Lotus Exige Cup 380

[stephenwhyte]

Pics of the red one as requested - this is the 380 Sport though not the Cup......I haven't seen a red 380 Cup yet.

[LF1]

Ah. Thanks. Not sure if it's the same one but saw the 380 at Silverstone yesterday in the red. Love it. 

[Jokke Vlo]

Yesterday I smelt something strange when driving home from Switzerland. Lucky it didn't start to burn.......

 

 

 

[mickv]

Think this belongs in the Sport 380 thread, but.......

that is worrying.  Will be interesting to see what Lotus make of it.  You have the titanium exhaust I think?  Was this motorway cruising?

[Jokke Vlo]

sorry ! Indeed wrong topic (but cup is same in rear) . Yes it was on mountain roads and motorway. Yes titanium exhaust. 

[mickv]

Hi Jokke

Assume it is only the splitter part to the left of the exhaust that is damaged?  Do you think it's heat form the exhaust exit, or a silencer underneath the car?  Can't see why it would not melt both sides if it's the exit? 

Obviously, I'm now worried as I have a Sport 380 but with standard exhaust.  I wonder if the "snouts" are the same size, so that have the same clearance form the splitter?

[Jokke Vlo]

No idea why it is on only one side, sure airflow is the reason, but why it goes more left as right, I don't know (valves?)

[mickv]

Yes, it does seem odd that it has only melted one side.  I've checked my car and I can't see any obvious difference in the set-up in that area.  The standard exhaust and titanium one look to be the same size and the same distance form the diffuser, so unless the titanium exhaust somehow radiates more heat than the standard steel one, I'd expect to see the same thing happening on cars with the standard exhaust like mine, given similar driving conditions.

Now, from what I can tell, you are probably towards the "hard use" end of the scale as a driver.  But were you driving it hard at the time?  You've had it on track and not had the problem there, which seems odd, no? 

[Jokke Vlo]

I drove it sportive/intense in the mountains....but that's not like track use. Perhaps the lower speed is the reason why it happens now (combined with very hot weather)

[Swiss380Cup]

Well that sounds like TVR horror stories of car rear bumpers up in flames... this SHOULD NOT happen for whatever reason.... on any car......

[The Pits]

Very strange. Never seen this before and many are tracked hard as we all know. Appalling for those with a titanium exhaust if that is the cause. Lotus need to see this pic asap if they haven't already. I imagine Jokke your dealer has already done this? If not we should contact Lotus ourselves.

Sorry your experience has not been good with this car.

?

 

[Bibs]

Already done and they're already aware! 

[JayEmm]

We know him as @Bibs... but to many, he is known simply as

[C8RKH]

9 hours ago, Swiss360Cup said:

Well that sounds like TVR horror stories of car rear bumpers up in flames... this SHOULD NOT happen for whatever reason.... on any car......

Happens frequently on modern Lamborghini's that are revved too hard when stationary. But they burst into flames and burn out. Literally.....  Lot's of video's on youtube of just this...

Struggling to see how this could be the titanium exhaust unless a fault - titanium's thermal properties are not hugely different to stainless steel.

[Swiss380Cup]

Yes, it's just incredible...if I recall properly, on Porsche GT3 with Akrapovic titanium exhaust I believe  it was recommended to fit a protecting / insulating plate to avoid this type of issue, but I don't remember it all... Long time gone memories.....

 

[JayEmm]

The Lamborghini problem surely is from owners who fit silly aftermarket exhausts, delete the cats, then map them so they go pop and bang lots, then appear surprised as to what happens when you have lots of unburned fuel flying through your exhaust?

[Swiss380Cup]

But definitely it should not happen with a factory standard car... whatever brand it is.... of course if you pimp it a little beyond what's supposed to be that's another question....

 

The Cup 380 is definitely a gorgeous car... but I'm still wondering with all what's been said about the 350, 380 Sport, V6 Cup, 360 Cup, KT 430-460, TVS 1900.... bla bla bla......doesn't all seem that better compared to the basic 350..... the more I read, the more I get confused.... to me 100 HP more should command massive track time advantage, and it doesn't show at all.....for 5 sec less in Spa I don't think it's worth it, talking 20 s, than we can talk....... But the 380 Cup is gorgeous that's for sure....

[The Pits]

Ever heard of the the law of diminishing returns?

Power is up 30bhp, torque only up 7lbs/ft over 350. Biggest gain for Cup380 is in aero downforce so you need a track where that comes into play. Extra power will maintain similar top speeds and negate the extra drag but high speed corners should see significant gains over a 350. You might not notice until you get back in a 350 and drive straight off the track!

You also have to consider your basis for comparison. We only really have Hethel laptimes in terms of a same track, same standard of driver comparison. The 380 Cup's time is not much quicker than the ultimate track spec Sport 380 but both cars set massively faster times than the 350. Conditions on the day make a huge difference. Having spent last weekend at Silverstone I was setting best times 2 secs apart on different days in the same car, same tyres. The equivalent of 4 secs around Spa.

We need a proper same day comparison with pro and am drivers. Laptimes do matter for track focused cars, I would love to see it happen. Small car companies need a no BS engineering led approach. Hopefully the new owners will see the benefit of that.

 

[Swiss380Cup]

Well anyway they're all good looking to me....and quite performant too..... let's drive and have fun.... the rest comes easy ...... That being said, I'm off for a drive in my swiss mountains....... back in an hour 

[Jokke Vlo]

6 hours ago, The Pits said:

Very strange. Never seen this before and many are tracked hard as we all know. Appalling for those with a titanium exhaust if that is the cause. Lotus need to see this pic asap if they haven't already. I imagine Jokke your dealer has already done this? If not we should contact Lotus ourselves.

Sorry your experience has not been good with this car.

?

 

Of course done. What is strange: it didn't happen on track or so. Just when driving in the mountains.

[toshers]

Full allocation of Cup 380 cars now sold...that didn't take too long!

[Bibs]

[Swiss380Cup]

Hope nothing of my 360 Cup will melt 

 

[Vipers]

16 minutes ago, toshers said:

Full allocation of Cup 380 cars now sold...that didn't take too long!

Excellent, finalised my spec this week, basically Signature Orange ( the only Cup 380 in orange I think) with matching internal colour pack and orange stitching, air bag delete and harness's, fire extinguisher and just waiting for the price on the quick release steering wheel.

Now the wait begins.

[C8RKH]

1 hour ago, toshers said:

Full allocation of Cup 380 cars now sold...that didn't take too long!

Hopefully that means the designers are now working on the Sport 400 and Cup 400 cars.  Cool!