TLF GT430 Club

[Techyd]

@The Pits - very surprising comment RE the Golf and Focus, given the uncompromising nature of the GT430, what was it you found worse? If I were to guess, the GT430 perhaps settles in to a more fluid rhythm at speed with Golf remaining reliant on active damper adjustment???

Also amazing to hear difference in top end feel from the 410 to 430, I’ve not experienced the 430 Evora, but done with the Exige, I felt the 410 pulled strongly throughout, I guess the 430 map makes that look dull!

[blindside]

13 hours ago, The Pits said:

The big benefit of the Ohlins over the 410's Bilsteins is the adjustability of course. Might be worth checking where yours are on the settings and make sure they are set to the recommended road settings. You can easily try it a couple of clicks softer than that if you live near rougher roads. At least when you pay for Ohlins you get a good range of adjustment where you can really feel the difference between a few clicks.

Good point. I have similar style Ohlins multi adjustable dampers on the Megane Trophy R and spent some time getting the settings just right for the rough roads around here. The Megane’s Ohlins are easier to adjust on the fly though, as you can get at them easily without taking any wheels off. I’ll need to spend some time sorting this with the 430.

Agree that the 430 still rides fairly well relative to some of the mainstream family cars out there. I’ve a new shape Mini Cooper S which the Mrs runs around in. It rides like a concrete block compared with the Sport 410 on anything other than motorways!

[DJW]

@blindside thanks for the write up.  Exactly what I was after.  

Having owned an Evora 400 for 10 months I found the Sport 410 to be a great from a test drive. However I’ve never liked the Exige buckets in the Evora and therefore GT410 seems a better option for me personally down the line. 

I did get to test drive the GT430 when it first came out, but car was being run in so couldn’t give it the full beans, however the handling and ride  was sublime around the bumpy country roads of Silverstone, so I do wonder as others have said if you need to play with ohlin settings. 

Edited July 7, 2019 by DJW

[The Pits]

8 hours ago, Techyd said:

@The Pits - very surprising comment RE the Golf and Focus, given the uncompromising nature of the GT430, what was it you found worse? If I were to guess, the GT430 perhaps settles in to a more fluid rhythm at speed with Golf remaining reliant on active damper adjustment???

Also amazing to hear difference in top end feel from the 410 to 430, I’ve not experienced the 430 Evora, but done with the Exige, I felt the 410 pulled strongly throughout, I guess the 430 map makes that look dull!

Damping on both the Focus and the Golf is done to a price and is nowhere near the Ohlins TTX. They have been set up to feel 'sporty' next to the more ordinary models they're based on. Definitely some harshness for harshness sake going on. No one makes a fast hatch with a lovely compliant ride, car makers don't think buyers would go for it as it would feel 'unsporty'. Great shame really, especially with modern adaptive damping. I was hoping the Golf R might be the car to do it and went out of my way to try one with DCC dampers but couldn't tell a great deal of difference between the two modes. It's definitely firmer and the ride is worse on the harder setting, definitely gets deflected more by bumps and road camber. It's generally a mode I would never use on the road but even in the softer setting the ride was still disappointingly brittle. In isolation its fine but getting back in the GT430 was quite a surprise.

The GT430 is firm by Lotus standards but it has real damping quality to go with exceptionally precise body control and zero roll at road speeds. I'm convinced the ride quality is how it managed to keep the 991.2 GT3 honest around Castle Combe. The ride looks punishing in the GT3, driver and passenger's helmets are being jolted around inside and you can hear the GT3's revs flare as it skips over bumps. For all I know it would have been quicker there with the dampers kept on the softer setting. Castle Combe is very bumpy and it really played to the GT430's strengths.

 

[DJW]

Had an AMG GLA45 as a loan car for a couple of weeks. Took it on 300 mile round trip for work and came back crippled. The suspension was so hard it killed me.  Give me GT430 suspension any day

[Gashead1105]

You should try the Mark 7 Fiesta ST for ride quality. Now that's an experience to remember.... 

I love mine even so (on my second now!)

I couldn't live with the seats in the Sport 410. All the carbon fibre is lovely however and the cost to change at the moment is fairly minimal in the grand scheme of things, but for me the 400 does everything I want of it and I'm very happy with mine - especially once the few niggles are ironed out by Dave @Hangar 111 ! 

[DBG]

Yep, Peugeot 308 GTi (wife’s car). Sublime handling and fantastic ride. On par, if not more compliant than my 2010 Evora. Also 200kw, 6 speed manual, 1200kg, 380mm Alcon Rotors. 

[Hangar 111]

4 hours ago, Gashead1105 said:

especially once the few niggles are ironed out by Dave @Hangar 111 ! 

You call it a niggle, I call it a big chunk of work!

I occasionally have bad thoughts about a Mk7 ST, but reckon I'll stick with my Mk6 for a bit.

Dave

[Snoopy1969]

@The Pits I think I have read somewhere that the Ohlins of the 410 / 430 have to be "serviced / rebuild" every 2 years? If yes do you have a quote what the costs will be? (on a road car it sound a little bit weird to mee if this would be true - for a track car maybe understandable ....) 

relating:

"Damping on both the Focus and the Golf is done to a price and is nowhere near the Ohlins TTX."  - well, I think we can´t compare hot hatches to the Evora which its very rigid alu-"bathtube chassis which allows a softer damping in general, also the ohlins are quite expensive. Have you tested the Golf R in the individual mode which allows to combine the different things to an individual menu? Dampewrs on "normal" other positions on "race" result in a great "overall" usable car, but in the end its no midengined sports car (of course...but one which will be effectively as fast in real life on normal roads)

[electro_boy]

I've always wondered about the lack of suspension servicing required in the standard dampers.  In the mountain bike world all suspension forks and rear shocks require a basic service of changing the lubricating oil change after 20-100 hours of use depending on the manufacturer and a more advanced services changing damping oil and seals about once a year or more often depending on usage.

I found it odd that on a high performance car and one where the suspension and damping are one of the best assets such as an Evora that regular service of the suspension is not required.  I enquired at Hofmans Lotus about this and they said if its not broke don't fix it.

[C8RKH]

3 hours ago, Snoopy1969 said:

@The Pits I think I have read somewhere that the Ohlins of the 410 / 430 have to be "serviced / rebuild" every 2 years? If yes do you have a quote what the costs will be? (on a road car it sound a little bit weird to mee if this would be true - for a track car maybe understandable ....) 

I believe that yes they do need to be rebuilt/serviced and the lat price I saw in connection to this was in the range of £1k-1.5k. I believe it is one of the reasons the Ohlins are not on the US GT. No doubt someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Those Ohlins are a serious bit of kit and will need to be looked after. But then the GT430 owners I know/have met will, I am 100% sure, do that.

[Trevsked]

They do have to be serviced every two years according to the manual but in reality I’d think you’d do it in year two to keep the warranty but after that they would be much the same as any other shock and attended to as and when you see/feel a difference. I think it partly allows for a fair amount of track use but also the seals are either thinner or perhaps not there at all in order to keep friction as low as possible given the application. 

 

Trevor.

[The Pits]

It’s not strictly necessary especially on cars that aren’t tracked. But a rebuild is recommended every 2 years for those that are. 

I’ve recently serviced a set of Ohlins TTX36 as it happens, sent them to Mick Gardner Racing - official Ohlins dealer and the people that built and supplied the dampers in every GT430 and helped spec and develop them too. Great outfit, no better place to take them frankly, top service, the dampers came back gleaming. I updated mine to 3-way adjustable for good measure for circa £1600 inc vat. Service alone was more like £800. Biggest inconvenience would be leaving your car at the dealer or on axle stands if you know what you’re doing while the dampers are sent away. A bit of a pain, sounds like a winter job to me. Also perfect excuse to rebuild to 3-way which takes the damper to another level again.

[BatMobile]

For those that do track the car, is there now an option to run the car with a quieter exhaust? 

Sure I read that one of the cars at the b&c goodwood day had one and didn’t trip any noise meters whilst another on the normal exhaust was collecting stickers like it was going out of fashion.

If so, does this exhaust work across all the 430 cars, exige included?  

[Gashead1105]

Pass. The 2bular that @CocoPops fitted on mine is not quiet enough for Snetterton - blows 96db on the drive by!

That was without the additional cans fitted mind, but I can't think that they will be enough alone to lose 4db on the drive by. I'm not really sure what to do, part of the appeal of the 400 is how good it sounds and I don't really want to lose that. 

[Stubox]

1 hour ago, BatMobile said:

For those that do track the car, is there now an option to run the car with a quieter exhaust? 

Sure I read that one of the cars at the b&c goodwood day had one and didn’t trip any noise meters whilst another on the normal exhaust was collecting stickers like it was going out of fashion.

If so, does this exhaust work across all the 430 cars, exige included?  

Yes as per the Facebook group you can for the lotus track exhaust and run it even at brands and Bedford going by the readings. Not cheap tho.

[Bruss]

My S1 runs a Larini with third cat removed. It passes Goodwood and Bedford, but if I run close to another 'loud' car then the 2 cars will trip the trackside meters.  My car is not quiet on its own according to anyone standing trackside but does pass.

 

 

[Trevsked]

I have the Lotus Track Exhaust on my GT430 and very pleased with it, even more so since the B&C Goodwood day due to no issues at all. Personally I think it’s more fitting on a car to have a Lotus supplied item albeit circa £700 more than something like The 2bular.

Trevor.

[Bravo73]

13 hours ago, BatMobile said:

For those that do track the car, is there now an option to run the car with a quieter exhaust? 

Sure I read that one of the cars at the b&c goodwood day had one and didn’t trip any noise meters whilst another on the normal exhaust was collecting stickers like it was going out of fashion.

If so, does this exhaust work across all the 430 cars, exige included?  

If you want ‘OEM’, go with this:

Otherwise, there are other options available. 

[k20Rob]

14 hours ago, BatMobile said:

For those that do track the car, is there now an option to run the car with a quieter exhaust? 

Sure I read that one of the cars at the b&c goodwood day had one and didn’t trip any noise meters whilst another on the normal exhaust was collecting stickers like it was going out of fashion.

If so, does this exhaust work across all the 430 cars, exige included?  

Look up maidstone sports cars page on facebook. They are about to launch the slip on silencer, this was the one in use at the goodwood day. Photos of it on their facebook page.

[Julian73]

3 hours ago, Bravo73 said:

If you want ‘OEM’, go with this:

 

Lotus PN A138S0100S; Silencer 3 inch Track

 

This works with the Evora 400, Sport 410, GT410, GT430, Federal GT and Exige V6: Cup 380, Sport 380, 410 and 430  manual and automatics world wide.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Julian73

[Bravo73]

A GT430 for under £90k?

 

Wow. That is less than a new GT410. I know which I would prefer...

[blindside]

Bargain price probably in large part down to 7.7k miles on the clock. Looks to be the empire green car that was originally sold by @Connor - Central Lotus back in Feb18.

 

[The Pits]

Could it be Lotus Racing (formerly Epsom) Green? Hard to tell from those pics but stunning colour either way to my eyes, still next to no miles in my book too. Very hard to imagine getting bored with such a glorious thing in such a short time but there it is now at a knock down price at Augustus Autos!

[blindside]

A couple of pics taken yesterday in the balmy weather by a local pro car photographer: