Internal Exige Dimensions

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
1

Hi,I have a dilemma! I am 6’5" and although I can ride as passenger in both Elises and Exiges, driving one is not so easy! Due to my height, even with the seat fully retracted, my knees become wedged against the high sill on the right, and prevent selection of 5th gear on the left!My question is: does anyone know of a company who could make me an extra long steering column with a snap off boss attachment. This way, I think I could the wheel closer to me, to allow my knees closer to be together and hence be able to both change in to 5th and have enough steering wheel movement to easily wind on some lock if required. Any help/advice is more than appreciated!Thanks.

2

Two possibilities - use the standard snap-off wheel kit and add a spacer between the wheel and the hub, and/or a smaller wheel with the flattened lower half. All this is available in the Demon Tweeks catalogue.

3

quote:Originally posted by Gus:I have a dilemma! I am 6’5"…Just the opposite to me then at a mere 5’6" [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image]May I suggest that you phone Chris Dinnage at Lotus Motorsport at Hethel. (Sorry I don’t know his number off hand, & I’m not at home at the moment). If Chris can’t help, there’s a good chance that he’ll know a man who can!You could also try Geary Powell at http://www.eliseparts.com , he does supply alternative seats, which may give you more cabin room.Best of luck [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image]

4

Thanks guys. I’ll try both these avenues!

5

Some of the guys with Elises have shortened the gearstick, which seems to work quite well. From what people have said it gives a nicer gear change as well.Something you may want to bear in mind is headroom when wearing a crash helmet if you are intending on doing trackdays.Cheers

6

I’m not that tall but IPJ, who is 6’4", sat in mine, which has a shorter quick shift stick (Lotus B&M one) and a 30cm MOMO wheel (with nice Lotus badge in the middle) with a quick release. The quick release moves the wheel closer to you and is further helped by the 1cm reduction in wheel diameter. I seem to remember he thought it was an improvement.If you’re near Basingstoke/Reading feel free to come and give it a go.Cheers, Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

7

GusI’m 6’4" and I dont have a problem with driving the Exige. Yes, my right knee rests on the sill, but other than that - all is OKGiles

8

The Lotus (B&M) short shift not only shortens the stick, but also gives you the option of angling the stick further away from your knee. It looks a bit odd like that, but I think it will help.

9

Being an Exige owner now for 3 days, I am just discovering now these kind of things myself.I am 6’3" and suffer from the same symptoms (long legs). Going straight is fine, but is not what the Exige is intended for, and the standard steering wheel seems to be taller in the top, which makes it touch (more like wedge)against my legs while turning. The MOMO solution sounds spot on to me, and I’ll look if I can modify the seat to gain 1 cm or so.But, has anyone looked into the possibility of adjusting the pedals further front? I had a quick glance (not easy to look below the dash) and the clutch and brake may be able to move forward, but the throttle? It seems that it’ll just tighten the cable.Any thoughts?

10

I’ve adjusted the throttle pedal to sit a little further away from the driver.I wouldn’t fancy messing with the brake pedal, or the clutch.If you want to adjust the throttle, you will need to replace the bolt which acts as a stop at the top of the pedal travel. This is the hardest part because you need a very short allen key to get between the bolt head and the pedal.You’ll need to replace it with a bolt and a couple of nuts so you can adjust the offset.Then, you’ll need to set the length of the rod which connects the pedal to the pivot.Finally, you’ll need to adjust the cable where it meets the throttle body.It’s actually fairly easy if you’ve got the right tools. [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

11

Thanks, I’ll try that. The only problem I can foresee is that it’ll take some travel away from the pedal (unless you can do the same on the other stop end). As it is, I saw that the pedal at the full throttle stop has the cable not completely tensioned, which could mean that there still a little bit of butterfly opening available. Have to play with that.And if I can adjust the other two pedals, I’ll post is as well.Thanks.

12

Oops, I forgot to mention adjusting the bottom stop [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/blush.gif[/image]If you’ve got more than a couple of millimeters of slack in the cable, you should definately adjust it to get a bit of extra power [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image]While you’re at it, check the nut on the pivot as these often come loose and give you a bit of free play. They also tend to fall off and result in no throttle at all!