New toy - the quiet member of the family... Europa S!!! Advice!

[Gorgonzola]

Hi all,

Instead of lurking on this section, and after much deliberation, i have put a deposit down on a Europa S... can't wait for delivery next week!!!

I would be very thankful if anyone can point me in the direction of the following:

Insurance specialist?
ECU Remap - main dealer said they could no longer carry this out as the tech is passed it???
Northwest Lotus independant?
Any recommendations of upgrades? I believe the suspension is a bit suspect and the even rarer SE was much better?

Thanks in advance.

[RichEuropaS]

Hello,

You are best asking your questions on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/lotus.europa/
You will find a lot of attachments, that always help.

I am running my car all standard.
I replaced the back shock and springs the other month, but with Lotus STD, as I did not want to take away any of the GT benefits.
The SE does have different suspension, note only around 48 made, but a number of cars may have been upgraded / changed.

It all depends how you will drive your car and what you will be doing with it e.g. track racing.

Like I say, jump on the Facebook group and you will get all your answers, as we have all types of drives in the group.

[400SE Dave]

Gorgonzola said:

Insurance specialist?
ECU Remap - main dealer said they could no longer carry this out as the tech is passed it???
Northwest Lotus independant?
Any recommendations of upgrades? I believe the suspension is a bit suspect and the even rarer SE was much better?

Thanks in advance.

Can't answer all your questions but the ones I can

Henderson Taylor Insurance/REIS/CCI/Footman James are all options. I have been with Henderson Taylor with my Lotus for the past 6 years.
Independant - Phoenix Motorsport, nr Accrington. Very highly respected and often recommended Lotis specialist

If you are NW based you should also register with NORLOG (North West Lotus Owners Group). Various and events and a monthly meet (next one is 3rd JUne if you get your car in time)

Look forward to pics of the Europa when you get it

[Skaffen]

Welcome to the fold .

For insurance I've been with Henderson Taylor for years - first with my S1 Elise, and currently with my Europa S - always a great service and the few times I've phoned around for comparison I've always found Matthew manages to be competitive with the others. Manning seemed to be good on price tho' when I was doing the phoning around for comparison, and One Answer seem to get a lot of praise recently on SELOC.

Could be worth calling Hofmann's about the ECU remap just to check if what you were told was BS or not - Hofmann's have loads of Europa experience and they've just become a Lotus dealer. There may be 225 ECU's around second hand, but I seem to recall they may need coding to a given car (I could be misremembering that). If not then Junks has experience of having a Europa tuned by Courtenay a couple of years ago, and a couple of owners have used Komotec remaps.

Suspension - Hofmann's spec nitrons are a potential upgrade - probably best to talk to Chris at Hofmann's about what you want in terms of comfort/handling and pros/cons of sticking with standard suspension, and considering the whole package (wheels, tyres, geo as well), as he should be able to give good advice. A suitable good geo will probably make quite a difference on its own . From what I recall reading the SE handling in part came from the different wheels as well as the dampers/springs.

[Toaster]

Gorgonzola said:

ECU Remap - main dealer said they could no longer carry this out as the tech is passed it??? Thanks in advance.

Erm the software does not go out of date id check with these guys [e-mail]

[Gorgonzola]

All, thanks for your response. Henderson Taylor was a good pick off, Matt helped me out there and saved me a quite a bit on the others.

I have gone on NORLOG and it seems very informative. Unfortunately I can't make the next meet, ironically I drove past the Haughton Arms the other day also! Maybe next month.

I picked the car up yesterday and have only managed to take it for a couple of quick blasts. Needless to say i loved it. I am used to driving modern cars and the thing that was most different was the lack of power steering ironically, it was so heavy!

Looking forward to a track day soon, get to know the car a bit, and then get to know it on its limits!!!

Thanks again all.

[Gorgonzola]

All, thanks for your response. Henderson Taylor was a good pick off, Matt helped me out there and saved me a quite a bit on the others.

I have gone on NORLOG and it seems very informative. Unfortunately I can't make the next meet, ironically I drove past the Haughton Arms the other day also! Maybe next month.

I picked the car up yesterday and have only managed to take it for a couple of quick blasts. Needless to say i loved it. I am used to driving modern cars and the thing that was most different was the lack of power steering ironically, it was so heavy!

Looking forward to a track day soon, get to know the car a bit, and then get to know it on its limits!!!

Thanks again all.

[gianlu]

As suggested:courtenay can map, speak with john. But i would say clutch needs upgrading too. And again i echo skuffer on suggesting hoffmann: Chris have been successfully running the europa for a number of years, he knows a lot about it.

[fatwomble]

Chris from Hoffman's and Junks are definitely the experts.

Nothing wrong with the suspension for road use, but it was way too soft on track, people where worried that my car was going to capsize. Fast Road Nitrons did the trick.

Also wider front wheels and tyres (I changed to Team Dynamics) and an Exige Geo. Again, only necessary for track, it felt great on the road as standard.

[kazste]

They are fantastic cars which only highlights the shame i have that mine may be gone soon.

[Toaster]

gianlu said:

But i would say clutch needs upgrading too.

Why? the clutches are good !

[Toaster]

gianlu said:

But i would say clutch needs upgrading too.

Why? the clutches are good !

[vxah]

Clutch is fine unless you plan on turning the wick up?
remember the engine and transmission are straight out of an Astra and in a lighter vehicle. If there is a weak point it could well be that 6 speed M32 gearbox! Plenty of failures in Astra's but again, a lighter car so less strain?

[Toaster]

vxah said:

Clutch is fine unless you plan on turning the wick up?
remember the engine and transmission are straight out of an Astra and in a lighter vehicle. If there is a weak point it could well be that 6 speed M32 gearbox! Plenty of failures in Astra's but again, a lighter car so less strain?

To be honest i doubt a remap is going to cause problems with the clutch

[randy]

vxah said:

Clutch is fine unless you plan on turning the wick up?
remember the engine and transmission are straight out of an Astra and in a lighter vehicle. If there is a weak point it could well be that 6 speed M32 gearbox! Plenty of failures in Astra's but again, a lighter car so less strain?

Clutch is fine for stock power but not much more. If you change I would recommend going to helix cera metallic so you have some head room.

Gearbox is strong as they come, mine takes 460lb ft of torque on 10" slicks no problem. Only thing with the M32 is that its a three shaft box so churns the oil meaning a cooler is a good idea for heavy track work and I would recommend synthetic oil for any track work.

Stock suspension and wheels are a little wobbly and on any Europa will be tired by now. Feel free to call me to discuss upgrade options.

[randy]

Oh, forgot to say... I wouldn't bother with a remap without doing a charge cooler first - again, give me a shout if you ant to talk charge coolers as we have invested a huge amount of R&D into this area.

[Gorgonzola]

Guys thanks for the feedback. Now I have been for a few blasts and getting to know the car the brakes are a little woeful, any suggestions?

[kazste]

May not be too helpful but my suggestion would be to get them checked out. Granted i have mintex pads and braided hoses so a little upgraded but mine stops better than my elise and is very stable.

[Skaffen]

What pads has it got? They can make quite a difference to performance and feel.

Part of the 225 "factory" upgrade was to switch the front discs for cross-drilled ones - if your Europa hasn't had the 225 upgrade then it probably has the original discs, however I wouldn't have thought that will make that much difference on the road (but not having driven one with standard brakes I can't comment from experience).

[fridaypassion]

Should have bought the silver one

Miltek and 225 upgrade already on. Brakes should be no issue the S2 platform has mighty stoppers. I've had far quicker and more powerful cars that run fine on solid discs and mintex or other decent pads. New fluid maybe?