gtr vs elise

Nice and will you track the 458 or more of the usual Ferrari owners cars and coffee deal?

 

Like spidey been driving an NA elise, and love the car. Its either up the hp and keep modding, or buy the package from lotus, ie exige v6 cup. Drove an exige v6, on road breifly, very different feel to an elise, but seems to have the virtues of an elise, but more stable and planted if heavier in feel, and much more oomph.

Or one could do the devil and just get a vette, it would be fast, but maybe less fun.

Since I trailer to the track, what would be best? For me factory stock cars work well are reliable and relatively reasonable on consumables. On the outer edge I think viper acr, and would love to try a Gt4, they seemed really fast at the glenn, but then you cant get one and I dont really need a street car.

So for a spend between 80-120k whats recomeded in a track car somethign stock so its relatively turn key relaible low maintanance and easy on consumables.

 

Exige S260 is the closest you may get to the perfect track car that you can actually drive to the track. Anyone can drive fast in the straights. A car with half the horsepower that can equalize the playing field in the turns is a magnificent instrument.

I compare it to an automatic piano that plays Mozart no matter which keys you tap, versus a standard piano where you really have to know your stuff to bang out a masterpiece. The Elise/Exige will truly make you a better *driver*.

 

Dont need street ability, have the elise for that, and have a tow car and trailer, so its pure track car, running on slicks.

Test drove an exige v6 cup on street(dont ask), it was tame drive by defintion. The feel was very different to an elise, more planted, a more oiled and refined feel, less nervous, that longer wheel base. It felt less fluid at lower spoeods, almost like it needs speed to come togeether, on track at speed I am guyessing it comes into its own.

I woudl say it would be a less satusfying viceral street car than a 4 cyl elige.

While its based on an elige tub, its a very different car.

 

The V6 Cup has a lower power band if I'm not mistaken. In the N/A Elise, the engine is screaming at 6500-8500 rpm to get peak power.

 

I am no expert. Having watched YouTube videos and car shows, according to many experts- the GT-R needs nothing. Tuners are wasting time. It is balanced and as Hi-Po as it will get and extremely track ready. So, by only watching videos on performance and having seen both vehicles in the flesh, I would personally prefer a GT-R.

 

Have run 2010, 2012 and 2014 GTRs a lot of track days in Southeast and had little to no problem with overheating, while running as hard as I could, mostly in advanced HPDE groups. (eg, RA sub 1:40, street tires) Bought lots and lots of tires and brakes tho. Had stock engines on these three. Most of the other GTRs that have been on track with me had mods that might affect temps. I have had to change all fluids every 3100 miles to keep the warranty in force. Nissan has a chart that is based on temps of how often you need to change fluids. I did track my 430 some years ago briefly, and that was fun, but the GTR is also fun, my take on it is that the biggest difference in the thrill factor was the 430 screaming at 8500. I think the people that say that the GTR drives itself are used to going at one level with a RWD car or whatever, and need to pick up the speed when in a GTR. I guaranty you that if you drive it fast enough it will stop driving itself and you will have to drive it, and you will be able to do so at faster lap times. I had a wasted youth building and trailering and really like driving a car off the showroom floor that is faster than my pure race car from 50+ years ago.

 

yep the redline on the cup is 7200 its a very different feel to an elige in many many ways, yet also still a very viceral engaging car in a way that others are not.

 

Pads and tires feel the weight, one cant get past the physics there. But yes a drive tot he track car has its own appeal. For somethig that big I like the z28 still a more raw rewading experience.

Of course this opens up the debate to the Gt350R and the new upcoming z28.

All of which reminds me that I still like the small and light, as this has its own reward and feel. Plus I still like playing with slicks, and the comfy ride home in the truck with car on the trailer. Pasrt of this may have to do witht he really crappy NE roads, any car setup to run on track is a pretty brutal ride home on potholey streets.

But yes street legal cars and tires are really close to or betetr than many a track car of yesteryear, and mostly the showroom/street cars dotn break or ask for much more than fluids pads and tires, hence the appeal of a lotus which straddles both sides of the fence. A Gt3 probably does to, but I hear it costs close on 2k per day to run in anger, and then there is the Viper acr, street legal, not really streetable, but they dont break.

 

You might just change your mind after driving a 2015+ GT-R. It has absolutely no right being as comfortable as it is particularly setup on the stock wheels. I just ticked over 20K miles and it's 15 months old...

Colorado cities have some of the worst roads I've been on and this is coming from a native of Los Angeles where I thought we had it bad in many sections.

 

Every car made will beat an Elise/Exige in the comfort department. The roads in L.A. make the car feel like it's about to come apart. It will beat the hell out of you if you use it as a daily driver. (I just can't.) Your fillings feel like they're going to come out over every bump. The A/C absolutely sucks, the radio is useless and getting out is an exercise in Origami.

That being said, it's a magnificent car.

 

Despite all that, I DD drive my Elise and later my S260 for years.
The experience is just untouched by any other car.


Sent from my 16M

 

Never DD my elise, its a weekend car, and a track car. Never found the AC lacking, but never did stop and go with it. The ride, depedns on the bumps and speed, but thats one of the reasons I tow tot he track. The Cd player is relatively decent, but a speed wind noise creaks etc mean you have to turn up the volume.As you say, thats not what these cars are about. Nothing is close to drive cept a 997 Gt3 Rs.

 

Ok you and Flash talked me into it, reminded me why i like the elise in the first place, nothign else really comes close,

An exige V6 cup for the track it is.

 

Absolutely!!!!


Sent from my 16M

 

Selling it for several reasons.
575 hp in a 2400lbs car too much for my skill level on track when coupled with 60s handling and brakes, I can get there but it would take 3 years or so.

Like many a "real" race car its maintanace intensive on track, brakes need bleeding each day, and various bits and bobs need sorting each time out. I dotn have the time, or a race crew to keep it fed on track as should be.

The Gt40 does make an awesome epic street car, fastest car I have driven so far, but I have street cars and dont need another.

What I need is a "turn key" track car which is precise and consistent so that i can work on resolving the one big variable, me the Driver.

The Gt40 was a dream, now back to relaity.

If anybody interested, its for sale.

 

Just get a used gt3 or cayman S or gts or gt4 race ready and be done with it, you're just not going to find a better balance between performance, running cost and reliability. Lotus's run with us all the time, and they are awesome cars but they are no Porsche's and even the lotus owners have told me that. And I know you don't want a miata

 

Gt3 is something like 2k per day to run in consumables etc, extra wheels a hassle and cermaics porche parts prices a drag, plus while a 997 gt3 is my fav modern, they are now "collectables" and not really track cars anymore.

You cant get a Gt4, maybe theyll produce more next year.. And personaly wont fall on my knees and suck a dealer off to maybe get one, and even then can you get one. The whole prostrate yourself to buy a car the dealer specced with 20k of uselss weight in options plus a premium over list is just an anathema to me.

The lotus is really economical to run if my elise is any example, there no pretension or BS. Its also a raw car in a way that new most porches are not.

That all being said, if I could order a GT4 I would. When last on track with the Na elise I could eat and track modded previous gen cayman, but a Gt4, never saw which way it went.

Even thought of a viper ACR, but its just not my kinda car, I really do like light and finesse. I like sitting up front where the action is, not just infront of the rear wheels like in a viper or a vette.

Round and round the thinking goes. The shortlist seems to settle on a Gt4 or v6 cup, and you cant get a gt4, and exige seems more raw, plus for 10k at some point in the future you can intercool and turn the wick up to 460 hp.

Yeah Miata are excellent, i just have not reached that level of track purity yet. ie dont care about power speed sound etc, its all about the corners.

 

Interesting....when I ran with LotusCupUSA, our events would piggyback with PCA events at various tracks - Laguna Seca, Spring Mountain, Cal Speedway, etc.
Our fastest drivers would always be in the top 10 out of 50-80 cars on the time sheets. Granted these were tuned Lotus Exiges and 211's and such.
But we also had an amazing driver who would set track records in an NA Elise!
As boxerman said, it's all about the driver....
When I rejoin LotusCupUSA, I would choose a 211 (now perhaps a 311) or an Evora GT4 (though this car needs a pit crew). There is something to be said about Colin Chapman's philosophy: "add lightness."

Sent from my 16M

 

WooHoo!