|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:Down the road I’d like to do a lightweight battery and Penske shocks and springs but that’s a ways off. I was under the impression that penske shocks were in the same camp as jrz/mcs/moton being a motorsport only product and being unreasonably harsh on the street. Do they make a kit for the lotus that is tolerable around town?
|
#
?
May 16, 2019 15:24
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 18:01 |
|
|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:You’re right, the after numbers are good. drat. I really hate the idea of taking the front clam off looking for *things*. That’s one thing I managed to avoid doing on my Elise. Any chance you could pull a wheel and snake a borescope in to look at the rack mounts to avoid having to pull the front clam? I also suffer from the “while you’re in theres”, so I understand the hesitation to do something that increases the opportunity to find something wrong. If you’re in the Bay Area, I could bring my scope down to take a look. If the guy that aligned it is a lotus guy, it was probably done right. I’d be more concerned if it was his first time. And yes, everybody does have a price, but in all seriousness I don’t even know if I fit in an Elise, so it’s all just navel-gazing anyway.
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2019 16:58
|
|
|
crazzy posted:I was under the impression that penske shocks were in the same camp as jrz/mcs/moton being a motorsport only product and being unreasonably harsh on the street. You can have them valved however you'd like, but they are definitely not unreasonably harsh normally. In fact, you can run higher spring rates with better ride quality than a lot of off the shelf garbage. Least that is how mine are.
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2019 17:32
|
|
|
BlackMK4 posted:You can have them valved however you'd like, but they are definitely not unreasonably harsh normally. In fact, you can run higher spring rates with better ride quality than a lot of off the shelf garbage. I guess i'm just used to the JRZ valving for hoosiers where my teeth fall out just driving around the paddock.
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2019 17:47
|
|
|
I always thought the Exige's targa top was glued in for extra stiffness.
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2019 18:06
|
|
|
crazzy posted:I was under the impression that penske shocks were in the same camp as jrz/mcs/moton being a motorsport only product and being unreasonably harsh on the street. Yeah, Blackwatch Racing had a custom valve spec done for the 111 platform. https://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f91/best-all-worlds-bwr-non-adjustable-penske-shocks-intro-pricing-282889/#/topics/282889 I’ve read they’re worlds better than the base or LSS setup. Compliant around town and much better on the track. The fact that Frank at BWR was able to work with Penske directly and his knowledge of the platform (multiple auto cross championships) made a really compelling package. Here’s his thread buying an out-of-state Elise and stopping by their shop to install a set: https://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f3/blackwatch-racing-supercharged-drive-across-country-penske-shocks-266866/#/topics/266866
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2019 18:15
|
|
Zoom Zoom, motherfuckers
|
charliemonster42 posted:Any chance you could pull a wheel and snake a borescope in to look at the rack mounts to avoid having to pull the front clam? I also suffer from the “while you’re in theres”, so I understand the hesitation to do something that increases the opportunity to find something wrong. If you’re in the Bay Area, I could bring my scope down to take a look. Good idea on the borescope. I’m in Phoenix but thanks for the offer. Would something like this do the trick? https://www.amazon.com/Depstech-End...8-1-spons&psc=1 Seems like a good solution to save cost by using a phone or tablet as a display. The app might not be supported forever but for $35 you can’t have everything. The alignment guy had done all of the Lotus cars for the independent shop nearby (that just went under) so I was confident with his abilities. It’s hard to find people that have experience with them.
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2019 18:25
|
|
|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:Yeah, Blackwatch Racing had a custom valve spec done for the 111 platform. Mine were also built and valved by Fred at BWR some years ago, they are quite compliant.
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2019 18:39
|
|
|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:Good idea on the borescope. I’m in Phoenix but thanks for the offer. Would something like this do the trick? I dunno about the clearance of the camera for your needs, but this worked a treat for looking behind our bathroom mirror at the piping. The image quality is pretty good, and the wire is stiff enough to hold a bend, since you'll run into an area you want to look at, need to turn the camera, and so need to first fish the whole thing out and then put it back in.
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2019 18:46
|
|
|
We have that exact same borescope that we used for looking inside walls to see where there were piles of dead mice. It worked really well for that. As previous poster said, image quality is decent enough, although you have to get the camera fairly close to something to not have it look all funky. It's pretty easy to use, the android app is lovely but works fine. They go on sale sometimes, or have coupons - ours was about $34 including tax when we got it, but it's probably not worth waiting for a couple bucks. The price is low enough that even if it doesn't work well for this use case, you aren't out a poo poo ton and you can probably find something down the road to use it for. If nothing else, start offering your friends home colonoscopies.
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2019 22:27
|
|
|
Frequently bought with latex gloves and ky.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2019 02:40
|
|
|
I have nothing to say apart from that on my last track day I bagged some passenger laps in someones S2 Elise, I think it was on Quantum suspension with R888R's and while it felt about as fast as my car in a straight line he was able to carry at least 15mph more speed through most corners. The guy was partway through a motorsport engineering degree and had done all the work himself, including a crap load of data logging systems he'd setup. Kinda made me want one still but I don't think I could ever get on with using it on the road.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2019 10:28
|
|
|
Elise/exige is on my short list next to a lotus 7 for lottery / sudden budget increase toys. I'd daily either outside of winter.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2019 01:43
|
|
|
track day bro! posted:I have nothing to say apart from that on my last track day I bagged some passenger laps in someones S2 Elise, I think it was on Quantum suspension with R888R's and while it felt about as fast as my car in a straight line he was able to carry at least 15mph more speed through most corners. The Elise and Exige attract the best kind of car nerds. There’s a disproportionate amount of aftermarket engineering that was done on this platform relative to the number of cars sold. Lots of people track their cars despite rising values (in the case of the Exige) and it’s not seen as a negative by most buyers. We have fully built engines, TVS superchargers (before TVS blowers got popular with OEMs), tons of suspension options, aftermarket clams, entire shift mechanisms, built transmission internals, and aero bits. And the best part is, if you’re so inclined, you can get a 2ZZ/C64 from a junkyard Matrix, Corolla, or Celica mega cheap.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2019 17:38
|
|
|
Haven't updated in a while. Just moved the car under its own power for the first time in over a month so now's as good a time as any. Things accomplished since last post: - Change engine oil - Change transmission oil - Flush brake/clutch lines - gently caress up flushing brake lines - Removed driver seat to take off expired Schroth harness - Removed two center console pieces and paint metallic black - Removed door cards - Started softtop install (measure 6x, cut none) - Re-flush brake lines - Ordered new battery and mount Engine oil and transmission oil went smoothly. There are so many 8mm bolts to remove for the diffuser and rear panel it would probably be a giant pain in the rear end for most but this was a blast from the past for me. Genuinely enjoyed doing that. There's something about this car that makes it so much fun to work on compared to others. Probably the simplicity? Oh! And I figured out the exhaust. It's the Jansport "Stage II" factory upgrade. I was surprised, didn't know they sounded this good. Lots of pops and crackles. Also, for the second time in owning a Lotus, I was pleasantly surprised when I did my first oil change to discover it has a Moroso baffled oil pan. In addition to the Reverie air intake, I'm happy with the parts that were installed on the car.   Had a massive gently caress-up changing the brake fluid. It had been 7 years since I'd bled brakes using the Motive power bleeder. I talked myself into filling the Motive unit with fluid first (instead of using it dry like I did before). I let it get too low and introduced a metric gently caress-ton of air into the front driver-side caliper. The Motive unit was no match, ended up having to get a buddy to do the two-person method. Two takeaways: The pressure you can generate at the brake pedal far exceeds that of the bleeder (at least beyond the 15psi they recommend as the max) and tapping the caliper to get out air bubbles really does work. All told it took 4 1/2 bottles of RBF 600 to do the brakes and clutch. Even beyond the air that was introduced, it took forever to get the old brake fluid out. Also, I really hate ATE superblue and I'm glad it's banned now. It stains every drat thing and even after two bottles of RBF I was still flushing out that old blue junk.  Note the stubborn "I don't need to buy a fancy bleeder bottle" DIY job All's well though, the pedal is now rock solid and feels way better than it did when I bought it. Reminds me of my Elise when I first bought it and that is a very, very good thing. Took it for a test drive around the block with the seat not bolted down, no seat belt, no shift knob, and poo poo everywhere in the interior. It was fun.  I wasn't sure what to expect in painting the plastic pieces but I'm really happy with how it turned out. Sanded the stock gray plastic pieces, washed, dried, and sprayed 3 coats of Rust-oleum metallic black and 4 coats of clear enamel. Before/after:   I'll finish up the door cards this weekend. Fun fact: the "teardrop" inserts on the door panel (black fabric portion) have these christmas tree plastic holders that are an absolute bastard to get off. It took me and another person pulling to pop them out. The last two just happened to slide out and it turns out we could have just shifted the whole teardrop piece to the side. gently caress.  The stock full size battery died so I ordered a Deka/Big Crank ETX15 AGM battery. It's 11 pounds and should save ~20 pounds compared to stock. Scored a used Sector 111 battery bracket as well. Now I just need to bolt everything together and enjoy the car for a few months. Life is short and I'll have plenty of time to chase down the steering issue when it's not 110 degrees outside. I did find something odd sticking out of the front right suspension...  Turns out my buddy's Exige has the same thing. No idea what it does but the spring starts under the suspension arm, goes to the middle part of the front clam toward the center, then goes into a hole toward the front. It's really weird.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2019 06:19
|
|
|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:I did find something odd sticking out of the front right suspension... How much clearance does it have to the suspension arm.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2019 07:10
|
|
|
Is it a metal spring or a wire wrap type plastic tube? If the later I'd guess drainage but I'm not familiar enough with the cars to know what it would be draining.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2019 09:34
|
|
|
kimbo305 posted:How much clearance does it have to the suspension arm. No clearance. Not completely smashed but I can’t pull it out.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2019 17:23
|
|
|
NitroSpazzz posted:Is it a metal spring or a wire wrap type plastic tube? If the later I'd guess drainage but I'm not familiar enough with the cars to know what it would be draining. Metal spring. When I pulled on it, the could unraveled from where it was caught on the suspension. Again, strange, but my buddy’s Exige has it as well. We both had no idea it was there. His is better secured but doesn’t functionally look any different.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2019 17:25
|
|
|
Are there any good Lotus forums that you could ask about?
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2019 19:15
|
|
|
Yeah, just posted it on Lotustalk.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2019 21:44
|
|
|
Apparently it’s a drain for rainwater or A/C condensation. Back to the drawing board.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2019 21:54
|
|
|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:Apparently it’s a drain for rainwater or A/C condensation. I've never heard of a spring being used for a drainpipe, but it seems fitting for that car somehow. I would love to have one of those cars, they've always been one of my favorites.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2019 13:34
|
|
|
It has been over four years since I've posted about the Exige! Time for an update. The steering issue I was chasing was all in my head. I had a couple friends that own 2006 Exiges drive my car and thought it was fine. I also had my former Lotus technician inspect it and drive it and he said it had zero steering issues. In hindsight it was probably moving from A048s to RE-1Rs. In the meantime I've been able to do a few fun drives: Hwy 88 up to Tortilla Flats:   (The side view mirror has been fixed. Had a temporary replacement thanks to a scooter incident. Track time at Wild Horse Pass / Firebird East:  This was a huge nostalgia rush back to my track days with my Elise (RIP). Best time was a 1:10, one second behind my best time in the Elise that was a bit more track-focused (A048s, +115hp/+60tq, suspension). And it was 3 seconds behind the time I did there in my GT350. Here's 1% of all Exige deliveries to North America in 2006:  Hwy 89 to Prescott:   Removed the factory paint protection film and had Xpel installed on the entire front clam:  The factory stuff is known to yellow over time and often takes paint off when people try to remove it. A lot of people just leave it on but unfortunately white is the one color that shows the yellowing. I spent 20+ hours getting this PPF off and got pretty lucky that it came off without too much fuss. They don't make PPF kits for the Exige so they had to do a full custom cut ($$$).  Finished product:  Recently replaced the rear suspension dampers:   That brings us to today. I'm nearly five years in with this Exige and I've put about 3k miles on it. It took a long time to admit this but I've realized I don't have room in my life right now for a two seater. Nearly all of my trips involve going somewhere with the kids or my 80lb dog. I worked from home during covid and have been hybrid since 2022 so my miles traveled dropped significantly and the opportunities to go for fun drives has just isn't there anymore. It's time to let it go. As much as I love this platform, if I'm not driving a car it needs to go. I have almost 10 years of Lotus ownership and I feel like I've done everything I wanted. I'll get another Elige when the kids are out of the house and I can go nuts with K24 swap. I'm about to do some major work to get it perfect. There's some paint that needs to be repaired on the rear quarter clam, a couple recalls that need to be performed, and new headliner installed. But... If anyone is interested in buying it before I do all this work, PM me. The paint issues never bothered me enough to fix and there might be someone out there willing to save a few bucks on an otherwise good condition 10k mile Exige.
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2023 18:39
|
|
|
I'm local to you and have been casually shopping for an Elise/Exige to K swap as a second track car to my BRZ, but it seems like this is way too clean and low mileage for me.  I'm sure someone is going to scoop it up quick, it is beautiful. Market is loving nuts so you'll probably print too.
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2023 08:00
|
|
|
BlackMK4 posted:I'm local to you and have been casually shopping for an Elise/Exige to K swap as a second track car to my BRZ, but it seems like this is way too clean and low mileage for me. Similar here, looking for a high mileage Elise and your car is way too nice. Going to BaT it or list on one of the lotus forums? Either way you should get a nice return on that one.
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2023 14:23
|
|
|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:That brings us to today. I'm nearly five years in with this Exige and I've put about 3k miles on it. It took a long time to admit this but I've realized I don't have room in my life right now for a two seater. Nearly all of my trips involve going somewhere with the kids or my 80lb dog. I worked from home during covid and have been hybrid since 2022 so my miles traveled dropped significantly and the opportunities to go for fun drives has just isn't there anymore. I see parts of myself in this post and I don't like it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2023 16:20
|
|
|
I finally found a shop to quote the fiberglass and paint repair and it was an eye-watering amount. The fiberglass repair work alone was quoted at 58 hours of labor and it would cost more than buying another S2 Exige clam from Greg's Race Parts. I'm a little conflicted on where to go with it. I'm worried that if I post on LotusTalk asking for recommendations it would somehow come back to me when I try to sell. Maybe I need a burner account there? What do you all think? Should I repair and paint the OEM clamshell or buy an aftermarket clamshell and paint? Should I say gently caress it and list it on LotusTalk or Autotrader as-is? BlackMK4 posted:I'm local to you and have been casually shopping for an Elise/Exige to K swap as a second track car to my BRZ, but it seems like this is way too clean and low mileage for me. Thanks, we'll see how it goes. Comps are hard on cars like this; BAT results are all over the place. I don't regret buying this particular car (7300 miles at purchase) but I wish it was a "driver quality" car. I quickly realized I didn't want to cut this thing up or go crazy with mods. Not sure how local you are but I'll PM you to see if we can meet up sometime. Residency Evil posted:I see parts of myself in this post and I don't like it. Yep. It was a hard realization to make. You also gave me a hard dose of reality in the BMW thread when I talked about going back to doing my own oil changes. We're going to get busier and the cars will get more complex. I can change the oil on the Exige for $60 and sometimes it's fun to lift the car, remove the undertrays, etc. But I typically don't have time for that. On the Alfa? gently caress that, I'm not touching that thing.
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2023 21:30
|
|
|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:I'm worried that if I post on LotusTalk asking for recommendations it would somehow come back to me when I try to sell. Maybe I need a burner account there? You mean like it’s a lose-lose to disclose who did the work despite it being a recommendation ABBA still having someone second guess it?
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2023 22:56
|
|
|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:I finally found a shop to quote the fiberglass and paint repair and it was an eye-watering amount. The fiberglass repair work alone was quoted at 58 hours of labor and it would cost more than buying another S2 Exige clam from Greg's Race Parts. I'm a little conflicted on where to go with it. I'm worried that if I post on LotusTalk asking for recommendations it would somehow come back to me when I try to sell. Maybe I need a burner account there? Maybe get an aftermarket clam finished and installed, and include the OEM one with the car as-is if the buyer is interested? Someone who really wants the originality gets the option to maintain that if they care to, but most people are going to be satisifed with aftermarket that looks and performs equivalent to OEM, with full disclosure of the extent of the damage that led to the replacement... Which providing the original part in usable condition handily satisfies, and implicitly lets interested parties know this wasn't a situation where the car was badly wrecked and rebuilt, it really was cosmetic damage that just happens to be expensive to deal with. super nailgun fucked around with this message at 02:13 on Dec 28, 2023 |
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2023 02:11
|
|
|
kimbo305 posted:You mean like it’s a lose-lose to disclose who did the work despite it being a recommendation ABBA still having someone second guess it? I originally thought there wasn't anything on LT about the fiberglass/paint issue on the car so disclosing that while looking for advice could somehow affect the pricing. Turns out it was disclosed in the original FS ad so it's not really a big deal. I just assume some internet fucko will poo poo on any FS ad or auction and I was trying to avoid that. super nailgun posted:Maybe get an aftermarket clam finished and installed, and include the OEM one with the car as-is if the buyer is interested? Someone who really wants the originality gets the option to maintain that if they care to, but most people are going to be satisifed with aftermarket that looks and performs equivalent to OEM, with full disclosure of the extent of the damage that led to the replacement... Which providing the original part in usable condition handily satisfies, and implicitly lets interested parties know this wasn't a situation where the car was badly wrecked and rebuilt, it really was cosmetic damage that just happens to be expensive to deal with. That's not a bad idea. The likelihood of a buyer getting a spare clamshell home is low but it could be an option.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2023 06:43
|
|
|
What's up 06 Exige buddy. Got mine in 2020 @ 26k miles and put around 3k miles on it as well, almost all of it in the first year so in a similar boat as you.. I keep telling myself it's my forever car but I also only drive it once a month maybe. No kids yet, but my girlfriend doesn't like sitting in it because it's too stiff/loud/uncomfortable (she's not wrong) so we'll see how long this thing will stick around for. How bad's the rear clam damage that it'll take 58 hours to repair? I keep reading posts about how it's not as bad as people say it is, Corvette/boat places will do them no problem, etc, but that is a shocking amount. I originally got it to be a track car but also made the mistake of getting one that was too clean so this type of thing is what makes it so nerve wracking to drive sometimes.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2023 07:08
|
|
|
Interesting day to have an 06 Exige with under 11k miles… https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-lotus-exige-28 Absolute perfection. Red is just the right color on these. Put as many miles on it as you can.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2024 06:07
|
|
|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:Interesting day to have an 06 Exige with under 11k miles… https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-lotus-exige-28 Well I think that rules me very far out of consideration lmao. But good for you! I am excited for what comes next for you, it sounds like you are pretty set on selling at this point. Maybe in a month or two when it starts being nice car weather?
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2024 10:05
|
|
|
Pr0kjayhawk posted:That brings us to today. I'm nearly five years in with this Exige and I've put about 3k miles on it. It took a long time to admit this but I've realized I don't have room in my life right now for a two seater. Nearly all of my trips involve going somewhere with the kids or my 80lb dog. As someone who spent the last couple of years putting <100 miles on his z4 I can say, kids get bigger and eventually some weekend hobby time comes back.  We each occasionally alternate hobby time for 4 hours on a weekend during the daytime and I just go no where at a totally reasonable speed. I just found your thread and that is a sexy car. I have always loved Lotus's and especially the exige. Being 6'4" however puts that out of reach. I once squeezed into a buddies Elise and it was intense. My legs could not move and were pressed into the dash. Made working the clutch a difficult but not impossible. Made the gas/brake terrifying as my foot (15 wide shoes) often wanted to slip behind the brake.  11/10 would do it again even if it took me 15 minutes to figure out how to get out.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2024 21:32
|
|
|
It seems I will finally be joining the Lotus goon family, I'll be picking it up from Spring Mountain Motorsports Resort in a couple of weeks.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2024 00:14
|
|
|
You've got great taste in cars.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2024 00:23
|
|
|
Suburban Dad posted:You've got great taste in cars. Thanks, I try 
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2024 02:41
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 18:01 |
|
|
Gol dang you don’t mess around. Rear panel delete, aggressive diffuser, nicer side mirror, looks like it’s caged. I assume it has upgraded end links with the slicks on there?
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2024 02:54
|
|