New person with some track questions

[Mattkaenel]

Hello everyone -

I am brand new here. I will hopefully be the proud owner of an Exige in the next couple of months and I had some questions.

My car will be 95% track and 5% street. I wanted some opinions here on what should be modified first to make the car a better track weapon.

My first rounds of mods will be budgeted at around 5000.00 (not including the car and a trailer).

I have track experience with my current car (Audi RS4) But I just want something way more focused.

So with the 5k budget where should I begin.

Thanks,

Matt

[LordZ]

Which Exige and what options?

Toe link Brace - Sector111 RTD (unless you have the factory brace already)
Harness Bar - Sector111 (needed for harnesses below)
Harnesses - I went with just the 4 point (more of a comfort and safety upgrade)
Oil pan - Moroso (prevent oil starvation should you start pulling some decent g's)
Tires - I like the R888's or RA1's (biggest difference so far for me on track)
Brakes - carbotech (better bite than the pagids or stock)
Shocks/Springs - I just upgraded mine to Nitrons so still getting used to them.

[Mattkaenel]

I am looking at an 07 Exige S with track pack.

Thanks

[Chili Red]

Originally Posted by Mattkaenel

I am looking at an 07 Exige S with track pack.

Thanks

LordZ hit the nail on the head..

[fishguy]

this should be first;
5-6 point harness, H+N restraint, proper racing seat

all the rest comes secondary

[ZJChaser]

no need to even touch the suspension off the start.

Moroso Oil pan
Track Pads, I prefer Hawk HT10
Toe link brace
Motul 600 flush

and as Fish said, safety gear, that up to you though and I'm not getting into that debate

[LordZ]

Yup, not starting the safety debate again...

If you have the track pack, that should include a toelink brace. Suspension is probably good enough until you get used to the car. I'd eat up the A048's then switch to something cheaper and a bit better.

If the car is used make sure to flush the brakes at least once a year depending on how much track time you do. 6 months might be better.

Oh, probably be prepared to buy a front splitter pretty soon too.

[Mattkaenel]

Any recommendations on seats?

Also, installation of 5-6 harness in the San Diego area?

What about breaks?

Originally Posted by fishguy

this should be first;
5-6 point harness, H+N restraint, proper racing seat

all the rest comes secondary

[Jack]

Originally Posted by Mattkaenel

I am looking at an 07 Exige S with track pack.

Thanks

With the track pack, your car will already have the harness bar and
toe brace (the RTD, suggested above, is better when it comes to heim joint replacement costs), but there is no need to run out and replace your track pack rear toe brace.

Your car will also come standard with 10 way, single adjustable Bilstein coil over setup -- you probably should run the car that way for awhile to get used to its handling characteristics, which will be quite different from your awd Audi. Of course, plan on getting a track oriented alignment, including proper height settings and perhaps corner balancing before hitting the track. There is no doubt that you will want to upgrade the suspension down the road. You'll find that the car will be quite track worthy (from a handling perspective) with the stock track pack suspension once your alignment is set up properly. There are also some other "mechanical" items that you might want to consider to help preserve engine/tranny longevity, such as the already mentioned baffled oil pan, "catch" cans, stiffer engine mounts, MT90 for the tranny and the like.

Of course, get all the proper safety equipment -- we leave that discussion to fishguy, out resident safety advisor.

Enjoy the new car --- it's a great track car right out of the box.

[Mattkaenel]

All good info. Thanks

Originally Posted by LordZ

Yup, not starting the safety debate again...

If you have the track pack, that should include a toelink brace. Suspension is probably good enough until you get used to the car. I'd eat up the A048's then switch to something cheaper and a bit better.

If the car is used make sure to flush the brakes at least once a year depending on how much track time you do. 6 months might be better.

Oh, probably be prepared to buy a front splitter pretty soon too.

[Jack]

Originally Posted by Mattkaenel

What about breaks?

Brakes, per se, should prove sufficient initially .... as already suggested, you will eventually want to go to some race pads .... Pagid, Hawk or whatever brand you like.

You can decide later whether you want a "big brake kit" or some upgraded 2-piece floating rotors.

Just remember, the Lotus is a momentum car -- most of us coming out of much heavier, high HP cars always tended to over use the brakes when we first started tracking the Lotus. You'll see what I mean when you get it on track.

[plastique999]

if I had to do it all over again, I would have started with everything suspension related and tires.

Remove shims
Shave arms
Corner balance and alignment
Not sure if your car has adjustable sway bar

R888s

The hawk HT 10s have great bite

DEFINITELY moroso oil pan

Of course HANs and 5 point harness...

If you can get a used Reverier XC seat it fits like a glove....otherwise Bridezilla or maybe Tillets.

[JungleJim]

It was only mentioned once but you should DEFINETLY upgrade the motor mounts. The stock units are very soft and allow a lot of engine movement. This causes among other things: dinged intercooler, sloppy shifting, cracked exhaust components leading to possible fire safety hazzard.

Agee with all said.

Keep the driver safe
Have Fun
Keep the engine safe
Have more Fun
Upgrade the suspension/brakes and any other mods to be cool in the motorpool.
Have the most fun

In that order.

[Conan]

lets assume you get the proper safety equipment first so I'll just wave my hands around that topic.

Personally, I think you should just get used to the car as-is, parts-wise. Have it corner balanced and aligned correctly and then drive it a while (on track and off) before doing anything to the car. Even if you are an accomplished driver, that will give you a baseline as to what YOU think needs to be improved . If you are new(ish) or haven't developed your skills enough, you'll just be wasting your money on parts you can't utilize.

Sum up: Get used to it as-is for a baseline and/or to work your way up to the car's OEM capabilities.

fwiw.

[spf4000]

Modified fuel tank should be on the list as well if you're gonna be tracking it that much to prevent fuel starvation.

[apk919]

Another Exige S in San Diego? Cool!

Have you driven a mid engined car before? I have an Audi S4, and believe me, it's an understeering land yacht compared to the Lotus.

As others have said... get your safety gear squared away first.

Stick with the stock suspension and brakes for a while... but get it balanced, aligned and set up properly.

I'd upgrade to the Moroso pan before doing any other aftermarket upgrades.

[LordZ]

Originally Posted by Conan

lets assume you get the proper safety equipment first so I'll just wave my hands around that topic.

Personally, I think you should just get used to the car as-is, parts-wise. Have it corner balanced and aligned correctly and then drive it a while (on track and off) before doing anything to the car. Even if you are an accomplished driver, that will give you a baseline as to what YOU think needs to be improved . If you are new(ish) or haven't developed your skills enough, you'll just be wasting your money on parts you can't utilize.

Sum up: Get used to it as-is for a baseline and/or to work your way up to the car's OEM capabilities.

fwiw.

I agree to a point, as long as he's aware that the "OEM capabilities" include oil starvation and weak toe links...

Apart from safety gear for the driver (obviously), safety gear for the car should be before anything else. Rear toe brace and moroso pan. I'd do those even before tires or new pads. You can always adjust your driving for pads with less bit as well as tires with less grip. It's much more difficult to adjust your driving for oil starvation or having a bolt come out.

Originally Posted by spf4000

Modified fuel tank should be on the list as well if you're gonna be tracking it that much to prevent fuel starvation.

Just don't go under half a tank and you will be fine. I have yet to be to a track that I couldn't make it half a day on half a tank without loosing track time to get fuel.

Personally I think the cost of the tank and labor is a bit high for not being lazy.

[fishguy]

Originally Posted by LordZ

I agree to a point, as long as he's aware that the "OEM capabilities" include oil starvation and weak toe links...

Apart from safety gear for the driver (obviously), safety gear for the car should be before anything else. Rear toe brace and moroso pan. I'd do those even before tires or new pads.

this is good advice, and the route i discovered quickly as well.
I put on the moroso pan after the 1st track day, and purchased the rear toe brace also.
as far as the seats go, i have not seen them in person, but the tillets look like the nicest thing going so far.
I also found that the stock brakes were just fine( for me).
keep asking the questions, you are heading in the right direction.
josh

[LordZ]

I didn't have issues with stock brakes or pads, I just liked the initial bite from the carbotechs more. My stock pads and brakes never faded, they just didn't bite in as hard as a few of the other Lotus' that I rode in.

I did switch off the stock A048s to some "rain street" tires with the RE01R's. Awesome in the wet, as we all know the A048s just plain suck in the rain. But on track the RE01Rs killed me in confidence and speed. R888's made the biggest difference to me on track than anything else I've done.

[Shawn C]

Harness kit,
Upgrade Pads/ Motul or Super Blue flush
Toe Link Brace, Moroso Oil Pan
Learn to drive the car well then...
Remove front Shims/ Swap Front sway bar for BWR, Coilovers, Have car corner balanced.
then it goes on and on.. These are the first and best mods to do IMO
Then add more power, But dont go puttin one of them dumbass spoilers on it.