Spend my hard earned on uprated my elise v buy an exige 190?

[aheaton]

Right all

I'm opening this up for a bit of discussion as myself and fellow elise owner have been having a fair few discussion over the merit of both......

I currently have a fairly standard S2 Elise sports tourer - only additions are a hurricance and sports exhaust.....perfectly sorted car.....age old issue of got used to it, now want a bit more power!

Now my dilema is such....

Do I spend circa £5 - £6k on upgrading my current elise with:-

• New alloys/tyres
• front splitter
• Elise parts replacement grill sets
• Exige side pods
• Led rear lights
• Full larini Exhaust
• ptp 140 performance updgrade (along with the C service thats due)
• or alternatively DVA power 160 kit instead of the above

or do i buy a 190 Exige which with the value of mine plus what I would spend on my current car adds up to be roughly the same!

Test drove the Exige on Sunday and appreciate its a very different car to my current Elise - especially when you hit 6k revs - but with the use I have from it - ie circa 3k miles a year, mostly weekend country road blasts with (maybe) the odd trackday thrown in here and there.....not sure if what I have got with the above additions will be perfectly adequte for my needs without stepping up to an exige...

Thoughts much appreciated

[kambites]

How about an engine swap in your current car? It'd probably end up as fast as and less temperamental than the Exige, albeit with less charisma. Not sure about prices though.

[bogie]

always a tough one when you love the car you have

usually its financial decision, lets not forget you can spend £6-7K on your car, and if you are lucky get £1-2K back on resale ...maybe

whereas you buy a factory car for £6K more, and it should always be worth £6K more

for most people thats enough to make the decision for them

if the car is a project car, a "keeper" and you have no reason to sell, then of course keep your own and mod it

[aheaton]

yep thats pretty much where I got to too......one the one hand I quite fancy spending the money on my own car as I "think" it will be enough power for what I use it for......however, my heads telling me in 2 years (if i'm lucky) I'll be looking for more at which time, as you say, my £6k will be worth £2k at best!

decisions, decisions, descions!

[TIPPER]

The only thing that would make me wary of the 190 would be need for rebuilds of the VHPD.
With £6k I'd spend £2k on the suspension (diy refurb + Nitrons) and then £4k on upgrading your current engine (Look up DVA Power and Sabre Heads) or consider a DIY Ford Duratec conversion (you'll need £5-£6k for this).
Difficult decision to make as you may well find yourself needing to improve the suspension of the 190 anyway.
A suspension upgrade will make a massive difference to your car - far more than you might imagine.

[The Bandit]

TIPPER said:

The only thing that would make me wary of the 190 would be need for rebuilds of the VHPD.
With £6k I'd spend £2k on the suspension (diy refurb + Nitrons) and then £4k on upgrading your current engine (Look up DVA Power and Sabre Heads) or consider a DIY Ford Duratec conversion (you'll need £5-£6k for this).
Difficult decision to make as you may well find yourself needing to improve the suspension of the 190 anyway.
A suspension upgrade will make a massive difference to your car - far more than you might imagine.

Tipper,the OP is talking about an S2 Exige 190 is'nt he?
Or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

[Scuffers]

The Bandit said:

TIPPER said:

The only thing that would make me wary of the 190 would be need for rebuilds of the VHPD.
With £6k I'd spend £2k on the suspension (diy refurb + Nitrons) and then £4k on upgrading your current engine (Look up DVA Power and Sabre Heads) or consider a DIY Ford Duratec conversion (you'll need £5-£6k for this).
Difficult decision to make as you may well find yourself needing to improve the suspension of the 190 anyway.
A suspension upgrade will make a massive difference to your car - far more than you might imagine.

Tipper,the OP is talking about an S2 Exige 190 is'nt he?
Or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

I had assumed the same as you.....?

[kambites]

Hmm I'd assumed an S1 too.

[TIPPER]

Ooops! I think you're right guys, he is referring to a Yota Exige.
Best place to put the money would pro0bably be into the Exige then.

[aheaton]

hey guys

yeh sorry - should have been clear - I meant an S2 Exige 190 with the toyota engine rather than the S1

[21TonyK]

If you do then buy the cheapest S2 Exige you can. Spend the money on a lowered cam change, brakes and nitrons. Master the NA car then think about a Katana. If you are looking at road use then hold off and get an Exige S and a 240 bhp upgrade when you get bored with 220.

[STEVEY_SC]

If you only do 3k miles a year then I'd rather put money into an S1 Exige.

[jondude]

Been thinking about this myself, and as others have said, if you want the best financial deal all around, then it has to be swapping a Lotus for another Lotus, in this case the Exige.

That will be the sensible and safest option, and give you a broad smile.


However, if you are of the mind that life is short and you want the ultimate grin, then you put an Audi conversion in. Sure, you will lose a lot of money come sell time (if you sell) but you will live a little like Neil Armstrong......one of the few with ultimate life experiences.

(OK, a bit exaggerated to compare an Audi Elise with the feeling of walking as first man on the moon, but you get my drift, I'm sure!!)

Agree it is tough though......Audi conversions are 12-15k, I believe......hard to justify that much unless you are bonkers......but again, who said life was not for living????

[SeanyD]

Isn't a 111r the answer, upgrading from a 120bhp s2 sports tourer to a used 190bhp s2 111r will prossibly cost 3-6k depending on exact details of yours and the replacement, but that'll give you the least-cost increase in power, and should hold its value better than heavily mod'ing your current car.

[kambites]

You could sell your current car and buy a Honda/Audi engined replacement. That way someone else will have taken the hit on the conversion cost and you end up with a lighter, more powerful car.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 6th October 09:11

[jondude]

kambites said:

You could sell your current car and buy a Honda/Audi engined replacement. That way someone else will have taken the hit on the conversion cost and you end up with a lighter, more powerful car.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 6th October 09:11

Clever Got me thinking again (seriously) about this.......

[steve06]

Put a Honda in it!