New arrival. Exige 410 Sport
Discussion
I fully concur about wearing a Hans. Possibly the most important after a helmet.
I have the A frame bar and Schroth harnesses but no air bags, so even more important to wear a Hans. It’s why I’m not over enthusiastic about taking passengers on track unless they also have a Hans.
In hindsight I think the airbag delete option is not necessarily a good idea as you lose some safety especially on the road.
I have the A frame bar and Schroth harnesses but no air bags, so even more important to wear a Hans. It’s why I’m not over enthusiastic about taking passengers on track unless they also have a Hans.
In hindsight I think the airbag delete option is not necessarily a good idea as you lose some safety especially on the road.
Brilliant thread, thank you very much.
It may have also helped me decide what car to get next.
I've owned a Elise SC previously (alongside a 3 series) but then moved onto 'all rounder' cars. (Cayman, R8 and currently a 911 Carrera 4S)
Unfortunately the cost of tracks days in the 911 is just a bit too much to stomach in terms of tyres and brakes so I've stopped doing them.
Yesterday I placed an order to lease a boring electric car for my daily commute. My plan is to sell the Porsche and get back into a Lotus (and therefore back into trackdays).
I think my choice was going to be between an Elise Cup 250, or an Exige (probably a Sport 350 realistically) My only reservations about the Exige was whether the consumables cost would be significantly higher than the Elise. I want to be able to just do as many track days as I feel like and not overly worry about the consumables.
After reading how long your tyres and brakes have lasted on a 410, these concerns have been alleviated. In theory they should last even longer on a slower 350. (Bear in mind, as an example I probably used to get three track days out of a £250 set of front brake pads)
So thanks again for your detailed updates.
It may have also helped me decide what car to get next.
I've owned a Elise SC previously (alongside a 3 series) but then moved onto 'all rounder' cars. (Cayman, R8 and currently a 911 Carrera 4S)
Unfortunately the cost of tracks days in the 911 is just a bit too much to stomach in terms of tyres and brakes so I've stopped doing them.
Yesterday I placed an order to lease a boring electric car for my daily commute. My plan is to sell the Porsche and get back into a Lotus (and therefore back into trackdays).
I think my choice was going to be between an Elise Cup 250, or an Exige (probably a Sport 350 realistically) My only reservations about the Exige was whether the consumables cost would be significantly higher than the Elise. I want to be able to just do as many track days as I feel like and not overly worry about the consumables.
After reading how long your tyres and brakes have lasted on a 410, these concerns have been alleviated. In theory they should last even longer on a slower 350. (Bear in mind, as an example I probably used to get three track days out of a £250 set of front brake pads)
So thanks again for your detailed updates.
Paul_M3 said:
Brilliant thread, thank you very much.
It may have also helped me decide what car to get next.
I've owned a Elise SC previously (alongside a 3 series) but then moved onto 'all rounder' cars. (Cayman, R8 and currently a 911 Carrera 4S)
Unfortunately the cost of tracks days in the 911 is just a bit too much to stomach in terms of tyres and brakes so I've stopped doing them.
Yesterday I placed an order to lease a boring electric car for my daily commute. My plan is to sell the Porsche and get back into a Lotus (and therefore back into trackdays).
I think my choice was going to be between an Elise Cup 250, or an Exige (probably a Sport 350 realistically) My only reservations about the Exige was whether the consumables cost would be significantly higher than the Elise. I want to be able to just do as many track days as I feel like and not overly worry about the consumables.
After reading how long your tyres and brakes have lasted on a 410, these concerns have been alleviated. In theory they should last even longer on a slower 350. (Bear in mind, as an example I probably used to get three track days out of a £250 set of front brake pads)
So thanks again for your detailed updates.
Ok, big-boy honest response to this:It may have also helped me decide what car to get next.
I've owned a Elise SC previously (alongside a 3 series) but then moved onto 'all rounder' cars. (Cayman, R8 and currently a 911 Carrera 4S)
Unfortunately the cost of tracks days in the 911 is just a bit too much to stomach in terms of tyres and brakes so I've stopped doing them.
Yesterday I placed an order to lease a boring electric car for my daily commute. My plan is to sell the Porsche and get back into a Lotus (and therefore back into trackdays).
I think my choice was going to be between an Elise Cup 250, or an Exige (probably a Sport 350 realistically) My only reservations about the Exige was whether the consumables cost would be significantly higher than the Elise. I want to be able to just do as many track days as I feel like and not overly worry about the consumables.
After reading how long your tyres and brakes have lasted on a 410, these concerns have been alleviated. In theory they should last even longer on a slower 350. (Bear in mind, as an example I probably used to get three track days out of a £250 set of front brake pads)
So thanks again for your detailed updates.
If I had my time again, with the knowledge I have now...... I think I'd buy the Elise Cup250 for doing a lot of trackdays.
The Exige is epic, don't get me wrong. It's everything I wanted in a replacement for the Alfa. It's powerful, it's fast, it looks amazing and it has a certain left field exclusivity about it. But the reason for my comment is as follows. The Elise is a much easier drive at its limit. It's not as fast, or as physical on track, but it's more balanced, less expensive and less likely to crash. There's no noise issues on track, looks like and qualifies as a little racer and is as much fun on UK tracks as the Exige.
Where the Exige trump's the Elise is on the road and on the big circuits. It's a much better mile muncher. It's not overly comfortable or luxurious obviously, but it handles the miles very happily.
As I said, for me it was the best move from the big Alfa outside a (obvious choice) GT4. If it wasn't for that underlying need for grunt I'd be more than happy and certainly a bit better off financially in an Elise.
For yourself, if you are doing a lot of trackdays I'd say go for the 410 over the 350 if you settle on the Exige platform. The 410 has all the important seating, suspension, braking and engine parts from the 430, it's a just got a bit less carbon and 20bhp off in the form of a remap. It really is an impressive car.
If you're doing a lot of track days and not a lot of road miles and you're not currently heart-set on an Elise or Exige I'd definitely say look at the Elise Cup250.
In other news, I'm still waiting for my harnesses to arrive. Apparently there are delays coming from Europe.
My hans and lid have landed though....
Thank you for your honest response. A lot of what you’ve said matches with some of my previous thought processes.
However...I may have given a false impression with regards to the track aspect. It certainly won’t just be a track car. In reality I’d only do 5 - 10 days per year. After getting a boring electric commuter car, I’d still be taking it to work in the summer some days and going for fun drives. I live in Suffolk, and my even 25 mile each-way work commute is on A and B roads. (No motorways around here!)
In addition my local circuit is Snetterton which is quite suited to higher powered cars.
If I’m honest, the Elise may suit my needs slightly better. But the looks and noise of the Exige may swing the decision from head to heart.
Anyway, my apologies for de-railing your thread.
Your Helmet and HANS device look good. Regardless of the safety benefit, just having a HANS device cool, isn’t it.
However...I may have given a false impression with regards to the track aspect. It certainly won’t just be a track car. In reality I’d only do 5 - 10 days per year. After getting a boring electric commuter car, I’d still be taking it to work in the summer some days and going for fun drives. I live in Suffolk, and my even 25 mile each-way work commute is on A and B roads. (No motorways around here!)
In addition my local circuit is Snetterton which is quite suited to higher powered cars.
If I’m honest, the Elise may suit my needs slightly better. But the looks and noise of the Exige may swing the decision from head to heart.
Anyway, my apologies for de-railing your thread.
Your Helmet and HANS device look good. Regardless of the safety benefit, just having a HANS device cool, isn’t it.
Deadlysub said:
I have really enjoyed catching up with this thread.
Your comments about the Elise are really interesting.
Maybe a bit like comparing the realities of a GT4 vs a GT3RS. Both fantastic and brilliant in their own right, but only one you'd feel safe putting your mum in on track. Maybe Your comments about the Elise are really interesting.
BertBert said:
Just curious, what angle HANS is needed for the lotus?
Almost certainly 20 degree - that'll work for almost any (road) car and was what I had in my VX220 on standard seats. Sounds like that's what Eddie has too and will have an almost identical setup in my Exige when (if) I get it later this month or early next.I was hear for a question on the 350 though, but I think it's the same on the 410...on newer cars is the towing eye just an item you screw in? It looks as if there's a tow post and a hole to accept a towing eye, whereas on earlier s3 Exiges there wasn't? Am I right?
Edited by Actus Reus on Wednesday 13th January 15:53
Actus Reus said:
BertBert said:
Just curious, what angle HANS is needed for the lotus?
Almost certainly 20 degree - that'll work for almost any (road) car and was what I had in my VX220 on standard seats. Sounds like that's what Eddie has too and will have an almost identical setup in my Exige when (if) I get it later this month or early next.I was hear for a question on the 350 though, but I think it's the same on the 410...on newer cars is the towing eye just an item you screw in? It looks as if there's a tow post and a hole to accept a towing eye, whereas on earlier s3 Exiges there wasn't? Am I right?
Edited by Actus Reus on Wednesday 13th January 15:53
|https://thumbsnap.com/G6NaGZdt[/url]ecain63 said:
and even had the pleasure of borrowing Hendy's Canyon Red Evora 410 for a few days. What's not to like!
A bit of a thread distraction... I keep seeing this for sale at Hendy's (I assume it's the same one). It looks stunning in their pics, actually much brighter than in yours (hence wondering id it is actually the same one). Any thoughts about it in general or in comparison with your Exige? It's pretty expensive, but I keep being drawn to it!Cheers
BertBert said:
A bit of a thread distraction... I keep seeing this for sale at Hendy's (I assume it's the same one). It looks stunning in their pics, actually much brighter than in yours (hence wondering id it is actually the same one). Any thoughts about it in general or in comparison with your Exige? It's pretty expensive, but I keep being drawn to it!
Cheers
Hi, yep same car. My pics were taken after a day of driving in the forest in mixed weather so the colours are very much affected by the conditions. Cheers
Compared to the Exige..... I don't think there is a direct comparison. It's totally different.
Compare it to a Porsche and I think you'll get a better picture. What I do know is that a lot of Porsche owners end up in a Lotus because they didn't realise what they were missing until they drove one. The Evora might not hold value like a 911, but that's down to brand snobbery and not product quality / experience.
If you are looking at that one, might I suggest you give Alex a call at Hendy and have a chat about the 3 similar cars he's got in stock. I absolutely love the white one with the blue interior. You need to see it in the flesh to appreciate it. It represents great value too. The purple one is excellent also.
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