jwitzer

I took one out a few times today (alone, with passenger, etc) and I have to admit that I HAVE TO HAVE ONE OF THESE THINGS, but then I look at my 11 month old daughter and decide that, once again, I still need back seats.

While the Elise has nowhere near the power or absolute handling my RX-7 did, it has to be the most nimble car I've ever driven! Everything is *SO* immediate! Sure, it's a bit tight getting in with the roof on, but it's quite roomy inside (though you sit VERY close to your passenger).

And I was surprised that it is not harsh. In fact, it could easily be a daily driver (though in Florida the A/C is wholly insufficient).

Anyone else?

See the "slightly" modified RX-7 at www.geocities.com/jwitzer

ashus

I drive and own an elise and it cannot be compared to an rx7 or an rx8 for that matter.
This car is seriously light.
Forget power..... look at power to weight ratio. Furthermore the elise can corner and out brake just about anything on the road. We are talking about a different league to errrrh,,,,,,,,, what are they called?????? are yes ....MAZDAS!

irish8

Hey, hey, hey...go easy. Don't dis us RX8 owners to bad!! Two different types of car in my opinion. The 8 is an everyday driver and plenty of fun with you put the foot down. The Elise....a go-cart. Built for track driving. I might also add you spent $10k more than us. If I were you...I would have bought an M3. But anyway... congrats on your new ride.

Senseny

Ashus, My Rx7 cost me 13800, I put in a bit over 10,000 and I have a car with a better p/w ratio and more practicality than an Elise for at least 15000 less than the cost of an Elise. My Rx8 cost 11000 less than an Elise and I can ferry 3 adults around town and have a blast doing it. Don't get me wrong, I want and probably will own an Elise (my wife and I were talking about it today) down the road. I have never dissed the car. I just don't think it makes sense to come on this board and disrespect Mazdas. BTW, the comparison between the third generation Rx7 and the Elise makes sense (lightweight, low horsepower, purpose built 2 seaters, that have tested with very similar performance numbers).

shelleys_man_06

Personally, I wouldn't think about myself if I had an 11 month old daughter. I would get something much more practical than a Lotus Elise. I hear the ride is terrible, and I'm sure your daughter wouldn't like that at all. The RX-8 is a soft sports car, per se. If you want good performance and comfort, you could invest in the RX-8, or perhaps a Mazda 6.

dean2900

Just for the record, the Elise is 47k when you get the sports package. That is about 17k over what most people are paying for fully loaded 8s.

That is a great car though and I would love to have one but it is the wrong time in my life as I just gave up my 2 seater weekend fun car.

Dean

jwitzer

Shellys_man_06, the Elise is out of the question, but as a sports car purist (thus my only trepedations about the RX-8) the Elise is THE answer. And it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon! The ride is light and NIMBLE (!!!) but was not was not terribly harsh (of course, I'm coming from a 1993 RX-7 R1 with doubled spring rates and 285/30ZR18s). I *would* use it as a daily driver (thought the A/C is pretty weak). Remember that Tampa, FL has no hills, very few curves, and smooth roads.

Ashus, I agree with the concentration of power to weight and, moreso, with adding lightness to cars. Horsepower can overcome weight for acceleration, but braking and handling (even with 14 inch, six-pucks and mondo rubber) are best served with lightness (ex. my RX-7 vs Vipers at Sebring - a horsepower track).

Note that I still believe that my RX-7 could out-track an Elise with me driving both. That does NOT mean that I did not LOVE my time in the Lotus. The RX-7 (again, in HIGHLY functionally modified form) produced more of a Cool Hand Luke squinty-eyed determination to hunt and kill poseurs in Vipers, Vettes, and 911TTs, while the Elise (more like a severely hopped up Miata) turned me giddy with laughter at its capabilites. Much more fun than serious.

If it is to replace the RX-7 in my heart, I would wait for the supercharger and find some way to quell the understeer. By the way, if you put a deposit down today, your Elise would be delivered next June!

Irish8, spoiled by the mighty pull of my RX-7, putting my throttle foot down was the only disappointing aspect of my test drives in the RX-8. It does so MANY things well, all as good or better than the stock RX-7, which is why it is the #1 choice in my current hunt for a new car, but expectations of thrust is, perhaps more than anything, dependent on experience.

There are plenty of new cars out there, some significantly less expensive, that will out accelerate the RX-8. But the RX-8, like the M3, is one of the best real-world compromises for my needs I've found. The RX-8 loses to the M3 only in acceleration, but bests it in nimbleness and rear seat space (a new requirement for me). And the RX-8 is built so much better than the 3rd gen RX-7 could dream of being.

The Elise is more like a 4-wheeled sports bike. (Personal references: 1986 Honda VFR700F2 and 1991 CBR1000F2) Raw. Minimal. Yet somehow complete. Envy, for sure.

Elise vs RX-8? Apples and oranges. Both wanted, but very, very different.

dano670

Power to weight ratio between an RX7 and Elise:

Elise

1930 lbs + 200 lb driver = 2130 lbs
2130 / 190 hp = 11.2 lbs per hp

RX7

2800 lbs + 200 lb driver = 3000 lbs
3000 lbs / 255 hp = 11.7 lbs per hp

Pretty similar. And the engine,,,,,,,,,what's that called?????TOYOTA! League, no. Autocross class, YES! See you at the track.

Dan
93 RX7 R1

DOMINION

OK so if the Lotus Elise has a 1.8-liter four cylinder powering the Elise came from Toyota, as did the gearbox and the Toyota Celica GT-s has 162-hp/119 -lb torque and the Lotis Elise has 168-hp/120-lb torque then can you put the SC from TRD or the Celica on the Elise?.

PoorCollegeKid

The Celica GT-S has 180hp/130ftlbs of torque, and the Elise has identical specs to the European version of the Celica (190hp/138ftlbs of torque). Not quite sure where you got your 16-hp figures from or the torque numbers, but they aren't quite correct. As of now, there is no supercharger made by TRD for the 2ZZGE engine but there are several aftermarket turbo/supercharger kits. I would imagine that any sort of breathing mod (intake, exhaust, FI) made for the Celica would not work with the Elise unless heavily modified due to differences in engine bay size and layout.

jwitzer

According to Lotus, a Toyota-sourced supercharger already available on Toyota models through TRD is under analysis.

This may become standard equipment on the US Elise due to a few HP complaints.

Lotus does encourage modifications and will be providing other performance parts and advice.

Heck, the local dealership sponsors Elise-only track events and provides technicians to wrench for you, if needed.

Ike

HP complaints... they have run high 12s low 13s stock, I have heard nothing of HP complaints. So it's faster than any stock USDM FD and will also outhandle one

jwitzer

True, but the dealerships that sell them has a clientelle used to 360s and Enzos.

Just reporting what I heard.

My test drives also left me wanting for a little more grunt. But I'd take one if you gave it to me! :-)

PoorCollegeKid

Lotus would be wrong if they said that a S/C for the 2ZZ was already available for Toyotas through TRD, as can be seen by a quick search through the TRD US site and their Japan site. There is a kit available for 1.8L engines (click here for more details), but unless Lotus was going to outfit the Elise with a completely new engine this S/C cannot be used. There may be a kit under developement for the 2ZZ, but there is no reliable kit in existence that Lotus could simply modify and strap on to their car.

DOMINION

That not what they say in Sport Compact Car mag?

PoorCollegeKid

Ah, I think I know what the difference is here... The SCC numbers were whp figures, while the numbers I quoted are chp numbers. That would explain things rather nicely.

DOMINION