Categories
cars

Video feature on the Elise

Just in time for the 15 year Anniversary of my Elise purchase, the Throdle Youtube channel released these videos about my Elise ownership experience. We talk a about what its like to have the Elise as a daily driver and how it eventually became my track car instead. The Elise is now my least valuable car but in terms of memories and experiences it is the one car that I will never sell.

Apart from the driving experiences, the Elise also got me into the GGLC orbit and has led to many of my automotive friendships in the bay area.

FYI the videos were recorded in 2019 which is why it seems weird to have people standing together without masks.… Read the rest

Categories
cars personal photos

15 Year Anniversary of my 2006 Lotus Elise

Today was the 15 year anniversary of my picking up the Elise. I did post some pictures after years one and two but I figure a milestone event like this is worth a few more. Click through on the pictures to see them in more detail on Flickr.

Picked up from Los Gatos Luxury cars on 6-Dec-2005 some 5 months after I placed the build order. I was told that this was the first 2006 Elise delivered in California.
ZoneTag Photo 16:54:43 PST

Did the 1500 mile break-in down Highway 1. I was at the dealer 6 days after pickup with the odometer at 1490 miles.… Read the rest

Categories
cars personal review

Lotus Elise Suspension comparo: Base Vs Nitron 46mm SA Vs Penske SA

One of the great things about being a car guy in CA is that there is a large number of fellow addicts around. This means that if you ever want to put some high dollar upgrades on a car you can usually find someone with a similar setup and get some first hand info about it. The latest to take advantage of this was Vincent from the GGLC who has been thinking of getting a set of single adjustable coilovers for his Elise and was having a tough time deciding between the Nitron 46mm Race Pro 1-Way and the BWR Penske Single Adjustable.… Read the rest

Categories
cars personal photos road trip videos

The road from LOG 31 (Video)

Timelapse video of 3 Elises driving back from Lotus Owners Gathering 31 (LOG 31) in Vegas back to the Bay Area through Death Valley and Sonora Pass. Route chosen by Steve M and video by John Z, I just tagged along to make up the numbers 🙂

It was a spectacular drive with Sonora Pass (skip to the 3:10 mark in the video to see footage) with almost no traffic and excellent asphalt quality. The pass is closed for significant portions of the year due to snow so you should call ahead before you make the journey. Full route info below:


View Larger MapRead the rest

Categories
autocross cars videos

Health benefits of Autocrossing

At the last GGLC autocross Alex and I decided to try out a little experiment to see how your heart rate changes during the race. We used a Polar S720i to record his heart rate, an iPhone for video and a DL1 data logger to record G-force and speed readings. I used some simple PHP magic to sync the two data files together and used the Chasecam Dashware system to create this finished video.

You can see the speed, heart rate (BPM), longitudinal G (acceleration + braking) and lateral G in the dashboard on the top of the video. His average heart rate was in the low nineties while on the grid and rises to to 101 just before the start of the run.… Read the rest