Sad farewell

[MikeI]

Have been puting this post off for a wee whiley now but I guess it's time to face the music.

On Dec 19th I managed to roll my S2 after losing control on exiting a tight 80deg bend on a minor B road. The worrying fact for me was that I was not (for once) travelling very fast but the car slid on some farm debris (so the police investigator told me) and unfortunatley the total confidence I had in the car's handling has since evaporated; unfortunate, because it was the best car I ever had & the only one I've been totally satisfied with. Lying trapped in the car upside down for about 15mins with the blood pumping out my head certainly gave me some time to contemplate though , we had only celebrated the birth of our son 11d previously.

A couple of other points of interest:-
1. Both A-pillars structurally failed approx in line with top of door.
2. Both in-built head restraints failed in a forward dir'n (toward occupant) with a high risk of neck damage.

The result of these two failings had me stopping the car utilising my head as a brake, in firm contact with the road (Christ, us jocks have hard heads ). If I did ever get another, & think about this you lot, I would fit roll bar / hoops at first opportunity - I always thought it would be impossible to roll an Elan so never bothered, and it doesn't look as though I was on omy own iwth this thought process going by the number I see on the forum.

So, I'll say my farwell's for now as an owner, but have thoroughly enjoyed my all too brief time on the forum . It was good getting to know the limited number of Jocks that I met (not forgetting Michael from Holand too) and only wish I had been Elaning longer to have met the rest of you.

Happy Elaning chaps (& Stef too).

[Enright]

That is quite horrifying.

I ditched mine 6 days after you, but was unbelievably fortunate.

Really sorry to hear about what happened, but just hope that you're OK, and glad that you are still around to continue to enjoy life with your new family.

Shame Elans can't heal themselves like us carbon based lifeforms, eh?

[Monty]

and unfortunatley the total confidence I had in the car's handling has since evaporated; unfortunate

I know how this feels, after my scrape i still get those stomach churning feelings! and i think i was lucky not to flip her (must get my hoops fitted)

Just hope that after a weee bit of time u will want to get another, in the mean time enjoy u`r family time mate.

ps i heard u`ve got some pic`s?

All the best
Jay

[Rambo]

Mike,

Don't be put off - there's a nice NM for sale at the moment - fit some hoops and re-join the Edinburgh clan.

Mark

PS Archie was talking about a pint/head wetting session when I last saw him at Bo'ness

[Nige]

Mike,

So sorry to hear about your car, but pleased that you're ok and still able to enjoy life with your newbie. I'm pleased I have my hoops fitted but have no plans to test them in the immediate or longer term future.

[Dovey]

Sad to see another elan bite the dust. But at least you're still around to let us know...

I hope we are all aware of the damage that can be done by rolling these things. Elans were built before any proper safety tests and wouldn't pass any today if it tried. Safety features are the brakes ( ) and seatbelts!

[Andy C]

A sobering reminder as to why they wont let me on the track without roll over protection.

Glad to here your OK .. cars can be replaced.

[MikeI]

Tks guys.

Mark, what's an NM? do you mean a NA or have I already forgotten everything to do with Elans? Maybe the bump on the head.. ( I can see that getting blamed for a lot in the future ).

Drinkies sound good, I'm seeing Arch on Sat so could arrange for next week, Alan 2cv now in Edi so he would probably be available too.

atb
Mike

[pjohn151]

NMY = Norfolk Mustard Yellow

Glad you are still with us!

Phil

[Rambo]

Mark, what's an NM?

I was too lazy to type Norfolk Mustard !!

[ab2cv]

Tks guys.

Drinkies sound good, I'm seeing Arch on Sat so could arrange for next week, Alan 2cv now in Edi so he would probably be available too.

atb
Mike

Yeah Mike, I'm up for a few drinks some time. Glad to hear you're alright.

Alan

[Michael]

Sorry to read what happened to you Mike.
Most important , it is good to know you came out of it alive and in one piece.

What we all learn is that, allthough the handling of the Elan is absolutely superb, there are certain limits that can be crossed with serious results because such limits are often reachd at quite high speeds.

Kitty and I enjoyey enjoyed our ride behind you last september as well as the company in the Whiskey Society
Make sure you do visit us when you come over to Holland. Also without an Elan you and your family are more then welcome at our place

Greetz and stay well !

Let's keep in touch
Michael

[chris.t]

Horrifying story - glad to hear you're ok. I have always been suspicious of Lotus's claims that the A pillars give you roll over protection. At the risk of appearing ghoulish have you got any photos so that we can see the state of the A pillars?

[Steve_P]

Really sorry to hear about your accident - but great news that you're OK

Fortunately I now spend most of my driving time surrounded by triple chamber airbags and a host of computer trickery to keep the car on the road - hearing about your misfortune just makes me realise how vulnerable you can be in the Elan. Time to find my crash helmet

[Stef]

Doode That's simply shocking.

Really good to hear you are OK.

Hope you don't get put off buying another Elan. It's fantastic to hear you have made some good friends and some great memories from your brief ownership.

Take care and keep in touch.

[Ex Fastcat]

Hi All.
Sorry to hear about the accident glad you are OK.
One of the things I notice mentioned alot is the idea that the screen pillars are some form of rollover protection.
I am pretty confident in saying that this is not the case in the Elan.
They will cope with the static weight of the car and (I believe) the Static load applied during the FMVSS rollover test. This is not a dynakic test but a rig test which applies a previously defined load to the corners of the roof.
There was always much debate about whether the pillars would survive in a rollover.
At the end of the day, it just depens how they get loaded.
I remember seeing an early vehicle come back to us after a rollover and they were ok, have seen others in pics crunched.
The material was changed in the development stage to a stonger / more ductile grade but that could only go so far.
It was also done to lose some weight by allowing the pillars to be hollowed out. How else would the wiring for the mirror get down that pillar
Note: These are my recollections only.

[MikeI]

Pics - got some b4 & afters which were too big to attach so forwarded them to Monty by e-mail; isn't curiosity a killer, you cats

A-pillars - yes I remember thinking in hospital, wtf happened to those mothers. I gave them a good dose of looking at at the scrappies and both had totally fractured and gave no protection whatsoever.

Seat frame - another misconception (from my experience only) is that I thought the integrated head restraint had some form of roll-over protection incorporated. Again, both seats failed totally & both head restraints bent inward toward the occupants. On the drivers side, ie ME, the angle was over 70 degrees, very cosy.

On the plus side the Nardi steering wheel still looked good as I lay looking at it from a intimate distance for some time & I also wouldn't let them cut the gear lever to get me out (until the paramedic assured me my car was trashed ).

So, to summarise -
1. Don't roll yr Elan

and if you must....
2. Fit roll bars.

ps; this was not a high speed accident (hence why I'm still with us) - max 30mph...

l8tr
M

[DeeAitch]

'Max 30PH' Scary . So glad you survived to tell the tale and warn us all of the dangers of open top motoring without all the modern integrated roll bars etc. Lots of similar tales over recent years have me wondering about my sanity when driving hard - time for change perhaps?

[Dovey]

Now before everyones sphincter gets any tighter, I would like to say that deep down we all know that rolling an elan would be bad for our health. But we bought the car anyway!
Did we really think a 15 year old car made out of fibreglass would be safe as a modern car? Of course not. If I wanted safe I would have bought a Volvo. If people want safe why do they jump out of aeroplanes/bungee jump/have affairs?
I'll keep my elan, no roll over bars, it's fine as it is because it's a great car. The chances of rolling it are practically zero unless I get it really wrong, but that would be my own fault.

Safety? That's something my mother worries about!

P.S. In case you haven't guessed, no, I don't have any kids

[Ashaman]

Since this is the second account of this I have heard of since joining this group (the first being the horrifying pictures of the red one sheared off flat) it is a scary scenario. Further, driving like a pro and rail-like handling are not preventions as you cannot control what other drivers/vehicles are going to do.

I have to say, this design is ridiculous. I love the Elan, but the obvious disregard for safety in this aspect is inexcusable. Those A Pillars should have been designed NOT to collapse. What is worse, due to the design of the car it is difficult to be SURE an aftermarket roll bar is going to actually protect as intended, especially without cutting/drilling into your car.

Oh yes, and make no mistake regarding the seats, they are a very weak design. All they are is simple tubular steel, it will absolutely crumple if subjected to any weight at all.

This isn't a car that was manufactured in the age of metal dashboards...while I don't expect an 8 point passive safetly restraint system - I do find this surprising.

It is a good thing for Lotus there were so few brought into the US, as it probably would have been a matter of time before they were sued into bankruptcy once a few drivers had been decapitated.