Sport 410 vs 380 - early impressions

Sport 410 vs 380 - early impressions

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andy tims

Original Poster:

5,593 posts

253 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
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Had my second drive in the 410 this afternoon.

What a thing - it's brilliant.

It’s only an extra 30hp but combined with circa 20kg less weight it is certainly noticeable compared to the 380, but the bigger difference is the suspension.

The 3 way nitrons appear to have been set up very nicely for the road. The ride is a bit plusher and better damped so I can get on the power hard and early more often out of those corners that are less than perfectly surfaced i.e. most of them.

The supercharger is much louder than in the 380, but not as high pitched whiny as the Series 2 cars.

My 410 has the optional sound deadening, so supercharger aside, it’s a quieter car.

I understand the sound deadening is just the carpet to the foot wells and the sides of the cills - If that's correct, I might take it out as I prefer the rawness of the extra noise.

Couldn't feel any discernible difference in the braking department - I expect you need track speeds to feel the advantage of the J hook discs.

Looking forward to my first outing on the 3rd of August.

PPF is going on the whole front tomorrow & I'm looking to get the car ceramic coated - recommendations welcome.

mozza42

245 posts

190 months

Sunday 5th March 2023
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Andy - looks like your profile doesn't allow emails... I'm gettting close to a deal on your old Lotus Exige 380...

Anything good/bad to know about or check? TIA!

keo

2,242 posts

177 months

Monday 6th March 2023
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Cool bump, I nearly bought a 380 I think they look great. Never test drove one (never test drove my 410 though to be fair!) I just went for a 410.

What ever Lotus you get you can’t go wrong imo!

GaryF

974 posts

260 months

Tuesday 7th March 2023
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OP, fantastic that you are enjoying the 410 and find the suspension suited to road use. I've got a 350 also with carpets and sound deadening. I've taken the oath to 'use it properly', so to that end in 11 months I've managed ~5k miles with another road trip of around 500 miles coming up in a couple of weeks.

I have to say, I like the relative plushness of having the carpets and sound deadening for road use and would not fancy being without them. If purely a track car, then I can see the reasoning. Have a proper think if you really would like more overall 'rawness' all the time before discarding your carpets and sound deadening.

Mine came with PPF and it is doing a very good job of protecting the paint, so agree that getting it done is worthwhile. Enjoy thumbup