New arrival. Exige 410 Sport
Discussion
te, tracks a Golf? Hohohohehehe, outed 
Morning.
Yesterday, Breadvan, fellow car guy Darren in his MX5 and I were at Castle Combe for the first time. Being honest, I was a little nervous about going to Combe given all the horror stories about Quarry and the bumps. If the forecast was for rain I probably wouldn't have gone.
Luckily the car gods were on our side and it stayed dry and largely sunny throughout.
In the Exige I managed 72 laps and 2 tanks of fuel. The car performed faultlessly throughout and we had a riot ploughing round and bouncing over the bumps. Quarry really isn't as bad as people say (in my opinion) and I'd put Westway further up the bum-clench list with its mid-corner surface changes and bumps / jumps.
Here's 4 laps from the last session of the day. My best lap was 1m20s, which I think is fast enough given the way the track chucks you around.
https://youtu.be/-Svrx5f1zy0
More Pics to follow
Yesterday, Breadvan, fellow car guy Darren in his MX5 and I were at Castle Combe for the first time. Being honest, I was a little nervous about going to Combe given all the horror stories about Quarry and the bumps. If the forecast was for rain I probably wouldn't have gone.
Luckily the car gods were on our side and it stayed dry and largely sunny throughout.
In the Exige I managed 72 laps and 2 tanks of fuel. The car performed faultlessly throughout and we had a riot ploughing round and bouncing over the bumps. Quarry really isn't as bad as people say (in my opinion) and I'd put Westway further up the bum-clench list with its mid-corner surface changes and bumps / jumps.
Here's 4 laps from the last session of the day. My best lap was 1m20s, which I think is fast enough given the way the track chucks you around.
https://youtu.be/-Svrx5f1zy0
More Pics to follow
Im no driving god.. And watching a video is different to driving .. But was at castle combe recently in the M3
Looks like the bumps are upseting the car. Is it too firm/low?
Looks like you could be more agressive in the braking zones like tower
And there are at least 2 lines around quarry corner worth trying them as they change the exit speed
Great to see the car still out. You must have done quite a few track miles now. And a good selection of tracks!
Any pictures of how you mounted the go pro?
Looks like the bumps are upseting the car. Is it too firm/low?
Looks like you could be more agressive in the braking zones like tower
And there are at least 2 lines around quarry corner worth trying them as they change the exit speed
Great to see the car still out. You must have done quite a few track miles now. And a good selection of tracks!
Any pictures of how you mounted the go pro?
custardkid said:
Im no driving god.. And watching a video is different to driving .. But was at castle combe recently in the M3
Looks like the bumps are upseting the car. Is it too firm/low?
Looks like you could be more agressive in the braking zones like tower
And there are at least 2 lines around quarry corner worth trying them as they change the exit speed
Great to see the car still out. You must have done quite a few track miles now. And a good selection of tracks!
Any pictures of how you mounted the go pro?
Yup, the bumps at Combe are definitely a major factor in the Exige. I wouldn't say it was too low or firm if I'm honest. The V6 is quite heavy and I think that is what's making the car jump over the bumps as all the weight is at the rear to middle of the car depending on where are what you're doing. In the M3 I can't imagine you'd notice anywhere near as much as the weight is all on the nose, which is great for braking and settling the car. I had a Giulia QF last and comparing tracks car for car I definitely think Combe would suit the QF better in that regard. Other tracks, like Silverstone and Goodwood are in favour of the Lotus. I said exactly the same about the Ring. The QF made that track look easy compared to the Exige, which was quite hard work in comparison.Looks like the bumps are upseting the car. Is it too firm/low?
Looks like you could be more agressive in the braking zones like tower
And there are at least 2 lines around quarry corner worth trying them as they change the exit speed
Great to see the car still out. You must have done quite a few track miles now. And a good selection of tracks!
Any pictures of how you mounted the go pro?
Braking wise, same as above. I found I was locking up a lot in the heavy braking areas so decided to brake earlier and smoother to compensate. In reality I got quicker with this approach as I was able to set the car up earlier. Sean, in the TCR, was able to brake much later as the front engined layout helped keep the front wheels planted in the bumps. His could actually be the ideal car for Combe now he's had all that work done.
Tracks so far this year:
Silverstone National
Silverstone GP
Goodwood 4 or 5 times.
Brands Indy
Thruxton 3 times
Castle Combe
Nurburgring
Lotus Hethel
I've got one more booked for this year....... if it's still doable I'll be at Spa next month. I went last year in a Clio Cup as the first Exige was transitioning to the current post crash. I'm expecting a great day if it all goes ahead.
Mileage so far in this car is 6500, with about 2000 of them being on track. It's still on the original Cup2s, which is incredible. I honestly thought that I'd be 2, or even 3 sets in by now but they just keep going. I think I'll fit rears after Spa looking at the tread.
The GoPro is on a suction mount fitted to the window behind the seats. It's tethered to the car from there also. Luckily there's a charger socket between the seats too so you can literally just leave it plugged in all day without need for spare batteries.
Any vids of the M3 at Combe?
No videos
You just end up with too much footage ...
But an ace time
And some photos - thread here
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Yet to take the 350 on track. Interesting about your experience, always thought weight would always trump everything else.
Looking forward to taking it out next year
The M3
You just end up with too much footage ...
But an ace time
And some photos - thread here
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Yet to take the 350 on track. Interesting about your experience, always thought weight would always trump everything else.
Looking forward to taking it out next year
The M3
Morning
Another week messing about with the Lotus has passed, this time more tinkering than driving.
I had planned to strip the brakes on Sunday as the original pads are pretty much done. Our trip to Spa with OpenTrack in 2 weeks might have been a bit optimistic if we'd kept the oem items on:
Speaking to the chaps on Facebook the preferred replacement for track use is the 08 Compound from Performance Friction. I actually had these on my Alfa QF so already knew of their superior ability. Front and rears were ordered from elise-shop and they arrived a couple of days later.
Unfortunately Sunday unearthed a couple of other jobs so the brakes went on the backburner. On jacking the car up I noticed the plastic diffuser trim / bumper had taken an impact underneath and the drivers side portion was shattered with pieces laying on the inside of the clam. The only thing I can think is that it's been hit by something on track. A couple of hours with the glue and tape and it's repaired well enough for track use.
Lotus / deroure want nearly £600 for one of these which is bonkers. Luckily one appeared locally (brand new) on ebay on Tuesday and he delivered it for £200 Absolute result! I'll only need to drill the sensor holes and job done.
I'll keep this for when the old one is really tatty. I can see the edges of the plastic are taking a lot of shrapnel anyway so it's definitely worth holding off fitting till it's really bad.
Second repair job: I've started to replace the bolts / screws as I go now. The standard Lotus items are very soft and I found myself in the frustrating position of having an allen bolt stuck in the diffuser trim the other day. It was an M6x16 and the hole had completely rounded off. Even after ordering a proper extraction tool the thing wouldn't come out (metal just chewed off) so I had to resort to getting a drill on it. Stainless Torx bolts are now slowly replacing the old allen heads so hopefully that will help going forward.
Going back to the brakes...... They'll be fitted next week when the car goes for its first service. I'd have liked to have done them myself but time is short with work being busy. Spa has also been cancelled, but luckily I've managed to secure a place at Silverstone GP on the 9th with Circuit Days. After that I think we'll do Goodwood in December with OpenTrack and then that should be it for 2020.
Another week messing about with the Lotus has passed, this time more tinkering than driving.
I had planned to strip the brakes on Sunday as the original pads are pretty much done. Our trip to Spa with OpenTrack in 2 weeks might have been a bit optimistic if we'd kept the oem items on:
Speaking to the chaps on Facebook the preferred replacement for track use is the 08 Compound from Performance Friction. I actually had these on my Alfa QF so already knew of their superior ability. Front and rears were ordered from elise-shop and they arrived a couple of days later.
Unfortunately Sunday unearthed a couple of other jobs so the brakes went on the backburner. On jacking the car up I noticed the plastic diffuser trim / bumper had taken an impact underneath and the drivers side portion was shattered with pieces laying on the inside of the clam. The only thing I can think is that it's been hit by something on track. A couple of hours with the glue and tape and it's repaired well enough for track use.
Lotus / deroure want nearly £600 for one of these which is bonkers. Luckily one appeared locally (brand new) on ebay on Tuesday and he delivered it for £200
Absolute result! I'll only need to drill the sensor holes and job done. I'll keep this for when the old one is really tatty. I can see the edges of the plastic are taking a lot of shrapnel anyway so it's definitely worth holding off fitting till it's really bad.
Second repair job: I've started to replace the bolts / screws as I go now. The standard Lotus items are very soft and I found myself in the frustrating position of having an allen bolt stuck in the diffuser trim the other day. It was an M6x16 and the hole had completely rounded off. Even after ordering a proper extraction tool the thing wouldn't come out (metal just chewed off) so I had to resort to getting a drill on it. Stainless Torx bolts are now slowly replacing the old allen heads so hopefully that will help going forward.
Going back to the brakes...... They'll be fitted next week when the car goes for its first service. I'd have liked to have done them myself but time is short with work being busy. Spa has also been cancelled, but luckily I've managed to secure a place at Silverstone GP on the 9th with Circuit Days. After that I think we'll do Goodwood in December with OpenTrack and then that should be it for 2020.
STattam said:
Loving the thread here. Be careful with stainless bolts if they are going into aluminium as you may find galvanic type corrosion to be an issue.
Yeah, that's something I had considered with my choices. Luckily, where im fitting them they only go into steel trim clips on the rear undertray. Long term I'm looking at the possibility of fitting a quick release kit. They do them for the S1/S2 so it shouldn't be a problem doing it on the S3ecain63 said:
Here's 4 laps from the last session of the day. My best lap was 1m20s, which I think is fast enough given the way the track chucks you around.
https://youtu.be/-Svrx5f1zy0
Love the footage, that look's like great fun!https://youtu.be/-Svrx5f1zy0
Rocketreid said:
I had a last minute Track day at Silverstone yesterday in amongst some big BHP cars.
Difficult to keep up with them on the straights but plenty competitive in the corners
Silverstone is a massive Circuit. Definitely one for the power / aero boys. Your 430 should still be quick mind you. Plenty quick enough even to keep up with sports car clique. Difficult to keep up with them on the straights but plenty competitive in the corners
ecain63 said:
Silverstone is a massive Circuit. Definitely one for the power / aero boys. Your 430 should still be quick mind you. Plenty quick enough even to keep up with sports car clique.
Wasn’t too bad actually as could get just over 150mph down Hanger which kept up with most Porsche‘s. The McLarens were a different story though !Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff