Porsche 911 996 Turbo - S2 Exige S?
Discussion
Hello.
About a month ago I bought a 2003 Porsche 911 Turbo. It's a very capable car but I'm finding that it lacks character, and to get the best out of it you have to travel at speeds that I'm not comfortable doing for very long.
So I'm looking to replace it with something with similar performance but that will be more involving and entertaining more of the time. An S2 Exige S looks like it might fit the bill.
I know the Toyota lump is quite peaky and lacking in torque in standard guise; does the SC provide useable torque lower down the rev range or just more shove at the top end?
Practicality is not a huge priority (we have another car as a daily driver) but being able to travel relatively long distances (200 - 300 miles) in comfort would be good. I was considering a Caterham but I've been told that they're a bit raw for long journeys.
Any thoughts and/or advice much appreciated.
Cheers.
This one caught my eye but I know nothing about the relative merits/perils of modding these cars.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...
About a month ago I bought a 2003 Porsche 911 Turbo. It's a very capable car but I'm finding that it lacks character, and to get the best out of it you have to travel at speeds that I'm not comfortable doing for very long.
So I'm looking to replace it with something with similar performance but that will be more involving and entertaining more of the time. An S2 Exige S looks like it might fit the bill.
I know the Toyota lump is quite peaky and lacking in torque in standard guise; does the SC provide useable torque lower down the rev range or just more shove at the top end?
Practicality is not a huge priority (we have another car as a daily driver) but being able to travel relatively long distances (200 - 300 miles) in comfort would be good. I was considering a Caterham but I've been told that they're a bit raw for long journeys.
Any thoughts and/or advice much appreciated.
Cheers.
This one caught my eye but I know nothing about the relative merits/perils of modding these cars.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...
Cannot compare the cars, as have never driven a Porsche, however the comfort aspect will be significantly different between the 2.
For me, the Elise/Exige of that era are perfect. The seat couldnt have been made more correctly shaped. I compare it to the molding of seats they do for F1 drivers, so if you are lucky you might be the same category as me and be very happy with it all.
A lot of people believe the Probax seats are a major improvement over the original seats, so that might also help. Looking at that 2006 Exige, I do not think it has them.
For me, the Elise/Exige of that era are perfect. The seat couldnt have been made more correctly shaped. I compare it to the molding of seats they do for F1 drivers, so if you are lucky you might be the same category as me and be very happy with it all.
A lot of people believe the Probax seats are a major improvement over the original seats, so that might also help. Looking at that 2006 Exige, I do not think it has them.
The motorsports seats on your link are horrible so if you buy the car sell them to me 
I have the normal probax seats and drove back from Belgium last year (400miles) with no problems.
The SC has a power delivery right through the rev range, the supercharger kicks in and keeps pushing up to the red line so you wont have any issues there
I have the normal probax seats and drove back from Belgium last year (400miles) with no problems.The SC has a power delivery right through the rev range, the supercharger kicks in and keeps pushing up to the red line so you wont have any issues there
ad243S said:
The motorsports seats on your link are horrible so if you buy the car sell them to me I have the normal probax seats and drove back from Belgium last year (400miles) with no problems.
I have the normal probax seats and drove back from Belgium last year (400miles) with no problems.I'm also looking at this one:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...
According to the ad it has Probax seats. I can't see the difference though. Is Probax just an extra layer of foam that you can't see?
I prefer the colour of the Titanium one - and from what I've read so far the Probax seats are worth having - but it's 50 BHP down on the blue one.
ad243s said:
The SC has a power delivery right through the rev range, the supercharger kicks in and keeps pushing up to the red line so you wont have any issues there
All cars since the switch to toyota engines had the probax seats I think.
The differences are is that there are 2 types:
Normal
Motorsport
The motorsport ones are the ones with harness holes and are very sought after and hard to get a hold of.
If you prefer the titanium one you could add the 260 Christopher Neil upgrade yourself however it will cost you about £2k, new injectors, fuel pump, ecu upgrade and trd air filter some also add bigger intercooler which bumps power up again slightly but then you would have the colour you want.
The differences are is that there are 2 types:
Normal
Motorsport
The motorsport ones are the ones with harness holes and are very sought after and hard to get a hold of.
If you prefer the titanium one you could add the 260 Christopher Neil upgrade yourself however it will cost you about £2k, new injectors, fuel pump, ecu upgrade and trd air filter some also add bigger intercooler which bumps power up again slightly but then you would have the colour you want.
philallan said:
All cars since the switch to toyota engines had the probax seats I think.
The differences are is that there are 2 types:
Normal
Motorsport
The motorsport ones are the ones with harness holes and are very sought after and hard to get a hold of.
Got it. Both of the cars that I linked to have harness holes. Does that mean they're both Probax Motorsport?The differences are is that there are 2 types:
Normal
Motorsport
The motorsport ones are the ones with harness holes and are very sought after and hard to get a hold of.
philallan said:
If you prefer the titanium one you could add the 260 Christopher Neil upgrade yourself however it will cost you about £2k, new injectors, fuel pump, ecu upgrade and trd air filter some also add bigger intercooler which bumps power up again slightly but then you would have the colour you want.
Thanks Phil. 
Whilst I wouldn't call the Exige 'raw' as such, and I drove my Elise on journeys of 200-300 miles, I wonder if you would be better looking at an Evora, or possibly even a Europa if you can find one (they're quite rare!). I've not driven a 911, but I have compared the Cayman S to the Evora on a couple of occasions and from what you say your perfect car may be an Evora.
I made the same change, 996 turbo for 2 years and now Exige S for almost two years. Pretty much the same reasons too.
Practicality isn't as good but comfort is fine. I've driven from Interlaken to Leeds in a day and felt better than similar trips in the Pork.
Used daily when I'm not offshore. Summer/winter, no difference. I'm on my phone just now but feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about the two.
Practicality isn't as good but comfort is fine. I've driven from Interlaken to Leeds in a day and felt better than similar trips in the Pork.
Used daily when I'm not offshore. Summer/winter, no difference. I'm on my phone just now but feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about the two.
Like yourself I find the blue Exige with WB interesting. I like the Burnt orange one with him too. However, a few questions, which will no doubt open up a big can of worms. With 10K worth of 'upgrades' we must be talking about a car that has done a fair amount of tracking, I would have thought, or do people spend this sort of cash too have a quicker 'road car'. So while the mileage is reasonable, it might be fair to assume that the car has been used a touch more than the mileage would suggest. It also makes me think that the previous owner lost a packet which also goes a lttle bit against the run of things as far as Exiges are concerned. I'm no expert and don't wish to decry what people do, I just wish to gain an insight into the pros and cons. In addition, I spoke to a reputable Lotus dealer who said he had great trouble finding Exiges that he would consider to be sold through his network as many of them had'nt been treated as one might have expected. I'm fully prepared to admit this could be just ill informed comment or sales talk but it made me think a bit. His argument seemed to hold water nevertheless as plenty of cars are advertised outside of the Lotus dealers network. this could also mean that the specialists are better.
I had a 2006 997 Carrera S. Drove it for a year, great car...but in the end I found it was lacking any real character. It's well built and excellent performance but I used to call it a "digital" car and what I really wanted was an "analogue" car. Sold it and bought a Europa.
Great drivers car, comfort ok and enough performance for me. Don't know why I sold it but have recently bought a 06 Exige and just having supercharged. Pick it up in a week or so. Having driven a few of these I'm pretty confident it will meet my needs. Like you really after character and performance. I can live with the "sparse" comfort, in some way ads to the overall experience.
I don't think you'll go wrong with an Exige or Europa.
Good luck
Great drivers car, comfort ok and enough performance for me. Don't know why I sold it but have recently bought a 06 Exige and just having supercharged. Pick it up in a week or so. Having driven a few of these I'm pretty confident it will meet my needs. Like you really after character and performance. I can live with the "sparse" comfort, in some way ads to the overall experience.
I don't think you'll go wrong with an Exige or Europa.
Good luck
Very good point about the blue one possibly having had a hard life. I wouldn't spend that much upgrading a car just to drive it on public roads.
I prefer Titanium so maybe that's the way to go and then get the upgrade as suggested if 220 BHP isn't enough.
Given the offers I'm getting for straight purchase from traders it looks like I might have to put it on SOR which will slow the whole process down a lot.
I prefer Titanium so maybe that's the way to go and then get the upgrade as suggested if 220 BHP isn't enough.
Given the offers I'm getting for straight purchase from traders it looks like I might have to put it on SOR which will slow the whole process down a lot.
Go for it OP, I'm sure you won't regret it. I've not felt the need for a power hike on my 220, it's perfectly adequate for road use, though I'm sure a bit more top-end puff would be welcome on some circuits. Suppose you just have to see how you get on and decide from there. At least you now know you hve the option to upgrade the titanium car.
I'm nearly 3-years into ownership and still loving it. Porsches do tempt me at times, but I would find it hard to justify losing the Lotus for all the reasons mentioned by other posts (analogue vs digital etc). It just feels too.....special.
I'm nearly 3-years into ownership and still loving it. Porsches do tempt me at times, but I would find it hard to justify losing the Lotus for all the reasons mentioned by other posts (analogue vs digital etc). It just feels too.....special.
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