New to this forum. Currently have an Elise S2 135, and am thinking seriously about getting an S2 Exige come spring time. Had a drive in the Exige a while ago (salesman at Murrays in Edinburgh let me have it out for an hour on my own ). Absolutely loved it, but there were a couple of concerns with the car which I couldn’t make my mind up about on the test drive, so comments from existing owners would be very welcome:
I found the total lack of rear visibility very off putting. Is this something you quickly get used to does it continue to be a pain?
Ride quality. I read somewhere that the S2 Exige is only about 10% stiffer than the 111R, but having driven both I thought it seemed a lot more than that. Obviously a good thing on the track, but how do you find the ride quality over broken surfaces in regular road use?
This is probably considered heresy here, but how many of you have added a soft top?
And yes, before someone points it out, I could just buy a 111R, but these thing are not rational and I just WANT an Exige!
I found the total lack of rear visibility very off putting. Is this something you quickly get used to does it continue to be a pain?
You will not notice in a few drives. You’ll soon learn to use the side mirrors.
Besides, it’s not that bad.
Ride quality. I read somewhere that the S2 Exige is only about 10% stiffer than the 111R, but having driven both I thought it seemed a lot more than that. Obviously a good thing on the track, but how do you find the ride quality over broken surfaces in regular road use?
If you intend to drive the car at anything like what it’s capable you’ll need the suspension like that. On my test drives, I thought the Elise was… too soft! (go figure)
You then may later install Nitrons (harder suspension)
But don’t worry, I live up in Scotland, and do lots of B-road runs, where the roads are not completely flat, and the LSS copes very well.
This is probably considered heresy here, but how many of you have added a soft top?
Blasphemy! Repent!
[whispering] But I know some people have done it, don’t tell anybody but it seems to be very easy
And yes, before someone points it out, I could just buy a 111R, but these thing are not rational and I just WANT an Exige!
You could try the 111R…other than the added stiffness to the Exige suspension, the setup is virtually the same, from what can be gleaned from the owners handbook, which is specific to 111R/Exige S2.
I went the 111R route, with Exige S2 wheels/tyres Not a bad compromise
visibility… it depends how much you love the car really, its always a pain but you will get used to it and use the door mirrors for everything… small penance.
ride quality, if you use the car for more road than track then gofor the 111R… the exige is 30% stiffer and will skip around much more on HM Highways (even tho you get ripped off to the tune of �165 a year for the pleasure).
soft top for soft lads… don’t fit my S1 but the S2 doesn’t really do what it says on the tin… see other threads for the debate… it’s an easy peasy mod for the coupe…
Here’s the route i might consider if i was in the market for a new car at the moment…
a) buy a 111R
b) get the Motorsport performance options 1. Oil Cooler 2. Accusump 3. 2-way Ohlins 4. exige lightweight wheels 5. Induction kit 6. stage2 exhaust 7. Sports driver seat and harness 8. LSD 9. Uprated Clutch
c) fit A048 tyres
it would cost a bit more than a boggo standard exige but it’d be more of a tool… and you get the roof off without aggro…
Thanks for the replys guys. 111R or Exige - a nice dilema! One of the main reasons for wanting an Exige is that I have done quite a few track days this year in my Elise and increasingly found myself wishing for a bit more front end bite and a bit less body roll, but I guess I want to have my cake and eat it cos I don’t want a set up which will hake your teeth out on rough roads. Having said that, the S2 Exige seemed surprisingly supple, but as always it is hard to judge from just one test drive. A 111R with sports suspension and sticky tyres is an interesting option, but wouldn’t this work out more expensive than an Exige? All these rational arguments tend to go out the window whenever I see an S2 Exige though - I have to admit the looks are a bit part of the appeal .
A 111R with sports suspension and sticky tyres is an interesting option, but wouldn’t this work out more expensive than an Exige?
It might do but I was in my dealer yesterday and the showroom exige sticker price was just under �34k the 111R was about �29k iirc… so that gives you about �5k of options on the 111R to get to the exige price… but then… you know you really want an exige so… like Uldis said its actually really pretty supple… yoo desaeed …
I personally have not yet had the pleasure of a drive in the S2 Exige, to compare directly with the 111R…but I will before going for the sport suspension, which I was quoted as n/a for the 111R in July 04, & �2600 for the k-seris cars.
It’ll have to feel pretty special though, as quoted lap times for 111R/S2 Exige don’t justify the asking price.
Some of the other m’sport options maybe worth considering if you’re planning alot of track days.
I ticked all the options for the 111R, which with the A048’s & extra wheels put the car approx 5.5K over the basic Exige price.
By the time you add the other m’sport options it’ll be a �40K Elise
Someone on SELOC has listed all parts to convert a 111R into an Exige S2 including body parts.
The list is huge and i think the total was about 18000-19000 euros plus fitting
I have a 111R with wheels, tyres and suspension from the Exige S2. The whole conversion (by Bell & Colville) came to a bit over �2600 after allowing for Lotus OC discount. Worth every penny.
I’ll be selling it in the spring if you’d be interested in a year old car. I’m still undecided on whether to put it back to standard (I still have the 111R wheels).
I would be very interested in your views on how your 111R compared before and after the change of wheels/tyres and suspension - no doubt the car will be great on a track, but did the mods compromise the car’s on road ability (e.g overly hard ride, loss of ground clearance etc), and did the suspension mods simply involve a change of springs and dampers or were there tweaks to the geometry too?
I would be very interested in your views on how your 111R compared before and after the change of wheels/tyres and suspension - no doubt the car will be great on a track, but did the mods compromise the car’s on road ability (e.g overly hard ride, loss of ground clearance etc), and did the suspension mods simply involve a change of springs and dampers or were there tweaks to the geometry too?
Thanks,
Mark
The geometry has been set to Exige S2 spec as well. The biggest difference is front end bite and the phenomenal grip of the A048’s, at least when warm
Have you tried your car with the original wheels/tyres & the LSS? I’d be interested to know, as this is the only differece between yours & my own car.
). Absolutely loved it, but there were a couple of concerns with the car which I couldn’t make my mind up about on the test drive, so comments from existing owners would be very welcome:![http://images8.fotki.com/v112/photos/4/42065/843431/DSC00528-vi.jpg[/image]](http://images8.fotki.com/v112/photos/4/42065/843431/DSC00528-vi.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
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