Exige V6 Upgrades

[campbell]

Can never have too much power eh!

[Ferg]

This is the first Lotus I've had that didn't have Nitrons. I'm enjoying the compliant road manners but know that it's likely at some point I'll want the roll control from the Nitrons again. Would love Öhlins but suspect they are an order of magnitude more expensive again.

[C7Steve]

Not sure which is better?

https://komo-tec.com/Shop/en/Exige/MK3- ... -S-V6.html

Or

http://www.nitron.co.uk/catalogue_item. ... odID=73773

I like the suspension on the V6 and it works really well on the road, but it could do with a touch more control when pushing on. It would be great to have adjustable suspension and being able to firm it up for track use and also knowing how to adjust the settings to keep the balance of the car good.

Anyone on here good at setting up suspension and helping me with gaining some knowledge on how to balance front and rear bump and rebound? I am keen to learn more before purchasing any mods. *Yes I know about driver training and I am looking at doing more of that too.


Steve.

[alicrozier]

I can help with some basics Steve, 3-way dampers there is potential to get it horribly wrong!

On the 211 (2-way Ohlins) I ended up with a good base settings for wet and dry track (and wet was settings I used on the road). A bit of a compromise but they both worked with one setting of front ARB (gains if you cba changing in the wet). From there it was a case of small tweaks for specific tracks or conditions.

Don't #bemoretut in this case, full hard on diagonally opposite corners, full soft on the others does not handle well...

[C7Steve]

Thanks Ali

I have spoken to Chris Randall at Hoffmans and he says that he would build me damper valving and spring rates for whatever I want the end use to be. I am only looking for something that gives me the flexibility as my knowledge and skill grows and to give me more feedback on what the car is doing. From driving on ‘b roads’ with lots of bumps, camber changes and potholes and then something more focussed when on track, but having the know how on making changes for bumpier tracks and wet or dry conditions. It’s something that I am looking forward to doing more in years to come. Chris has said that he could give me base settings for road and track, but I would like to know more about what the settings do in conjunction with each other front to rear. I know that you can adjust for less or more understeer and oversteer, but not a clue on how to go about it. I don’t want to be too anal and be spending large amounts of time adjusting the dampers. Look at the conditions and track and then set suspension and enjoy.


Steve.

[C7Steve]

Don't #bemoretut in this case, full hard on diagonally opposite corners, full soft on the others does not handle well...

Yes, but he did not notice because all of his wheel nuts were only handtight.


Steve.

[Mikie711]

I had Ohlins TTX on the V6 Cup and once dialled back from Lotus track settings, which were far to stiff, they were very very good. The downside is they are very expensive to buy, IIRC they were £2-3000 upgrade and were about £5000 to buy separately.

[C7Steve]

I had Ohlins TTX on the V6 Cup and once dialled back from Lotus track settings, which were far to stiff, they were very very good. The downside is they are very expensive to buy, IIRC they were £2-3000 upgrade and were about £5000 to buy separately.

I remember you saying that your V6Cup suspension was far too stiff for the road when you drove over Glenshee from Pitlochry on the Tuts Last Run.

This Cup Car has very expensive Öhlins.
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds ... ed/9220803

Cannot find anything for the V6.
https://www.ohlins.com/products/automotive/


Steve.

[Mikie711]

They were supplied through Lotus Motorsport and were one of the original options for the V6 Cup R. Bit of back door negotiation and I ended up with a set on my Cup. Looked back at the order form and they were a £2913 + vat upgrade. They were initially to hard for both the road ands track but once back off a bit the were very good. Best suspenders I've had on a Lotus but like I said at a price. I didn't have the touch screen controller which allows setting on the fly.

[C7Steve]

Thanks Mike.


Steve.

[Ferg]

Think you can get a set for circa 3k but still loads of money.

Steve, have you done the camber changes already?

[C7Steve]

Think you can get a set for circa 3k but still loads of money.

Steve, have you done the camber changes already?

No and my car has a different geo setting compared to yours. I read that they gave the Sport 350 a slightly more focussed geo and a sport badge. Big D removed all his shims and I think he also tie-wrapped the ABS sensor bracket out of the way too. Some of the guys have had extra work done by milling down the hubs to give even more negative camber. My old S2 had a fast road set up and it was great in the dry, but a bit twitchy in the wet. The V6 is really planted in the wet. Also the inside tyre wear on my S2 would wear really quickly. I am happy to buy new tyres each year and I am currently going through two sets of rears to a set of fronts. I understand that the car is comes with a bit safety and they cannot have it setup to have the tyres wearing out too quickly either. I think I would like the balance changed so that the rear is a bit more playful too. I will get the geo changed and see what it is like in the wet and what the front wear is like.


Steve.

Ps. I have not got a clue what I am talking about.

[alicrozier]

I had Ohlins TTX on the V6 Cup and once dialled back from Lotus track settings, which were far to stiff, they were very very good. The downside is they are very expensive to buy, IIRC they were £2-3000 upgrade and were about £5000 to buy separately.

I remember you saying that your V6Cup suspension was far too stiff for the road when you drove over Glenshee from Pitlochry on the Tuts Last Run.

This Cup Car has very expensive Öhlins.
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds ... ed/9220803

Cannot find anything for the V6.
https://www.ohlins.com/products/automotive/


Steve.

Gav has those on his GTE, screen adjuster in the glovebox. I think mainly because the Evora would need wheels off to adjust...and they are cool.

[Ferg]

The 350 geo is not sufficiently different to matter. That was more marketing. Im looking to do the camber next. The general consensus is that you max out the factory capable settings. Remove everything at the front and fully turn the cam bolts at the rear. Having driven Andy's 311 with this camber setup its absolutely night and day. I had wondered about going half way but the recommended track settings are beyond what you can do without modification so may as well go as far it allows. I won't be modifying beyond that. I'm not race driver enough to need it

[C7Steve]

See here.

https://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/t ... -exige-v6/


Steve.