Jack

Back on track.....I have more miles on my track cars than my street cars 😱 ..... two to three track outings per week. Had to exercise both "steeds"...... LOVE my "LOTI" 😆

The only place to be in a Lotus Exige V6 ......

Spring rates are way off what came on the CupR Ohlins also.

Imran, I can't verify any power increase based upon seat of the pants feel -- as with any cold air intake, it has to be minimal -- 5-10HP, maybe????. My race shop recommended the change as it's their opinion that the ITG is better than the HKS filter in all respects....flow, filtering capacity and presumably some power benefit. Other so called experts I have spoken with have also suggested that the HKS filter is not the best option, for what that's worth. Keep that diet going .... remember every 10 pounds is allegedly worth 1 HP.

You can run the ITG filter w/o the "box" if you wish....I've gone both ways. FWIW, in my experience, the enclosure protects the filter from possible damage, keeps it cleaner and reduces heat intake. I haven't had any "gunk" issues .... yet. I do clean/swap the filter out twice a year and of course, my car only sees track use.

Always love your analysis and attention to detail. Long ago (like 2010), we went with APR mirrors for the 2-Eleven....they have held up well.

Imran, don't know whether I've got the STAB122, STAB99LD or STAB99 ---I'll have to take some measurements to figure that out. Pretty sure the outlet diameter is either 70 or 73mm and inlet is definitely 99mm, but still need to get body width and length. I purchased mine from BOE, so I didn't deal with model numbers ..... https://www.boefab.com/collections/elise-exige/products/itg-cold-air-box-rev300-400-itg-cab Here's a photo of my foam filter element .... I have an extra so I can just swap them out quickly. Then I can take my time to clean and re-oil the one removed at my leisure and have it ready for the next filter change.

Switched my stock cross-drilled rotors as well to Dave's @Seriouslylotus ---- excellent product. Of course, they will also develop cracks eventually, as do all rotors when used on track. 😉

IMHO, the ITG filter is better on all counts (filtration/air supply/ram air effect/power) and will bolt right up to MAF tube, at least on the CupR. Ditched my HKS for ITG.

On track....always..... 🏎️🏎️ 😁

Temporary mount using velcro attached to closed A/C vent back when I was running the SoloDL (before getting the AiM dash) .... SoloDL connected to OBD port and SmartyCamHD.....

NGK also makes a racing plug that will work.....R7438-8 (same heat range as stock, I believe) or 1 step colder....R7438-9. Lotus supplies the latter in their GT4 Evoras. Monkeywrench has these ....... https://www.monkeywrenchracing.com/product/ngk-spark-plug-1-2gr-fe-1-step-colder-iridium/

I agree, I've really enjoyed the X-trac....shifts great. Lotus did a good job on programming the ECU/TCU integration....flat-shift and auto-blip have been superb. It has also proven to be quite robust and trouble free, "knock on wood" , not requiring any replacement parts for more than 7500 track miles .... so far. It is expensive-- it was a $35K (US) option back in late 2014. I understand a new 426 runs around $55-60K US now. A friend contacted Lotus about building him a 430 with X-trac trans for US track-use only, but Lotus said they won't do it. Something to do with inadequate stock and that an economical re-order from X-trac would require Lotus to commit to purchasing a sizable number of units, which isn't in their budgeting right now. For a road car, a true sequential is not a viable option -- you would not want a street car with the X-trac, unless you are looking for major maintenance costs. Perhaps Lotus will someday offer a dual-clutch trans. Lotus helped me (and my shop) to re-locate the paddles from the column to the steering wheel, as in the 311. I was surprised to find out the column-mounted paddles came right out of their IPS supply. Photos -- before and after:

Correct or add a bung to the stock steel baffled sump for oil temp.

Were you able to take note of your water temp at the time you experienced "limp mode"? Do you know what your IATs were? Did you feel a significant power reduction before it went into total limp-mode? My guess is that either (or both) water and IAT were excessively high and the ECU went into engine protection mode. My home track is in the Southwest US, so my Lotus track cars will be run in typical summer temps of 35-41C. As a result, I know from previous experience that even with Lotus-built track cars, serious improvements to the cooling system are needed if you want the car to perform adequately on track..... for the water system -- radiator, thermostat, water pump impeller, fan configuration ..... all were done to my CupR. Even though my car came with so called cooling enhancements from the factory -- 2 front-mounted water radiators (the main one was a LMS triple-pass rad), as well as oil and transmission coolers-- improvements had to made to all the component cooling systems to deal with warm weather tracking, let alone sprint (30 minute) races. A HOT day in England is sunny and 24*C and Lotus build their cooling systems accordingly. Plus, what works for a street driven car is a lot different than what works for a track car.

Nicolas…..do it….get the AiM setup….the SoloDL with SmartyCam will let you do everything you want. The video will definitely help you improve your driving skills.

Well, in my case, the X-trac has been taken out and inspected twice, first time @3200 miles and second time @6600 miles. Both times, the trans specialist indicated that everything looked and tested out great and no parts needed to be replaced. He told me to continue doing whatever I'm doing maintenance-wise and shift-strategy wise. I believe the X-trac manual calls for a visual inspection every 1200 miles -- replacing parts as necessary.

Another day at the track….Lotus race at Spring Mountain…..

For those who may be interested, this is what the X-trac sequential looks like disassembled for inspection -- very compact.

Enjoying the V6Cup in its natural habitat.

Great seeing you out there Bruce…..always nice to have some CupR company.

Love it…… mine is #197 and closing in on 30,000 "track" miles…..owned her since 2008.

@MartynB -- here's a video of a lap around the current full track (6.1 miles) at Spring Mountain Motorsport Ranch, last run in 2013. This may soon become one of our shorter track configs..... LOL

I agree Martyn. Let's see how this proposed build out goes. Right now we have 6.1 miles of paved track and when we run the complete circuit, it's quite a bit of work -- keeps you busy. We have only run the entire track a couple of times -- last was in December of 2013. Let me see if I can find a video to post up.