S1 exige reliability

[Shnozz]

I have never really looked at the reliability of the VHPD engine but wonder how it compares reliability wise to the yota engined S2. Assuming its had the 190 bhp upgrade I assume its a faster car due to the lighter weight. Rebuilds are usually expected every 30k miles yes? And the cost of the rebuild is around £2k IIRC?

I know very little re the S1 Exige but given that the sports car is a toy and doesnt need to be used everyday I wonder whether limiting myself to the S2 Exige (or M12) is possibly overlooking a better "toy" car.

[clanger]

55k on my 190 S1 Exige without any issues, head never been lifted, secret is I reckon not to rag 'em from cold, change oil regularly and treat 'em with respect - touches the walnut desk . There are quite a few abused examples about now tho' - but they are 7 year old cars. Still as much fun now as when I bought it 6 years ago.

[Shnozz]

Its a good point that these cars are now getting on a bit. Ideally I wanted something quick in the garage that could be used regularly in the summer and taken to le mans etc. I am wondering if the original exige is a bit fragile for my expectations. The S2 may be a little less hardcore, but it would be a lot newer and possibly more of a known quantity.

I've driven the S2 Exige, yet to drive the S1.

[slatess1]

Try both as their completely different!!! You'll either love or hate the S1

[Hollywood Wheels]

I was talking to Dan (slatless) about this the other day...........as much as I love the Sport 160 and will never sell it, I often regret not getting an S1 Exige. Sod the rebuilds, they're not bank-breaking and you can plan ahead for them. To me they are the holy grail of Elise ownership. You should get one! People can slag off the K as much as they like, but it's an engine with character and a Honda/Audi conversion can always be considered a few years down the line if funds allow. It'll lose pennies each year and you'll be driving a proper race car for the road.....

[Twitcher]

clanger said:

55k on my 190 S1 Exige without any issues, head never been lifted, secret is I reckon not to rag 'em from cold, change oil regularly and treat 'em with respect - touches the walnut desk . There are quite a few abused examples about now tho' - but they are 7 year old cars. Still as much fun now as when I bought it 6 years ago.

Clanger

Do you ever "rag" your car ie do you do trackdays, & if so, how many have you done?

[slatess1]

Hollywood Wheels said:

I was talking to Dan (slatless) about this the other day...........as much as I love the Sport 160 and will never sell it, I often regret not getting an S1 Exige. Sod the rebuilds, they're not bank-breaking and you can plan ahead for them. To me they are the holy grail of Elise ownership. You should get one! People can slag off the K as much as they like, but it's an engine with character and a Honda/Audi conversion can always be considered a few years down the line if funds allow. It'll lose pennies each year and you'll be driving a proper race car for the road.....

Well said Hollywood! To be honest now knowing what i do about lotus i would still either buy the S160 or s1 exige, their just so raw and enjoyable to drive. The main reasn i got an s1 exige is their unique & rare and will hardly lose any money now in depreciation as their 7 yrs old! If you look at classifieds, you can buy an s2 exige now for the same money as an s1 exige (within reason)

Since ive owned mine (approx 18 months) i think ive seen probably 3 other s1 exiges on the road and the same with the s160... 2k for a rebuild every 50k miles (if you treat it right) is worth it!! You will not regret getting one! Just allow the car to warm up before pushin that accelerator and regularly top up / change oil and you'll avoid most issues. Dont be put off by an example that has previously been tracked either as they tend to be have more tlc than your average every day road car... Just pay attention to the log book with service / mot stamps etc... Also allow for deep pockets when you catch the modifying bug, everyone gets it sooner or later

BTW you can still buy the S1 exige with as little as 5k miles on the clock which is realistically a brand new car!!

[jke11y]

I used to own an S2 Exige. I bought it in 05, and loved it, having owned an S1 Elise.

I sold the S2 and bought an S2 Elise, that I had for 6 weeks. It was dull in comparison to the S2 Exige, and I knew I had to get back into an Exige. I looked at a couple of S1 Exiges before buying the one I have now, and my main priority was getting a rebuilt one. There are more people who have had VHPDs rebuilt than can say "oooh im now on 104k and its fine" so buying one that was done made sense. I jumped when I saw mine for sale, right colour, right miles, rebuilt and price.

Compared to the S2 Exige I had, it is much less refined, it is noisier, it has a less useful and leaky boot, but it looks better (as all my car loving and non car-loving mates agreee) and I prefer it as it just has a massive sense of occasion compared to the S2. Yeah, the S2 felt like it wasnt going to break and it would always start first time, but when you are heading into a corner, 7.5k rpm with flames coming out the back and it banging, its great. It looks like a proper mini GT racer, it has real road presence given its size and joe public generally seem to love it. The S2 looks like an elise coupe with a wobbly spoiler.

I only wish that I had gone straight from S1 Elise to the S1 Exige, as it would have saved me a fortune!

I know it doesnt really count as I am up in Scotland, but I have only seen a couple of S1 Exiges up here in the last few years, and I have been the only one at the last couple of scottish elises trackdays - its nice to have something different.

Probably my longest ever post on PH. Go me!

Edited by jke11y on Wednesday 31st October 21:27

[clanger]

Twitcher said:

clanger said:

55k on my 190 S1 Exige without any issues, head never been lifted, secret is I reckon not to rag 'em from cold, change oil regularly and treat 'em with respect - touches the walnut desk . There are quite a few abused examples about now tho' - but they are 7 year old cars. Still as much fun now as when I bought it 6 years ago.

Clanger

Do you ever "rag" your car ie do you do trackdays, & if so, how many have you done?

Strange first post Twitcher - but yes done quite a number of trackdays - and more than a few racedays

[jke11y]

clanger said:

Twitcher said:

clanger said:

55k on my 190 S1 Exige without any issues, head never been lifted, secret is I reckon not to rag 'em from cold, change oil regularly and treat 'em with respect - touches the walnut desk . There are quite a few abused examples about now tho' - but they are 7 year old cars. Still as much fun now as when I bought it 6 years ago.

Clanger

Do you ever "rag" your car ie do you do trackdays, & if so, how many have you done?

Strange first post Twitcher - but yes done quite a number of trackdays - and more than a few racedays

Maybe its your wife / girlfriend checking up on where all that cash goes

[clanger]

jke11y said:

clanger said:

Twitcher said:

clanger said:

55k on my 190 S1 Exige without any issues, head never been lifted, secret is I reckon not to rag 'em from cold, change oil regularly and treat 'em with respect - touches the walnut desk . There are quite a few abused examples about now tho' - but they are 7 year old cars. Still as much fun now as when I bought it 6 years ago.

Clanger

Do you ever "rag" your car ie do you do trackdays, & if so, how many have you done?

Strange first post Twitcher - but yes done quite a number of trackdays - and more than a few racedays

Maybe its your wife / girlfriend checking up on where all that cash goes

LOL might be either, maybe should edit that post

Edited by clanger on Wednesday 31st October 22:21

[Twitcher]

LOL guys - no, I'm not related to Clanger, so he can sleep easy!

I'm an Elise/Exige fan, but after hearing loads of stories of S1 Exige owners (usually regular trackdayers), either having to rebuild, or even swapping their VHPD engines at around 30K+ miles, I was a bit surprised to read Clanger's post - no offence meant.

Clanger - racedays? Are you in the Lotus series which is on telly (hard to tell because of your forum name)? If so, would be great to come & say hello, if you are at Brands later this month.

JK - how many miles has yours done?

Are you guys expecting/budgeting for rebuilds, & if so, what do you have in mind in terms of when, what, & approx cost?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get an idea from an existing owner's point of view.

[S Works]

S1 Exige... coolest car in the world for under £25k?

[Esprit]

Just got mine (from S1 Elise) and I'll never sell this car, it's the epitome of cool, actually goes like it looks (don't believe what the pundits say, it's MILES quicker than pretty much ANY Elise/Exige variant when driven properly), and it just FEELS right.

Mine's got 21.5k miles on the clock and still feels tight as a drum. It's got a few maintenance items that need some attention, but they're very minor and not any different to what you'd expect. Mine's been used extensively on track and will continue to be... If you look after the maintenance side of things and let it get properly warm before you clog it (which can take a LOT of self-restraint because the engine's no fun without revs). Then there's no reason to suspect it'll be any less reliable than a Toyota/Honda engine.

[S Works]

Have you been schmokin' the good stuff again George?

[jke11y]

Mine was rebuilt just before I bought it (100miles) so the engine felt as-new. It has loosened up nicely in the few months I have had it, and so far has not used much oil atall (theres rarely any spits of oil below exhaust which I have seen on some VHPD cars). The rebuild was done at about 31 or 32k miles.

[stevie111s]

I've owned S1 Exige, S1 111s and now S1 Sport 160 and I recon the Sport 160 is the best of the lot. The Exige was fun but without aircon any long trips especially in the summer, were very uncomfortable due to the heat build-up in the cockpit. Maybe I'm a woos but that spoilt it for me. The Sport 160 on the other hand has all the suspension and BHP but I get to go topless ... now that's motoring!