Noble to Exige
Discussion
Hi there
Currently have a Noble m12 gto which I've had since 07.Been a great car and ticked all the boxes of what I look for in a drivers car.Last 18 months has been a trying time the car has had various mechanical work done and the incompetence of garages not sorting issues out properly has made me fall out of love a bit with the car.Car is Currently having some work done but once I get it back got me thinking of possibly selling and moving onto an exige v6.I had an elan s2 before the Noble so I know the Lotus brand pretty well.Realistically a sport 350 is as far as I'd want to stretch the bonus of being able to remove the roof is a bonus on that model. financially what are running costs like on the exige ?.Is the komtec upgrades worth the extra outlay if one wants to go for more power.I know performance wise there's not much in it but just at a stage of wanting something newer that gives me that driver thrill with good reliability too.
Chris
Currently have a Noble m12 gto which I've had since 07.Been a great car and ticked all the boxes of what I look for in a drivers car.Last 18 months has been a trying time the car has had various mechanical work done and the incompetence of garages not sorting issues out properly has made me fall out of love a bit with the car.Car is Currently having some work done but once I get it back got me thinking of possibly selling and moving onto an exige v6.I had an elan s2 before the Noble so I know the Lotus brand pretty well.Realistically a sport 350 is as far as I'd want to stretch the bonus of being able to remove the roof is a bonus on that model. financially what are running costs like on the exige ?.Is the komtec upgrades worth the extra outlay if one wants to go for more power.I know performance wise there's not much in it but just at a stage of wanting something newer that gives me that driver thrill with good reliability too.
Chris
Owned a couple of Exiges and a mate had an auto one aswell... from the experience of all 3 they are generally very economical to run, even fuel is not too bad if you drive reasonably normally! Annual service and consumables are about it, and they are light on consumables given they are generally bomb proof. I`d guess way cheaper than a Noble!
I've got both - M12 and Exige 410 - they live alongside each other in the garage. Always wanted an Exige, so got that a couple of years ago but couldn't bring myself to sell the Noble, its irrational to have both really as they are quite similar but the Noble feels very special and we go back a long way together. I keep the roof off the Exige permanently which does make for a different, even wilder driving experience.
Its early days for me with the Exige but yes its a bit cheaper to run, mainly because its much newer. The Noble at 18 years old needs more TLC. For example, it needed a worn drive shaft and a slightly weeping brake master cylinder replaced at the last service. Fuel economy is a bit better in the Exige but doesn't really matter to me as they're both weekend cars and mileage is fairly modest.
I don't see any need for a power upgrade in the 410. I don't track it, might be different if I did. But on the road there is plenty of performance, and its impossible to use it all while staying in licence-holding territory. I've driven a 350, that wouldn't be much different.
Its early days for me with the Exige but yes its a bit cheaper to run, mainly because its much newer. The Noble at 18 years old needs more TLC. For example, it needed a worn drive shaft and a slightly weeping brake master cylinder replaced at the last service. Fuel economy is a bit better in the Exige but doesn't really matter to me as they're both weekend cars and mileage is fairly modest.
I don't see any need for a power upgrade in the 410. I don't track it, might be different if I did. But on the road there is plenty of performance, and its impossible to use it all while staying in licence-holding territory. I've driven a 350, that wouldn't be much different.
coolchris said:
Hi there
Realistically a sport 350 is as far as I'd want to stretch the bonus of being able to remove the roof is a bonus on that model.
Chris
Just as a point of note, you can take the roof off any of the Exige V6 models. (And fit a soft top conversion to any of them)Realistically a sport 350 is as far as I'd want to stretch the bonus of being able to remove the roof is a bonus on that model.
Chris
If it's purely for road use, I'd probably go 350 as you suggest. If you were planning on track days too, I'd possibly consider moving up to a 410. It has a fair few upgrades over the 350, but most of them are more applicable to track use. (Not that a 350 isn't still great on track)
Spindoctor said:
I've got both - M12 and Exige 410 - they live alongside each other in the garage. Always wanted an Exige, so got that a couple of years ago but couldn't bring myself to sell the Noble, its irrational to have both really as they are quite similar but the Noble feels very special and we go back a long way together. I keep the roof off the Exige permanently which does make for a different, even wilder driving experience.
Its early days for me with the Exige but yes its a bit cheaper to run, mainly because its much newer. The Noble at 18 years old needs more TLC. For example, it needed a worn drive shaft and a slightly weeping brake master cylinder replaced at the last service. Fuel economy is a bit better in the Exige but doesn't really matter to me as they're both weekend cars and mileage is fairly modest.
I don't see any need for a power upgrade in the 410. I don't track it, might be different if I did. But on the road there is plenty of performance, and its impossible to use it all while staying in licence-holding territory. I've driven a 350, that wouldn't be much different.
That caught me out...its mind boggling Nobles are 18 years old..where are the years going.Its early days for me with the Exige but yes its a bit cheaper to run, mainly because its much newer. The Noble at 18 years old needs more TLC. For example, it needed a worn drive shaft and a slightly weeping brake master cylinder replaced at the last service. Fuel economy is a bit better in the Exige but doesn't really matter to me as they're both weekend cars and mileage is fairly modest.
I don't see any need for a power upgrade in the 410. I don't track it, might be different if I did. But on the road there is plenty of performance, and its impossible to use it all while staying in licence-holding territory. I've driven a 350, that wouldn't be much different.
coolchris said:
Hi there
Currently have a Noble m12 gto which I've had since 07.Been a great car and ticked all the boxes of what I look for in a drivers car.Last 18 months has been a trying time the car has had various mechanical work done and the incompetence of garages not sorting issues out properly has made me fall out of love a bit with the car.Car is Currently having some work done but once I get it back got me thinking of possibly selling and moving onto an exige v6.I had an elan s2 before the Noble so I know the Lotus brand pretty well.Realistically a sport 350 is as far as I'd want to stretch the bonus of being able to remove the roof is a bonus on that model. financially what are running costs like on the exige ?.Is the komtec upgrades worth the extra outlay if one wants to go for more power.I know performance wise there's not much in it but just at a stage of wanting something newer that gives me that driver thrill with good reliability too.
Chris
At risk of derailing the thread,have you taken it to DTB? Doubt there’s anything Noble related he can’t sort?Currently have a Noble m12 gto which I've had since 07.Been a great car and ticked all the boxes of what I look for in a drivers car.Last 18 months has been a trying time the car has had various mechanical work done and the incompetence of garages not sorting issues out properly has made me fall out of love a bit with the car.Car is Currently having some work done but once I get it back got me thinking of possibly selling and moving onto an exige v6.I had an elan s2 before the Noble so I know the Lotus brand pretty well.Realistically a sport 350 is as far as I'd want to stretch the bonus of being able to remove the roof is a bonus on that model. financially what are running costs like on the exige ?.Is the komtec upgrades worth the extra outlay if one wants to go for more power.I know performance wise there's not much in it but just at a stage of wanting something newer that gives me that driver thrill with good reliability too.
Chris
Hey guys sorry for the slow reply on here.Sounds like an exige would be a good alternative to the Noble and nice to know the running costs would be no dearer if not a bit cheaper.I did contact Dave at dtb(he's done work on my car when he was at Jetstream).He said he was happy to have a look at the car but was busy at the time.I tried to call him and whatts apped to sort out when was convenient to bring the car up to him but I didn't get a response hence taking car elsewhere.The way the current garage is dragging there heels and messing me around I'm gutted the cars not gone to Dave.
Spindoctor said:
I've got both - M12 and Exige 410 - they live alongside each other in the garage. Always wanted an Exige, so got that a couple of years ago but couldn't bring myself to sell the Noble, its irrational to have both really as they are quite similar but the Noble feels very special and we go back a long way together. I keep the roof off the Exige permanently which does make for a different, even wilder driving experience.
Its early days for me with the Exige but yes its a bit cheaper to run, mainly because its much newer. The Noble at 18 years old needs more TLC. For example, it needed a worn drive shaft and a slightly weeping brake master cylinder replaced at the last service. Fuel economy is a bit better in the Exige but doesn't really matter to me as they're both weekend cars and mileage is fairly modest.
I don't see any need for a power upgrade in the 410. I don't track it, might be different if I did. But on the road there is plenty of performance, and its impossible to use it all while staying in licence-holding territory. I've driven a 350, that wouldn't be much different.
How are you going on with with 410 vs Noble? I’m in 2 minds whether to sell the noble vs a 410, and that would then keep me with an S2 / 410.Its early days for me with the Exige but yes its a bit cheaper to run, mainly because its much newer. The Noble at 18 years old needs more TLC. For example, it needed a worn drive shaft and a slightly weeping brake master cylinder replaced at the last service. Fuel economy is a bit better in the Exige but doesn't really matter to me as they're both weekend cars and mileage is fairly modest.
I don't see any need for a power upgrade in the 410. I don't track it, might be different if I did. But on the road there is plenty of performance, and its impossible to use it all while staying in licence-holding territory. I've driven a 350, that wouldn't be much different.
Have you competed the 410 to an S2 SC?
Still got both, still enjoying them, still being irrational! Toying with moving to a 650S, especially after seeing Harry M’s, but one would have to go and I would struggle to decide. Haven’t compared the 410 to any other Exige except the s3 350 and they’re pretty similar, on the road at least. Not sure I’d have two Exiges in my two-car garage but don’t listen to me, I’m in no position to preach about car diversity!
I don't think you will regret jumping into an Exige, even from a Noble.
Had mine 3 years now, it's a great drivers car, I just love the simplicity of it all. It has also been very reliable, it is due a C service this year which is around 1k, but the A and B services are reasonable.
You don't necessarily need to go the Komotec route for a little more power. I've added an Alias 23 intake kit which as well as giving a nice supercharger whine adds better throttle response and mid range. Dyno runs see around 390 apparently which is a good increase and value at 500 quid, i would highly recommend it for any 350 owners. I've also added a 2bular which sounds great in conjunction with the intake, esp in race mode and should also give a little more power. Just need a soft top myself now!
Had mine 3 years now, it's a great drivers car, I just love the simplicity of it all. It has also been very reliable, it is due a C service this year which is around 1k, but the A and B services are reasonable.
You don't necessarily need to go the Komotec route for a little more power. I've added an Alias 23 intake kit which as well as giving a nice supercharger whine adds better throttle response and mid range. Dyno runs see around 390 apparently which is a good increase and value at 500 quid, i would highly recommend it for any 350 owners. I've also added a 2bular which sounds great in conjunction with the intake, esp in race mode and should also give a little more power. Just need a soft top myself now!
Edited by Retro.74 on Thursday 25th July 13:30
Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff