Tex’s Lotus Exige Cup 430

[Tex]

5 hours ago, jimichanga said:

Does the 2bular pipe work fit with the factory Ti back box?

Yes should be ok but :

The exhaust valve manifold needs to be adapted to accommodate Jim’s V band

[royz_garage]

sorry for the noob questions, just looking into exhaust "solutions", but what is QP backbox, and what is a ti backbox (the oem one?)

For my 3-eleven which has the more silent sports back box without valve, I was thinking about swapping out the manifolds, downpipes and a sportcat and keep the backbox stock. You think this would be a problem on most tracks?

oh and awesome car you have there😎👌

[Tex]

Cheers and No apologies needed, you only learn by asking.

I’m no expert but QP, is Euphemistically known as Quiet Performance.

Its usually quieter than a stock OEM back box and does not impede performance. 

The TI is a Titanium back box found on the Exige Cup cars and is worth having as it is very light and imo sounds better than the stainless steel.

In terms of choice and performance changing out the awful Toyota Manifolds/Cat and Y pipe is very beneficial but will likely make your car noisier so a QP back box may be needed depending on which tracks you go on.

Whose kit are you looking at ?

[Tex]

Back box off ready to swap over to the TI OEM, but also need to remove the cat for a modification however  the O2 sensor leads are proving to be very stiff.

Will need to try unscrewing them in the cool light of day as fear I may cause more issues than I need to 

[Kristof Thys]

@Tex the only reliable way I find to unscrew the O2 sensors is by unplugging them and "turning" the lead as you unscrew them.  They are indeed a pain in the a$$ as the cables are routed through the subframe I see.

I disconnect them, free the lead/cable and remove completely from the car.

 

What modif are you doing to the cat?  slip-on flange for the BB?

[Tex]

16 minutes ago, Kristof Thys said:

@Tex the only reliable way I find to unscrew the O2 sensors is by unplugging them and "turning" the lead as you unscrew them.  They are indeed a pain in the a$$ as the cables are routed through the subframe I see.

I disconnect them, free the lead/cable and remove completely from the car.

 

What modif are you doing to the cat?  slip-on flange for the BB?

As you say they are a pain, but got them off now.

Actually it’s not the cat that we are modifying but the Ti exhaust valve manifold to accommodate fitting to the cat V band. Needs to all go in the jig to ensure correct alignment 

[Tex]

Quick up date

Had First track day of 2022 at Silverstone on Saturday and car was faultless. Conditions were good and car felt very quick. A lot of track stuff there, however needed the power and slicks of the Ferrari Challenge cars to embarrass the little Lotus 

So a few things sorted out over winter:

• Had a full Geo and set up carried out by Suspension Secrets and first impressions are it has improved the front end with far better turn in

• Received my Ti back box from Jim with alteration to a V clamp fitting on the valve manifold. Easy now to swap between the QP and the Ti although why Lotus make the removal and refit of the rear diffuser such a pita 

• Still not found an answer to using tyres other than Cup 2’s. PS4S would be such a good alternative,  but no correct sizing 
 

• Service being done by Allon White, never tried them before but have good reputation 

• Finally booked a dyno test to see after a few mods what power it is developing. 

Cadwell on Sunday and a first for me 

Edited March 1, 2022 by Tex
Mistakes

[Tex]

Removed the Rear wheel spacers today to place on another set of Lotus wheels I have.

Not exactly state of the art, even the screws looks like their  from another age.

At least it’s light 

[Tex]

After too much deliberation I ordered Nankang AR’1s to use as my track tyres.

Went with 215 up front but 295 rears as unable to get them in 285’s, although they are not really any wider than the Cup 2’s.

They are an aggressive warm weather track tyre but not so good in cold or damp conditions.

I will keep with the Cup 2’s for road use however as still little choice for road only tyres in OEM sizes 

The AR1’s are heavier though so will see if there is any noticeable difference.

On a separate note I have not seen any  aftermarket spacers for the rear wheels advertised although the Lotus wheels seem to come with the fitting holes pre-drilled.

 

[theplanner]

5 hours ago, Tex said:

After too much deliberation I ordered Nankang AR’1s to use as my track tyres.

Went with 215 up front but 295 rears as unable to get them in 285’s, although they are not really any wider than the Cup 2’s.

They are an aggressive warm weather track tyre but not so good in cold or damp conditions.

I will keep with the Cup 2’s for road use however as still little choice for road only tyres in OEM sizes 

The AR1’s are heavier though so will see if there is any noticeable difference.

On a separate note I have not seen any  aftermarket spacers for the rear wheels advertised although the Lotus wheels seem to come with the fitting holes pre-drilled.

 

Any particular reason u didnt try 225 at the fronts?  Given it is track use, you shouldnt rub at all, unless parking. 

[Tex]

I think on mine it may rub, as 10mm lower at front although since having a full track Geo done the front is far more secure in the corners..

 

[DangerousDave]

I've got 225/45/17's on the front in pilot 4s for the street and with ds1-11 pad even at half brake it trips the ABS the bicycle tires in the front are really killing this cars potential even with the kt 475 kit the rears dont break loose as often as the front abs gets tripped

[theplanner]

4 hours ago, DangerousDave said:

I've got 225/45/17's on the front in pilot 4s for the street and with ds1-11 pad even at half brake it trips the ABS the bicycle tires in the front are really killing this cars potential even with the kt 475 kit the rears dont break loose as often as the front abs gets tripped

Interesting, what mode were you driving in?  My guess (pure speculation) is the mode you driving it may trigger the ABS threshold due to the change in pads and tyre width.

Im running 225/ 45 AR1, still on stock pads and have tracked my car.  No issues with ABS but T/C completely off. I was half expecting ABS being more sensitive....but not so.

Edited May 19, 2022 by theplanner

[DangerousDave]

I'm only in sport currently. No one can confirm if ESP off in race is totally off? 

 

[Tex]

6 hours ago, DangerousDave said:

I'm only in sport currently. No one can confirm if ESP off in race is totally off? 

 

The official line is this

”With ESP deactivated only the ABS and HBA ( Hydraulic Brake Assist ) system are still active

However with the Cup430 you also have the additional Lotus VTC which has 6 settings, 1 of which is off.

With ESP and Traction Control off there should be no electronic intervention.

 

[theplanner]

On 20/05/2022 at 09:26, DangerousDave said:

I'm only in sport currently. No one can confirm if ESP off in race is totally off? 

 

I can confirm what Tex mentioned above.  In the 390FE, Race button pressed twice turns everything off and there is no electronic intervention but you still have ABS.

[Exx]

In Race mode ESP is still ON but permissive

[Tex]

Just had 2 great days at Spa and Zolder, although was particularly hot in Spa.

Was Using Nankang AR1’s which performed infinitely better than Cup 2’s, however did get EML warning on, but had use of an OBD reader and checked what might have been causing it. Fault was “System too lean at higher load bank 1”
 

Could not clear the light as reader was not Lotus compatible although had a universal option, but after an hour or so with car in garage and out of the heat the fault just went away

So anyone have recommendations for a Lotus compatible reader  

Edited July 15, 2022 by Tex

[Exx]

When were you at Spa ?

[Tex]

9 hours ago, Exx said:

When were you at Spa ?

Wednesday 

[Tex]

Had a Charity Track Day at Hethel today and took a good look around the new Emrira GT4.

Nice Harrop TVS 1900 Supercharger atop the engine. Hopefully we will see a road going version.

If you haven’t tracked at Hethel then it’s definitely well worth a trip. An uncomplicated and flat circuit and as you would expect ideally suited to a Lotus.

The heat caused a few EML gremlins but once cooled down everything went back to normal 

Edited August 14, 2022 by Tex

[Paul_D]

I was at Hethel on Saturday for a track day, and it was my first time there too. 

I had a couple of 'limp mode' issues, but I'm 99% certain mine was down to charge cooler coolant. Looked like it had spurted out through the cap.

[Tex]

11 hours ago, Paul_D said:

I was at Hethel on Saturday for a track day, and it was my first time there too. 

I had a couple of 'limp mode' issues, but I'm 99% certain mine was down to charge cooler coolant. Looked like it had spurted out through the cap.

Like the circuit ?

I was chatting with a Lotus engineer just before we finished for the day and he explained most of the EML warnings will be heat related particularly with the charge cooled cars. 

[Paul_D]

@Tex

Yes, I did enjoy the circuit. I was worried from looking at the circuit diagram I’d find it a bit boring, but in real life I found it quite fun. 
 

I’m not sure whether there’s something wrong with the cap on my chargecooler expansion tank, or whether it genuinely needed to relieve pressure. 

[Toqcars]

18 hours ago, Paul_D said:

@Tex

Yes, I did enjoy the circuit. I was worried from looking at the circuit diagram I’d find it a bit boring, but in real life I found it quite fun. 
 

I’m not sure whether there’s something wrong with the cap on my chargecooler expansion tank, or whether it genuinely needed to relieve pressure. 

 

18 hours ago, Tex said:

Like the circuit ?

I was chatting with a Lotus engineer just before we finished for the day and he explained most of the EML warnings will be heat related particularly with the charge cooled cars. 

Could be that there is something with the cargecooler tank cap. I needed to add coolant 3 times in the last 8 months.

Also had some issues when there is less than 50% of gas in the tank, so I am always refilling before hitting the track. No EML, but loss of power,similar like the tank is empty. Only last a second or two. I am afraid that the engine would be damaged in high G curves if less than half of a fuel tank. Thinking about the fuel catch tank with a pump...

https://www.jubu-performance.com/en/tuning/part-jubu_kraftstoff_catchtank_system_inkl._hochleistungsbenzinpumpe-1878