Radio reception

Elise Radio Reception

The Elise is notorious for its poor radio reception. This is mainly due to the lack of a ground plane for the aerial, and the large amount of Radio Frequency Interferance (RFI) which is radiated from the engine bay.

A longer aerial can help - the Wip from a Rover 25 is a direct replacement and only costs a few quid.

A self adhesive aluminum foil, pre-cut to the shape of the boot lid is available from Lotus (Part No A111M0131F) and provide a ground plane.

Don't be tempted to add an aerial amplifier, the existing aerial base already contains one and adding another will not help.

I did both of these things, and added a briaded wire connecting the two larger grills in the boot lid, the aerial base, and the chassis member earth point.

This helped quite a bit and improves the reception to the point where its "ok".

Some people have had success using Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radios which are a bit more tollerant of poor reception and often use a metalic tape aerial oround the passanger edge of the windscreen. Unfortunately DAB coverage over the UK is still a bit patchy.