Which DPM mode do you prefer on track?

[rallyesax]

10 minutes ago, Jcx said:

Ah OK thanks.  I have the buttons... no dial switch.

If it's like the Evora 400,and it probably is, when in race mode push race button again and hold it for 2 or 3s. So basically the same thing as he is doing with the switch but with your button. 

Make sure to hold it. If you don't, you go back to Normal or Sport I don't remember. 

[Seriouslylotus]

7 hours ago, Bibs said:

You might be right actually. There is a way to turn it all off still though, perhaps once it's in race do the same again?

 

This

[Jcx]

Ah ok. I’ll try that thanks. 

[Arun_D]

Off everywhere, as the car has a huge amount of mechanical grip to exploit. Ditto with @The Pits, it also makes wet driving a lot of fun, the car is ultra-communicative and quite predictable with an LSD, in my case. Extremely challenging, but ultimately rewarding. A very very wet Goodwood in February was probably the most fun I've had in my Cup.

The Bosch DPM is well set up, and I'm sure Race mode is impressive, but it's not for everyone. 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Arun_D

[GFWilliams]

Tour when on motorways, Sport for all other road driving, Race for when learning a track & warmup laps, then all off once I feel happy with the car.

[The Pits]

Worth bearing in mind that Lotus say their test drivers are quicker with RACE on so highly unlikely that anyone here would be quicker with the system switched off. Obviously aware that trackdays are not about laptimes and that going slower in the name of having fun is a perfectly acceptable thing to pursue. But in the event that your mate passes you in his Fandango 3000 you might want to slip it back into RACE.

[Jcx]

OK.  So update on selecting RACE and ALL OFF etc.

It is just as described above:

• Press and hold RACE for a few seconds to engage RACE and release.
• Press and hold RACE again or a few seconds to turn RACE OFF and leave ALL OFF on the dash.
• BRIEFLY press RACE to reengage RACE.
• Briefly Press RACE again to turn off RACE and revert to TOUR/NORMAL.

Thx all.

[GFWilliams]

On 23/03/2020 at 14:04, The Pits said:

Worth bearing in mind that Lotus say their test drivers are quicker with RACE on so highly unlikely that anyone here would be quicker with the system switched off. Obviously aware that trackdays are not about laptimes and that going slower in the name of having fun is a perfectly acceptable thing to pursue. But in the event that your mate passes you in his Fandango 3000 you might want to slip it back into RACE.

I find this very hard to believe, race mode is very restrictive if you’re really pushing on and can hold you up on corner exit.  Almost certainly marketing came up with that...

[BatMobile]

It will make the normal driver better but Like this video, all off in the right hands is quickest.

 

 

[Jcx]

hmmm not necessarily true.  We didnt see the F1 driver time a lap with race on.

[GFWilliams]

4 hours ago, Jcx said:

hmmm not necessarily true.  We didnt see the F1 driver time a lap with race on.

Max Chilton (ex-F1) drove my car at Silverstone and did about 2 corners in race mode before turning it off and preferring it...

I've done over 40k miles in my car and just refuse to believe that race mode is quicker than all off. Brake wear is also a lot worse on track if you keep traction control on.

[Jcx]

3 minutes ago, GFWilliams said:

Max Chilton (ex-F1) drove my car at Silverstone and did about 2 corners in race mode before turning it off and preferring it...

I've done over 40k miles in my car and just refuse to believe that race mode is quicker than all off. Brake wear is also a lot worse on track if you keep traction control on.

Hey G,

I guess there is no debate to be had if you refuse to believe... 😉

I simply corrected an assumption that "all systems off is fastest" just because an F1 driver with all systems off was faster than a mum of two with the system on.  😉

What we really learned from that video was that the f1 driver was approx 2 secs quicker than mum of 2 when driving same car with same load and same systems off.  I am surprised he was only 2 secs quicker.  mum of 2 has clearly been practising on the school run in her evoque. 🤣

[BfranklynV6]

6 hours ago, GFWilliams said:

I find this very hard to believe, race mode is very restrictive if you’re really pushing on and can hold you up on corner exit.  Almost certainly marketing came up with that...

Maybe the difference is the LSD in your car. The ability to get on the power earlier with more traction out the corner could make RACE mode too restrictive. 

[Trevsked]

Williams car isn’t std so can’t be a demonstration of how the DPM system works when it was tuned around std Lotus specification. You wouldn’t swap traction control systems off two different F1 cars and expect them to work obviously.

 

Trevor.

[GFWilliams]

On 26/03/2020 at 19:52, Trevsked said:

Williams car isn’t std so can’t be a demonstration of how the DPM system works when it was tuned around std Lotus specification. You wouldn’t swap traction control systems off two different F1 cars and expect them to work obviously.

Trevor.

It's not anymore, but was for a long time before I tuned it (17k miles). Max drove my car before the LSD was fitted, and race mode is actually less intrusive with an LSD as the car has more mechanical grip so the electronics don't have to "e-diff" using the brakes.  The race mode is a self learning system, I'd say it works just as well with 460hp as it did with 350hp

To me, the real power of race mode is when you use it as a learning tool, if it's kicking in and restricting you, you can be smoother with your inputs to reduce the power cut. If you use it in this way, it can teach you to drive smoother and faster.

[Martrack]

I don't understand why Lotus does not deliver Exige with a LSD, while Evora has one...
Especially looking at the part numbers at both sides of both differentials, they are exactly the same, must then be plug and play...
There must be a reason...

Has anyone already ordered an Exige with such a LSD fitted at build time, at the Lotus factory ?
Quite a specific demand, but technically not impossible...

[alias23]

2 hours ago, Martrack said:

I don't understand why Lotus does not deliver Exige with a LSD, while Evora has one...
Especially looking at the part numbers at both sides of both differentials, they are exactly the same, must then be plug and play...
There must be a reason...

Has anyone already ordered an Exige with such a LSD fitted at build time, at the Lotus factory ?
Quite a specific demand, but technically not impossible...

Lotus say a proper LSD ruins the handling and causes understeer... again like the DPM claim (IMO) is just marketing BS

You aren’t able to order from factory with an LSD. Until maybe they bring out a last of the last special edition with one (keeping something in their back pocket and then claiming record times at Hethel!).

Further conspiracy thoughts... I would swear when the 430Cup was launched at FOS and went up the hill it had a proper LSD! This in my mind is clear when you watch the donut bit as an open diff would not lock up in the way it does!!! 

[Wilbert Camshaft]

A plate type LSD (Drexler 50/60) has a fundamental impact on the handling of the Exige and I never considered it to be as an improvement although I drove my best lap times with the Drexler LSD applied (eventually got used to it.....).

My second Exige is fitted with a Quaife "LSD" and although due to the Corona epidemic I could not give it a try on track (actually today i would have been to Imola in beloved Italy ) on public roads it feels perfect and by far less intrusive than the Drexler LSD.

Even with the KomoTec EX460 Kit (460 HP and 491NM) ,the Quaife LSD and the Nitron chassis applied my Lotus Exige 350 feels friendly and reliable with Race Mode turned off - anyway, on track I would start with race mode on.

[Tex]

The Cup 430 has in addition to ESP off, a variable traction control knob on the left of the steering column, while nowhere as effective as an LSD it does allow some modulation of the cars handling characteristics .

I much prefer ESP off although the VTC has 6 slip settings or fully off 

[BfranklynV6]

7 hours ago, alias23 said:

Lotus say a proper LSD ruins the handling and causes understeer... again like the DPM claim (IMO) is just marketing BS

I’ve never heard anyone saying an LSD can worsening the handling of a car. How does it cause understeer?

I thought it was a matter of cost + weight + not needed because there is already a lot of grip, and there is some e-diff with the systems.

[GFWilliams]

16 hours ago, BfranklynV6 said:

I’ve never heard anyone saying an LSD can worsening the handling of a car. How does it cause understeer?

I thought it was a matter of cost + weight + not needed because there is already a lot of grip, and there is some e-diff with the systems.

An LSD can have a straightening effect on the car when you're on throttle as both wheels want to try to spin at the same speed.  This is less of an issue with an ATB LSD than a plated LSD, but still has a small impact.  Of course, it's pretty easy to fix this effect with setup changes to the suspension, give the car more front camber and rake and you have a sharper front end which cancels out the negative aspect of the LSD and leaves you with the positives. 

[Jack]

Lotus must have spec'd the CupR with X-Trac to have an LSD so it would handle worse than the standard Cup.....just kidding.   

[Arun_D]

I don't regret adding the Quaife to my car, as GF said, any negative effect can be improved upon my tweaking my TTX dampers or geometry. I've had it a couple of years now and the car is either superbly stuck in the dry or immense fun in the wet. In damp conditions it can push on at the front but i'm not convinced it's all from the diff.

[Joseph Antabi]

 

I tried in race mode, but I did two spins so for now I'm going in sport, I don't know if I needed to race more in order for the system to adapt to my driving style

[The Pits]

It’s all in the DPM article but the system learns fastest by allowing more slip initially. Many people do exactly what you did but if you keep it on after correcting a slide (hopefully not a spin!) it will quickly adjust to the grip level available. Just be prepared for the first initial slide or, if you prefer, build up to the limit slowly but the system will take several laps to adapt this way. It will still get there in the end. Sport is old school TC, effective but also a bit clunky and much more intrusive. It also allows more slip than race so you will be doing more corrective steering.

Great system, over 5 years on track with my Exige I used it all the time in the dry, only really turned it fully off in the wet. It’s great to have such a smooth and unintrusive system and particularly good to have a safety net on high speed marginal (not quite flat out ) corners.

Exige 430, Evora 430 and 311 (also 380 Cup?) have an additional variable TC system but that is in addition to the DPM system and pure traction control so does nothing when you aren’t on the throttle.