Just popped in to say hello

General General Lotus Talk
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Been lurking for a while and thought it high time I posted a hello.

Bought an Exige S in November last year. Was an ex-Lotus car just 3 months old in graphite. No mods yet except I’ve been running T1-Rs for the winter but expect to switch to 888s soon. Must also sort out the brakes which are a bit naff compared to what I’ve been used to.

Previous cars include a VX220 NA, VX220 turbo and a VXR220 which I chopped in for the Exige. No regrets on that score. Definitely feel the Exige S is a step up.

Based in Chertsey, Surrey and hope to catch up with fellow Exige owners in the not too distant future.

Jim

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Welcome!

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Yes, welcome Jim. I’m curious to hear how you feel the Exige compares with you VXs.

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Yes, welcome Jim. I’m curious to hear how you feel the Exige compares with you VXs.

Oddly enough I bought my first VX as a result of being badly let down on a second hand Exige by a dealership. Seems I’ve now gone full circle. Some things are obviously just meant to be

My first VX was a lightning yellow NA. My first mid-engined car and I absolutely loved it to bits. Beautifully balanced with a bullet-proof engine and straight out of the box it was a brilliant track day car. Over time though I just wanted that little bit extra power and nothing much was happening on the tuning front (still isn’t tbh unless you have deep pockets and go the supercharger route). My gf also hated the ride as the standard suspension was quite stiff and it tended to crash over pot holes etc. So I bought a VX turbo.

Within a couple of months of ownership I hated it. Ok it was seriously quick in a straight line but in response to owner feedback on the NA they’d softened the suspension and that big iron lump in the back really upset the balance of the car. On track it was a real handful and IMHO a step backwards from the wonderful NA.

So, with the help of a friendly back manager I chopped in the turbo for a VXR and what an improvement! This was what the turbo should have been from the start. Ok, you still had that iron lump in the back but with the revised damping (and I later added Ohlins) it went a long way to redressing the balance issue. I did 15k in 2 years and numerous track days and swore I’d never sell it.

Then this little demon whispered in my ear about a 3 month old ex Lotus owned Exige S. I went to see it and drove it only a short distance in very wet conditions but I was smitten. Back to the friendly bank manager and a deal was struck.

So, after 4 months of ownership through a very wet winter did I make the right choice? I’ve yet to get it on a track but so far I’ve no regrets whatsoever (even the gf likes it).

Firstly it seems Lotus have got many of their build quality problems resolved. Sitting in the car you don’t get that “kit car” feeling of the VXs. It does seem they’ve taken time and trouble in building it and the cockpit is a very pleasant place to be, in part due to the fabulous Probax seats.

Start it up and move off and its clear this is a car that wants to go places in a hurry. It’s not uncontrolable by any means but you know there’s whole heap of unleashed power behind you if you just dip the throttle a bit. And the beauty of the supercharger is its linear power delivery and no more of the on/off switch feeling with the turbos.

Handling through the corners just inspires confidence in the cars abilities and the balance of my old NA VX is back - that has to be probably the thing I love the most. Now I’ve got the best of both worlds.

So, in order I’d rate the cars as follows

  1. Exige S
  2. VXR220
  3. VX220 NA
  4. VX220 turbo

People have said to me that I must have lost shed loads of dosh trading in the VXR for the Exige and surely I’m not getting value for the extra money I spent and also there can’t be that bigger difference between the two cars.

Yes there is.

A couple of minor niggles with the Exige though. The brakes don’t inspire confidence but that’s easy enough to sort out. I’m also not noticing that extra shove around the 6,000 rpm mark as I expected to but then again I haven’t really had the chance to play with the car properly given the conditions over the winter.

So, it will be a couple of airfield track days to start off with just to get used to the car more and find its limits and mine. 888s will be going on in place of the winter tyres. New pads, fluid and braided hoses to follow. I expect then I’ll be thinking about adjustable dampers. If the gf is still talking to me after that, who knows!

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nice car :slight_smile:

you will not notice an extra shove around the 6,000 rpm

because the cam point is about 4200on the S.

its a great road car but if you like track days I feel you will be puttig a set of Ohlins back on it :slight_smile: its a bit heavy and Lotus did not up the suspension enough for the car imho for track use.

Braided hoses are not worth it so much on a servo assisted car and it means a clam off job to fit them so even less point.

I would also stick to A048 they are a better tyre and the car is designed round this.

Have fun.

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Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

I didn’t realise the cam point was so low (must have been thinking about the non s/c Exige), but it certainly bears out how it feels on the road.

More than happy to forget the braided hose. That’s a bit more money to spend elsewhere.

Ohlins are going on for sure but will wait until after a couple of track days (gives me time to save up too!).

Interesting comment about the 048s. I had those on the VXR and they are a great tyre but very expensive when you’re doing the sort of mileage I do. Various comments on seloc lead me to believe 888s were the best compromise taking cost into account. Is the difference that noticeable?

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Welcome to exiges.com. I enjoyed your well-written and argued post, too. My son raved about the VX220 turbo when he worked for a Vauxhall garage but then he was a bit young and was more interested in straight-line performance!

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not used them myself

people say they seem better in the wet on the road, and not far off the grip on the track.

But at the end of the day the car was designed around the A048.
I think it works out �100 more a set.

the profile on the front 195 is more like 202 on the A048 so this must help with front end grip also.

its a tough call but i am sticking to Ao48’s.
I think speedy Yellow is going to try some 888 and he is a good driver with a 240Cup or R so if he gets on well with them i might look at them to save a bit of money.

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Welcome to exiges.com. I enjoyed your well-written and argued post, too. My son raved about the VX220 turbo when he worked for a Vauxhall garage but then he was a bit young and was more interested in straight-line performance!

Thanks. I think the same still holds true. As VX220 turbo prices drop they’re becoming more afforable to the street racer types which is one (albeit small) reason why I’m glad I now drive a Lotus.

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its a tough call but i am sticking to Ao48’s.
I think speedy Yellow is going to try some 888 and he is a good driver with a 240Cup or R so if he gets on well with them i might look at them to save a bit of money.

Well I might just stick 048s on to start and watch this space!

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On the topic of Yokohama’s 048 or Toyo R888:

First thing to note is that you can get the Yokohama’s in different compounds:

  • LTS → The standard Lotus Exige developed version. Is the hardest available
  • MH → ‘medium-hard’ - a bit softer
  • M → ‘medium’ - softer
  • S → ‘soft’

From what I’ve heard, the R888 are a bit softer than the 048 LTS, so probably best comparable with the 048 MH or M ones. Tread depth on the Yoko’s, AFAIK, are all 5mm. R888s are 4mm. Therefore, I would expect less mileage on the R888 than 048 LTS tires, though at least the Toyo’s are a bit cheaper…

Hope this helps!

Cheers Phil

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but can you get thoses compounds in the front wheel size. ?

the rear size is a common size but the front is not.

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Interesting as I’d been told that 888s were slightly harder than 048s but I have to say I’d assumed they’d both have the same tread depth. Shows how much I know then

Anyone here have heat issues on track with the Exige S? I vaguely remember it mentioned somewhere.

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Yep, all except for ‘S’ are available in 195/50x16 (at least here in Switzerland):

http://www.yokohama-motorsport.ch/pdf/hochleistungsreifen_2007.pdf

Actually, now that I checked the price list, ‘S’ isn’t available for the rear either.

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I ran my exige on 888r’s, they are 100 hardness where the yoko are 60 hardness. Yes they are marginly better in the wet and slightly less grippy and felt like they didnt have to warm up any where as much as the yoko’s. Its all subjective though.

Gav

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I’ll let you know how I get on with the Toyo’s and using the Vbox Mini I’ll be able to make some real comparisions not just seat of the pants feel against data I already have for Silverstone and Combe.

The challenge is Toyo are out of stock at the moment though… price difference on the set is �140. I find I always end up having to put the tyres on as sets now as the fronts although not down to the wear bars have gone through their heat cycles and are lacking in grip somewhat!!

As for going for softer compounds… I already get through a set of 48’s in a month and three track days, don’t want anything softer!!!

The Toyo compound is ‘comparitive’ to the lts from Yoko according to the toyo factory and having run the 888’s on the Porsche they stand up to track wear better than other tyres I’ve used.

One downside/upside to the Toyo’s on the Porsche is they take longer to get up to temperature but seem to take more heat cycles than the Yoko’s.

I’ll keep you all upto date on the results.

Oh… and Welcome aboard!

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No one knows but Lotus about the heat issues

3rd party tests have show a 20 Bhp drop after a few hard laps but how much of this is true no one knows.

There is a problem because Lotus have now got a bigger I/C and roof scoop available but to what Bhp loss is anyone’s guess.

on track the S does not seem to pull away on a NA car but again how can you tell,
I have driven them both road and track and imo the S makes a better road car but on the track there is nothing in it.

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Oh no I’ve started another tyre discussion

It would be very interesting to have some definitive data on the two tyres. There’s been so much discussion on the various Lotus and VX forums, all of which so far seems to be subjective rather than objective.

1 Like
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The S being a better road car is one of the reasons for buying it. As its my only car and used daily for commuting etc I thought the non s/c would be hard work.

On track I’d expect there to be little or nothing between the two. At the end of the day it’s driving ability that makes the greatest difference. I’d just heard some reports of the S going into safe mode on track due to excessive heat.

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Well I promise to post some G readings at various speeds for both tyres and braking loads before lock up so we’ll know for sure what the real difference is.

Tyres arrive in 2 weeks time and it will take me a couple more weeks to get to the right tracks to get the comparision data.

Time will tell… but it will keep me busy during bored mid week evenings doing to data comparisons