111R or Exige?

[21TonyK]

Have authority from other half to warn the bank of my impending spending spree so things are starting to get a little more focused.

I'm either looking at an '04 111R in storm titanium (Circa 19-22K) plus;

Hardtop
Larini with poss. decat
Front splitter
Alloys refinished in either chrome shadow or black
Gunmetal stripes
Stainless hoses
Harnesses

or..

Exige S2 (22-23K)
Larini with poss. decat
Gunmetal stripes
Stainless hoses
Harnesses


This started off as a 111S for £15K and it just keeps going on-and-on. This was supposed to be a simple decision!

Given the above options what would existting Lotus owners do, and why?

[speedyellow]

Are you going to track it or not? Exige if you are, Elise if not

Exige looks more agressive, but if it's a sunny day car then you'll miss the open top... and NO YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE THE ROOF OFF! (Even a poof would be too style concious to do that!)

So down to use really, on the road the difference are not huge. If you're not sure, flip a coin, both are great!

Edited by speedyellow on Wednesday 31st January 15:45

[21TonyK]

Realistically I'll probably do a couple of track days a year tops, thats all. its for recreational driving on A/B roads only and possibly one or two trips over 150 miles a year. It's a third car, purely for some excitement. TBH not sure if I'd miss the soft-top. Have several in recent years and I always feel conspicuous in them, plus the strobing of sunlight through trees with a roof off is guarantee to give me a headache! Hence an Elise with hardtop although this is also down to looks.

Cheers

[speedyellow]

But out of the box, car against car with the same driver the Exige is faster on track and more focused.

My exige is quicker than your 111s if we are getting into that type of conversation!

[hbaumhardt]

Whilst I am respectful of others perceptions and opinions, that is infact bollox e.g. S2 135R vs S2 Exige out of the box and the bloke is talking about modifying anyway.

[Skyman]

21TonyK said:

Realistically I'll probably do a couple of track days a year tops, thats all. its for recreational driving on A/B roads only and possibly one or two trips over 150 miles a year. It's a third car, purely for some excitement. TBH not sure if I'd miss the soft-top. Have several in recent years and I always feel conspicuous in them, plus the strobing of sunlight through trees with a roof off is guarantee to give me a headache! Hence an Elise with hardtop although this is also down to looks.

Cheers

My use is similar to your own, as is the feeling we share about roof off motoring. I changed an 111R to an Exige S after 5 months of owning the Elise. Absolutely no regrets. Every time I drive the Exige is an event. NB ditch the Larini idea for a 2Bular.

Edited by Skyman on Wednesday 31st January 16:12

[kermitman]

21TonyK said:

I'm either looking at an '04 111R in storm titanium (Circa 19-22K) plus;

Hardtop
Larini with poss. decat
Front splitter
Alloys refinished in either chrome shadow or black
Gunmetal stripes
Stainless hoses
Harnesses

or..

Exige S2 (22-23K)
Larini with poss. decat
Gunmetal stripes
Stainless hoses
Harnesses

are you going to put the extras on yourself or just hoping one the right colour with the harnesses,exhaust,splitter, stripes fronts up?

might be a long wait if you are hoping for one.

go another 8 or 9 grand and order a new exige to your choice. after all youve gone from spending £15k to £23k!

[pasthim]

I bought a 111R (54 plate) in December and if it is your forray into these cars it can be pretty scary. Elise's have the refinement of small nuclear device (so they are very noisy compared to a 'normal' car) and slightly smoother ride comfort than a skateboard. They are excellent though and despite a month of doubts I now love the thing to absolute bits, more than anything I have ever owned (and I have owned some nice cars).

Back to my point...the Exige is apparently a hardcore version of the Elise and you MAY find it one step too far. Ultimately pop over to the dealer, one who is preferably somewhere where you can give it a 'bit of a go' and try both.

[shangani]

speedyellow said:

But out of the box, car against car with the same driver the Exige is faster on track and more focused.

My exige is quicker than your 111s if we are getting into that type of conversation!

Your 240R perhaps, but the S2 exige out of the box doesn't seem to live with a 135R. Certainly my suspension modded 111s (048's, nitron, ARB, lightened, but std engine) has no problem lapping quicker than a driver of equivalent ability in an S2 exige.

A decently setup 111r will again be faster than an exige - carrying a lot less weight.

FWIW here is me following a 240R.

http://media.putfile.com/Cadwell240R

Edited by shangani on Wednesday 31st January 16:33

[speedyellow]

[bher]

shangani said:

A decently setup 111r will again be faster than an exige - carrying a lot less weight.

Edited by shangani on Wednesday 31st January 16:33

[shangani]

Buy yourself a sense of humour speedyellow.

Your 240R on ohlins is not a yardstick for comparison to a standard S2 exige which has soft suspension, a high centre of gravity and weighs over 900kg (my car is 778 kg with 30l fuel) while having a lot less power. This is not particularly conducive to great track handling. The exige clams are considerably heavier than elise clams. The aero is a joke in terms of downforce vs drag. A 111r on equivalent suspension tyres would be faster (lighter and less drag).

I accept that track comparisons are 90% driver and circuit knowledge and the clip was intended as humour - Nick in the 240R is a better driver than I am but was struggling with setup issues.

As regards this topis overall - it depends on preference and useage. 111r is probably the ideal all-rounder for mainly road and a bit of track.

Edited by shangani on Wednesday 31st January 16:47

[hbaumhardt]

Good pointthat man, if we compare equivalent expenditure your going to get more out of £35k spent on a donor and upgrades on ANYTHING than a 240R/Cup/GT celebration/special edition/whatever.

[GTRene]

Also the Exige has almost no rearview !! its a beauty and first that was my choise till I realy drove it..still love the looks most but a good Elise 111R with a hardtop comes very very close and you have rearview
So my choise now would be Elise 111R plus Hardtop with some Exige looks
GTRene

[speedyellow]

I was just responding to the inital question, from the two specs that were up there, what would 'I' do. I had a standard S2 Exige and know what they can and can't do. Out of the box without modifications, the S2 Exige is quicker than the 111R round a track due to tyres and wheels if nothing else. I wasn't talking about modifications which are never comparible as there are so many options out there.

I just get bored when there is a question between two Yota engined cars and the talk always goes straight to which modified car is faster and lighter. Maybe having things like ABS, engine peace of mind and some refinement are important, who knows, sorry but I was just trying to answer the question presented.

As for the 240R, looking at your video it's clear the setup is nasty on it, far too much dive and roll into corners and it's walking away from you when it does get the power down even carrying all that weight!

[toxic frog]

right, i'm off to the shops... shall i buy toffee, salted or plain popcorn? :-)

[hbaumhardt]

Plain popcorn is cheeper, lighter and therefore clearly faster.

[speedyellow]

Toffee for me!!!! Need to keep up with the huge weight of my Exige!

[toxic frog]

speedyellow said:

Toffee for me!!!! Need to keep up with the huge weight of my Exige!

i agree... higher octane rating... extra power and grip to overcome the increased weight

[21TonyK]

kermitman said:

21TonyK said:

I'm either looking at an '04 111R in storm titanium (Circa 19-22K) plus;

Hardtop
Larini with poss. decat
Front splitter
Alloys refinished in either chrome shadow or black
Gunmetal stripes
Stainless hoses
Harnesses

or..

Exige S2 (22-23K)
Larini with poss. decat
Gunmetal stripes
Stainless hoses
Harnesses

are you going to put the extras on yourself or just hoping one the right colour with the harnesses,exhaust,splitter, stripes fronts up?

might be a long wait if you are hoping for one.

go another 8 or 9 grand and order a new exige to your choice. after all youve gone from spending £15k to £23k!

Half the attraction is personalising the car so I would be happy to find a stock car with a hard-top.