Cars > Challenges > “blue02formula” Vs “Mean Green Machine”

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blue02formula

M–45
Ravenna, Ohio
United States

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Shaggy

M–29
Louisville, Kentucky
United States

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2002 Pontiac Firebird Formula

“blue02formula”

2005 Lotus Elise 111R

“Mean Green Machine”

No longer owned

Head to Head

About “blue02formula”

2002 Formula navy blue met. taupe interior.
I ordered the car 3/02 came in 4/15/02. The Formula is driven daily except in winter. The wife and I have been on several road trips in it. The Formula has seen: Pacific coast highway in SoCal, Route 66, The Grand Canyon, Going to the sun road in Glacier, Park Montana, Trail Ridge Road, Colorado, Daytona Beach, The Blue Ridge Parkway and many more.

About “Mean Green Machine”

UPDATE:
The Elise is no more. It was totalled in May of this year on some Indiana backroads. The short of it is that I came around an odd corner that goes hard left just as you crest over a hill. The car unweighted and went into a spin. No injuries but the car was considered a total loss. I now have an 01 BMW M3 but will probably pick up another Elise or Exige in the next few years.
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Bought this Elise in February of 2006 and have loved it ever since. In the past 10 months I've logged over 12,000 miles with the car and have had few problems with it.

You can see more photos (better quality) at my Lotus Elise Blog

I just updated the Gallery with some interior photos. The only difference in the interior now is the stereo is different. I replaced the stock Blaupunkt Acapulco with an Alpine CDA-9856. The exposed metal areas are (for the most part) the actual chassis/tub that the car is built around.

Specs for “blue02formula”

LS1 5.7L V8, 6speed, t-tops.

Specs for “Mean Green Machine”

Mostly stock 2005 Lotus Elise.
1.8L Toyota 4 Cylinder & 6 speed transmission
189 hp & 138 lb/ft
Mid Engined, RWD
~1980lbs
Unequal length wishbones
Bilstein dampers & Eibach springs
Lotus/AP-Racing twin-piston fixed aluminium alloy front brake calipers
Brembo single-piston sliding rear calipers
11.3" Cross drilled rotors

Stock Numbers:
0-60 --- 4.7 seconds
1/4 Mile --- 13.3 @ 102.9mph
70' Slalom --- 71.1mph
Skidpad --- 1.02g

Lotus Elise Blog

Factory Options for “blue02formula”

6 speed, chrome wheels.

Factory Options for “Mean Green Machine”

-Touring Pack (power windows, extra insulation, different stereo)
-Hardtop
-Lifestyle paint (Krypton Green)

Lotus Elise Blog

Mods for “blue02formula”

FRA, K&N, LS1 Motorsports lid,
SLP 160* T-stat, HPP III tuner, TB coolant by-pass,
Taylor 409 race wires, Kirban shifter,
SLP Y-pipe, Magnaflow cat-back,
Edelbrock strut tower brace, Edelbrock torque arm,
BMR boxed subframe connectors, BMR boxed lower control arms, BMR panhard rod, Lakewood driveshaft loop,
Suspension Techniques sway bars,
iROTOR drilled & slotted rotors, EBC 2000 series Green Stuff pads, gold painted calipiers,
Moser Engineering 12 bolt, Eaton HD posi, 4.11 Prostreet gears, 33 spline axles, 1350 yoke, T/A stud girdle/cover,
Firestone Firehawk Wide Ovals
Gold accent decals
XM radio

Mods for “Mean Green Machine”

-ForcedFed Carbon Fiber front Splitter
-Green Filter and modified airbox
-Sector111 Lidbone
-Alpine CDA-9856 with 3rd generation iPod attached
-Sector111 larger front tow hook
-Sector111 rear triangular tow hook
-Zoom Carbon Fiber wide angle rear view mirror

Upcoming modifications:
-Aftermarket header & exhaust
-Tri-Point Supercharger
-Aftermarket wheels
-HID's

If Elise/Exige parts weren't so damn expensive I'd have half the list installed already. Everything on the list will be on the car before too long though.

You can see photos and walkthroughs for the car's mods @ My Lotus Elise Blog