Hi everyone! I’m about to finalize my order for an Exige S and my only hang-up is whether or not to order the torsen LSD (an option here in the US).
First of all, is the same torsen LSD an option in the UK and the rest of europe for the Exige S? If so, of all the Exige S owners present here, who has bothered to order it and what are your reasons?
I’ve heard reports that the torsen LSD botches up the handling on this car. Having never owned a Lotus but owned other rwd vehicles with LSD, I don’t know how that is possible but it looks like there’s truth to it. This will be primarily be a track car for me with occasional street use so anything that compromises handling would not be good.
Youn know my thoughts from elisetalk, for anyone else…
Firstly, i am not an expert, just an enthusiast. I am aware that the LSD affects the handling of the car in a negative way. However it also gives more traction in certain situations.
To me spinning my inside wheel on the exit of a hairpin is just as frustrating as understeer.
The s2 which you guys and i now drive has had understeer built in by the factory compared to the s1. This was done with the spacers in the suspension to reduce the front camber (the autocross guys take them out!)
I decided to optimize the camber front and rear to maximize the grip of each individual tyre. (by measuring temp across the tyre after track runs) and then remove shims/machine the mounting faces to achieve the result i wanted/needed. After that tune the balance of the car (front to rear…understeer/oversteer) to personal taste. Lotus offer guidlines on how to reduce understeer/oversteer in the 240 cars set up info. It involves going softer at the end you need more grip (grossly oversimplified but you get the idea)
In my case i only had entry understeer and a bit in mid corner on some turns but never on corner exit. Softening the front anti roll bar and a couple of clicks (softer) on the front dampers helped as had the extra camber (this made by far the biggest difference) Braking deeper into bends also helped get the car turning.
I have not driven an S without LSD but when i see the inside rear wheel spinning in the Top Gear video as the Stig exits 3rd gear corners i know i prefer my car as it is with the LSD and some optimization of the suspension/driving style. All things considered i prefer it now than the frustration of no traction in the wet or out of hairpins/slow corners.
My Exige S is fine on the track without LSD. I normally keep the traction control on and have never had problems coming out of corners with full throttle (it could be that I am not fast enough!). Unless you are racing and want to save the last 1/10 second I wouldn’t bother with LSD. Spend the money on training or getting more power out of the engine.