07 Exige S for the track?
 

Hey guys,

I'm looking to move into a dedicated track car for next year. I've been running my 997TT for the past two years (bilstein coilovers, sways, gt3 front control arms, rear toe links) so its setup well enough for the track. Still understeers on the slow sharp corners, but its expected carrying so much weight.

I'm in the black run group in PCA and do about 20+ track days a year. I drive to and from the track in the car and plan to do the same with the ExigeS.

I know that power wise Im going to be lacking a lot, but the fun is in the turns and braking, so I don't mind losing some of the power. My favorite track is Watkins Glen (I know so many uphills and it definitely favors more HP) Im wondering is the Exige S the right car for me?

For those tracking their cars that may came from higher HP cars how did it compare?

How reliable is it? I know I'll spend less on consumables, but are there any hidden costs that Im missing? Anyone have any serious breakdowns?

How progressive does the tail come out? I've driven my dad's CaymanS thats track prepped also and the car has tons of grip, but goes from having grip to no grip very quickly, is the Exige S similar?

Any info and advice welcome. Thanks guys =)

Oh one more note, I'd love to be able to get a car where I dont have to mod it and can just take it straight to the track. I'm going to do a harness bar/harnesses, but aside from that is the stock ExigeS suspension good enough for the track? Does it provide adjustability?

A guy over in LotusTalk has a red 07 Exige S set up for track. By all accounts well sorted. Check it out in the Lotus Cars for Sale forum.

Yeah I've been cruising LotusTalk and Ebay found a few interesting cars out there. Headed over to Manhattan motorcars tomorrow to get in one and see how comfortably I fit (6'1" - 175lbs).

White is my color preference (who would have guessed right) but I'm willing to compromise.

I have a 240s and a Turbo. While I can hustle the Turbo around Road Atlanta a bit faster, the Exige is a lot more fun imo and is easy on parts. I don't know about the Exige S, but my car has adjustable suspension. The shocks are set to 3/2 F/R for the street and I adjust them to 8/7 for track use. I've tracked a lot of cars but my old Exige and current Exige are spectacular as track cars. They are not perfect, you need to deal with the oil starvation issue (Morosso pan) but other than that they are great cars imo.

Good luck.
Roy

Glad to hear it, I dont think I've seen one negative review or comment about the Exige related to its trackability. There are a couple of issues that I've seen but seem minor as long as you take care of them ahead of time (oil starvation, possibly gas starvation, and shifter being loose).

Very excited to check one out tomorrow. :)

Bit the bullet, flying down to GA tomorrow morning to pick up an 07 exige s. Can't wait :)

Congrats! As a track car you simply cannot go wrong. What did you end up getting? Post up some pictures!

Picked up an 07 Exige S with every option except LSD. 5600 miles, but now its up to 6800 ;)

I'll post pics as soon as I get off my lazy but hehe, maybe Sunday if the weather is clear and I can get both cars to the car wash.

I have an 07 Exige S that is a dedicated track car. Its a relatively easy car to drive fast on the track. If you plan on doing any serious tracking you need three upgrades: Moroso oil pan, baffled fuel tank (see sector111.com) and RTD suspension brace (also, sector111.com). As you mentioned above, oil starvation is a problem on these cars. Additionally, fuel starvation on long left turns can result in detonation and a blown engine (I blew my engine at the track). There are a ton of other upgrades you can do, but those are the 3 biggies. Check out lotustalk.com and britishspeed.com (which is a new forum started by the original founder of lotustalk). Both of these sites can provide quite a bit of information on these cars. Enjoy your new ride.

Is your Exige S white?

Would love to see pics of the white p-car and lotus together!! :D

congrats on the car

i was considering moving to an Exige S, but a few things held me back

1) clam shell body - costs a fortune to repair it if anything happens
2) a very tough car to really drive to the limit
3) it was a bit too much money - but it comes prepped, so not a big deal
4) I drive my car to and from the track so it is kind of hard to transport anything (chair, tools, tent)
5) its alot slower than my m3
6) insurance was undiscoverable - not many places insure them

You will have a great time with the car. If I hadn't invested so much into my car, I definitely would be in an Exige S!

Just committed to a Lotus 255cup car. I can't wait to pick it up. Congrats on yours, enjoy.

I would look for a used turbocharged lotus elise or exige (like Forcedfed 275hp kit), it's a lot faster than S. They can be relatively inexpensive too, I owned one for about 2 years and then sold it for around $45,000. They are also fairly common and pop up for sale on lotustalk and ebaymotors fairly regularly. I just don't think S is quick enough, it's only good for autocross really. You would need pulley/ecu + intercooler upgrade to be competitive on any decent sized track. Otherwise it just gets slaughtered, as evident by this R&T's track test: http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/co...ate-track-test!

How about a 2006 with a Katana SC.