TLF GT430 Club

[DDubya]

I've never understood why Lotus felt that using cheap, vacuum formed plastic on the scuttle, rear intakes and arch vents was appropriate? Just the rear intakes to do next!

[exeterjeep]

3 hours ago, DDubya said:

South West Lotus. Carbon scuttle

Saw one of these at SWLC last year before it was lacquered, think Ian was going to get one fitted.

It does seem strange that Lotus had these made, but did not offer them as an optional enhancement when the cars were spec'd. Can't imagine a great weight saving though!!

[OakMan]

Like the Carbon scuttle, looks far better than the standard fitment !

Is it bespoke made or more generally available ? 

[Bibs]

@SWLC have a few in stock I believe

 

[mayevora]

James at South West Lotus Centre had 30 of them.

[MarkieT]

Hi -

has anyone PPF'd the carbon sills on their Gt430?

I've been quoted £150 each + VAT so £300+VAT as they don't have a template - seems a lot to me when the roof is only 350 and the front splitter is 120 + VAT.

thanks

Mark

[OakMan]

Hi Mark,

I haven't had mine done yet, its in the pipeline to be done.  I have a friend who is a very high level detailer (Salon Prive with Bugatti) and PPF installer who is going to do all my car.  I've helped him on jobs and know that the quality films are very expensive and that they will do a template themselves if none are commercially available.  This takes more time plus they have to plot it into the software and its not at all cost effective for them to just do a couple of thin strips as a one off.  Obviously they will fit it in with another bigger job where possible.

 

He only uses Xpel film, having tried a variety of other very well known makes.  He says its the best and is a little thicker than a lot of the others.  His requirements were to be high quality on the rolls without faults and blemishes (when protecting a customer Ferrari Pista and the likes) the films handling and usage capabilities and very importantly glue strength / flexibility.  It was the devils own job to get re credited by certain manufacturer / suppliers for a faulty £3,000 roll of film - worse still when the replacement was no better. 

 

To summarise, it doesn't sound like a bad price at all. 

Good luck,

Paul

 

 

[DDubya]

23 hours ago, mayevora said:

James at South West Lotus Centre had 30 of them.

Had! 😊

[MarkieT]

On 29/03/2022 at 14:38, OakMan said:

Hi Mark,

I haven't had mine done yet, its in the pipeline to be done.  I have a friend who is a very high level detailer (Salon Prive with Bugatti) and PPF installer who is going to do all my car.  I've helped him on jobs and know that the quality films are very expensive and that they will do a template themselves if none are commercially available.  This takes more time plus they have to plot it into the software and its not at all cost effective for them to just do a couple of thin strips as a one off.  Obviously they will fit it in with another bigger job where possible.

 

He only uses Xpel film, having tried a variety of other very well known makes.  He says its the best and is a little thicker than a lot of the others.  His requirements were to be high quality on the rolls without faults and blemishes (when protecting a customer Ferrari Pista and the likes) the films handling and usage capabilities and very importantly glue strength / flexibility.  It was the devils own job to get re credited by certain manufacturer / suppliers for a faulty £3,000 roll of film - worse still when the replacement was no better. 

 

To summarise, it doesn't sound like a bad price at all. 

Good luck,

Paul

 

 

Thanks for the detailed feedback, it’s good to know!

[AC]

Hi - Anyone else attending the Hockenheim trackday on the 11th this month? 

[MarkieT]

I've joined the club ..

I picked up the GT430 Auto that Hoffmann's were selling, this'll be my 6th Lotus after an Elise SC, Evora Sports Racer, Exige V6 Auto roadster, Evora 400 and Exige 350 - I know i have some way to go compared to a few people on here 😉

Positives ..

• It looks fantastic even with the big wing (not normally my cup of tea) but the yellow uprights really set it off and blends well with the yellow "cat scratches"
• I love all the carbon detail
• It's really quick, and I love driving using the paddles. As far as I'm concerned the FF in the license plate stands for Feckin' Fast
• Interior feels better than my 400 that I had two years ago but that could be perception of 400 venom red leather vs the Gt430 Alcantara
• The comfort of the ride is much better than i was expecting
• It PPF in the key places and I additionally had the roof and front splitter wrapped as the car lives outside
• The metallic Lotus Racing Green looks fab, especially when the sun is out.

Downsides (minor niggles)

• I really need to keep an eye on that speedo, it's deceptively quick particularly having just come from an Exige 350. You know you are travelling quickly in a 350.
  • not much of a downside but i've had words with the wife as drives faster than I do on the motorway
• The exhaust over ride only works in normal mode (yes  i have the secret button)
• The button panel has 3 blank buttons, 2 for the heated seats (buttons are on the seats instead) and the exhaust over-ride are blank (pic below)
  • Given the auto doesn't have the traction control "-/+"  buttons I don't see why they couldn't have used the facia from a 400 auto
• It had a bit of rattle from the dash, sounded like it came from around the front fans and was pretty constant
  • Hoffman did fix this, apparently it was a couple of loose bolts. It had gone away but after a day of driving it I have a similar but not as annoying rattle. Its not that bad as the original and I'm not sure if its the same thing. I definitely had a few miles without it.
  • The bottom right of the headunit facia doesn't seem clipped in as i can pull it out slightly so maybe thats causing it occasionally over rough ground
• DAB radio isn't working and radio reception is poorer than I recall the 400, I'm wondering it the ariel is plugged in properly. It might have come loose when they were taking the dash out to fix the rattle so I may have to get them to look at it if i can't figure out how to remove the facia without break-ing it
  • I'm not sure where the clips are on the facia to remove it and given the bottom right corner is loose I would think it would be easy to remove
• Even though I've been very careful I've still managed to scrape the underside of the front splitter . The PPF did its job though.
  • I think i read on here somewhere that people have been putting extra tape on the underside.

A few pics ...

[exeterjeep]

1 hour ago, MarkieT said:

I've joined the club ..

Congrats, the front splitter getting the odd scrap is something I put up with as well. Even though my heights/suspension has been adjusted slightly I sometime just touch my driveway on to the road. I still have the lightly damaged splitter fitted and would  pass the original one on to the next keeper.

The ride is really impressive and not at all as hard/bumpy as I expected.

[blindside]

Congrats @MarkieTIts nice to see a 430 in traditional Lotus colours. Health to drive!

[jimichanga]

https://sliplo.shop
 

much cheaper to buy direct beware of cheeky resellers, good stuff

[MarkieT]

yes I think I need something like this.  Thanks.

[DarrylV8]

Welcome @MarkieTand especially to the IPS dark side 

[MarkieT]

I had to drive though a burst water main today and so had to clean the car as it was covered in dirty water!

[exeterjeep]

2 minutes ago, MarkieT said:

I had to drive though a burst water main today and so had to clean the car as it was covered in dirty water!

Well don't leave its wheels/brakes to get stuck when they are drying , can be a pain to move a few days later - there are at least 1 thread about evora brakes sticking.

[MarkieT]

1 hour ago, exeterjeep said:

Well don't leave its wheels/brakes to get stuck when they are drying , can be a pain to move a few days later - there are at least 1 thread about evora brakes sticking.

ah, good to know.

[Birtyboy]

I’m after your thoughts guys as I’m going through an emotional turmoil and considering parting with my 2019 manual GT430.

I’ve owned it for around 18months and thoroughly enjoyed every mile I’ve covered. I drove it a lot through last year but its now sat in the garage with around 3500miles. It’s not been used since last autumn other than when it came out for a short while to be serviced at Silverstone in February. 
It’s one of only two Olive green cars which I purchased with about 430miles on the clock. I had it trailered from the dealer straight to be detailed before adding full XPEL PPF and then a GTechniq ceramic coating. I also had a cat 5 tracker fitted as requested by my insurance company which can also be followed by a phone app.

Its truly in tip top condition and stored in a heated garage under its bespoke cover. It also has that secret button activated so the sound can be fully enjoyed throughout the complete rev range. It’s that clean that even the underside of the front splitter has no marks or scratches and also has PPF applied.

These are super special and very limited cars and based on the current market I think they will have probably increased in value. Im in for £98k so not interested in selling at a loss but if the right offer came along and I felt comfortable I’d probably sell. Only thing is it’s hard to know what that offer is in these crazy times. 

Any thoughts on current values or what the future may hold for these cars?

Thought I’d add some pictures as she does look good.

[Xynagy]

The question for me would be what a possible replacement would look like.

You know every bit of the car, it is well protected with Xpel from the Start so will look great in 5 years as well.

Is there a car you lust for and need the money, then sell it. Otherwise just keep it or call for a way off price where you make lots of money.

But be aware you will Never get a similar GT430 again.

Or of you are bored with it get a 475 upgrade, Leitspeed wheels and KomoTec brakes, that is what I would like to do. 

Fun fact: For LHD market the GT430 is the most common Version of the Evora you can get. So no Chance of a Price increase for my car.

[exeterjeep]

8 hours ago, Birtyboy said:

Any thoughts on current values or what the future may hold for these cars?

Don't think the wife would let me have 2 of these. I try to use mine around once per week, for a short drive up part of the A30. It is taxed all year so will go out in it except when its snowing / icy or salty.

It is great to drive at any speed , and feels so much better than the M100 I bought last week.

@EGTE expressed an interest in my gt430 if I was to sell it. But that wont be until I get too old to get in it.

The last GT430 for sale was at Hofmanns a few weeks ago and sold quite quickly, there advert price was £91.5k.

and the dirt on mine shows it has been out and not washed for sometime...

 

[Ali tuck]

I reckon they’re £150K all day atm😉

[exeterjeep]

Better not tell the wife that.......even in jest......

With high inflation could be £250k by the end of the year.

[Shibby]

I keep an eye on this thread pretty regularly as i am in the market for one. 

Unfortunately the IPS hoffmans one wasnt for me. Keeping an eye out