Suspension: Touring and Sports options

[KJD]

eVora?

They had to make it different from Evora when they went to the Series 2.

Maybe the new car (that’s not an Evora Series 3! No, it’s not! Don’t dare suggest such a thing! ) will be eMira.

 

[TomE]

I thought people might be interested in this quote from Phaeton91 on TLF, about driving an Evora 400 at the Nurburgring, in the context of Lotus suspension and ride & handling:

"Sharing a couple of photos from my recent road trip. Wet lap was a bit more nerve wracking than normal.

The car felt good really good, and got so much attention throughout the trip which is really saying something when you can’t throw a stick without hitting a 911 GT3 (or a GT2) or lots of other machinery costing 3 or 4 times as much.

No issues whatsoever with grounding on the carousel, and in fact the softness of the suspension meant that it was not skipping about over the concrete joints. Also if you know the mini carousel, there can be quite a jerk as you come out but the suspension took the edge off that. All in all it was a lovely drive round. I’ve been round faster in Meganes but this was certainly more of an occasion and I didn’t feel that I needed to push anywhere near any limits to feel satisfied. "

 

[Leonard]

I thought people might be interested in this quote from Phaeton91 on TLF, about driving an Evora 400 at the Nurburgring, in the context of Lotus suspension and ride & handling:

"Sharing a couple of photos from my recent road trip. Wet lap was a bit more nerve wracking than normal.

The car felt good really good, and got so much attention throughout the trip which is really saying something when you can’t throw a stick without hitting a 911 GT3 (or a GT2) or lots of other machinery costing 3 or 4 times as much.

No issues whatsoever with grounding on the carousel, and in fact the softness of the suspension meant that it was not skipping about over the concrete joints. Also if you know the mini carousel, there can be quite a jerk as you come out but the suspension took the edge off that. All in all it was a lovely drive round. I’ve been round faster in Meganes but this was certainly more of an occasion and I didn’t feel that I needed to push anywhere near any limits to feel satisfied. "

Nice little quote that.
Not suprised it handled the ring well with all of its undulations.
I guess it sets the tone nicely for what to expect from Emira. I still have a bit of an issue with it not being quite as focused a drivers car as I thought it was going to be. Do you want your Sports car to be slower than a Megane? That is a sign of the times however and how good hot hatches are now. I'm sure the guy in the Mclaren 600LT i used to follow home regularly in my Golf R would testify to that. A lot of new sports cars are simply too big for a lot of roads now to make safe quick progress.

 

[Speedluvver]

Nice little quote that.
Not suprised it handled the ring well with all of its undulations.
I guess it sets the tone nicely for what to expect from Emira. I still have a bit of an issue with it not being quite as focused a drivers car as I thought it was going to be. Do you want your Sports car to be slower than a Megane? That is a sign of the times however and how good hot hatches are now. I'm sure the guy in the Mclaren 600LT i used to follow home regularly in my Golf R would testify to that. A lot of new sports cars are simply too big for a lot of roads now to make safe quick progress.

I think you might be pleasantly surprised on how quickly you can cover ground in an Emira (especially on touring suspension) - I have nitrons on the exige, which are stiffer than std. I have 280hp, I followed an Elise SC with 220 and factory dampers on a very bumpy road, and he could get away from me.. it was all in how the suspension smoothed it out. Conversely, in my Exige, I was able to keep up with a Macca 12c again on a bumpy road, as even with its trick suspension, I was able to use my power more easily..

 

[ADC]

Nice little quote that.
Not suprised it handled the ring well with all of its undulations.
I guess it sets the tone nicely for what to expect from Emira. I still have a bit of an issue with it not being quite as focused a drivers car as I thought it was going to be. Do you want your Sports car to be slower than a Megane? That is a sign of the times however and how good hot hatches are now. I'm sure the guy in the Mclaren 600LT i used to follow home regularly in my Golf R would testify to that. A lot of new sports cars are simply too big for a lot of roads now to make safe quick progress.

Could just be that he was more prepared to push harder and risk stuffing a Megane into the armco than an Evora... I know I would feel that way

 

[Matt]

Thank you for sharing. I chose the SPORT without any hesatation, because I have got used to the coilover suspension. I've been using the HKS HYPERMAX GT for my 86 for 3 years. I feel they are much better than the fatory suspesions. I hope the Emira SPORT factory suspensions will meet my expectations. But it doesn't matter, I would like to try the aftermarket products (OHLINS OR KW).

 

[NicolasB]

I thought people might be interested in this quote from Phaeton91 on TLF, about driving an Evora 400 at the Nurburgring, in the context of Lotus suspension and ride & handling:

"Sharing a couple of photos from my recent road trip. Wet lap was a bit more nerve wracking than normal.

The car felt good really good, and got so much attention throughout the trip which is really saying something when you can’t throw a stick without hitting a 911 GT3 (or a GT2) or lots of other machinery costing 3 or 4 times as much.

No issues whatsoever with grounding on the carousel, and in fact the softness of the suspension meant that it was not skipping about over the concrete joints. Also if you know the mini carousel, there can be quite a jerk as you come out but the suspension took the edge off that. All in all it was a lovely drive round. I’ve been round faster in Meganes but this was certainly more of an occasion and I didn’t feel that I needed to push anywhere near any limits to feel satisfied. "

That is a great looking Evora!

 

[AMKV28]

Hello Everyone,

New to this thread and I am sure this question has been beaten to death but after reading the latest test drive threads, it appears that Sport Suspension is not as harsh as You tube reviewers or Lotus alludes to for more track purposes. This will be my daily driver and I was planning to order a Touring suspension with White Exterior, Red Interior with the Black pack. However, now I am on the fence. I will be able to test drive the Emira this Saturday in Oakville Canada and hope they have a sports suspension to get a feel of the car.
Every test drive is subjective and it is true this car is not powerful as a GT3 or C8 but I don't think that is what Lotus is targeting and without offending anyone comments, this is a driver's car for back country roads. If drivers are unhappy with the performance, then get the GT4 Emira or GT3 or C8 Z06.

Just my two cents and not trying to offend anyone.

Appreciate any feedback on Suspension.

 

[VL3X]

Hello Everyone,

New to this thread and I am sure this question has been beaten to death but after reading the latest test drive threads, it appears that Sport Suspension is not as harsh as You tube reviewers or Lotus alludes to for more track purposes. This will be my daily driver and I was planning to order a Touring suspension with White Exterior, Red Interior with the Black pack. However, now I am on the fence. I will be able to test drive the Emira this Saturday in Oakville Canada and hope they have a sports suspension to get a feel of the car.
Every test drive is subjective and it is true this car is not powerful as a GT3 or C8 but I don't think that is what Lotus is targeting and without offending anyone comments, this is a driver's car for back country roads. If drivers are unhappy with the performance, then get the GT4 Emira or GT3 or C8 Z06.

Just my two cents and not trying to offend anyone.

Appreciate any feedback on Suspension.

Welcome! Check out Harry's video ~5:30m mark to learn more about the two setups. There is also a lengthy thread here. FWIW, I ordered sport and plan to mostly use the Emira as a backroad weekend toy with the occasional road trip and track day here and there.

 

[SPoivre]

I hope you get to try out the sport suspension.

I also expect my car to be primarily used on backroad twistiest and ordered the sport suspension with Goodyear tires. ( I’m in New England so wanted something more flexible for the wet and chilly days)

I test drove the touring chassis. I thought it was great for the backroads. I typically like my cars on the firm side. Hard for me to expect the Sport will be as good. I will say that an engineer at Lotus told me he expected I wouldn’t even feel the difference between the touring and sport on our local backroads. I hope he is right.

I’m going to be grumpy if the touring turns out to have been a better choice for me.

 

[AMKV28]

I hope you get to try out the sport suspension.

I also expect my car to be primarily used on backroad twistiest and ordered the sport suspension with Goodyear tires. ( I’m in New England so wanted something more flexible for the wet and chilly days)

I test drove the touring chassis. I thought it was great for the backroads. I typically like my cars on the firm side. Hard for me to expect the Sport will be as good. I will say that an engineer at Lotus told me he expected I wouldn’t even feel the difference between the touring and sport on our local backroads. I hope he is right.

I’m going to be grumpy if the touring turns out to have been a better choice for me.

Hey, I did not know you can order SS with Goodyear. Lotus informed me SS comes with Michelins and TS comes with Goodyears and they cannot change the tires. It comes with the choice of suspension.

 

[digilotus]

Hey, I did not know you can order SS with Goodyear. Lotus informed me SS comes with Michelins and TS comes with Goodyears and they cannot change the tires. It comes with the choice of suspension.

The Lotus configurator has allowed selection of SS with Goodyears. (in fact that's the default). You would need to manually select Cup2s after selecting sports suspension.

 

[Pegasi]

Hello Everyone,

New to this thread and I am sure this question has been beaten to death but after reading the latest test drive threads, it appears that Sport Suspension is not as harsh as You tube reviewers or Lotus alludes to for more track purposes. This will be my daily driver and I was planning to order a Touring suspension with White Exterior, Red Interior with the Black pack. However, now I am on the fence. I will be able to test drive the Emira this Saturday in Oakville Canada and hope they have a sports suspension to get a feel of the car.
Every test drive is subjective and it is true this car is not powerful as a GT3 or C8 but I don't think that is what Lotus is targeting and without offending anyone comments, this is a driver's car for back country roads. If drivers are unhappy with the performance, then get the GT4 Emira or GT3 or C8 Z06.

Just my two cents and not trying to offend anyone.

Appreciate any feedback on Suspension.

I think suspension for a daily driver comes down to roads. If you have nicer roads most of the time go sports. The roads near me are in great condition so sports for sure, although I am not daily driving it. I want to experience the Emira in the middle of the summer on Cups on sports suspension, whether it be autocross, track, or mountains. And the key here is Cups. We often forget that a huge factor in handling is tires and the Sports suspension is tuned to maximize the bespoke Cups.

 

[Pegasi]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[DerTheDer]

Welcome! Check out Harry's video ~5:30m mark to learn more about the two setups. There is also a lengthy thread here. FWIW, I ordered sport and plan to mostly use the Emira as a backroad weekend toy with the occasional road trip and track day here and there.

You will have to let me know when you go to the track so I can bring the Emira and Elise over to have a track party. I am not to far from Delaware.

 

[SPoivre]

Welcome! Check out Harry's video ~5:30m mark to learn more about the two setups. There is also a lengthy thread here. FWIW, I ordered sport and plan to mostly use the Emira as a backroad weekend toy with the occasional road trip and track day here and there.

I found it interesting that when Harry spec’d out his car, on a video, after going around the track, he chose the sport suspension. He commented on how well it behaved and didn’t really have that jarring firmness he might have suspected.

I never saw when he changed to touring. Just a follow up video comparing the two chassis and declaring sport too jarring.

No doubt it does depend on the road surface but hard for me to gauge one person’s good road from another.

 

[Eagle7]

I don't know what the roads are like in Canada, but that will be a factor in suspension choice. If the roads are decent where you plan on driving, then the sport suspension should be fine. I ordered touring because I want to take my car everywhere; around town, freeways, on road trips as well as mountains/canyons. I don't plan on pushing the car hard enough to the point where it would make an appreciable difference in cornering capability to get the sport chassis. I'm also not going to track it. The roads around me are decent, but that may not be the case somewhere else on a road trip. I want a car that's comfortable and fun to drive everywhere.

Oh and welcome to the forum!

 

[VL3X]

You will have to let me know when you go to the track so I can bring the Emira and Elise over to have a track party. I am not to far from Delaware.

Absolutely! There is a dedicated Delaware thread here too if you want to follow it. I typically go to New Jersey Motorsports Park but also trek up to Watkins now and then too. Hope to relocate to the Finger Lakes area at some point.

 

[TomE]

Hello Everyone,

New to this thread and I am sure this question has been beaten to death but after reading the latest test drive threads, it appears that Sport Suspension is not as harsh as You tube reviewers or Lotus alludes to for more track purposes. This will be my daily driver and I was planning to order a Touring suspension with White Exterior, Red Interior with the Black pack. However, now I am on the fence. I will be able to test drive the Emira this Saturday in Oakville Canada and hope they have a sports suspension to get a feel of the car.
Every test drive is subjective and it is true this car is not powerful as a GT3 or C8 but I don't think that is what Lotus is targeting and without offending anyone comments, this is a driver's car for back country roads. If drivers are unhappy with the performance, then get the GT4 Emira or GT3 or C8 Z06.

Just my two cents and not trying to offend anyone.

Appreciate any feedback on Suspension.

Welcome to the forum!

This is a common question and often debated, because Lotus have offered two options with very limited published info from them on differences and how to choose.

I've moved your post and the following posts into this main thread about suspension options. If you haven't seen it before you might want to go to page 1 and start at the beginning

 

[TomE]

I found it interesting that when Harry spec’d out his car, on a video, after going around the track, he chose the sport suspension. He commented on how well it behaved and didn’t really have that jarring firmness he might have suspected.

I never saw when he changed to touring. Just a follow up video comparing the two chassis and declaring sport too jarring.

No doubt it does depend on the road surface but hard for me to gauge one person’s good road from another.

Here is the video where Harry tests Sports and Touring back to back and changes his own car from Sports to Touring. Worth a watch if you are unsure what to pick.