Who was this punishing a CSL & M3 at Spa?

General General Lotus Talk
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4 mins in…

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I miss the sound of a CSL with a Milltek exhaust

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Did you have one, Tony?

Might be my next car if I need something more pracical!

Gow would you compare it to an Exige S in terms of performance?

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Only had a CSL for a matter of months but ran an M3 and an SMG M3 cab for a couple of years.

All I can say is stunning performance. SMG box it a hoot once you master it but traffic is a bit of a pain in it. Brakes are poor and need upgrading for fast road or track use. Expensive to maintain compared to a Lotus. I was doing sub 5000 miles in them so �2K for a brakes and a big service saw my direct costs per mile top �1 then add on depreciation at �1K per month it was getting silly.

However, buy a good one now and use an indie for servicing and you are laughing.

Take a peek over at http://www.mtorque.co.uk mostly a friendly bunch who can offer a lot of advice.

/forgot: avg 17mpg on the road and

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Loved my CSL, but the Exige is a better platform to learn to drive quicker


[image]http://images30.fotki.com/v434/photos/5/537502/4913014/IMG_7071-vi.jpg[/image]

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I can echo what Tony has said, I had an M3 with SMG and it was a pain the arse at times, great on the track and in hindsight wished I had got the manual.
I p/x mine when I got the Porsche, as a BIG service was due, together with the AP big brake conversion and extended warrenty altogether ran out at something like �4k +

Time to move it on I thought

But a used buy now is mega value

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That video is Steve Gill, a good pilot.

That day IIRC his 4th gear was playing up and the gearbox was renewed shortly after.

SMG in the CSL was excellent IMO.

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Agree with you on SMG Pete great when pushing but a pain in traffic. I had 2 manuals before the SMG but ended going back to manual with E92 last september.

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Thanks chaps.

Sorry to turn this into an M3 thread, but why is the SMG a PITA in traffic? Is it jerky?

The E92 coupe looks bloody amazing in white, but it seems to have gone a bit too big to be a track type car? Must have a go in one as second hand prices looks very good

But still wouldn’t swap the S unless I had to!

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Can be jerky when changing and the auto mode is not great either. When pushing the smg is great thougth and CSL would be great choice with awesome soundtrack.
E92 is big step up but doesnt have the looks of the E46 and the looks and the crap paint finish resulted in me keeping mine for only 4 weeks. I guess would still be good on track as the handling with EDC is terrific and at current sub 40k price is a great buy.

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I haven’t tracked my E92 yet but my DSG (whatever) is pants in traffic. I find myself coming to a jcn or island thinking yep I can make that only to have sweet fa available…no gear no power nothing…“oh hello on coming traffic please dont T bone me”! And, the manual gear changes are fooking violent at anything above 6k…no matter what setting I’m in

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4 mins in…

WARP speed or what?

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I haven’t tracked my E92 yet but my DSG (whatever) is pants in traffic. I find myself coming to a jcn or island thinking yep I can make that only to have sweet fa available…no gear no power nothing…“oh hello on coming traffic please dont T bone me”! And, the manual gear changes are fooking violent at anything above 6k…no matter what setting I’m in

Used to get that in my CSL too, leads to some quite scary moments at times eh !

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Cant imagine why anyone would want any kind of semi-auto electronic box.I have 306GTI,Cooper S GP and sorted Exige S1,all with superb manual boxes.Best ever was the G50 box in Carrera 3.2-laaaverly.

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Cant imagine why anyone would want any kind of semi-auto electronic box.I have 306GTI,Cooper S GP and sorted Exige S1,all with superb manual boxes.Best ever was the G50 box in Carrera 3.2-laaaverly.

Wife’s allergic to manuals

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Wife’s allergic to manuals

We’re talking gearboxes, mate, not Kama Sutra