Oldcardriver

Does anyone in Australia have an unwanted or damaged hard top for a Series 3 Elise that they want to get rid of or sell? Or from another model that would fit on an S3? A friend and I are looking to make a pair of carbon hard tops and need one as a donor to take a mould off. Thanks, Graham.

Thanks for your response, and for confirming I had the wheel sizes correct. That's great information on the aerodynamics. Does anyone know if the front or rear track changed between S1 and S2? This page http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elise/thecar/series/eliseseries.html states that the S2 is wider and lower, but maybe that just means bodywork width? Other sources have the same width for S1 and S2. Graham.

Hi there. I'm new here and looking at purchasing an Elise in Australia. I'm still trying to figure out what model to go for, an older, lighter S1 or a newer one, S2 or S3. The S1s appeal because of their light weight, and classic original styling, but I'm wondering what are the disadvantages apart from the obvious ones of age and greater wear and tear. I'd be using the car for weekend drives, and occasional track days. I've read that the S1 cars were more prone than later models to swapping ends if driven clumsily. If this is a valid observation what are the reasons? Apart from obvious changes like wider tyres (am I correct that the S2s had 17"x7.5 on the rear, up from 16x7 for the S1?), were there any other significant changes that altered the handling in the S2 and later models? Did the front to rear weight distribution change? I do understand that the power has gone up significantly over the years, and that will have had some effect on how the car behaves when cornering, but my question right now is what chassis/suspension changes have been made over the years that would effect the handling? Do you in fact get significantly different road manners in the later models? Thanks for any thoughts. Graham.