Out the box track street cars

Yep it goes to the track on a trailer, makes the whole wheel tire thing simpler, and if you go to the track, you may always need a trailer to go home. I do the same thing with the elise, and with a trailer you drive home in the comfort of an suv.

Plus in relaity the Gt40 is a bit much for the street, the lotus feels refined and civilised by comparison.. Maybe if I lived in nevada with those big open smooth roads it would work fine on the street, it does have workign Ac though. A stereo would be an impossibility such is the cockpit mechanical symphony.

I would say its really say its track car that can be driven on the street. In period I think there were a few brave souls who street drove Gt40s, its probably one of the last pure track cars that were streetable.

Love the cayman GT4 and all it represents. Now we just need one witht he GT3 Rs motor a stick and adjustable suspension, the ultimate street track car spec. But then if proceh built sucha machine why buy a 918 or even a 488. Maybe those spy pics are a cayman GT4Rs, hmmm

 

The blue and white is a period look, but apes no actual period paint scheme so as not to make anoraks upset at a recreation.

As to full throttle on the apex, thats pretty much impossible on many corners, the rear has the grip but the speed comes on so fast you will run off the track as if you had early apexed. So far I am only using 6k rpm, power peak 575 hp is at 7100. Even keeping the revs restricted and feathering at the kink on the straight at monticello its doing 150+ before very early braking. The elise struggles to get above 120 here. My guess is it will easily blow past 165 at moticello if not more. Cant say have not gone near the pwer peak yet, or run though the kink flat. Even so it already feels superbike, carerra Gt fast. 2400lbs 575 hp and 480 ftlbs.

Grip is greater than the lotus, it feels less planted at speed, but then that speed is already 30mph higher. The two times I got it loose it was pretty easy to catch. the brakes are truly amazing, so far zero fade, which means there is still lots more brakes than talent. It feels more edgy than the lotus, but also kinder when you step past the limit. Gotta leanr where those limits are and how they come.

An idea of the power is that if you are acclerating and go over a rumble strip the tire on the strip will start to peel out regardless of speed.

Pretty much everythign happens much quicker, and there is no time to rleax on the straights. Its going to take agood while to learn how to drive it reasonably competantly, glad I put a fitted race seat in, between cornering gs and braking even with a 6 point harness woudl be all over the place oterwise.

Drove it round the hood last week, ride for the street is fine, but it needs space, like a predator or wild dog that just wants to lunge off the leash at everything and take a bite. The BBI is a cadillac in comparison, but they both have great similarities. M3 thats just a sedan with a fastish motor, the elise, its still so sublime, all the forces are perfectly balanced, my choice for a sunday mornign backroad drive and a small tight track like thompson or NYMS amybe even LRP. The big tracks like monticello and the Glenn, bring out the mad dog Gt40 and let it feed. BTW MPG on track so far 6.5 against the lotus 13-14.

 

Dry skidpad at Monticello, I hear unless one is Kenny Brack these are undirveable in the wet.
Will be at the scda event at the Glenn,

 

2016 Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang rated at 526 hp, 429 lb-ft

 

Go USA

2016 Dodge Viper ACR Review

 

Agreed the lotus needs a few minor mods.My rotors on the eilse were upgraded pretty early on, $400 and 4 years later they are still good. Pads Rs14's are good for 20+ days.

Tires are a heat cycle issue. Hoosiers last 4-5 days, figure 120 mins per day. The Yoko slicks lasted maybe 2 days before cording.

The grip on Hossiers slightly less, but there is more balance and you can really lean on the front end in a way that you couldnt with the yokos.

Lots of people seem to like carbotech brakes, but unlike the rs14;s these wont work on street.

Going to try some carbotech on the gt40 where the hoosiers have lasted close on 4 days so far, but then I am not pushing it nearly as hard as the lotus on bends, at least not yet.

last track day there was a pdk cayman gts runnign slicks, it really went reallly well, faster than a na elise down the straights and close to an elsie through the bends, although ultimatly not quite there. My guess is a welld riven cayman gt4 going to be pretty quick.

Over in vette land the c6zo6 is really quick, but they all seem to suffer from brakes sooner or later. The C7 z06 a month ago at the Glenn, both cars there had engine overheat warning at about 4 laps on a 85 degree day.

Bargain has to be a c6 z06 one can buy them for 50k or less, brake upgrades not that expensive and then you can pretty much be a front runner. A seriously modde c6 is pretty unbeatable on track compared to other street cars.

All that being said one of the fastest cars out there was a 991 carerra gts with pdk. Well driven for sure but the speed potential of even the regular 991 with agreat driver is pretty epic. The paddles add a significant reduction in laptime, if pure laptime is your thing, paddles are unbeatable.

From what we read the new evora 400 is as fast around hethel as the exige v6, so its one to watch. The race mustang Gt350 is burning up the race circut and the civillian version has most of the goodies from the race car.

Lots of great stuff out there.

Still a lotus feels and reacts as a race car should, as oposed to a really sticky tired street car.

Seems like there are more out the box or nealry out the box cars comign down the pike, good times.

 

Try the elise with rotor upgrdes agressive pads, better shocks and slicks. I think you will find the driving far more chalenging because of the sheer velocity you can maintan into and through bends. Lots of trail braking into the apex. Thats where the speed in an elise comes from,

Then if you can do close to the came velocity through bends with a more powerful car through bends and anihilate the straights it will all come together.

Was just at palmer with my elise. Its was tremendous fun and besides the straight I could not imagine where one could use more power. Even then one could carry so much speed into turn one that the differences to a powerful car were pretty minimal. The GTrs just couldnt perform there.

But yeah driving to the track could be a real PTA in an elsie.

Seems liek the GT350 is going to be a really good track weapon, and you can carry your slicks where the back seat used to be.,

 

Installing a harness in a lotus is an easy job and $650 they are setup for it, the regular elise seats are fine. The speed in a lotus comes from corners, why have one you cant corner fast in? Cant imagine going to the track in anything with regular seatbelts.

Seems like you are more focussed on blasting down the straights. The key for me is doing both, speed though corners and then straights. I always heard doing corners fast is the first thing to learn, adding straight line speed later is easy. You would be amazed how much speed and time can be made up in the corners, just look at spec miata times, and an elsie amateur driven on slicks has significantly lower laptimes than a pro driven spec miata.

GT350R may have appeal because compared to a lotus its probably more driveable on the street, ie to the track. It seems to be very fast Hp wise and from what we see at races so far lays down some spectacular laptimes due to cornering and speed, yet is not quite so nannified as a GTR.

I
Vtttes are always a great choice, a sorted c6 z06 is pretty aghrd to beat. However, at the last event I was at the C7z06 was getting engine overheat dialback after 4 laps.

If I may be so bold as to offer some advice. Its very hard to control any car properly if you are sliding around in the seat. Install a hareness in your lotus, (the belts hide away easily when not in use) and run some fresh R compound tires. At least that way you will expolre what it has to offer to a far greter degree before you move on to the next car.

 

458 on track will make the cost of running even a moded lotus look like childs play.
But they sure are quick.

 

Mustang more challenging to drive than GTR in right hands just as fast. Prob less fragile on track. IMO compared to GTR more fun less expensive to buy and run, but slower in less experienced hands, and its not as "special"