Liquid Yellow Exige V6

[ChrisBuer]

I now have new more "fruity" exhaust fitted.

The system is valved so with the valve closed it sounds about the same as the stock system. Perfect for keeping the neighbours happy at night!

With the valve open the system is loud!! It's a straight through system without any silencing!

Here's a quick static video:

http://youtu.be/_sGnxGVnajo

...and here are some photos. The tips are 100mm each with a carbon slip on over the pipe.

Edited by ChrisBuer on Tuesday 4th August 09:25

[ChrisBuer]

Mezzanine said:

I can barely hear the difference

[ChrisBuer]

Thanks. I'm really pleased with it. The difference with the valve closed and open is much bigger compared to the stock system. The video doesn't really pick up the sheer volume of it with the valve open. I couldn't live with it all the time like this as its really loud but it's nice to have the option to make it a lot quieter

[ChrisBuer]

996lee said:

wow looks like a proper weapon and sounds it too ;-)

how does it compare performance wise with the 1m? and did you have a thread for that too? as I'm quite fond of them and they seem to be holding their value too

Similar performance but very different delivery. The 1M was remapped to 430bhp and had a nearly 500 lb.ft of torque. But the Exige can actually put the power down where the 1M struggled.

Here's the 1M link - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[ChrisBuer]

Here's a few quick driveby videos, mindful to keep the car within the speed limit so no more than second gear. But it gives an idea

https://youtu.be/8NTULsgRMns

[ChrisBuer]

Beedub said:

sounds fantastic but wow its loud! lol!! how awesome to be able to swap to the quiet version at the push of a button....

how easily is all the wiring integrated?? can you post a pic of this and where its mounted in the car please.

There's no new wiring involved. The stock system that comes with the car is valved and this exhaust just replicates the functionality. There is a little button on the steering column that lets you open and close the valve manually, each time you do a little readout underneath the speedo shows you •Exst. Open" or "Exst. Closed".

The system automatically opens the valve at high revs in Touring mode, slightly lower revs in Sport mode and is permanently open in Race mode.

[ChrisBuer]

Medic-one said:

Awesome looking car and it sounds amazing!

Real question now is though, do you actually ever drive it with the valve shut, or is it too tempting not to

Yes, definitely drive it with the valve shut! Last night coming back from my friends house, I was on the motorway (average speed cameras) so stuck the cruise control at 70mph, shut the valve and put on some music

Also it's very useful when creeping back in late at night or going out early in the morning when I don't want to wake my wife, daughter or any of the neighbors

[ChrisBuer]

A little polish and wax before the Lotus Festival tomorrow. Can't wait

[ChrisBuer]

Well seeing as it's the last day of the year I thought I'd post a quick update to this thread. The Lotus is currently tucked away on trickle charge as I've got a BMW M135i (on winter tyres) to use over the winter months.

That said, I'm missing it already and can't wait for the better weather to come back so that I can enjoy it fully. Being on sticky summer tyres, it's not the best car for driving in the colder damper roads this time of year and I'd rather enjoy it on a nice spring morning when the weather improves.

I've only covered about 2400 miles since collecting it in June which isn't enough so my New Year resolution is to drive more and attend some Sunday Service events to meet up with some likeminded petrol heads

For now, I'll enjoy the M135i and look forward to backing the Lotus out of the garage when the weather improves...

[ChrisBuer]

Nobbles said:

Great colour - just a detail, what if you changed the front emblem to the black one? The normal one looks lost with the yellow and yellow.

I did think of that and it's something I may still do, but I wasn't sure if it would look like a black spot on the end of its nose?

I've also thought about having the seat inserts (where a 4 point harness would go) finished in yellow rather than black.

Craikeybaby said:

To be fair Yellow Exile and BMW M135i is pretty much my ideal fleet!

My plan for the winter was to leave the sports car (MR2) in the garage on the trickle charger and use the 1 Series, but as the weather has been warm and the roads not gritted I've had a few fun drives out in the MR2.

I have to say that the M135i is superb. It's comfortable practical and fast. However when I get back into the Lotus is feels so much more angry, tight, agile and explosive

Edited by ChrisBuer on Thursday 31st December 10:58

[ChrisBuer]

Nobbles said:

What about yellow seat belts rather than painting the seat inserts? Great car though and I love your attention to detail.

I like the idea but I'm not sure how easy it is to change seat belts. Plus in yellow they might start to look dirty after a little bit of use. Definitely somethings to look into though.....I like your thinking

There aren't many upgrades on offer at the moment through Lotus (I want to keep the warranty) but I might do their airbox / filter upgrade, along with the black nose badge of course!

[ChrisBuer]

gregf40 said:

Can I be really cheeky?

My son is thinking of getting an Exige V6 and he's worried it won't fit in his 1930's single garage...but looking at your photo I would say they are similar sizes.

If you have a chance would it be possible to measure the width of the garage door and the internal width of the garage?!

We have measured his and compared with schematics of the car...but you never really know until you try getting one in...and then getting out of the thing!

Cheers!

Of course, happy to help.

The garage door width measures 2.1 metres at the most narrow point as there are two baton style planks of wood the previous owner installed to reduce some of the gaps I'd imagine.

The internal width of the garage measures 2.49 metres.

Hope this helps

Oh and one more photo of the car with slightly better lighting

[ChrisBuer]

No need to fold the mirrors in, there's plenty of room. Also there's no issue getting out either. I have some padded door protectors on the wall which enable the door to be opened as far as the garage allows and I can get out without any problems.

[ChrisBuer]

With the better weather (hopefully) on the way, the Exige will start getting used a lot more.

I noticed that a nice carbon air box had been released for the car and I'd be tempted to fit one. I'm definitely one for performance over looks but it does really look good.





I've also decided to get a black front nose badge (as someone suggested) and I think it'll look better on the front.

Finally there are a few small tweaks that I'll do which will be to have the indicator ticker changed so that its audible. At the moment it's a silent tick. Also I'm going to replace the front bulbs which are quite poor on dipped beam.

[ChrisBuer]

I visited Classic Team Lotus last weekend and had a great tour around their old workshops. They even brought out Mario Andretti's old F1 car so that we could have some photos taken with our cars next to it.

While the weather wasn't great it was still a good morning out