Scottish Elises

Will fitting 'thicker' tyres on my car make it a bit softer to drive?

Driving around town is becoming horrible in the Exige with the current state of the roads - will increasing the sidewall height from 195/50/16 to 195/55/16 at the front and 225/50 (or 55) /17 make it a bit comfier? I appreciate there will be speedo issues and potentially rubbing at the front. And i'm not using it on track so don't care about the issues there.

Already looking into buying 111r suspension, keeping the Exige stuff for re-sale - but need some other ideas before i crack up.

I hated driving my Elise about Edinburgh - especially down Comely Bank Ave...... It felt like the wheels were about to fall off.!

Yup, really starting to take the pleasure out of driving - especially when it's raining, the rain fills the pot holes and you can't see where they are

Buy a shed for about town for a few hundred quid and keep the exige for fun?

Nah, I've paid a lot for the Exige and I want to enjoy it

Quite right...

you'd be cheaper leaving the Exige at the house & getting a taxi into town (than owning a 2nd car)

David

its begging the question , why did you buy an exige? its really not the car for posing round city centres in , much more at home on open A/B roads or on track
by the sound of it you would be better off with a chelsea tractor for the potholes

shortie2 wrote:its begging the question , why did you buy an exige? its really not the car for posing round city centres in , much more at home on open A/B roads or on track
by the sound of it you would be better off with a chelsea tractor for the potholes

not that I need to explain myself but, it's my fourth Lotus and I love everything about them, apart from the ride quality on normal roads.

i use and enjoy my car in different ways (like everyone - and everyone is different), however I use it everday and go into town almost everyday (fyi - work, not 'posing') therefore would like to know how to make it more comfortable.

and chelsea tractor - epic fail!

I doubt you'll see much difference changing the profile by that amount. You'd probably have to go for smaller wheels with a far bigger profile to get any benefit, but that'd look crap. If it makes you feel any better, Aberdeens roads are way worse

I had a bad feeling that was going to be the answer

Suspension change ?

Considering it! Just don't know what fits and what doesn't - standard Elise S suspension? Would obviously keep all the Exige set up for going back one day (when the roads are better/re-sale/if i ever do decide to track it).

you need to buy some aftermarket adjustable dampers ( so you can soften the damping) also fitted with threaded platforms so you can jack the car up slightly ( so the car doesnt bottom out beacause of the soft damping)
All of the above will probably destroy any good handling the car had and turn it into a fairly soft car that will handle the potholes/cobbles better than it was .
Sounds like a lot of money and effort just to turn it into a commuter cart for a few miles each day

X7LDA wrote:Considering it! Just don't know what fits and what doesn't - standard Elise S suspension? Would obviously keep all the Exige set up for going back one day (when the roads are better/re-sale/if i ever do decide to track it).

R & S suspension is the same as far as I know - both being slightly softer than the Exige setup. Might be a part solution - but Elaine's R still isn't really an ideal town car, ride-quality wise.

Softening an exige for commuting is like going out with cheryl cole then asking her to have a sex change.

Ever thought about a europa??