USA/Canada Delivery Thread

[Cachaco131]

Lotus Drives – Lotus Drives

lotusdrives.com

Emira Drives Monterey Experience in Carmel Valley on August 16th, 17th, or 19th.

Any idea how long are the drives?

 

[kitkat]

Any idea how long are the drives?

Not a damn clue but I guess I’ll find out!

 

[Cachaco131]

Not a damn clue but I guess I’ll find out!

I don't want to drive from the Bay Area 2.5h for a 15min drive! If you get some info let me know pls

 

[EspritGuy]

I don't want to drive from the Bay Area 2.5h for a 15min drive! If you get some info let me know pls

Can't you calculate it from the appointment time slots? They might be in 30 minute increments with 20 minutes behind the wheel.
The exposure could be life changing.
Or, just call the dealer.
Best of luck.

 

[trackday14]

Can't you calculate it from the appointment time slots? They might be in 30 minute increments with 20 minutes behind the wheel.
The exposure could be life changing.
Or, just call the dealer.
Best of luck.

I recall that my scheduled drive (this past November) lasted about 15 minutes or so.

 

[Hell4Leather]

Where are you getting this? There's no blanket California ban on valved exhaust. Tons of vehicles sold in California have them, including almost all new BMWs.

It’s the db’s. The Evora, for example, in sport mode is louder than current California laws allow.

 

[EZcheezy]

ima be pissed if cali makes all of our cars sound worse even if we dont live there

tho ima do exhaust mods anyway so i guess it doesnt matter

 

[kitkat]

ima be pissed if cali makes all of our cars sound worse even if we dont live there

tho ima do exhaust mods anyway so i guess it doesnt matter

The exhaust setup is basically the same (not identical) as it's ever been on the Evora as well. Two primary cats on each bank, collects down to a third cat, with a valved exhaust that pipes through a direct pathway in the muffler in sport and track modes.

From an emissions point of view the third cat was still needed to pass emissions for the Evora as well even at a federal level.

From a sound point of view your state (TX) also has vehicle codes regarding sound and likely local municipalities have sound ordinances even stricter than the state or federal level.

As context what @Hell4Leather is bent up about is the drama that unfolded with the Veloster N case in California where a police officer cited a Veloster N using specific drive modes that aren't really meant for public road use. This has _always_ been a grey area and always will be. My M4 with an OEM M Performance exhaust makes lots of pops and blows sound @ 103dB -- it's still "legal" because it isn't a default driving mode. It basically just comes down to enforcement.

Texas is an even bigger complication because they have a very vague law about exhaust sound. If any cop deems it be "excessive or unusual" it's in the wrong -- there isn't even a db limit attached to it.

 

[2BIG2FAIL]

Galpin test drives next week; priority for Galpin depositors.

 

[EZcheezy]

The exhaust setup is basically the same (not identical) as it's ever been on the Evora as well. Two primary cats on each bank, collects down to a third cat, with a valved exhaust that pipes through a direct pathway in the muffler in sport and track modes.

From an emissions point of view the third cat was still needed to pass emissions for the Evora as well even at a federal level.

From a sound point of view your state (TX) also has vehicle codes regarding sound and likely local municipalities have sound ordinances even stricter than the state or federal level.

As context what @Hell4Leather is bent up about is the drama that unfolded with the Veloster N case in California where a police officer cited a Veloster N using specific drive modes that aren't really meant for public road use. This has _always_ been a grey area and always will be. My M4 with an OEM M Performance exhaust makes lots of pops and blows sound @ 103dB -- it's still "legal" because it isn't a default driving mode. It basically just comes down to enforcement.

Texas is an even bigger complication because they have a very vague law about exhaust sound. If any cop deems it be "excessive or unusual" it's in the wrong -- there isn't even a db limit attached to it.

my exhaust on my m240i is pretty loud with pops/bangs too. idk db, never tested
exhaust related upgrades:
high flow cat downpipe
midpipe thats pretty much just a straight pipe, no resonators
OEM axel back M performance exhaust upgrade

no issues with the cops after 3 years. and the mofos that wake me up at night are def way louder than me so im not too worried about sound levels

the 3rd cat is needed to pass emissions?
I thought that was a common thing to replace in the Evora?
I certainly planed getting rid of it in my Emira. I know I at least wont get a CEL since no sensor on the 3rd one
will i have issues passing emissions if I do?

 

[kitkat]

my exhaust on my m240i is pretty loud with pops/bangs too. idk db, never tested
exhaust related upgrades:
high flow cat downpipe
midpipe thats pretty much just a straight pipe, no resonators
OEM axel back M performance exhaust upgrade

no issues with the cops after 3 years. and the mofos that wake me up at night are def way louder than me so im not too worried about sound levels

the 3rd cat is needed to pass emissions?
I thought that was a common thing to replace in the Evora?
I certainly planed getting rid of it in my Emira. I know I at least wont get a CEL since no sensor on the 3rd one
will i have issues passing emissions if I do?

On the road state/county emissions are less stringent than new car standards from both EPA and CARB -- which makes sense since older cars get obviously the less efficient at handling emissions.

The third cat has no downstream o2 sensor so you should be fine removing it without any issues -- unless your state does visual inspections of the 3rd cat. I'll be removing it in California too but I also don't need to worry about emissions testing for almost a decade.

 

[VL3X]

The third cat has no downstream o2 sensor so you should be fine removing it without any issues -- unless your state does visual inspections of the 3rd cat. I'll be removing it in California too but I also don't need to worry about emissions testing for almost a decade.

Correct. I can't imagine any state doing a visual inspection on our cars for a thrid cat. They'd have to remove the entire rear aero panel just to see the full exhaust and there'd still be two other cats found. It'll pass emissions and obd scanner tests without issue.

 

[Cachaco131]

I don't want to drive from the Bay Area 2.5h for a 15min drive! If you get some info let me know pls

On the road state/county emissions are less stringent than new car standards from both EPA and CARB -- which makes sense since older cars get obviously the less efficient at handling emissions.

The third cat has no downstream o2 sensor so you should be fine removing it without any issues -- unless your state does visual inspections of the 3rd cat. I'll be removing it in California too but I also don't need to worry about emissions testing for almost a decade.

What's the testing timeframe nowadays for new cars? I thought it was after 4y from new and then on a 2y cycle?

 

[Next Decade]

I would have been one of the first FE 2.0 allocations at Gator. I dropped out last week and pushed mine to a base, so someone will be bumped up.

I just lost all confidence in Lotus over the past two years. Put my deposit down right after Goodwood 2021…

With the news that lotus sacked 200 employees (including engineers) due to terrible sales last year, I felt like the 2.0 offering was more of a ploy than anything (and a slap in the face with the markup for me). I have a theory that they are simply locking in non refundable sales to show business daddy that they are doing better.

In reality, they are likely going to just hold all the fe2.0 deposits hostage and the saga will continue. No thanks, I’ll watch and wait. This gives me the flexibility of knowing I can get a base if I want it, while also allowing the option to buy used if the price/options are right.

I just don’t trust that this debacle isn’t going to continue into 2024. Being on the sidelines is okay with me.

 

[kitkat]

What's the testing timeframe nowadays for new cars? I thought it was after 4y from new and then on a 2y cycle?

Assuming 2024 MY your first smog would be anywhere from 2032-2033 it's 8 years + whenever renewal is -- yeah 2 year cycle.

 

[morphious]

Just saw this on a Facebook group and thought I would share, not sure if already posted from Lotus Jacksonville.

 

[kitkat]

I'm finally starting to have some faith that Lotus is actually going to start US production in September.

 

[DerTheDer]

I'm finally starting to have some faith that Lotus is actually going to start US production in September.

Im not. It seems we get so close to the start...and then a 90 day delay. I wish it was. I would like to have my FE Emira before Christmas, but who knows. Last update I got from my dealer was a few months back. Its been NTR since.

 

[KCMO68_510]

Im not. It seems we get so close to the start...and then a 90 day delay. I wish it was. I would like to have my FE Emira before Christmas, but who knows. Last update I got from my dealer was a few months back. Its been NTR since.

For me if I'm not getting it this year, I may as well not get it before May 2024 anyways. I wouldn't take it out driving in the weather conditions before then, so may as well wait and give them more months to figure out issues.

 

[DerTheDer]

For me if I'm not getting it this year, I may as well not get it before May 2024 anyways. I wouldn't take it out driving in the weather conditions before then, so may as well wait and give them more months to figure out issues.

For a lot of the US that rings true. We have very mild winters where I am at so I dont mind taking it out. We really only get snow in Feb/March timeframe.