166 replies to this topic

[MartinS]

I had on Michelin cup 2's, cost £800, but, they took nearly two laps to start gripping, then went off afTer another 3, and, despite using pressures recommended by other Exige users, the wear was so far on the side that the arrows were rubbed off!  Seem to be wearing ok though, as have done 3 trackdays and a 1000 miles so far.

God I miss my 888's though, and my great suspension, oh and my vx seats, and the, the list goes on a bit so I'll stop now.

 

Martin S

 

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

I had on Michelin cup 2's, cost £800, but, they took nearly two laps to start gripping, then went off afTer another 3, and, despite using pressures recommended by other Exige users, the wear was so far on the side that the arrows were rubbed off!  Seem to be wearing ok though, as have done 3 trackdays and a 1000 miles so far.

God I miss my 888's though, and my great suspension, oh and my vx seats, and the, the list goes on a bit so I'll stop now.

 

Martin S

 

 

you miss owning  a vx .....

[WrightStuff]

 

I had on Michelin cup 2's, cost £800, but, they took nearly two laps to start gripping, then went off afTer another 3, and, despite using pressures recommended by other Exige users, the wear was so far on the side that the arrows were rubbed off!  Seem to be wearing ok though, as have done 3 trackdays and a 1000 miles so far.

God I miss my 888's though, and my great suspension, oh and my vx seats, and the, the list goes on a bit so I'll stop now.

 

Martin S

 

 

you miss owning  a vx .....

 

 

He probably doesn't miss the last 2 years of the ownership to be fair !

[Foxy]

To be fair, a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S (replaces the Pilot Super Sports) are £828, so the stickier Cup2 aren't "that much more expensive).  

How long do the 4S last?

[Foxy]

I had on Michelin cup 2's, cost £800, but, they took nearly two laps to start gripping, then went off afTer another 3, and, despite using pressures recommended by other Exige users, the wear was so far on the side that the arrows were rubbed off!  Seem to be wearing ok though, as have done 3 trackdays and a 1000 miles so far.

God I miss my 888's though, and my great suspension, oh and my vx seats, and the, the list goes on a bit so I'll stop now.

 

Martin S

 

What sizes are yours and what pressures were you running? I'm guessing pressures were too low because I thought the Cups were brilliant - gripped from the off and hadnt gone off after 15mins of hard lapping.

[CocoPops]

To be fair, a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S (replaces the Pilot Super Sports) are £828, so the stickier Cup2 aren't "that much more expensive).  

How long do the 4S last?

No idea. The MP4S replace the MPSS. I guess they sit somewhere in the middle of the two? But close to the MPSS.

[The Knobs]

The more i see and hear about the Evora, the more one makes sense.

[Captain Vimes]

 

I had on Michelin cup 2's, cost £800, but, they took nearly two laps to start gripping, then went off afTer another 3, and, despite using pressures recommended by other Exige users, the wear was so far on the side that the arrows were rubbed off!  Seem to be wearing ok though, as have done 3 trackdays and a 1000 miles so far. God I miss my 888's though, and my great suspension, oh and my vx seats, and the, the list goes on a bit so I'll stop now.   Martin S  

  you miss owning  a vx .....  

  He probably doesn't miss the last 2 years of the ownership to be fair !

What he needs is a nice blue vx with a reliable supercharged z22se to sit alongside the exige.... if only there was one for sale..

[hairy]

The more i see and hear about the Evora, the more one makes sense.

 

I was very impressed, but just reading the tyre bill above I am re-thinking

[JG]

Interesting. To be fair, a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S (replaces the Pilot Super Sports) are £828, so the stickier Cup2 aren't "that much more expensive). However, if you are comparing 19/20 tyres to a VX, then yes it is a more expensive car to tyre... however this ties in with Jon's point about not running an Evora on a fiver like a VX.

A set of A048s in vx is more expensive than the 19/20 cup 2s. You need lots of fivers for the vx too.

[JG]

Martin, suggest you try the trofeo next time on the exige. Hugely impressive and generates ridiculous levels of grip.

[MartinS]

Lotus state that you should use 32r 29front cold on the road for the cup 2's. They wont give suggested track pressures. Exige owners who have used many makes (zzr, Trofeo, P zero etc) are all saying 30 all round. This didnt go well and I wore off the arrows on the side that indicate the level you should get to, so I upped them to 34r 32 fr, using the logic that worked so well with 888's on the vx. Never really got to a place that made me anywhere near as confident as the vx setup I had.

I love the way it rides on the road so as an initial change I am trying to find a bigger anti roll bar as that was a great step forward on the vx but logically it needs some proper suspension. Trouble is I promised myself I wouldn't go down that route of big modding again.

It doesn't help that Foxy was so quick in an na Evora,so I realise I also very much need to learn to drive the Exige better as well or, simply not hang around with you lot! as its only vx's (and ex vx owners)  so far that have made me feel slow.

 

Martin S

 

 

[Pidgeon]

The miracle of the Evora is that is combines a typically Lotus fluid road comfort with excellent track manners, something the VXT can't combine (it's that boat anchor ).

 

However, 'excellent track manners' doesn't necessarily equate to 'fun to drive'.

[Harry0075]

nice thread. Been thinking about an Evora of late...VX getting used less with two little kids and that doesn't compute into a two seater. hoping 400 prices start to drop next year, and then may consider one if man maths works. As always with the VX though, annual road trip coming up next week (NC500 this year) and it'll make me realise the merits of the VX again assuming it doesnt give up on me!

 

 

[fiveoclock]

Lotus state that you should use 32r 29front cold on the road for the cup 2's. They wont give suggested track pressures. Exige owners who have used many makes (zzr, Trofeo, P zero etc) are all saying 30 all round. This didnt go well and I wore off the arrows on the side that indicate the level you should get to, so I upped them to 34r 32 fr, using the logic that worked so well with 888's on the vx. Never really got to a place that made me anywhere near as confident as the vx setup I had.

I love the way it rides on the road so as an initial change I am trying to find a bigger anti roll bar as that was a great step forward on the vx but logically it needs some proper suspension. Trouble is I promised myself I wouldn't go down that route of big modding again.

It doesn't help that Foxy was so quick in an na Evora,so I realise I also very much need to learn to drive the Exige better as well or, simply not hang around with you lot! as its only vx's (and ex vx owners)  so far that have made me feel slow.

 

Martin S

 

 

Sounds like you need to trade it in for a Cup

[Tibbles Stryker]

Anyone else got any updates on actual pitfalls of evora ownership? Costs etc. Clutches seem to be a weak spot?

[CocoPops]

Clutches seem to be something people mention, but rarely actually change. There was a thread on TLF (The Lotus Forums) where it was single digit changes out of a 100 or so respondents. They have definitely plateaued in price at the lower end and depreciation is described as glacial elsewhere in the price range. I'd expect this not to change, given the price for new ones keeps going up and up.

[C8RKH]

Anyone else got any updates on actual pitfalls of evora ownership? Costs etc. Clutches seem to be a weak spot?

 

 

This comment is like "folklore".  

 

Clutches have been averaging over 40k a pop, most get them to last longer, a small number to last less.  The issue is not the clutch per se, the issue is the cost to replace them.  Lotus dealers will charge you £3k which is huge.  Good specialists will charge just over half that. The reason for the high cost is that it is an engine out job.

 

So a weak spot? Absolutely not. Expensive repair IF needed? Yes.

 

But then when you look at how cheap the rest of the car is to run - car tax; petrol; maintenance; etc then overall it is a good deal and a good ownership proposition. I've had mine 2.5 years and just love it. Full stop.

[rickyzero]

Mine's gone in for a new clutch today. 2010 with just under 25k on the clock. It is not an urgent replacement and could probably go another 25k miles but it is heavy and getting gradually heavier. I'm getting it done so I enjoy the driving experience more. It's the only negative I can say about the car at the moment and it's only really apparent in slow stop start traffic. With a new clutch it'll feel like a new car again to me. I'd have lost way more in depreciation with a normal car in the 2 years I've owned the Evora than what it's costing to replace the clutch. They are utterly brilliant machines and I can't think of anything that comes close for the money.

[Tibbles Stryker]

Thanks 👍