Looking to buy an exige

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
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Hi Folks,

I am looking to upgrade from my S1 Elise to a S1 Exige. I have a few questions that I am hoping you can help me answer.

  1. Any mechanical issues that I should be on the look out for when looking at a used unit?
  2. What is the real world performance difference between the S1 elise and Exige. I drove an exige some time ago and it felt significantly heavier and had less “oomph” than a standard S1.Perhaps I needed to hold onto the revs longer.
  3. How is the aircon on the exige?

Thanks in advance.

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for what its worth I used to have an S1 elise… and found that the move to an S2 exige (not S1) was fantastic… both performance wise and in terms of refinement/comfort/handling. The air con is very effective too. Dont know about the S1.

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  1. VHPD can be a little fragile. Make sure it has been well cared for in terms of servicing and oil changes. Other than that check all the same things as you would for an elise.

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  2. I think that the S1 exige feels much more responsive as regards to handling. Performance initially felt reasonably more powerful at higher revs, but got used to that very quickly. Used to have a 140bhp elise and the exige was dynoed at 180bhp (supposed to be 192 ) so in the real world there isn’t much in it.

However the S1 Exige beats the elise on handling and cornering, mainly due to suspension and tyres. Body doesn’t do much except at high speeds when it doesn’t go all light at the front like the elise.

  1. You mean the Con Air system Don’t make it a deal breaker to get one. They don’t work very well, add weight and are something else to go wrong.

Best advice is to buy a known car from someone on Exiges, MLOC, SELOC etc. You should be able to trace the history via the owners posts.

Oh and once you’ve bought one, start saving for track days, tyres, olins/nitrons, Honda/Audi etc etc etc

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I made the move from a standard S1 to an Exige after only 8 months of S1 ownership following a speculative drive in an Exige from the Main Dealer. At the time I was just filling some spare time and had no real intention of swapping my car. However, the difference was very real, the Exige gave me the driving experience I had wanted from the Elise but it failed to deliver. It was rawer, noisier and more of an occasion to step into each and every drive. Later I took it on track (I had previously tracked the S1) and the difference there was exponential.

  1. Don’t be put off by relatively high mileage examples - look for one owned by someone who drove it, and maintained it properly, ideally someone who can show you all sorts of receipts, etc.

  2. Real world - on the road there is not alot of difference to be had performance wise if you remember that you are on public roads. I have done many road miles including several Euro grand tours in a posse of Elises and we never lost anyone. The main difference was I had the biggest grin at the end of each day having driven the Exige and the biggest grin each morning walking to the carpark knowing the Exige was my drive for the day. Indeed, I know several Elise owners who thought the car was surprisingly slow on the roads only to have that opinion completely reversed when on track.

  3. S1 - my car was early enough not to have it, so I dont know from direct experience but other S1 owners will tell you that it was never really that good anyway and had a habit of fracturing a certain pipe through vibration.

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The Aircon on the S1 Exige is virtually ineffectual and completely pointless to be honest.I would definately not bother with it if I were you. Just makes the car heavier!

I bought my S1 second hand with aircon. and it wasn’t working at all so I had it repaired and regased. Frankly it was hardly any more effective after repair! Then within a month or so a pipe snapped in half oncemore - so I gave up on it altogether.

I found the car pretty reliable even when tracked (if you look after it! ie regular oil and filter changes etc.)

Steve T

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S1 Exiges on track fly past Elises, but agree on the road there’s probably little in it (other than the looks! ).

A benefit of the A/c is the extra vents it gives.

Ian

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S1 aircon is effective if maintained properly, & is an absolute godsend in summer “traffic jams”, particularly at Le Mans!!! The weight is neither here or there, unless you are racing, & I’d rather keep my car free of audio stuff (apart from me iPod Nano), to “save” weight.

Without a doubt though, the S2 aircon is far superior, & again I would say it is a no-brainer option to have, given the choice.

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apart from me iPod Nano

Just blatant use of technology Pesky!! Do you have to take a young child along to work it for you?

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The Aircon on the S1 Exige is virtually ineffectual and completely pointless to be honest.I would definately not bother with it if I were you.

Steve,

This is bad advice unless the only thing you’re going to do is track it. If you use the thing on the road in the summer you NEED aircon. It works well enough if properly maintained (i.e. by a aircon engineer rather than a Lotus dealer) and is a godsend on a hot summer’s day anywhere south of Orkney…

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I’ve mentioned it before, but the heat inside an S1 most people experience is due to the cabin being very poorly “sealed” from air warmed up by the engine or radiator/oil cooler pipes.
Sealing the cabin makes a world of difference. My car used to be hot, and now I most have the heater on all the time!

In summer it’s just lovely, no extra heat coming in.

Do a search, I’ve posted the details before.

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I went from an S1 111s to S1 Exige in less than 12 months. Didn’t care about the performance just always loved the looks. My mate bought the Elise and we have been out in convoy a few times. Cant shake him off now hes upgraded the suspension and fitted Advans so as has been said b4 not much performance difference on the road. I got the Elise just to see if I liked the idea then quickly junked it for the real thing

I thought the 111s was a much nicer car for the road than the Exige but the whole package blows the Elise into the weeds. I even went to the Garage at the bottom of the Garden last night just to have a look at it. Got home from Skiing on Christmas eve, dropped my bags in the house and took the Exige to the petrol station ‘to get some beers’ just to go for a spin.

Lotus only made a few of these future classics - an exclusive club.

to repeat above - get one from an enthusiast - usually better cared for than the spouse/partner

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fwiw guys, if it has any bearing on the Air Con issue I think Rails is in Malaysia.

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fwiw guys, if it has any bearing on the Air Con issue I think Rails is in Malaysia.

Ah, buy an S2! Better to be consious in the 2nd best Exige than unconsious in the original.

Ian

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You know how much any sportscar is in Malaysia? Lots (and I mean lots!) in import taxes.
I was there a few weeks ago and saw only ONE sportsbike and ONE sportcar: a Ferrari 360 Modena parked outside of Hard Rock Cafe. Maybe the owner’s.


But anyway, yes. it’s hot. Better get an S2 with an AC. No contest.

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Sealing the cabin makes a world of difference.
In summer it’s just lovely, no extra heat coming in.

Sorry Uldis, Whilst I agree that sealing the cabin helps, most of the heat comes from lying under a big sheet of glass in high summer…

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Other than to agree with the advice you’ve already been given Rails, i’d just say buy one - you won’t regret it!

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Thanks to all that have rendered their advice. It is much appreciated.

To be honest the main reason for the upgrade is for the looks of the Exige. It is awesome! Real Batmobile-like.

Yes, I am in Malaysia and aircon is very important unless you want to sweat it out in the cabin.

Buying a S2 is definitely out of the question as with all the duties and taxes the final price tag would be in the region of GBP75,000.

I was thinking of bringing in a used Exige from UK which would mean lower taxes.

The aircon on the Malaysian spec Elises are pretty well sorted out as some of the development work was done here as well. Also the UK spec aircons has a heater core which is unnecessary for our climate and may dampen the performance of the aircon.’

Originally I was toying around the idea of slapping some Exige clams onto my Elise but after finding out the cost of the clams I ditched that idea. It seemed too much for some nicely shaped fiberglass. The Eliseparts Motorsport clams also look good but at GBP3500, it aint cheap either esp. after adding freight and duties.

Then came the idea of just importing the whole car from UK but I am just concerned about the performance of the aircon.
I suppose worse comes to worse I will have to re-engineer the aircon unit here to emulate the Malaysian spec Elises.

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Sorry Uldis, Whilst I agree that sealing the cabin helps, most of the heat comes from lying under a big sheet of glass in high summer…

You mean the front glass?
What about turning the vents on?

Then again it may be that I come from warmer climates and can cope with higher temps…

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Then again it may be that I come from warmer climates and can cope with higher temps…

That is definately a factor, mon amigo

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Then again it may be that I come from warmer climates and can cope with higher temps…

That is definately a factor, mon amigo

Does anyone know where I can get thinner blood from?

Seriously, film on the side windows does help as well in high ambient temps