Lotus Elise videos on the 'net

[Nunyas]

During my wee hours of the night browsing I decided to search for Lotus Elise videos and came up with a nice collection of clips on Google videos:
Lotus Elise video collection: https://video.google.com/videosearch?q="Lotus+Elise"&page=1&lv=0&so=0



One I found entertaining was Entering and Exiting a Lotus Elise: https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4422226721943727949&q="Lotus+Elise"&pl=true

Along with the Nurburgring video chasing a Corvette (nearly 14 minutes long): https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8618148878661414041&q="Lotus+Elise"&pl=true Elise @ Nurburgring 'Twas fun watching the driver chisel away at the Vette's lead through the turns, but watching him fall dramatically behind in the long straights was a bit disheartening /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[kennypinkerton]

Interesting clips. I laughed at one of them where they are driving around the Nurburgring, and there's a shot of a 90's Range Rover about to flip over from taking a corner really fast - I guess they'll let anything run on there.

 

[Nunyas]

huh.... the links are fubar.... lemme see if i can fix that

 

[JamesWilson]

[ QUOTE ]
huh.... the links are fubar.... lemme see if i can fix that

[/ QUOTE ]

Cut and paste into the address works well enough to get by....

The entry & exit was amusing.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[TypeRboy]

That Corvette is nothing to sneeze at, particularily if it is stock!

 

[ecurie_ecosse]

Good stuff /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif
There is no mention of how to enter/exit an Elise on the DVD I received from Lotus Cars USA yesterday.But my! it must be joy to drive. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif Unfortunately it is a little out of my budget /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif.Still the dream is free /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif

Stuart. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[kennypinkerton]

I watched the entry/exit on the net a few weeks ago... with the top on, it looks positively gymnastic. Also installing the soft-top looks like it takes a long time too.

 

[Roger]

[ QUOTE ]
I watched the entry/exit on the net a few weeks ago... with the top on, it looks positively gymnastic. Also installing the soft-top looks like it takes a long time too.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can assure you firsthand that both are true. However, there is much more than adequate compensation!

 

[Nunyas]

I found it hard to believe at first when people told me how wide the sills are and how much more difficult it was to get into than a '92 LT1 Corvette. However, once I got a good look at an Exige's interior, I was simply in awe at how wide the lower door sills are. It's something I think I could live with, if I were to own an Elise or Exige though. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[DrEntropy]

About the same as a 300SL, actually.

 

[Nunyas]

but I imagine the door hole on a 300SL is big enough to allow "easy" entry/exit of the vehicle, right? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[kennypinkerton]

Doesn't look that big to me... and the doorsill is knee high. I'd love to get in there though!

 

[kennypinkerton]

for comparison, here's the elise door opening... looks huge compared to the 300sl!

 

[Nunyas]

but it looks like you may have more vertical maneuvering space for entering the Benz. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Shaggy]

New here but just noticed this thread and thought I'd post some videos from a trip we took to Deals Gap. My car is the green one, the Orange & Yellow cars belong to some friends of ours.

Deals Gap Videos

 

[kennypinkerton]

Cool videos. But I still wonder why people seem to ride the rev limiters.

 

[swift6]

I'd chalk up those rev limiter hits to either nervous anticipation or preoccupation with recording equipment.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[Nunyas]

I thougth the videos were pretty cool... although, if they were mine, I'd do something about the encoding / frame rate. Watching the videos reminded me of trying to play a driving game with maximum graphics settings on a under spec computer. The video was fine in the open areas, but once you got shadows and trees into the picture the frame rate went through the floor and the digit artifacts shot through the roof.

Still it's a lot more watchable than prolly 80% of the camcorder videos all over the net. The audio was certianly a LOT better than the vast majority of the amature driving videos I've seen.

 

[Shaggy]

Unfortunately the recording just wasn't of the best quality. The same camera has been used several times throughout last year on the same car at some Autocrosses throughout the country (thats the Orange Elise that took second at nationals & is in the ongoing Tire Rack ads) and the quality was MUCH better. My theory is that either the camera or little recorder (personal recorder thing, this was the new element) just couldn't keep up with the constant change from light to shadows. Shame too because they really were some fun runs.

I haven't watched the videos in a while but I don't remember hearing the limiters much, are we sure thats what was happening? I believe the orange car has an aftermarket exhaust that tends to really make the car growl at higher RPMs, maybe a combo of that and a need to stay around or above 6,200 gives the impression of staying right at the redline. Or he really could have just been on the redline, I'll watch the videos again this afternoon (heading to work now) and see if I can figure it out /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Nunyas]

I counted the rev limiter getting hit twice at the beginning of one video before the 1-2 shift and the 2-3 shift. Then about half way through another video it was hit again.

Like Swift said, I think I'll chaulk it up to momentary preoccupation with things other than just pure driving.

The rev limiter hits weren't _that_ bad IMO. The rev limiter was certainly hit a lot less than in the "Get Away in Stockholm 4" video were a Corvette C-5 driver couldn't keep the car out of the rev limiter to save her life. It ruined the illusion that the drivers in that particular video might actually know how to drive those cars.