Comparison Elise R v Exige questions

[simpo555]

Finally getting close to buying my next Lotus. I've more or less decided on an Exige 220. Only thing is I've not test driven one. As an ex owner of an Elise R I was wondering whether I would find any difference in comfort and ride. I'm slightly expecting a little more noise although I may be mistaken.

In addition, various cars for sale with differing levels of upgrades. I'm sort of wondering which to be considered 'necessary' or simply useful. Not envisaging track use although at the same time I might like to do a few laps. Options I've seen include the performance pack (+20bhp), Nitrons, Pagid brake pads, alloy radiator. Am I going to see a serious difference between the two cars? Don't want add ons that will have a negative impact on the running costs. Not really looking to be blown away by a noisy exhaust either. Had a stage one on my previous car which was fine for me. Any thoughts appreciated.

[Thorburn]

simpo555 said:

Finally getting close to buying my next Lotus. I've more or less decided on an Exige 220. Only thing is I've not test driven one. As an ex owner of an Elise R I was wondering whether I would find any difference in comfort and ride. I'm slightly expecting a little more noise although I may be mistaken.

Depends what's on/was on the cars in terms of tyres, suspension, geo, intake, exhaust, etc.

An Elise on the Sports suspension will ride and handle very similarly to the Exige, particularly if you match up the tyre widths and types. As standard on non-Sport suspension and 175 width AD07 tyres then the Elise will ride a bit better and understeer a bit more easily than an Exige on 195 width AO48's.

Likewise an R with a TRD kit and a Lotus Sport Stage 1 exhaust may be louder than an Exige S with stock airbox and exhaust. The Exige S has the supercharger whine and you have the difference between no roof/soft-top and a hardtop at speed which reduces wind noise.

simpo555 said:

In addition, various cars for sale with differing levels of upgrades. I'm sort of wondering which to be considered 'necessary' or simply useful. Not envisaging track use although at the same time I might like to do a few laps. Options I've seen include the performance pack (+20bhp), Nitrons, Pagid brake pads, alloy radiator. Am I going to see a serious difference between the two cars? Don't want add ons that will have a negative impact on the running costs. Not really looking to be blown away by a noisy exhaust either. Had a stage one on my previous car which was fine for me. Any thoughts appreciated.

None of them are really 'necessary', alloy radiator aside (useful but can always just budget for a replacement if and when its needed, they aren't THAT expensive so it wouldn't sell me on a car) then they mostly come down to personal preference. Performance Pack cars are pretty desirable, as are the Sport seats with the harness holes. In terms of things suspension I've driven cars with suspension setups that I thought were near un-driveable yet others love them, so it really depends on the person.

[s111dpc]

I ran an Exige S with the PP (240bhp), Sports & Touring pack upgrades for a couple of years and loved it. In comparison to an Elise R it is slightly stiffer and has slightly heavier steering, but as Thorburn says it depends on tyres, suspension etc being run on both cars. Certainly didn’t find it an issue.

I ran a stage 1 exhaust and more latterly the TRD airbox which improved the sound of the supercharger without being overly noisy or tiring on longer drives.

If I was buying again, I’d still look for a PP model, with the touring pack as that adds a bit of refinement in the cabin. For road use with the odd track day I’d stay standard on tyres and brakes and spend the money on a good Geo set up.

Happy hunting

[simpo555]

Thorburn said:

None of them are really 'necessary', alloy radiator aside (useful but can always just budget for a replacement if and when its needed, they aren't THAT expensive so it wouldn't sell me on a car) then they mostly come down to personal preference. Performance Pack cars are pretty desirable, as are the Sport seats with the harness holes. In terms of things suspension I've driven cars with suspension setups that I thought were near un-driveable yet others love them, so it really depends on the person.

While I never tracked my R, I often thought about it. I was advised that should I track the car regularly, a stronger oil pump would be necessary. Is this also the cas for an Exige or not

As for suspension set ups, its just seeing cars with 'Nitrons' that intrigues me most. Seems an expensive 'upgrage' but for 'Mr Average' are they worth a small premium or would keeping standard be more than adequate.

[jock mcsporran]

Haven't ran an Elise but been running my 240PP, Sports, Touring Exige for two years.
Comfort is fine, I've covered everything from supermarket/nursery run to 1200 mile long weekends in Scotland and 1 day drives from Interlakken to Leeds. I've always felt fresher getting out of the Exige than the family hack on similar journeys.

The only thing that's a bit much on the longer trips is the Stage 3 exhaust. It measured 105db on a track day and I think that was being generous. I keep telling myself to put in some ear plugs on the long trips but keep forgetting. Got another Scotland trip planned so I'll try it this time, if I remember.

[BillTheButcher]

I'm window shopping for an S2 Exige S while I wait for my 996 Turbo to sell (it's been up for nearly a month now ). Like you, I've noticed that a fair few of them have Nitron shock absorbers, 2bular/Larini exhausts, and various other tweaks.

I'm not driving any of them until I'm in a position to buy so I have no idea what difference any of the mods make to the driving experience. But my feeling at the moment is that the only essentials are the Touring Pack and air conditioning. Probax seats would be good but anything else (e.g. Sports Pack, Performance Pack) would be a bonus but I can always mess about with the geo and get a bit more power/torque out of the engine at a later date if I want to.

[mikeulster500]

I have an Elise R which I pretty much only use for track days. I have added nitron suspension, a baffled sump and the wider forged wheels. These are probably the main considerations you would want to think about if getting an elise and using it for the track (with the toyota engine).

If I was going for an exige, I would only get one with the sports pack (sports seats/harness bar/better dampers)

[piers1]

simpo555 said:

While I never tracked my R, I often thought about it. I was advised that should I track the car regularly, a stronger oil pump would be necessary. Is this also the cas for an Exige or not

I've tracked my R for six years, cannot even count how many days, it runs the engine/box straight out of the Lotus factory, 77k miles on the same clutch, don't believe everything you read on the good old internet

[Thorburn]

simpo555 said:

As for suspension set ups, its just seeing cars with 'Nitrons' that intrigues me most. Seems an expensive 'upgrage' but for 'Mr Average' are they worth a small premium or would keeping standard be more than adequate.

Depends which 'Nitrons' they are - I run Nitron Street Series on my S1 and part of the reason I got them was because the Bilstein kit wasn't in stock anywhere at the time I needed them and they pretty compliant, not far from OE really, but they'll be a world apart from say some NTR 46mm Race 3-way adjustable Nitrons in terms of spring rates and damping. The specification of the dampers/springs, how they're adjusted and how the car is geo'd all play a big part.

Personally for road use I like quite a softly set up Elise, I'm not a big fan of the S2 Bilstein sports suspension on the Exige and Sport Pack Elises as I like bumpy country roads and I find the car gets unsettled too easily, but on track they'll better control bodyroll. Best bet is to drive the car and see what you make of it.

piers1 said:

I've tracked my R for six years, cannot even count how many days, it runs the engine/box straight out of the Lotus factory, 77k miles on the same clutch, don't believe everything you read on the good old internet

Anecdotally it seems like a lot of the time its down to slightly low oil levels and sustained cornering on semi-slicks at high revs that can sometimes cause issues due to oil starvation/surging? For such uses I guess a baffled sump or similar is a worthwhile precaution, but like you say the people who comment tend to be the minority who've had an issue - the hundreds of people who haven't will stay silent.

[Paza3]

Off Topic

BillTheButcher remember you buying that turbo when I was on the 911 Forum and I had my C4S, how come shes going?

Loving my Exige , so much fun.. and so cheap running costs compared to the 911!

[BillTheButcher]

Paza3 said:

Off Topic

BillTheButcher remember you buying that turbo when I was on the 911 Forum and I had my C4S, how come shes going?

I started a thread in here about it:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Paza3 said:

Loving my Exige , so much fun.. and so cheap running costs compared to the 911!