Last night I was out cruising around... and was going to park.. when I saw a Lotus Elise in the parking lot.. in a bright orange color.. (not sure the name of the color)

I parked next to it and took a few pictures.. I'll post them tomorrow...

I have to say.. it is a beautiful looking car.. for those of you that don't know of the elise.. you may be blown away by it's looks... but I actually went for a ride in one and that is what changed my mind... and made me decide on the Nismo..

From what I have read, the lotus and nismo are actually almost on par when it comes to handing (assuming you have some decent tires on your nismo)..

The brake times are also surprisingly better on the nismo than it is on the lotus..

Anyways... I sat outside for dinner overlooking my nismo and the elise.. and the person that owned the lotus left... I have to tell you.. the exhaust note sounds like a joke on the elise.. haha.. it gave me more reassurance in my purchase decision when I heard the elise leave...

What do you guys think about the looks of the elise vs. the nismo??

 

I tried to test drive an Elise,but I didn't fit.I have 2 older Lotuses a '65 Elan and a '74 Europa Special.I really like my NISMO 350Z compared to a my Lotuses as it is a modern automobile equipped to cope with the riggers of daily use,as compared to light weight vintage racer that would never be reliable enough for daily usage.The Elise is a different animal,with a reliable Toyota drivetrain,it's probably reliable enough to drive daily,if you are under 5'6" and weight less than 150lbs.The NISMO is a little over the top but at least you can fit 2 normal sized adults and enough luggage for a weekend trip,if you make the same weekend trip in the Lotus,you'll need a truck and trailer to tow it with.

 

thats a hard decision. i guess it depends on how aggressive u like to look.

 

I'm sorry. As much as I love my Z, it can't compare in handling or brake times. I'm not sure where you're getting your facts. The Z is better for roadtrips and trips around town. That's why I didn't trade it for a Lotus.

 

You might be surprised how well the NISMO Z performs,the NISMO package pretty much transforms the 350Z into a curve carving track beast.In a race between the 2 cars it will depend on the track.As speeds increase the edge will go to the NISMO.

 

I'm sure it is better, but my Z is also set up for the track with a lot of money invested. I still can't get over the capabilities of the Lotus though. It's a brilliant car.

 

The Elise is a great car, but after a seeing a few crash pics, ahhhhh.

 

Per Edmunds test.

As good as the Nismo feels on public roads, the true gains of its seam-welded chassis can only be realized in a track environment. For a car that weighs 3,354 pounds, a 71.0-mph slalom speed and 0.91g on the skid pad are signs of talent — the last Lotus Elise we tested had less than a 1-mph advantage in the slalom.

 

Check your facts and read the edmunds post jmark did.

 

then I stand corrected.

 

but it's edmunds...

 

a nismo Z will out power a lotus elise ont he straights, and i wouldnt be surprised if the nismoZ outclassed the elise . The times slalom wise where actaully comparable and actually better on some parts in many tests. Tq has alot ot do with that and a great suspension setup. The nismo Z handles alot better then any standard Z its more nutrual and has better chassis bracing which alow the car to be more stable in a turn. just imagine how stable a reg Z is , ...its that more stable in a nismo Z. An elise though with its wieght and great suspension to me is on par to be outclassed by the nismo Z. But you see thats just a elise

the exige my friend will own a Z for sure. We will have to weight for the 370z or my long lost hope the 380RS for that sucker , and even then weight owns.

 

But.... an Elise is actually faster than an Exige on anything but high speed corners.

 

then it isnt faster. Also last time i checked it was minutly faster in a dead drag race. But it wasnt designed for drag racing it was designed to turn. On every track course tested the exige owned the elise every time.And not by a close margin. You cannot match the downforce and extra amenities the exige offers. Where talking handling not straight away times my friend.


i think think your not acknowldging the exige s properly lol its a monster.

heres some learning material ....the exige s is a diff animal track wise. As the nismo z is a reg z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEVSl5ChZ5w

 

Not the new Exige,it's supercharged.I really can't fit into that car with it's fixed roof.

 

Well that's a different model. The Exige S. I am very impressed with the Nismo Z, but I'm seeing alot of variation in times for the Elise... and I just can't get over the physics of it all. 1900 lbs vs. 3200 lbs.

http://www.forcedfed.com/elise.html
600-ft slalom 73.2 mph
http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elis...rformance.html
lateral (g) 0.97
http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/fe...a_r/index.html
The Lotus pulled 1.02 g.

 

My Elan can match all those numbers,at 1500lbs with a 168hp dynoed twin cam and Hooser radials,but I wouldn't even attempt to drive it in traffic or make a road trip.

 

Last time I was at Lime Rock got to ride in an Exerge. Great car, however, getting in and out is not an easy task. After driving my NISMO I am very happy with my decision. The day I was a LIme Rock I saw 3 lotus crash. I had a great day with my 2003z and ran a 73 second lap with stock tires.

 

im sorry but no way the nismo Z going to outhandle a lotus...like posted above physics 1900lb car vs 3300lb....mid eng/rear eng/ car vs front....elise hands down

 

link?