Emira Review Index [V6 FE]

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For those looking for the latest Emira V6 FE reviews scheduled to be released today, I've self-volunteered to maintain a quick reference index here.
Please let me know of any missing articles and I'll update accordingly. (y)

ReviewerTypeDirect Link
EdmundsArticle
Harry's Garage (Harry Metcalfe)Video Review

Harry drives the Sports and Tour suspension back to back on the same road and shares his thoughts.
Schmee150 (Tim Burton)Video ReviewPublished 21st June
Carwow (Mat Watson)Video Review
TopGearArticles and VideoPublished 3rd July
Chris Harris talks about the Lotus Emira

Published 20th June

AutoTrader (Rory Reid)Video Review
EvoArticle and Video Review
CARArticle and Video ReviewPublished 22nd July


Lotus Emira vs Cayman 718 GTS vs Alpine 110s
AutocarArticle and Video Review
PistonheadsArticle
KHTVVideo Review
The DriveArticle
AutoExpressArticle
Pictures:
WhichCarArticle
CarBuyerArticle
HagertyArticle
Road and TrackArticlePublished 1st September
Lotus Emira Road and Track Drive

GoodwoodArticle
The IntercoolerPodcastReasonably good post-embargo Emira discussion on The Intercooler.
MotortrendArticle
DriveArticle
AFRArticle
ParkersArticle
CarExpertArticle
Caffeine & MachineArticle
Photos on Instagram:
The Sunday Times DrivingArticle
Car and DriverArticle
The SunArticle
AutoCar UKArticlePublished 2nd July

 
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two carry on cases fit easily on the back shelf of the Emira with a little room for a squidgy bag in between (someone posted a photo or two of this on another thread)...and that's before you use the trunk
Here it is:
 
I've been waiting for this one and watching now. Seems very positive so far, but Matt was wrong about the springs being the same for both Tour and Sport options. We know they are different rate Eibachs, same Bilsteins.
Not the same Bilsteins. Different valving for each variant, which is where most of the difference in feel is coming from.
 
Ah, but I was referring to check-in sized suitcases. :sneaky:
That's another story,
I am not sure any sports car this size will fit check-in size apart from behind the seats. in the Emira, If you are traveling alone, one full size luggage will fit behind the passenger seat
 
Not the same Bilsteins. Different valving for each variant, which is where most of the difference in feel is coming from.

You sure? I thought it was just the springs. Remember when Harry toured the assembly line and there were boxes of springs separated by Tour and Sport?
 
You sure? I thought it was just the springs. Remember when Harry toured the assembly line and there were boxes of springs separated by Tour and Sport?

Maybe you're right.. Harry says the shocks are labeled sport and tour, but it's still unclear to me if they're actually different or if that's applied once the springs are on.

It's around the 6m26s mark:

 
Maybe you're right.. Harry says the shocks are labeled sport and tour, but it's still unclear to me if they're actually different or if that's applied once the springs are on.

It's around the 6m26s mark:

It’s not completely confirmed but they should be different. The difference would be in the valving. That can involve different internal parts.

I would expect that the sport dampers have a more digressive compression valving than the touring which means that at low piston speeds the damping ramps up rapidly. This makes things like turn in sharper but has a bit makes the ride a bit more jarring.

They do that by changing the physical piston in the damper to one of a physically design. Likely also requires a different shim stack and valve preload.

We won’t know till someone puts both dampers on a dyno or takes them apart :)
 
You sure? I thought it was just the springs. Remember when Harry toured the assembly line and there were boxes of springs separated by Tour and Sport?
I'm 100% sure. There's literally no way to get the ride and handling difference between these two variants with just a change of spring. The vast majority of the difference in feel is the damper valving.
 
It’s not completely confirmed but they should be different. The difference would be in the valving. That can involve different internal parts.

I would expect that the sport dampers have a more digressive compression valving than the touring which means that at low piston speeds the damping ramps up rapidly. This makes things like turn in sharper but has a bit makes the ride a bit more jarring.

They do that by changing the physical piston in the damper to one of a physically design. Likely also requires a different shim stack and valve preload.

We won’t know till someone puts both dampers on a dyno or takes them apart :)
Or simply look at part numbers for the shocks.
 
Or simply look at part numbers for the shocks.
It’s not quite that simple. You could for example increase damping by changing the shim stack preload by torquing it down more. No part difference could be present but they might put a different part number to differentiate the setup.

The point of confusion was if there was a hardware difference between the two setups. Part numbers don’t tell you anything about the actual difference. Like I said, we really can’t know without opening them up and/or testing them on a shock dyno.
 
I'm 100% sure. There's literally no way to get the ride and handling difference between these two variants with just a change of spring. The vast majority of the difference in feel is the damper valving.

Well we still aren't sure if the swaybars/endlinks/bushings are the same between both. It could be many things. It would make sense for the dampers to be unique though...

It'd be nice if these things could be confirmed by Lotus. I suppose someone could call a dealer and check part numbers.... 🤔
 
On the Sport set up it is worth listening again to Henry Catchpole's review from 3.30 Unlike the Smoking Tire duo, he'd actually bothered to do his homework before holding forth on YouTube :) The springs on Sport are less than 10% stiffer front and rear, but the dampers have more compression and low to mid rebound damping. I believe the bushes and ARBs are different too, although that isn't mentioned by Henry

My experience of 1100 miles in my Emira with Sport suspension is that it feels much firmer than the the relatively small increase in spring rate over Touring would suggest, so I guess most of that is down to the damping.
 
On the Sport set up it is worth listening again to Henry Catchpole's review from 3.30 Unlike the Smoking Tire duo, he'd actually bothered to do his homework before holding forth on YouTube :) The springs on Sport are less than 10% stiffer front and rear, but the dampers have more compression and low to mid rebound damping. I believe the bushes and ARBs are different too, although that isn't mentioned by Henry

My experience of 1100 miles in my Emira with Sport suspension is that it feels much firmer than the the relatively small increase in spring rate over Touring would suggest, so I guess most of that is down to the damping.

TST posted an update saying that a dealer gave them bad information. Unsurprising, they should have known better -- US dealer information is laughable.
 
US dealer information is laughable.

It really is and I'm not sure what the issue is here. It's either Lotus HQ just not caring to communicate with US dealers for some reason or maybe it's Lotus of US failing us? I don't know exactly what Lotus of US actually does besides the roadshow tours and I suppose they'll be handling future warranty claims? They certainly don't communicate with dealers or customers at all... My dealer has expressed many times how frustrated he is with their lack of updates and transparency. Makes me dread potential (inevitable) warranty work.
 
Or simply look at part numbers for the shocks.
Dampers have identifying stickers as per previous Lotus practice.

This is my sport front damper.

2C1B6805-9F5C-4593-AFBA-5DC435F06744.jpeg

V6SF deciphers as V6 Sport Front.
Tour equivalent will be V6TF.
Rears are side-specific. V6SRL and V6SRR.
 
Well we still aren't sure if the swaybars/endlinks/bushings are the same between both. It could be many things. It would make sense for the dampers to be unique though...

It'd be nice if these things could be confirmed by Lotus. I suppose someone could call a dealer and check part numbers.... 🤔
We are pretty darn sure, because Gavan Kershaw said explicitly that the dampers and springs were both unique to variant, and the other components were not. It's been in several interviews.

We also have pics of delivered cars in each variant, as above.
 
That's right the springs and dampers are different for Tour and Sport. ARBs and bushings are the same, as are the wishbones. Suspension geometry settings are different.
 
That's right the springs and dampers are different for Tour and Sport. ARBs and bushings are the same, as are the wishbones. Suspension geometry settings are different.
I could be wrong, but I thought that the geo difference was linked to the tyre selection and not the chassis type?

So Cup2s get the more aggressive geo (that suits that tyre) and Goodyears get a different geo (on both sport and touring chassis).
 
I could be wrong, but I thought that the geo difference was linked to the tyre selection and not the chassis type?

So Cup2s get the more aggressive geo (that suits that tyre) and Goodyears get a different geo (on both sport and touring chassis).
It's likely 3 different geo setups, not 2.
 

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