Sam Downey

Hi Mark! That's great! Although I bet shipping is expensive these days. I'm up the Kapiti Coast with an Elise (for sale 😢) and Exige. I think there is a red Excel around but haven't seen the Eclat or M100. I've seen one or two M100's over the year's locally but don't remember a white one, probably a BRG and red? I'm talking years ago. Are you with Club Lotus NZ? There is about 8-9 members in the lower North Island. Most of the membership is in and around Auckland. There are 2 Elan's (originals) around and obviously a few Elise's about too.

Ha! That's everything though isn't it, cheaper in the US. This really isn't common knowledge AFAIK. The fact that you supposedly couldn't get these tyres was even influencing my decision to hold on to the car. I think also in general, a 111R or similar is a good bet for parts going forward because they were the ones that were sold in the states and have a following over there. There is a whole little industry over there for supporting the cars. I think the price you're paying is less than i've paid in the past, when the best deal i could get was personally importing through demon tweaks in the UK, so it's still very good imo. Great stuff, thanks for the info.

Wow! That is the best news I've had in ages! Thanks so much for posting this mate. I agree on all points about feel and age etc. Thanks for the contact details! This is definitely the route I'll take as soon as I can afford it.

Hi Macca. If true this is of huge use! I agree, fitting wider front tyres reduces the steering feedback which I don't want to do if I can help it. Who/what is "Hypertyre"? I know there is Hyper Drive/Hyper Tyres.co.nz and I ordered my last set of AD07's through them years ago but it is not even possible to search for AD07s on their website any more. What country are you based in? i.e. are those landed and delivered costs representative of NZ?

I knew this car was going to look great! The best things come to those who wait! Are the yellow stripes factory? Did you get it ppf'd? Sorry to hear you got the covid Jason, take car and hope you back running it in soon! I need a noise button! Great to hear that all the NZ cars have worked no issues with ECUs or anything.

That is a very nice looking car! I'm sure the Emira will be just as nice, but starting to feel sceptical that it will be meaningfully better to drive with the same drivetrain. I think it will (hopefully) score on more modern infotainment tech, build quality and (purely subjectively and not really to my eyes,) looks. None of which mean anything much in terms of driving pleasure and capability, which is really what these cars are about. There is also the charm of knowing an Evora/Elise/Exige is much more hand built. So congrats! imho you have one of the best sports cars ever made as far as handling and feel and driver feedback are concerned, (aka driving fun! - the sometimes forgotten reason for even having a sports car in the first place!) and is right up there with the best in terms of noise and performance too. Can't do much better

Ok got out on the weekend, so an update from me on my rev limit issue. Turns out there is no 'issue'. Contrary to what the owners manual states (rev limit 6,800rpm in all modes) it does hit the limit at about 6,600rpm in tour mode, but revs out to 6,800rpm in sport mode (and I didn't try it, but surely race and off also). Interesting, and easily missed as it's only 200rpm, but not unwelcome I guess. Thanks to Paul_D and Inversed for their info. 👍

Yes maybe it's a first world problem, but still relevant. Can't be helped now I guess. Hoping this weather settings down so you get some nice Autumn driving days in the new machine! I'm just trying to get some activity going so we can enjoy the cars more. I'm a little sceptical that we'll get much attendance to runs etc, but we have to start somewhere!

Thanks for that info Paul. I'm in a 420FE. I thought the different rev limits in different modes was a thing of the past, perhaps in 410's or whatever. The owners manual states that for 390FE/420FE the rev limit is 6,800rpm for all modes. For the 350 Sport, it is 6,400 (tour), and 7,000 (sport, race and off). When I tested last i was in tour mode, because the previous test I confirmed that there was no difference between tour and sport. But @Inversed is experiencing different behaviour to me (thanks for the info mate) so now i will do another test, in all modes, to make sure I'm being accurate in what I'm saying. I will check next time I'm out and report back!

ok, only a matter of weeks now then hopefully. Fingers crossed for you guys!

My rev counter only gets to around 6,500-6,600rpm before the engine hits the limiter. It should rev to 6,800rpm according to the manual (even though the red line is at 7,000rpm!). Has anyone else noticed this? Strangely, the shift lights seem accurate, in that they are all on and flashing when it hits the limiter. But I'm only pulling 6,500rpm at this point. It makes no difference if I'm in tour/sport/race/off mode.

Sorry Jason, I picked up the car and came down with the guys for the New Plymouth run. It was a great weekend. What news of your car? Thanks Luan! It was a great trip! Same to you, has your car landed yet? They can't be far away?!

Oh excellent! That's good to know. Yeah i saw an email about that event, would have been cool I'm sure. Lovely Elan M100 (and a 60's one maybe also in yellow? cannot tell) a modern Europa! That's rare. Plus I see some of the usual suspects there also! Awesome. I'm hitting the road tomorrow morning and will drop my car off at McLaren's on Tuesday morning. Looking forward to catching up with the team and meeting some new people also, next weekend.

Mine has supposedly no sound deadening and only floor mats and it's more refined and quiet than my '06 111R that has sound deadening and carpet. You are right though, not even having a simple cheap stereo is weird. I miss my tunes so need to get on to a stealth stereo of some sort. I thought the 390 came with P4S anyway? I haven't got a sliplo, but I've grounded the front spoiler twice already, luckily not badly and the ppf took the brunt of it. But it's a good idea and I think Jason got one ready for his car.

@lueysgarage Awesome! It's funny, I'm very happy with the spec of my car but every time I hear about someone else's I'm still envious! I don't think there was a bad colour option on the FEs so you really can't go wrong. I also think that bold colours work best for this car. When I was daydreaming about speccing one back in March 2021 (when it wasn't a realistic proposition) my dream spec was a 390 in Flat Red, stereo blanking plate, floor mats but no carpets or sound deadening and that was it. I ended up with something quite different but I'm very happy. I've never been a carbon fibre fetishist previously but this car might have converted me. It does look gorgeous. If you're thinking of modifying in the future the 390 is definitely the best starting point. It has the important hardware (as in the chargecooler) so you could tickle it up to around 475hp with little effort and then change suspension and styling to suit. If you wanted much more than that (more than 430bhp/tonne?! Lol) then it starts getting more serious no matter what your starting point I think. I also completely agree with your sentiments and justification for purchase as that was exactly the same for me. As great as the Emira looks once it was shown I realised that if I was going to buy another "dream car" it had to be an Exige FE so was now or never if I wanted a new one. So you are currently without a Lotus? Are you coming on the Forgotten Highway trip though? Could bring the GTA maybe! @Exigo When you say "you're not sure you can wait that long" you don't mean you're thinking of cancelling the order do you? And thanks for keeping an eye out for things on facebook for me I'd definitely be keen for the little button for the exhaust but bare a couple of things in mind guys: 1. Lotus Auckland service looked into it for me and said they couldn't fit it without it impacting the warranty and therefore they simply can't do it. So I'll buy the button as I think it's only around $60 anyway but I'll simply be hanging on to it until the warranty is out in case parts supply dries up for certain things. I won't be messing with it for the time being. 2. There is no guarantee the button will work unless you test this first, which I haven't done. Your car may lack the required wiring in the steering column or the ECU might not be compatible either. It sounds like it is pot luck on which cars it works for and which it doesn't. I'd also be keen on the little rubber grommets and roof spars for a soft top conversion. They don't cost much but the soft top itself is around $3k or something and also on backorder anyway plus i can't afford that right now anyway (and already have my Elise soft top). I haven't asked Lotus Auckland if they'd do this yet and if there are warranty implications. Other dealers around the world are doing it but that is no guarantee on what terms or restrictions our local guys might be bound to.