Exige 360 for Road and Trackdays?
Discussion
Hi all,
This is my first post on the Lotus forums but I've been elsewhere on PH since the beginning of time! I've had a couple of Caterhams in the past, the last one being a Duratec 2.3l, 280BHP, 515KG aeroscreened track car, that was 2004-2011 though and I've been out of fast track focussed cars since then.
So I fancy another track capable car but as I'm now inevitably that bit older I'd also like something I can use on the road too, the occasional Euro trip to the Swish passes, Sunday morning blasts through the country.
So a couple of weeks ago I test drove a Caterham 620S in the Gatwick Caterham dealership and then tried a 620R at Donnington (one of BookaTracks hire cars) for a few laps.
Whilst I don't doubt the 620Rs track capability and fun I'm concerned I'm going to spend £58K on a car thats so track focused I just won't use it on the road.
So my mind is turning towards an Exige S3, I haven't driven one yet but I've heard great reports about them on road, question is how capable out of the box are they on track? I really don't want to buy something I then have to add dry sump, track suspension, uprated brakes etc. Is it going to be track capable out of the box?
This would be a third car BTW so doesn't need to be used as a daily.
I appreciate there's likely to be many threads on this subject already so apologies for asking again but any input from those in the know will be highly appreciated
Thanks,
Mike
This is my first post on the Lotus forums but I've been elsewhere on PH since the beginning of time! I've had a couple of Caterhams in the past, the last one being a Duratec 2.3l, 280BHP, 515KG aeroscreened track car, that was 2004-2011 though and I've been out of fast track focussed cars since then.
So I fancy another track capable car but as I'm now inevitably that bit older I'd also like something I can use on the road too, the occasional Euro trip to the Swish passes, Sunday morning blasts through the country.
So a couple of weeks ago I test drove a Caterham 620S in the Gatwick Caterham dealership and then tried a 620R at Donnington (one of BookaTracks hire cars) for a few laps.
Whilst I don't doubt the 620Rs track capability and fun I'm concerned I'm going to spend £58K on a car thats so track focused I just won't use it on the road.
So my mind is turning towards an Exige S3, I haven't driven one yet but I've heard great reports about them on road, question is how capable out of the box are they on track? I really don't want to buy something I then have to add dry sump, track suspension, uprated brakes etc. Is it going to be track capable out of the box?
This would be a third car BTW so doesn't need to be used as a daily.
I appreciate there's likely to be many threads on this subject already so apologies for asking again but any input from those in the know will be highly appreciated
Thanks,
Mike
Hugely capable in standard spec on track, yet supple enough to be very usable on the road. It's a seriously fast car in the right hands, yet is approachable on the limit (on track) in a way that I hadn't expected. It's not the spiky mid-engined, short wheelbase animal you might imagine, helped by the sublime and communicative steering and the fluidity of the chassis. Turn all the electronic aids off and revel in the brilliance of Lotus chassis engineering and the uncorrupted steering.
The torque of the V6 helps the car be a less frantic road car than the supercharged 4 pot engines in the Elise/Exige by way of comparison. Sensitive to tyre pressures on track though otherwise they do suffer chronic understeer.
The car is enormously engaging but don't be fooled - it doesn't have the focus of a Caterham, however in 90% of situations would be way less frustrating, more practical and more usable. 1,000 mile road trip over a long weekend, with motorway miles included and a track day thrown in for good measure? Genuinely no problem. Ask yourself honestly - would you actually want to do that trip in a Caterham? Hats off to those that would though - you're more committed that me!!
If you place more emphasis on track over road driving I would personally choose an Elise Cup but for mixed road/track use as a 3rd car, the Exige 360 is a perfect balance.
The torque of the V6 helps the car be a less frantic road car than the supercharged 4 pot engines in the Elise/Exige by way of comparison. Sensitive to tyre pressures on track though otherwise they do suffer chronic understeer.
The car is enormously engaging but don't be fooled - it doesn't have the focus of a Caterham, however in 90% of situations would be way less frustrating, more practical and more usable. 1,000 mile road trip over a long weekend, with motorway miles included and a track day thrown in for good measure? Genuinely no problem. Ask yourself honestly - would you actually want to do that trip in a Caterham? Hats off to those that would though - you're more committed that me!!
If you place more emphasis on track over road driving I would personally choose an Elise Cup but for mixed road/track use as a 3rd car, the Exige 360 is a perfect balance.
Ooo, this is my thread, knew one would come up eventually. I was in exactly your position 15 months ago. Had previously owned 2 track Caterhams and a Radical Prosport. Was weary of the whole trailering thing and just wanted to drive to track, blat around for a bit and drive home. Also wanted something I could get more use from by doing road trips. Bought an Exige V6 Cup July 2016 and this year have done a track day, a sprint at Angelsey, a 3 day trip to drive the north coast of Scotland and have just returned from competing at the Brighton Speed trials plus lots of shorter road trips.
Pros: it's fast, can live with the mid level Caterhams on track, the fast ones on slicks are quicker, but then you don't get wet when it rains. It's very versatile, drove with my wife from Manchester to Brighton, all my race gear and an overnight bag in the boot, competed at the speed trials and then drove home. I like the noise it makes. Best A and B road car I've ever driven. It's got a windscreen wiper and a roof. It's cost peanuts to run, 2 services at £300 each and a set of tyres at £700. It's been very reliable, needed nothing except servicing and consumables. Gets lots of positive attention and it's an event to drive. Cons: on track it's a little understeery into fast corners, not an issue on the road. Fuel tanks a bit small and because it's a Cup car it's noisy inside so I wear earplugs. That's honestly all I can think that's bad about it, I'm very happy with my choice, first Lotus I've owned so not a fanboy. Price/performance I would say the 350 Sport is the pick of the bunch, nearly as light as my Cup but with much better refinement. Here's a pic from myScotland trip.
Pros: it's fast, can live with the mid level Caterhams on track, the fast ones on slicks are quicker, but then you don't get wet when it rains. It's very versatile, drove with my wife from Manchester to Brighton, all my race gear and an overnight bag in the boot, competed at the speed trials and then drove home. I like the noise it makes. Best A and B road car I've ever driven. It's got a windscreen wiper and a roof. It's cost peanuts to run, 2 services at £300 each and a set of tyres at £700. It's been very reliable, needed nothing except servicing and consumables. Gets lots of positive attention and it's an event to drive. Cons: on track it's a little understeery into fast corners, not an issue on the road. Fuel tanks a bit small and because it's a Cup car it's noisy inside so I wear earplugs. That's honestly all I can think that's bad about it, I'm very happy with my choice, first Lotus I've owned so not a fanboy. Price/performance I would say the 350 Sport is the pick of the bunch, nearly as light as my Cup but with much better refinement. Here's a pic from myScotland trip.
The V6 Cup has baffled sump, 2-way Nitrons, A-frame, and race seats with harnesses.
http://www.lotuscars.com/racing/exige-v6-cup
Once in, it's quite a comfortable place to be and 3-4 hour stints behind the wheel are no problem. But as stated, it's a bit noisy, especially in the wet.
http://www.lotuscars.com/racing/exige-v6-cup
Once in, it's quite a comfortable place to be and 3-4 hour stints behind the wheel are no problem. But as stated, it's a bit noisy, especially in the wet.
Thanks for the reply, good to hear the views of another Caterham driver, they're so capable and exhilarating on track they're difficult to beat but I don't think I can tolerate the limitations of their road capability, and like you I'm over trailering to and from trackdays.
So my budget is around £55k and I want something that I can use on road and track without having to upgrade brakes etc. Does a used 350 sport deliver this? Could I get a used 380 Sport or Cup for that money? Does the roof come off these models or do I need to buy a roadster?
I'm going to try and book a test drive at Bell&Colville this weekend but it will be good to go there with a basic understanding of the model line up pros and cons!
So my budget is around £55k and I want something that I can use on road and track without having to upgrade brakes etc. Does a used 350 sport deliver this? Could I get a used 380 Sport or Cup for that money? Does the roof come off these models or do I need to buy a roadster?
I'm going to try and book a test drive at Bell&Colville this weekend but it will be good to go there with a basic understanding of the model line up pros and cons!
nw942 said:
The V6 Cup has baffled sump, 2-way Nitrons, A-frame, and race seats with harnesses.
http://www.lotuscars.com/racing/exige-v6-cup
Once in, it's quite a comfortable place to be and 3-4 hour stints behind the wheel are no problem. But as stated, it's a bit noisy, especially in the wet.
When you say the Cup has baffled sump, Nitrons etc is this the full on 380 or is there a 350 Cup? http://www.lotuscars.com/racing/exige-v6-cup
Once in, it's quite a comfortable place to be and 3-4 hour stints behind the wheel are no problem. But as stated, it's a bit noisy, especially in the wet.
You won't get a 380 sport for 55k! They're the best part of 70-80k at the moment, if you wanted a full "cup" spec one there is/was last week a lovely looking one advertised up at Murrays for 80k, but that has everything on it you could ever think of including a bigger supercharger (which from personal experience is absolutely mega!) If I had the money spare I'd be buying it - the problem is that (so far as I am aware) it can't be obtained on the 50:50 finance deal as it's second hand...
There aren't any cups for sale at the moment so far as I am aware (I was vaguely thinking about whether I could man math's my way into swapping my V6S for one as otherwise I'm probably going to be putting a baffled sump, harnesses and adjustable shocks on mine when the warranty expires next year). A 2013 one was recently sold for c49k. Plenty of V6S/Sport 350s up for sale though. These don't come with a baffled sump as standard or adjustable shocks but they are still bloody good road and track cars out of the box. With your budget a new 350 on 50:50 might make a lot of sense although perhaps not if you think you will modify it. Brakes are very good as standard, OE pads are basically DS2500 although I have changed mine to RS14s.
Edit: 380 sport doesn't come with a baffled sump/adjustable shocks out of the factory either so far as I can recall. Lots of pretty carbon on them though!
There aren't any cups for sale at the moment so far as I am aware (I was vaguely thinking about whether I could man math's my way into swapping my V6S for one as otherwise I'm probably going to be putting a baffled sump, harnesses and adjustable shocks on mine when the warranty expires next year). A 2013 one was recently sold for c49k. Plenty of V6S/Sport 350s up for sale though. These don't come with a baffled sump as standard or adjustable shocks but they are still bloody good road and track cars out of the box. With your budget a new 350 on 50:50 might make a lot of sense although perhaps not if you think you will modify it. Brakes are very good as standard, OE pads are basically DS2500 although I have changed mine to RS14s.
Edit: 380 sport doesn't come with a baffled sump/adjustable shocks out of the factory either so far as I can recall. Lots of pretty carbon on them though!
Edited by gashead1105 on Wednesday 6th September 11:14
This explains things about the V6 Cup, 350 and 360 Cup better than I can:
https://www.thelotusforums.com/latest-news/lotus-c...
HTH
https://www.thelotusforums.com/latest-news/lotus-c...
HTH
I Track a V6 Cup Exige & it's very capable & very fast - more so than the Sport 350 which is a more road biased softer set up.
Did some back to back comparisons with a mates Sport 350 at Blyton earlier this summer & there was a noticeable difference between the two, even without stiffening the Cup's Nitrons.
Either are great cars though to be fair.
Did some back to back comparisons with a mates Sport 350 at Blyton earlier this summer & there was a noticeable difference between the two, even without stiffening the Cup's Nitrons.
Either are great cars though to be fair.
I went through the exact same thought process and ended with up an Exige V6. Wanted to be able to drive to track days in UK and Europe in relative comfort with minimal compromise to the cars on track ability. Went through all the usual suspects and landed on the V6 as the best overall compromise. No regrets.
I started with a V6S. Did many track days, drives out in the UK, SPA and Ring trip and a 3.5k mile trip round Europe. At no point did I wish I was in another car. Cruises far better on the motorway than you'd expect, performs well on track (bar understeer, see below), has brakes that are actually fit for purpose (see below) and is civilised enough to make road journeys fun rather than a chore.
The plan was to fit a baffled sump, bucket seats, harnesses etc to the V6S but due to a long story I just ordered a 360 Cup instead.
The Cup is the same as the V6S but more so. I always wore noise cancelling headphones for motorway journeys anyway so the extra noise in the Cup was irrelevant, the ride is the same as I run the same suspension but the Cup comes with all the on track goodies that, to my mind, are essential:
Baffled sump
Half cage (wouldn't want buckets and harnesses without a cage)
Normal Momo steering wheel (wouldn't want harnesses with an airbag)
Adjustable anti roll bars (to help dial the chassis)
Buckets and harnesses (and anti submarine harnesses to boot, I wouldn't want normal 4 points)
Floating rotors
If you go for a 360 then get one from the second batch. They're based on the 350 with new linkage etc.
I've done a number of track days in the two cars and noise has never been an issue.
Both cars understeered. A chunk of understeer was dialled out of the V6S by playing with the damper settings. The Cup was improved with corrected alignment (front toe was miles out) and Avon ZZRs.
The standard brakes are very good but the pads (DS2500s) are on their limit on track and wear very quickly. The ones in my Cup were down to a few mm all round after two or three track days. Pagid RS14s work well but can be a pain to bed in.
As an added bonus the roof simply unbolts and you've got your self a convertible. The soft top from the Elise fits and, if you go for the lined version, once installed makes the car no noise than the hardtop. It's an extremely neat install, absolutely factory and I did it to both my cars. Lotus say you'll die if you remove the roof (there's a sticker that says so on the top of the windscreen) but I did the 3500 mile Euro trip with the conversion including a Ring visit and three track days (with the soft top fitted) and hit 140+mph with zero issues.
Your problem will be getting hold of a Cup. Apparently they only sold 11 in the UK and some (half?) of them will be based on the none 350 set up so aren't the one you want. I've only seen one used one for sale and that was up at £68k. Wasn't advertised for long, presumably it sold quickly. I've been offered £62k for mine but turned it down. What would I buy instead?
I started with a V6S. Did many track days, drives out in the UK, SPA and Ring trip and a 3.5k mile trip round Europe. At no point did I wish I was in another car. Cruises far better on the motorway than you'd expect, performs well on track (bar understeer, see below), has brakes that are actually fit for purpose (see below) and is civilised enough to make road journeys fun rather than a chore.
The plan was to fit a baffled sump, bucket seats, harnesses etc to the V6S but due to a long story I just ordered a 360 Cup instead.
The Cup is the same as the V6S but more so. I always wore noise cancelling headphones for motorway journeys anyway so the extra noise in the Cup was irrelevant, the ride is the same as I run the same suspension but the Cup comes with all the on track goodies that, to my mind, are essential:
Baffled sump
Half cage (wouldn't want buckets and harnesses without a cage)
Normal Momo steering wheel (wouldn't want harnesses with an airbag)
Adjustable anti roll bars (to help dial the chassis)
Buckets and harnesses (and anti submarine harnesses to boot, I wouldn't want normal 4 points)
Floating rotors
If you go for a 360 then get one from the second batch. They're based on the 350 with new linkage etc.
I've done a number of track days in the two cars and noise has never been an issue.
Both cars understeered. A chunk of understeer was dialled out of the V6S by playing with the damper settings. The Cup was improved with corrected alignment (front toe was miles out) and Avon ZZRs.
The standard brakes are very good but the pads (DS2500s) are on their limit on track and wear very quickly. The ones in my Cup were down to a few mm all round after two or three track days. Pagid RS14s work well but can be a pain to bed in.
As an added bonus the roof simply unbolts and you've got your self a convertible. The soft top from the Elise fits and, if you go for the lined version, once installed makes the car no noise than the hardtop. It's an extremely neat install, absolutely factory and I did it to both my cars. Lotus say you'll die if you remove the roof (there's a sticker that says so on the top of the windscreen) but I did the 3500 mile Euro trip with the conversion including a Ring visit and three track days (with the soft top fitted) and hit 140+mph with zero issues.
Your problem will be getting hold of a Cup. Apparently they only sold 11 in the UK and some (half?) of them will be based on the none 350 set up so aren't the one you want. I've only seen one used one for sale and that was up at £68k. Wasn't advertised for long, presumably it sold quickly. I've been offered £62k for mine but turned it down. What would I buy instead?
Edited by foxsasha on Thursday 7th September 07:18
MikeE said:
Ok I have a test drive booked at Bell&Colvill on Saturday to try the 350 Sport and maybe a 380 too.
Assuming I like the Exige and I decide to buy new, what sort of discount should I be pushing for as a cash buyer with no part ex required?
12% depends if you want the 50/50 interest free dealAssuming I like the Exige and I decide to buy new, what sort of discount should I be pushing for as a cash buyer with no part ex required?
Porsche911R said:
MikeE said:
Ok I have a test drive booked at Bell&Colvill on Saturday to try the 350 Sport and maybe a 380 too.
Assuming I like the Exige and I decide to buy new, what sort of discount should I be pushing for as a cash buyer with no part ex required?
12% depends if you want the 50/50 interest free dealAssuming I like the Exige and I decide to buy new, what sort of discount should I be pushing for as a cash buyer with no part ex required?
MikeE said:
Has anyone experience of achieving a similar discount in the last 3-6 months as 12% seems 'ambitious'
have you seen all the stock sitting about all summer ? It's now end of season, even less are selling if that were possible !you can buy a Sport 380 for £64k and it's been for sale since March ! and brand new Sport 350 for just over £50k if a pre reg.
the 50/50 deal costs a bomb for the dealer so cash buy I would go in at 15% off, walk away wait for a phone call and accept a 12% deal, Try the Scottish dealer.
as was posted even over the CUP models only 11 sold, people don't really by New Lotus's as they are all a muchness so if you have one people tend to keep them.
a 2nd hand Sport 350 at £50k seems the way to go and a visit to Komotec to finish it off. (be lighter than a older cup car and have a working gear change)
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