Exige picture & video thread

[NW76]

I reall think we have to introduce him to the Exige ... he is saying the right things but he has not yet met the ultimate car ...

[nerobi]

They understand simplicity as just manual gearbox and na engine.They should dig a bit more to find Lotus.

Edited March 23, 2017 by nerobi

[TBD]

Finally some proper shots of the EX460

[mark248am]

Got her a few days ago. Dealer gave me it to test drive for a couple of days on Sunday, fell in love and never gave it back.

 

 

[Exige orange]

@TBD your car looks great!

 

can you please get us some more pics from the wing? I think i want to get this as well......

[French Frie]

Congrats ! Test drive is lethal ...

[Bibs]

Lovely pic too! Welcome & congratulations

[NANO]

Welcome ... you'll see that you will have great satisfaction  ... congrat

[NW76]

Was in Spa this week finally, to open the season. Last year, after my second time there, I ended up with a 2:51 as personal best. Which is probably 8-9 seconds away from the cars potential. So, I had high expectations, hoping to set a new personal best... and what happened?!? It wasn't a good day... first I had a big issue with my underbody and diffusor and ended up having to remove the diffuser and the underbody to be able to continue to drive, then I was struggling to even get close to my personal best. So at lunch time I was very disappointed and frustrated... 

In the afternoon, I took it easy and just ignored timing and went out to have some fun. Thats when I met the orange GT3 RS on track: https://youtu.be/eeVAk8LU2O8

That session brought the fun back.

End of the day I ended up more than 2 seconds away from my personal best, as best of the day, but in the end after a 4 months break and w/o a diffusor and underbody... who cares ... I had a lot of fun, thats what counts. I guess Spa will be hard nut to crack and to get close to the potential of the car will require a steep learning curve and a lot more practicing there... 

Anyway, even with all the issues and even considering how much of a challenge the Exige is to drive fast, it is just a lot of fun and I can't wait to be back on track soon. 

 

[alias23]

That dash is epic!

[NW76]

Yes - I love it .. worth every penny. Fully integrated with a built in camera, lap timing and data recording.

Really feels like a race car now...

[alias23]

22 minutes ago, NW76 said:

Yes - I love it .. worth every penny. Fully integrated with a built in camera, lap timing and data recording.

Really feels like a race car now...

But €4K?!

[NW76]

Yes ... thats the BUT ... if you have the skills and can install (and program!!!) it yourself its a lot cheaper. 

I meanwhile think the 4k are justified because I now know much better how much went into the programming and to make it street legal in Germany. That would have cost me a lot of time playing around ...

Also included the gearbox oil temp sensor ... unbelievable what temp the GBox Oil reaches on track (up to 120C) even with cooler ... w/o it must be way too hot (I guess > 150 C)...

 

[Jack]

On March 31, 2017 at 13:52, NW76 said:

Yes ... thats the BUT ... if you have the skills and can install (and program!!!) it yourself its a lot cheaper. 

I meanwhile think the 4k are justified because I now know much better how much went into the programming and to make it street legal in Germany. That would have cost me a lot of time playing around ...

Also included the gearbox oil temp sensor ... unbelievable what temp the GBox Oil reaches on track (up to 120C) even with cooler ... w/o it must be way too hot (I guess > 150 C)...

 

Norbert, IMHO, I'd have the tranny fluid changed on a regular basis -- don't follow the standard extended time period specified in the manual. Early and often fluid changes would be cheap insurance -- cost of the trans fluid (I'd recommend Motul) is that much and any additional labor cost would be minimal when done during an oil change. 

[NW76]

Hi Jack, fully agree  - I have the Motul currently and I am changig it roughly every 3k now ... thats what Lotus Motorsports recommends for track use ... do you think thats ok?!?

[550superfast]

Glad you got a dry day Norbert. The GT3 looked like he was holding you up.

I have had similar fun with a friend in 997.2 GT3 RS, trying to arrange it again now to see if I can get closer after my power upgrade.

[Bibs]

 

[NW76]

It was ok ... I've pretty much given up on improving my lap time by then and just had fun ...

Could have gone faster and passed him a couple of times if I would have forced it. If you look on the throttle graph you can see how often I had to lift or only go 50% throttle. 

He approached me afterwards and wanted to know more about the car ... his GT3 RS had some mods as well, but I dont remember exactly what ...

[Bravo73]

On 31/03/2017 at 20:52, NW76 said:

https://youtu.be/eeVAk8LU2O8

Norbert - out of interest, are you 'heel & toeing' your downchanges? It isn't entirely clear from your video. 

[alias23]

I'm changing mine once a year at the same time I change my brake fluid (srf).

I'm changing my oils every 4 track days using Mobile 1.

[NW76]

1 hour ago, Bravo73 said:

Norbert - out of interest, are you 'heel & toeing' your downchanges? It isn't entirely clear from your video. 

I am just a beginner - started almost exactly a year ago to go to TDs regularly... so, not yet ... also find it very hard to do with the standard pedal setup in the Exige. I just built myself a block that I will put on top of the throttle pedal to get it closer to the break. Hope that will make it easier ... will still take some time to learn ...

For the time beeing I am very cautious about when and how to shift down ... to not cause a lock up or too much stress ...

[Jack]

Norbert, try to get these pedals, probably only need to install the gas pedal …… http://www.sector111.com/parts/interior/shifters/dbwpedals.cfm

As for changing the transmission fluid, 3000 miles should be good -- as I said earlier cheap insurance, IMHO.  Given the heat the gearbox sees, it sure can't hurt.  

Now that you are able to log the transmission temps, I bet you will be surprised at how hot the box gets even during street driving.

I change out the fluid more often on the 2-Eleven and V6Cup, but those cars only see track miles.

[NANO]

However Norbert drive very well  ... actually I think if you had wanted to spend the GT3 RS there was for anyone ... would be content to see your beautiful back of your Lotus

[Bravo73]

Ah gotcha. Please don't take this the wrong way but the next time you're considering spending €4k on a new dash or an extra 100bhp, have a thought about spending some money on some tuition. For a fraction of that price, you could have a dedicated instructor for a day or more. As a 'bang for your buck', this will see the greatest improvements in your lap times. 

(H&Ting is a vital piece in your armoury, especially in a light, mid-engined car. It is very straight forward to learn on the road (on a quiet road, ideally) and the skills will easily transfer to the track). 

[NW76]

@Bravo73 is this an application as my personal instructor? How fast are you in Spa? Depening on that I might consider your application ?

Seriously, I have a personal instructor that I work with on a regular basis. Dont think I would be anywhere close to where I am within a year if I wouldnt work with one. Breaking into the 2:40s in Spa isnt that easy even in a EX460 and with an instructor ?

And of course HnT is an important technique. Just need a to get the pedals closer and then find some time to practice ... doesn't help if your daily is a dual clutch ...

And the display is a lot of money yes... but its also a great data / video recording system that finally gives me decent data and side by side video lap comparison...  

Cheers

Norbert

4 hours ago, Jack said:

Norbert, try to get these pedals, probably only need to install the gas pedal …… http://www.sector111.com/parts/interior/shifters/dbwpedals.cfm

 

Now that you are able to log the transmission temps, I bet you will be surprised at how hot the box gets even during street driving.

Those pedals look like what I need ... thanks Jack!

GearBox Temp during street driving: when I drive hard on the street or higher speeds on the Autobahn for a longer period of time it goes up to the 90C range. The cooler kicks in at 70C and manages to hold it below 100C on the street ... track is a different story...