Exige as every day car, and power upgrades

[Mr Fix it]

Just driven an Exige. Nice round the corners but slow in a straight line. Appart from the TT260 route, is there anyway of increasing performance, well accelleration really, can you get a short ratio gearbox from Lotus?

Also need to use it as an everyday car. Has any one had experience of this? The one I drove had harnesses, which may make it a tad tricky for every day use. Does the windscreen or rear plastic screen over the engine steam/mist up in winter (though this would be a bit difficult to clean with harness).

Can you also fit other tyres? Heard that the ones normally fitted are special Yokos which you can only get from a Lotus dealler, so are these easy/cheap to get hold of still? or is there an alternative?

[bogie]

Mr Fix it said:

Just driven an Exige. Nice round the corners but slow in a straight line. Appart from the TT260 route, is there anyway of increasing performance, well accelleration really, can you get a short ratio gearbox from Lotus? If it was the 177bhp std car then yes you can improve the performance - 220bhp Normally aspirated is about the sensible limit - look at www.dvapower.com - basically you'll need some headwork, verniers, emerald ECU. I thought the Exige already had the CR box as std Also need to use it as an everyday car. Has any one had experience of this? The one I drove had harnesses, which may make it a tad tricky for every day use. Does the windscreen or rear plastic screen over the engine steam/mist up in winter (though this would be a bit difficult to clean with harness). You could have belts as well as harnesses - other than that you can use it daily. None of the Elise family have heated rear screens as once the engine is warm you dont need it ! Can you also fit other tyres? Heard that the ones normally fitted are special Yokos which you can only get from a Lotus dealler, so are these easy/cheap to get hold of still? or is there an alternative?

Yep - quite a bit of choice, Yoko A048s for summer, maybe Toyo Proxes for winter road use etc..none of the tyres are more than £120-140 a go so not outrageous.

try www.exiges.com for Exige specific BBS with lots of info

cheers
bogie

[randy]

I have an Exige which I use as an every day car without a problem. To answer your questions... There are various engine upgrades that can be done to improve the straight line speed, for ~£1000 you can get 190bhp with much better drivability which is the real problem with the engine. There are no problems with the rear screen misting up in winter but you can't see much out of it at the best of times. I run Toyo Proxis tyres on my car which I get for £290 per set which is much cheaper than the lotus tyres and they are very almost as good on the road. Have a look at Exiges.com for more info.

[ViperExige]

I also have an Exige, with 190 + few extra's. Its a fantastic car, one of the best handling road/track cars there is. Straight line performance is not its forte, cornering and sheer handling, driving fun is.

If you drive one reguarly, you'll avoid, long straights, and begin hunting out the fun twisties...

Check out www.exiges.com if you are serious about join the series breed of Exige owners.!!

-Gman

[clanger]

slow in a straight line - compared to wot ??

[Mr Fix it]

Had a TVR Chimaera, which was much faster in a straight line, especially when overtaking between 50 to 70 mph. The exige was good, I drove a 177 not a 190 bhp model, but did not have the same acceleration when overtaking. Did not know if the 190 was much faster at these speeds, which I belive it may not be after reading reviews of it in mags like AutoCar etc. I also was wondering if there was a different gearbox that could be fitted (different ratio's) to help with the acceleration at such speeds.

[dimmadan]

You really need to rev it to get it going. Dont expect it to pull from low down like TVR's. It only gets going above 5.5krpm, which is when you are changing gear in most other cars. Akin to the power band of a motorcycle. Initially I thought the Exige was slow, then you get used to revving it and weheeeey.

Anyway, who needs acceleration when you dont need to slow for bends.

Original tyres are not cheap, but they are the best. expect to pay £420plus for a set of rears.

I find it OK for the occasional commute but it really wants to go. Beware on roundabouts, you can so easily catch other drivers out with the handling.

Expect passengers to and as you approach their first bend at full chat, drop it down, give it a nailing and then go quiet as you accelerate again into the bend.

Marvellous.... am I cruel?