… but what is the big deal about a 0-60 time! This is purely used as a standardised 'measurement (actually 0-62 mph) to compare acceleration times… but has precious little relevance in the ‘real world’!
Sure it is an ‘indication’ of ‘performance’… but if so then the really interesting and telling figure has to be the 0-100mph time!
Lotus is not all about how fast you can ‘get it off the blocks’!.. it is, IMHO, more about the sweet handling and brilliant braking around corners (Craners!!)…
Just my 2 pence worth from my meger 148 bhp (that according to the ‘official figures’ does 0-60 in 5 seconds!)
Exactly what it sounds like. In gear, clutch down, wind on some revs, and slip your foot off the clutch so it pops up as fast as the springs can push it.
As you can imagine, this is a very harsh thing to do to your poor drivetrain. I tried it once as a foolish 18 year old in a poxy old Maestro. Even that thing shocked me with the violence of the result.
[quote=dicko_4]yes orangeD its my first lotus . only had a bmw mini for my first car then just got rid of my ford focus st (in orange like my new car will be lol) so im really excited. However even though im only 23 im a pretty careful driver and not one of these (excuse my expression)knobs in a nova with a big exhaust on who thinks they can race the world in their 1.2 because it has a K + N filter on it lol. Doesnt mean i dont put my foot down every so often though .
it is true what you say though ade, how can they sell you a ‘performance’ car if the moment you try to get the performance they void your warrenty???
Plus i understand that using the launch control would void your warrenty (which i think is rather fair) as it puts a considerable amount of strain on the transmission compenants etc. But even still i think its daft that they sell the car with launch control on but yet again it voids the warrenty [/quote]
Awesome your going to love it, once you’ve got it run in, and I’m assuming your not a seasoned racing driver here. I would seriously recommend getting yourself on a Walshy day or LOT trackday with some driver training you’ll be amazed at the capability of you new pride and joy
thanks orange, yeah your right i was already planning a training day with Walshy, i have heard so many good reports about him. it is also rather important i do this as this is the first rear wheel drive car i will have driven (except my mums mx5 which i am driving until i get my new car lol). Can i just ask though what is a LOT trackday? i keep reading of them on here but not sure what they are
6-7k and dropping the clutch is not the way to do it!! Animals!!
Sean’s method is the best way, 4.5k and balance/blend clutch release against increasing power delivery trying not to spin the wheels up, a little clutch slip fine.
Side stepping the clutch and lighting up the tyres is just abusing the drivetrain with no gain. You need to have a feel for the point at which the tyres will break traction and balance the clutch and throttle to maintain traction. That point will change depending on road surface, tyres, conditions and gradient.
I would also recommend slightly holding the car on the handbrake with a little clutch slip until you feel it start to load up. I have to do this at the start of every rally stage in the exige. The best launches don’t always look that spectacular. The worst ones are real crowd pleasers but throw away valuable time.
Talk about holding the car on the handbrake, I have an awesome technique for rolling starts that has seen me make some absolute storming starts.
Basically as we came back round to the start and the pack slows down, I would floor the throttle and hold the car back on the brakes with my left foot.
The whole thing would start to shake as the boost would rise to full whack, then when the lights go out, you just take your foot off the brakse and hang onto your pants, and seriously try not to run into the guy in front. It was Awesome!!!
Turbo’s baby, everyone should have at least one!!!
Different brands quote the 0-62 time in different ways. Some are diver only and some are half payload - so in can be a bit of a interesting set of numbers.
Few friends were going so I thought I’d pop along…took the Loti and as I’ve never done the 1/4 mile thing before, thought it what be rude if I didn’t have a go.
Only did four runs as I’m still using the standard lotus cluth which is no where near up for the job - managed 2x 12.7, 12.5 and 12.2 for 1/4mile.
Never realised how serious people take it - I was running a full tank of petrol which was a bit silly after seeing how serious people were! Clutch was slipping so I had to take it easy, so with a new clutch there is some improvement to be made. My reaction times were also not very good with it being by first time. The 12.5 run had a reaction time of over 1.5sec!! I reckon with a better clutch and me trying a bit harder, the car should be able to do 11sec runs all day.
I found launching at 4,000rpm was a quite a good compromise between a good start and being too brutal with the clutch / transmission. At 4k, there is not really any wheel spin, but the car still launches well. I think ideal would be around 6k, but this would put some strain on the transmission which I’m not really prepared to do.
Never done the 1/4mile thing before, but it was a bit of fun for the novelty if anything else. Much prefer trackdays though
