EliseInfo.com

There’s a new player in town in the Elise aftermarket scene, a company in Poland that makes leather shift boots and hand brake boots. Prices are reasonable ($60 for the set, or $40 each) and they offer a larger array of leather and stitching colors. The company, RedlineGoods.com, can be found at that link; installation instructions for the boots can be viewed here (I’m impressed that they actually have model-specific installation instructions!).

Finally, after the car’s been here for almost three years, companies are finally offering performance ECU modifications in the form of a ‘reflash’, where new code is flashed into a chip that must be soldered in place of an existing one on the ECU (hence this is not a DIY project). So far, the primary modification is to shift the cam changeover point from 6200 rpm to around 5700 rpm, which owners report is greatly improving drivability and enjoyability of the car. Lotus is even jumping in the game with their own offering.

The options are:

PES

$795
Dyno graph can be found here, showing slight gains in power (~6hp). Users are reporting very noticeable gains (one user did a 3rd gear acceleration run from 3500rpm to redline and reported a one second gain). Of note is that, due to the shifted cam change, they claim a 21hp gain at 6250rpm.
They say they also offer special maps for cars with a cold air intake.
More info here.

Blackwatch / HRM

This is, as far as I can tell, the same product being offered by PES. More info here.

Sector111

$550
~5700rpm cam changeover
No claims of any amount of power gains.
They’ll have future ECU reflash options to help maximize performance gains from intakes, exhaust, etc.
More info here.
This is the tune that EliseTalk user CharlieX has been working on; Sector111 has a 12 month exclusive license to it.

Lotus

Lotus Sport T4 and T4e ECU – Track Optimised
Description
A Lotus ECU with the cam switch point optimised for track usage (switch point revised to 5750 from 6200 rpm). This allows the driver to maintain the use of the high-lift cams during track driving, whilst avoiding unwanted switches to low-lift cams. All other functionality of the original ECU program is retained, preserving the full European emissions compliance of the powertrain.

Applicable vehicles
Elise 111R Non Federal
Exige Non Federal
Features
Transition to high-lift cams at 5700 rpm (standard set at 6200 rpm)
Simplistic installation
Full retention of European emissions compliance
Part(s) supplied
Lotus T4 Manual ECU AL53M0215F
Lotus T4e Electronic Throttle ECU AL53M0244F
Prices:
$795 for 2005 model year cars
$995 for 2006/2007

So, which is better? Good question. The Sector111 reflash has the price advantage, but if the PES reflash really does help optimize the car for a cold air intake, it’d be the obvious solution for owners with that. Personally, I’m going to hold off on doing this until reflashes are available that help take advantage of intake and exhaust modifications.

Lotus is going to be installing a large array of wind turbines on their property, which could provide up to 100% of their energy requirements! Read on for the full press release.
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The TV show “Import Racers”, on ESPN2, recently featured Sector111. It’s a neat video, worth watching for any Lotus fan. You can find it over at Google Video.

Issue 19, the March/April 2007 edition of Lotus Engineering’s newsletter proActive, is now available for download here. Among other things, this issue covers the Geneva motor show, some global warming issues, and the 2007 Lotus Sport GT3 race car development.

Lotus Cars USA is introducing a limited edition version of the Elise, decked out in the color scheme used on its successful Type 72D Formula 1 car (driven by Emerson Fittipaldi). Fifty of them will be available later this year starting at $60,000, and feature gold color accents (pin striping, gold colored wheels, etc). (via Edmunds)
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Here’s something you don’t expect. When talking about the Hummer H3, one reviewer said,

“The interior felt less spacious than a Lotus Elise”

Holy crap. Is that possible?

(via caradvice)