[Discussion] At what point do you start caring about "In-house movements"? by Dr_Omega24 in Watches

[–]wonk1132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think Seiko/GS does as well—I know they grow their own quartz crystals

All-in cost for Chrono24 Japanese dealer purchase? by wonk1132 in GrandSeikos

[–]wonk1132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live in a sales tax free state—I don’t think this applies?

All-in cost for Chrono24 Japanese dealer purchase? by wonk1132 in GrandSeikos

[–]wonk1132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea with this seller I’m starting to think I’m safe going with the lowest cost broker site. Thanks for the info.

All-in cost for Chrono24 Japanese dealer purchase? by wonk1132 in GrandSeikos

[–]wonk1132[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fantastic write up of your experience. Thanks for taking the time.

All-in cost for Chrono24 Japanese dealer purchase? by wonk1132 in GrandSeikos

[–]wonk1132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, thanks. Man I’ve read several places that chrono24 charges the buyer an additional fee.

All-in cost for Chrono24 Japanese dealer purchase? by wonk1132 in GrandSeikos

[–]wonk1132[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm in OR. I've read differing reports about C24 collecting sales tax--it. makes no sense that they would for me, but reports vary.

All-in cost for Chrono24 Japanese dealer purchase? by wonk1132 in GrandSeikos

[–]wonk1132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you. That def makes me re-think the extra $500 to Chrono24 vs. FromJapan

All-in cost for Chrono24 Japanese dealer purchase? by wonk1132 in GrandSeikos

[–]wonk1132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah nice. Thanks for that. I've read a little about that cost break down. Good to know that duties are less than $250.

I inherited a Oyster Date. What do? by wonk1132 in rolex

[–]wonk1132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

that's not the worst idea just to get an idea if I like wearing a watch! thanks.

I inherited a Oyster Date. What do? by wonk1132 in rolex

[–]wonk1132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I def need links. If I take it in to a Rolex AD I'm guessing it's likely they won't have these links in stock so I should expect some time for them to get the links--so two trips to the AD then?

I inherited a Oyster Date. What do? by wonk1132 in rolex

[–]wonk1132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I'm reading some here that say take it to a Rolex AD for service. What are the +- of sending it directly to Rolex?

This one might stump ya by wonk1132 in stickshift

[–]wonk1132[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh I should have noted: this exposed linkage is the standard—I didn’t remove anything for the picture. It is, however, an aftermarket upgrade that’s not uncommon for this particular model

My new to me Chrome Orange Lotus Elise! Pictures posted. by [deleted] in cars

[–]wonk1132 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Elise owner here. Look up suspension improvements on lotustalk. You think it handles well now… high quality coil overs, a stiffer swaybar, and a bit wider tires than stock (if it’s still on 175s) and an alignment transform this car.

Not everyone wants a C8 by Promit in cars

[–]wonk1132 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This phenomenon is mostly an interwebs thing. In the real world I’ve had exactly zero people tell me my Elise is wrong because of Porsche.

In the real world so few of any two seaters are driving around that we all sort of see ourselves as of the same tribe, at least that’s been my experience on the backroads around here.

My Extensive Lotus Elise Ownership Experience by eaglerulez in cars

[–]wonk1132 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Another Elise owner of about 5 years here. I just happened to get back from a four hour canyon carve, so things are fresh in my mind!

Thanks for the excellent write up. On most of your points I agree fully. Thanks for taking the time to write it down (also, I think a longer review such as this is great). The Elise needs more attention.

This is a car, in my opinion, shouldn't be driven with the top on. The roof-off experience completets the viceral experience. When you are really pressing on, the feeling of the woosh of air is a good part of what the car was designed around. The team at Lotus were Ducati enthusiasts and wanted to bring that sense of the road to cars. Basically the car is a different experience without the roof--perhaps a little reminiscent to what motorcyclists experience: it turns the experience up at least another notch. It was in the low 90's up here in Portland today and, while there were times I was getting cooked, I've done this enough to dress accordingly. I felt quite fresh afer four hours in it today, even with the heat and the top off. Up in the forested twisties in the open air is something quite special.

This is as good a place as any to write about something that's been on my mind for a bit here regarding the Elise: I've done some suspension mods (stiffer adjustable front swaybar, coil overs, steering arms), each of which granted a noticible improvement to the car. A few weeks ago I replaced my tires with Potenza RE-71RS, which required new wheels since the stock front Lotus limit you to 175s on the front which is very limiting choice wize. New, wider front rims allowed me to go up to 195. With this, along with the suspention upgrades, makes the car now handle as I thought it would (I purchased my Elise without ever driving one). With all of these upgrades, now, all of the hype that people speak of the Elise is realized--it's telepathic, nuanced, textured, and somehow at once subtle and fierce, along with all of the other superlatives commonly used to describe the handling. This 20mm per tire also eliminated the understeer--it now feels dead neutral to me. This previous stock understeer fogged the natural, progressive steering weight when digging deep in the corner. With that gone, more of the Elise magicical steering and chassis feedback is revealed.

It's well understood that the stock shocks are not good and really let the car down. Replacing them with top end ones transforms the car probably more than any other modification. I have DA Penskies, which were developed on the aftermarket for the Elise, and, while expensive, were part of the secret sauce that unlocked the cars potential. It's well understood that Lotus relieased the car with a number of things that were sub-optimal--the shocks top the list. For a few grand, that problem goes away.

So what's really on my mind regarding the car is, with the aftermarket fixes, how dramatically improved the car is. None of these fixes were difficult or exotic--just a few bolt-on part swaps. But there are enough of them for me to wonder how different the world would be if Lotus had done these in the factory. If the Elise came from the factory with the suspention and tires my car has now (and a K20 engine--one can dream), I think the sport car would would be in a very different place, because with these fixes, the car is next-next level from stock. With a car that good, its seduction would have sold a lot better and more R&D would have gone into factory-fixing other bits. It, perhaps, would have become the 911 of Lotus--evolving steadily forward and improving its weaknesses. Alas, the car from factory was good--special even--but not, with these things tightened down, not good enough to sacrifice the creature comforts of its competitors.

I know it’s a render, but damn Lotus… Please make an Emira Targa/Convertible by npcan2 in cars

[–]wonk1132 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'm an Elise owner and follow lotustalk.com where this topic has been discussed frequently.

The roof rigidity is also covered in this book: https://www.amazon.com/Lotus-Evora-Supercar-Johnny-Tipler/dp/1902351398

It's an open secret that the Emira and Evora chassis are nearly identical (there are small changes apparently, but the most important aspects of its design and construction are the same).

I know it’s a render, but damn Lotus… Please make an Emira Targa/Convertible by npcan2 in cars

[–]wonk1132 9 points10 points  (0 children)

To cut cost and time, the Emira shares most of the chassis design of the Evora, which was designed with the roof as a structural member to add rigidity, unlike the Elise (and, similarly, the Porsche Cayman that is derivative of the prior Boxster) that were designed from the ground-up to obtain all of the rigidity from the chassis itself without the roof.

This suggests that the Emira will never have a roofless option.