alias23 aka Kung Fu Panda - Modified Exige V6

[alias23]

So last week me and the Exige V6 (aka Magpie) passed our three year anniversary. I’ve been lucky enough to own the car since new and we’ve both been on a journey, for some reason, I felt slightly compelled to share some of that journey. In particular the upgrades I’ve made so I can share my feedback as I’ve looked to improve upon the base car over the time of my ownership.

Maybe its because of the 10 odd pages of debate clogging up my TLF notifications on the new Exige 380 Cup that I thought it would be nice to change the subject of the day. I hope my journey is of interest and ill look to update this thread over time. 

To set the scene, I’ve owned an M3, an M3 CSL, R35 GTR, and a 997.2 Club Sport GT3, the move from the Porsche to the Lotus was part of a ‘downsizing’ exercise, but the actual purchase of the Exige happened sooner than expected!

I live in the South West and at the time no one had one of the Exige V6s in stock to view, it was on a trip to Southampton where I had a meeting for work, the meeting finished sooner than expect so I thought I’d test my luck and check of any lotus dealers in the area. Low and behold Snows Hedge End dealership was 5 miles away, checked their stock and saw they had an orange one in stock. Phew, I knew I didn’t want an orange one so I was safe to visit to check the proportions of the car without worrying about making an impulse purchase!

Well that plan didn’t fricking work as on arrival this sparkling example had just been delivered to the dealership. BALLS.

A chat and coffee with the sales guy and I thought I’d make a cheeky offer, the offer was intended to prod around to understand where they may bend on the price. It was cheeky, very cheeky, so I wrote it on a piece of paper and explained ‘I have this money in the bank, and can purchase and settle before the end of month.’ The chap walked away, here I am thinking okay he’s gonna kick me out here! Anyway five minutes later comes back and says ‘you’ve got a deal’. BALLS number 2.

Literally at that moment of shaking hands, the wifey calls…. “Where are you?” Me “Ermm…. My meeting finished early”, wifey “Are you at a Lotus dealer,” me “Errr yes they have a white one,” wifey “We need to talk, I’ve got something to tell you…”

So here I am now freaking out as to whats going on as her tone is a little out of the normal… after a bit of questioning I eventually find out…

“Im pregnant”

Lets just say the news of expecting our little one was awesome, the purchase of a Lotus at the same time was lets say somewhat - BALLS number 3.

Pick up day finally arrived…

Straight into detailing to remove the swirl marks left by the factory

What followed from this point was a very fast fall into a track day addiction. In some ways an addiction far more expensive than drugs and alcohol but we all need some form of vice in our lives…

Funny enough both of these pictures above are wifey driving… Not when she was pregnant I dare say but very soon after our little one was born. Thanks to Lotus Silverstone for the install of the LMS tow ring at the time of the running in service. The install is very easy, some folks seem to get caught up about cutting the grill, its literally I small cut which no one really notices. Its not a big deal you don’t need a separate grill for track and road.

If you haven’t already installed a tow ring then my recommendation is to give Dave at Seriously Lotus a call, he has the same item as Lotus but at 60% of the Lotus robbing cost!

Second track day in and the brakes seemed a bit dodgy, seemed as though I’d completely killed the standard brake fluid. So off to Williams Automobiles for a fluid change to Castrol SRF. First challenge of the day, Lotus had given me the wrong locking wheel nut key (such fun!). One week later still no success with Lotus and tracking down the right locking nut later, so a dodgy call to AA ‘I have a flat, lost my locking key’ and a very friendly AA man who understood my situation and was a Lotus fan! Said locking nuts were safely removed with their super special tools. Locking wheel nuts nasty invention!

Anyway back to the story, eventually got the brake fluid changed to SRF and what a difference, highly recommend changing the brake fluid to SRF if you’re going to do track days in your Lotus. Just remember to change SRF every 12 months. 

So brakes are now better, but the car felt a little floaty and to be honest way too high for my liking. Personally the Exige from factory looks ‘jacked up’ so desperately needs lowering. I looked at all options from Nitron and came to the following conclusion (at the time): 

1-Way: Cheapest option. Would provide the ‘lowering’ fix I needed and provide a simple level of adjustability.

2-Way: Only available from Lotus.

3-Way: Great levels of flexibility and adjustment but arguably could be confusing. Also the most expensive (worth the extra vs Lotus 2-Way).

Knowing many S2 owners being very happy with 1-Way I went down this route as spending over £3.5K on a 3-Way setup at the time just felt overkill.

<< INSERT MENTAL PICTURE OF NITRONS AS NEVER TOOK A PICTURE >>

The whole Nitron install was a major faff at the time to be honest, the first set I had installed actually raised the car! So three sets later and eventually Nitron was able to provide a setup that allowed for the right ride height. I must give Pat (who now works at Hoffmans) a major shout out for his perseverance and level of excellent customer care. He was absolutely awesome and I cant recommend high highly enough! 

I’ve since learnt that Nitron have changed their dampner specs to accomadate a lower ride height following my install. Further, I know Dave at Seriously Lotus felt the same as me and his Nitron’s have the shorter spec to accommodate a lower ride height but without detriment to performance.

One tip shared which seems to have worked was spraying ACF-50 Anti Corrosion on to the coilovers whilst still new to help prevent corrosion. This is the spray you want...

Good stuff and must say I think has made a world of difference as my Nitrons still look in great health three years later. One point I would make is keep the adjustments clean and well oiled, I typically spray a bit of GT40 on the clicker adjustment every time I adjust. They seem to get sticky now and again so frequent adjustment to keep them nicely free and in good clicking order is advised.  

Here’s a side view pic of the car against a Cup, for me the car now has the perfect ride height and looks like a proper exotic. The picture isn’t the best but I would say there is no to little side on gap between arch and tyre, whereas for me theres still a substantial gap even on the Cups which are lower than the V6 from factory.

The look of the car completely changed for the better. No major issues with ground clearance, for normal speed bumps taken with care no problems, most car parks also fine.  

Goes with out saying, if you’re conscious the car is a lot lower, you’re mindful of the dangers and take everything with care to minimize any risks. For example those tight nasty windy steep NCP car parks – Avoid like the plague.

Immediate improvement on track with the Nitrons for sure a good move, I find 8 clicks from full hard on the front and 6 clicks from full hard on the back is great for most tracks. For good surface tracks you can go 6 on the front and 4 on the back. I have played with the settings on the road typically 12 clicks from full on the front and 10 clicks from full on the back this seems fine, I would say road compliance has definitely become harder with the nitrons and not as nice as standard for road usage. I did try 14 clicks on the front and 12 clicks on the rear but found it then became bouncy on rebound. Maybe this is where the 2 or 3-way option would have been a better option as rebound can be adjusted separately to bump where as 1-way its all one setting for bump and rebound. In hindsight I should have gone 3-Way but at the time the cost was too high for me personally, whereas now you can find them as second hand buys which makes the cost a little more acceptable.

My next plans for the Nitrons are to start playing with the spring rates, at first going harder on the front, this is something Dave at Seriously Lotus has been experimenting with and over the course of this year will take his recommendations and test for myself.

You’ll also notice I changed the wheel colour to black, the diamond polished wheels where starting to ‘milk’ so after a battle with Lotus they agreed to pay for a re-furb of all wheels and change to black. I was never a fan of the diamond cut to be honest. Later that year Lotus would go on to remove the diamond cut option from its option list. I understand this was due to supplier problems, quality, and other ‘milking’ issues. 

Fancy canards where also installed, it was amazing to feel the increased downforce these little pieces of plastic create… only kidding, they just look good, but more on front downforce on future posts. So that’s years 2014 and 2015 done.

[French Frie]

Great Writing, Imran  ! always fun to read others experience ... and glad you changed your shocks  !

 

[Snoopy1969]

@alias23 Great write up, many thanks for sharing (although I can´t wait to read the next part of the 380 Cup Story ;-), esp the part "personal diet versus titanium exhaust - weight saving of the day..." is getting funny... ;-)

(oh, and great so see a "classic" V6 in ist original style - in my eyes m u c h cleaner as the younger examples with all the carbon aeros - but tastes are different of course!!!) 

[MartynB]

You removed the swirl marks?!? How can you prove it was handmade now? Foolish Imran

Awesome post buddy!

[French Frie]

@Snoopy1969: we're at least two to think so  ... and if Carbon parts look rather fine, this is the matt black parts that ruin the body line, to me ! 

@alias23 : how are those canards attached ? just glued ? 

[alias23]

Combination of glue, then two bolts through the clam with spreader plates at the back.

[NANO]

Thank you Imran ...  for taking part in your story ... congratulations ... well written ... It is not everyone who takes the time to describe your emotions for both Lotus and "personal" ...

Anyway, yours is kept very well and is ... original.

Sure that with this new set you found it much better and your guide will have benefited.

[cbaileyuk]

Great post!

[Exiger35]

Great write up  thanks for sharing.

 

[Arun_D]

About time you did a writeup, great story!

I reckon my Cup Nitrons are with a handful of mm from your ride height after I adjustment mine lower a year ago. It will be interesting to see where that leaves me under hard braking with my latest aero addition, which I know you've had fun with.

[mickv]

Great write up - I spat out my coffee at "I'm pregnant"!

[alias23]

22 minutes ago, Arun_D said:

 It will be interesting to see where that leaves me under hard braking with my latest aero addition, which I know you've had fun with.

That will be on a later post

[Crouchy]

Great write up Imran. When shall we expect the next installment of the magpie story?

[alias23]

Maybe next week if I get time on my train journeys with work

I was worried if my journey would be intresting so thanks guys for your kind comments.

[alias23]

Found some pics of the 1-Way Nitrons.

On the right i've marked up the area which was eventually shortened by Nitron as part of the revisions made to get the right ride height whilst ensuring no negative compromise on dampening length.

[C7steve]

Did you have the race pack suspension originally on the car and how do the Nitrons feel in comparison?

Enjoyed your write up and looking forward to the next bit  

 

Steve. 

Edited April 26, 2017 by C7steve

[vd9]

These do look really nice. Perhaps even nicer than my Ohlins R&T (should be direct competitors) when I've unboxed them.

Thank you for the write-up and look forward to the next episode!

Edited April 26, 2017 by vd9

[Seriouslylotus]

9 hours ago, alias23 said:

Found some pics of the 1-Way Nitrons.

On the right i've marked up the area which was eventually shortened by Nitron as part of the revisions made to get the right ride height whilst ensuring no negative compromise on dampening length.

We lengthen that bit on ours!!! And changed other parts as well. This was to enable easier assess to the adjuster.......

[LF1]

Nice write up @alias23. One point regarding the tow eye and the small cut out for it. If you ever have to use it the tow eye flexes and will break the grill unless you have a decent cut out (you have to remove the registration too as it will damage that). I found this out being recovered in the Alps - now understand why the motorsport grill has the finished square around it.

[alias23]

1 hour ago, Seriouslylotus said:

We lengthen that bit on ours!!! And changed other parts as well. This was to enable easier assess to the adjuster.......

I must admit adjustment is a major ball ache especially with the added big brake kit (future instalment to come).

1 hour ago, LF1 said:

Nice write up @alias23. One point regarding the tow eye and the small cut out for it. If you ever have to use it the tow eye flexes and will break the grill unless you have a decent cut out (you have to remove the registration too as it will damage that). I found this out being recovered in the Alps - now understand why the motorsport grill has the finished square around it.

Thanks @LF1 - You'll be named in future instalments, as you are the reason for one of my largest impulse purchases on my Lotus journey!

You raise a good point ref the flex of the tow eye. Thanks for adding it to the thread.

[550superfast]

Your ride height looks much lower after the Nitron install - what heights are you running front and rear?

[NW76]

"What followed from this point was a very fast fall into a track day addiction. In some ways an addiction far more expensive than drugs and alcohol but we all need some form of vice in our lives…"

What a true sentence above ... 

Great writeup Imran by the way - cant wait for it to continue 

 

[alias23]

On 27/04/2017 at 10:01, 550superfast said:

Your ride height looks much lower after the Nitron install - what heights are you running front and rear?

Rough measurements with the revised spec Nitrons...

[cbaileyuk]

Out of interest, would a set of 46mm Nitrons for an S2 Exige have worked on my V6?

 

Reason I ask is that I sold a new set with my old motor and now wonder if they would have been usable in my new car

[alias23]

No idea bud but given you've sold both best not to worry about it ?