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Originally Posted by AAlcHemY_
Brakes don't need upgrading, the driver does. No offence Shinigami.
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No offence taken, but do you really know what my capabilities are when it comes to driving? No, I'm not an expert, but I don't think I suck quite this much when it comes to cars
I've said it once, and I'll say it again. Something did not feel "right" about the brakes in this car. I did not lock the brakes (the car had no ABS), however, whilst I did try to stop the car by applying the brakes, the car kept on creeping forward. It was alarming, and it most certainly was not normal. It's simple, a car going 30kph should stop within less then 10meters when you apply the brakes, be it with or without ABS or servo's, it should not take up to 30 meters for the car to slow down!
30kph (that's less then 20mph) is not all that fast, and the Mk1 is a very light car, all the easier to get it to a stop with moderate brake pressure. But alas, it did not, it just failed to stop properly.
If you don't believe me, I'll go there and try it again, and this time, I'll record the whole deal. I personally believe something was just not right about those brakes. Either the contact sucked or there was not enough brake fluid for proper pressure. So does this make
me a bad driver? I just feel confused about it...
Anyway (and not to flame you), I guess you must be an owner, or at least experienced in Elise's since your first two posts were posted in a thread about these cars, and your specific commentary on car and drive feel reflect that.
It is obviously VERY true that one should take what is being said on a forum with a grain of salt. I also always tell people to try before you buy
And in this case, the single experience (yes, only one, sadly enough) in an Mk1 Elise was completely overshadowed by the "superior" (at least for me) feel in a newer model Elise, Exige and an Opel Speedster. Obviously, time breeds excellense, and it should be normal for a newer model to have better comfort and build value then the older model, even if it often is at the expense of having gained weight.
Whilst my own recommendation would be to get a newer Elise, I would NOT put down an older model if one was given to me. It's a very cool little capable car, but the brakes left me cold due to the experience I had with them.
p.s. both cars were well beyond the brake-in procedure. The Exige had 4500km's (or miles... not sure, the car came from the UK factory), so there was no problem pushing it into the high revs (it was even warmed up by the previous test-drivers), and the Mk1 had something to the tune of 30,000km's, which I too revved up high AFTER I had warmed up the engine. I drove peacefully for about 15 minutes... I do respect the vehicles on the dealers lot, and won't push them hard as nuts until the engine is warm.
Demon: if you're driving alone, and the car is well past the brake-in procedure, just warm her up and play around with the revs. If you're driving with a dealer next to you, they should say it's ok to do it if the car has enough miles on it. Otherwise, it's up to you and your concience. I wouldn't max-rev any car which was not fully broken-in, even if I was driving it alone... I tend to respect the dealer vehicles a bit more then this. Just my two cents.
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