Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

I got 30 runs at the last TnT, and only because I took several breaks. Easily could've gotten double or three times that. You wouldn't be wasting anyone's runs. :)

Sorry to threadjack.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

very nice car. Someday I'll get one, but right now I'm pretty jealous!

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

always wanted one, pretty sure they don't come with carpet in them anyway just the raw floors. They were always crazy with getting as little weight as possible.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Well I finally got back home and had some time to diagnose. After changing plugs it was pretty easy to tell it was out of gas, I could hear the fuel pump make a different sound after a few seconds. Hadn't filled it up yet and previous owner didn't bother to tell me the gas gauge didn't work. Plus he said he filled it up before delivery and I had only driven 50 miles, no reason to think the gas gauge wouldn't still read full since it's a few gallons larger than stock capacity. Now I have to figure out what else he didn't bother to tell me.

I'm going to track my mileage to determine if I really ran through an entire tank or if he just lied and didn't fill it up at all.

At least I found out two things about the car, it has the 48 liter tank and not the 54 liter I thought it did. Also tested compression, 224, 223, 218, 220, at least I can be happy about that.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Ouch, At least its not a bigger issue. Maybe the fuel level sender got nudged when he was installing the larger tank?

Hopefully you get it figured out. At least it runs!

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Lol@200+ compression numbers. Nice.

That sucks that it was empty...maybe it has a leak?

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Lame that he didnt disclose the gauge didnt work, hopefully thats an easy fix. Also glad the running issue was just low gas too.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Drove 100 miles over the past week, about half interstate and half in town roads. Took exactly 4 gallons to top it off, so I'm averaging 25mpg which is awesome. Also tells me there are no fuel leaks or anything, the car was just low on gas when I received it. I can get about 300 miles with mixed driving on a tank, not bad.

Scheides, the compression numbers seemed high to me since I was used to the DSM (175) and the Vette (195), both with big cam(s). But I compared the numbers to other 2zz-ge motors and it seems about right, variable duration cams FTW when it comes to static compression and gas mileage. VTEC WOOO!!

On another note, I think I'm going to wait for Winter to fix up the interior, like carpet, back up camera, radio, speakers, etc. Maybe some big gauges to replace the center vents which aren't hooked up anymore. I might also drop the tank to see what type of fuel system this car really has (plus check the fuel level sending unit), I can hear the fuel pump outside the car while idling, and inside the car even cruising around town, it rings in my ears for a few minutes after getting out of the car. I read that a bosch 044 is impossible to fit, but the previous owner swears it is and with the larger aftermarket tank maybe it's possible.

Edit for initial review:
As far as driving review, I still haven't been able to find the limits in a corner, it just won't slide or anything. I think I'll have to take it to a track or autox before I can feel safe about pushing it any further. I've never had really nice tires before, so star specs plus a great handling car are beyond my comfort zone on the street at this point.

For brakes, this thing is insane. I was never happy with the DSM for braking even with good pads, the CTS-V was heavy but braked decent because of the Brembo's, and the Vette was pretty good for only base brakes. But this thing will stop on a dime, again beyond my comfort zone for the street. Granted it has race pads and squeaks like a mofo at stoplights, but the few times I have pressed the brakes semi-hard to test them it's pretty scary how quick you can stop a light car. It's awesome getting weird looks from other drivers when I pull up to a stoplight in a nice car that sounds like screeching/dying cats.

I love this car, way more fun to drive than the Vette, even though it has less than half the horsepower. Maybe when I'm retirement age I'll want a comfortable cruiser again, but the Lotus is exactly what I want at this point, glad I chose it over the Viper and Vette, it is so raw and fun.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

That sounds amazing, Andrew. Glad you are liking the less-is-more approach!

Here's a SAE whitepaper from 1999 I happen to have on the 2zz during it's development. Basic stuff, but the charts are fun to look at:

http://www.rallyshark.com/2ZZ.pdf

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Glad you're digging in and enjoying the car! Pumped to see it evolve :D

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

So happy for you, i think instead of more displacement, less weight is the other way to go and you seem to be loving it.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Glad your enjoying it and it was an easy fix! I defenitly want a ride in this thing.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Haha, yea I was going the more displacement route for several years, from 2.0 to 2.3, then 5.7, then 7.0. And now 1.8 :( It's the smallest motor in a car I've ever owned but the weight reduction is just as much fun.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

I measured interior sound level at 94db on the interstate which I read can damage your hearing in an hour or two. Not ideal if I want to drive up to Minneapolis, plus it's nice to have it a bit quieter. First two things on the list were adding a few square feet of generic dynamat and carpet to reduce the tinny sound. The dynamat stuff weighed 2.5lbs and the floormats and other carpet so far have been less than 3lbs.

Few interior shots without seats (you can see my new harness bar as well):
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...interior_2.jpg
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...interior_3.jpg

Each section was a different size (slightly bigger on drivers side of car), so I cut out a test piece of cardboard before actually cutting the carpet:
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...ard_cutout.jpg

Then I put pieces of velcro down, it's nice that even the back of the carpet sticks really well to velcro:
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...ium/velcro.jpg

Here are the floormats and carpet under the seats installed. It was a little tricky lining up the holes for the oem carpet buttons. I also cut holes for the submarine belt mount.
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...interior_1.jpghttp://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/..._installed.jpg

More pics to come as I install carpet on the rear bulkhead and the full sized center console.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Looks good.

No carpet/dynamat on the center section of the floorboard(the raised area)?

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

No, the raised sections are very thick/sturdy and came bare from the factory. The footwells and under the seats are just thin pieces of metal, you can flex them with little effort.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Looks really good Andrew! Never realized that these cars are just aluminum sheet metal interiors with some plastic pieces here and there to spruce it up.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Looking good! Such a flat, bare slate for a nice clean carpet install, love it! Did you use dynamat brand sound deadener or something else? How thick is it?

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

FU Ohio!

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

LOL

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Carbon side scoops too ricey? I kind of like the extra red and black contrast in addition to the black grilles and wheels. Or I could just paint the oem ones black like how they came in 2006.
http://www.simplysportscars.com/jwal...bb7577f705.jpg
http://www.lapstone-e.com/mike/Cars/...2-fqtr-640.JPG

Stock:
http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-ge...Exige-S-07.jpg

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Stock.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

carbon

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

stock please

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

I say stock.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

I like the contrast. And the front lip too. Pretty much just gotta do what you like, everyone will have their own opinion.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Why even ask the King of the Ricers this question! I demand CF! I like the contrast.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Small update for Winter plans, now that the car is parked until March:

Finish carpet install behind seats and on rear bulkhead to further reduce sound
Remove the power locks since they don't work anyway
Fix the rear undertray since it's rattling like crazy on decel
Fix the rattling on the passenger window, probably just something loose
Paint center console and wheels black
Small battery
Headers and exhaust
Intercooler upgrade with improved air ducting
Some gauges
Drop tank and fix fuel level sending unit
Install OEM rear fender liners, currently the tires are open to the engine bay
Delete emissions stuff
Retune in Spring

I weighed the car at a truck stop recently and found it weighs 1920 lbs (+/- 10 lbs, scale only does 20lb increments) with 1/4 tank of gas. The headers, exhaust, small battery, and some other small stuff should net at least a 40lb weight reduction, but the harness & bar will add some back in for track days. It takes less than 10 minutes to install the bar so I probably won't keep it in the car most of the time.

I also decided not to install a radio, speakers, or backup camera. I've gotten used to using only side mirrors and don't have much trouble in parking lots.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

PPE header, I'd assume?

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Nah, price was about $1000 more for PPE vs this Weapon R header I got for uber cheap:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8163/7...1c0eeb07_c.jpg

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Looks nice.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Exhaust and intercooler removed today. Started by taking the wing and hatch cover off:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da.../hatch_lid.jpg
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...bay_before.jpg

Goodbye evap!
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/data/675/evap.jpg

Rear panel, undertray, and exhaust removed. Really surprised how clean the engine block is:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...ar_removed.jpg
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...gine_block.jpg

Stock exhaust stuff that is crazy heavy for just being a muffler:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...ck_exhaust.jpg

After I got the intercooler off, here is how it sits now:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...e_bay_bare.jpg

My muffler should get here sometime next week, it's supposed to be pretty quiet at low throttle, combined with the headers I think it will be a nice deep sound but still not drone on the highway.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Wow, progress looks good! Now you need the widebody conversion being done over on MNSC. :D

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Nice bling!

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

nice work!

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Got the new rotors and rear wheel arch liners installed today. I really like the rotor design, the veins are pointing the right direction on both sides. Most rotors I've seen before are identical on left and right sides, meaning one of the them will be backwards once installed.
Before:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...eel_well_1.jpg
After:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...eel_well_2.jpg

Also got the passenger window rattle fixed, and hope to have the exhaust installed this weekend.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Most badass indeed!

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

http://blipshift.com/

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/016...large.jpg?2173

They brought this one back! thought all the Lotus fans would appreciate it.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Some good progress this week. Fuel tank and all lines are re-installed, still need to verify this is an inline Walbro 255, but it sure looks like it to me. I couldn't get the foam off without ruining it so I just left it on.
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/.../fuel_pump.jpg

The new intercooler is great, OEM is tube and fin design with 14x6.5x3.5 dimensions, the new RLS intercooler is bar and plate design at 14x7x4.5 inches. So a little big bigger volume plus greater efficiency should net some gains, plus the heat shield will help to block some of the radiant heat from the engine below it:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...ntercooler.jpg

Heat shield installed:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...eat_shield.jpg

To further reduce IATs I am adding ducts inside my side scoops and routing that air to the intercooler shroud. I bought some bumper ducts for brake cooling and just cut off the flat mounting point, and then a 10' section of 2.5" silicone hose. Total cost was $100, the RLS company that makes the intercooler offers a complete bolt on air duct kit for $900... so I went the DIY route.
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/data/675/ducts.jpg

Test fitting the duct inside the side scoop area:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...p_test_fit.jpg

Marking the length of tube I need to cut for each side:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...e_test_fit.jpg

Here is the modified roof scoop shroud with the side inlets. I used some 2.5" aluminum piping Brandon gave me (thanks again!), and then on the inside I expoxied some plastic pieces to direct the flow through the intercooler, to ensure it doesn't go back out the roof scoop or something. Then I painted it black and clearcoated it because it was quite ugly.
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/data/675/shroud_1.jpg
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/data/675/shroud_2.jpg

Finished product:
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da...y_complete.jpg
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da..._and_pipes.jpg

Based on real test data from companies that sell these kits, those side pipes will triple the airflow to the intercooler (which makes sense).

Also installed my header, exhaust, and Braille 2015 battery.

Things left to do: Retune, paint wheels, finish interior, and maybe some gauges. Most notably a fuel level gauge (car doesn't have one) and oil temp for the track.

Re: 2007 Lotus Exige S
 

Fuck that is sick.