The Evora 400 Diaries

[Inkyfingers]

Good to hear James, they look good.

[C8RKH]

Looking very good and very nice James.  I think I would have not had the COBRA wording personally but it does not look out of place at all. They look very OEM.

[JayEmm]

I must confess I am pleasantly surprised with how OEM they look - I really didn't think they would fit in as they are quite a different design to the standard seats.

I also have a choice of cushions for the drivers seat - regular thick padding for comfort, with heating element etc, or super thin for maximum support and low seating position. I am using the thin cushion all the time. It is surprisingly comfy and the change in how the car feels is dramatic, I really have the confidence to lean on it now. With the nice weather meaning the windows are open again, I am falling in love with the car all over again

[C8RKH]

Glad you have stuck with it James and it is paying off for you.  Hopefully ownership will be much sweeter now.

[geartox]

very nice and well integrated. 

[blindside]

Good job James. They look sporty but comfortable and more in keeping with the car's character.

Presumably you have dispensed with the heating element that comes with the Sparcos. It is something that I would never ask for as an option and have have never used. 

Slowly but surely you are turning the car into exactly what you want.

[JayEmm]

@C8RKH You will be pleased to know my rear seats are now where they belong, in my garage

@blindside I have the heating element in the backs of the seats, and I have two pairs of cushions for the base - one with, one without. I don't like having buttons on the dash which don't work and cobra very neatly integrated the whole thing. Basically my passenger seat is set up to be the comfy one, and the driver's seat is sporty.

I've just come back from a weekend of track-related stuff and I can confirm that I am now able to wear a helmet in the car without any seat adjustment required. Any other 400 owners interested in a pair of these should get in touch, I might be able to sort something....

[JayEmm]

Here's a picture from a recent video shoot. After my friend mentioned how much lighter the Evora "felt", I did some maths and we worked out there was 300kg less over the front axle of the Evora!

[Gashead1105]

The Aston is very pretty and has a fab engine, but I'd rather own the 400

[Neal H]

The Aston has the engine in the wrong place! Comparing a Sports Car to a GT car.

I think with the 400, Lotus moved the Evora more towards Sports Car and further from GT car (which works for me )

[JayEmm]

The twisted thing is the Lotus still rides better...

I've discovered some extremely nice roads not too far from me and on a nice day, the Evora is rather special... but you knew that anyway.

[Cypriot]

Great video on the seats James - they look ace! Out of interest, can you show us how much access you have to the rear with the seats moved all the way forward? Can you still get a carry-on suitcase in there? Cheers!

[JayEmm]

@Cypriot at some point in the near future I will be going back to Cobra for some adjustments and when I do one of my aims is to offset the passenger seat to give it more forwards movement.

At present access is similar to the 410 - not bad but not great. Small bags can certainly go in there easily enough.

[PAR]

Hi Jay,

What is the update since the new seats are in place? Is there any niggles left on your car?

Changing the seats, removing the back seats, painting the inside dash yellow, it looks to me that your 400 will go down as the first ever 410, it is just that Lotus didn't know it yet!

 

 

[C8RKH]

47 minutes ago, PAR said:

 it looks to me that your 400 will go down as the first ever 410, it is just that Lotus didn't know it yet!

Is that 410 in PS or BHP?  

[Danelaw]

Without the cf rear hatch it's just a 405, and that's an old Peugeot!

 

[JayEmm]

@PAR Mostly sorted now I think. Only took a year! Will be filming a one  year update video soon.

I've been enjoying it and my Elise when the weather has permitted, as well as a stint in a gorgeous Caterham.

[pickle]

Nice PH write up James. 

You're right about the lotus family thing, my first thought when I saw the article was 'hey, that's one of our boys!' 

[JayEmm]

The guys at PH were very nice and the editorial staff there love the Evora.

I have been flat out this week and have reviews coming of the Elise 220, Exige 350/380, Sport 410 and possibly the 3-11 too. I need Lotus to hurry up and build some new cars!

[NedaSay]

Hey James nice piece of youtubing tonight.

However it has to be pointed that what DRB-Hicom wanted was an FSP not a new owner, Geely  could not become the majority shareholder in Proton. Therefore the maximum share they could get was 49%. 

[JayEmm]

Thanks, it was a very opportunistic video and mostly made because I was getting people commenting on many different videos asking me about the situation so thought I would capitalise on it.

Personally I hope it goes well for Lotus, the main thing is clearly Geely think they are worth the money

[JayEmm]

With all the talk of the new Evora, seems time for an update on mine.

It's at 16,500 miles. Was not used for about a month as more issues meant it was not drivable. Those have been rectified now, leaving still a few small issues.

However, not driving the car for a month and getting back in it... just wow. I still think it needs a bit more punch, but now Lotus are officially giving the car 430bhp/320lb-ft, I am ever more tempted by a Komo-Tec remap further down the road.

During a recent visit to Hangar 111, I decided to change my air filter for a K&N type. I was originally going to get a TRD one as per the Cup 360, but the K&N was cheaper and K&N seem very confident about there being no ill effect for the engine.

I expected a small difference... but wow. With the windows up, seems much as it did before. Roll the passenger window down, and you can hear the car pulling the air in. Plus, at full throttle even with the exhaust in loud mode you can hear the supercharger whine quite clearly. Makes an already biblical noise even more "complex" and tasty. Such a great sounding car.

I've also taken the time to get some minor visual upgrades done and will be posting a few pictures when I am next in the car.

[dalepearson]

JayEmm have you got the details / part number for the filter?
I assume it was just a panel filter replacement?

Assume its the K&N 33-2355

Edited July 21, 2017 by dalepearson

[JayEmm]

That's the one @dalepearson. Fitted in minutes, direct replacement for the old one. Big difference.

In stock at @Hangar 111 (other suppliers are available)

[dalepearson]

Cheers @JayEmm couldnt see them on the Hangar111 website.