A&Q about Lotus
Q:
Is it 9000+ rpm? Does Elise have rev limiter?
A:
You mean max?
It's 8100 (ish).
Lotus says to keep it off the cam (about 6100), until 1,000 miles.
A:
The elise does have a rev limiter, but some people have reported a lag and it's actually possible to go slight over rev from my understanding. Also, I'm sure you know that the rev limiter won't help you in the case of missed shift as in going down one gear instead of up one gear.
A:
8,500 RPM is acceptable for brief periods (transient as per page 159 of the 2005 manual). If you don't press the redline your shifts will drop off the second cam before starting to accelerate again.
A:
Acoording to some @ lotus, 8501rpm will void your powertrain warranty. In all likelihood 8501 will not automaticall void you, but will probably flag you for them to attempt to void you and make you beg for them to honor it.
A:
Originally Posted by Evl
Acoording to some @ lotus, 8501rpm will void your powertrain warranty. In all likelihood 8501 will not automaticall void you, but will probably flag you for them to attempt to void you and make you beg for them to honor it.
If that's the case, they better make their tach more accurate!
A:
How about after the 1000 mile service? Will they still void the warranty if the rev is over 8500 rpm? what's the rpm rev limiter?
A:
Originally Posted by gameson
How about after the 1000 mile service? Will they still void the warranty if the rev is over 8500 rpm? what's the rpm rev limiter?
The rev limiter kills the fuel to the engine when you attempt to push it past 6K when cold and 8,500 when warmed up. In my car it's like hitting a wall, others have said they don't think their car does it.
A:
Originally Posted by gameson
How about after the 1000 mile service? Will they still void the warranty if the rev is over 8500 rpm? what's the rpm rev limiter?
they may void your rear view mirror warranty
A:
Don't worry about the rev, worry about NOT mis-shifting...
Lotus warranty is a bit of a sliding scale, but it's all way been good to me, search for my tranny and ball joint situations, both end in excellent results. Ball joint I would have paid for, but if Lotus covers it, I'll take it...
Point, be smart, enjoy the car, be objective in resolving problems as they arise... Lotus knows there are guys in the US that use the car well, that's free advertising for them. I know of a number of guys who have looked at Elise/Exige in different light after seeing me at the track, and there are others faster than I...
A:
so conclusion is after 1000 mile break in period, all hell can break loose, right? owner can drive it as he/she wishes until it hits rev limiter.
A:
Originally Posted by gameson
so conclusion is after 1000 mile break in period, all hell can break loose, right? owner can drive it as he/she wishes until it hits rev limiter.
Based on my experience with +160 track session on my Elise, basically yes... Again, be smart, warranty is there to replace things that are defective, not things you can abuse, beat up, and wear out if you tried. Driver is a big factor in how well a car holds up, do your best to protect the car, but still have fun... Just my $.02, you experience my differ...
A:
I managed to get mine over 8,700rpm before the 1,000 mile service
It was after the 600 mile break-in period so I don't feel too bad about it
A:
Anybody know if the ECU dump throws out cold revs? IE, before warm up if it tops over 6K on the clock? Never had mine shut down when doing it, but 6K comes up fast, even when I thought it was warm enough. Heck, I swear I've seen the shift light come on at 5K sometimes during cold runs.
A:
There is no automatic warranty void for a specific RPM. They will look max RPM along with other factors (and other information in the ECU) to determine if the car has been abused or not. If you have an excessively high RPM (i.e. 9,500 RPM) that might indicate a missed shift, that might cause some problems later on if you develop problems that could be traced to that.
A:
As Yaudi stated the issue is mis-shifts not hitting the rev limiter. That's what the rev limiter is for.
The problem is a miss shift will shoot the rpm over the rev limit -possibly causing engine damage. So, Lotus will void the warranty due to driver error rather than just spirited driving.
As for break-in, what could cause Lotus to void warranty due to improper break-in is "abuse" and not just going over the break-in limit. I've been told by Scottsdale Lotus that they look for signs of prolonged redline driving and clutch drops during breaking.
A:
From the manual:
It is important during the car’s early life to limit the workload on
the engine and thus control the heat generated within it, which is
primarily a function of throttle opening and rpm. However, being
too sympathetic on the car will not allow the piston rings to bed in
satisfactorily, so a balance of spirited and gentle use is required.
For the first 600 miles (1,000 km), use no more than moderate
throttle openings (about half of the available accelerator pedal
travel) and do not run the engine continuously at engine speeds
over 4,500 rpm. Occasional short bursts at wider throttle and
higher rpm will be beneficial, as will a constantly changing cruising
speed and making full use of the gearbox. Do not allow the
engine to labour in too high a gear ratio, but change down and
let the engine operate in its natural power band.
I took this to mean that before 600 miles, only short gentle blips above 6k, and continuous varying of RPM under 4500 for 99% of driving. After 600 miles, open it up for a bit, take it up occasionally to 8k. After first service, anything goes
A:
Scottsdale said "reasonable". Occassional trips above 6k with a warmed engined is reasonable. Reving a cold engine till the rev limiter kicks in and then a max rpm clutch dump with a one minute run at 8,500 rpm isn't.
A:
The day after I got mine, I missed a shift (5th to 2nd - ouch) and smelled a horriffic odor for about 4 seconds, then nothing. I haven't had any issues since, and I'm about to take it in for its first service.
Highest I've been is about 7000rpm for a split second because of that missed shift. At least I hope it was 7000.
oh noes.