EM13RA'S diary

[Kentviking]

that stripe really works

Agreed...the stripe does look good. The wife was not so taken by the "painted carbon" dipped engine bay...think that is explained elsewhere on this forum...I didn't think it looked at all bad, but its not real and adds a few grammes

 

[Kentviking]

NC500 highlights:

Car has now done some 2.5k miles in only a few weeks of ownership.

Met a yellow Emira at the traffic lights around Bradford (go figure...didn't think there were enough on the road to come across so many)...not as many unusual cars on the route as I thought...lots of classic porshes, a collection of c 20 Weismann at Applecross pass, a Mclaren and 2 Lambos. Must be the ideal time to go for best combination of traffic and weather.

Roads are often single track and riddled with potholes (particularly the route between John O'Groats and Scourie). More suitable for 4x4s in places so the Emira ground clearance and supple ride came in really handy.

Plusses: the ride and the handling are sublime; the looks just never fail to bring a smile to your face - most beautiful car on the road IMHO; the noise keeps getting better and better as the exhausts "mature"...in full track mode above 5k rpm she screams like a proper race car...and in the tunnels I swear she is almost as loud as the SVJ we recorded in an earlier post. The burbles on the overrun are also maturing very nicely. Drove in the twisties and slower roads in low gears in sport and track, and on the motorway in tour mode (very refined). Speakers are also warming up nicely in the car so not disappointed with the stereo...just needs to be played for a few hours before it opens up. Luggage space was more than ample for us (2x the lotus luggage set of three assorted bags each, two large shopping bags of food, a briefcase, camera gear, coats, drinks, walking boots and other "stuff" all swallowed without issue). Stupid amount of attention from several groups of kids begging for us to "rev it!" (of course we obliged) - and I thought interest in cars had waned in the next generation - to the people who come up to you to talk about the car at every stop. So many people taking photos, giving the thumbs up or just smiling - she brings joy to all who see her.

Minor niggles - got our first fault code on the way up (told reduced power/acceleration available and told ESC unavailable) - turned it into track mode (which doesn't use ESC anyway) and pulled over for fuel a few miles later...code not there on restart and has not returned. We are getting the same weird click sound on full lock in slow manoeuvring as others have reported...just part of the car I guess. Hearing the odd squeek which I suspect is the chassis (doesnt seem to be associated with the suspension, steering or brakes)...have probably captured on dash cam footage but need to trawl through 100 hours of footage to see if it has picked it up...it is not all the time and not too onerous but can make the car sound more like a racing car than a GT. wife complained endlessly about the "simplicity" of the infotainment and lack of refinement on the air con (worked fine for me, but she is used to top of the range executive saloon type arrangements with dual zone air con, ability to open and close individual vents, etc etc). The airplay connectivity - dodgy to put it mildly, complicated by the fact that the wife has android and that always seems to want to trump the airplay on connectivity (even when she had erased the Emira connection from her phone). It just doesn't always work as you expect and you sometimes you have to go through the menus to re-connect, but it can take time (and at other times it has connected remotely to carplay when I was taking video footage of the car from some 50m away). The auto handbrake...sometimes struggled to pull away no matter how much revs applied (stalled it a couple of times)...usually when on a steeper incline. I found releasing it using the button was the only way to get away on these occasions but my wife would have freaked had this happened to her (especially on somewhere like the applecross pass - cliff edge driving). Oh...and I found our spare screw (which seems to be an added feature others have enjoyed too)

None of these can detract from what was an absolutely phenomenal week of fun and beauty...just loving this car to bits.

Will tag a few phone pics/videos (here and in a few extra posts) from the trip below (so not really the best quality, particularly the video sound quality/wind noise). Shame we couldn't get the son's drone to work as I think we could have got some awesome footage. Suffice to say I think this is not going to be our last NC500, but likely more a regular trip.

Enjoy!

 

[Kentviking]

a few more photos...

 

[Kentviking]

and a few more...

 

[Kentviking]

...you get the idea...

 

[Kentviking]

and the best conditions for photography were at Applecross pass...

 

[danmessy]

Oh...and I found our spare screw

Can you elaborate on this? I haven't seen the reference in other Emiras? I did have an Elise which I swear had a loose bolt flying around under the seats / chassis somewhere every so often .. seemed a Lotus quirk

Also, any issues with the tan leather seats? Seen a few get 'baggy'. I ask as I have almost the exact spec you have. Thanks for the reports and photos

 

[Kentviking]

Can you elaborate on this? I haven't seen the reference in other Emiras? I did have an Elise which I swear had a loose bolt flying around under the seats / chassis somewhere every so often .. seemed a Lotus quirk

Also, any issues with the tan leather seats? Seen a few get 'baggy'. I ask as I have almost the exact spec you have. Thanks for the reports and photos

found a short black screw behind the seats when taking the luggage out about half way through our trip...no idea where it comes from but others have similarly reported finding a loose screw somewhere in their cabin...I am not alone.

The seats have had three different drivers in them and after 2,500 miles are still looking good.

Should also mention that our paintwork is also holding up well (no ppf other than the meagre piece it is supplied with from factory)...considering the amount of gravelly roads we have travelled over, and quite a few motorway miles I am still yet to find any chip of any kind anywhere.

 

[danmessy]

Sounds like a Lotus Easter egg game 😂
Awesome, glad you're having a ball! Looks wonderful

 

[eriegz]

and the best conditions for photography were at Applecross pass...

Be still, my beating heart... 😍🤩

 

[Mac71]

Great write up and great photos. Did you do any interesting roads on the way up (I assume from Kent)?

 

[Concept24]

Thanks for the thorough report!
Can you imagine if you had the i4 and folks/kids asked you to "rev it up"?

 

[Cutting42]

Thanks for the thorough report!
Can you imagine if you had the i4 and folks/kids asked you to "rev it up"?

The “kids” love a Honda 4 banger revving out so so knows!!!!

 

[Concept24]

The “kids” love a Honda 4 banger revving out so so knows!!!!

Very true! They'd probably like a Supra i4, also.

 

[Shahaf2911]

Can you imagine if you had the i4 and folks/kids asked you to "rev it up"?

I drove my brothers 718 2.0 a few times and every time kids asked to rev the car… I never did 😂 (in my OG m2 I never said no haha)

 

[Concept24]

I drove my brothers 718 2.0 a few times and every time kids asked to rev the car… I never did 😂 (in my OG m2 I never said no haha)

I can understand why!

 

[Kentviking]

Great write up and great photos. Did you do any interesting roads on the way up (I assume from Kent)?

Thank you!...We had to get to Glasgow on the first day, but went north up the A1(M) which has no traffic and very few roadworks/speed restrictions...it was a relatively joyful breeze. Cut across from Bradford up into the Yorkshire Dales to visit Malham Cove and then across to the M6 to meet our fellow travellers at the Tebay services (the best motorway services in the UK by a country mile). On the way over to Inverness from Glasgow we went to Perth and then north up the Old Military Road through the Cairngorms (ie via Glenshee and Balmoral...you will recognise the valley from James Bond if you are into those movies)...otherwise then stuck pretty much to the NC500 with slight strays/optional extras over the Applecross pass and around Skye...both of which are not to be missed. A great week!

 

[Mac71]

Excellent. The old military road is almost the highlight of the whole trip for me.