Popular Post Woots 68 Posted November 4, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 Hi everyone, decided to make a thread for the journey of my Exige ownership...I’ll just add to and edit this first post as and when time allows. Quick intro, I’m Adam, 30 years old and based up near Milton Keynes and like to pull wheels off racing cars for work. Owning a Lotus had been a dream for a while, and tried my hand in a few BMW’s in the run up to taking the plunge and finally buying one...so eventually I came across one i liked enough and paid deposit... She was a Snows demo and had done 4500 miles when I got her. 70th anniversary so came with some nice options I didn’t know I wanted, carbon seats, forged wheels and 2 part brakes etc First worry was Mrs Woots hating the seats but first journey out in the pouring rain and she fell asleep after a work party...success I’d say! She’s my daily driver although fortunately I’m away so much I can keep the miles down on her, winter felt quite long and I was growing tired of waiting for the windscreen to demist, silica bags obviously didn’t do much when I scattered a few on the dash First mod was some side skirts, I got a friend to make up a set from carbon and a few weeks later we riv-nutted them to the car 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Woots 68 Posted November 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 (edited) Enter spring and a service bought up the need for a little warranty work, she needed a new alarm as it didn’t make any noise...and a new FARB bush to get rid of an annoying squeak over anything other than smooth roads...she also needed some new rubber as I’d somehow worn the PS4’s down to near slicks.. Covid...car wasn’t really used much for a few weeks but then we started the ventilator project at work and as my only car it meant the commute to work was quite enjoyable with the quiet roads, nice weather...and joy of being able to escape the house! Once things opened up we were able to take her out to go and do some nice walks...with some socially distanced parking... Edited November 4, 2020 by Woots 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephenwhyte 1,898 Posted November 4, 2020 Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 C’mon Adam.....you can do better than that......we need more pics of that wee white Anniversary beauty of yours - you’ve got plenty time before you’re back pulling wheels off racing cars again......you’ll be hoping for a better weekend next time out! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Woots 68 Posted November 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 15 minutes ago, stephenwhyte said: C’mon Adam.....you can do better than that......we need more pics of that wee white Anniversary beauty of yours - you’ve got plenty time before you’re back pulling wheels off racing cars again......you’ll be hoping for a better weekend next time out! I’m getting there I’m hoping to just edit the first 1 or 2 posts to make it easier for anyone to read rather than trawling through pages but let’s see Yes well...it can’t get much worse can it...unless...they crash into each other 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Woots 68 Posted November 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 Fast forward to September, following a decent result in Silverstone i decided to drive home..rather than stay another night in the hotel. It’s only a 20 minute drive from the factory to my house and done it a hundred times, anyway dual carriageway at night, rubbish headlights and doing a calm 70mph, a small deer decided to take a break in the middle of the road. (Un)fortunately I didn’t have time to avoid it so ploughed straight into her, not a very nice noise and when I saw some bloody flicking up over the headlights I knew it wasn’t going to be nice....pulled over to find the deer very dead, and very stuck in the front grill area of the car...turned round back to work to pull out the poor sod....I’ve got some pics of it hanging out the car but I will save those grossed out easily the distress.... To say I was gutted is an understatement, I’ve never even scraped a car let alone causing one damage so was a bit of a shock. Rang insurance first thing which put me at ease a little, and fortunately had Protected NCD. They took a few days to assign me a workshop and in the meantime the guys at Lotus Silverstone had put me in touch with an approved Lotus body shop localish called ‘The Beaconsfield Workshop’ who specialise in Bentley and Jag repairs and restoration as well as being Lotus Approved, I persuaded insurance to let me use them (they didn’t put up any protest fair play to them and from the outset said they classed these as ‘supercars’ so would only suggest I took it to a suitable place anyway, which again made me feel better. Reasons for me making this post are to allow for full transparency and honesty should I ever want to sell the car. A few guys already know about this misfortune but a potential buyer will rather know what’s happened and the extent of work carried out, rather than anything shady or hidden... 1 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KennyN 218 Posted November 4, 2020 Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 That's not pretty, but it could have been so much worse. I've had a few close calls with wildlife due to the limited effectiveness of the headlights. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PJ 80 Posted November 4, 2020 Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 1 hour ago, Woots said: Enter spring and a service bought up the need for a little warranty work, she needed a new alarm as it didn’t make any noise...and a new FARB bush to get rid of an annoying squeak over anything other than smooth roads...she also needed some new rubber as I’d somehow worn the PS4’s down to near slicks.. Covid...car wasn’t really used much for a few weeks but then we started the ventilator project at work and as my only car it meant the commute to work was quite enjoyable with the quiet roads, nice weather...and joy of being able to escape the house! Once things opened up we were able to take her out to go and do some nice walks...with some socially distanced parking... Seeing your wheel, you don't like to take off your own wheels that quick . You guys rock at the pitstops, hope my Dutch companion Max will gain some luck.... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post Woots 68 Posted November 4, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 So what was damaged... Grille Clamshell Splitter Crash structure Pride Crash structure sounded awful when they told me until I realised it’s basically a big plastic/fibreglass section which is removable, and was probably damaged from when the beast actually wedged itself inside there and then came along for a tour of the F1 factory... I had a few options open up to me, get the body shop to replace like for like... Or pay the difference for some upgrades, to try and get a silver lining to this. The 380 cup is regarded by a few to be the best looking Exige out there, and the jump from 350 to Cup 380 clamshell isn’t huge, neither is the splitter, sadly the jump from 350 to 430 Cup is mental money, and I was entering the point it made no sense to go that far Mrs Woots questioned my logic...and telling a woman... “well...it’s got vents” doesn’t really translate to much... I dropped her off in Beaconsfield and picked up a very different but very nice Jag Courtesy car off them, and left them to their own devices for a few weeks while I went away.... 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephenwhyte 1,898 Posted November 4, 2020 Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 4 hours ago, Woots said: Yes well...it can’t get much worse can it...unless...they crash into each other ......that would be very 2010! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephenwhyte 1,898 Posted November 4, 2020 Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 Excellent choice after a nightmare scenario. So it’s going to be 380 Cup front end. Cup Rear spoiler very much needs to be the next purchase then surely. And that rear panel you were swithering over for the perfect finish As long as your bonuses are dependent on World Record Wheel changing and not No.2’s finishing position, you’ll be fine 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
3eighty 7 Posted November 4, 2020 Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 thanks for the write up. Sorry about the crash. Let us know how it works out... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bibs 11,110 Posted November 4, 2020 Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 Ouch! Could you tap up @Composite guru for some repair work?! Quote 88 Esprit NA, 89 Esprit Turbo SE, Evora, Evora S, Evora IPS, Evora S IPS, Evora S IPS SR, Evora 400, Elise S1, Elise S1 111s, Evora GT410 Sport Evora NA For forum issues, please contact the Moderators. I will aim to respond to emails/PM's Mon-Fri 9-6 GMT. Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post Woots 68 Posted November 5, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted November 5, 2020 Dropped the car at Beaconsfield Workshop and after chatting to Dave there I knew the car would be in good hands. Turns out one of them in the main office worked at Hoffman’s too... Picked up their loaner Jag XF which was quite a nice change from the Exige, I was worried the Mrs would comment on how comfortable it was but luckily she said ‘it’s a bit old man isn’t it’ so I remembered why I chose her as a partner.... Dave gave me a couple of pictures while I was away just to see how she looked underneath...purely out of interest 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kristof Thys 182 Posted November 5, 2020 Report Share Posted November 5, 2020 Looking good underneath!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gold FFM C8RKH 6,228 Posted November 5, 2020 Gold FFM Report Share Posted November 5, 2020 Lol that's so like my 20 year old VX220 complete with the chargecooler/rad cooler pipes into the sill. You can see how the front is pure Elise isn't it? Quote Alcohol. Sex. Tobacco. Drugs. Chocolate. Meh! NOTHING in this world is as addictive as an Evora +0. It's not for babies! The first guy to ride a bull for fun, was a true hero. The second man to follow him was truly nuts! Link to post Share on other sites
Woots 68 Posted November 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2020 9 minutes ago, C8RKH said: Lol that's so like my 20 year old VX220 complete with the chargecooler/rad cooler pipes into the sill. You can see how the front is pure Elise isn't it? I wish I had more pics of underneath these, find it all quite fascinating seeing how they’re bolted together... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gold FFM C8RKH 6,228 Posted November 5, 2020 Gold FFM Report Share Posted November 5, 2020 If you can get a car's wheels off in under 2 seconds you should be able to get the clam off in 10 minutes with practice! 2 Quote Alcohol. Sex. Tobacco. Drugs. Chocolate. Meh! NOTHING in this world is as addictive as an Evora +0. It's not for babies! The first guy to ride a bull for fun, was a true hero. The second man to follow him was truly nuts! Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post Woots 68 Posted November 9, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted November 9, 2020 Decided while I was at it, it seemed a shame to not try and fit in some updates along with matching the upgraded Cup clam. Ive never really been a fan of the 350 front access panel, didn’t really lend itself any visual drama and after looking at getting a slightly damaged used one I figured I’d be better sourcing a new one. Robert Beke @lotussilverstone managed to source me a brand new one for £1500 including VAT 3 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Davey D 32 Posted November 9, 2020 Report Share Posted November 9, 2020 Its a slippery slope getting into the carbon.. Now you have the carbon access panel you really need to front carbon splitter 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post PJ 80 Posted November 9, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted November 9, 2020 And for sure a matching Carbon big wing 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KIMUTAKU 3 Posted November 12, 2020 Report Share Posted November 12, 2020 Glad to see that the white beauty is going to come out stronger and better! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post Woots 68 Posted November 17, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted November 17, 2020 So now the car is finished, and it’s definitely good to have her back.... Some pics of the updates done to the car... Cup front clam fitting; And the lovely cup louvers I had to get new wheel arch liners with the slats in so the vents would be functional (obviously not really necessary but something I always wish mine had) As has been noticed a few times on the later cars, the liners are now not fully open, so can’t see the tyres through them but can see light through when looking underneath, so think it’s more on an S-duct configuration to allow some air leakage, but stopping all the grit from flicking up at the screen 10 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mattmahope 224 Posted November 17, 2020 Report Share Posted November 17, 2020 Looks terrific! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Davey D 32 Posted November 18, 2020 Report Share Posted November 18, 2020 Looks good! Got any pics of the full car? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post Woots 68 Posted November 18, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted November 18, 2020 Final part of the rebuild....decided to finish her off with an OEM front splitter in carbon too just to tie it all together... I was hoping to get some canards fitted from the 380, but after looking at the price, decided the other updates were definitely expensive enough...for now... 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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