The inevitable faster Emira

[freefall_junkie]

Weight reduction would be great, but I don’t think it’s feasible to reduce the weight enough for there to be a big difference in day-to-day seat of the pants performance.

I think it would take a solid 300 lbs sprung weight reduction to feel much of a difference. Less if unsprung and/or rotating mass, obviously. But, meaningful weight reduction on a street car is expensive.

I think they could pretty easily get rid of about 50kg with a carbon roof and tailgate, bucket seats, lightweight battery and possibly less sound deadening. This is exactly what Lotus did when they created the Evora Sport 410 from the Evora 400. I'm all for less weight, and I particularly dislike the ridiculously heavy seats in the Emira, but is that enough to make a noticeable difference? Unless you have Lewis Hamilton levels of driving ability, I doubt it. Having said that I've driven an Evora Sport 410 back to back with a 400 and the 410 certainly felt sharper and more alive, but that perception was probably more down to the cup tyres, firmer damping, seats and noise rather than weight.

 

[Tteape0]

I want them to put in a better manual and v6 auto transmission. The transmission gear change from 1st to 2nd really kills the Emira on 0-60. It’s so fast off the jump and beats anything in the competition…until the gear shift. Maybe a bit more torque too. Car has plenty of power it isn’t utilizing already.

 

[admu]

I can appreciate the desire for a lighter future version but I plan on taking my soon to be delivered Emira to a track which has long straight aways (Sebring). High horsepower is favored in this setting. No matter how fast I am in the corners in my E36 M3, I still get left behind in the long straights by higher horsepower cars . If I were to mod my Emira, it will be both: power and weight saving, in that order.
One might wonder why then did I order an Emira. The quick answer is the car is drop dead gorgeous, to me.
Back in the 90's, GM sent the Corvette to Lotus for engine development. The result was the ZR1. Lotus did the same thing to the Toyota engine with the current Emira. It would have been nicer though with 100 more HP.

 

[cyanmauve]

I wish there were a “reasonably” priced manual transmission upgrade for our car. No sequential box stuff, just internals that could take all the abuse you could throw at it at stock power levels. In other words, something built to handle 500 hp and 400 lb ft of torque.

 

[cyanmauve]

I think the brakes and grip are up to significantly more than the drivetrain is. I see the transmission as the “weak link”. The gear change does not like to be rushed.

I’m not abusive to my car- I’ve never “launched” it from a stop. No revving to 5k and sidestepping the clutch, and I always try to guide the shifter rather than force it.

Even so, the 1-2 up shift, and occasionally downshifts, don’t feel as smooth and fast as I think it should. And that’s with rev matching/heel and toe on the downshifts and even double-clutching if I am braking hard.

 

[Honcho]

I think the brakes and grip are up to significantly more than the drivetrain is. I see the transmission as the “weak link”. The gear change does not like to be rushed.

I’m not abusive to my car- I’ve never “launched” it from a stop. No revving to 5k and sidestepping the clutch, and I always try to guide the shifter rather than force it.

Even so, the 1-2 up shift, and occasionally downshifts, don’t feel as smooth and fast as I think it should. And that’s with rev matching/heel and toe on the downshifts and even double-clutching if I am braking hard.

I want them to put in a better manual and v6 auto transmission. The transmission gear change from 1st to 2nd really kills the Emira on 0-60. It’s so fast off the jump and beats anything in the competition…until the gear shift. Maybe a bit more torque too. Car has plenty of power it isn’t utilizing already.

How many miles have you on your cars? My gearbox seems pretty slick after 4k miles.

 

[cyanmauve]

How many miles have you on your cars? My gearbox seems pretty slick after 4k miles.

About 3k. It isn't notchy per se, but there are times when shifting quickly at high RPMs that there is more resistance than I would like.

 

[Orchardbike]

JUBU do various gearbox upgrades for the Emira.

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

About 3k. It isn't notchy per se, but there are times when shifting quickly at high RPMs that there is more resistance than I would like.

My car also hates 1st to 2nd at high RPM. Makes launching terrible.

 

[kitkat]

My car also hates 1st to 2nd at high RPM. Makes launching terrible.

Everyone's Emira and Evora is this way.

 

[Honcho]

My car also hates 1st to 2nd at high RPM. Makes launching terrible.

I had this in the car I test drove and also mine. Don't seem to have the problem anymore. Maybe I just got used to the shift timing.

 

[Honcho]

Weight reduction would be great, but I don’t think it’s feasible to reduce the weight enough for there to be a big difference in day-to-day seat of the pants performance.

I think it would take a solid 300 lbs sprung weight reduction to feel much of a difference. Less if unsprung and/or rotating mass, obviously. But, meaningful weight reduction on a street car is expensive.

Totally. I've been looking at the weight of an Alpine a110 at 1100kg and cant understand how the Emira is 350kg heavier so started looking into weight savings. Like you said, too much cost.

 

[Tomwa]

Totally. I've been looking at the weight of an Alpine a110 at 1100kg and cant understand how the Emira is 350kg heavier so started looking into weight savings. Like you said, too much cost.

Well. It's 150mm longer wheelbase, 300mm longer, and 100 mm wider.

Based on their construction methods, they don't have a big steel rollbar and rear support frame, it's unibody in aluminum.

Plus a 1.8 liter engine compared to a 3.5 liter.

So, yeah. Extra material in all directions adds up.

 

[seriously]

The short shifter helps the 1-2 a lot but the gearbox inherently still does not like to be rushed. It seems like they got this gearbox as good as they can get it. It’s just not the best match. Still with some care I can shift quickly and smoothly it’s just not really easy like it should be. It’s not slick. It’s effortful.

Apart from this I think bucket seats will likely lead to the most improvement in feel. Ugh, at least they look good.

 

[cyanmauve]

In theory I’d love to have a 2750 lb or less modern Lotus. In practice, that already exists, it’s called an Exige, and I didn’t buy it.

In modern times, significantly lighter means significantly smaller. The Emira is about as small as I want. In fact, to me it feels just about the perfect size.

 

[Man.v.Cars]

Just as a slight aside, how many have had their car dynod? How close to actual figures is the car producing? I'm intending getting mine done shortly now that I've got the car back and had the 3rd cat removed.

 

[chstockd]

The real problem is going to be cost. Considering that when the Emira was first announced, the base model was going to be £59,999, these new models are going to double that. That's going to move the Emira up into a different segment of the market. The R model you describe would be the most interesting to me, but you also have to factor in insurance costs.

There's a line between decent, practical power and performance you can use on the street, versus indecent, impractical power and performance that you simply cannot use on the street. You're going to be paying for it, but why? Unless you are going to track it, to me it just doesn't make sense economically to be paying for more car than you can realistically use.

If I didn't already have my Emira, I'd buy one at the reduced prices they're going for right now, and put $20k into it and it would be the R model you describe. It would be far less than the factory one is going to be, and without the insurance rating that model is going to get. That's actually almost what I'm doing with mine now, except I payed the original list price for it because I put a deposit down the week it was announced, and was expecting they were only going to make 500 for the U.S.

This car is a real gem, and I think it would do it a disservice to start pushing the price tag up beyond what the average sports car enthusiast would be able to afford, which I'm afraid is what's going to happen with the next edition models.

There's one thought I've never had when driving my i4 around from place to place: "I need more power".

But heck - it's a free country (England that is) - do as you will.

I would agree. I have a 400HP version in the states. I find it hard to utilize all the current HP on public streets and I am definitely trying LOL. If they offered a reasonable cost tune/upgrade, I may consider it but, I am finding I cant use what I already have

 

[Eagle7]

Just as a slight aside, how many have had their car dynod? How close to actual figures is the car producing? I'm intending getting mine done shortly now that I've got the car back and had the 3rd cat removed.

I had mine done when it was completely stock, and it showed 369.6 hp and 303 ft lbs of torque to the rear wheels, which is a drivetrain loss of only 7.6% which is quite good actually.

 

[Blat]

For us who own one already, I suppose a hotter version would gives us some factory components as upgrades later on.

At the end of the day, I don't mind if they come up with better versions, even ones with a manual. Gonna enjoy what you already have.

And I don't want to be in the camp of "forever waiting for the better version". There will always be something better, but I won't always have another day to enjoy them.

Life's too short

 

[jamesgareth]

I would agree. I have a 400HP version in the states. I find it hard to utilize all the current HP on public streets and I am definitely trying LOL. If they offered a reasonable cost tune/upgrade, I may consider it but, I am finding I cant use what I already have

If I want to go really fast - I'll take my R1 out for a spin (if you don't know what an R1 is spoiler alert it's got half as many wheels).