Lo2zz

Hi Nathan, I left the 2bular on the car when I sold it ;( Yes it's a manual - interesting flicking through the original invoice for the car - I paid £500 more than he paid 10 years ago. Hopefully the same will happen for me! They are rare it's a manual - only 150 of them in the UK

Hi all, I've recently sold my Exige V6 so thought I would say goodbye and thanks for the memories! (Well for now until I decide to get a 430) You guys really are a great bunch and this is exactly what a car community should be - lots of banter, a hell of a lot of information, as well as true enthusiasts making the cars even better. It has been a absolute pleasure being part of the community So what have I replaced it with? I have a few cars so wanted something fun for the weekend, that felt special, and most importantly that my other half could come out with me in (She always felt incredibly sick in the exige) The other thing which led me to sell the Exige was it was almost too good for the road - it has such an abundance of grip that I never felt like I was 'driving the car'. I get more pleasure from feeling a car under me move at lower speeds, than phenomenal entry speeds on the road. It's obviously what the car was designed to do - so it sounds a bit counter intuitive to criticise it for that - but everytime I went out in it my gut told me it wasn't quite right for what I wanted on the road. So replaced the Exige with a Porsche Spyder 987. It's a fantastic car - feels really special in its own right and with uprated manfiolds, exhaust, race cats makes a fantastic noise. It has the hydraulic steering which is one of the best steering racks I've ever had - tells you everything you want to know without any unwanted information. It's obviously slower than the Exige, doesn't have the outright grip, and doesn't look, or feel as intense. At the moment I'm loving it though. Haven't stopped driving it which is a good sign! Things i'll miss - Structural rigidity of the Exige (sig more flex in the Spyder) - The looks - The acceleration - The forum - Oakmere! I think If a 380 with a diff ever comes up for sale I'll be mightily tempted to swap back - but for now it's been a pleasure

How very strange! OKay will respond to your PM now

Hi Imran I sent you a pm could you add me to the second order please!

I had the Geo done and it did make a difference - will get some new tyres all round. I made the mistake of not replacing the tyres on my old elise and realised they were 10 years old! In your post above you mentioned the forged wheels - did you have them changed at the same time as the geo or separately - interested the difference you feel they made to the car. How did it help ? Reducing understeer? Many thanks

Thanks for all the comments everyone. The GT4 is a decent shout and it was something I considered when I bought the Exige. It's also significantly more expensive. I think it's between modifying and using the Exige on track more, or getting a Caterham - arguably the Caterham does both. Thing is I love the Exige and want it to 'work' for me - and If I can get that through modifying / using on track more I think I want to explore that. Is anyone interested in swapping exhausts? A Road 2bular with the valve for a more track orientated 2bular?

Yeah I have the 2bular road so no chance on track;) I do love track days and do them regular in my track car. I always wanted to use the Exige for road only - just not getting the thrills and handling balance I expected (mainly because it's limits are too high) If I'm honest I don't have that much confidence in the car. Its possibly the Porsche effect of weight over the rear, plus incredibly clarity of steering that I feel like the car has understeer. Possibly a track session would push through this and I'd know that there was grip there - even though it feels like there is understeer, The fact that it doesn't oversteer at sane speeds also adds to my feeling that I'm not massively enamored with the handling on the road.

8:00 on a sunday and my brain rather predictably starts to wonder about cars, and and what I'm going to do about the Exige. So the dilemma - stick with the Exige, twist and swap for something else, or spend on the Exige. Don't get me wrong I love the Exige - It is fantastic, nothing for the money has the blend of drama, big engine feel, lightweight, direct handling, and general excitement. I can't help but feel that it's not quite perfect for the way I'm using it. It's solely been used on the road where it's almost too good - I.E has massive grip, is wide, and you never truly feel what a good chassis balance it has as its limits are so high. I'm sure on track this would be different - some of the video's of GF on track show that the chassis is adjustable, but obviously you need far higher commitment and run off to exploit it. A Cayman IMO is more enjoyable on the road because you can get to the limits and it feels more adjustable. I've been debating whether I would be better getting something like a Caterham - where i could exploit it more on the road and 'feel' the chassis balance at a lower speed So the options Stick - Keep the Exige and use it on track more (buy a new exhaust that will be ok on track) Twist - Swap for something that would suit my predominantly on road use Spend - Buy an LSD, carbon goodies, and hopefully have a more exploitable car for the road (still debate whether it would actually make it more enjoyable on the road) As always thoughts welcome!

Very good points on the Auto / DCT box - probably gained half a second each change. It absolutely clobbered me though! I have a Civic Type R as well and that amazes me how quick it is - but this thing was a weapon in a little 1 series shape suit. Didn't realise you had one GF - have you had a diff put in?

Not that I'm a serial dragger. At least not when the misses is watching - but came up against a nice chap in an M140i tonight whilst in the Exige V6. It monstered me! When we got to some lights I enquired why it was so quick - remap and new turbo's but WOW - insanely quick for a FWD hatch. Just where are these FWD hatches going to end up? Serious performance.

Hi looking to get a new battery at the moment - does this battery fit in the standard OEM bracket? Any problems with starting ? Many thanks

Yeah I agree! I just couldn't find anywhere that could match exactly. Going to try and find somewhere that can. The only way seems to be to paint rather than powdercoat which I'm not keen on. Silver wheels look great on your car.

Thanks Martin - I'm an idiot and remembered you sent me a link in a pm previously! Thanks again though - will get these sorted Imran do I just buy off seloc classifieds? Have you got some skirts in the locker just for me???

It's a difficult one - and I seemingly change my mind about whether to swap my V6 for a 380 on a weekly basis. I think if the right 380 came up I would be sorely tempted as I think the 380 is the best Exige ever made - it looks fantastic. For me for a £20k premium over mine (which is 50% increase would have to have) - full carbon pack - nitrons I still struggle a little with the price of them compared to mine for what is fundamentally the same car. I think if you want to upgrade to EXACTLY 380 spec with the Lotus parts you are close to £15k. If your car is worth £40k you are near 380 pricing anyways, and I think a £5k difference to get the upgraded shifter is probably worth it. If you want the look and are happy to substitute with Eltech / elise parts rather than Lotus pieces you can make a massive saving on a 380 - but you've still got a V6. You obviously won't get much more for the parts being on your car when you come to sell so you would need to remove them, whereas the 380 is a 380. The added bonus of upgrading your V6 is you can do it in stages - as opposed to putting down another £20k / finance in the here and now. Lastly the other slight fly in the ointment of the 380 is the lower rev limit - I think that would slightly frustrate me. Ask me again next week and no doubt i'll be looking for a 380 on pistonheads;)

Just received my plaque - what a beautiful thing! Thanks Imran looks amazing in the engine bay Top job

Martin they look great - Imran nice job again Martin where did you get the non carbon rear spats from? Lotus don't seem to sell them Imran are the side sills totally flat or is there an element of contouring? The lotus ones seem to have an element of contouring ie not totally flat Thanks

So when I went to pick up the car I was horrified. I was tempted to leave the car then and tell them to just take them back to black. I didn't want to drive it I thought the silver was that bad. Have to say it's really growing on me now. Especially in the sun and when the car is clean. The problem is when the car is dirty and there is no shine or ouster from the pain you have a very visual indicator that the white is actually quite creamy and it looks a bit odd. Anyways welcome thoughts! Rofl yours looks awesome! DSC_0235 by mikeharper2, on Flickr

Looks lovely! Really like it. Staying yellow callipers?

Annoyingly I've wimped out of red. The alloy refurb places I've been could only offer around 10 pantones to match to - all of them not quite right to match the centre stripe. The pantone book colour also looks nothing like some of the wheels they have produced so its a total lottery. I've gone silver instead. I await your justified derision. Rofl stay strong and go gold.

Get the soft top conversion. Problem solved. Seriously though I'm a 6"2 powerfully built company director and fit fine

Gold for the win I've moved mine forward so will be done similar time to yours

Red are getting done on the 13th;) !!!

I have the 2bular valved road exhaust and am contemplating getting the EPK manifolds - how loud is it with your manifolds and your road exhaust? The std exhaust is perfect really but can't help wanting a bit more popping and banging and the performance gains - but worry it might be a bit much. When you have it in touring I assume it's manageable? Thanks in advance!

Has anyone replaced for a different type of filter than the hks. I knew hks wasn’t the best but after seeing imrans intake pipe it’s scared me a bit! Tempted to fit this which I think will work as has the same 80mm diameter https://www.amazon.co.uk/K-N-KNRC-8370-knrc-8370-Air-Filter/dp/B0763QKZJ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1553467099&sr=8-1&keywords=k%26N+80mm+filter

Eep. I think I might be changing the filter on mine very shortly..... I have the ssc filter with HKS medium at the moment Very interested in your filter when you perfect it - looking forward to seeing how it develops Mike