Exige 350 Sport

[ECG1000]

Hi all, I've had this a few weeks now so thought I'd better stop lurking and sign up.
I wanted an Orange one but saw this for sale at a Porsche dealer for a good price so snapped it up. The forged wheels were a real plus point for me!

The first thing I did was take it over Snake Pass in the pouring rain which was pretty eventful!
Other than that, I've driven it up to the Lakes via the North Yorkshire Moors (where the photos were taken) and have become obsessed with the thing! Such a sense of occasion every time I drive it - and that's coming from an ex-Caterham owner.

Plans are to drive it loads and keep on attending track days. I can now do this in the winter thanks to having a roof and a heater!
Modification-wise, I stuck the shark fin stickers on after a few days. Well, someone else did...they're too expensive to mess up and crease!
This weekend I'll be fitting a towing eye due to some track day organiser's rules and because they look cool.... I've got some new bolts for this. The standard painted ones on the car are starting to look a bit grotty (after less than a year/2000 miles 😑 ...). I bought some brass ones because I'm a tart.  Not that anyone will notice...

Further mods will be mainly cosmetic, thus a few related questions to follow.
I'm also tempted for an LSD - will see how I get on at the track first.

Questions, if you don't mind.
a) How do you remove the heater control surround?
b) How do you remove the window switch surrounds?
c) How do you remove the harness loops in the seats?
d) How do you remove the gear linkage surround?

I've spoken to a couple of owners on Instgram and Facebook, but would appreciate a bit more info if a member has done this, or has a guide. Don't want to snap anything!

Thanks in advance.
Looking forward to getting stuck into Exige ownership!
 

[Kristof Thys]

Welcome!  And very very nice looking car!

 

(sorry, can't help with your questions, but someone knowledgeable will come along soon)

[KennyN]

Hi Charlie, Your car is pretty similar to mine, fine choice sir 😉

The brass bolts look nice, but they will not be as strong as steel, so possibly not the best option for attaching the towing eye?

[2GOOD]

You seem to be thinking of adding the colour coded interior bits, same as me! Think I’ve liked your car on Instagram too. Heater surround is two screws underneath & then pull I think? @GFWilliams did tell me a while ago. I’ve bought one to get painted as my current part is trimmed in leather. Seat hoops - some will break, there are 8 pieces & about £22 each, that’s as far As I’ve got with those, still got to look at door trims & gear change.

[MrP_]

5 hours ago, ECG1000 said:

Questions, if you don't mind.
a) How do you remove the heater control surround?
b) How do you remove the window switch surrounds?
c) How do you remove the harness loops in the seats?
d) How do you remove the gear linkage surround?

 

A) pull down at the top, release two tabs and wiggle out. If too tight remove two screws under alu shelf to creat some slack

 B) remove door card, release switch from rear

c) Snap them! Better to wrap them in the colour you want

d) Pull up, release switch harnesses then remove. Now pop out insert from behind 

[stephenwhyte]

Lovely car - very different in terms of the extra white bits. Looks great! Regarding the shark fins where did you get them from.....deroure? Always liked them and might give them a go

[Mark030358]

1 hour ago, stephenwhyte said:

Lovely car - very different in terms of the extra white bits. Looks great! Regarding the shark fins where did you get them from.....deroure? Always liked them and might give them a go

Go under 430 cup decals on Deroure, I’ve order a set. 

 

[ECG1000]

16 hours ago, Kristof Thys said:

Welcome!  And very very nice looking car!

 

(sorry, can't help with your questions, but someone knowledgeable will come along soon)

Thank you vey much!

15 hours ago, KennyN said:

Hi Charlie, Your car is pretty similar to mine, fine choice sir 😉

The brass bolts look nice, but they will not be as strong as steel, so possibly not the best option for attaching the towing eye?

Thanks!
Interesting point on the brass bolts. Never even crossed my mind.

12 hours ago, 2GOOD said:

You seem to be thinking of adding the colour coded interior bits, same as me! Think I’ve liked your car on Instagram too. Heater surround is two screws underneath & then pull I think? @GFWilliams did tell me a while ago. I’ve bought one to get painted as my current part is trimmed in leather. Seat hoops - some will break, there are 8 pieces & about £22 each, that’s as far As I’ve got with those, still got to look at door trims & gear change.

Great minds think alike 😀
Yeah I spoke to GF on Instagram who said as much. Just wondered if someone had done a guide on it.
Crazy price for some plastic hoops! That's why I'm being cautious and asking loads of questions.

11 hours ago, MrP_ said:

A) pull down at the top, release two tabs and wiggle out. If too tight remove two screws under alu shelf to creat some slack

 B) remove door card, release switch from rear

c) Snap them! Better to wrap them in the colour you want

d) Pull up, release switch harnesses then remove. Now pop out insert from behind 

Thanks for this. Sounds pretty simple then! Famous last words....

11 hours ago, stephenwhyte said:

Lovely car - very different in terms of the extra white bits. Looks great! Regarding the shark fins where did you get them from.....deroure? Always liked them and might give them a go

Thank you very much.
I was a bit uncertain about all the extra white bits. Now I really like them. I was going to paint the side pods black, but think I may leave them as they are. Time will tell...
Yep, shark fins are from Deroure.


Well, I got bored last night so decided to fit the towing eye.

My recently purchased Lidl dremel did the job!

[MrP_]

8 hours ago, ECG1000 said:

 

Thanks for this. Sounds pretty simple then! Famous last words....

 

if you are around the northwest then I can help. First time you do it nothing seems to move, once you have the knack it's pretty easy

[ECG1000]

16 hours ago, MrP_ said:

if you are around the northwest then I can help. First time you do it nothing seems to move, once you have the knack it's pretty easy

Thanks mate, I'd really appreciate that. Although it looks like you're on the wrong side of the Pennines 😉

[Five50]

I had my harness holes wrapped in situ.

Much easier than cutting out and putting in new ones.

Tho helps from an access perspective if you have a removeable roof.

Door cards to access window switches and heater surround panel dead easy - if the above is not detailed enough, you will find all you need on a google / youtube search.

Great car - always good to see someone driving and enjoying 🙂 

[Sharky]

Nice looking car, congratulations 👍

[ECG1000]

Haven't update this in a while so here goes:

Copied straight over from PH so excuse any generic Exige characteristic explanations....

End of October:

PH sticker on (as I do with all my cars)

 

Mid November:

Went for a quick blast on Sunday making the most of the dry and salt free roads!
Having only previously driven Snakes Pass in the Exige on a dark and stormy night, I fancied round two - but this time going via the Strines.
The Strines was nice and quiet leaving a few opportunities to open up the taps. Snake was packed full of people dribbling along which spoilt the fun somewhat. That's Sunday afternoons for you!
A particular highlight was tearing up a completely empty (Glossop side of) Holme Moss. I could see what looked like a car meet parked in one the view points. Made sure to give it plenty past them!

 

Early December:

Anglesey over the weekend: GP layout in the morning followed by Coastal in the afternoon.
I did the same last year in my old Fiesta ST which was a hoot, but left me wanting for something rear wheel drive.

The conditions were very wet to start off, leaving me a little cautious - not wanting to make a mess of my pride & joy or even my pride itself. So the "Sport" setting on the traction control was selected. It's a good job as I had a bit of a moment on my first lap going round Bus Stop, which seems to have less grip than the rest of the circuit!
As the day went on, and the track dried a little (then got greasy again when it drizzled), I got braver and switched everything off. I needn't have worried too much in the first place as the Exige proved to be a friendly steer on the limit. It rotates quite quickly but gives you enough warning beforehand. Even getting out of shape round church just required a quick flick of the wrists. Bus Stop continued to keep me on my toes but once I got into the swing of the day, I could scoot round on the power with a touch of opposit lock on - very satisfying.

A couple of points for me to think about:
- An LSD would have helped in the slower corners. I could get the car to pivot on a trailing throttle but as soon as I got on the power, the inside rear wheel would bonfire. I suppose this only matters if you're into skidding but it's nice to have that extra control when in the mood.
- I experienced some mild understeer on the way out of corners when trying to be smooth and quick. Not sure if some extra camber will help or perhaps altering my driving style? This is my first mid-engined car after all.

Anyway, enough of me boring you to death with my ramblings. Here are some photos:

So all in all, a cracking day out. Still continue to enjoy the car more and more each time I drive it!

I doubt there'll be much more going on with the Exige until the New Year. Maybe a few blasts here and there if the roads have been washed of the salt currently on them!

 

This Week:

Finally managed to get some bits anodised.
I've got a track day booked on the 28th so was slightly nervous about whipping vital bits off the car and ending up without them when the 28th came up. I needn’t have worried - John Beaumont of Huddersfield got it all turned around in a couple of days for the princely sum of £40.

The spoiler struts and filler cap surround have always looked a little out of place being silver against a white car with black wheels. The gear knob looked ok in the interior due to a few other silver items around it, but I have a plan for in there so this needed changing.

First was to pull the offending items off the car. Not a tricky job at all, just one that made me slightly anxious. One careless slip with a torx key could have ended up being an expensive mistake.
All went well apart from a minor mishap with the upper part of the wing.

I thought removing the upper section would make life easier getting the struts out. It did. However, I didn't realise it was actually glued in place. Whoops...

A few days later....

Re-fitting everything went smoothly. A light smear of some very smelly glue on the wing edges did the trick.

The gear knob isn't quite finished. I'll be filling in the numbers with red paint then matching a few other interior bits in the same red.

Then out into the Peak District for a wet and greasy drive.

Not the most thrilling of updates.... The next one will be post track day. I have recently acquired a GoPro so hopefully I can get some decent footage.

 

Yesterday:

O.K. so one more non-thrilling update.

I filled the numbers on the gear knob with red paint.
Because the numbers are fairly deeply inset, I could simply spray the whole knob, and then rub the excess off with a rag and thinners.
It'll match up nicely to some other bits of the interior that'll be painted red soon.

 

Edited January 18, 2019 by ECG1000

[Dan.G]

On 24/10/2018 at 18:05, KennyN said:

Hi Charlie, Your car is pretty similar to mine, fine choice sir 😉

The brass bolts look nice, but they will not be as strong as steel, so possibly not the best option for attaching the towing eye?

Actually thought you'd sold yours for a second, then I realised you have driven into a sticker factory

[KennyN]

20 hours ago, Dan.G said:

Actually thought you'd sold yours for a second, then I realised you have driven into a sticker factory

Just a couple of subtle, easily reversible additions to mix it up a bit 😉

[ECG1000]

Late January

Bedford went well yesterday....sent home after 3 laps for blitzing the noise meters.

|

I knew Bedford is stringent on noise but having read a build thread over on the Lotus Forum where a chap had no problems all day in his Exige, I was at the time, surprised at the banishing!
However, reading further into it, it turns out the early V6 S variant of the Exige has a quieter exhaust. When Lotus updated the V6 platform, they seem to have made everything loud! You live and learn...

 

This week

A quick update to keep the thread alive...

After being booted off Bedford, I hastily booked Silverstone as a bit of retail therapy. This was supposed to be on Sunday the 3rd of March.
On Saturday the 2nd of March (the weekend it snowed) I was out walking with my girlfriend enjoying the crisp winter air when a text came through from Javelin saying Silverstone has been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.... Oh dear. It seemed there was some unseen force conspiring against me to keep me off the track. Never mind....

Anyway, I'm one of those people who was too tight to buy my own helmet. It occurred to me however that adding up all the £10 notes I'd spent each time I hired one, I could have actually bought something of reasonable quality.
So I set about Googling and landed on a few well priced examples. Then a flash of carbon caught my eye and I ended up going berserk  and purchasing this:

It does look awesome though and at least my feeble neck muscles won't come under too much strain during hard cornering...
An added bonus are the HANS Device brackets.

In other news, the roof has recently started to make a ticking sound. Like plastic rubbing on plastic. I whipped it off one evening last week and lined the brackets with felt tape which seemed to have cured it. However after a weekend thrashing about up in North Yorkshire, the ticking has returned, albeit less frequent. One to revisit this week.

Here's a picture "mid-thrash" just outside Reeth:

More next time, when hopefully I'll have been round a track more than 3 times...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've since pulled the gear-knob surround and heater control surround off to be sprayed Mazda "Soul Red". Should brighten the interior up nicely.

I also had another crack at the roof after speaking to Lotus. They favour using Vaseline on the rubbers...? With the car suitably lubed up and felt stuck everywhere, I'm hoping the ticking has gone. I'm yet to perform a test drive though...

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by ECG1000

[BatMobile]

Nice right up -- the carbon helmets are too good to resist aren't they! 

Out of interest any lessons learnt on removing the outer section of the fuel cap? My black one is arriving tomorrow and keen to get it on - is it simple? anything to watch out for?

[ECG1000]

53 minutes ago, BatMobile said:

Nice right up -- the carbon helmets are too good to resist aren't they! 

Out of interest any lessons learnt on removing the outer section of the fuel cap? My black one is arriving tomorrow and keen to get it on - is it simple? anything to watch out for?

Thanks! Need to get a trackday in so I've an excuse to wear it. There's only so many times I can get away with wearing it sitting at my desk!

The filler cap surround is pretty straight forward.
Remove the filler cap, then get all the bolts undone from the surround. (Make sure you double check your allen key is properly seated within the bolts, they're quite tight and easy to round off). Get a flat plastic trim removal tool and work your way round the outer edge of the surround prizing is away from the bodywork being careful not to damage the cork gasket too much. The surround will eventually pop out.
Don't be alarmed when you see the filler neck drop away slightly, it won't go far.
When you're doing everything back up again just be careful not to cross threads on any of the bolts. You'll need to pull the filler neck up to meet the surround and hold it in place quite firmly.

[RoflOnMyWaffle]

56 minutes ago, ECG1000 said:

Thanks! Need to get a trackday in so I've an excuse to wear it. There's only so many times I can get away with wearing it sitting at my desk!

I can relate, bought a cheap £30 helmet back in the day for go karting with friends, and eventually sacrificed it to become a decoration for my reptile tanks... Used to play xbox with it on for a laugh

[KJD]

2 hours ago, BatMobile said:

Nice right up -- the carbon helmets are too good to resist aren't they! 

Out of interest any lessons learnt on removing the outer section of the fuel cap? My black one is arriving tomorrow and keen to get it on - is it simple? anything to watch out for?

Don’t forget the o-ring. 😉

[ECG1000]

19 minutes ago, KJD said:

Don’t forget the o-ring. 😉

Ooooh yeah.....whoops. 😊

[sjw]

Have you lifted the centre console yet ? 

I only ask as I am considering filling in the sides of the open gear gate (not the top, I like that) with a body colour panel.

[MrP_]

 

33 minutes ago, sjw said:

Have you lifted the centre console yet ? 

I only ask as I am considering filling in the sides of the open gear gate (not the top, I like that) with a body colour panel.

I’ve done it several times, just pull up. 4 clips and 2 cable connectors that’s it. The base is three 8mm bolts to the floor.

When pulling up the top part it’s highly likely the clips will come off the top part and fall down, so either get a magnet or take the bottom part off to retrieve.

[ECG1000]

5 hours ago, MrP_ said:

 

I’ve done it several times, just pull up. 4 clips and 2 cable connectors that’s it. The base is three 8mm bolts to the floor.

When pulling up the top part it’s highly likely the clips will come off the top part and fall down, so either get a magnet or take the bottom part off to retrieve.

Exactly this. Was surprised how easily it came up actually. 

[RoflOnMyWaffle]

Did you ever paint the interior trims?

I just used this as a quick guide to pop em all out - gonna go yellow me thinks! Orange on an Orange car was too much IMO.

Word of warning, my heater surround was tight, removed screws and you really gotta pull. It gets pretty jammed.
The gearbox surround the instructions weren't quite clear - pull up on the WHOLE alcantara surround, not just the silver plastic bit, pops right out.

Door cars were fiddly, undid the allen bolts, but couldn't tell if they were clips or screws I couldn't get to for the door card, so just left it on and got a smaller screw driver to undo window switches.
Should only take about an hour or so