Exige S RGB #138 - a journey towards perfection, well hopefully

General Owners Cars
61

Indeed, will do my best to get some good photos - the forecast appears to be cloudy, but dry, so fingers crossed for a good drive.

Yeah, a good going over with a vacuum cleaner is required, since there is dust in small nooks and crannies, which I understand is pretty normal given that there is no cabin filter in these cars.

Photos and video may be a bit hit and miss since the outside too needs a good wash - Jon said that he had run through a couple of showers on the way down, so the outside is not spotless either.

The size, shape, and proportions are exactly what I like a sports car are to be, so, yes, I am totally sold on how #138 looks, but It is rather ironic that I seem keener to not have to soil the freshly rebuilt suspension and those gorgeous Ohlins… :slight_smile:

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Looking forward to seeing the pictures :+1:

63

Standards are slipping already, I’m surprised you haven’t been over the car with a shammy leather to clean her up! :wink::smile:

I’m the same with my car tbh, she’s just about to click over to 10k miles but at the end of the day it’s a car and it’s to be driven and enjoyed! :sunglasses::+1:. You’re gonna love it! :+1:

It’s a shame that the weather is turning now as it would have been great for us Southerners to have arranged a meet somewhere.

64

Okay, so here goes, a summary of my first proper drive in #138;

Woke up at 7:00 am, and left the house at 7:45 am - the first step was to familiarise myself with the lights (switches) and hazards. No rearview mirror to adjust, but the N/S door mirror needed a bit of an adjustment, so with no power mirrors, and with the rest of the household still in bed, I did a best guess setting and when I got back in the driver’s seat it was perfect! Good start…

Eased out of the garage, and then had to do a 180-degree maneuver to get out on to our driveway and then through the gates, whilst having to squeeze past my wife’s car in the process. No problem as I was quite used to that maneuver back in the days of the 964RS, but I had forgotten what a workout it is without power steering.

Headed through the 30 mph zone through our area and on then to the A40 for a quick sprint up to the Beaconsfield exit, at which point I thought I will continue on the A40 through Denham, Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross…on to Oxford. Bad decision since there was road works, too many 30 mph zones, and this route had quite short stretches where I could exercise #138 to learn its abilities, but since I was learning about its characteristics that didn’t matter (remember this is my first drive in a Lotus, let alone and Exige). However, the NVH became all too familiar when I cast my mind back to the days I used to take the same route in the 964RS and 993RS, and the numerous Porsches in between - the last run on this route was in the Clio V6 255, but that was around 4 years ago!

The ‘Bucking Bronco’ that the 964RS was back in the day is certainly back in the guise of #138, and, boy, am I pleased about it! :mrgreen: :stuck_out_tongue:`

However, I did notice a touch of understeer, especially under acceleration as if the front end is losing grip - it was bone dry, so need to check how old the (front) tyres are, and if they need changing and if that doesn’t improve matters, then maybe further set up will be required. A trip to Centre Gravity may be in order, but probably in the Spring since it is unlikely I will get many days to really understand #138 abilities in the remaining months of 2020.

Took a break at Oxford services and whilst sipping a cappuccino, admired the lines of #138, its proportions and its stature, all of which are absolutely perfect, and boy am I glad I didn’t go for an Exige S3. I first started looking at LF1s, which looked quite striking, but the bloat and increase in weight bothered me, and chatting to WillB further convinced me that the Exige S2 was the right Lotus for me. Happy to say it is, and the RGB is absolutely perfect. :thumbup:

The journey back home was much better since I punched a route into the satnav to get me home by avoiding motorways, so drove via Thame and Chalfont St Giles, back to Denham, and then home. No road works, and not much traffic, though closer to home the traffic started to build up. Pronounced understeer was felt rounding one particular roundabout. However, the Ohlins seem to absorb the bumps and undulations well in that the car never felt too stiff, and I never felt like losing control when hitting a bump or dip at speed.

All in all a 2.5-hour drive of close 90 miles, with a 20-minute stopover at Oxford services. Must say it was very enjoyable, and I look forward to meeting up with fellow Exige owners and go for drives come spring/summer 2021, and, hopefully, by then, this dreaded pandemic would have eased, or be a thing of the past.

Lastly, is the gear shift meant to be stiff? This is the stiffest gear shift I have ever experienced. Is this normal? I mean the gears engage, and I have the Powerflex engine mount inserts and ATF90 oil in the box, but there is no way I could do quick shifts as I was used to in the Porsches , and especially the Honda S2000, which had the best gearbox of any car I have driven so far.

So, here are some photographs as requested, taken at Oxford services - taken with my mobile, so not the best, and it was rather cloudy, and #138 is still covered in road grime following its journey from Yorkshire yesterday;

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Sorry no video footage as, in my haste to get going, I forgot the GoPro.

Can’t wait to take #138 out again - hopefully the weather will be kind next weekend as well.

65

Your car looks smashing out and about in those pictures.

My car has a slightly stiff gearshift but you learn it and it becomes second nature. I have some “uprated” linkages and the powerflex bushes as well.

66

Thanks for your feedback. If the stiff gearshift is a characteristic of these cars then that is fine. I will get used to it.

67

Love 138 pleased your enjoying it :+1::+1: zooming in on the front tires they are date coded 2010 so 10 years old :grimacing::grimacing::grimacing:

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Thank you, yes, very pleased with #138.

Indeed, did notice that after I had posted the pictures up, so original tyres - no wonder it was an understeery hell. Receipts show that the rears are were changed in 2016 (DOT 1215), so not quite as old as the fronts.

Also, a couple of the tyres have a bar code after the DOT (i.e. no week and year). I have never run Yokohama’s before, so, is this normal?

I am inclined to leave them and change all 4 in spring 2021, and just be careful between now and then.

I read somewhere that AD048s are not readily available anymore. If so, what alternatives are recommended - would be good if there is a touch more wet weather ability, just to hedge against being caught up in a shower.

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Awesome first impressions post!

Lotus changed something in 2010 model years for the gearshift, probably due to a forced switch in suppliers through not paying bills :laughing:

In any case the shift in a 2010 MY car is significantly stiffer and more awkward in my experience (albeit limited). There are a few aftermarket options such as cables and the letsla linkage which I’m sure would sort it if it’s something you can’t live with long term.

As for understeer I find they lean that way under road conditions where the tyres never get to temperature properly, but they come to life on a circuit and the balance evens up a fair bit. My car will understeer on the road but on track after a few laps it feels impossible to scrub the fronts and I’m trying my hardest to keep hold of the rears instead!

DOT code may be on the inboard tyre wall. The most common a048 replacements nowadays are r888 from toyo or Avon zzr/zzs. Yokohama do a more up to date version too which I think Lotus are putting on the latest Elise Cup cars (a052 maybe?)

That said for a road biased car I’d ditch the semi slicks and get a good all rounder tyre that you can heat up on the road. I can’t recommend any but I’m sure others can chime in!

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Thanks for your feedback and insight - so, 2010 cars have a different gear shift to earlier models? Interesting. I will definitely have to look into it as not being able to change gear fast (enough) is really frustrating. I shall take it easy for now, especially since the front tyres are also 10 years old!

Yes, know of the Toyo R888, though I believe there is now a new R version. I will not be doing many track days (1-3 max), but will be doing plenty of road driving and touring, so, MPS 4S might be the better bet if they can be sourced in the correct size and profile. I have had very good experiences with MPSS, MPS 4 and 4S.

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I think it’s just the cables that changed so probably an easy enough fix, but might also be a case of just doing some adjustment too. I’ve driven a bunch of S2 cars and all have had varying quality of shift - but the 2010 ones I’ve driven have been a good chunk worse.

The US forums complain about 2zz/C64 shifting all the time, not sure if they got a different setup on the ‘federal’ spec cars or what but the LETSLA linkage and cable upgrades seem a lot more common over there, maybe they’re just more picky… but it’s good in a way because it means there are options on the market! seriouslylotus used to have some shifter cable upgrades on his site but struggling to find them now - maybe worth a call.

It may just be that swapping cables is a good excuse to have it all apart and rebuild with a fresh adjustment. The gearbox internals are all identical across the range, as is the shifter mechanism as far as I know… so not much left to rule out.

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The car looks amazing, I hope ownership treats you well. If you are anything like I’ve been this year you’ll just be looking for excuses and spare time to go out for a drive now.

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I am inclined to leave them and change all 4 in spring 2021, and just be careful between now and then.

I read somewhere that AD048s are not readily available anymore. If so, what alternatives are recommended - would be good if there is a touch more wet weather ability, just to hedge against being caught up in a shower.
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I changed all 4 of mine to Yokohama V105 as this is what lotus use one the current Elise 220 models. I have done around 400 miles so far and they are pretty good in the dry.

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Thanks again - I will investigate to see what the best course of action is. The LETSLA linkage seems an interesting option. When the gearbox was apart to install the Quaife ATB diff, no issues were reported with the box (Stephen Brear Gearboxes did the work), and the gears do enagage as expected with no slop or crunching, it is just that it requires quite a bit of heft and planning, especially on the downshifts, and sometimes if I forget that it is not as fast as I am used to the revs have already dropped, which is what I find the most disconcerting. I may get used to it, but I would prefer to find a solution if one is available.

Thank you, and yes I hope to enjoy #138 to the max. Cannot wait for the next dry day as I don’t think I will take it out in the wet just yet, and possibly until the tyres have been replaced and gearshift has been sorted.

Excellent, thank you - will check them out. Are the V105s better in the wet when compared to the AD048s?

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I have the V105 on my exige and put lotuslee onto them. They arent a bad road tyre at all.

You cant sadly get the Michelen PS4S in our sizes - I have checked as have run those with great success as well. They only come in 18inch + , the ps4 are in 16 inch availability but again , not our size. The MPSS is 17inch + as well.

Frustrating, as I really like the Michelen brand for tyres.

76

Good to hear that the V105s are a good road tyre.

Pity that the correct sized Michelins aren’t available for the Exige. I had the PS4’s on the S2000, which had 17-inch rims (F:215/45 & R:245/40), so thought at least they might be available.

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I find the front A048s are a liability when cold so take it easy until they warm up (along with the rest of the car). Something to bear in mind is the Yoko Advan V105 is in the process of being replaced by the new Advan Sport V107. I don’t think they are yet available in the size you need but this could be different next spring. If you are not desperate for tyres it could be worthwhile waiting, alternatively buy now before the V105 is out of stock.

The 2010 gear change is especially poor. My cables have been adjusted twice, gearbox oil replaced and a new clutch fitted (it would jamb in 2nd occasionally when changing down) all with only a minor improvement. It certainly isn’t the slick rifle bolt gear change the car needs and deserves. However, I have learned to drive around the issue … annoying for a sports car.

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Understood, and thanks for your feedback. If that is a case then the AD048s are not fit for purpose as a road tyre. Since understeer was prevalent throughout the 2-hr drive, which I put down to 10-year old front tyres, but seems like that is to be expected (even from new tyres?). Also, one should not be expected to have to push hard to warm the tyres up (for them to perform correctly) if they are on public roads.

Interesting to hear about the V107s, and since I am not planning on changing tyres until next Spring I will have time to evaluate all options.

Indeed the gear change is particularly poor, and one needs to recalibrate one’s senses and reactions to compensate, which is quite a compromise. Having said that once the gear lever goes across the gate, it doe slot into gear without issue (i.e. without slop or crunching), but the process of getting there is very annoying indeed, However, on a leisurely drive it does not really matter, but then I didn’t get #138 to just cruise around.

79

Glad you finally hit the road👍Looking forward to more reports.

80

Great updates as usual.

The car looks stunning. Shame about the Michelin PS4s, I’ve just had a set installed on my daily, and I rate them, didn’t realise they arent available in the smaller sizes.

Keep the photos coming, and enjoy every minute.