A&Q about Lotus
Q:
Hey Everyone,
So I picked my Elise today... 05 Magnetic Blue, Sport and Touring... Having read alot here... I knew what to expect... and boy am I tired from the 4 hour drive from the dealer home (long drive for those seats, but I'm not changing anything with them)... We drove with the top off the whole way... and we noticed, especially in traffic heat coming up over the windshield... I am sure its normal, coming from the radiator, but I wanted to ask. Also does anyone ever ride with the AC on? I am FL and tried that today and well it doesn't blow nearly as hard as other AC's like my dad's S2000 which can keep the cabin relatively cool with the top off. We did hit some traffic that caused the temp to rise, and I'm not sure we really tried it once we were moving fast... but I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks everyone I appreciate your help
A:
Ah yes.. the old AC issue. Well, let's just say that the Lotus AC was designed to handle those brutal British summers.
If what's coming out of the vents is cooler that what's coming out the tail pipe, you're doing pretty well!
There are too many threads to count on this one. Just do a search ..
A:
I've driven with the a/c on and the roof off. Cools things off a bit. It'll be another 7 mths till I have to do that again. I need a job down south...
oh - and congrats on your new purchase - you'll love it!!
A:
The AC is 'adequate'; IMO it's good for 90-95 degrees air temp. My car, and another I know locally, had leaking expansion valves that gradually decreased the AC performance, so there's a chance you're low on refrigerant.
A:
In a word, NO. The AC is not strong enough to blow cold air to cool the interior with the top off. It is, however, enough to cool the interior with the top on and the temp at 95-100 and humidity at about 65%. So it does work well enough with the top on in the heat.
The manual states pretty clearly that it is designed to offer some cooling. It is not a high performance AC and it also doesn't rob much in HP from the car unlike many AC units in other cars.
A:
The AC question has been answered...the other question...yes the heat flowing over the car is from the ducts up front. You can feel it over the windshield and also flowing past the side view mirrors.
A:
Originally Posted by MattG
The AC is 'adequate'; IMO it's good for 90-95 degrees air temp. My car, and another I know locally, had leaking expansion valves that gradually decreased the AC performance, so there's a chance you're low on refrigerant.
This leads me to the question - is the low pressure side valve is located behind the passenger side engine bay grills? I haven't had a chance to take a close look. One can hook up a guage and check the refigerant level.
A:
I've always noticed what I thought to be heat from the radiator flowing through the gap in the sideview mirrors. I thought it was a neat piece of aerodynamics to feel the flow of warmer air through that little gap. Seems normal to me.
A:
Speaking of heat, has anyone looked in the rearview mirror to see things become wavy and distorted due to the heat coming off the engine?
Or maybe it was from the PCP.
A:
Good to know that everyone else experienced the heat as well... i kinda expected it, but then not having one before felt it was prudent to ask... so I got the car yesterday, left at 11am this morning just got back, going to shower and head out again!!! hahahaha... so much fun!!!! Thanks!
A:
Originally Posted by Eclise
Speaking of heat, has anyone looked in the rearview mirror to see things become wavy and distorted due to the heat coming off the engine?
Yes.
And as others have mentioned, a thin stream of hot air flowing past the side mirrors is normal. I'm not sure much of it actually enters the cabin, but if you put your hand a few inches out the window and find the right spot you can feel it. I even had a passenger notice it recently.
Another tip for new owners is that airflow in the rear can be a bit unexpected. You may find things like leaves collecting against the back of the rear window and not being blown away; you'll have to pick that stuff out of there by hand. The part of the rear clam with the "LOTUS" logo on it also collects dust/dirt/soot much faster than the rest of the car -- with the exception of the panels right in front of the rear wheels which are worse.
And when the top is off, watch out for things flying over the windshield and hitting the rear window. Bugs, dirt, rocks, etc. There's more than one story around here of having that window busted out from the inside.
A:
Originally Posted by dododge
You may find things like leaves collecting against the back of the rear window and not being blown away; you'll have to pick that stuff out of there by hand.
This exact scenario actually scared me last night as I was tearing down a mountain road. It was pitch black and when I got on the brakes for a turn I noticed something move around right behind the window. For a second I thought a mouse had found its way onto the rear (car had been parked most of the day under a tree) and was jumping around. After I came through the turn I slowed down and hit the brakes again and figured out that it was a leaf blowing around. Having any movement there is so rare that it really flipped me out for a second.