Lotus?

I'm seriously thinking about getting a Lotus for Track days. Is there anyone on the list with some experience with the Elise/Exige models?

 

I don't own one but have had them on the track. Very nimble, fun on the track, tight cockpit, not sure how comfortable they are on the street.

 

Here's a good website (forum) for all the information you'll need. Good luck.

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/index.php

 

Trust me when I tell you... These little suckers are quick... Especially my new one, the Exige S-240 with it's 0-60 under 4 seconds... I just picked up the Persian Blue Exige S-240 on Weds... Don't they look happy together in the garage...
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I like em.... get one

 

There is no list for lotuses. great track car. probably the best, seriously

 

I can set you up to talk with Mark Starr if you want. He is one of the owners of Hunting Ridge Motors, famous for their Lotus track cars (HRM Lotus's). I don't think they're in business anymore though....

But either way, I'm sure he'd love to talk to you.

 

From my days reading elisetalk, I think Jon, on the forum here with a Barchetta, had or has a track prepped elise. Maybe he will chime in.

 

Jon in Delaware here, I have been doing track days with a Lotus Elise for three years now. No regrets at all. Some of the highlights: Relatively cheap to maintain,Handles like a slot car,Fast enough to excite but slow enough that you actually have to learn how to drive well. You cant make up for mistakes by jamming on the gas pedal,very spacious once your inside the car and very exciting design so as to keep you motivated about your ownership...the car has yet to bore me from a looks perspective. Down sides: Tough getting in and out of the car,body panel made of composite fibergalass so repairing an incident could be more expensive than sheet metal (fortunately no experience with this yet) Limited numbers of others to compete with on track because there are fewer of these cars around vs say a Porsche 911. Bottom line: I have tracked Porsche Boxster S,Porsche 911 GT3,996 Turbo,Porsche 911 930 turbo and NOTHING has kept my interest like the Lotus Elise. Nuff said. Jon

 

nice endorsement Jon. I was checking out bull30's Exige SC today. Seems to be very well put together and while it's a bit too quiet it goes like stink!! What do these things weigh anyhow?

 

It weighs right around 2000 pounds.

 

They ARE too quiet. You must add a Stage 2 or Stage 3 exhaust to be able to hear the car on track next to a ground pounding muscle car. Jon

 

Good description. I just traded my Exige S on a 355. The Lotus chassis is unmatched, the steering feel is also second to none. On the road, the 4 cylinder engine note is about the only drawback I had, as it is just not that great ambling around. But this is forgiven on track. I would highly recommend one. Oh, and in the hands of a good driver, the extra power of the S models begin to make less and less difference. It is a car that really rewards skill.

Warning: if you don't recognize the shortcomings of the 355 in terms of chassis and steering feel, after spending time in the Lotus, you will.

 

Hey, I haven't even hit the 1000 mile break-in point yet... Give a guy a chance to at least break in the car... I do agree it's too quiet and that's why it's getting the 2bular exhaust upgrade... They make several stages.. I'm getting the "wake up & annoy the neighbors model"... They say it also adds 5 more HP... I don't believe HP gains advertised by exhaust manufacturers... I want the weight savings and the sound...

 

My plate says it all.....
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Thanks for everybody who has replied. I've watched them at Track days for several years and well driven ones are fast. How has the reliabilty been?

 

My '06 Exige has just over 16k miles on it and as far as myself or the previous owner are concerned, there's been no issues, but this has been a non-tracked (that's known or admitted to yet). I wouldn't call them bullet-proof, but they are about as good as you're going to get for the performance they offer. Wear items go faster than I expected (brake pads and such) but that's probably just because I've never owned a car of this calliber before. I'm sure I'll be needing a new clutch sometime next year or so, but hopefully that will coincide with an aftermarket supercharger. There is a lot of aftermarket support for the cars, which is nice...

From everything I've read and all the people I've talked to about tracking/autocrossing, as long as you stay up on maintenance, the car will be good to go for a long time.

I really don't think there are many/any other cars at this price point that out of the box will give you what the Elise/Exige can. If you're looking for a track car, you can pick up a used Elise or Exige at a considerable discount from new and spend the rest on suspension upgrades, etc. Even getting the N/A cars (like mine) and spending the change on an aftermarket forced induction system... you can get more power out of these than what the '08s are running from the factory. Just depends on what you want to do.

 

My Elise has been pretty reliable, even with the aftermarket supercharger. The motor is the most reliable part....you have to watch everything else though. My car usually seems to be at the dealership every other month for something or another.

 

Has anybody ventured to any of the other service people - like Richard or Fernando?

 

My car has been driven hard. Track only and has always been shifted at Redline every gear. I change the oil after every other track event and tighten every nut and bolt I can touch after every track event. Rotor wear has been minimal,Still original clutch and Tranny gear lube. Car has 6k track miles and has been flawless. Jon in Delaware

 

I have an Exige S and it has been bullet proof. With the exception of a turn signal that has popped out after driving on some very rough roads it has never failed me in 16K of daily driving. It is a great track car and an even better daily driver. The car loves extreme twisties.

As stated above the only draw back is the lack of an exhaust note, easily corrected with a header and muffler.

The best car I've owned.

ken

 

I see them at Curry's in Ashburn and FoW, so some people seem to get them serviced in the NoVa region.

Best,
dsd

 

25K daily driving on my Elise and no engine or drivetrain problems. I get occasional little things like a burnt-out headlight bulb, but nothing really surprising.

There's a particular nut in the rear suspension that should be checked regularly if you're tracking the car (and is mentioned in the normal maintenance schedule) because it can lead to a stress fractures and catastrophic failure; sure enough one of them was loose from the factory on mine. There's an aftermarket lock washer that can help. If you plan on taking the seats out at some point, be prepared to deal with difficult bolts there as well.

As others have mentioned, the more track-ready the car and the harder you drive it, the quicker you can expect to burn through consumables. The factory "sport" tires supposedly last about 5K miles, for example. I've been getting 9K commuting miles out of my rear base tires, and I'm surprisingly still on my original pads and front tires.

The body work can be fragile and shockingly expensive to repair (relative to the price of the car). Keep your insurance paid up, watch out for animals and debris on the road, and choose your parking spots to avoid any other cars backing up in your direction.