Ian Lockwood

Hmm, they're road legal though and mentioned on a few tyre sites. Oddly not listed on Camskill despite them showing all other Avon tyres. Looks like I'll have to do some ringing around...

ZZRs sound interesting, anyone know where to buy online? Can't easily find any place selling them at the moment.

Thanks guys, that discussion on the Trofeo was in my mind when thinking about track tyres. Sounds like the Toyo 888 situation - just too soft on cars over 1000kg, so they don't last long (but the grip is pretty immense). I haven't checked Trofeo prices, I'm assuming they're pricey relative to say a Kumho V70a (or whatever the equivalent is now, it's been a while!) which I'd expect to last longer (even if not absolutely as grippy). Quick check: £1107.60 for a set on Seriously Lotus. Less than £700 for a set of V70a tyres from Camskill (although it looks like you might have to go 205/40 for the fronts as they don't list 45s). If the Trofeos wear as quickly as people are saying, there will have to be a pretty strong case for me to spend that much extra... Am I right in thinking the standard pad is a Ferodo DS2500? I suppose it's the size that matters most, the Exige brakes are certainly the largest of any car I've owned and it's the size that determines heat dissipation, so if they can shift the heat I suppose you don't need the higher-spec pads that can take it. For example, I used to run Mintex F4R pads on my Honda DC5 Integra, having found that Mintex 1144s (brilliant on the road, much better than DS2500s IMO) just got too hot and faded. The F4Rs never faded, but boy did the heat build up - they melted the paint off the wheels! God knows what state the wheel bearings were in by the time I sold it... The DC5 is about the same weight as the Exige, but obviously more weight over the front and smaller calipers/discs, so from what you're saying, it sounds like that extra size gets rid of the heat. Two piece discs (which I don't have) definitely help too, I had AP Racing two-piece discs on the Integra and they took an amazing amount of abuse. Good to hear on the sump situation - I'd be a bit disappointed if Lotus hadn't thought of that. I can understand why it might be wise on a car equipped with slicks, but for me a car like the Exige should be fit to run anything road-legal without modification.

Hi all, I've been looking through a few posts here about trackdays in the V6S. It looks like most people have been using standard tyres and brake pads. Having done a fair few trackdays in other cars, my experience is that road tyres and pads only go so far before the heat causes problems. With the V6S weighing what it does, I assume the same will happen, so I was wondering if any of you have used uprated brake pads and/or full-on (but road-legal) track tyres? I see that Pagid RS14s are the "official" track pad, as it were. Is anything else available? I also note the availability of a baffled sump, does anyone know if this is required when using track tyres? It has been advisable on other cars I've had once you start generating cornering forces beyond what's possible on the road.

Am I missing something here guys - the rear wheels being suggested in the thread are 10J, but OEM is 9.5J? Is that just because they're "best fit" from what's available, to improve the handling or some other reason? Also, if they're 10" wide, wouldn't the offset need to come down to avoid hitting the arches? I've been having a look around to see what you can get in the correct sizes. My thinking is that it may be possible to find a set of wheels available in both the correct sizes/fitment and even if the retailer won't split to sell 2+2, we'd only need to arrange pairs of buyers to get two full sets. So far, I've found far more wheels available that fit the rear but not the front! Seems 18x9.5 5x114.3 et35 is quite popular with R33/34 owners, so there are some decent Japanese wheels available. For a moment, I thought it would be possible to get some TE37s, but they don't make anything close to the front size we need. I also thought I'd found a Weds Sport wheel to fit, but again, nothing like the fronts we need. That 110 PCD is pretty rare! <sigh> Lots of looking later, I can't find any manufacturer that makes the correct sizes front and rear...

Cool, not too far away then. I'll keep an eye out for a black roadster when I'm in that part of the world! My other car is a blue FD2 Civic Type R (the Jap four door variety), there aren't many of them around either so if you see one it's probably me, especially if I give you a flash of the lights!

Hi Z, I've already discovered that - it doesn't matter which position it's in, other than Off, the light stays on permanently. This is whether I've just got in the car (ignition not on) or arrived at my destination and just turned the ignition off. Now that Stratstone Leicester is shutting down, I've nowhere nearby to go to see if it's a warranty issue!

I'm in south west Notts on the border with Derbyshire mate, not too far from the M1. How about you?

I'm having an intermittent (mostly not working properly) interior light issue. Obviously there are three positions for the light (on, off, on when door open), but mine often stays on when the door is shut. I've had it working properly as well, so am aware that it should go off as soon as the door shuts. I've tried pushing the door switches to see if it's one of those not connecting or something, but that doesn't seem to make a difference. Has anyone else had this? I'm wondering if it's the switch in the light itself, but then it is on - it just doesn't go off...

I bought mine, one year old with 4500 miles, Race Pack, aircon, diamond cut alloys, black metallic, red calipers (I think this is a grand or two under £60k looking at the options list) for £49,500 in August. I had to get an independent valuation for my insurance at the end of October, which was £47,500 (from Stratstone in Leicester, who sent me the Autotrader ads for them as well as the book price). Judging by that, I'm hoping for £40k+ when it's two years old assuming I don't hurt it or rack up crazy miles (I expect it will be nearing or over 10k miles by then).

USB isn't really an option for me, as the Brodit holder is a cigarette plug and I wouldn't know how to go about soldering a USB connector to it instead! Also, unplugging it from the HU every time would be a pain. If I can get the wiring colours or diagram for the HU cables, I could do it that way, although I'll need to work out how to get round the back of the dash to access them first!

Finally managed to have a crack at this today, I didn't think it was going to fit but with some firm shoving, the stereo is back in the cage with the phone mount inserted. The stereo does just clip in with the two spring-loaded pins at the front, which you can get to without removing the fascia trim, but I think it unlikely you'll pull the stereo out without taking it off as it's very snug to the top of the dash area. The only downside to this mount is that the clip on that side doesn't relocate, because it's blocked by the mount itself. It's clipped on the other side though and exceptionally firmly inserted, so I think it will be OK! Here's a pic: Now I just need to work out how to pick up a switched power wire behind the dash and work out where to mount a cigarette lighter power socket. At the moment the power to the phone mount is from the standard cigarette lighter and having the wire stretching to the dash is not the best way to go! Anybody know how I can easily locate a wire to chop into for the power?

Haven't managed to get round to it yet, sorry! Will post info as soon as I successfully (or not) grapple with the stereo.

It's a neat solution Milton, it's just that I don't have a cup holder to start with!

Excellent, thanks Phil. That certainly tallies with what the manual says, but obviously on some cars you can bolt it at the back too. I'll have a play, not sure if the phone holder I've bought that slots down the side of the stereo will fit as it looks pretty snug around the fascia trim. Here's hoping, I have no other ideas for a phone holder other than buying a cup holder and doing the foam insert thing I saw someone else do.

Cool, will dig them out. I had a quick look this morning, the manual talks about flicking up small switches either side and I can feel these (spring loaded it seems) on the inside of the trim around the head unit. Do these get the fascia trim off or bring the whole unit out? Or do they not actually affect the removal process?

I'm going to pop the Alpine 131R in my car out in an attempt to fit a phone holder that slides down the side between stereo and mounting sleeve. It looks like it should be a case of flicking up the locking pins at the front and perhaps undoing the bolt at the back? Any tips for removal?

Just a vote for these guys - I tried AIB and OneAnswer, having had a renewal quote from REIS of £875 for 2000 miles, no business use or trackdays. Long and short is, £899 to insure my Exige V6 S at an agreed £49k, 8000 miles per year inc. 2000 business class 1 miles and 5 trackdays. It would have been £799 for 6k miles and no business class 1. Darren at AIB offered to match the £900 with breakdown cover also included, but couldn't give me any trackday cover and that was for 6k miles rather than 8k. Having read the docs that I received, the trackday cover only seems to differ from accidental damage on the road by increasing the excess to £2k from £1k (AIB's quote had a £500 excess), but doesn't appear to make any other exclusions or special conditions for accidents on track.

Anyone know if AIB can include trackday cover in a policy? If not, any suggestions where to go to get it included (I'm already with REIS but not liking the look of the renewal, which doesn't even include trackdays!)

Thanks guys - no cup holder means I can't do what you've done there Milton, but that's the way I'd do it if I did have one! Jim, looks like that should work on the S3 as well then - now I've seen an explanation and proper photo, although the example if an S2 dash (I think?), if it fits in the radio cage, it should fit anything with a standard cage, so I think I'll give that a go for £15 to see if it works.

Hi all, does anyone have a permanently-fixed solution for a phone holder in their V6S? This one looks like it will do the job, but would require buying from the States: http://www.reallylightstuff.com/electrical/rls-pda-phone-mount/ The only other thing I've found is this, but not sure it will fit the S3 dash (terrible drawing): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NHB305-Lotus-Elise-Exige-Vauxhall-VX220-Dash-Mount-Phone-Cradle-Bracket-Car-/261159233229 I've already got a Brodit mount for my phone, so something that is a bracket to which you can fit a separate powered mount will do just fine. Any suggestions welcome! Not keen on a windscreen sucker mount.

Funnily enough I had the same experience - first trackday was in a DC2, but it was at an airfield (Elvington) and the terrible surface was the reason it ate tyres. I've only been to proper tracks since then! I used to quite happily leave M3s and Boxsters behind through corners in my (admittedly modified) DC5, so it's certainly not true that FWD is always worse in corners than RWD - for me the limitation is ultimately the amount of power you can get down in a FWD car rather than the handling. Anyway, yes, understeering Exiges... I'll post back when I've had a go at adjusting my cornering style.

Right, that's what I'll try - my style is more "get the braking done, then enter the corner on a neutral throttle", so the car has perhaps settled back before I start to turn. If I stay on the brakes a bit later, I'll see if I can get the front to bite. Makes sense with the layout of the car - I'm used to having some weight on the front from the engine (and transmission in the case of the FWD cars), so the lighter front end of the Exige is perhaps working against me in that sense.

I haven't been on track in mine (although I've one quite a lot of trackdays in a DC5 and RX-7s), but I definitely feel understeer on the road. I'm used to aggressive diffs in FWD cars (I've driven Japanese-market Honda Type-Rs for over a decade) and LSD-equipped RX-7s and I'm wondering if it's my driving style as Pits says - I usually chuck it in, wait for it to settle and then accelerate round the corner until I start to push wide (if that happens at all) and modulate the throttle accordingly until the lock starts to wind off and it's foot to the floor time. With no LSD and a completely different weight distribution, perhaps this isn't a suitable approach? I get a lot of "nibbling" from the steering wheel in the Exige when pushing round a faster corner and often feel I haven't put enough lock on in slower corners as it's understeering. Is that what others here are I'll try to adopt a more "slow in, fast out" approach next time out in the Exige to see if that makes a difference. That does seem a bit at odds with a lightweight car (well, lighter than most) that apparently has such sublime handling and grip (and don't get me wrong, it really does grip!), but maybe that's how to do it?

Yeah, I did have all three shift lights up shortly beforehand, could be related to that (not the first time I've done that though). Will get some pics together and post up soon, don't have any on this PC.