exige s - the 'packs'

[mrw1]

Evening all,

First post to PH, and it's a question ...
Does anyone know if the various packs that Lotus offer for the Exige S can be fitted after purchase of the vehicle, or do they have to be fitted as factory fit at initial purchase ?
The key reason for the question being whether one can start at 33,995 and then spend some more later on :-)

Cheers, Martin.

[mrdemon]

you have to buy when you order the car

but things like the seats you can buy on the performance pack

but not air con or traction control etc.

i think most owners will order the performance pack and Aircon.

so thats 37k ish

[simonk]

Kind of depends what you have your eye on.

Cant believe it would be practical to start adding packs later on, but if theres a couple of bits you fancy from all the packs then maybe. Depending what they are.

Simon (who has only found out retrospectively that you can order touring and performance pack on 06 cars even though his dealer told him this was impossible, but dont worry he isnt bitter or twisted)

[S Works]

Performance pack and aircon is all you need.

Still too heavy, too expensive and too slow for my requirements. The depriciation just kills it off. NA Honda all the way

[speedyellow]

sworks.... just how much commission do you get on every honda sold??? every tread you pop up with a Honda comment somewhere??? lol

Honda with aircon.... that was one of the killers for the honda for me... oh and the insurance was a lot more than a new car...

The S is a good car just different to an S1... just depends what you want surely... and it's still light comparied to everything else out there!

[GTRene]

he's convincing himself to buy a honda conversion, ok I heat up the kettle..go tim go here is a new one

Hey Tim...just arived 1 hour in classifieds, maybe the right car for you! based on a 2003 Elise 111S honda conversion with lots of nice things...?!
you know you want one
www.pistonheads.com/sales/74832.ht

GTRene

[mrw1]

simonk said:

Kind of depends what you have your eye on. Cant believe it would be practical to start adding packs later on, but if theres a couple of bits you fancy from all the packs then maybe. Depending what they are. Simon (who has only found out retrospectively that you can order touring and performance pack on 06 cars even though his dealer told him this was impossible, but dont worry he isnt bitter or twisted)

Interesting news - me, I'm very keen on the traction control and the Eibach adjustable springs, and maybe airbags. But the first two definitely ... just maybe not on Day 1. I can kind of understand if the packs are factory fit options as that's the way it works sometimes but would be great if you could get some parts separately. Otherwise I'll be stuck at the base car, as 34k is pretty much the limit.

[speedyellow]

Airbags is definately a build item as it means a different dashboard and sensors fitted into the nose of the car. Aircon is not a retrofit item either really as the amount of plumming out make it a right pain and it interfaces with the ECU. Traction control is an ECU change item again tough to do after the car is built price wise I'd have thought and Lotus is not good at doing that sort of thing after the fact.

Everything else is basically a bolt on and can be done later, but the costs will be higher buying the bits retro as you'll have already paid for the standard items.

[S Works]

speedyellow said:

sworks.... just how much commission do you get on every honda sold??? every tread you pop up with a Honda comment somewhere??? lol Honda with aircon.... that was one of the killers for the honda for me... oh and the insurance was a lot more than a new car... The S is a good car just different to an S1... just depends what you want surely... and it's still light comparied to everything else out there!

I wish.

Aircon's no issue when you can take the roof off - never felt I needed it in the S1's I've had, no reason to think I need 40 kilos of crap sapping power while it's hot and the engine's not performing at it's best anyway

As for commission , I've just driven every option I could possibly consider buying (apart from a 135R and a 240R [but I'm sure the Cup car wasn't far off]), and frankly there's no comparison. The insurance increase, whilst inconvenient, will be more than offset by the smiles and the enjoyment. My thoughts and comments on the Exige S and the standard Exige remain unchanged, the 240 Cup was better but having driven it I'm not a fan of the pause before the power comes in on it or the S. I like the immediacy of the NA Honda power delivery. Horses for course etc.

[S Works]

GTRene said:

he's convincing himself to buy a honda conversion, ok I heat up the kettle..go tim go here is a new one Hey Tim...just arived 1 hour in classifieds, maybe the right car for you! based on a 2003 Elise 111S honda conversion with lots of nice things...?! you know you want one www.pistonheads.com/sales/74832.ht GTRene

[bogie]

if you are new to the Elise thing then any of the factory cars will be the danglies ... ...the situation is a little different for existing owners of the higher performing cars who driven a few variants ....lets face it, there are still owners out there who wont 'upgrade' (change cars) from an S1 due to the weight thing .....and pretty much the fastest variants out there for trackday enthusiasts is an early S1 with SC Honda or high power Audi engine.

Horses for courses ...the percentage of people who own Elises etc that would even consider a modified over a factory car is very small...depends on so many factors, already discussed on here and every other Lotus BBS 10x over now for the last 3 years !

Personally - unless Lotus can give me a GT3 Exige for £45K brand new then I wont be chopping in the the bling mobile ..and even then, by the time I got the GT3 into what I call 'road trim' (i.e. 35Kg of sound deadening, comfy trim and big sound system) it would be the same performance anyway

to the original poster - if youve driven an Exige S, and love it to bits then just buy and get into using it for a couple of years

[Lotusnick S2]

S Works said:

GTRene said: he's convincing himself to buy a honda conversion, ok I heat up the kettle..go tim go here is a new one Hey Tim...just arived 1 hour in classifieds, maybe the right car for you! based on a 2003 Elise 111S honda conversion with lots of nice things...?! you know you want one www.pistonheads.com/sales/74832.ht GTRene

Alex is selling?
Come on Tim...
DO IT

[speedyellow]

S Works said:

I'm not a fan of the pause before the power comes in on it or the S. I like the immediacy of the NA Honda power delivery. Horses for course etc.

You should try a 240R as well then, there is no lag on them, the FBW throttle introduced the delay to try and control emmissions and was one of the reasons I bought a 240R over a Cup car... oh.. and the £8K saving for a car with less than 1K miles... Lotus are working on the ECU still and I'm sure that there will updates for all the cars over time if you push to improve this on the FBW cars.

As for my performance comparisions, the 240R is the same performance as a well setup S1 Honda car (proven from several track days) however a supcharged Honda S1 would leave me for dead... but I do like my comforts... must be getting far far too old these days!! lol

As for the aircon, it's and Exige thing I guess (wouldn't dream of driving on for long in 25C plus temps without aircon), but down on the South of France every year there are time I want to get out of the sun and have some cool air on me even in a convertible. Oh and the ECU disengages the compressor when you use more than 80% throttle so it's just the 40kg you have to carry...!

[enjybenjy]

GTRene said:

he's convincing himself to buy a honda conversion, ok I heat up the kettle..go tim go here is a new one Hey Tim...just arived 1 hour in classifieds, maybe the right car for you! based on a 2003 Elise 111S honda conversion with lots of nice things...?! you know you want one www.pistonheads.com/sales/74832.ht GTRene

Jesus that's tempting

[GTRene]

enjybenjy said:

GTRene said: he's convincing himself to buy a honda conversion, ok I heat up the kettle..go tim go here is a new one Hey Tim...just arived 1 hour in classifieds, maybe the right car for you! based on a 2003 Elise 111S honda conversion with lots of nice things...?! you know you want one www.pistonheads.com/sales/74832.ht GTRene Jesus that's tempting

Yep, but it haves no SC its "standard" 220hp so I guess if you give him 25K he's gona or have to sell it maybe even 24K...
GTRene

[Boggy]

GTRene said:

enjybenjy said: GTRene said: he's convincing himself to buy a honda conversion, ok I heat up the kettle..go tim go here is a new one Hey Tim...just arived 1 hour in classifieds, maybe the right car for you! based on a 2003 Elise 111S honda conversion with lots of nice things...?! you know you want one www.pistonheads.com/sales/74832.ht GTRene Jesus that's tempting Yep, but it haves no SC its "standard" 220hp so I guess if you give him 25K he's gona or have to sell it maybe even 24K... GTRene

He can't chip him as were all mates

Boggy

[bruh_la]

mrw1 said:

simonk said: Kind of depends what you have your eye on. Cant believe it would be practical to start adding packs later on, but if theres a couple of bits you fancy from all the packs then maybe. Depending what they are. Simon (who has only found out retrospectively that you can order touring and performance pack on 06 cars even though his dealer told him this was impossible, but dont worry he isnt bitter or twisted) Interesting news - me, I'm very keen on the traction control and the Eibach adjustable springs, and maybe airbags. But the first two definitely ... just maybe not on Day 1. I can kind of understand if the packs are factory fit options as that's the way it works sometimes but would be great if you could get some parts separately. Otherwise I'll be stuck at the base car, as 34k is pretty much the limit.

super sports pack, is all retro fit possible.(springs/dampers, adjustable anti roll bar, rear track brace.)

traction control is also possible, do a search on elisetalk, a few guys there are doing it.

Airbags....anything is possible but i doubt that would make financial sense, if you really want them i would spec them from new and put the other stuff you mentioned on later, funds permitting.

Ian

[S Works]

Boggy said:

GTRene said: enjybenjy said: GTRene said: he's convincing himself to buy a honda conversion, ok I heat up the kettle..go tim go here is a new one Hey Tim...just arived 1 hour in classifieds, maybe the right car for you! based on a 2003 Elise 111S honda conversion with lots of nice things...?! you know you want one www.pistonheads.com/sales/74832.ht GTRene Jesus that's tempting Yep, but it haves no SC its "standard" 220hp so I guess if you give him 25K he's gona or have to sell it maybe even 24K... GTRene He can't chip him as were all mates Boggy

No comment

[s,one]

S Works said:

Performance pack and aircon is all you need. Still too heavy, too expensive and too slow for my requirements. The depriciation just kills it off. NA Honda all the way

Isn't it a little bit early to be talking about residual values already. The S2 std Exige supposedly has taken a massive hit on this element. What you need to do is base the residual figures on the true origonal cost and not the silly figures mentoined on here at times. I would imagine the S will stand up quite strongly because those of us who are crap with the spanners quite like the idea of warranties and manufacturers support.
While I like the idea of the Honda conversion unless you have got half a clue it could be quite daunting to be stuck with the car when it all goes Pete Tongue!.
Anyway what are the residuals like on the Honda Conversions, seen a few for sale but what sort of money do they fetch. I would be concerned that I could pick up a developement mule that was a bit of a pony.I will eventually buy an S or a Cup car but in the meantime I'm more than happy with my std slow S2.

Steve

[S Works]

Steve, the supplied kits from MSC, BK and Sinclaires are all warranteed for a year. In my experience (talking to many owners of the MSC kits) the level of service for sorting out 'niggles' has been exemplary.

I've heard of way more problems and 'issues' with Lotus factory cars than converted ones.

Go have a try of one and see what you think. Andy's a nice bloke and will book you in if you'd be interested. You lose nothing but half an hour in a bloody fast and entertaining car. Surely worth your time if you'd even consider any Lotus over 25 grand?

I got to my decision based on trying everything worth considering (bar a 240R) up to about £40k. Based on those tests I'm confident that the Honda option is the best bet for what I want. Having MSC within 30mins from my door has it's appeal of course.