Is buying an S2 S with 260, 270, 280+ BHP asking for trouble, predominantly the gearbox?
Would it be possible to, shock horror, de-tune a car to a comfortable BHP level?
Have seen a couple of S2’s with 270bhp+ should this be a concern?
I’m loving the orange one from Pure Lotus on PH, if anyone knows this car. Lotus Exige S2 cars for sale | PistonHeads UK
Fish, stop being eerrrrrm gay… 
It looks good that orange one, it’s the orange trim that’s just stopped me going to look at it…
And while I’m at it, for God sake stop looking at all these exiges I’m looking at as well… 
Until yours is sold it shouldn’t be allowed…
That’s my old car !
I still have the original ECU and injectors to detune to around 235 with that manifold on.
Without the gearbox having been sorted anything north of 270hp is certainly a sizeable risk, by the time you are north of 300hp it is a certainty it will fail and sometime very soon after being upgraded.
260 hp is a very sensible place to be and the gearbox is very unlikely to fail if not tracked, if tracked hard the likelihood goes up like all things on any road car.
go on youtube and search exige gearbox failure it is my car at Spa 
that was ~300hp
271hp used for first time:
Ha ha, did they get out of the car, put up a red warning triangle then stand back for the BOOM!?
Yeah known fault
Perhaps I’ll leave mine alone then at the 260bhp mark then 
or wang the quaife sequential in 
296Bhp in mine - Komotec conversion from Hangar111.
No problems at all either on road or track.
you are luckier than most, mine 3 or 4 track days before failure
My 297bhp Komo-tec car didn’t break the gearbox either, but then it didn’t produce anywhere near the quoted 297bhp either!
Car not making the BHP quoted shocker x 2???
296 off the dyno - but I drive like Miss Daisy.
Mine ate the gearbox at 220. Granted it had been a dealer demo car so maybe some prior abuse.
Got the CN260 and 4 years on it still hasn’t skipped a beat.
Having had 3rd gear go bang a few years ago i’m inclined to think that gearbox longevity is more to do with mechanical sympathy than BHP. Matching revs on downshifts will give your box a much easier time on road and track. Decent gear oil and lay off the kerbs.
I have the 260 upgrade and my 2nd to 3rd gear change was iffy but since I put the powerflex yellow engine mounts in its been much smoother
So after a few trouble-free years of CN260 and careful shifts I lunched 3rd at Anglesey today. Hopefully get it opened next week to examine the damage.
Bugger. Jinxed yourself
yep 
thanks to the generosity of my fellow travelers I did get to spend the rest of the day lapping in a Caterham and an F360 so it wasn’t all bad.