RE: Lotus Exige S2: PH Carpool
Discussion
Europa1 said:
andy_s said:
"... People can't really damage the car as there is very little that hasn't already fallen off - might as well make somebody's day!" Fantastic!
Lost my Elise a few years ago and starting to look now for either an Exige SC or - left-field - a Europa S; I loved mine while I had it - you wore it rather than got in it and the purity feeling of 'you+engine+tyres' has not been equalled since.
I guess it's a classic case of horses for courses. I loved my Europa S, but it was my daily driver so I appreciated the additional creature comforts and the more usable boot. It was still indecently rapid on the right road when the mood took me, and I really liked the looks of it - looked better in the flesh than photographs.Lost my Elise a few years ago and starting to look now for either an Exige SC or - left-field - a Europa S; I loved mine while I had it - you wore it rather than got in it and the purity feeling of 'you+engine+tyres' has not been equalled since.
[quote=cib24]Great looking car. How much quicker is the S220/S240 than the N/A car that you own?
quote]
I test drove an Elise 111r (which has the same 2zz engine as the Exige) before buying my supercharged car. It was very exciting to drive, the cam change at 6K is insane and it has a proper revvy feel to the motor. It was pretty damn quick when you wind it right out, but needed to be worked hard to get anywhere... I didn't feel like there was enough torque.
I then test drove a supercharged 240bhp car and felt it suited my needs a bit better, as it could pull hard from zip and was less work to drive. The cam change happens lower down on the Supercharged cars, but it still pulls all the way to 8.5K. In the real world I feel like the supercharged car felt an awful lot quicker, but it depends what you're after I guess.
They're both amazing drivers cars and I can completely understand why people would go for the NA model if they preferred that engine feel.
quote]
I test drove an Elise 111r (which has the same 2zz engine as the Exige) before buying my supercharged car. It was very exciting to drive, the cam change at 6K is insane and it has a proper revvy feel to the motor. It was pretty damn quick when you wind it right out, but needed to be worked hard to get anywhere... I didn't feel like there was enough torque.
I then test drove a supercharged 240bhp car and felt it suited my needs a bit better, as it could pull hard from zip and was less work to drive. The cam change happens lower down on the Supercharged cars, but it still pulls all the way to 8.5K. In the real world I feel like the supercharged car felt an awful lot quicker, but it depends what you're after I guess.
They're both amazing drivers cars and I can completely understand why people would go for the NA model if they preferred that engine feel.
I always discounted people saying the N/A 2zz-ge in the 111R was too peaky. Coming from a DCR2 i thought 'nah! that's the way i like it!'. It really is interesting though, because on paper they're very similar: torque peaks, rav ranges, gearing even as a 6th gear in the Elise is like another gear on top instead of making for a close ratio box. But the truth is the DCR2 never felt gutless or peaky, the drivetrain was perfect. The 111R does felt like it's lacking midrange to me. Its because lots of little things add up: The extra road holding of the Elise means it has more grip than grunt, the cam change comes in 400 revs later, the gear change is slower and more deliberate, in the Integra you didn't have to pre-plan your gear changes, you just did it on instinct, instantaneously! So although i'm normally an N/A luddite i'm saving up for an aftermarket S/C for the 111R. Although it makes slightly more power than i'd ideally like the BOE rev300 sounds like the one. That's obviously going to transform the car rather than filling in a torque hole in the mid range but oh well..... Much more economical than going the Honda route and it sounds like it doesn't have the usual force induction downsides, e.g. heat build up and softening the throttle response.
Lovely looking car OP! Glad to see you have as much trouble keeping it clean as i do mine!
Lovely looking car OP! Glad to see you have as much trouble keeping it clean as i do mine!
acme said:
OP, any update on your car, for what it's worth I think the colour is absolutely cracking
Cheers
Had a drive of this car at the weekend. Can confirm that cracking doesn't end at how it looks.Cheers
I'm lucky enough to have driven quite a few interesting things in my time, and this is up there with the best of them (despite being a fraction of the cost of some) – one of the most exhilarating drives I've ever had.
Awesome, awesome piece of kit. Can only imagine how epic it would be round a track. Now, Kieran...
Missed this thread when first posted.
I also had an n/a S2 Exige in the same colour.
Mine had the track pack so really nice bucket seats (gave me a numb arse after a few hours though), harnesses and twin oil coolers.
Did about 20K in mine including a trip round Europe in company with 5 Ferrari 360 CS's where the Exige did itself proud.
Great car and all that went wrong with mine was the air con packed up. There is a switch somewhere which is located in a small recess that can fill with water which is what happened to mine but that was fixed under warranty.
Drive it properly and you will be lucky to get 3,500 miles out of the Yoko AO48s, obviously a lot less with track days.
You can also take the roof off and fit a soft top.
I also had an n/a S2 Exige in the same colour.
Mine had the track pack so really nice bucket seats (gave me a numb arse after a few hours though), harnesses and twin oil coolers.
Did about 20K in mine including a trip round Europe in company with 5 Ferrari 360 CS's where the Exige did itself proud.
Great car and all that went wrong with mine was the air con packed up. There is a switch somewhere which is located in a small recess that can fill with water which is what happened to mine but that was fixed under warranty.
Drive it properly and you will be lucky to get 3,500 miles out of the Yoko AO48s, obviously a lot less with track days.
You can also take the roof off and fit a soft top.
Synchromesh said:
Had a drive of this car at the weekend. Can confirm that cracking doesn't end at how it looks.
I'm lucky enough to have driven quite a few interesting things in my time, and this is up there with the best of them (despite being a fraction of the cost of some) – one of the most exhilarating drives I've ever had.
Awesome, awesome piece of kit. Can only imagine how epic it would be round a track. Now, Kieran...
Cheers, sat in a colleagues at lunchtime, getting in and out at 6ft 2 was interesting, and I'm not exactly fat!I'm lucky enough to have driven quite a few interesting things in my time, and this is up there with the best of them (despite being a fraction of the cost of some) – one of the most exhilarating drives I've ever had.
Awesome, awesome piece of kit. Can only imagine how epic it would be round a track. Now, Kieran...
Once in it felt fantastic, though couldn't work out if they were probax seats or not, there were cut outs at the top either side for harnesses, and 'quilting' in the centres, any ideas?
Thanks all, still enjoying the car, up towards 6k miles in the year since I got it, not bad as all have been at weekends for fun!
Seats in mine aren't the track-orientated ones (holes on top), but are the slightly more comfortable ones fitted with the touring pack.
Couple of minor issues to sort out, grounded out in a 18cm deep pothole (stationary thankfully) in April, scraping the underside of the splitter/clam so a claim is currently in with Surrey CC and will likely have the (very few) stone chips touched in and the whole lot PPF'ed. It's also booked in for some AD08R's next weekend as the rears are now down to ~2mm, I make it ~7k miles on a set of R888's, not trying hard enough!
Only other cost has been a service, £179 at back on track, can't recommend them highly enough.
Turns out running cars can be cheap if nothing goes wrong!
SidewaysSi said:
Other than the Larini, is the car standard?
Yes, to my knowledgeSeats in mine aren't the track-orientated ones (holes on top), but are the slightly more comfortable ones fitted with the touring pack.
Couple of minor issues to sort out, grounded out in a 18cm deep pothole (stationary thankfully) in April, scraping the underside of the splitter/clam so a claim is currently in with Surrey CC and will likely have the (very few) stone chips touched in and the whole lot PPF'ed. It's also booked in for some AD08R's next weekend as the rears are now down to ~2mm, I make it ~7k miles on a set of R888's, not trying hard enough!
Only other cost has been a service, £179 at back on track, can't recommend them highly enough.
Turns out running cars can be cheap if nothing goes wrong!
A full year with the exige ticked over in July and I’m still loving it.
Took a day off work and went over to wales for the day yesterday, mainly spending time around the Brecon Beacons...some of the B-roads were epic!
First track day in the exige booked for later this month too - should be good fun!
Beyond a breakdown on the way to track yesterday (injector wire worm though and shorting on top of engine) the car was in its element when we actually got it out on track, impressive considering its still standard, video of Synchromesh taking it around Rockingham below:
https://youtu.be/pdWJyjHJVgI
https://youtu.be/pdWJyjHJVgI
Another 6 months on and little to report, mileage now ticking up to 36k and it's in dire need of a wash!
Issues outstanding are:
Roof bolt covers falling off in warm weather - need better glue/velcro!
AC which stops working after about 40 minutes (pipe freezes I think - starts working again when off for 15 mins)
Slightly bent front grille and rusty tow post, the former a result of a slack tow rope to aforementioned track day
All will hopefully be resolved this winter, may even have a go at taking the clam off myself and do the fans etc at the same time for prudence....
As I'm getting married in September I may treat it to a full detailing session to! - may need to look at the stone chips on the front first though
Issues outstanding are:
Roof bolt covers falling off in warm weather - need better glue/velcro!
AC which stops working after about 40 minutes (pipe freezes I think - starts working again when off for 15 mins)
Slightly bent front grille and rusty tow post, the former a result of a slack tow rope to aforementioned track day
All will hopefully be resolved this winter, may even have a go at taking the clam off myself and do the fans etc at the same time for prudence....
As I'm getting married in September I may treat it to a full detailing session to! - may need to look at the stone chips on the front first though
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff