After a break from Lotus to all things German, I’ve decided to return to the fold. I had an S2 Elise from 2002 till 2004 then went to a very early 911. My 911 is almost finished now and too good to use and abuse so I’ve decided to sell it. I’m going to buy an S2 Exige and wondered if someone could do a quick blow by blow rundown of the model year changes since 2004. I’m not intending to buy a new one, but was wondering if there were any advantages to avoiding an early one or whatever.
That’s great Brendan, Thanks. So did it launch with things like ABS and the oil cooler, I think I read of a case of someone on here having no oil cooler!?
Do you think the changes for the 2006 MY car make it preferable or are they just marginal benefits? I’m interested to know what they did to the pedal box, have they servo’d the master cylinder or something? I have seen the difference in brake pedal height, so I’m assuming this is for heal and toe.
ABS was standard from the off. I have heard of a few early cars without oil coolers, but I’m not sure why. Sport pack cars have two oil coolers.
The pedal box is a complete re-design. It’s made of steel rather than aluminium though it is said to be lighter. I think the actual pedal pads are aluminium extrusions like the original ones.
I don’t know whether the master cylinder was changed, but the pedal feel is massively better than early cars.
There is an adjustment for older cars to get the pedal at a better height for HnT, and braided hoses and better pads would improve the feel but I doubt you’d ever get them to work as well as the new cars. I’ve got used to my brakes now, they’re OK but not great.
I’d say on the whole the '06 cars are preferable for this reason but I’m not sure I’d want to pay a massive premium for that benefit. Especially as the DBW throttle seems to be causing a few headaches for some people.
I must admit I never found the pedals to be a problem in the S2 Elise and I’m guessing pre’06 models are the same. I always remember all the journos at the time saying that the brakes felt very wooden, but it was great if that’s what you were used to.
With reference to the different packs, is it the case that the performance pack included strengthened rear toe links?
Can you visually check to see if the car’s fitted with oil coolers or not?
I must admit I never found the pedals to be a problem in the S2 Elise and I’m guessing pre’06 models are the same. I always remember all the journos at the time saying that the brakes felt very wooden, but it was great if that’s what you were used to.
Not quite so simple as the brakes changed when the Toyota engined variants (111r/Exige S2)came in as the servo/ABS had been added which seemed to add travel and get the level of the pedals out of position. The “wooden” feel went to some extent. You just need to have a go and see what you think.