Suspension: Touring and Sports options

[Leonard]

Yep. Cold or wet Cup2s will let go at the slightest sniff of throttle

Brilliant tyre but one to be treated with respect

Trouble with them if swapping between different cars is that you have to rememeber they are on as well. I had a few 'hero moments' in my M2 Comp in the cold and wet hard accelerating to beat traffic on roundabouts and junctions!

 

[FederGigant]

I did mention I’d check with my dealer and made direct reference to the Middle East.

Different jurisdictions have different laws. In the US you have your odd dealership model and in the UAE all dealerships are effective monopolies and have fairly draconian policies.

To give you a few examples, a mate has an M8 and tried to get the apple play & android auto software update (published publicly by BMW) but was refused by BMW here. He was told if he did it anywhere else he’d void his warranty. His only option was to buy a newer model year car (from them)

On Porsches most of the connected features are disabled from factory and you’re similarly not allowed to change anything.

Finally most dealerships won’t touch any cars not purchased from them - those that do demand a registration fee which ranges about $10,000.

So what you say is you practically have no laws whatsoever and therefore the dealers rip you as much as they like. Cool!

 

[BeHappy]

You never know as a weekend car you may even prefer the Sports Suspension
My GR Yaris that Harry references is far from a terrible ride and offers amazing feel. It DEFINITELY also rides better than my previous M2 Comp that was lauded for its ride and handling. So if you are new to Lotus and used to other Sports cars (which I know you are) it may just feel normal. Plus with some journos already saying even the Sports set up isn't firm enough, it sounds like there will be a divided opinion on which set up is better

Leonard let’s hope so yes that’s why I originally chose it as thought I’m used to sports setup as such. I think in all my years of sporty cars think the only one I found too harsh was when I had a Evo 8 back in the day - ( it stuck to road like glue but just to eat up tyres for breakfast lol )

 

[Leonard]

Leonard let’s hope so yes that’s why I originally chose it as thought I’m used to sports setup as such. I think in all my years of sporty cars think the only one I found too harsh was when I had a Evo 8 back in the day - ( it stuck to road like glue but just to eat up tyres for breakfast lol )

Mmm love a good Evo. Sure you will be fine Look forward to hearing your thoughts and comparisons to previously owned cars

 

[TomE]

Leonard let’s hope so yes that’s why I originally chose it as thought I’m used to sports setup as such. I think in all my years of sporty cars think the only one I found too harsh was when I had a Evo 8 back in the day - ( it stuck to road like glue but just to eat up tyres for breakfast lol )

Don’t worry based on Harry and the other reviewers. Your car history has plenty of sports setups and your usage is fun/weekend so Sports will be fine. You’ll notice the road surface a bit more and it’ll be more dynamic (positive) or fidgety (negative) at lower speeds. Different, but not bad.

 

[mjw930]

Thanks for adding this. I think some people assume “how bad can they really be?” when we say it’s a track-focused tyre. Crash your car and hurt yourself bad is how bad it can be.

Yep, I saw it happen first hand on the first Corvette C7 Z06 w/Z07 package delivered to my local dealer. The new owner pulled out of the dealership on a cold November morning (cold for Central Florida, 42F and light rain) give it a moderate amount to throttle and proceeded to power slide it into a 6” curbing, destroying the right rear suspension, carbon brake rotor and wheel. $7000 damage with 4 miles on the odometer.

Over the subsequent 6 years Michelin, along with their OEM’s, dialed out a lot of the cold weather gremlins. The current OEM spec Cup2’s aren’t quite as bad in the cold and wet as they were in 2015 but my measly 10 mile drive from home to the 2022 Rolex24 in my 718 Spyder, shod in N1 spec Cup2’s triggered the traction control more than a dozen times and I never exceeded 50 mph!

 

[mjw930]

But to get back on topic, every single one of the handling issues I’ve read about or seen on all the reviews can be dialed out with a proper, fit for purpose, alignment. The trick is finding a shop with the know how and you being honest about your usage and dare I say, abilities……..

Case in point, my 718 Spyder was horrible as delivered. At slow to moderate speeds It tracked every single road imperfection in the front and the rear was squirly, to put it mildly. After a good discussion with a local race shop that has been preparing, tracking and winning with the 981/982 platform for over a decade (yes, winning in organized series events, not track rats bench racing over fictitious timing slips) we settled on settings along with spacers and motorsports version rear toe bars that would get the car closer to what I want as a weekend canyon carver. The transformation was immediate and worth every penny. It also goes to show that even the vaunted GT4/Spyder isn’t even close to perfect without taking the time to dial it it.

 

[JXJ]

What's telling is Harry has changed his order from Sports to Touring after driving both.

My understanding from his spec vid he was always up for Touring no change!

 

[Leonard]

My understanding from his spec vid he was always up for Touring no change!

No he defo went Sport as I found it surprising at the time as Harry likes his compliance

 

[JXJ]

He seemed to be enjoying the Sport setup and yes I am going Sport

 

[JXJ]

No he defo went Sport as I found it surprising at the time as Harry likes his compliance

Ok my bad

 

[JXJ]

I have the half day Lotus experience booked for 23rd July, hopefully will be great, October delivery

 

[Leonard]

He seemed to be enjoying the Sport setup and yes I am going Sport

I'm sure you will enjoy it. His direct Sport comparison to the GR Yaris that Im currently running means that I know I could happily run Sport or Touring. If you are used to a harder sprung and damped car you will love the extra feel

 

[JXJ]

Just sold my Exige V6S, I think Sport is for me

 

[Evotion]

you will love the extra feel

Absolutely.
The full Emira experience but if I had kept the deposit on the 2nd car I would have gone for Touring on that - and maybe waited for the i4 AMG.

 

[emiraspain]

What's telling is Harry has changed his order from Sports to Touring after driving both.

i bet he doesnt get a 2 month delay by doing so. haha
Im sticking with sport....... and all year tyres..... =hes old.. haha

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

I hope it’s not raining on the way there or while you’re on track. Seriously. They are potentially lethal in the wet.

I can fully confirm this myself

 

[Evotion]

I can fully confirm this myself

Thanks, you guys have put me off now. I wil still but CUp2s or 4S but keep the goodyears on for my long trips.

 

[TomE]

We really don't want to read that you've spun it on a wet autobahn on the way there. @Bilbao-Emira was very lucky he only needed a change of underwear

 

[TomE]

From today's Top Gear online review:

"So, the powertrain is fine, but not a headline. As ever with Lotus, what you’re really here for is the steering and chassis balance.

Unusually, Lotus has come close to spoiling its efforts with hydraulically-assisted steering by fitting an oblong steering wheel that’s too thick and mounted too eccentrically, so it becomes a barrier between you and the information it should be feeding back into your palms. Blame the marketing department for insisting the Emira nodded to the Evija hypercar inside – we bet the dynamics team would’ve much sooner fitted a less tarty round steering wheel.

Still, there’s better feedback than anything in the class, though some of the grainy, noisier feedback has been filtered out, which suits the Emira’s more grown-up brief.

Lotus always sets up cars very consciously for road or track, and the Emira is very much a road car. So, though the steering is quick and pointy you sense it’ll understeer before the back lets go, and there’s dive as you turn in from the long-travel suspension. This is a car designed to breathe with a road rather than attack it with sky-high spring rates or massive downforce, and that’s because Lotus sets up its cars on UK roads which are invariably falling to bits.

If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere where infrastructure isn’t crumbling before your very eyes, then you might be tempted by the Sport chassis, instead of the Touring chassis we’ve been testing. This brings stiffer suspension and stickier Michelin tyres instead of the Goodyears on our test car, and will be popular with track day goers.

We’ll report back when we’ve driven a Sport, but the Touring chassis doesn’t want for grip or composure on UK roads. It isn’t as flighty as the far lighter Alpine A110, and there’s less sense of the car moving about beneath you, but neither is it so locked down and humourless that the car seems po-faced. It’s just a different compromise to what we’re used to in a Lotus. "