Exige Final editions

[EldonZ]

2 hours ago, David Standing said:

 

Eldon

Yep, Dodge introduced Plum Crazy in 1969, for the 1970 MY.

...

Re curing paint, modern water based paints are fully cured even before they leave the factory

 

David,

Thanks for the info. I thought the color had been introduced a lot later than that. All I can say about the color is that he told me not to pick it for my car. It could be that it is difficult to blend/match since I tend to be a little rough on bodywork. Here in the US, Exige V6s are only track cars.

As far as PPF, here in the US the front of the cars get beat to death. In the winter time, most states put down sand and some states use pea-gravel instead of salt. In those states, it is very common to have to replace the windshield every year or two. When I drove COTA, there was so much sand on the track that the windshield actually had small pitting on it.

I agree that when buying a new car, the paint is well cured before you pickup your car. I was referring to a repaint and most shops over here still use non-water based paints.

Later,
Eldon

[David Standing]

 

Eldon

Fair point regarding winter road treatment, sounds like the winter road treatment is a lot more harsh than here!  I don't plan to use mine when there is salt/grit on the roads anyway.

I'm a pussy with bodywork 😁

[David Standing]

1 hour ago, Inversed said:

Interesting info about side PPF fitted to Exiges at factory. Didn't know about that, I must get a confirmation on that.
 

I can't remember where I saw it now, from memory they have had PPF on the sides for some time, on the more recent cars it now covers a larger area, all of the sill moulding through the lower quarter panel, up to the seam where it meets the clam half way up the side air intake.

[tactical lizard]

Had mine out at Anglesey yesterday and had a look over the car. I'll take back what I said about maybe not needing PPF... It seems to have saved the front clam from a few stone chips already.

With the factory PPF, it doesn't cover the entire sill moulding, the front of the sill up to the start of the air intake is unprotected, I had the unprotected part PPF'd along with the front and to be fair it's useful if you end up accidentally catching the sill with your feet getting in and out.

I believe there is also some PPF under the rear bumper where the rear wheels may Chuck up stones. Just remembered I also had some PPF applied on the rear bumper sides behind the wheel. 

The rear sills definitely get hammered with dirt so the factory PPF is a welcome sight.

 

[Jim Estall]

Last UK build Exige 420 Sport Final Edition.  My purchase.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Jim Estall

[Inversed]

Congrats on that, looks stunning! Liquid yellow right?

[Jim Estall]

Thanks. That's right but officially 'Cup Special - Pearl Yellow'.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Jim Estall

[Bibs]

Stunning Jim, very nice

 

[Troyboy]

Lovely car and lovely colour. Enjoy. 

[Jcx]

14 hours ago, Jim Estall said:

Last UK build Exige 420 Sport Final Edition.  My purchase.

that is stunning! absolutely lovely.  health to enjoy!

 

[Gashead1105]

@Jim Estallcongratulations - I've been looking at that car trying to make the man math's stack up but I couldn't have pulled the trigger for another month in any event. Well done!

[Inversed]

Looks like my car will be ready next week for pickup, Lotus factory has sent new non-blackpack parts and they are being these days. Do you have any beginner advices for new owner? 
It's going to be my first Lotus (I've only driven one Elise few years ago, I've never seen Exige in real life). It's going to be my first >200hp car. Sadly it's going to be parked in public, but quite empty and secure parking garage till the house gets finished (approx 1 year). I bought a cover for it (Stormforce). How is battery management during winter? I'm going to drive it winter a bit, but only with nice weather and when there is not too much salt out there. It's going to get PPFed in first month.


 

[jimichanga]

Cool jets on public roads save heroics for the track. Do bother running it in, it’s not just the tyres brakes engine and gearbox that will benefit it’s also a chance for you to get used to how it reacts and learn how to keep your inputs smooth at slower speeds first. Ignore hot hatch drivers wanting to race. Enjoy it and get it on track for some driver coaching and to see what it can really do.

[Inversed]

Very special day for me, it took long time and weather was hoooooorible for the first drive, but I just can't stop smiling.

At dealership they made the experience really nice and I can't thank them enough for me. They also helped with getting the car on tow truck, which would be scary as hell for me as I haven't ever driven an Exige or ever seen one in my life prior to today. I've been vocal on these forums about being worried about my color choice, I don't have any regrets now, I've seen Daytona Blue and Vivid Green there - I like them, but I love the yellow!

Stuff that surprised me:
- It's a lot easier to get in and out than I thought it will be (I'm in my early 30s however )
- Seats are quite hard and wheel is noticable off-center
- TFT screen is tiny.. it's big enough, just I didn't expect it. 
- The shifter click in soooo satisfying
- Car feels very quick (not really a surprise)
- Car is less spartan than I thought, it's quite a pleasant ride when you don't want a thrill. Even my gf said that 
- The cold-start roar!

[Toqcars]

Congrats a the really nice example. Solid yellow is one of the nicest colors out there (for me) 👌

 

What does it mean that the wheel is noticeably off-center? I am waiting for mine, also never seen exige, and am just scarred reading this 😆 So steering wheel is more to the outside of the car and not in the middle of the driver/seat position?

Edited November 27, 2021 by Toqcars

[duncx]

9 minutes ago, Toqcars said:

What does it mean that the wheel is noticeably off-center? I am waiting for mine, also never seen exige, and am just scarred reading this 😆 So steering wheel is more to the outside of the car and not in the middle of the driver/seat position?

Don't worry, if the wheel is off centre I can't say I have ever noticed it - these are fantastic cars to drive 

[Inversed]

I'm quite tall, 189cm. When I sit normally in a comfortable driving position there is only one finger of space between my leg and steering wheel on the left (window side), while there is 3 fingers of space on the right. It doesn't bother me while driving, but it's a thing that I noticed. The seats are a bit wide, so I found myself moving to the left a bit. I never had to do that in any previous car. I think mostly my height is the issue here.

I think it will be helpful when I drop the seat down a bit, I already have Tactical Lizards's rails at home.

Edited November 27, 2021 by Inversed

[delta3]

congrats! car looking great!

[Sam Downey]

Great looking car! Not going to be many FE's with body coloured roof, side pods, mirrors and black rear transom, love that combo!

 

Some thoughts on your bullet points @Inversed :

- It's a lot easier to get in and out than I thought it will be (I'm in my early 30s however ) - I'm in my 40's and every time I do it I'm reminded that I could stand to lose a few kg! 😋
- Seats are quite hard and wheel is noticable off-center - Interesting! Because I sat in mine the other day and noticed that for my wonky body, the driving position is perfect?! The wheel seems ever so slightly out of line in my S2 Elise however, and reviews of that used to describe it as "perfect" and my old Boxster 986 too, was very misaligned for me, but never got mentioned in reviews. So maybe it is just me that is wonky! 😂
- TFT screen is tiny.. it's big enough, just I didn't expect it. - It is as big, and takes up as much space, as the old analogue instruments I think, so maybe this is in comparison to other cars?
- The shifter click in soooo satisfying - Yes it is!
- Car feels very quick (not really a surprise) -
- Car is less spartan than I thought, it's quite a pleasant ride when you don't want a thrill. Even my gf said that - Totally agree. I was amazed at the general comfort and refinement of the car, when I thought it was going to be only bearable in small doses. 
- The cold-start roar!  - 🤤

I know there were issues with your car so, so pleased to see it arrive and that you're happy with it! I knew it would be worth the wait. Congrats.

[Inversed]

Thanks for feedback everyone. I drove 300km in few days, PPF got installed, lowered seat rails for "tactical lizard" made my seating position much better.

And today I've removed lower cowl to find exhaust flap connector, it was there and by touching two pins together with a wire TFT screen shown "exhaust open" text.  Looks like I got lucky. Engine sounded brutal when softly reving it in a garage. Video for proof
However I would like to add that after starting the car I have yellow wrench light showing up on dash and disapperaring after 10s. I guess it didn't like my fidling with wire too much, I think it just needs to be cleared as I probably did a bit too many open-closes in short time. I will be ordering OEM switch.

https://streamable.com/vcjkek

On the other note, I've checked TFT settings and I found out there is TRACK & GPS setting disabled. That gives me some hope there will be software update possible to add that.

 

 

 

[Sam Downey]

Congrats on the exhaust! Sounds great! I need to do the same to check mine.

I noticed that also in the AIM settings, but not holding my breath as I figure Lotus are all in on the Emira and Evija right now. Maybe in time they will add a software update to the dash for us. Fingers crossed!

[Toqcars]

Got the exige. Love it 😁 Such a different animal than anything else… uncomparable to other cars 👌

However, after a day of owning a brand new car, I am already “wrenching” 🙃 Odometer started showing 16k miles/km on it. I’ve only put 500km on it since I got it. Battery was plugged off for a few minutes, but the problem doesn’t disappear.

Pretty sure it’s a dealer/warranty issue, but curious if this issue happened to anyone else and what was the outcome. 
 

UPDATE: when units are changed, dash is just switching between the 10k miles and 16k km. 

Edited December 12, 2021 by Toqcars

[Sam Downey]

Wow that's crazy, never heard anything like that. The quicker you get that seen to the better.

[Bibs]

As it's gone over 50 miles it can't be reset so that sounds like a new unit under warranty.

[Toqcars]

I've read on this and other forums that this bug/issue occurs quite often. Dealer suggested dash replacement in warranty, just like you guessed. Waiting for the answer form Lotus.