my lotus elise and my ariel plans..

[MNlotus]

i have owned my lotus for two years now and have put quite a bit of money into it. i have a new ecu, header, sport cat, titanium exhaust, tons of carbon fiber, sound system, clutch/flywheel just to name a few. i have way too many mods to list. i also plan to buy an ariel atom 300 once i have my supercharger and intercooler installed. is there a way to order a brand new one at all? if so, how? other then that just wanted to know what you guys think of my lotus elise....

[bolus]

welcome,  where are you located? 

Assuming you are in the US, TMI is making them now.  They took over the business this year and haven't delivered any but have several orders.  You may want to put in a order now if you would like to get it for next spring
www.arielatom.com  Give them a call or email Mark for more details. 

Nice looking Elise,  we have several elise owners here. 

[MNlotus]

im located in Minnesota

[Wmcmanus]

Sweet car!  I watched some of your videos.  It would be nice to see all of the stuff you've added on.  Maybe a walk around video showing the car up close, both inside and out, would be cool.

[MNlotus]

here is a walk around of the outside.... click on my user name to see all my other videos.

[Flying Phil]

I suggest caution... if you haven't ridden in an Atom yet. As you'll find in many posts around this forum, a ride in an Atom will fundamentally change your perception of any other car, always to the less. You may not want to alter the perception of you beloved Lotus

[slowcharles]

Don't bother with the lotus supercharger. I used to have an elise and an atom. I dumped the elise asap as it begins to feel like a super slow cheap economy rental car after you drive the atom. It will ruin the elise for you( and I loved mine before I got the atom)

[MNlotus]

i understand what you guys are saying. i expect once i get a ride in an atom, that i will think of my lotus differently. i know that the atom is completely different from my elise. starting with the atom being 600 lbs less and 110 more hp. i think i will always love my lotus for different reasons, but i also love the atom for how extreme it is.
[quote="Flying Phil"]
I suggest caution... if you haven't ridden in an Atom yet. As you'll find in many posts around this forum, a ride in an Atom will fundamentally change your perception of any other car, always to the less. You may not want to alter the perception of you beloved Lotus
[/quote]

[Wmcmanus]

[quote="MNlotus"]
i understand what you guys are saying. i expect once i get a ride in an atom, that i will think of my lotus differently. i know that the atom is completely different from my elise. starting with the atom being 600 lbs less and 110 more hp. i think i will always love my lotus for different reasons, but i also love the atom for how extreme it is.
[quote="Flying Phil"]
I suggest caution... if you haven't ridden in an Atom yet. As you'll find in many posts around this forum, a ride in an Atom will fundamentally change your perception of any other car, always to the less. You may not want to alter the perception of you beloved Lotus
[/quote]
[/quote]

The biggest difference is the wind.  Atoms are more like motorcycles than cars in that regard.  Yet, since you can't drop it on yourself, you can push the Atom a lot harder than you can push a bike (at least for those of us with "normal" driving skills).  So even people who have had monster bikes (and such) still find the Atom to be more of a rush.

[Wmcmanus]

[quote="MNlotus"]
here is a walk around of the outside.... click on my user name to see all my other videos.


[/quote]

I think I had watched the beginning of that video but thought it was just a demo of the exhaust.  Nice!  Love the color. 

At one time, I had been thinking about bringing an Atom to Cayman, but then figured it wouldn't be street legal here.  So then I started thinking about an Elise, but I'd still have that nagging 40 mph speed limit to deal with all the time.  There is a track (of sorts) here, but it's just an oval and not in the greatest shape.  So keeping any fast car here really doesn't make much sense.  That, and I don't even know if I could get my big belly in and out of an Elise.  But every time I see one, I start dreaming again!

[MNlotus]

thats why i like the atom. i know its alot different from any other car on the road. i think these two cars would be a great garage
[quote="Wmcmanus"]
[quote="MNlotus"]
i understand what you guys are saying. i expect once i get a ride in an atom, that i will think of my lotus differently. i know that the atom is completely different from my elise. starting with the atom being 600 lbs less and 110 more hp. i think i will always love my lotus for different reasons, but i also love the atom for how extreme it is.
[quote="Flying Phil"]
I suggest caution... if you haven't ridden in an Atom yet. As you'll find in many posts around this forum, a ride in an Atom will fundamentally change your perception of any other car, always to the less. You may not want to alter the perception of you beloved Lotus
[/quote]
[/quote]

The biggest difference is the wind.  Atoms are more like motorcycles than cars in that regard.  Yet, since you can't drop it on yourself, you can push the Atom a lot harder than you can push a bike (at least for those of us with "normal" driving skills).  So even people who have had monster bikes (and such) still find the Atom to be more of a rush.



[/quote]

[bolus]

well, you will still need somthing to drive in the winter

[MNlotus]

thats true and thats why i still have my beater. a 96 lincoln continental. it feels like im driving a tank after i switch from driving my lotus. but it still runs good and has 150,000 miles on it.

[Gage]

The guys probably said this already, but the Atom will ruin nearly all other sports cars for you. 

[MNlotus]

yeah i know but my lotus has things that the atom will never have. a roof, a body, windows, stereo, heating a/c, etc... thats why i want both. i like the privacy of a closed roof car sometimes and it would be nice to be able to switch between the two i think. i already know my lotus is not the fastest thing in the world. its a fun car though that is unbelievably fun around some twisties.