Pauls Exige 410 Sport
Discussion
ecain63 said:
Juno said:
Juno said:
Spindoctor said:
Its a simple fit, my dealer did it before I collected the car. Much better to have it (for road use), I want to hear the open exhaust before 4500rpm.
I’ll let him know it’s an easy fit 
ecain63 said:
£150? It's about a 5 min job and a switch.
Exactly! As the switch is around £60 (a rip off in itself), that’s £90 for 5 minutes work. £18 a minute, or £1080 an hour. If anyone wants this done, I’ll happily do it for a 10% discount on the above rates.
Joking aside, if you’ve just spent a ton of money on the car I’d expect the dealer to fit it for free if you paid for the switch.
Rick101 said:
Very useful thanks. Hoping that sub will plug straight into the Clarion unit with no fuss.
Did you test the Focal's alone prior to adding the sub?
I'm wondering if it's worthwhile changing them. I'd like to keep cost to a minimum.
The standard Clarion unit has a few RCA outputs so the sub should plug straight in fine. Did you test the Focal's alone prior to adding the sub?
I'm wondering if it's worthwhile changing them. I'd like to keep cost to a minimum.
No, other than making sure that they were both working I didn’t really give them a good listening to I’m afraid.
Paul_M3 said:
Exactly! As the switch is around £60 (a rip off in itself), that’s £90 for 5 minutes work. £18 a minute, or £1080 an hour.
If anyone wants this done, I’ll happily do it for a 10% discount on the above rates.
Joking aside, if you’ve just spent a ton of money on the car I’d expect the dealer to fit it for free if you paid for the switch.
We got a good deal on the car so I guess we had to let them win this oneIf anyone wants this done, I’ll happily do it for a 10% discount on the above rates.
Joking aside, if you’ve just spent a ton of money on the car I’d expect the dealer to fit it for free if you paid for the switch.
Edited by Juno on Saturday 8th May 20:26
Benyarmin said:
Ordered the bolts too. Where can you get the black out ring from?
The filler cap ring?https://www.eliseparts.com/shop/exterior-bodywork/...
Paul_M3 said:
Yes, thanks Paul. Do you know the countersunk bolt size for the filler cap ring pls? Going to add those to my order in black also.Benyarmin said:
Yes, thanks Paul. Do you know the countersunk bolt size for the filler cap ring pls? Going to add those to my order in black also.
I used the original ones, but looking at this:https://www.deroure.com/diagrams.asp?TBL=12036&...
They are item 18, which is M5 x 25mm.
(It's quite a handy website for checking bolt sizes as well as looking for part numbers)
Paul_M3 said:
I used the original ones, but looking at this:
https://www.deroure.com/diagrams.asp?TBL=12036&...
They are item 18, which is M5 x 25mm.
(It's quite a handy website for checking bolt sizes as well as looking for part numbers)
Cheers for thathttps://www.deroure.com/diagrams.asp?TBL=12036&...
They are item 18, which is M5 x 25mm.
(It's quite a handy website for checking bolt sizes as well as looking for part numbers)
It's suddenly dawned on me that although I'd posted on Instagram, I hadn't been keeping this thread updated. There have been a few more changes since my last post. Some minor and cosmetic, some a bit more practical.
Starting with a couple of the cosmetic mods:
Decided that I preferred the look of a black outer ring on the fuel filler:
Next was something that really bugged me:
This massive 'AIRBAG' sticker looks rubbish and is quite distracting.
Unfortunately it's attached in such a way that you can't simply remove it.
I had a few thought of simply covering it with some black vinyl or something, but then I reached out to Dan at Divine Handcrafts and we came up with a solution which I was really pleased with.
Custom sized plaque:
The 'installed' photo is blurry, but it looks so much better in real life. People wouldn't know it isn't a factory item I reckon.
The final cosmetic mod was a quick paint of the towing eye ready to get on track:
Next up was the 'big' job - Harness bar and harnesses.
Roof off, seats out and trim removed:
Rear speakers fitted which made sense to do whilst I had the seats out:
Harnesses pre-fitted to the bar in the comfort of my lounge and then installed:
And all back together:
And finally a little test to see how the HANS felt. (Whilst desperately praying my neighbours didn't walk outside...)
Next up was to fit something that I wanted before I even had the car, the AIM dash.
Installation went smoothly, and no issues so far:
The only other thing I've done is swap out the brake fluid for Castrol SRF. I've had it on good authority that the standard fluid copes fine, but I already had some and I know it's bulletproof on track.
That's pretty much all of the planned jobs complete now. I was supposed to be at Snetterton for a track day weeks ago, but very annoyingly got food poisoning and couldn't attend. Even worse was the current backlog to be able to book a trackday.
I am now finally due to be at Snetterton this Wednesday. I can't wait to finally drive the car properly!
Starting with a couple of the cosmetic mods:
Decided that I preferred the look of a black outer ring on the fuel filler:
Next was something that really bugged me:
This massive 'AIRBAG' sticker looks rubbish and is quite distracting.
Unfortunately it's attached in such a way that you can't simply remove it.
I had a few thought of simply covering it with some black vinyl or something, but then I reached out to Dan at Divine Handcrafts and we came up with a solution which I was really pleased with.
Custom sized plaque:
The 'installed' photo is blurry, but it looks so much better in real life. People wouldn't know it isn't a factory item I reckon.
The final cosmetic mod was a quick paint of the towing eye ready to get on track:
Next up was the 'big' job - Harness bar and harnesses.
Roof off, seats out and trim removed:
Rear speakers fitted which made sense to do whilst I had the seats out:
Harnesses pre-fitted to the bar in the comfort of my lounge and then installed:
And all back together:
And finally a little test to see how the HANS felt. (Whilst desperately praying my neighbours didn't walk outside...)
Next up was to fit something that I wanted before I even had the car, the AIM dash.
Installation went smoothly, and no issues so far:
The only other thing I've done is swap out the brake fluid for Castrol SRF. I've had it on good authority that the standard fluid copes fine, but I already had some and I know it's bulletproof on track.
That's pretty much all of the planned jobs complete now. I was supposed to be at Snetterton for a track day weeks ago, but very annoyingly got food poisoning and couldn't attend. Even worse was the current backlog to be able to book a trackday.
I am now finally due to be at Snetterton this Wednesday. I can't wait to finally drive the car properly!
ecain63 said:
Looking good mate. Hopefully you'll get out on the black stuff soon 
Thanks mate. I was so annoyed to miss my first track day after getting the car fully ready. Any other year you'd be able to book another day with a fortnight or so. Having to wait another 8 weeks was frustrating to say the least.Hopefully I'll make it to Snetterton with no issues on Wednesday, although the weather is looking potentially rainy. Would have preferred a dry day for my first time in a new car!
Utterly 
Not sure this has already been asked: How do you get the fuel filler ring off?
Unscrewed the bolts but the ring didn't want to move an inch. Given my car has a pricey pearlescent paint job, that's where I chickened out. I know there is a cork ring underneath the fuel filler ring - does that need to cone off with the filler ring? Are the parts glued and will need some heat?
Many thanks
Not sure this has already been asked: How do you get the fuel filler ring off?
Unscrewed the bolts but the ring didn't want to move an inch. Given my car has a pricey pearlescent paint job, that's where I chickened out. I know there is a cork ring underneath the fuel filler ring - does that need to cone off with the filler ring? Are the parts glued and will need some heat?
Many thanks
DamnKraut said:
Utterly
Not sure this has already been asked: How do you get the fuel filler ring off?
Unscrewed the bolts but the ring didn't want to move an inch. Given my car has a pricey pearlescent paint job, that's where I chickened out. I know there is a cork ring underneath the fuel filler ring - does that need to cone off with the filler ring? Are the parts glued and will need some heat?
Many thanks
I had similar issues / concerns. In reality it’s just a bit ‘naturally’ stuck in place over time, rather than being glued in place. So you need to find a way to apply a bit of force, but without damaging the paintwork. Not sure this has already been asked: How do you get the fuel filler ring off?
Unscrewed the bolts but the ring didn't want to move an inch. Given my car has a pricey pearlescent paint job, that's where I chickened out. I know there is a cork ring underneath the fuel filler ring - does that need to cone off with the filler ring? Are the parts glued and will need some heat?
Many thanks
I think I used a plastic trim removal tool, with a micro fibre cloth to protect the paintwork as I levered it off.
There was obviously one other thing to address before my first trackday...noise.
It was quite obvious from reading the forums that a standard 410 is unlikely to pass the noise tests. The problem is that I really like the standard switchable exhaust, and didn't want a quieter one fitted all the time. I also didn't want the hassle of swapping a quiet exhaust onto the car for each track day.
That only really left me the option of some sort of temporary 'bolt-on' type device such as this: https://www.komo-tec.com/en/lotus-exige/mk3-toyota-v6350380/exhaust/144/db-eater-kt-track-v6 , although that seemed like a lot of money for what it is, and I couldn't find any reviews of its effectiveness.
With that in mind, it was time to see if I could cobble something together myself.
What we need is: A universal silencer, a 90° bend, and a reducer.
I painstakingly ground down the narrow part of the reducer until it slid perfectly inside the existing tailpipe. Then all the parts were joined together. I fabricated and attached a bracket to the underneath of the silencer, and the whole lot ended up looking like this:
To attach it to the car, you simply slide it inside the existing tailpipe, and the secure it in place using two springs in holes on the flat metal bracket.
It ends up like this:
So, now that we've established that it looks rubbish, how does it perform?
I was at Snetterton on Wednesday, but unfortunately they were not doing static testing in the morning. I would have liked to have got a reading with and without the silencer fitted.
Initially I went out on track without it fitted. Predictably I was black flagged as soon as I started getting up to speed. The drive-by limit was 92dB, and I was apparently hitting 95dB.
I fitted the silencer, and was made to do a static test before I was allowed out. This test was conducted in the pit lane while the circuit was live, so that may or may not have influenced the readings. He did two tests with the engine at 5000rpm. The readings were 104dB and 101db.
I then went out on track and had no more problems for the rest of the day. So all I can say for definite is that it reduced the drive-by value by at least 3dB.
So in summary:
Pros: (1) Cheap - Total cost around £100 (2) Very quick and easy to fit - Literally 30 seconds. (3) Straight through silencer - No restriction
Cons: (1) Looks sh*t. (But you can't see it when you're driving, can you) (2) Total effectiveness / actual noise reduction still unknown.
I'm at Donington Park in three weeks time, so we'll see what happens there.
It was quite obvious from reading the forums that a standard 410 is unlikely to pass the noise tests. The problem is that I really like the standard switchable exhaust, and didn't want a quieter one fitted all the time. I also didn't want the hassle of swapping a quiet exhaust onto the car for each track day.
That only really left me the option of some sort of temporary 'bolt-on' type device such as this: https://www.komo-tec.com/en/lotus-exige/mk3-toyota-v6350380/exhaust/144/db-eater-kt-track-v6 , although that seemed like a lot of money for what it is, and I couldn't find any reviews of its effectiveness.
With that in mind, it was time to see if I could cobble something together myself.
What we need is: A universal silencer, a 90° bend, and a reducer.
I painstakingly ground down the narrow part of the reducer until it slid perfectly inside the existing tailpipe. Then all the parts were joined together. I fabricated and attached a bracket to the underneath of the silencer, and the whole lot ended up looking like this:
To attach it to the car, you simply slide it inside the existing tailpipe, and the secure it in place using two springs in holes on the flat metal bracket.
It ends up like this:
So, now that we've established that it looks rubbish, how does it perform?
I was at Snetterton on Wednesday, but unfortunately they were not doing static testing in the morning. I would have liked to have got a reading with and without the silencer fitted.
Initially I went out on track without it fitted. Predictably I was black flagged as soon as I started getting up to speed. The drive-by limit was 92dB, and I was apparently hitting 95dB.
I fitted the silencer, and was made to do a static test before I was allowed out. This test was conducted in the pit lane while the circuit was live, so that may or may not have influenced the readings. He did two tests with the engine at 5000rpm. The readings were 104dB and 101db.
I then went out on track and had no more problems for the rest of the day. So all I can say for definite is that it reduced the drive-by value by at least 3dB.
So in summary:
Pros: (1) Cheap - Total cost around £100 (2) Very quick and easy to fit - Literally 30 seconds. (3) Straight through silencer - No restriction
Cons: (1) Looks sh*t. (But you can't see it when you're driving, can you) (2) Total effectiveness / actual noise reduction still unknown.
I'm at Donington Park in three weeks time, so we'll see what happens there.
On Wednesday I finally made it on track, after missing out a few weeks ago due to food poisoning. It was then nearly 8 weeks for the next available date!
The weather forecast kept changing daily, but luckily when I arrived I was greeted with this weather:
I just love how purposeful the Exige looks, especially at certain angles.
The drivers briefing is still being done online before the event, and with no static noise testing either I probably could have had another 30 minutes in bed.
I got the car in the garage, unloaded all the tools, and fitted the towing hook ready for action.
After letting the initial flurry of cars die down when the track first opened, I headed out. Wow. This car really feels good round the bends and on the brakes. I was grinning from ear to ear inside my helmet....well, for a little while anyway.
Coming up to the second hairpin I saw a load of smoke in the air. My initial thought was that somebody had massively locked up or something and it was tyre smoke. As I slowed for the hairpin the car suddenly felt very strange. I was steering left to go in a straight line. I was convinced something had broken or was loose. I pulled straight off and checked the car over. Everything seemed fine. I then found out that the smoke was from a Megane blowing it's engine, and the contents of it's sump were on the circuit just before the hairpin. I felt a bit stupid when I realised I'd just been sliding on the oil, but I was only braking very gently in a straight line and it didn't feel like sliding.
I then went out to have another try and that's when I got black flagged for noise. The add-on exhaust sorted it, and thankfully that was almost the last of the drama for the day.
First impressions of the car are that a) It's brilliant, and b) it's going to take me quite a while to master it.
It became very clear I'd been spoiled by using 'flappy-paddle' cars on track, and driving a manual on track again felt surprisingly difficult. I immediately decided that I wasn't even going to attempt to heel and toe today, and that I'd just start learning the car itself.
Over the course of the day I felt more and more comfortable and the car impressed further. I definitely don't regret my decision to get it.
The official photos from the day have not been published yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing those. Hopefully there are some nice shots.
The AIM dash was brilliant, and it's nice have the data logged so that you can make fancy videos afterwards.
This one is my second fastest session, with the best lap starting at 9m30s into the video:
https://youtu.be/wRV3hE93h58?t=570
And this video was mainly because I wanted to play around with the RaceRender software and add a rear view:
https://youtu.be/o3NxqsDi5Ng?t=41
I went through two tanks of fuel, and the car was quite low as I pulled off after the final session.
I had a couple of full petrol cans with me, so I put 5 litres in which I thought would be enough in total to get me home. I was wrong. I embarrassingly spluttered to a halt just 1 mile from home, after a 45 mile journey. Thankfully I had the second can in the boot, so it wasn't a major issue. Amazingly, not one person beeped or gave the 'w**ker' sign to the idiot with the sportscar stood at the side of the road who'd ran out of petrol.
I called Hangar 111 during the week for a quick chat. The car is now booked in to have the alignment checked and tweaked next month when I can make it over to them. Will be doing the usual of trying to get some more camber on the front.
In conclusion - I love this silly car.
The weather forecast kept changing daily, but luckily when I arrived I was greeted with this weather:
I just love how purposeful the Exige looks, especially at certain angles.
The drivers briefing is still being done online before the event, and with no static noise testing either I probably could have had another 30 minutes in bed.
I got the car in the garage, unloaded all the tools, and fitted the towing hook ready for action.
After letting the initial flurry of cars die down when the track first opened, I headed out. Wow. This car really feels good round the bends and on the brakes. I was grinning from ear to ear inside my helmet....well, for a little while anyway.
Coming up to the second hairpin I saw a load of smoke in the air. My initial thought was that somebody had massively locked up or something and it was tyre smoke. As I slowed for the hairpin the car suddenly felt very strange. I was steering left to go in a straight line. I was convinced something had broken or was loose. I pulled straight off and checked the car over. Everything seemed fine. I then found out that the smoke was from a Megane blowing it's engine, and the contents of it's sump were on the circuit just before the hairpin. I felt a bit stupid when I realised I'd just been sliding on the oil, but I was only braking very gently in a straight line and it didn't feel like sliding.
I then went out to have another try and that's when I got black flagged for noise. The add-on exhaust sorted it, and thankfully that was almost the last of the drama for the day.
First impressions of the car are that a) It's brilliant, and b) it's going to take me quite a while to master it.
It became very clear I'd been spoiled by using 'flappy-paddle' cars on track, and driving a manual on track again felt surprisingly difficult. I immediately decided that I wasn't even going to attempt to heel and toe today, and that I'd just start learning the car itself.
Over the course of the day I felt more and more comfortable and the car impressed further. I definitely don't regret my decision to get it.
The official photos from the day have not been published yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing those. Hopefully there are some nice shots.
The AIM dash was brilliant, and it's nice have the data logged so that you can make fancy videos afterwards.
This one is my second fastest session, with the best lap starting at 9m30s into the video:
https://youtu.be/wRV3hE93h58?t=570
And this video was mainly because I wanted to play around with the RaceRender software and add a rear view:
https://youtu.be/o3NxqsDi5Ng?t=41
I went through two tanks of fuel, and the car was quite low as I pulled off after the final session.
I had a couple of full petrol cans with me, so I put 5 litres in which I thought would be enough in total to get me home. I was wrong. I embarrassingly spluttered to a halt just 1 mile from home, after a 45 mile journey. Thankfully I had the second can in the boot, so it wasn't a major issue. Amazingly, not one person beeped or gave the 'w**ker' sign to the idiot with the sportscar stood at the side of the road who'd ran out of petrol.
I called Hangar 111 during the week for a quick chat. The car is now booked in to have the alignment checked and tweaked next month when I can make it over to them. Will be doing the usual of trying to get some more camber on the front.
In conclusion - I love this silly car.
ecain63 said:
Bit moreish on track eh! You'll be hooked on it now.
Yep. I’ve done a lot a laps of Snetterton over the years in a few different cars. The Exige definitely felt special. Oh, and I completely agree with you about the standard pads. It was a warm day and I was giving them a reasonable amount of abuse - no fade at all.
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