Anyone know how loud a S1 NA Evora with motorsport exhaust is?

[electro_boy]

I'm thinking about going along to a track day at Bedford Autodrome but I'm a little worried about the noise limits there.  The limits on the day I intend to visit are 101 dB(A) Drive-by 87.5 dB(A).

I have a S1 NA Evora, I believe it has the Lotus motorsport exhaust otherwise as far as I know it is stock.  

Will it pass the noise tests?  I don't have a sound meter or know anyone with who has one so I don't have a method to check my self. 

[Colin P]

There are a few Apps for free. I did one on my N/A and it wasn’t far out to the noise test done at car limits.

[C8RKH]

I had an NA S1 with 2bular headers and the lotus sports exhaust and I would be confident that you would be OK

[electro_boy]

Thanks guys.

I wasn’t sure if those apps were any good at all but will give it go. 

[andyj007]

i have the n/a and lotus sports exhaust.. you will be fine..  not taken my car , but tested it with a meter against my track clio with race exhaust and it was less db.. the clio was fine  at bedfird so your evora  should be ok

 

[electro_boy]

So I'm back after my first track day in my Evora and I had a great time! 

I can't remember what the static test result was but was warned I was on the high side and and could trigger the drive by sensors so was advised to take it easy and slowly get faster so they could warn me if I was getting close to the limit rather than throwing me out because I went full pelt and went over the noise limit.

For most of the day I was shifting around 5-5.5K rpm and was fine.  Later on in the afternoon I was feeling more confident especially after the sessions with the instructor and was revving the engine closer to the rev limit in normal mode (6.8K rpm) maybe very occasionally accidentally hitting the limiter and I got a noise warning.  I was fine to continue just needed to shift a bit earlier.

It didn't spoil my day at all, as a beginner to track days my skills and technique were holding back the lap times not the engine rev limit so it really wasn't an issue for me.  Looking forward to the next one!

 

[andyj007]

interesting.

how did you find the evora on track?

 

 

[electro_boy]

I am not an experienced race / track driver at all.  I've spent 3 days at Lotus driving academy driving the Elise 220, demoed a few sports cars on the road and 1 experience day driving a 911 GT2 so I don't have a wealth of experience to compare it to but .... 

The car is standard no track day upgrades or changes and I found it pretty good for sure I was the limiting factor on my speed not the car.  The engine did not over heat and stayed around the 50% mark on the temp scale, the brakes felt solid and never faded one bit, even over a 45 min session.  I was very surprised how much later I was able to brake compared to the other cars running much faster than me.

Even the gear shift was pretty good for an S1, I missed a gear shift only twice all day and both times was me trying to rush the gear change.  On the road I sometimes find the box baulks when downshifting form 5th to 4th but I had no problems on the track.

You can feel the extra weight of the car compared to an Elise and the feel that the weight bias is slightly more rearward and the suspension is a bit softer and allows more roll but the handling is very stable and predictable.  I had one spin at the start of the day which was due to my inexperience, thinking I can follow the same lines as other cars and went over a damp kerb and got some oversteer which I over corrected and spun out on.  After letting a lot of air out the tyres, giving the slightly damp conditions more respect and accepting I have little experience and skill and cannot keep up with the track converted Ford fiestas and Renault Clios I had no moments after that.  It was hard to push the car close to the limit due to a mixture of lack of experience on my part and not wanting to spin off and damage my much adored car which is a daily driver for me, but possibly the front end could have been a bit more pointer it didn't feel quite as direct as the Elise.   Maybe a geometry change could fix this or maybe more experience and skill would have fixed it too?

on the road I find the seats are very good indeed but on the track I think they could have a bit more support, I'm slightly cuddlier than the average person and there was a bit of room for me to slide about.  I think I will also look into a harness for next time too as in the big braking zones I was having to support my self by pushing back on the steering wheel.  I didn't notice this being a problem while at the Lotus driving academy and using their Elises with normal seat belts.

In summary it was a great car, everything worked great and consistently no its not as nimble as an Elise but its still very good fun.

[andyj007]

great write up   thanks