Hi all - I have a pertinent question which has been haunting me all year -
I take part in a time-attack series with my Exige S2 - and every race I am scared that I shall ‘hit’ it, or spin, or break something.
Let’s face it - the car is bloody beautiful - a work of art - a head turner as it were.
And a new season is coming up fast - And I wouldn’t mind more power
Question is - do I ‘risk’ upping the power on mine and track/weekend/do road-trips with mine - or do i get an Elise S1 - Honda it - and leave that strictly for track use?
Would appreciate any advice from more experienced exiges gurus
I’ve been offered something very similar from someone I trust and know well. An S1 running 200 bhp with throttle bodies and full race spec including a built engine, roll cage, fire extinguisher, adjustable shocks etc. Priced around 11K.
My only issue is - will I be ok racing in a car which is slower than my Exige? I know racing is all about classes - but when a car is slower than what you’re used to it might not give you the same ‘satisfaction’?
Wether you go round the track at 10mph or 100mph race craft is all the same.
I found the slower you go, the cheaper it is, the more bunched up the cars are, the more fun it is…
Look at the elise trophy cars and also the faster supersport class. In the slower ET class you will have groups of 4-5 cars all squabbling over the same peice of tarmac for the entire duration of the race, where as in the faster class you rarely get more than two cars fighting for a position.
Believe me 20 minutes of cars sitting on your front and rear bumoers is one hell of an adrenalin rush, only problem being is you tend to pick up more damage to the car…
[quote=AndyD]If you can afford it buy another for the serious track work.
You need a full cage, extinguisher, cut offs, proper harness and stuff to really be serious and then your road car is comprimised.
Then factor in decent suspension and aero and all of a sudden it not practical at all on the road.
Someone is always selling a project … maybe the best way to go …[/quote]
I agree with Andy, I would go for a dedicated race car. I’ve tried a couple of times to build an Elise/Exige (S1 and S2) to use on the road and for competition (Tarmac rallying) but it just leads to frustration. If it’s setup right for the track and you’ve removed all you can to make it lightweight then it’s not a chilled experience driving it any distance on the road. Sure it can be great fun for a short blast on the local roads but not for weekend trips. Equally if you keep the creature comforts and setup for the road then you will always be missing a competitive opportunity.
I know what you mean about being worried about bending a nice tidy car however I only usually think about this in the paddock or after extracting the car from the scenery when I put my crash helemet on I forget about how much it’s worth.
My next comment will open up plenty of debate :whistle: but I wouldn’t be too dismissive of an S1 normally aspiriated car being so much slower than an S2 Exige.
Agreed re Time Attack not being ‘racing’ as such. Truth is I want to go into racing too. But for racing I need to spend more money on my car installing a roll cage, harness, F/E, cut off switch etc. And I need to remove stereo, speakers, A/C etc. And then my car is definitely no longer a weekend trip car.
So the idea of a track ready Elise S1 is tempting precisely for this reason. It will fit into the 2.0L modified 2WD road car for Time-Attack and I cannot think of any other car which it wouldn’t be competitive against.
And for racing it would also be ideal as it would race against 2.0 NA cars and turbo 1.4L cars (probably Clios or Fiat Uno turbos).
I say it would be competitive because it seems that 200BHP is very realistic from an NA K series engine if throttle bodies are properly set up and the build is professional. And the car is really light.
Agreed re Time Attack not being ‘racing’ as such. Truth is I want to go into racing too. But for racing I need to spend more money on my car installing a roll cage, harness, F/E, cut off switch etc. And I need to remove stereo, speakers, A/C etc. And then my car is definitely no longer a weekend trip car.
So the idea of a track ready Elise S1 is tempting precisely for this reason. It will fit into the 2.0L modified 2WD road car for Time-Attack and I cannot think of any other car which it wouldn’t be competitive against.
And for racing it would also be ideal as it would race against 2.0 NA cars and turbo 1.4L cars (probably Clios or Fiat Uno turbos).
I say it would be competitive because it seems that 200BHP is very realistic from an NA Rover K series engine if throttle bodies are properly set up and the build is professional. And the car is really light.
[/quote]
And just as an aside - A friend of mine has an Elise S1 with a Honda B18 conversion for seriously tempting money too - track prepared - but it would take more money to make it competitive in ‘RACE’ category it would fall in due to change in engine. Only reason I am saying this is that is in theory another option for me. But turboing a B18 and building it to make it competitive would probably cost me an arm and a leg. And it will never become a Honda K20 no matter how much i spend
Decision has been taken - I have found out ‘destroying’ the Exige wouldn’t be so costly after all. Here’s a boats guy down my road who specialises in injection moulding and it turns out his house is named ‘LOTUS’ due to his lotus obsession! He told me repairing the clams, epsecially for cosmetic damage is far from prohibitive.
I have therefore decided to turn my Exige into a Race car which can still occasionally be used for a Sunday spin - not a weekend tourer.
I need the following:
Roll Cage
Fire Extinguisher
Cut off Switch
reliable 320 BHP
Race Fuel Tank
Lightweight Battery
All the above needs to be done by end February.
Any suggestions where I can source the above and any suggestions as to what I might be leaving out will be super appreciated!
That will also be really pushing the standard engine on a race car ~300hp is more realistic for the engine, rings lands on the pistons are the main weak link on the SC engine. 2.9" pulley seems ok, 2.8 or 2.7" will generally lead to piston failure.
The gearbox should be ok with Jubu gears and an oil cooler.
That will also be really pushing the standard engine on a race car ~300hp is more realistic for the engine, rings lands on the pistons are the main weak link on the SC engine. 2.9" pulley seems ok, 2.8 or 2.7" will generally lead to piston failure.
The gearbox should be ok with Jubu gears and an oil cooler.[/quote]
Makes more sense to try lose as much weight as possible rather than increasing the power. Now, how to lose 100 kilos… that’s the question (considering i need to install a roll cage).
Who produces the lightest roll cage for the exige?
That will also be really pushing the standard engine on a race car ~300hp is more realistic for the engine, rings lands on the pistons are the main weak link on the SC engine. 2.9" pulley seems ok, 2.8 or 2.7" will generally lead to piston failure.
The gearbox should be ok with Jubu gears and an oil cooler.[/quote]
Makes more sense to try lose as much weight as possible rather than increasing the power. Now, how to lose 100 kilos… that’s the question (considering i need to install a roll cage).
Who produces the lightest roll cage for the exige?[/quote]
That will also be really pushing the standard engine on a race car ~300hp is more realistic for the engine, rings lands on the pistons are the main weak link on the SC engine. 2.9" pulley seems ok, 2.8 or 2.7" will generally lead to piston failure.
The gearbox should be ok with Jubu gears and an oil cooler.[/quote]
Makes more sense to try lose as much weight as possible rather than increasing the power. Now, how to lose 100 kilos… that’s the question (considering i need to install a roll cage).
Who produces the lightest roll cage for the exige?[/quote]
Go on a DIET! [/quote]
Or do what I’ve done �Kerching�… Losing that amount and adding a roll cage is not as easy as it sounds on an S2.
The cage depends on your local regulations, do you need a full 6 point cage or a 4 point rear cage with larger rear stays? Either way the lightest option is a T45 material cage rather than CDS. I would recommend Hot Lap that made my T45 cage, very nice welding and a good fit.
when I put my crash helemet on I forget about how much it’s worth. 