UniBrain Trust » Lotus Elise

A change in the lineup

Jim — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:04:54 +0000

Today I sold the Lotus Elise and bought a Porsche Cayman S. The Elise was a lot of fun.

In Which I Become a Car Nut

Nadya — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:46:49 +0000

Today for a few hours the three sweetest words in the English language were “End Speed Zone.” I drove the Elise on the open road for the first time today. After an hour I was hot, sweaty, acutely aware that the car had not been designed for someone with Rubenesque hips, and had to pee. I didn’t want to stop; I was having too much fun. Related posts: First Trackday Related posts:

First Trackday

Spring has Sprung

Jim — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:36:48 +0000

It was a beautiful day and being a holiday I went for a drive towards the coast. I didn’t make it as the road I picked still had some snow but it was a wonderful drive none the less. 5741 Related posts: 3200 Miles and a set of brake pads Ping pong and Elk Redding, CA Related posts:

Pacific Raceways

Jim — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:39:56 +0000

After a couple of years of trying, I finally spent got a chance to drive a Pacific Raceways near Kent, WA. The track is very different from PIR with about 300’ of elevation change and a nice “drive through the woods” Here is a video of one of my early sessions. I’m still driving very conservatively and learning the track.

Trackday!

Jim — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 01:46:19 +0000

Today was the first trackday of the year. It was threatening rain for most of the day but luckily no rain appeared and in the afternoon the sun even came out. A good day to shake off the cobwebs and get back on the track.

All of the sessions were uneventful for me as I slowly increased my speed. That is until the last session.

I had an instructor with me and was pushing a bit harder than usual. Towards the end of the session, the car started to get loose as the tires started to get a bit too hot. Nothing too dramatic as the backend stepped out on turn 6. The instructor said, Nice recovery, but I knew the car was loose and pushed a bit more than I should have.

Did I mention the video camera Nadya bought me for Christmas? I’m still experimenting with transfering video and trying to optimize the format for download.

Stats for the day: 97 miles and 9.7 gals of fuel

All British Field Meet

Jim — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:46:00 +0000

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Saturday was the All British Field Meet in Portland. Nadya drove the Elan and I drove the Seven. The only car at the show that I thought was special was a BRM Elan. I never thought I’d see a real, or even a fake, BRM but there it was.There were a number of Elises at the show. The most amazing thing was we had no duplicated colors. Quite a sight.Just like last year, the Elan was awarded first place and the Seven second place in the peoples choice awards.

Another track day

Jim — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 15:01:02 +0000

Another trackday for the Elise this time with the local Lotus Club As usual, there were some cool cars to look at and chase on the track. More unusual were the plethora of Lotus cars! All told, there were 14 Lotus not counting pure race cars at the track. Of course 10 of them were Elise (or should that be Elises?)

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3200 Miles and a set of brake pads

Jim — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 14:54:23 +0000

Friday was the third trackday for the Elise and I had a wonderful time. How can you not have a good time playing hooky from work to hang out with friends and drive as fast as you dare? I ran 5 20 minute sessions and put about 130 miles on the car for an average speed of 78 mph. During that 130 miles I used two full tanks of gas and a third of a set of brake pads. With only 3200 miles and three track days on the car, I’ve worn out the brake pads. Related posts: Brake Pedal Track Day – 983 Miles Brake Lines Related posts:

Identified

Jim — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 14:46:42 +0000

So who was that man? He was a photographer from the Oregonian taking pictures for an article in the Sunday paper.

A few weeks ago, Arun at Motocorsa called and asked if I wanted to be interviewed for the paper. I agreed and with a single hour with the reporter on one day, almost three hours with the photographer on another two days an article in the paper was born.

Way back when, I mentioned I drove the car that was on the cover of Car and Driver and said it would probably not happen again. This wasn’t a cover but it was my car (and me!)

Who is this man?

Nadya — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 01:14:56 +0000

342 And why is he taking Jim’s picture? Stay tuned ….. Related posts: Body in Primer Tires Will the seats and carpet never end? Related posts: