negative side, retirement will need to end and I need to go find another job.

The first system in the car is complete with the last of the brake
lines being installed. I “just” need to bleed the brakes
and pressure test.

The first system in the car is complete with the last of the brake
lines being installed. I “just” need to bleed the brakes
and pressure test.

I’ve started to roughly lay in the new engine bay wiring
harness. I will need to modify the new harness for

1. Alternator. The kit purchased from
   RD Enterprises requires two
   new wires and the removal/relocation of a couple of the wires on
   the generator control box.
2. Electric fuel pump. I’ll run the control wire from the key
   on position of the ignition to the boot where I’ll install a
   relay. Main power will be from the battery through the relay
3. Starter motor. New starter motor has an integral starter relay.
   I’ll deadhead a couple of wires to the old relay and extend
   the control wire
4. Electric Fan. I’ll run a control wire from the key on
   position to a convenient spot near the nose of the car and
   control the fan with a relay and thermostat. I’m not sure
   where I’ll get power from. Just another of those lingering
   questions.

I’ve purchased the appropriately colored wires and some harness
tape so when I add the new wires, I can keep the harness looking
like original. For any of the wires that are no longer being used,
I’ll tie them back and wrap them inside the harness just in
case I, or a future owner, ever need them.

I had a new side window cut at a local glass shop. The price was
$144 and is an almost perfect match for the original. Now that I
have the new glass I can fit the window frames to the doors. After
I get them all straightened, its off to the chrome shop.