Zack's Lotus Exige S left handed shifter project
- Thread starter l0wb00st
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That's pretty cool.
Bump for updates - I’m in the market for an exige as soon as I can convince the wife that parking her car outside is a good idea.
Sorry I'm super inconsistent with getting on here. After driving the car for a few months, I am in love! You sit so damn low and with manual steering it almost feels like a kart on the street. I haven't pushed it super hard through any turns yet, but driving pretty spiritedly it feels phenomenal. The steering is super precise and lets you feel everything. It rides really well considering what it is. It's not a luxury car by any means but over small stuff it soaks it up surprisingly well.
Blind spots are TERRIBLE. The exige doesn't have a rear view mirror, just side views. Looking over your right shoulder is useless because you can't see out of the back window and the body blocks everything in your blind spot. You can throw your head out the window to see your left hand blind spot though lol The Elise has a back window you can see out of and a rearview. I'm pretty good about monitoring my side views and keeping track of who's in my blind spots so it's not the worst thing in the world, but definitely worth pointing out. The stock sideview's look like trash imo and they vibrate at any speed above like 50. The same company that made the taillights and side scoops i bought also makes carbon side mirrors with wide angle glass, so i decided to grab a set. They are more $$ than I wanted to spend but they just look so much better than the stock mirrors to me.
Getting in and out can be a problem if you are tall. If you pull on the windshield frame you can crack the windshield, so you have to watch for that. With the roof off it's easy, but with the roof on it's pretty tight. Getting out is harder than getting in, and the more you think about trying to get out, the harder it is haha
Other issues, the top comes off pretty easily, but it doesn't store in the car anywhere. So you either gotta make sure it isn't gonna rain or buy a soft top from an Elise to keep in the trunk just in case. The windows on mine are out of adjustment right now and so the car gets a little water in it when i wash it. Nothing crazy, just a small puddle on each sill i usually just wipe up with a microfiber or something. Haven't driven it in the rain enough to know if it leaks there yet but i have to assume it does. It doesn't look super difficult to adjust them i just haven't gotten to them yet. 6th gear is super short, the car does 3500rpm at 75 and 4k @80mph. It still averages around 30mpg so far though. I have an issue with my guage cluster where it just shuts off. it's great. Apparently it was a common issue and can be fixed with a firmware update at the dealer, my firmware version is 1.00
They fixed the issue with the black cluster cars (08+) but something you may have to go to the dealer to have updated if they never did it. The last issue i have is more of an inconvenience than an issue. The way the stock alarm is set up it auto rearms the immobilizer after like 2min, whether the car is locked or not. It won't lock the doors, but you have to hit the button on the fob before the car will start. You can change it so that it doesn't auto rearm, but you need to know the alarm password/code to change the setting, and I don't know my alarm's code. Another reason for me to go to the dealer.
Since the last post I got a new set of wheels and tires, and with the help from some buddies did pads and rotors all around, installed an Elise cup airbox (larger panel filter, and K&N, can hear the blower now), catch can, rear panel delete, carbon lip and fixed the stereo wiring and got a new head unit.
Wheels are Volk TE37 Sonic SL, 15x7/16x8
Tires are Falken Azenis RT660 205/225
I'll add the pictures from my phone in a few
I'll probably be at Luke's on Thursday so if you're there come check the car out and i'll be able to tell you more in person
It feels like it too! Every time I throw it into a corner the car just keeps saying 'give me more, go faster!'
Awesome thanks for the update— mirrors were a good choice. I’ve considered Elise for a long time but ultimately I’m not sure I’d be happy knowing this badassery is out there. Perfect, another horrible visibility car will fit right in with my Camaro, ha.
Prices seem all over the place though. And so many rebuilt titles with people claiming relatively minor clamshell damage.
Prices seem all over the place though. And so many rebuilt titles with people claiming relatively minor clamshell damage.
I considered the Elise first but I'm really glad I got the exige. The car isn't supposed to be convenient, it's supposed to be quick and fun to drive. So why not get the more aggressive one if you're already 90% of the way there with an Elise? Just go full retard and be done with lmao
Pricing is out of this world for these things. Some people are out of their minds. It was/ i think still is common for these cars to get totaled out from minor accidents because the clams are expensive. But people knock off like $3-5k off the price for a salvage title car. idk what it is with these guys, but I'm not about to try to save 5k on a $40k+ car by getting one with a salvage title when I could spend the extra 5k to get one with a clean title. I basically just stayed away from anything with a salvage title because it just doesn't make sense to me to save so little for getting a rebuilt title.
Pricing is out of this world for these things. Some people are out of their minds. It was/ i think still is common for these cars to get totaled out from minor accidents because the clams are expensive. But people knock off like $3-5k off the price for a salvage title car. idk what it is with these guys, but I'm not about to try to save 5k on a $40k+ car by getting one with a salvage title when I could spend the extra 5k to get one with a clean title. I basically just stayed away from anything with a salvage title because it just doesn't make sense to me to save so little for getting a rebuilt title.
Lotus Launches Digital Gauges You Can Swap Into Your Elise or Exige
Lotus recently released a new set of plug and play digital gauges to swap into your Elise or Exige and go to the track.
www.motor1.com
Ever consider one of those rear view “mirrors” that is actually a monitor with a camera you put on the backend? https://catalog.echomaster.com/cata...nputs-3-triggers-and-adjustable-parking-lines
Lotus Launches Digital Gauges You Can Swap Into Your Elise or Exige
Lotus recently released a new set of plug and play digital gauges to swap into your Elise or Exige and go to the track.
That's pretty sick! Might have to look into that more ?
I considered them when I first bought the car. That will probably be my solution if not having one proves to be a big enough problem. For now I'm getting by with just the wider side mirrors.
Found this company that makes "sequential" shifters for H pattern trans'. They have a shifter that works with a celica gts which uses the same trans. I'm going to contact them and see if they can make something low profile that could sit on top of the sill. Then i could just remove the shift lever to get in/ out. This would also get around the issue of left-to-right space for the H pattern shifter
I really would rather not do that. I'd rather something to my left because I'd like to drive on a nearly daily basis in the summer. But if I can't make it work, it's definitely an option
little update:
No progress with the shifter yet.
I got a random short to ground in one of the lighting circuits that also includes the radio, cluster and cigarette lighter. Been tearing the car apart tracing the harness trying to find this short and haven't found it yet. With all of the loads disconnected in the circuit it's still shorted so it's gotta be either a connector or in the harness itself somewhere. Should have expected wiring issues with a British car I guess
No progress with the shifter yet.
I got a random short to ground in one of the lighting circuits that also includes the radio, cluster and cigarette lighter. Been tearing the car apart tracing the harness trying to find this short and haven't found it yet. With all of the loads disconnected in the circuit it's still shorted so it's gotta be either a connector or in the harness itself somewhere. Should have expected wiring issues with a British car I guess
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