Q&A with the MY12 Evora project team - Your questions?

[Bibs]

I'm at the factory on Tuesday for a full day briefing on the MY12 cars and a chance to drive them. There's a tour of the new manufacturing facilities and a Q&A with the MY12 project team. Anyone have any questions they'd like asked?

[Myfavedave]

Can the new Pioneer sat nav be retro fitted?

(I would imagine so, but I guess it depends on the connections for the GPS wiring...)

[douglasgdmw]

Some of these may not get answered as they are not specific to the MY12 but sure you are not shy enough to ask them anyway:

1) Will the new look for the GTE concept car be adopted for the normal and S models withing the next 1 to 2 years?

2) Is there any assessment to be performed on extending the list of approved tyres (e.g. N rating similar to Porsche)

3) Are Lotus going to be offering more interior customisation via their bespoke service to existing customers (e.g. would think about having the Lotus logo embossed into the seat of my car but believe the trimming dept was disbanded)

4) Are there any retro fit enhancements in the pipeline to increase the bhp of the current models (e.g. we have already seen some increased bhp being offered by 3rd party companies)

Although I do not have a MY12 please thank them for their effort in continuing to evolve the Evora and remind them that there are a bunch of customers who have appreciated the work that they have put into the Evora

George

Edited September 4, 2011 by douglasgdmw

[Bibs]

Antony - I've asked for the stereo to be fitted to my next Evora so I can review it, I believe it can be done.

George, thanks, I'll ask all of those and send them your thanks

[Sven76]

Stereo for sure can be done, as the Pioneer is an aftermarket system. I myself got the entry-level Pioneer satnav retrofitted and like it a lot.

Interesting question would be whether the 2012MY gear lever can be retrofitted and if so, whether that will help to improve gear change (the only downside of the Evora S in my view).

Thanks

Sven

[mdavies]

Adding to Douglas' list above, I endorse particularly his No.4 and would Lotus consider evaluating any 3rd party approaches and potentially endorsing them, notably for modest increases for the NA car that do not increase torque above that of the S. Also, is the MY12 exhaust retrofittable to current versions.

Edited September 4, 2011 by mdavies

[JAWS]

Mdavies - The exhaust is retrofittable, but a big job. You'd have to replace the down pipe, fit the decat, change the hangers, add a solenoid, piping and wiring harness. Then a remap to adjust. You'd probably better of fitting a decat to your existing sports exhaust and then do a remap.

Myfavedave - As others have already said, the Pioneer unit is also pretty easy to retrofit as it uses the existing Alpine, speakers, sub and reversing camera.

[Justin182]

Interesting about the Pioneer. I'm totally fed up with my Alpine now. It only works after I reset it (everytime I get into the car) and that means I need to reconnect my phone etc.

I honestly think Lotus should upgrade existing owners FOC. Its well known to be (one of) the weak points in the car.

[mdavies]

JAWS, thanks for that. Probably not worth it then as the current sports exhaust is ok. Unless the new exhaust gave a noticeable power boost. And from what we know so far, the Radium intake system should be an easier fit, as a start.

I'm still smarting from believing that it would be possible to retrofit the supercharger to NA cars. Why did I believe it? Lotus certainly did not say so. But the belief was widespread, in what I read and in casual - emphasise casual - chats with two dealers, I was not put right. It is possible that Lotus themselves did not initially appreciate the cooling issues that would arise. Whatever the inside story, for badly needed goodwill amongst many existing and future SH owners (IMO), as I have argued in other posts, Lotus should seek to look as positively as possible on reputable upgrade approaches.

[Bibs]

Justin, you'll sell the Alpine on ebay for more than the Pioneer costs, somehow some people see it as desirable!

[Justin182]

Is it a straight swap? Anyone know the model number?

Also, has Chrome Orange and Burnt Orange been dropped from the range?

Edited September 6, 2011 by Justin182

[douglasgdmw]

Bibs,

Having a think and can you also add this onto the list:

• Was wondering whether the new gearbox knob/lever makes a significant difference to the car. Is this a possible retro fix or if there is more work under the scenes?
  

George

[Justin182]

George, Not sure if its any help, but Craig said the gear linkages etc are changeable from the S, if we wanted to change them over.

[douglasgdmw]

George, Not sure if its any help, but Craig said the gear linkages etc are changeable from the S, if we wanted to change them over.

Must admit that when I had the test drive of the MMC S demo I felt the gear linkage was worse (usual 2nd to 3rd). May have been due to it being new. I will have a chat with Craig anyway the next time that I am in to see what his valuable opinion is once they get a MY12 car.

George

[Bibs]

The new gearchange is like night and day, it's firstly very smooth and also very precise. The smoothness and ease of use is the highlight though.

The low friction gearchange cables are a retrofit and will soon (if not already) be available from ASO.

[JAWS]

George, Not sure if its any help, but Craig said the gear linkages etc are changeable from the S, if we wanted to change them over.

The Evora N/A & S use the same cables, so not that advantageous really. However, that's not to say that new cables wouldn't improve a stiff change, especially if you can get the new spec race derived MY12 cables.

Justin - I sounds like you need a new blackbird, that should solve the problems you're having with the Alpine unit. Warranty should cover that.

[Justin182]

The Evora S gear change feels VERY different to my NA. I'm not actually convinced I prefered it, but was told it was down to the linkages being different..

[JAWS]

I'm sure that if you went in to another N/A it would be different to. The cables/linkages are the same on both variants, they have just been updated during the Evora's production and sometimes there are just inconsistances in their construction.

[mdavies]

Bibs, was there any discussion of Lotus' attitude to moderate power increases for the NA from third party kits? E.g. the forthcoming Radium one. Not so much regarding technical details, but whether the principle would be "Touch anything and your warranty is dead." or a rather more considered approach?

[douglasgdmw]

The Evora S gear change feels VERY different to my NA. I'm not actually convinced I prefered it, but was told it was down to the linkages being different..

Glad that I was not the only one, baulked gear change on my test drive and felt very embarassed.

Luckily I did not see any pieces of gear mechanism in the rear view mirror.

George

[Al]

You weren't the only one! But then I am used to the baulking anyway although the new style cables did make a difference to my own car. Main problem recently has been selecting 1st when cold but if that is all I had to give up on to get the better 2nd - 3rd change then was happy! Like you Justin not sure I preferred the S box at least on that car.

[douglasgdmw]

After getting into the Evora after a 3 week business trip, also realised that it may be good to allow the sport button to activate immediately rather than waiting till you come off throttlr

[Myfavedave]

Mine can be activated immediately, even when full throttle.

Not sure if that was part of a software update, or if it depends on your model year.

[Sven76]

Despite the description that you need to go off the throttle, I can activate mine also with immediate effect.

[Justin182]

Mine doesn't.. I don't think