What can I do about Tiny Pedals, Huge Blind Spot and Touchy Brakes?

[luciddaydream]

I just drove back from Chicago to Minneapolis in my new Emira.
Badass car and I am happy with it.

But I am kind of afraid to drive it again because of a few things:

1.) During Minneapolis traffic I had to take my shoe off to be able to stop stepping on my soles of my shoes. I guess I gotta get smaller soled shoes for driving this bad boy. But do you just get used to it after a while? I don't have huge feet -- size 9.

2.) The brakes are fine at high speeds but at slow speeds they are so powerful. Any solutions to this or do I just get used to it?

3.) Lastly, the blind spot. Any solutions to that? Its kind of terrifying because I always manually look at that part of the car and now its covered up by the side of the car near the engine.
Any third party stuff I could rig up? It truly freaks me out.

I don't mean to complain about the car, its badass and wonderful.
Just wondering if you guys had any solutions? Thanks a ton!

 

[seriously]

Oddly enough I feel for most cars the pedal box is too wide. So I compensate by wearing broader shoes so that I can heel toe by rolling my foot instead of jabbing my heel. I have a feeling I will like the narrow box.

Btw my solution to blind spot is mainly to drive slightly faster than traffic and watch my rear view mirror. Typically no one in my blind spot to worry about.

 

[Gprodigy]

3.) Lastly, the blind spot. Any solutions to that? Its kind of terrifying because I always manually look at that part of the car and now its covered up by the side of the car near the engine.
Any third party stuff I could rig up? It truly freaks me out.

I don't mean to complain about the car, its badass and won

Maybe just try one of these until you're more comfortable?

 

[bluemyself]

Swing out the mirrors until your car has disappeared.

Does everyone not already do this?

 

[drjazzsk]

The omission of blind spot monitor is inexcusable tbh for multiple reasons. The work arounds are neat but not a replacement of a standard for many cars especially at this price point and with the inherent blind spots the car possesses. It is what it is but lotus needs to step it up.

 

[brainf18]

I have two pares of Piloti shoes that I wear to work. Love them and they are perfect for cars with a tight footbox.

Piloti Driving Shoes | Performance Driven Design

Discover men’s and women’s driving shoes, designed for all day comfort, for sale online at Piloti. Handmade in Europe, Piloti lifestyle sneakers, loafers and slip-ons are made from real, top quality leather and suede, as well as unique fabrics including ballistic nylon, recycled cotton and...

piloti.com

 

[K_Squared]

I just drove back from Chicago to Minneapolis in my new Emira.
Badass car and I am happy with it.

But I am kind of afraid to drive it again because of a few things:

1.) During Minneapolis traffic I had to take my shoe off to be able to stop stepping on my soles of my shoes. I guess I gotta get smaller soled shoes for driving this bad boy. But do you just get used to it after a while? I don't have huge feet -- size 9.

2.) The brakes are fine at high speeds but at slow speeds they are so powerful. Any solutions to this or do I just get used to it?

3.) Lastly, the blind spot. Any solutions to that? Its kind of terrifying because I always manually look at that part of the car and now its covered up by the side of the car near the engine.
Any third party stuff I could rig up? It truly freaks me out.

I don't mean to complain about the car, its badass and wonderful.
Just wondering if you guys had any solutions? Thanks a ton!

My two cents:

1) I have the same issue w/ size 10. I found that my gym shoes with narrower and shorter soles (more feeling) help immensely. I'm sure the driving shoes mentioned here are great as well. I've just accepted that I need to adjust/up my shoe game for this car. I don't love that I can't wear whatever shoe I want, but it's a tradeoff I can live with. I tried to drive it with my Brooks running shoes and it was...rough.

2) I definitely think the breaks are touchy at low speeds but it only seems to really matter when I come from driving another vehicle. After driving the Emira for a bit, it starts to feel actually quite good. I'm sure over time they'll be less grabby as well.

3) I actually think the Emira has great visibility for this type of car. I've always kind of hated blind spot monitors as I felt they made me more of a lazy driver. I do what others have mentioned, spread out the mirrors a bit and I generally keep a mental note of where cars are behind me and accelerate when changing lanes.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

I think I did notice it in the demo car I drove, but it wasn't as dramatic
It isn't an issue at high speeds but in traffic its very hard for me to get used to

It was very jerky.

No its far different than the 911.

Agree, I've had my Emira for about a year and there's no question that the brakes are grabby compared to something like a 911 or an M3. You learn to manage it and they work damn well when you need them.

 

[Eagle7]

Here's how to adjust your side mirrors to improve the coverage.

If you can get a friend to help you, take two cars; yours and theirs. Go to an empty parking lot somewhere. Stop your car, and have your friend slowly drive up from behind as though you're in two lanes, they're on the 'outside' lane to you. You can start with either the left side or right. Watch in your inside rear view mirror until their car is halfway out of view.

If they're coming up on the right side, wait until you see only the back half of their car in the right half of the inside rear view mirror (not the side view mirror). (You can use your phones for this) tell them to stop. Now adjust the outside right side view mirror until you see only the front half of their car (they're not moving, they're still stopped). If you do it right, you'll see the front half of their car in the outside side view mirror, and the back half in your inside rear view, so you'll have almost the entire car in view between the two mirrors..

Now tell them to drive slowly forward. What you want to see, is the front half filling the side view mirror, as the back half moves out of view on your inside rear view mirror. Keep watching. By the time you see the back half of their car moving out of view in your side view mirror, the front half of the car will be far enough forward that you can see it right next to you out the window.

Repeat the above procedure for the left side.

If you don't have anyone to help you, you can line up next to cars that are parked, either on the street (if you live on a quiet street) or in a parking lot, and do the same thing. You just have to be the one moving, backing up slowly and watching as the image moves through the mirrors. Always start with setting the inside rear view mirror first, then do the side views.

This pretty much eliminates blind spot issues, at least with cars in the lanes next to you. However cars coming across lanes outside the lanes next to you can still hide in the blind spot, so still look over your shoulder in addition to using the side mirrors.

 

[Porter]

Here you go, the full procedure:

Blindzone Glare Elimination Mirror Method | NHTSA

www.nhtsa.gov

I've attached it as well.

 

[GRP]

@GRP can you get a batch of those special mirrors that you sold me for the Evora where I can see like another 60 degrees.

We could probably get a run of those made up!
We will get a trace on our shop cars mirror and see what we can do.

 

[Rupes]

Here are some other tiny petals. Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

 

[Bear Dalton]

I just drove back from Chicago to Minneapolis in my new Emira.
Badass car and I am happy with it.

But I am kind of afraid to drive it again because of a few things:

1.) During Minneapolis traffic I had to take my shoe off to be able to stop stepping on my soles of my shoes. I guess I gotta get smaller soled shoes for driving this bad boy. But do you just get used to it after a while? I don't have huge feet -- size 9.

2.) The brakes are fine at high speeds but at slow speeds they are so powerful. Any solutions to this or do I just get used to it?

3.) Lastly, the blind spot. Any solutions to that? Its kind of terrifying because I always manually look at that part of the car and now its covered up by the side of the car near the engine.
Any third party stuff I could rig up? It truly freaks me out.

I don't mean to complain about the car, its badass and wonderful.
Just wondering if you guys had any solutions? Thanks a ton!

I found that shoes with smaller soles works best. I have specific boots I wear to make driving stick easy (rockport storm). Although I use these for my other manual cars too. I have a size 11.5 shoe for reference.

You will get used to the brakes, they are touchy at first but when you go from them back to a regular brake power, you'll miss the crap out of it.

The mirrors are convex and actually provide a great view, I absolutely love it. Try playing with it to get it in that sweet spot, I found mine.

 

[MYFASTEFE]

Love these when driving my Elise... And very comfortable for walking.

Nike Rival Fly 3 Men's Road Racing Shoes. Nike.com

Find the Nike Rival Fly 3 Men's Road Racing Shoes at Nike.com. Free delivery and returns.

www.nike.com

 

[blacklotus]

I just drove back from Chicago to Minneapolis in my new Emira.
Badass car and I am happy with it.

But I am kind of afraid to drive it again because of a few things:

1.) During Minneapolis traffic I had to take my shoe off to be able to stop stepping on my soles of my shoes. I guess I gotta get smaller soled shoes for driving this bad boy. But do you just get used to it after a while? I don't have huge feet -- size 9.

2.) The brakes are fine at high speeds but at slow speeds they are so powerful. Any solutions to this or do I just get used to it?

3.) Lastly, the blind spot. Any solutions to that? Its kind of terrifying because I always manually look at that part of the car and now its covered up by the side of the car near the engine.
Any third party stuff I could rig up? It truly freaks me out.

I don't mean to complain about the car, its badass and wonderful.
Just wondering if you guys had any solutions? Thanks a ton!

As others have sort of said, you should have no need to look over your shoulder to see a car. Will take some adjusting to get out of the habit, but follow the procedure mentioned above and you should end up confident that you are not missing any visibility. Even though it currently feels like you are. Cars will either be in the rear view mirror, in your side mirror, or directly out your window.

If the car is not directly out your window, and you cannot see them in the side mirror, then your mirrors need adjusting.

 

[Warren-RB]

I just drove back from Chicago to Minneapolis in my new Emira.
Badass car and I am happy with it.

But I am kind of afraid to drive it again because of a few things:

1.) During Minneapolis traffic I had to take my shoe off to be able to stop stepping on my soles of my shoes. I guess I gotta get smaller soled shoes for driving this bad boy. But do you just get used to it after a while? I don't have huge feet -- size 9.

2.) The brakes are fine at high speeds but at slow speeds they are so powerful. Any solutions to this or do I just get used to it?

3.) Lastly, the blind spot. Any solutions to that? Its kind of terrifying because I always manually look at that part of the car and now its covered up by the side of the car near the engine.
Any third party stuff I could rig up? It truly freaks me out.

I don't mean to complain about the car, its badass and wonderful.
Just wondering if you guys had any solutions? Thanks a ton!

#2 Is a deficiency called "Lack of modulation" , or an "On-Off" light switch like operation; Nothing or Abrupt grabby which makes you feel have no control on your car.

It can certainly be improved by replacing a brake pad made with good modulation.

Any way to fix the brake dust?

Hi there The brake dust on these cars is pretty nuts. Has anyone come up with a solution to this? Either pads or some sort of treatment I can put on the wheels? Thanks a ton

www.emiraforum.com

 

[Clam]

I just drove back from Chicago to Minneapolis in my new Emira.
Badass car and I am happy with it.

But I am kind of afraid to drive it again because of a few things:

1.) During Minneapolis traffic I had to take my shoe off to be able to stop stepping on my soles of my shoes. I guess I gotta get smaller soled shoes for driving this bad boy. But do you just get used to it after a while? I don't have huge feet -- size 9.

2.) The brakes are fine at high speeds but at slow speeds they are so powerful. Any solutions to this or do I just get used to it?

3.) Lastly, the blind spot. Any solutions to that? Its kind of terrifying because I always manually look at that part of the car and now its covered up by the side of the car near the engine.
Any third party stuff I could rig up? It truly freaks me out.

I don't mean to complain about the car, its badass and wonderful.
Just wondering if you guys had any solutions? Thanks a ton!

I'll put a good word in for Piloti driving shoes like the other forum member. I wear size 11.5 Icona model and have no issues because the shoes are very contoured to your feet with a smaller sole than a walking shoe. That should help you.

 

[Speedy Emira]

I just drove back from Chicago to Minneapolis in my new Emira.
Badass car and I am happy with it.

But I am kind of afraid to drive it again because of a few things:

1.) During Minneapolis traffic I had to take my shoe off to be able to stop stepping on my soles of my shoes. I guess I gotta get smaller soled shoes for driving this bad boy. But do you just get used to it after a while? I don't have huge feet -- size 9.

2.) The brakes are fine at high speeds but at slow speeds they are so powerful. Any solutions to this or do I just get used to it?

3.) Lastly, the blind spot. Any solutions to that? Its kind of terrifying because I always manually look at that part of the car and now its covered up by the side of the car near the engine.
Any third party stuff I could rig up? It truly freaks me out.

I don't mean to complain about the car, its badass and wonderful.
Just wondering if you guys had any solutions? Thanks a ton!

What I still can’t understand is why the left hand drive Emiras have pedals closer together than right hand ones. I feel for you because even with more space my feet get caught up sometimes.
Everyone’s right about getting used to the braking and blind spot.

The most important thing is to still get that great feeling when you look back at your car after parking it.

 

[Hell4Leather]

Yes. I started completely eliminating my car from both mirrors when I got my first Elise. It's unnecessary to see your own car. You'll get several feet of additional view on both sides of the car by moving them out.

That’s drivers ed 101. Lean a little to the left, adjust so you just see the faint line of the car. Lean slightly to the right, same thing. Sitting straight you won’t see your own car but trust me, it’s still there.

 

[brainf18]

Others experience might vary but for me, the brakes definitely start to feel and modulate better after several hundred miles of driving. As the pads and rotors wear together they feel firm, precise and easy to modulate.

 

[wallstbear]

These should do it.