Sport or Touring

[antipodes40]

Have had a search but there doesn't seem to be a dedicated thread on this.

Now that folk have had their Emiras for some time, which is preferable - Sport or Touring chassis?

I'd be keen to hear from folk who have had experience of both. Youtube reviewers seem torn, with some preferring Touring for everyday and Sport for more track focussed work, while others seem to think the Sport setup is perfectly acceptable for all-round use.

Most interested in V6 manual.

Edited by antipodes40 on Sunday 17th May 23:35

[Beachbum]

With the Emira, the V6 & I4 suspension is different, even though called the same
V6 Touring is the softest
V6 Sport and I4 Touring are considered comparable
I4 Sport the firmest

I have I4 Touring and its more than enough for UK roads. I believe people that track their cars, go for the I4 Sport, in the case of the V6s a number have upgraded to Nitrons

[BertBert]

Beachbum said:

With the Emira, the V6 & I4 suspension is different, even though called the same
V6 Touring is the softest
V6 Sport and I4 Touring are considered comparable
I4 Sport the firmest

I have I4 Touring and its more than enough for UK roads. I believe people that track their cars, go for the I4 Sport, in the case of the V6s a number have upgraded to Nitrons

I hadn't realised that, I'd just assumed that sport and touring was the same with both variants. Be interesting to see what happens with the new horse V6 when it comes.

[Olivera]

I like the Emira, but I'm still baffled that the programme couldn't offer a £1k option for adjustable dampers, like other manufacturers do on 40k cars.

[jamesgareth]

Olivera said:

I like the Emira, but I'm still baffled that the programme couldn't offer a £1k option for adjustable dampers, like other manufacturers do on 40k cars.

Lotus are not like - nor do they try to be like - 'other manufacturers'. You decide what chassis you want - sports or touring - and that's what you get. Nothing wasted on giving you a choice you shoulda made when you bought the thing.

Remember what Lotus stands for: Less Of The Unnecessary Stuff!

[BertBert]

jamesgareth said:

Lotus are not like - nor do they try to be like - 'other manufacturers'. You decide what chassis you want - sports or touring - and that's what you get. Nothing wasted on giving you a choice you shoulda made when you bought the thing.

Remember what Lotus stands for: Less Of The Unnecessary Stuff!

Other than when they have made cars with adjustable dampers, or with the option of them of course!

[jamesgareth]

BertBert said:

Other than when they have made cars with adjustable dampers, or with the option of them of course!

Hmmm. Well according to my friendly AI 15-20% of Lotus car models ever made have come with adjustable dampers.

So I stand 15-20% corrected.

[sjc]

I thought the Touring on Goodyears was very good for road use and you can always go for a more aggressive tyre like the cups if not.The Sport I just found way to jiggly and unsettling, and very un-Lotus in anything other than billard smooth surfaces, and nowhere near as good as my previous track biased Noble M400 leyalone the 3R that preceded it.

[bus_ter]

I think they do what they say on the tin. If you're going to tour and cruise around the Tour gives a plush comfortable ride. If you want to drive the car hard and do some sporty driving you'll want Sport. If you're going to regularly track the car you'll need to go aftermarket. Many on the Emira forum that track the car have replaced the suspension.

I tried both. The Tour is fine until you take your first corner quickly and it's trade off becomes obvious. Sport is still a relatively good ride compared to other sporty cars, but also so much more planted when you decide to go for it. I ended up buying sport.

Misha's lap of the ring in the Emira is worth watching. He discusses the suspension at length, and particularly in his review at the end (11:00min) he's very critical about the Tour suspension. He says it lost him a minute on a lap! (Which is surely an exaggeration as that's huge) but the impression is that the Tour suspension really lets the car down when you're driving it hard.

https://youtu.be/46phi3ri7JI?si=mk9eWC-dxPHRpjqH

[davidexige]

I remember when Harry did this review of both tour and sports suspension, think it covers all the points already mentioned here quite well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_jGkBzhIp4

[Oilchange]

Tiff says it's an absolutely joyful car to drive. Can't get a better endorsement than that!

[240Cup]

have done 35000 miles in my Sport chassis car on a mix of UK and European roads and a mix of the Cup2s in the summer and Pirelli Sottozero winters for the ski season. Yes it is firm but that is how I wanted a Lotus to feel, I've got plenty of softer stuff in the wider fleet. The sports chassis on Cup2s on the right roundabout is mind boggling in terms of grip.

It bobbles a little on some roads, but I regularly do 500 miles in one day in it and never get out feeling like I need to get the Osteopath in..!!

[Frimley111R]

I have touring on my V6 and driving around UK roads I'm glad of a bit of extra compliance to soak up the bumps. I had an Elise 1111R back in the day and I'd say the Emira suspension is similar. You can go harder but unless tracking it a lot, you'll get a better ride (still firm) for 99% of your driving and its not as if it compromises cornering much.

[240Cup]

would never have guessed you had a 111R previously ... oh wait ....

[Frimley111R]

240Cup said:

would never have guessed you had a 111R previously ... oh wait ....

You are the Sherlock Holmes of PH!

[gizard]

The more I read the more confused I get about which suspension to go for.

I have had S1 Elise and Exige an S2 Exige and an Noble M12 in the past all of which I consider more 'compliant' on typical English roads than any of the BMW Ms I have had (I know they are very different cars).

But my feeling is that (all though I very rarely used / use anything other than the softest setting on any of the BMWs) the Emira Sport suspension will feel as soft / more compliant than any of the BMWs and the Touring softer hence I have an inkling for the Sport.

However of the the V6 Manuals available in the UK I don't think any have the Sports Suspension what I really need to do is going and test drive both back to back - but that appears to be rather tricky too.

Does anyone know what the lead time in the UK is for a new V6 Manual atm?

[NITO]

My Son has just bought an I4 Sport, I used to sell Elises and Exiges S1's and S2's, the cars have come a long way. I didn't think the Sport was that firm, I've not been in a touring, but is it a case of catering to ever softer mainstream customers?

Most mags/reviews seem to favour the Touring but is that just parroting? I'd love to know the ratio of Tourings sold vs Sports. Clearly a much higher ratio, oddly might make the sport the unicorn many years from now.

They are over 450kg heavier than the earlier cars. Ironically his Emira weighs more than my old 450bhp Skyline R33 GTS-T. For me, it's biggest ace card, is that it appears to drive like a car from 20 years ago, in the way it feels and responds. Modern cars seem to have lost their way and become so detached, it's refreshingly light on all the electronic bs. Well done Lotus, they have combined that with a cabin that is a nice place to be in with an intuitive switchgear setup.

This is just a first impression from the passenger seat! Needless to say, my Son absolutely loved it and I'm quite proud of him for going so left field in today's world.