This pic shows that it happens to the pro's as well :-D
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Turn signals
Found out on Lotustalk that flying turn signals are a common problem. Some useful solutions here.
This pic shows that it happens to the pro's as well :-D
This pic shows that it happens to the pro's as well :-D
Friday, March 21, 2008
Blat last night
Went to the LA road trying to get back in shape... I only did one sprint because there were a few large piles of dirt on the road. Still I was able to train heel-and-toe and it went quite well. Haven't lost the touch. I was a bit bummed to have to com back so soon :-(
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Superb drive this morning
I was sick with food poisoning this whole week. Couldn't take the Lotus out. This morning I meant to wake up at 5.00 and go to Sintra. I did wake up at 5.15 but couldn't bring myself out of bed until 6.15. By the time I got to the car, it was almost 7.00. As soon as we were on the open road to monsanto, I was overwhelmed by a feeling of childish happyness as I allowed myself to connect with the car. I even screamed of joy. This is such a superb driving machine. I was just going for a quick blat through Monsanto but ended up going all the way to Sintra. Lots of traffic, so I just went for a one way sprint. I hadn't done a mountain road blat in a while, I was really rusty... even my heal-and-toe sucked. Oh well :-P
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Not again!
Yesterday I was cruising on the highway on the way to Porto and my left front blinker came out flying again!!! It's the third time this happens in 6 months! Not happy. The darn thing hit the front clam a number of times, making no damage (thk god!)
Other than that quite a pleasant trip up and down. Had a great time at the Jag launch party and then had dinner with a bunch of Lotus enthusiasts. Check the pics here.
Other than that quite a pleasant trip up and down. Had a great time at the Jag launch party and then had dinner with a bunch of Lotus enthusiasts. Check the pics here.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Crashing the Jag XF launch party
Tomorrow a bunch of Lotus will be meeting at the Jag XF launch party. I will be leaving Lisbon around 4pm, we're meeting at 7pm at the dealer in OPorto.
In other news, I finally got the acknowledgement from Via Verde - I had sent them the papaerwork over a month ago! No more embarrasing moments having to step out of the car at toll gates :-)
In other news, I finally got the acknowledgement from Via Verde - I had sent them the papaerwork over a month ago! No more embarrasing moments having to step out of the car at toll gates :-)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Finally!
Yesterday I was dead tired, but after a spell of terrible weather, I *had* to take out the Lotus. I was so tired I did not dare to take on the LA road. Went to Monsanto instead, which is a much faster circuit. All I can say is that I had a BLAST! Drove much faster than uual... The car needed a good beating after being in storage for so long! Superb!
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
New license plate
BTW, on new year's eve I went for a quick blat and broke my license plate again. Add this to the list of 'you know you're a lotus owner when':
... license plates are consumables just like brakes and tires
... license plates are consumables just like brakes and tires
Blats and crap
Major sadness!
Well kind of. First. I have only been on one ride in a whole week. I took the car for a ride in the wet to check a couple of drift spots, but no luck yet. I only have one to go.
Then miserable weather... :-(
Called the service rep at Lotus and got the news that my front blinker was finally here. However, got a call today from my salesman saying that the service rep found a leak in the radiator. I am going to have to take the car to OPorto. Bummer!
Here's a pic of my blinker before it was fixed:
Well kind of. First. I have only been on one ride in a whole week. I took the car for a ride in the wet to check a couple of drift spots, but no luck yet. I only have one to go.
Then miserable weather... :-(
Called the service rep at Lotus and got the news that my front blinker was finally here. However, got a call today from my salesman saying that the service rep found a leak in the radiator. I am going to have to take the car to OPorto. Bummer!
Here's a pic of my blinker before it was fixed:
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Recent blats
Went for a drive on the 23rd at dawn to check out the Gradil road. My GPS took me down a mud road guarded by a german shepherd dog :-O Had to reverse and then found the Gradil road. Pretty fun, but the pavement is very up and down. Won't reapeat it, methinks.
I broke my license plate when getting back to the garage (there was a frigging truck parked out front). I went to a store which was already closed and I was able to beg a new license plate out of them. I installed it myself yesterday and went for a drive last night. I was planning to do the LA road a few times but towards the end I saw a bunch of mean looking people around a large bonfire and decided to call it a night. Incidentally, I came across a large gap on the road because of construction, just at the beginning of LA. The car bottomed out and then developped a huge rattle. I started to belive that I had broken the glass that looks into the engine bay, I kid you not. Fortunately, everything was well and the rattle disappeared.
On the way home, I stopped for gas and a bunch of kids totalled freaked out when they saw the Lotus. Fun!
Took a couple of pics yesterday in the parking lot of a friend's appartment building. Enjoy!
I broke my license plate when getting back to the garage (there was a frigging truck parked out front). I went to a store which was already closed and I was able to beg a new license plate out of them. I installed it myself yesterday and went for a drive last night. I was planning to do the LA road a few times but towards the end I saw a bunch of mean looking people around a large bonfire and decided to call it a night. Incidentally, I came across a large gap on the road because of construction, just at the beginning of LA. The car bottomed out and then developped a huge rattle. I started to belive that I had broken the glass that looks into the engine bay, I kid you not. Fortunately, everything was well and the rattle disappeared.
On the way home, I stopped for gas and a bunch of kids totalled freaked out when they saw the Lotus. Fun!
Took a couple of pics yesterday in the parking lot of a friend's appartment building. Enjoy!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Blat this morning
Woke up at 5.30 as usual. I went to LA. The road is still hurt from the recent rains. Tons of mud on some sections. I went up and down onece and then took the coastal road to Azoia. Very nice drive. I really improved on looking towards where I am going (the Azoia road has great visibility, so that helps) and doing much less mistakes on braking too late. I am braking a bit early and a bit soft right now. Have to work on that. The alternative death roundabout ended up in zilch. I am going to check a new road and another candidate to a roundabout of death tomorrow morning.
On a side note, really fun dream. I dreamt that I woke up at 8 and missed my drive and then I really woke up and it was 5.30 am... thank God!
It was confusing for a bit :-P
On a side note, really fun dream. I dreamt that I woke up at 8 and missed my drive and then I really woke up and it was 5.30 am... thank God!
It was confusing for a bit :-P
Friday, December 21, 2007
The sun!!!
The sun is out!!!!
After a whole friggin' week of Lotuslessness, I can finally hit the streets at dawn tomorrow! Hurrayy!
BTW, last week I went for 8 laps of LA (the final half): It was great. I got progressively more comfortable with the car and made fewer mistakes. On saturday at dawn I went to check out the Roundabout of Death. Too much traffic, alas... I did find a suitable parkinglot for training oversteer, but there's a circus there now. Let's see if I can find something interesting tomorrow.
After a whole friggin' week of Lotuslessness, I can finally hit the streets at dawn tomorrow! Hurrayy!
BTW, last week I went for 8 laps of LA (the final half): It was great. I got progressively more comfortable with the car and made fewer mistakes. On saturday at dawn I went to check out the Roundabout of Death. Too much traffic, alas... I did find a suitable parkinglot for training oversteer, but there's a circus there now. Let's see if I can find something interesting tomorrow.
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Saturday, December 08, 2007
Two blats in a row
Thursday night and today at dawn, I went for a couple of blats in Sintra. It turns out that my experimental blat path through Sintra sucks.
My original road has a really uneven ground on the second segment and then it gets worse. It is also a really narrow road, and in the last downhill sprint to Sintra it has high walls on both sides. Not fun if you loose traction. No fun at all.
The first blat was, in retrospect not too bad. Once I left the LA road, I got into a section with uneven ground but not too bad. Should be great in the spring. Now it's figgin covered with leaves and has some really heavy fog patches. There was a point where I got a surprise steep downwards incline covered with leaves and the car skated down through with with the ABS working double time! It was so dark and foggy that I got seriously spooked. Fortunately, I took a wrong turn and ended up in Azoia and had a very pleasant trip back to Cascais. So this now is my favorite circuit in Lisbon.
In the second blat, I drove through the right road except for a turn where I ended up litterally skidding with no brakes down a muddy path that forced me to reverse and do a u-turn. The car has mud all over. No fun at all. Another part that was not fun at all was having the car understeer on me (went into a corner too hot) and havign a car coming in the opposite direction. I was always in control, but didn't enjoy the experience :-P
My original road has a really uneven ground on the second segment and then it gets worse. It is also a really narrow road, and in the last downhill sprint to Sintra it has high walls on both sides. Not fun if you loose traction. No fun at all.
The first blat was, in retrospect not too bad. Once I left the LA road, I got into a section with uneven ground but not too bad. Should be great in the spring. Now it's figgin covered with leaves and has some really heavy fog patches. There was a point where I got a surprise steep downwards incline covered with leaves and the car skated down through with with the ABS working double time! It was so dark and foggy that I got seriously spooked. Fortunately, I took a wrong turn and ended up in Azoia and had a very pleasant trip back to Cascais. So this now is my favorite circuit in Lisbon.
In the second blat, I drove through the right road except for a turn where I ended up litterally skidding with no brakes down a muddy path that forced me to reverse and do a u-turn. The car has mud all over. No fun at all. Another part that was not fun at all was having the car understeer on me (went into a corner too hot) and havign a car coming in the opposite direction. I was always in control, but didn't enjoy the experience :-P
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Friday, November 30, 2007
Blat last night
Went for a blat last night in Sintra. The road was great, although it seemed to be a bit damp. Had a great time, the car behaved wonderfully. I made a couple of mistakes but the Exige S is a really forgiving car. When I was reading online fora prior to getting the car, I thought it would be a bit twitchy and bite back a lot, but that is not how the car is at all. It is really very forgiving. Hopefully, there will be one more opportunity to practice this weekend... :-)
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Monday, November 26, 2007
The left-hand front turn signal... again
I went to pick up the Lotus from the garage yesterday to give it a wash and on my way home, the left hand front turn signal flew out of its casing. As you might recall, this happened already. The first time, the top latch keeping it in place broke, so the signal moved but it did not fly out. Now the bottom one broke and the signal flies out all the time. Had to tape in place :-(
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Saturday, November 24, 2007
Blat today
Hadn't driven the Exige for the past couple of weeks (I was away on business). Took it out today. Delicious as usual. I really missed it. I was bummed by the trip though. The road I was going to play in was littered with leaves and gravel :-(
No fun in the twisties at all!
No fun in the twisties at all!
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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Blat next dawn
OK... I'm leaving for a business trip tomorrow and the thought of spending a week away from the Lotus is just too much. I'm going to try to set my internal alarm clock for 5 am tomorrow and go for a quick blat in one of my favorite spots :-D
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Blat this morning
TNAS from AHO joined me for my drive through Montejunto this morning. It was great having his company in the car, but I was mad at myself because I wasn't able to focus on the driving (same thing happened with my last pax ride there). I need to learn how to chew gum and walk at the same time :-P
The road was quite challenging today. A lot of foliage on the ground and even a dead fox, FCS! Anyway, the car still behaved like a dream and we had a great conversation about Porsches.I'll be away next weekend --- not sure if I'll be able to take the car out before that.
The road was quite challenging today. A lot of foliage on the ground and even a dead fox, FCS! Anyway, the car still behaved like a dream and we had a great conversation about Porsches.I'll be away next weekend --- not sure if I'll be able to take the car out before that.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Next blat
I'm going to Montejunto on Saturday early morning. If anyone is up for an early breakfast of one of the greatest roads in the country, drop me a line to zjoao_mx at yahoo.com
Monday, November 05, 2007
My own rules for blats
Blats are dangerous, but they should only be dangerous for those that choose to engage in them and not for anybody else. I have four rules that I always follow in every blat to make sure that if anyone is in jeopardy because of my driving, that person is sitting behind the wheel of the most beautiful organge car in Portugal. These are my own rules, I don't think they're the best or the only ones. Just the rules I feel comfortable with.
1. On highways, stay close to the speed limit and always below 150 km/h
Driving the Lotus is all about the twisties, there's no point is paying a fine, loosing my license or putting myself and others in danger to go fast in a straight line
2. In villages and cities allways keep the speed limit
The point here is to prevent running over somebody. This is especially important in villages on mountain roads where people may be less used to cars and children are allowed to play outside.
3. In long straights keep below 100 km/h
I've learned how well the Lotus can break and this is the speed at which it is still safe to go in medium visibility. There can be children playing in the woods or people may hear / see the Lotus coming and want to come closer. Also, if something upsets the car, there's still a chance of surviving. Again the point of the car is not going fast in a straight line.
4. In the twisties, drive like a maniac just below 7/10's. This is where I really take risks because this is what this car was made for and here is the place where I'm less likely to put others in danger. Obviously the possibility is still there. At 7/10's I am really pushing the car, but I still have some leeway (not much) to improvise. This is a lesson that many of the gentlemen drivers learned in races such as Mille Miglia and that gave some an edge over the professional pilots.
1. On highways, stay close to the speed limit and always below 150 km/h
Driving the Lotus is all about the twisties, there's no point is paying a fine, loosing my license or putting myself and others in danger to go fast in a straight line
2. In villages and cities allways keep the speed limit
The point here is to prevent running over somebody. This is especially important in villages on mountain roads where people may be less used to cars and children are allowed to play outside.
3. In long straights keep below 100 km/h
I've learned how well the Lotus can break and this is the speed at which it is still safe to go in medium visibility. There can be children playing in the woods or people may hear / see the Lotus coming and want to come closer. Also, if something upsets the car, there's still a chance of surviving. Again the point of the car is not going fast in a straight line.
4. In the twisties, drive like a maniac just below 7/10's. This is where I really take risks because this is what this car was made for and here is the place where I'm less likely to put others in danger. Obviously the possibility is still there. At 7/10's I am really pushing the car, but I still have some leeway (not much) to improvise. This is a lesson that many of the gentlemen drivers learned in races such as Mille Miglia and that gave some an edge over the professional pilots.
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