Exige S2 to V6
Discussion
I have driven my mates Boxster Spyder and for me there is no comparison. The Boxtser is a very competent car with lots of good features, but it is definitely soft core and I would get bored of it in 5 minutes. There is no chance of getting bored in the Exige even at 40 mph in heavy traffic...frustrated yes!
Zyp said:
There's no way I could wait that long!
But, yours sounds like it's going to be pretty special - looking forward to seeing it
It's a long wait but I wouldn't want to be running it in over the winter anyway. Plus I've just spoken to Jim at 2bular recently and he's building me a nice exhaust hopefully with his downpipes to match! Should sound even better when that's all fitted But, yours sounds like it's going to be pretty special - looking forward to seeing it
Zyp said:
Waved my Porsche off today on its way home to a new owner.
Search now on for that Exige.... going to look at a few tomorrow.
This is very surprising - you told me you had to back out from selling me the Spyder, after agreeing in no uncertain terms, as you couldn't wait (even though for 2 weeks previously you had said you were in no hurry to sell) as a dealer was refusing to hold an Exige you had suddenly come across - what happened exactly?Search now on for that Exige.... going to look at a few tomorrow.
ChrisBuer said:
Waved my 1M off yesterday and now the wait begins for my V6 which comes next March.
I can't wait
sounds good, curious what your experiences will be from 1M to Exige V6, some members on a Dutch car forum also have 1M cars and they are crazy about them, one let me drive also a few miles in his new car, but could not use all of its power because it still had to run in I can't wait
Its a good sporty all rounder I guess, but the Exige must feel sharper/sportier and even more connected.
ChrisBuer said:
It's a long wait but I wouldn't want to be running it in over the winter anyway. Plus I've just spoken to Jim at 2bular recently and he's building me a nice exhaust hopefully with his downpipes to match! Should sound even better when that's all fitted
Keen to hear how you find the 2bular. Having had one previously on an Elise Its something I've been thinking about for my V6. GTRene said:
sounds good, curious what your experiences will be from 1M to Exige V6, some members on a Dutch car forum also have 1M cars and they are crazy about them, one let me drive also a few miles in his new car, but could not use all of its power because it still had to run in
Its a good sporty all rounder I guess, but the Exige must feel sharper/sportier and even more connected.
The 1M is a fantastic car. Mine had the DMS remap on and was running at around 430-440bhp and had 656nm torque (about 490 lb.ft) so it was pretty quick for a four seater coupe. That said it wasn't a sports car so was compromised in certain areas. Its a good sporty all rounder I guess, but the Exige must feel sharper/sportier and even more connected.
Handling was good but it did struggle to put the traction down (it did this before the remap so it wasn't the additional power). The traction control system was a little over eager but turning it off resulted in quite a snappy car (it's almost square in its wheelbase).
The suspension was also a little crashy at times. Sure it was nice and firm which gave it a positive feel and turn in, but the dampers felt too hard and over a country road it didn't feel composed at speed. If you pressed on down a bumpy or poorly surfaced road eventually the traction control would kick in.
However it was a very practical car. Nice big boot, comfortable inside, lots of gadgets (nice stereo etc). You could drive it for miles and get out feeling fresh.
The Exige V6 demo I drove didn't feel as quick in gear as the 1M but the steering felt alive. You could feel the road surface change and the damping was miles better. We drove down quite a poorly surfaced road and I felt that I could use all of the power available whereas in the 1M I would have had to be more restrained. The Lotus also felt as if rode on air and had more grip putting the power down very well out of corners. In the 1M you had to wait for a straight bit of dry road to floor it.
Of course the Exige can't match the 1M for practicality but it's not designed to. To sum up the 1M is a great performance coupe whereas the Exige is a focussed sports car.
ChrisG C2S said:
Keen to hear how you find the 2bular. Having had one previously on an Elise Its something I've been thinking about for my V6.
Yes I'll report back when I have the car and it's fitted. I'm tempted to look at the manifold as well Edited by ChrisBuer on Tuesday 9th December 08:34
Edited by ChrisBuer on Tuesday 9th December 08:35
CTE said:
The manifold is the main bit to change in my mind...the two cats are very restrictive and when I had the 390 upgrade on my Evora the sound was transformed from woolley to crisp, and the engine just wants to rev, whereas before it always feels a little tight?
That was my thinking. Essentially I have three options:- Replace the silencer only
- Replace the silencer and downpipes (assuming the downpipes fit the OEM manifold)
- Go for everything: manifold, downpipes and silencer.
Does the car new the ECU remapped if I was to go for the last option? Also is there any view on the sort of power it might put out with this option?
ChrisBuer said:
CTE said:
The manifold is the main bit to change in my mind...the two cats are very restrictive and when I had the 390 upgrade on my Evora the sound was transformed from woolley to crisp, and the engine just wants to rev, whereas before it always feels a little tight?
That was my thinking. Essentially I have three options:- Replace the silencer only
- Replace the silencer and downpipes (assuming the downpipes fit the OEM manifold)
- Go for everything: manifold, downpipes and silencer.
Does the car new the ECU remapped if I was to go for the last option? Also is there any view on the sort of power it might put out with this option?
gashead1105 said:
Hangar 111 will do you a reliable 430 upgrade. Not sure what is involved. I'm waiting for the factory 400HP version which will surely follow next year's Evora.
Any ideas what parts the factory version will have in order to reach 400bhp? I know they're developing the airbox, soI assume its that, plus ECU remap and maybe some form of pipe work?
ChrisBuer said:
Any ideas what parts the factory version will have in order to reach 400bhp? I know they're developing the airbox, so
I assume its that, plus ECU remap and maybe some form of pipe work?
No idea! The rumour is they will announce a facelift Evora in Geneva with c400hp and I'm making an assumption that (if that happens) they will upgrade the Exige in the same way some time later.I assume its that, plus ECU remap and maybe some form of pipe work?
Greg at Hangar 111 has told me that he easily gets a safe and reliable 430 out of the current model. If Lotus don't have a 400hp model by 2016 it will be difficult to resist getting a second hand one at that time and taking it to Greg to sort.
I've driven a few different Exige S2s (from standard S up to the RGB 260), as I was thinking of trading my Elise in for one a couple of years ago. I ended up buying a 2-Eleven because I was dissapointed at how similar the Exige felt to the Elise. However, I've had a decent drive (~30 minutes solo test drive) in an Exige V6 and all I can is wow - a complete night and day difference to the S2. The V6 feels significantly faster, pretty much 2-Eleven fast in a straight line, and the suspension is phenomenal - really supple in a straight line but with extremely low roll around the corners. I can comfortably say that the Exige V6 is the best daily usable road car I've ever driven. I prefer the 2-Eleven, which is lighter, more nimble and much more alive feeling, but for a car you cold conceivably use everyday or have days out in, the V6 is the best I've ever driven.
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