The Evora 400 Diaries

[Gm77]

I believe mine is from the first batch of 48 produced.

[JayEmm]

I don't think mine is that far behind, given the fact it's serial number 116 or something like that. It hasn't got the LOTUS lettering, but has all the other hallmarks I can tell of early cars (early pedals, leather boot, ally expansion bottle, subwoofer, etc)

[Gm77]

I'm chassis number 72!

[JG220]

44 minutes ago, Gm77 said:

Were the launch edition S1 Evoras perfect with no niggles? It's an honest question.

I'm unaware of any new model from any manufacturer that has been perfect. Most recently, Focus RS mk3.

No, very far from it. In fact it was terrible. 

It should have been held back, but wasn't. Eventually most have been fixed though.

Edited August 2, 2016 by JG220

[CocoPops]

I thought that might have been the case @JayEmm.

i spoke several times to JCT around Christmas time with regards to a yellow car (yours now I'm guessing).

they tried the "someone else is interested" and then when I spoke to them again a week later "oh, Lotus have told us there is another one of the same spec you can have" I'm willing to bet it's lies. I know others that had similar conversations with JCT and disliked the lack of honesty.

[mawheele]

1 hour ago, JayEmm said:

I'm not expecting perfection Greg, but I do think it's not unreasonable to be peeved when it's taken five attempts and 12 days in the shop to not fix something as "trivial" as a creaky seat.

I do agree with you James @JayEmm. I've come out of a Jag F-Type where they are renowned for the door cards vibrating with the stereo on. And I'm not talking Kiss FM here. Radio 4 at 25% will do it. They all have the problem and its been there 3+ years now. What I see as different is that there are people at Lotus who give a damn. My car is actually heading to the factory tomorrow for a week on a trailer to solve some issues. And whilst it really annoys me that Lotus scored an own goal with the nature of the problem they are fixing for me, the approach of the people and desire to do the right thing is in sharp contrast to my experience with JLR who've been hiding from their engineering issue and refuse to deal with it.  Check this out; 34 pages of annoyed customers and Jaguar still refuse 3-years later to acknowledge there is a problem. http://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f-type-x152-72/770-meridian-sound-system-speaker-question-106935/page34/

I feel your frustration, but stick with it and I'd bet the folks you are dealing with really want to put it right. IMOP, you won't find the same from Porsche, JLR, BMW or Audi. I think I mentioned the only two other car companies I've seen that give a damn today are Volvo and Tesla. Not sure about Merc as no experience of them, and I'm not yet old enough to find out ;-) 

You mentioned a V2 seat - what d'ya know?

Any more info to share on the MAF problem. New sensor been installed? Software updates? I'm eager to find out so that any common fixes get applied to my car whilst its back in Hethel.

My car is I believe a May build. The last 3 numbers of the VIN are: 915

[Neal H]

Lets not forget that these are low volume hand built cars and there's pros and cons to this. The fact it is hand built and fairly rare is a large part of the appeal to me, but the downside is that it isn't reasonable to expect it to be perfect from day one. If you want perfect, buy a mass-produced Japanese car.

I've owned my fair share of Lotuses over the years and they've all needed some degree of fettling which at times has been frustrating, but once the bugs are ironed out they have all been incredibly rewarding to own and drive which is why I keep coming back.

Over the years I have also seen the improvement in quality and as a previous owner of a 2010 Evora, I can testify that the quality improvement in materials and build in the 400 is MASSIVE. Is a 400 worth the the price premium over a 2010 NA Evora? Yes it is.

[Colin G]

@mawheele MAF sensor is now a known problem at Lotus with a repair procedure issued. Had the work carried out on mine, collected it back Friday with no issues over the weekend.

As far as the S1 thing is concerned, when you buy it down the line used you need to keep in mind you haven't had to deal with being the original owner sorting any issues or taking the depreciation hit, it's a pretty pointless comparison. I would like to think buying a car that had been used for a few years would have any major niggles sorted under warranty.

[Bibs]

When I bought a new Mini in 2002 (1 of the first 500 built), it was recalled 14 times in the first 12 months. Wasn't a squeaky seat, but it would potentially explode it you filled it with fuel for example. 

[JayEmm]

@mawheele I believe they have improved bracing, "leather on leather" contact and other items. I don't know if it looks any different to the current one, I assume it doesn't. It is something Lotus and Sparco have been working on.

Part of me hopes this will be a solution. Another part of me thinks if they allowed this seat out as it is I don't see why V2 will necessarily be better. Fingers crossed.

That's hideous about JLR - I have never owned one of their products but I would have expected much better!

 

2 minutes ago, Bibs said:

When I bought a new Mini in 2002 (1 of the first 500 built), it was recalled 14 times in the first 12 months. Wasn't a squeaky seat, but it would potentially explode it you filled it with fuel for example. 

My step mother had one of the first Fiat 500s. They had it in for a recall, the car was fine. Some work needed doing on the turbo. They reassembled it incorrectly and it lunched itself! 

Lotus are only unique in the regard that I have about 10x more patience with them than I would any other marque.

[JG220]

I think you shouldn't confuse Lotus with a Lotus dealer.

Has it been back to JCT all these times? That would be your problem. 

[JayEmm]

2 hours ago, JG220 said:

I think you shouldn't confuse Lotus with a Lotus dealer.

Has it been back to JCT all these times? That would be your problem. 

No, although JCT have been aware of the problems.

I was using Stratton Motor Company for the work until it was agreed by all that it was more convenient that it went back to the factory. It seems to me more logical, given the fact that whenever the car went to Stratton Lotus were then sending an engineer out to look at it. Or it was waiting for parts to be delivered from the factory, etc.... so it seemed sensible to cut out the middle man and Lotus agreed.

I just did not foresee quite how frequently this would be happening.

[JayEmm]

------

ANYWAY, those issues aside, I've been working on plans to fix the other area of the car I find a bit underwhelming. Namely, audio performance. I tried to identify the speakers used by Lotus in the car, to source an accurate replacement. I know they've shrunk since the S1, which will definitely have impacted sound quality.

I traced it to one of two possibilities - neither of which costs more than £30 per pair! That may explain the slightly underwhelming sound. I've been talking to some audio installers and want to get a quote from them. I don't want the install to hack about anything on the car, for the sake of my warranty.

My plan so far is:

Buy a superior pair of door speakers, possibly these Focal units:

http://www.focal.com/uk/universal/370-isc-130.html

Then, I want to upgrade the subwoofer. I am not confident about replacing the current sub and given the fact I don't want to do any modification to the car I may just disconnect it. I've looked and where I have my driver's seat, there is plenty of room in the footwell behind to hide a compact "underseat" sub. So that should sort out the bass issue.

I may then also have to find an amplifier to drive the front speakers a bit better. All in, I'm looking at less than £500 of parts though and given the quality of the standard items, I expect that the sound quality should be transformed. Obviously there'll be a video and full details when I do this. The main issues I predict will be clearance for the speakers in the front doors, and then getting reasonable power to the subwoofer.

[Neal H]

Is it possible to add DAB to the standard head unit or improving the radio signal?

[Bibs]

There are a few topics in this section...

http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/forum/198-interiorexteriorlightsglassalarmsicehvacother/

...mainly about DAB since improving the radio reception (the aerial is just a pissy wire behind the NS a-pillar trim) is a real challenge in a plastic car with no ground plane. 

[CocoPops]

Yes, there is an alpine add on that needs an aerial adding.

its then controlled through normal touchscreen, no external interface needed.

http://www.alpine-europe.com/index.php?id=1339&L=2&href=dab3842/tue-dab1u&level_num=product

 

https://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-alpine-tue-dab1u_p-31900.htm?gclid=CjwKEAjwrIa9BRD5_dvqqazMrFESJACdv27GIwKzoR3232RScD2Rd8w5VV4OvQzlOEO7F33CMPuY4hoCxyDw_wcB

 

Here the deal includes the aerial:

http://www.carsoundsandsecurity.co.uk/store/tue-dab1u-kae-232da/

[JayEmm]

8 minutes ago, Neal H said:

Is it possible to add DAB to the standard head unit or improving the radio signal?

It certainly is possible to add DAB. Improving the signal, I'm not sure. Like Bibs says, non-metal surfaces don't make for a great signal.

In all honesty, the only station I used to listen to with DAB was Planet Rock. They moved to a different carrier earlier in the year and as a result it's basically impossible to get reception in East Anglia. Very disappointing. Before this happened I would have certainly made an attempt.

I have however started to use spotify and internet radio stuff a fair bit recently, as phone coverage is greatly improving. I also have a USB stick loaded with my music so that's what I mostly use.

[Colin G]

Install radio player on your phone and stream it to the car, no need for faffing around with DAB. 

(Planet rock is also my station of choice)

[JayEmm]

Just thinking out loud here, occasionally when driving, if I tap the throttle to blip it for heel/toe, sometimes I just get a "pop" or a cough rather than actual revs. I'm wondering if this is a "characteristic" or a MAF issue.

Driving it hard, with race or sport mode, I don't get the issue, but under more moderate conditions it seems more problematic. Might be nothing.

[CocoPops]

No, that sounds normal, just need to be more aggressive with throttle. In sport/race etc the throttle is more responsive, so allows a better blip.

[JayEmm]

1 minute ago, CocoPops said:

No, that sounds normal, just need to be more aggressive with throttle. In sport/race etc the throttle is more responsive, so allows a better blip.

My thinking too. The throttle in the Evora is nice and progressive, especially in tour mode. Quite rare to find that now.

Anyone know the reason for the higher idle in race?

[auRouge]

Squeaky seats.. budget speakers..this is turning into a "mini" saga where the Mk1 was the better more expensive car! Therefore there must be some profit! Right buisness strategy.

Sorry to hear of your problems JM, not what we wanted to hear but let's hope the criticism is taken positively and someone uses the information so the production of future 400's is better (and they sort your gen 2 cars out swiftly)

 

[Stubox]

58 minutes ago, JayEmm said:

Anyone know the reason for the higher idle in race?

Something that is now often programmed in on switchable engine modes is this high take off idle speed. Its supposedly to aid in getting away smartly off the line as you're in the higher performance engine mode. But equally many new manual cars (particularly diesel) are also featuring a similar set up due to the very low idle speeds being set, so when you start to raise the clutch the idle increases to stop you stalling. Same tech but different application.

Or its developed another fault.

[JayEmm]

I'm expecting it is a design feature not a fault, I wondered if that contributed to the better throttle response when heel n toeing

[Gashead1105]

17 hours ago, Gm77 said:

 

Many who know me know I am buying a new house currently. Finances are tight and Charlotte suggested we sell the 400. My answer, I'd rather we missed out on the house, niggles and all!

You what Greg?  You never mentioned that! 

@JayEmmclearly you've bought a lemon. I'll give you £30k for it. 

Incidentally, I've been without my exige for weeks at a time for one reason or another... Still a couple more rattles with the roof for Dave at @Hangar 111 to sort next time he sees the car!