demiruyar Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) Dear Friends, Just sold my 997.2 MK2 GT3, and I'm looking forward to purchase a Lotus Exige V6 Cup or Club Racer. I always loved my housemates Evora, hence the chassis willingness to turn in, amazing steering feel and much faster and telephatic in B roads... now it's about time for me to order one as well. I have already read the Exige thread from the beginning but there are still some questions that I couldn't quite understand. 1) Does the V6 cup come with Airbags, or is it optional? Isn't it safer on the streets to have an airbag? 2) Does the V6 Exige have a footrest next to the clutch? My friends Evora did not have any (launch edition) and it drove me crazy.... 3) Does the V6 Cup come with the Auto-blip function on downshifts such as the Club Racer model? 4) Is it right time to buy one? since I read the Lotuc Ceo's reportage and he was mentioning about a new exige with much smaller door sills, making easier to get in and out and much faster... Could this be out in the Frankfurt motorshow? Better to wait for it or pull the trigger? Thanks! Edited August 6, 2015 by demiruyar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arun_D Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 1. No airbags. On the streets, airbags are great, but only in conjunction with 3-point inertia reel seatbelts. 2. There is a place to rest your foot, certainly on RHD cars at least, where you use a platform on the central divider. Think LHD cars may have a separate rest, but can't confirm. 3. No, it is a conventional manual car. Blipping is done by the driver and is very satisfying when done right. 4. There's never a 'right' time to buy a car, otherwise you'll be forever be waiting for the next big thing. Depends how long you are willing to wait. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demiruyar Posted August 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the Response Buddys, however there is a big price difference, and if I want to drive a Lotus I would drive the lighter one which in turn Exige suits me better The Club racer makes alot of sense as well, not to big of a weight difference with the added benefits of music,airbags (safety) etc.. What do you guys think? Is it possible to put the exact suspension setup on the Cup to the club racer? Edited August 6, 2015 by demiruyar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibs Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 It is, we'll be selling it through the forum shop shortly! 1 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 comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arun_D Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Club Racer sounds like it is well suited to you, if you're doing a healthy proportion of driving on the road, rather than track. I'm the other way around with mine, so currently looking at some options (Bib's previous post definitely not helping this!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theelanman Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 have you driven the Exige?...... its quite a bit different to the Evora if you get the IPS/Auto box you will get the auto blip on down shifts....... Quote The Faster You Drive...The Slower You Age (Albert Einstein 14 March 1879 - 18 April 1955) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demiruyar Posted August 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 I have never driven a an exige, but to me it looks like a much better alternative to the Evora, Also the club Racer model has the Lotus Throttle managment, that autoblips the Manual box and not he Ips such as Nissan 370z etc...Club Racer sounds like it is well suited to you, if you're doing a healthy proportion of driving on the road, rather than track. I'm the other way around with mine, so currently looking at some options (Bib's previous post definitely not helping this!)Only on saturdays and sundays, 50% Street and 50% Track Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arun_D Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Not heard of the throttle management on the Club Racer. Cant' find a reference to it. The 370Z system is seamless. I fondly remember test driving one but immediately turning the manual blipping off for my initial driving, upon which the salesmen proceeded to comment on clearly how effective the system is....except it was me doing the heel and toe downshifts! I then turned it back on to try it, and it was so good, it will make anyone look like a downshift hero. Very clever. Shame the rest of the car was terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pits Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 1. No airbags on the Cup. 4 point harnesses are much safer than an inertia reel seatbelt so there are some safety advantages with a Cup. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. It might be the best time to buy one depending on what they do to the next car. There are good deals to be had now too. For example I would really like the high sills to stay in the Exige as they offer fantastic side impact protection. Makes more sense to lower the sills for an Evora but if they cut the sills away from the Exige and heaven forbid ruin the styling then I will be very glad I got one of the existing cars. Yes you can get the Cup's suspension on a V6S but as has been said many times it will cost you more to spec a V6S to Cup spec and even then it won't be 70kg lighter or built by Lotus Motorsport etc etc. As far as I'm concerned Lotus have covered the bases very well with the Exige range. Roadster for mainly road, V6S for a good compromise between road and track, Cup for regular track use. All three will do both road and track very well, we're just talking degrees of fine tuning. The Cup is not at all track use only and equally the Roadster is very capable on the track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alias23 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) Why did you sell the 997.2GT3? Do you have a desire to own new or are you happy to go lovingly pre-owned? In the current climate of used v6 options, my recommendation would be to buy a pre-loved v6s, add the Nitrons, save a chunk of cash and enjoy. Edited August 6, 2015 by alias23 Quote www.alias23.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgn340r Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 1. No airbags on the Cup. 2. Yes there is somewhere to rest your foot. 3. No, just learn to use that lost art of heal and toeing/double declutching gives you much more satisfaction when you get it right. 4. Depends if you want the latest thing to pose with. More power is always nice but quite frankly on the road there is nowhere you can really use it. OK the sills are wide and make getting in and out less easy than a conventional car but can't remember the last Lotus that was easy to get in and out of. Apart form The Pits point about side impact protection I personally like the wide sills as it adds to a sense of occasion and specialness about getting in and out over your average car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon mac Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Apart form The Pits point about side impact protection I personally like the wide sills as it adds to a sense of occasion and specialness about getting in and out over your average car. It also makes a great arm rest (Though I generally find even the leather option requires some additional padding to be comfortable, so I use a small cushion on long jaunts, but then I'm mad enough to do 600 miles a day in one!) Toss up between a CR or a Cup as a focused track car I'd say Cup, just because it's likely to be the more exclusive and so desireable used. (Though as always trying to second guess the used market is a mugs game) As a weekend road car the Roadster is marginally more practical, because you have better clearance, and rear visibility. It also has a slightly crisper turn in at slower speeds (I believe because of the different front anti roll bar, tbh I wasn't expecting this but it was a take away from my test drives) As Pits has said all are fantastic cars. I think the best thing for you to do is to try and back-to-back a test drive of the Roadster and Coupe/CR, as your next step. Only then can you work out which is right for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibs Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Might be worth waiting a few more days before ordering in case anything new is announced 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 comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon mac Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Tease! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LF1 Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 If you are considering retrofitting the cup suspension to the CR you are better going for the Cup. It is not a cheep upgrade. Discussed many times before but if you are tracking the go Cup. That said driven well the V6S is still awesome on track, ask Arun for a PAX round the ring! I think the upgrade is around 3.5k - 4k. The CR is to get the styling of the Cup wothout the hard core - although real world not sure they are more hard core, I find the Nitron suspension fine on cross Europe trips, although the added noise (less sound insulation) may be a consideration? Personally being in a car like that I does not bother me - or invest in some Bose noise cancelling headphones - a la Jonny (although, what you going to do now they're banned in France?). If you can afford it is get the cup. By the time you add on the race pack, upgrade the suspension and consider harnesses then your near the list price anyway. Obviously though if they still had LF1 available... Worth considering the warranty difference with the cup cars, oy 6 months on the Exige Cup I believe compared to 3 years on the non Cup cars. Might be worth waiting a few more days before ordering in case anything new is announced Evora Cup At the festival? 1 Quote Lotus Register - https://www.lotusregister.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ads_green Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 1. No airbags on the Cup. 4 point harnesses are much safer than an inertia reel seatbelt so there are some safety advantages with a Cup. This is a little misleading. At normal road speeds you are far likely to be injured with harnesses than inertia belts. By injured I mean bruising and broken collar bone type things. This is simply down to different design objectives of the two systems. At road speeds it's unlikely that the belt will fail so it's better to reduce impact by stretching. This is where the conventional belt is far better. Harnesses are designed for higher speeds where the objectives are to keep the occupants inside the car no matter what. The downside is that there is very little scope for slowling the impact. Don't get me wrong, I prefer harnesses but people need to consider all aspects as no safety system is without downsides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pits Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 I'll take my chances with a 4 point harness any day thanks. I've seen people get out of race cars after pretty big shunts and I've never heard of this 'bruising and broken collar bone type things". Whereas I have heard of lots of injuries caused by the inertia reel seat belts. The force is so much better distributed across the body with a four point harness it's not even funny. It's not just the harness either it works in conjunction with the seat. The inertia reel belt only offers any protection at all against low speed frontal impacts, nothing for side impacts. I don't think you've offered any real grounds for the claim 'At normal road speeds you are far likely to be injured with harnesses'. If the 'conventional belt is far better' why do you prefer harnesses? Each to their own with these things but I think it's more misleading to chose a V6S with airbags over a V6 Cup on the grounds of safety. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ads_green Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Consider a roll over scenario then. Harnesses without roll bar is way more dangerous as you are pinned to the seat bolt upright. Side impacts, again you are held in place. Not always good. Let's say you hit a tree side on - the tree will most likely enter the car quite a way and not bring bolted to the floor would be quite useful. Again, I'm not anti harnesses but they simply are not safer in all circumstances over three point belts. No need to be so dismissive of them as modern belts do a bloody good job for road cars. Track is a different matter but it's a fundamental different environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LF1 Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 My main problem on the road with harnesses was the inability to easily lean foward to get a decent view at junctions. This is a problem in an Elise/Exige which has a number of blind spots! Aren't harnesses illegal on the road in some countries - Japan for example? I seem to recall Japanese spec 2-eleven's being fitted with inertia reel belts. I know someone else after advice on this one: http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/76547-looking-for-some-harness-tips/ @demiruyar how are you getting on with your decision, any closer to ordering? Quote Lotus Register - https://www.lotusregister.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pits Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 You can keep your seat belts in a Cup if you want, some have both. I would never use them though but as I said before each to their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ads_green Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Anyway - any more on this? Might be worth waiting a few more days before ordering in case anything new is announced Wondering if this should be moved to a new thread - I am very interested in this conversation, but it's a bit of a hijack? Sorry - my fault. Will do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arun_D Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 I assume it's because of the submarining risk from 4-pointers, more and more the standard is 6-point in motorsport. Anyway, yes, thread diversion. As per Ad's post,....Bibs, what's the latest on a potential new announcement before the Festival?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ads_green Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/76556-harnesses-vs-inertia-belts/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LF1 Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 Might be worth waiting a few more days before ordering in case anything new is announced Guess this is it: http://www.motoringr...-cup-0814989695 1 Quote Lotus Register - https://www.lotusregister.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arun_D Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 Liking the rear deck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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