460hp Lotus Exige V6
Discussion
squirdan said:
good work George
things have moved on since the days when you photographed my orange 911 - think you had a Mini then
Hi Dan,things have moved on since the days when you photographed my orange 911 - think you had a Mini then
That was a long time ago, probably 7/8 years ago now?
I now do Automotive photography full time for mainly commercial clients. Exige is certainly a step up from my old minis!
George
Thanks for the feature Pistonheads! https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-britishcars/lo...
Have another photo:
I've booked the car in with Hangar111 to have an LSD fitted in a couple of weeks time, thought it would be useful for winter slippery conditions...
Have another photo:
I've booked the car in with Hangar111 to have an LSD fitted in a couple of weeks time, thought it would be useful for winter slippery conditions...
rtz62 said:
Well this has to be a front runner for the most engaging readers car of 2017!
Excellent thing, very well nuanced, and a great thread to follow to boot.
My only question concerning the outfit in Germany is why they would consider such a power upgrade without upgrading the clutch, unless you asked them not to? Obviously I don’t know what the limits of the standard item are, but I would think that having it done at the time (he says, with 20-20 hindsight’s!) might have saved money and time. And the ignominy of travelling on an autobahn recovery truck..
Please don’t take offence at the above, I was just wondering about the rationale.
But, as I say, great, great car and thread; bravo!,
Komo-tec said that it should be okay. With hindsight it makes much more sense to upgrade and the car has been perfect since. Annoying as it cost me a load of money to sort and ruined a nice road trip with my (very patient) girlfriend!Excellent thing, very well nuanced, and a great thread to follow to boot.
My only question concerning the outfit in Germany is why they would consider such a power upgrade without upgrading the clutch, unless you asked them not to? Obviously I don’t know what the limits of the standard item are, but I would think that having it done at the time (he says, with 20-20 hindsight’s!) might have saved money and time. And the ignominy of travelling on an autobahn recovery truck..
Please don’t take offence at the above, I was just wondering about the rationale.
But, as I say, great, great car and thread; bravo!,
Yesterday at Silverstone was a lot of fun, way too much traffic to get a clean lap in though unfortunately. It turned out to be easier to piece together a lap of me being silly than it was to show a fast lap...
https://youtu.be/7bU3L3SLiSo
Friday at Donnington with the new LSD is going to be even more fun!
https://youtu.be/7bU3L3SLiSo
Friday at Donnington with the new LSD is going to be even more fun!
Bad news today for me, the gearbox is out of the car to fit the LSD so Hangar111 have checked the condition of it. Unfortunately they've come back to me reporting that 2/3/4th gear dog teeth are "moderately worn" and so are the synchros. So I'll be getting new gears and synchros fitted. They also said the standard diff was quite worn which isn't a big issue as the LSD is being fitted anyway, but a little concerning that there are so many issues. Good news though is that the Evora 400 clutch I had fitted when the 460 kit was fitted to the car is fine...
Quite a big bill unfortunately at nearly £3k for all the work which is frustrating after having some big bills on it last month for lots of new suspension bushes, servicing, setup, etc. Hopefully after this it'll be sorted for a while!
Quite a big bill unfortunately at nearly £3k for all the work which is frustrating after having some big bills on it last month for lots of new suspension bushes, servicing, setup, etc. Hopefully after this it'll be sorted for a while!
The hope is that by doing it now I don't have to touch the gearbox again for a while!
Early next year I'll fit a gearbox cooler to prevent further issues. This is the first time the gearbox has been apart, for all I know this wear could have been there the entire time I've owned the car. But if you're going to do something I guess do it properly!
Early next year I'll fit a gearbox cooler to prevent further issues. This is the first time the gearbox has been apart, for all I know this wear could have been there the entire time I've owned the car. But if you're going to do something I guess do it properly!
Nearing the end of the year now and it's been a brilliant one for me thanks to this car!
A couple of photos from the last week...
Running the old wheels at the moment to keep my forged wheels away from the salt. All suspension is protected using ACF50.
I was having a bit of a think about what 2018 holds for the car. I love a project and don't want this to be over, despite doing the majority of the things I want to do to it this year. Next year will be about refinement and improving some of the more subtle things about the car. Little things, but I hope that with some attention to detail it'll make a big difference.
The first thing I'll be addressing is the suspension. The 1 way Nitrons aren't giving me the control I'd like, so I'll be switching to 3 way Nitrons. The aim of this is to give me a car which, while capable on track when needed, will give me the ability to give a more compliant ride for the road. I drove the new 430 Cup with these dampers and it was brilliant, so I'm confident I'll be happy with the upgrade.
The next thing on my list is to make the interior a nicer place to be. I accept that it's a very sparse place to be, but with some changes I think I can make it an improvement on how it is at the moment. I currently have Tillett GRP B5 seats in the car and love them, but having seen and sat in the new B6 Screamer, it's a big improvement in comfort for me and gives me a chance to do something a bit interesting. So I've ordered a set of Tillett B6 Screamers in Carbon Fibre with some custom alcantara pads.
Here is a photo of the old (current) seats in the car:
This is a photo of a test fitting of the B6 Screamers in my car:
Then with some photoshop rendering to see what it would look like with quilted pads in place, some of the aluminium elements of the interior in black and the air conditioning panel in liquid yellow:
That'll be enough to keep me going for a while I think!
A couple of photos from the last week...
Running the old wheels at the moment to keep my forged wheels away from the salt. All suspension is protected using ACF50.
I was having a bit of a think about what 2018 holds for the car. I love a project and don't want this to be over, despite doing the majority of the things I want to do to it this year. Next year will be about refinement and improving some of the more subtle things about the car. Little things, but I hope that with some attention to detail it'll make a big difference.
The first thing I'll be addressing is the suspension. The 1 way Nitrons aren't giving me the control I'd like, so I'll be switching to 3 way Nitrons. The aim of this is to give me a car which, while capable on track when needed, will give me the ability to give a more compliant ride for the road. I drove the new 430 Cup with these dampers and it was brilliant, so I'm confident I'll be happy with the upgrade.
The next thing on my list is to make the interior a nicer place to be. I accept that it's a very sparse place to be, but with some changes I think I can make it an improvement on how it is at the moment. I currently have Tillett GRP B5 seats in the car and love them, but having seen and sat in the new B6 Screamer, it's a big improvement in comfort for me and gives me a chance to do something a bit interesting. So I've ordered a set of Tillett B6 Screamers in Carbon Fibre with some custom alcantara pads.
Here is a photo of the old (current) seats in the car:
This is a photo of a test fitting of the B6 Screamers in my car:
Then with some photoshop rendering to see what it would look like with quilted pads in place, some of the aluminium elements of the interior in black and the air conditioning panel in liquid yellow:
That'll be enough to keep me going for a while I think!
Edited by GFWilliams on Saturday 23 December 18:10
andyj007 said:
love interior re works.. that looks like its going to be great..
so what milage have you completed this year with all your adventures?
i think distance traveled in a forwards direction, and milage accumulated on the clock might not equal in your case...
By the end of the year it’ll be almost bang on 20,000 miles since I got it. so what milage have you completed this year with all your adventures?
i think distance traveled in a forwards direction, and milage accumulated on the clock might not equal in your case...
I doubt I’ll do quite as many miles next year, but a few road trips will happen for sure. If work goes well I’ll do a load of trackdays, but the cost is mental as there’s so much wear on the car and I always make sure the car is in perfect working order so I can always use it properly.
binka1000 said:
Watching your silverstone video and could not help but notice when you change direction your left leg pushes quite hard on the gear stick. Could this do any damage to it, i assume not as you are all ready in the gear didn't know if it might wear out the linkages or stretch them. Love the car btw.
I noticed this and the new seats have support which will stop me being able to do this. Not sure if it will have done any damage, but I have just had a precautionary gearbox rebuild and the gearbox linkage cables are upgraded which seems to have stopped them stretching and going out of alignment every few weeks so I think everything is in good order.5er said:
What a great thread. Loving what you're doing and of course, the photos are stunning.
Regarding the Tillett seats - how much more space do the B6 Screamers take up when located in the car? I'm thinking of Tillett seats for my MX5, and whilst I think the B5 might just fit, the B6-S might suit my frame better but I'm not sure there's enough room in the car.
Do you still have the B5s and are you selling them?
The B6 take up quite a lot more space than the B5 due to the sides. B5 have a lot more space for the larger gentleman, again due to the sides, but then there’s now the option of the wider B6 Screamer which you can order with the rolled over edges trimmed to make fitting in the car easier. B5 is a better seat for only road use, you can still use seat belts easily and it’s easier to get in and out. Reason for me changing to B6 is I now only use harnesses and I’m quite skinny so they hug me better. Also, I quite like new shiny things and a little project.Regarding the Tillett seats - how much more space do the B6 Screamers take up when located in the car? I'm thinking of Tillett seats for my MX5, and whilst I think the B5 might just fit, the B6-S might suit my frame better but I'm not sure there's enough room in the car.
Do you still have the B5s and are you selling them?
My B6 Screamers won’t arrive for 10 weeks or so, the B5 will be up for sale then, but I’m probably not allowed to post about it here.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff