One Year Anniversary

This month marks my one year anniversary with the Lotus Elise! I am amazed at what I have done with the car and the miles I have covered with it. It has traveled over 14,000 miles and been an absolute joy to drive. I still have not documented why driving an Elise is so different from any other car and thinking back, I am again inspired to try and do so. I cannot imagine having any other car right now because I am having so much fun.

Modifications:

I have not made any further modifications. I am still trying to decide which color wire mesh I prefer on the radiator exits. When asking other Elise owners, they all immediately prefer the black side. However when I point out that the shrouding and radiator are move visible on the black side, while the silver mesh stops the eye from seeing beyond it, many change their minds.

I used up another set of rear tires. It seems I am only getting about 7,000 miles per set, probably because of my autocross activities.

Driving:

My Elise finally stranded me on the side of the road! I traveled up to Washington State to visit my mother. I had traveled over 700 miles when suddenly the right rear tire lost air pressure. I limped to the next exit, a rest stop. It was after 6:00 pm and all the tire stores were closed. I had a new set of rear tires waiting for me back home in the garage. I heard stories about not using the tire sealant and inflation kit included with the car. So I called my wife back in California and asked her to save me! She got on the Internet and then called around. A fellow came out to help, discovered the stem was broken, meaning the tire was OK, removed the wheel, took it for a stem replacement and return. After exchanging lots of money, I was on my way again, traveling the last 12 miles without incident. Not having a spare, having no way to have others jack up the car, and not having the correct tools to remove the wheel all were problems.

I returned home later the next week, expecting high gas prices from hurricane Katrina, and had the new tires installed. My alignment was also checked and I removed a couple of shims to increase the front camber. Thanks to Jeff Jio at Mt. View Firestone.