Thinking of moving into an S3 Exige

[gavin18787]

Evening all,

Thinking of moving onto an S3 Exige. A car that I have always liked the look of and I think fits what I want in a car.
Just wanted to ask a few questions and give a bit of a back story of what it will be used for.

• Is there a buyers guide out there for the S3 exige or a recommended forum to join? a guide to all the varients would be ideal.
• How are they for taller people (6ft 1 for reference) will use it for track days so need to be comfy including a helmet.
• Any current owners keep theirs outside, ie not garaged? I fear this is the one thing that could scrap this idea....
• For what I want the cup 350 seems to be what I am gravitating to

Bit of back story:
I have owned my current car which is a Toyota GT86 for about 10 years now. When it was chosen it was my only car so needed to be something that could do it all however I now have a little Citroen DS3 as a second car so the GT86 is a toy only. Therefore it could warrent been a little bit more raw. For fun outings only and trackdays.
The GT86 has been fettled over time with a lot of suspension work and some lovely AP brakes so certainly stops and handles well. Plus I have owned it for such a while I feel its a car I can really drive at the limit on track etc. However there is no escaping it is rather slow still
Toyed with the idea a few times of getting on the forced induction band wagon but would still be the same boxer engine that would then be at risk of its chocolate tendencies even more
Therefore is it time to jump ship and just buy something a good few rungs up the ladder?
Currently very lucky to be living a comfy mortgage free life so might use this as an excuse to treat myself to something. Got a bit of cash stashed away that was for a house upgrade but sadly my financee passed away earlier this year so certain plans have some what changed
Still she would have approved of this line of thought as she loved cars too and is maybe a good excuse to start my mid life single man crisis in my 30's instead of waiting

Any input appreciated and I will link a couple of cars that have caught my eye below.

Budget circa 50k

Current whip in action on Brands GP circuit

[gavin18787]

This example is top of my pile at present

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402026...


Also a local orange one which I plan to go and see too

[gavin18787]

Cheers for the replies all

Certainly some food for thought in all of the replies and lots more research to do!

matt5964 said:

Hello,
Sounds like a good search,
Don’t rule out the S2 Exige or an S3 Elise cup, the spiritual S2 successor

Exige 410 and beyond have charge coolers , but also struggle with noise limits on track, so do some other v6 variants

There will be a big jump up in running costs to the v6 Exige, fuel, insurance and especially track consumables, brakes and tyres, where by contrast the S2 and Elise are very light.
Whilst they are undoubtedly fast on track, they are not as nimble as the S2 or Elise cups, so all depends if your chase it lap times and straight line speed , of abserlute reward for precise accurate driving.

Jon seal is a great place to start, he is a well respected lotus specialist, and currently has listed, v6 cup Exige, a nice S2 Exige triple pack and Elise cups

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15797261

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/16522754

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15989639

The v6 cup bell n Coalville edition is a nice car

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/16238866

Elise cup big aero is a rear beast

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/16402428

Thanks for taking the time to link all of those cars Matt, much appreciated. Must say that last Elise with the aero looks lovely


Certainly sounds like I need to revisit and Elise and Exige S2 as well. Fortunatly a lot of the S3 Exige live at specialist which as you prove with your link also carry other variants in their stock also.
My last exposure of driving something simular to an S2 was a VX220 many moons ago. Loved the drive but found it a bit height restricted in the cabin. However worthe another look for sure.

[gavin18787]

JamieF78 said:

SELOC and The Lotus Forums have a wealth of information on all things Lotus and S3 Exiges. Those who track theirs tend to go for the later models, 410 and up, as they are charge cooled. Supposedly, there is a fair drop-off in performance due to heat soak on the other models when getting tracked. If you plan on doing a lot of track days then perhaps a Cup variant may be a better option, I THINK they came with baffled sumps too along with adjustable suspension.

Most S3 Exiges are LOUD. You can buy rear silencers just for track days though, so it's not a big concern I'd say. I keep my 410 outside as do many others and there's never been an issue, just don't bother with a car cover as some older models have suffered from paint blisters due to this. As for height, as long as you're nimble I don't see that being a problem! Sorry to read about your partner, life can be so cruel at times.....go and buy one as life is too short

Cheers for the forum links Jamie.

Good to know you keep yours outside without issue also.
Also very good point on the charge coolers as I hadn't really thought that far ahead.
Back in the day I used to own a EP3 civic type R that I had supercharged down at CPL racing. That Jackson type charger on that had the same where after a few laps on circuit the preformance drop off was quite large without a charge cooler.

[gavin18787]

gareth h said:

I kept my 410 outside, just beware the brakes tend to stick on, which is a pain in the arse if you have a gravel drive as they don’t crack off until you hit tarmac.
The headlights are really st if you are planning any night time shenanigans.
Apart from that they are great cars.

Haha my GT86 is the same and takes a good launch to unstick the brakes if it has been hibernating in the wet. Neighbours are used to it: hehe:.
Noticed that the one I linked had an LED headlight conversion, wondered if that was aftermarket or an OEM retrofit?

[gavin18787]

Paul_M3 said:

It's currently £540 on my 410.

But bear in mind that isn't forever. For my 2019 car, the tax will drop to £180 next year.

Cheers for the info on the VED, that actually wasn't on my radar to check

Was very suprised at the insurance though. £50 more then my GT86, although by current insurer said they wouldn't cover it so will have to switch if I go ahead.

[gavin18787]

mario328 said:

Good luck in your search, they are great cars except for the ludicrous VED Tax of >£600. I would second the comment about brakes sticking on even at the slightest moisture, I garage my Exige and they still stick on. I'd also add that if you don't drive it often then the battery will go flat so I keep mine disconnected until I need to drive it and put it on one of those generic C-Tech type charges which has been a good plan for me as I still have the original battery fitted (10.5 years old!).
Having said that, our GT86 (2017) battery also goes flat if you don't drive it for a few days.

Would be very interested if you could give any comparisons between the GT86 and the Exige Mario. Appreciate it's like comparing a kitchen knife to a machine gun but nice to hear thoughts from someone that has both.

[gavin18787]

muckyman said:

This is a great example at a very good price
(Superb condition and full service history)
Oh, and it’s my advert
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15874687

Lovely example and had actually been on my short list. Bit of me is still tempted by other earlier variants as they are a lot of car for the money and can always retro fit some other parts. Could well get in touch once I have narrowed the search on what I want, not too far away either.

Quick question on my personal taste is that I quite like them with the black on the back (panel where the lights and number plate are) I noticed some are colour coded and some are not. Is this a seperate part that can be chopped and changed?

[gavin18787]

mario328 said:

Hi Gavin,

I'll give you a short summary of my thoughts of 10 years of Exige and 7 years of GT86 ownership, both from new.

Firstly I don't do track days anymore I used to do them years ago in a different car but found the costs and the risks were just getting too much, if I was going to consider TDs again I would much prefer to get a cheaper car like an old MR2 to do track days in.
Secondly, our GT86 is the second generation model from 2017, I've driven a couple of previous models but think our one definitely handles better than the older model, one of the things I'm planning to do later this year to replace the rotten original tyres that come with the GT86 for something a bit better perhaps a set of Michelin PS4s.
Previously I had test drives in a 2012 year and a 2016 year GT86 which Toyota kindly let me have for a few hours. Pictures here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskGe7wio

For the Exige I would say that its overall handling is far more predictable than the 86 and you do you feel it is safer driving it in poor conditions like when it's just rained or when it’s quite cold, it has got quite a sophisticated management system for its time to stop you getting it all wrong but one of the upgrades I did a few years back was to fit a set of Michelin PS4s which definitely improved the grip from the front axle versus the original Pirelli P Zeros, note: My Exige doesn’t have “race mode”.

Onto running costs it's obviously a lot more expensive to have the Exige, although I think it’s cheap to service it. I spend £50 a month on a maintenance contract with a main Lotus dealer that covers all servicing, parts and the annual MOT where the GT86 is relative pennies to run in comparison.
Fuelwise we get approx. 25MPG (Super unleaded) from the Exige and about 35 MPG from the GT (95 RON).

Maybe this says more about my driving style but both cars are very light on their consumables e.g. tyre wear and brakes and in fact in the Exige there is so much engine breaking you would have to be going quite fast to stand on the pedal to stop it. Both cars are on the original brake pads and discs, Exige has 19,000 miles GT has 24,000 miles.

On to things I don’t like, firstly the dipped headlights on the Lotus are absolutely dreadful especially when you consider how incredible the LED lights on the GT86 are, funny enough main beam is “okay”.
They are both quite noisy cars but hey I knew that before buying them, the engine noise on the GT is painful and you never really feel comfortable revving it out, the Exige amplifies any road items that hit the underside of the car and its gearbox is quite vocal but everyone tells me they all do that.

There are many topics on the durability of the V6 Exige clutch but I’ve never have any issues with either car’s clutch but then I’m of a maturity that I don’t slip the clutches much or attempt GP starts.

Other faults, there’s definitely a problem in the design of the air conditioning system on the V6 Exige luckily mine's been modified with new pipes in the sill so I shouldn't see that problem again. Nothing to report on the GT so far apart from a dead battery when it was three years old which was replaced under warranty with a larger capacity unit.
Finally, I think the V6 build quality is much improved over old designs, the doors shut with a nice clunk and it doesn’t let any rain water in.

Go and drive one and see what you think, I was lucky to have a 4 hour test drive on my own to really decide, stuck it in my garage to make sure it fitted etc.

Cheers,

Edited by mario328 on Tuesday 23 April 13:37

Edited by mario328 on Tuesday 23 April 18:05

Hi Mario,

Thanks for taking the time to cover all of those points for me, very much appreciated


Yes I am with you on the cost vs reward on the track days, one of the main things that is making me think twice about the Exige. The GT86 isn't the cheapest of cars but I am happier with that risk and my insurer also covers me for track days which is an added bonus with it currently.

I would certainly recommend changing out the tyres on the GT86 makes such a difference. I run Yokohama V105 on mine and find them excellent. Handle a few sessions on track well and are very predictable and make the experience so much better. My GT86 is the one car I have owned where I am happy that I can drive it fully on the limit and know exactly how it is going to be respond, The yokohama also arn't super grippy so still allow a bit of slip and fun so best of both worlds.

Suprised how affordable the Exige seems with that service plan you have, sounds a good deal.

Going to book some time off work in may and go on a shopping trip I think, try a couple of examples and go from there.