Engine Control Unit Information

The engine control unit in the Elise retains information on the operating conditions of the engine, how it is performing, and how the engine is being used. The Elise has strict break in procedures which suggest limits on how the engine can be used during the first 1000 miles.

After 1000 miles, the first service includes the dumping of the retained information, which is then sent off to Lotus. I asked for a copy of the information, which is included below.

Note the following:

  • I never drove the car over 80 m.p.h. Note the two seconds above 100 m.p.h. that my wife drove during her first experience with the car.
  • After 600 miles you can start to use more than half throttle. This shows 36 seconds at 80-100% throttle.
  • The Max Engine Speed shows three recordings of greater than 8000 rpm. I know I did not do that, and the car only had 8 miles on it when I picked it up. So I am not sure when the engine encountered these high revs. The technician said the engine is revved early on at Lotus and these findings were normal.
engine control unit dump