Anybody ordered a 240R?
Discussion
Frankly I think it sounds expensive - you're in Noble territory there and I think I'd be more inclined to go down that route.
Either that or pick up a used S2 Exige (currently plenty in the late £20k's) and wait for the blower kit to be offered as an aftermarket upgrade (mooted price around £9k IIRC). Same car almost for a good few grand less.
Either that or pick up a used S2 Exige (currently plenty in the late £20k's) and wait for the blower kit to be offered as an aftermarket upgrade (mooted price around £9k IIRC). Same car almost for a good few grand less.
too expensive...and not that quick for £44k - you could have a nearly new Noble for that.
If its a fast, track toy Elise you want then for £25K you could get a used S1 or S2 and put a Honda engine in the back and be faster than the heavyweight Exige 240R.
Cant really see the market for it to be honest - youd have to be pretty dedicated to pay that much for one...and not be into modding/want the safety of a factory car etc.
They will do better if they offer the Supercharger kit to exsiting owners for say £4K ...think they would have a lot of customers then.....
If its a fast, track toy Elise you want then for £25K you could get a used S1 or S2 and put a Honda engine in the back and be faster than the heavyweight Exige 240R.
Cant really see the market for it to be honest - youd have to be pretty dedicated to pay that much for one...and not be into modding/want the safety of a factory car etc.
They will do better if they offer the Supercharger kit to exsiting owners for say £4K ...think they would have a lot of customers then.....
I take your point but:
The Noble( I've driven a 3R and 400) has a poor gearchange in 3R form and has really arkward offset pedals and steering feel is only adequate. Also probably out of warranty by the time you buy it.
Its also a bitch over speed bumps and the interior is poor
As for £9k for blower, you have'nt taken into account the uprated suspension and bigger brakes(?)
Whats the deal with the Honda engine, ie how much, how easy?
ps as for 'its not that fast' the 0-100 time is quoted as 10secs, thats Porsche turbo territory. Plenty fast?
The Noble( I've driven a 3R and 400) has a poor gearchange in 3R form and has really arkward offset pedals and steering feel is only adequate. Also probably out of warranty by the time you buy it.
Its also a bitch over speed bumps and the interior is poor
As for £9k for blower, you have'nt taken into account the uprated suspension and bigger brakes(?)
Whats the deal with the Honda engine, ie how much, how easy?
ps as for 'its not that fast' the 0-100 time is quoted as 10secs, thats Porsche turbo territory. Plenty fast?
Deep said:
I take your point but:
The Noble( I've driven a 3R and 400) has a poor gearchange in 3R form and has really arkward offset pedals and steering feel is only adequate. Also probably out of warranty by the time you buy it.
Its also a bitch over speed bumps and the interior is poor
- I agree...thats why Im not driving a Noble right now myself....great cars, but not my cup of tea for a daily driver.
As for £9k for blower, you have'nt taken into account the uprated suspension and bigger brakes(?)
you wont notice the difference with the suspension (unless youre name is Schumacher) and the brakes were fine anyway !
Whats the deal with the Honda engine, ie how much, how easy?
from £9K - £13K depending on spec - 220-300bhp, turnkey solution from various places in the UK - pick your car up and get it back a few weeks later...try www.maidstonesportscars.co.uk for some details
ps as for 'its not that fast' the 0-100 time is quoted as 10secs, thats Porsche turbo territory. Plenty fast?
mmm...compared to a std car maybe - only 3 secs quicker to 100 than the std Elise 111R though. My car was doing 100 in 10 secs when it was 230 spec and 815Kg....now it should be down to 8secs
The thing with the 240R is that its heavy - 960Kg ish with all the options and a blower....thats 200Kg more than an S1 and about 150Kg more than and S2 ...so the 240bhp is watered down a lot compared to converting an earlier car
You can get a nice used S2 for £15K, spend £15K on a 300bhp honda conversion, complete with suspension/wheels/tyres etc etc....for £30K have a car that will do sub 4s and approx 8secs to a ton...165mph ish .....thats what Id do anyway
(in fact have done LOL) >> Edited by bogie on Friday 27th May 13:08
I do see your point but
again!)
3 secs faster to 100mph is alot. It differentiates a nippy car from a fast car
Your spec sounds mighty impressive but whats going to be the resale value of such a modified car?
My own experience of modding cars is thats its a constant headache with constant fettling and head scratching and you get very little if any money back.
Deep
again!) 3 secs faster to 100mph is alot. It differentiates a nippy car from a fast car
Your spec sounds mighty impressive but whats going to be the resale value of such a modified car?
My own experience of modding cars is thats its a constant headache with constant fettling and head scratching and you get very little if any money back.
Deep
yeah - 3 secs is a good difference...but 240bhp and 960kg is only 100Kg less than a Noble/TVR which all have 350-425bhp ....spot the difference 
no idea on resale - the Honda converted cars are in big demand...probably 60-80% of conversion cost retained as people just want to jump the 2 month waiting lis to get their car converted. I dont car really as I dont intend on selling the car.
I agree though - generally in the past Ive always had highly modified cars...and you are lucky to get 30-40% of the mod value back...and thats if you find a buyer who actually wants one/appreciates the mods you have done.
The way I look at it is that I could buy a factory 240bhp car for £44K ...and throw away £10-15K in depreciation in 2 years ....or keep my existing car (already heavily modified) and spend £13K on it and have a quicker car ...still with 300bhp in an Elise...its still 'only' as fast as a Noble or TVR in a straight line.....
no idea on resale - the Honda converted cars are in big demand...probably 60-80% of conversion cost retained as people just want to jump the 2 month waiting lis to get their car converted. I dont car really as I dont intend on selling the car.
I agree though - generally in the past Ive always had highly modified cars...and you are lucky to get 30-40% of the mod value back...and thats if you find a buyer who actually wants one/appreciates the mods you have done.
The way I look at it is that I could buy a factory 240bhp car for £44K ...and throw away £10-15K in depreciation in 2 years ....or keep my existing car (already heavily modified) and spend £13K on it and have a quicker car ...still with 300bhp in an Elise...its still 'only' as fast as a Noble or TVR in a straight line.....
Bogie - bit off topic I know but obviously your car has well over double the hp of a standard S1/S2 car. Have you noticed a huge difference in the way handles / rides? Clearly it's significantly quicker but just wondered if it's still as easy to drive as a more standard car.
Just nosey really.
Richard.
Just nosey really.
Richard.
...plus you're looks the dobermans undercarriage bogie and the 240R (IMO) looks, well, "normal" (the wheels are cack).
300 brake Honda conversion will be the mutts, and judging by the 200bhp one I saw last night from MSC (Rick111s's) it is a very, very tidy and well put together package.
I'm sure as more get done and more people realise the quality and durability of them the resale gap between mod cost and used value will become less painful.
The temptation to get a cheap S1 and go that route at the moment is very, very high.
300 brake Honda conversion will be the mutts, and judging by the 200bhp one I saw last night from MSC (Rick111s's) it is a very, very tidy and well put together package.
I'm sure as more get done and more people realise the quality and durability of them the resale gap between mod cost and used value will become less painful.
The temptation to get a cheap S1 and go that route at the moment is very, very high.
cheers SWorks
re - the handling - its exactly the same as a car with 120bhp thats fitted with upgraded suspension/wheels/tyres/decent geo etc
Im having upgraded toe links and nylatron bushes fitted as well now - just for good measure.
The main difference with all the power, is that you can actually have power oversteer on demand, and steer the car on the throttle.
In a std car, the Elise has huge grip so say youre coming out of a low speed corner on a nice sunny day and floor it in 2nd gear, it sticks and gains speed...with 200bhp + its a little different - you have to judge just how much power to deploy...if youve ridden big superbikes with 800bhp/ton + then its just the same - you always have an excess of power an the skill is in deploying it...hope that makes sense
re - the handling - its exactly the same as a car with 120bhp thats fitted with upgraded suspension/wheels/tyres/decent geo etc
Im having upgraded toe links and nylatron bushes fitted as well now - just for good measure.
The main difference with all the power, is that you can actually have power oversteer on demand, and steer the car on the throttle.
In a std car, the Elise has huge grip so say youre coming out of a low speed corner on a nice sunny day and floor it in 2nd gear, it sticks and gains speed...with 200bhp + its a little different - you have to judge just how much power to deploy...if youve ridden big superbikes with 800bhp/ton + then its just the same - you always have an excess of power an the skill is in deploying it...hope that makes sense
Have to agree that the Noble gear linkage isn't great. I've had mine adjusted 3 times now and its now adequate. Its better than my Elise one was though. The newest cars have a changed mechanism thats beautiful, but its 2k to upgrade to it (major work involved).
I really like the Nobles steering feel. Its different to the Elise, but still nice. You are spot on about the driving position. Its not all that comfortable, although the m400 is better. Old Porkers used to be similarly bad. On the plus side its rare to get stuck behind traffic for long, so you can get to your destination earlier and unkink yourself there
Bogie are you at the Garden Party this weekend? Want to check out your new toy!
>> Edited by DanH on Friday 27th May 15:51
agreed - and they will easily find 50 buyers for them.....dont think theyd find 1000 though......its a niche within a niche product - a bit like the factory Caterham R500 ...you could always buy a std CAT7 and soup up your K series yourself for £5K....but then others still wanted to pay £38K for a factory car..horses for courses..
.I was just giving my own opinion/circumstances on the product on offer from Lotus....to me the 240R should have been the Exige from the start to differentiate it from the 111R - a nice 111R for £30K or stretch to maybe £38K for a 240R ...that would have been realistic IMO ...but £44K is a bit rich for any Elise derivative.....if you really have a lot of dosh and want a fast track car, then youd get a Radical or such like.
The whole idea with the Elise was that it was a relatively affordable road car, that went round a track real well....now at forty odd grand its in different territory all together.
.I was just giving my own opinion/circumstances on the product on offer from Lotus....to me the 240R should have been the Exige from the start to differentiate it from the 111R - a nice 111R for £30K or stretch to maybe £38K for a 240R ...that would have been realistic IMO ...but £44K is a bit rich for any Elise derivative.....if you really have a lot of dosh and want a fast track car, then youd get a Radical or such like.
The whole idea with the Elise was that it was a relatively affordable road car, that went round a track real well....now at forty odd grand its in different territory all together.
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