Lotus Elan Central

The video evidence has just arrived on youtube http://youtu.be/6bhr5z9Y4vc

But apart from that it was a fantastic day with some lovely motors on show and the sun was beaming..

I only managed to complete three laps in the Elan before the back went, shame because I was really enjoying myself, , my game plan was to stay out off the way of the track-hacks and I moved over for a few very quick little cars but I had spotted the Dolomite lining up behind me had a front mounted camera so I wonted to keep him behind for a few laps and then I was going to move over ,, the irony was I that as soon as I hit the next straight I was going to move over and allow him through , I just didn't make it to the straight

My car is not too bad and only the rear bumper has paint damage the Dolly suffered more with dented wheel arch...Had a good chat with the owner nice guy and he was perfectly fine..

Pinky happened to be on had for a quick damage assessment, good to see you Dave hope you sorted your starter and more importantly your stereo

Bummer! At least we now have proof it's possible for a FWD car to oversteer. Glad the damage was minor at least to you and hope the Dolly comes out OK, too.

Glad to hear the damage is minimal - at least I spun mine in the wet albeit on the parade lap.

Hi Trig,

Glad you got home okay - and i bet you spent most of the trip listening for odd creaks, groan and rattles

Just to clarify - It wasn't MY Dolomite that tried to wipe out an elan to increase the residual values of those left behind (but maybe an option for the future....).

Mine would have been a small speck in the distance having overtaken the elan on the first straight bit

On a serious note, you were taking all the right lines and it all looked good until the understeer at Quarry Corner.....

...not being critical, but trying to understand the dynamics and reasons for it, her's my 2 pennorth (and i make these observations from sad experience of THIS particular circuit, not to try and say how brilliant a driver i am).

It looks to me that you were slightly off-line over Avon Rise, turning left to the entry to Quarry, all under braking....

....the car always goes light on the crest of the rise, and braking isn't as effective when the tyres aren't in good contact with the road, leading to a bit of instability.

You are still braking quite late into Quarry, and left the turn-in to a few yards past the cone (said to be the optimum position, but each to their own on that one!) - this put the car unstable into one of the worst known corners on the UK racing circuit, and needs a constant throttle through the corner to get it right - the elan suffers from lift-off oversteer, which will be exagerated on that particular set of circumstances.

I really don't think it has a lot to do with the suspension bushes

FYI I spoke to Martin, and from the engine noise of his car, I would say you were doing good speeds up until then, and he couldn't find a way past you, so had settled into a 'following position'......

He is an experienced hand on this circuit, and wouldn't have been that close if he didn't feel safe - luckilly he thought he could see it coming, and had already gone left to avoid you......

.....if it had been a moron (like me!) it could have been a whole lot worse than a scraped bumper


PS - The starter problem was a failed crimp conector on the lead from the battery to solenoid, but more importantly, the stereo is fine.
Next major job is to fix the cigarette lighter

and for anyone who knows the circuit, i was seeing 120 on the main straight, and lapping about 5 seconds quicker than i can in the elan.

I welcome your assessment or anyone else's opinion on why the back went light, I'm still very new to this car only done 600miles so far

I have been around this circuit many times over many years and have only twice gone sideways on this corner once in a single seater formula ford and once in my Saab but on this occasion I didn't sense it coming car felt composed and it may not look it but I was off the brakes (only very light braking at this point) turning in at the cone and feathering the throttle ....may be a tad too much throttle too early in the corner is my gut feeling

I've had an instructor session on this track and always try to hit the cones and break and change gear before turning , I still do believe the new rear arb polys played a part making the back lighter ? stiffer less roll (this was the reason the first time I went side ways some years ago in my Saab, uprated arb) if you could see previous video off me going around 3 years ago in the Elan the car was rolling in every corner and now corners much flatter but feels lighter at the back.. BUT at the end of the day this was driver error I over stepped the limits off my road tyres...and no real harm done to both cars

Dave I think Martin would have easily missed me if there wasn't another car along side him in the corner leaving him to try to sneak around the back of me as the other guy had a lot more room going around the front of me,, for a moment they were both heading straight at me


A side from the bump I was surprised my Peco was so loud during sound testing 100bd ..which was the limit
This is the first time on track in the Elan since its been up graded with HI-spec front..did the job well , Everest chip and Peco exhaust much much better than previously, still not enough oomph.. but much better than before

Looking forward to more track time with this car and hopefully more upgrade, wheels and tyres top of the list and less bumps

Just found an action pic http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallerni/5 ... 941564638/

Download The owner has disabled downloading of their photos.

The swine!

Was their a late break well into the turn?
This would have made things much worse.
Was the late break due to under steer and not wanting to enter the grass?
Only my opinion having done this but without the OUCH factor.
Great video glad all is well.
Steve -getting ready for track day.

Have you tried 'snip' as the picture cannot be downloaded.