Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Come and introduce yourself
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hendeg
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by hendeg » Sun Jul 11, 2010 10:01 am

j2 lot wrote:Congrats on your purchase Gav - what did you get and when do you pick it up ?
:withstupid and :welcome
Exige GT

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CubanGav
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by CubanGav » Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:02 am

:cheers
I got an early S2 in quartz silver. Graeme at Murrays did his thing beautifully with a little help from my mate Chris. Between the two of them I had Decided I was having it in about 5 mins. :mrgreen: A massive thanks to Graeme who had spotted me posting here and was extremely helpful. Rare to see a car salesman so keen about what he does.

Chris was supposed to keep me in check but all he said was 'It's really nice', 'I'd have it, if it was me', 'look at that bit there!' and so on and so on. Hehe.

I should have it next Saturday. Having that film stuff put on the nose which was re-painted. Its very very nice. Lots of little extra things on it which just make you drool.
Reckon I've made the right choice by not going for a more powerful one seeing as my driving skills are non existent and have been mollycoddled for years by gizmo's. It'll be as quick (quicker round corners) as the old car with none of the safety assistance. Learning to drive properly will be fun.

A couple of years, and a better paid job, and I'll be back to Graeme at Murrays to have that Type 72 Exige sitting in the showroom. (It will be mine, oh yes it will be mine)

Image
My one.

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robin
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by robin » Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:16 am

Very cool - you'll love it - any Elise is brilliant compared to 99% of the cars you're ever likely to own and drive (even if you are Mass, AndyG, Renmure, etc. who seem to like the more exotic cars as well as the Loti ;-)) and the S2 111S is well up there amongst the Elise variants - plenty of time to look at the Exige later (I've got both, and can honestly say that in more spirited driving sessions, I prefer the S2 K-series Elise to the super charged S2 Exige).

And now the word of warning - even though it is the more friendly S2 Elise it will still swap ends on you at the drop of a hat if you reach the limits of traction and talent.

The S2 tends to understeer towards the limits, which is safer in principle, but understeer makes oversteer when you lift off the throttle in a panic ....

It's almost a cliche to suggest a carlimits.com day, but really the cost of the day might easily save you in terms of increased insurance premiums after you need a new clam having found the barrier on the exit of a diesel covered leafy wet roundabout - these are the usual excuses people give when they try and impress by burying the throttle on the exit of a roundabout - in their minds it will turn into a glorious smoking of rear wheels and a dukes-of-hazard drift; in reality it results in swapping ends into the barriers ;-). Also your enjoyment of the car will increase in proportion to your confidence in knowing your limits and the car's limits - when you know what you and it can do, you can stick within those limits and have a huge amount of fun.

A track day is also a valuable lesson - it will help you find the limits in a (relatively) safe environment. Most of the KH (knockhill) days that come up on this forum will be appropriate for novices; do some KH days before venturing further afield - KH is a good track to learn on.

There is no substitute for experience, so do as much driving as you can in it and build up speed and confidence slowly. Don't be scared of the car, but treat it with respect, especially when grip is reduced.

Cheers,
Robin
I is in your loomz nibblin ur wirez
#bemoretut

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campbell
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by campbell » Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:20 am

Brilliant, Gav, and the logic of cutting your teeth on a standard (but seriously capable) Elise before graduating to an Exige rocketship is very commendable.

Enjoy the car when you get it.

For the first couple of tankfuls, just repeat these words often...

"Accelerate in a straight line"

"Brake in a straight line"

"Off the brake, turn in, light throttle, catch the apex, start to unwind, NOW foot down hard"

This is no Scooby Doo you are piloting any more :-)

PS - as Robin says above, watch it in the wet. If you have spacious tarmac to play with in such conditions, by all means get lairy to see what happens...but otherwise you will be shocked at how quickly you run out of road to correct even little slides. The car's balance point is remarkably close to the centre, so warnings are minimal and effects are considerable!

Welcome aboard.
http://www.rathmhor.com | Coaching, training, consultancy

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CubanGav
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by CubanGav » Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:32 am

Good advice folks. Anyone have an opinion on the track experience days at Knockhill? The one where you are out in the Seats and Legends with instruction. If i remember right its about £250 for the day but you do get a lot of time out there. Would it be worth the money?

Gav.

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mckeann
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by mckeann » Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:39 am

now you have a car, you'd be much better getting this one:

http://driving-experience.knockhill.com ... riving.php

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campbell
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by campbell » Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:40 am

Yes.

You get dedicated instruction in the Leon, then a chance to put it all into practice on your own. Although when I did this it was Mk3 Fiesta XR2i's and single seater "Formula Firsts" (bit like an older detuned Formula Ford...still fast as fook and the closest thing to an Elise in terms of overall sensation, at the time...I'd imagine a Legend is even more raw!).

Main advantage is that it's not your car that might get binned. This is a good thing.

Alternative is to get a one on one day, if they still do them, in your own car. Never done that though...with track experience day above, you get all the basics you need, then the smart move is to come along to a well organised Trackday eg SIDC - always posted on here by JohnStewart - where you'll get tips and support from regulars, a bit of room on track if they know you are a newbie, and also the chance of a few laps for free with the instructor who attends as part of the overall TD "package" John usually arranges.
http://www.rathmhor.com | Coaching, training, consultancy

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mwmackenzie
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by mwmackenzie » Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:41 am

Congratulations Gav! :thumbsup
Mark MacKenzie

BMW Z4 3.0si, [R14 MMK] To be Ring ready soon

Fancy Ass Merc thingy S [R4 MMK] 85% MacKenzie'd Family Spec

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CubanGav
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by CubanGav » Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:50 am

http://driving-experience.knockhill.com ... riving.php

Does look good. Hmmmmmmm. If anyone else gets into this lotus malarkey in the next couple of weeks and wants to do it too - give me a shout. I'm a social creature and company would be great. :P

Gav.

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robin
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by robin » Sun Jul 11, 2010 12:00 pm

I did one of those about 10 years or so ago and it was very worthwhile - I had more-or-less no experience and I learned a fair bit about track driving the elise in those 25 laps. You will, however, learn more about car control in general on a (more expensive and much more hassle to get to) carlimits.com day ...

Cheers,
Robin
I is in your loomz nibblin ur wirez
#bemoretut

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mwmackenzie
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by mwmackenzie » Sun Jul 11, 2010 12:21 pm

CubanGav wrote:http://driving-experience.knockhill.com ... riving.php

Does look good. Hmmmmmmm. If anyone else gets into this lotus malarkey in the next couple of weeks and wants to do it too - give me a shout. I'm a social creature and company would be great. :P

Gav.
I don't think it's a group thing is it? I think it's a one to one... been thinking of getting this for the wife in my car at some point but I'll need to save for it and it'll most likely be in sept for anviersary as I can't justify spending that on her at the moment hahahahhaha..... she needs to warrent it first lol
Mark MacKenzie

BMW Z4 3.0si, [R14 MMK] To be Ring ready soon

Fancy Ass Merc thingy S [R4 MMK] 85% MacKenzie'd Family Spec

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jen
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by jen » Sun Jul 11, 2010 3:27 pm

CONGRATS Gav!!!!!! Woo Hoo!! I was just asking Alan yesterday on the way to the wedding if he had heard from you and 10 minutes later he recieved your picture message!! Really chuffed you got it!! You need to come round with it when you get back up the road!! Looking forward to seeing it!

Jen

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Mikie711
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by Mikie711 » Sun Jul 11, 2010 5:56 pm

Nice car Gav, had a look at it last Thursday when I was down, good choice :thumbsup .

I agree whole heartedly wit Robin that a Walshy day is the best thing you can do. It will teach you how far you can push the car and what it'll do when you get to the limit. Planning a trip down in late August for a couple of back to back 4 person days and have 2 spare places to fill. Need to confirm dates but let me know if your interested. Bear in mind these will be mid week dates.
Elise S2 260
BMW M2 Comp
RRS HST
BMW R1300GS

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c murray
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by c murray » Mon Jul 12, 2010 12:07 am

:welcome
lost lost lost we gav

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CubanGav
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Re: Hello from ANOTHER Aberdeen nearly Lotus owner

Post by CubanGav » Mon Jul 12, 2010 1:24 pm

Mikie711
I'm already abroad in august to visit family so dont think I could do it then. Definately something I would be interested in though. I've just been looking into insurance and I'm getting it for half (yes thats half) what I was on the scoob. :D £300 aint bad at all considering it'll be parked on the road. The lad at CCI said he'd never seen an area with as low a category as mine. Cat 3 and he had only seen that once before apparently. Sometimes it pays to live next to old people. He did think it was 190 BHP?!?! I wish.....

With the drop in insurance and fuel costs it looks like the lotus will be the same cost overall so I'm even happier.

jen
I'll swing past asafp. Should be getting it on Saturday and I'll shout you two then. :thumbsup

c murray
You on the road yet? I remember something about Allan wanting ro run it in a bit. A thinly veilled (but probably wise excuse) for a blast methinks. Looking good though.

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