New Exige Sport 350

[quantum2000]

13 minutes ago, Arun_D said:

I dunno, the 2015 DPM switch with cheapo plastic rocker is a step back from the original with 'Tour', 'sport' and flag symbol, in my opinion.

 

Totally agree, that's why i had the dealer change my 2013 panel complete with metal DPM switch across onto the new 2015 CR which had the above cheap plastic switch.

[Neal H]

The details do matter on a £60k toy. They don't matter when you're at 10/10ths, but they do matter when you're just cruising along or trying to impress the wife/girlfriend (or both!)

[The Pits]

The real problem is that you can't please everybody, as this thread shows. It's a sure sign of a good car when the discussion turns to minor switchgear. 

The aircon buttons needed to be easier to read in daylight. They are now, so that's job done. The DPM system is brilliant, the buttons for using it are neither here nor there. All cars evolve over time and not always for the better for in every single way for everyone. Press reaction has been very positive so far. The interior on the new car is great overall. No car on sale is perfect in every respect for everyone. You can find annoying details in any interior if you go looking for them.

[C8RKH]

Evolution?  From this to this to this.

[quantum2000]

They even had 2 versions of the original metal switch, one with a yellow stripe and one without!

[Stubox]

10 minutes ago, The Pits said:

You can find annoying details in any interior if you go looking for them.

Problem here though is there is not a lot of interior to look at. Some the small details that larger companies get away with become highlights in the sparser cockpit of the Exige. And its those tactile and visual little differences that Lotus can do that it is actually harder to accomplish in the larger automotive company......

[C8RKH]

You're right Jonny - it is a problem to please everyone but my point is why waste time and money redesigning these things in the first place only to produce an inferior looking product?  Leave it alone unless it is broken and put the time and money into something more important. You have to agree, it looks like a step forward and two steps backward given the pictures in sync. How much did it cost? How much did it save? Was it really worth it?

Forget about pleasing everyone, just do it well first time, stick with it (as this is much cheaper in the long run) and if possible re-use a well designed and made part on another car in the range to boost profitability and reduce cost and complexity as right now they will need to carry spares and support warranty for three different set-ups, possibly more if you include the coloured knob etc.  It just does not make sense for a small volume manufacturer to operate in this manner.

[Neal H]

To the enthusiast it isn't a deal killer - you drive it and you understand what the car represents - you buy it

But if Lotus want to extend it's appeal beyond the hard-core enthusiast it matters. Porsche do it brilliantly! If someone has been pursuaded to look at an Exige after viewing a Cayman or a TT they are going to be disapointed by these details. None of this matters to me personally (I'm in the hard-core category), but just trying to look at the bigger picture.

[The Pits]

I'm sure some will like the starter button and new way of operating the DPM. It's easier to operate, particularly on the fly, with the buttons for one. 

I can only implore everyone to wait until they see the stuff for real in the car, there's really no point jumping to conclusions based on a huge, close-up picture that I now regret posting.

[Kalli]

I have a different view.

Elise - Entry Model

Exige - Hardcore Model

Evora - Convenience Model

The Evora is the 'leader' of the pack in terms of the gadgetry, and if you look at the Evora 400's controls, they're button-based, not switch-based. It makes sense that Lotus have gone for a standardised approach to it all. One button per function, regardless of car model. It's as simple as that. No longer is each car it's own little niche with its own product requiring it's own stock control and supplier. I think on a commercial level, it's a brilliant move. 

As everyone has alluded to, it's preference that we're discussing realistically here. Some prefer with and some prefer without. Sadly we have to move with the times and that often means features we're not happy with. Take the new Evora - I can't stand the ass. Sadly I don't have much say in it though and others love it! 

These little bits are niggling us current owners because its different from what we have. But as has been mentioned - Lotus have got to try and convince new owners into the fold from the realms of Porsche etc. That won't happen if every bloody month a button is changed, and every car looks like a 'parts bin' has been raided. To have a good build quality, there needs to be a level of consistency from the ground up - in this case, consistent parts. Hopefully this will aid in that.

 

[Arun_D]

2 hours ago, quantum2000 said:

They even had 2 versions of the original metal switch, one with a yellow stripe and one without!

 

 

Being the serial Exige buyer that I am, I think I've had one of each now, plus the current plastic rocker in my new Cup.

[quantum2000]

5 minutes ago, Arun_D said:

 

Being the serial Exige buyer that I am, I think I've had one of each now, plus the current plastic rocker in my new Cup.

Now that's just being greedy 

[JAWS]

21 hours ago, The Pits said:

Unlike the gearbox it's got to be a pretty simple swap over I'd have thought. No doubt cheekily priced though!

Actually, I believe it's arguably easier to do the gear change than the harness as with the starter button, DPM buttons plus programming etc it's a big job and I think not doable in situ and pulling the main harness would be nigh on impossible. Electrics are scary too

As for the battery, apparently it uses a Platinum 075SPPLA if you want to swap. However, you'll need to change the battery tray and fixing bracket. Personally, I think a better weight saving, albeit a more expensive one is to use a Lithium Ion battery which will save ~12kgs. There's a few options out there.

Apologies for poo pooing your plans, it's not intentional.

[The Pits]

Those weren't my plans and I'm not sure anyone else has mentioned changing their DPM buttons either? The question was about changing the heater controls pod over. Personally I wouldn't bother to do that or the gear linkage if either were possible. I think the changes are a good thing because it should help residuals of the existing cars if someone really badly wants a glass rear engine cover, aluminium toggle switch and the rest they'll have to buy an earlier model.

Thanks for the battery info, I would much prefer a Lithium Ion battery but not getting much help from the dealers on that and wouldn't want to shell out for one only to discover it's not man enough for a 3.5L V6.

[JAWS]

This might be worth a read then Jonny...

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f170/lipofe4-lithium-iron-battery-my-evora-111922/

[alias23]

On 12 December 2015 at 17:38, The Pits said:

Yes different offset. They will protrude out beyond the wheel arches if fitted to a current car, with a fairly detrimental effect on the car's handling balance. I generally consider suspension to be the last thing I would ever modify on a Lotus. Even if it could be done, the new wheels wouldn't be interchangeable with the old ones, so a pointless exercise. Might be better just to buy another pair of the cast wheels. The total weight penalty is 5kg (not 5kg per wheel) so really not worth the hassle.

Unsure if we got clarity on the whole forged wheel option not being a good fit for the 'older' models.... However looking at the Komotec pics if the wheels are the same which I hazard a bet they probably are in these pics the wheels don't appear to be protruding... Maybe Lotus telling porky pies again 

 

[The Pits]

Each to their own of course but I will take my chances with Lotus over komotec, especially when it comes to anything that might affect the handling of the car.

[JAWS]

1 hour ago, alias23 said:

Unsure if we got clarity on the whole forged wheel option not being a good fit for the 'older' models.... However looking at the Komotec pics if the wheels are the same which I hazard a bet they probably are in these pics the wheels don't appear to be protruding... Maybe Lotus telling porky pies again 

 

I don't believe Lotus have said they don't fit, as stated in one of my previous posts, the Lotus forged option will fit fine, the only thing required will be a possible geo update due to the 10j rear wheels. There is no change to any suspension components, hubs etc.

I think the confusion may lie or it was lost in translation that Lotus weren't happy with the offset of the off the shelf Rimstock/Komotec version (as shown in the photo, the fronts are quite wide). So Lotus' version of the forged wheel is machined to bring the wheels in board slightly and in keeping with the current cast wheel. Hope that clears things up.

[The Pits]

That's a different story to what I was told at Lotus last Thursday. Spacers were mentioned for one thing. I took the opportunity to ask about retrofitting as I've been asking Lotus Motorsport about forged wheels since I bought my car. Like CTRMint, I'd like a set as a spare set for track use so I could keep my (much prettier) diamond cut cast wheels for road use, possibly with a less extreme tyre. So even if it is 'only' geo, that's still no use for us because we can't swap between wheels at will.

Anyway, the full story will come out soon enough, I'm happy to park the speculation until then.

[Bibs]

I don't recall any talk of spacers, Lotus wouldn't fit them to a car from new without doubt. What @JAWS said is what I remember JMG saying and ties up with my notes too. 

[JAWS]

The geo is just a maybe Jonny as the tyres will have ~5mm stretch as they haven't been changed, just the dimensions of the wheel,  so the tolerances could cover it. Certainly worth looking in to.

[alias23]

On 14 December 2015 at 22:16, The Pits said:

Now in 1440HD. Looks much better for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5lOPXus1FI

As always great video content!

I do find it funny how a good portion of the video is trying to get the back end out but the car still remains with no LSD (Pits happy for you to call me out as a broken record on this point ) You can see the inner wheel spinning (smoking) and when you compare the sideways action of the Evora400 that seems hugely more controllable... I've got to say if Lotus had made the 350 with an LSD i'd be ringing to place an order and i'd forget the depreciation hit on my current v6 ownership as I looked to part ex! 

[RedViper]

1 hour ago, alias23 said:

As always great video content!

I do find it funny how a good portion of the video is trying to get the back end out but the car still remains with no LSD (Pits happy for you to call me out as a broken record on this point ) You can see the inner wheel spinning (smoking) and when you compare the sideways action of the Evora400 that seems hugely more controllable... I've got to say if Lotus had made the 350 with an LSD i'd be ringing to place an order and i'd forget the depreciation hit on my current v6 ownership as I looked to part ex! 

If an LSD means that much to you then why not just fit one to current car?

http://www.hangar111.com/shop/lotus-exige-v6-s-gearbox-clutch/618-exige-evora-s-v6-komotec-limited-slip-differential.html

 

 

[The Pits]

4 hours ago, Bibs said:

I don't recall any talk of spacers, Lotus wouldn't fit them to a car from new without doubt. What @JAWS said is what I remember JMG saying and ties up with my notes too. 

I don't think it would be cool to mention names but I had the conversation about retrofitting the forged wheels while you were interviewing JMG. I think it's best to move on from the whole thing now, we'll find out soon enough what the full story is. Not trying to be difficult but I don't want anyone to think I'm making stuff up. I'd be the first one in the queue for some forged wheels if they can be retro fitted.

As far as Imran's point I'd have to try one with a mechanical LSD to judge its value, but I wouldn't want one if the penalty was more understeer. There didn't seem to be any understeer penalty with the Exige 400 but if you're comparing my videos to Gavan Kershaw's legendary car control in the Exige 400 then you need to know that it's not the Exige that's coming up short! Hopefully at least it's clear that the Exige 350 Sport can and will oversteer in a lurid, smokey fashion if anyone so desires. As for being controllable, I can tell you that we didn't spin at any point and also that I think it would have been harder to replicate in any four cylinder Exige. It would have been fun trying though! 

[JAWS]

I don't think you're making things up Jonny, I think there was just some confusion as I said. I was told the Press cars with the forged wheels had to use the Komotec versions due to availability issues. Therefore, Motorsport/ride and handling had to do a lot of work on components to counteract the offset so that they were happy with the feel that they were looking for. The production version will obviously be machined to be like this straight out of the box.