what car thread - Lotus Edition

[Rich B]

Usually i’d be all secretive about new car purchasing and just pop up with a new car thread, but i’m genuinely after some help/input.

Basically, i want a Lotus Elise/Exige - always have. I now have about £25k to spend and am interested to hear how others would spend it. i’m not overly bothered about track driving, more something to drive on roads (maybe once a week to work plus playtimes).

Exige - there are a few S2 Exige hovering around this mark which i love the look of, but interested to hear the opinions of 190 v 220bhp options.

Elise - i like the look of the S1s (on Nitrons with good wheels) and i’d love a Honda’d one - but most seem to be full on track spec and i can’t be arsed with continuous spannering. Is a normal S1 fast enough to be fun and reliable enough to not need constant fettling? I’m not as keen on the S2, but maybe in a good colour/spec with a supercharger? same for the S3 - i quite like the club racer spec S3.

I’m a bit of a tart with cars and the way they look/feel is pretty important to me as well as how they drive - but any experiences welcome!

or Duncs - fancy making a big loss and selling me yours?!

[mik]

I expect @scotta will be along shortly.....

[Sundayjumper]

Have you driven one ? I'm guessing it'll be VERY different to your BMW so I'd suggest trying one just in case you actually hate them.

[V8Granite]

S1 Elise in yellow, silver, red or dark blue.

Nice exhaust and induction.

Give it a tickle with Nitrons, a light refurb and then enjoy depreciation free motoring that will feel special alongside your other cars.

As much as an Exige looks awesome, to see a near standard S1 Elise is still pretty special.

Dave!

[Rich B]

Have you driven one ? I'm guessing it'll be VERY different to your BMW so I'd suggest trying one just in case you actually hate them.

yeah, i’ve driven a VX220 and an S1 Elise. i’m after something VERY different to the M2.

[Carlos]

I'm too big for an Elise but have driven one years ago when I had my 968. Epic to to drive even though it was something like 130bhp but akin to a 4 wheel motorcycle than a car!

Definitely worth a good drive in one to make sure it's usable enough for you.

Also a Europa may be worth a look, people seem to hold onto them for a long time and they rarely come up for sale so there must be something about them. The press were unfavourable at the time as regards how usable they were compared to similar priced motors like Z4's and Caymans but the same could be said for the 964RS!

I look forward to reading about the test drives

[Rich B]

The Europa doesn’t appeal tbh - like i said, I'm a tart and i think they’re ugly!

[240PP]

My S2 with 120bhp didn’t feel all that fast, especially above 70mph. Therefore, get this

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... obcid=soc3

[Matty]

Yes @Rich B, these are the topics of correctness.

As mentioned, you need to drive one/many - but I found my last S2 (135bhp) to not be enough....so I'd want at least 160bhp in an S1, and avoid the S2/S3's with the 134bhp 1.6.

[scotta]

Oh hello...

Budget wise £25k isnt going to get you into a S3 Clubracer S s if you want a clubracer then you are looking at a 1.6. I wouldnt.

S1's - mine had some power upgrades along the lines of 135 sport cam's bigger throttlebody and a decat stainless exhaust.Never had it dyno'd but id estimate circa 140bhp. It would keep up with a111R on the straights on track. It was plenty quick enough for road and still entertaining on track. I upgraded to the Nitron Street series dampers which were excellent alongside some sticky yokohama tyres. Brakes need a pad upgrade. I tried 1144's but eventually settled on CL RC5's with some decent fluid. These are old cars now however and you would need to find a good one.Weak points are the radiators. Plastic end tanks crack and leak. Look for the rad to be upgraded to a pro-Alloy or similar. Headlights are unobtanium. only aftermarket options are avaialble. Check that. Im sure I dont have to tell you about head gaskets...So make sure thats been done. £25k however should get you a really good S1. Id even say spend a bit less on one. Dont be scared of a bit of mileage if its been well maintained. My old one id knocking on 100k now.

S2/S3 - for £25k you should be able to get yourself into a supercharged car. there are two engine variants. Early cars have the Toyota 2ZZ unit these rev to 8500 but dont come from the factory with a charge cooler. They suffer from heat soak on hot days and expecially on track. Later cars - mine included - have the 2ZR unit. Revs to 7200 but comes with a factory charge cooler so doesnt suffer from heat soak. Can pound round all day happily.

Toyota gearboxes are the weak link. Check the syncros all engage and dont crunch. You will need to make sure the box is hot for this. mines developed a 3rd to 4th crunch at high revs when meant a box rebuild and a £3300 bill.

If you do find a clubracer wih higher miles in budget do make sure the seats fit you. Im absolutely fine but my mate who's a bit taller basically cant sit in them due to the shape of the back rests.

Watch this for a rover vs toyota comparison and a buyers guide.



Finally - think about storage. They. All. Leak. if you dont have a garage space for it this is a serious consideration.

For Exige advice paging @andybond

[dan]

I’d go for a supercharged Toyota s2 Elise if the budget will stretch to one of those. They’re fast enough to be fun and you won’t have to fuck about with it other than service it once a year.

[scotta]

TL;DR. Buy one. They're fvcking great and you need a GT4 to be any faster...!

[Sundayjumper]

Have you driven one ? I'm guessing it'll be VERY different to your BMW so I'd suggest trying one just in case you actually hate them.

yeah, i’ve driven a VX220 and an S1 Elise. i’m after something VERY different to the M2.

Fair enough, crack on !

Give Dan a £25k CASH DEPOSIT and tell him to surprise you at Christmas...

[Rich B]

Yes @Rich B, these are the topics of correctness.

As mentioned, you need to drive one/many - but I found my last S2 (135bhp) to not be enough....so I'd want at least 160bhp in an S1, and avoid the S2/S3's with the 134bhp 1.6.

i suspected this was the case. especially as my daily has been 400bhp for most of the last decade! The M2 will be going though, i love it, but i want a change (and a van).

i like S2s in black - the stripes would have to go though…!

[duncs500]

I was going to say get an S2 Exige S, I adored mine and I think I paid £21.5k or so for it. Unfortunately a quick look on the classifieds suggests they have gone up quite a bit since then!

If a supercharged S2 Elise per Dan's suggestion can be got for that price I imagine that should deliver something similar to the Exige. Some people don't like the noise of the supercharged car, I loved it though.

Probably a Honda'd car at that price point might be a bit of a risk, as you say, most are full on track spec as well.

[scotta]

Yes @Rich B, these are the topics of correctness.

As mentioned, you need to drive one/many - but I found my last S2 (135bhp) to not be enough....so I'd want at least 160bhp in an S1, and avoid the S2/S3's with the 134bhp 1.6.

i suspected this was the case. especially as my daily has been 400bhp for most of the last decade! The M2 will be going though, i love it, but i want a change (and a van).

i like S2s in black - the stripes would have to go though…!

Presume your talking about the S3 above posted. Removing the stripes i would expect will remove the paint.

[Rich B]

Yes @Rich B, these are the topics of correctness.

As mentioned, you need to drive one/many - but I found my last S2 (135bhp) to not be enough....so I'd want at least 160bhp in an S1, and avoid the S2/S3's with the 134bhp 1.6.

i suspected this was the case. especially as my daily has been 400bhp for most of the last decade! The M2 will be going though, i love it, but i want a change (and a van).

i like S2s in black - the stripes would have to go though…!

Presume your talking about the S3 above posted. Removing the stripes i would expect will remove the paint.

oh yeah, i mistook it in the black lights. i like that.


great information so far guys - i knew i should ask!!!!

[duncs500]

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17363946

Something like that with a bit of haggling?

I think there's a few dreamers out there on prices at the minute, I'd suggest playing some hard ball with whatever you decide.

[scotta]

i suspected this was the case. especially as my daily has been 400bhp for most of the last decade! The M2 will be going though, i love it, but i want a change (and a van).

i like S2s in black - the stripes would have to go though…!

Presume your talking about the S3 above posted. Removing the stripes i would expect will remove the paint.

oh yeah, i mistook it in the black lights. i like that.


great information so far guys - i knew i should ask!!!!

That car sold on car & classic recently also.

[240PP]

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17363946

Something like that with a bit of haggling?

I saw that one too but it’s five years older with 25k more miles for a similar price to the one I posted. Is that one ‘rare’ as per the advert?