I have now got past the first service and given it some revs and it still behaves like the one Tiff Needell drove rather than the one Chris Harris drove, ie understeer rather than oversteer. It's not excessive but I'd prefer it to be a bit more throttle-adjustable.
I am waiting impatiently for the steering mod/comfort kit to arrive, though I expect that to be the solution to a different problem.
I have read the erudite comments in this thread with great interest, but I am still unsure what the next step should be: the Empire kit or the upgraded Suplex dampers. I think ordering both would be a bit over the top for my budget.
Wandering totally off topic...
I got totally lost on the way to the workshop, but the nice proprietor said that was no problem, except that there was a lunch hour. He asked if I'd like to borrow a car and I said that would be nice, expecting a Twingo or some tin box like that. But instead, it was an Elise (he is a Lotus dealer).
Somehow, I had missed out on the Elise, though I have driven all the models between about 1973 and the early 1990s. I took it for a half-hour drive on some twisty roads. I was surprised at how comfortable it was, though getting in and out was a pain for a lanky old git. I wish, for example, that the M3W had that space to the side of the clutch pedal.
I did not go nuts in it but drove it with about 7/10 briskness...and I was deeply disappointed.
The steering was nicely direct and accurate and the handling was fine, though I have heard that if you give it 10/10 it becomes rather demanding.
What disappointed me (apart from the cheapo interior fittings) was the ride quality. It does not have the bump deflection of the Morgan, but the vertical harshness verged on the uncomfortable - and the crashing bump-thump is appalling.
No other Lotus road car that I have driven was like that. CABC must be bouncing in his tomb, if he is not still on a beach in Brazil with his flame-haired mistress.
