Hello from London!

[Konstantin]

Hi,

Recently bought a lovely Exige 380 Sport which is my first Lotus. Couldn't be happier! There seems to be a great Lotus community thing going in the UK which I'm completely new to. I already joined Club Lotus but if anyone is aware of any interesting events happening around London or just wants to grab a cold one and talk about cars - let me know! Great times, much to learn

Some first impressions of the car:

It arrived at the dealership with a broken boot lever so having to use a set of pliers to open it until the lever gets replaced. Goddammit Lotus!  Frankly, the somewhat quirky build quality of the interior, the amount of boot space (or, rather lack of!), the absence of power steering and a bunch of other things might *akhem* put some people off. But IMO it's the flaws that make a sports car feel that extra bit special. In all honesty, you forget about all of that practicality nonsense the instant you press the magic engine start button which makes all hell break loose! And don't even let me get started on the quality of the ride! Can't fully explore the rev range until I clock the break-in mileage, but even simply riding around town feels sublime. To my surprise, it quite easily deals with potholes and speed bumps. Steering is direct AF, the exhaust note is mesmerising, acceleration ... simply savage! Nothing short of mental, this car.

A few [n00b] questions:

Speaking of the magic Start button - the car gives you about 30 seconds from the moment you unlock it to insert the key and start the engine. Delay any longer and you have to lock, unlock again (you can stay inside) and then you can start it. Does anyone know the point of this feature?

The car came with an Optimum professional lithium battery charger. When I asked the dealer about it, they told me that the car may need an occasional charge from the mains. Is this for real? It's normally a bit tricky to find an electric socket at car parks, so is there a powerbank-type battery charger that someone could recommend, something that doesn't need to be plugged into the mains? Or is this something I won't need to worry about?

Also, the car came with a track pack. Does anyone know how to adjust the adjustable Nitron dampers and the 2-position anti-roll bar?

 

Sorry for my ignorance, I'm completely new to this. Above all, I'm most excited about having joined the community of Lotus owners

Edited June 21, 2017 by Konstantin

[The Pits]

Hells teeth that looks good!

Roof off from day 1 too. Nice work!

Welcome to TLF. You've come to the right place.

If you're using the car regularly don't worry about charging the battery but leave it for more than 2 weeks and it'll be most likely be flat. No idea why they drain batteries, mine doesn't even have an alarm or immobilizer!

[ramjet]

Welcome to TLF Konstantin.

Looks very nice and purposeful. Smiled when you spoke about acceleration and could only think wait until it is properly run in. You should finish off your profile as well so we know where and what to call you. Unless Konstantin is your name?

Any questions or issues with using the forums, feel free to ask one of us mods. We're here to help.  

[Bibs]

Welcome to TLF and congrats on the new car, looks lovely! That looks like Hexagon on Finchley Road.

The immobiliser resets after 30 seconds, you don't need to lock and unlock, just press the centre button on the key and the tell-tale on the speedo will stop flashing and you can start the car. It's a security feature on lots of cars for the immobiliser to reset, lots of cars also relock the doors if you unlock the car then don't open it within 30 seconds.

The lithium race battery is much smaller and lighter than a conventional lead acid battery, therefore it holds less charge and can drain over a couple of weeks due to the alarm/immobiliser current draw. You can't use a jump pack on the battery. Your manual does have a supplement on the battery and in truth, it's quite smart. When the voltage drops the battery will isolate itself to prevent further drain while retaining enough charge to start the car, you'll need to find a green button in the boot near the battery to reset this so you can start the car. The other option is to return to a lead acid battery which you can use a jump pack on. 

[Konstantin]

Thanks for your comments and the advice. Found the handbook supplement - looks like it answers most of my questions, thanks a lot @Bibs ! 

[robi950rally]

Great car!

[kostas86]

Congrats, looks great! Enjoy!

[theelanman]

that looks lurvliii.......congrats

[clivef38]

Boy im glad we dont have to type in names to reply. One finger typist. 

[Konstantin]

I started a new thread with a few points and a story about my battling with a flat Li Ion battery here: 

It's in the Elise/Exige sub, but generally, anyone with a Li-Ion battery should find it relevant(-ish).

[Cads]

That's a very nice spec Konstantin... congratulations!

I've not attempted to take the roof off mine yet, I think I'll give it ago at the weekend....

[Konstantin]

@Cads Thanks This is the roadster version so it came with a soft top 

[Cads]

Nice one... good choice! ?

 

[Konstantin]

not sure if there's much difference tbh. The coupé can be fitted with a soft top and vice versa. Roadsters are limited at 145 mph while coupés can go up to 175. Not sure why you'd ever need to travel at 145mph, left alone the higher limit. What do they say? "120's plenty" or something like that

[Cads]

Haha yes definitely. I've read you can't buy the soft tops easily because of a lack of supply, but I might try to get one next year. 

Might as well enjoy it with the roof off as well!

[Konstantin]

Seems they don't tend to have spare parts lying around. Ordered a hard top about a month and a half ago and it'll probably be at least another month and a half before I get it. Not too worried as long as I get it before winter.

Unrelated: was super chuffed last night at an evening track day at Brands Hatch, lot's of people asking questions and taking pictures of the Exige. Seems, Lotus have once again created a stunning looking vehicle

[Bibs]

[Konstantin]

heh nice