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I am toying with the idea of purchasing a dedicated track car, and although a Caterham style car would probably be the best choice, I am not really prepared to get wet when it rains! Call me a fairy. So I was thinking Elise, then I saw a VX220 yesterday and thought that would be perfect, must be cheaper to run than the Lotus, and probably more reliable? Does anyone have experience of these as track cars? I would probably be after the 2.2 rather than the turbo from a cost point of view. Are they good for track cars as standard or would it need stuff doing immediately? Advice appreciated as always...

Think the Elise (old style) would be cheaper to run.

I seem to remember the 2.2 was better than the turbo version due to being a lot lighter and not that much difference in track times between both models, on the road the turbo will be quicker due to extra torque. Put better brakes and suspension and it will be equal. I dont have experience in either, I did a little research last year when I was in the market for a 15k track car...I ended up buying a Clio 172 purely because there cheap to run, maintain and insure, also they are cracking handling cars esp for a front wheel drive.

Turbo is a 2.0.... NA is 2.2.

I don't like the turbo at all on track. Yes it is fast but the engine tech is very d school with old school turbo lag. Feels like the engine and throttle are connected with an elastic band.
My cousin was at the vx220 launch in valencia and three vxt's were crashed by the press.

Dynamically out of the box they are softer setup - they understeer more, suspension more road than track. Fixable but frustrating.
Engine is heavier too.

Probably the thing that is annoys the most (after styling) is the brakes. The 2 channel abs is just awful and isn't either that effective or have much feeling.

For a dedicated track-hack I would definitely recommend the early (pre 2006) rover engined Elise's.
Very simple engine that cheap to run. Being light the consumables such as brakes last absolutely ages.
Doesn't take much to tweak as there is a large aftermarket community.
No abs, no airbags, no powersteering. The only limitation is ultimate power but noting to stop you putting an audi or Honda supercharged engine in for big power numbers.

Also the rover cars are great to tinker with.
s2's have better roof design and aero. S1 generally lighter with more neutral handling but high spee oversteer can be a problem.

Whoa
Buy this before I do!
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 04/1458802

135r one of the best all round factory models.
Lotus sport suspension, harnesses, oz sport wheels (wider), semi slick tyres, mild tuning, reliable...
Bespoke colours.

My mate has his up for sale http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... urce=share

Ok so a Lotus Elise would be a better choice than the VX220. If Elise then its got to be an S2 as they look so much nicer. We are currently thinking about getting the Mrs a new car so maybe we could get an Elise with air con and it could double as a track car and her work car?! I reckon with those tactics she may be more amenable to me getting a track car.......

Hahahaha. Elise air con...
It's right up there with fitting decent speakers...

To be fair it works but don't expect euro box levels though. It kinda goes down one level.. Ie 'burning hot' goes to 'uncomfortably hot'... It'll never get down to feeling 'cold' or 'cool'.

No big deal though - just take the roof off and wear baseball cap

adsgreen wrote:Hahahaha. Elise air con...
It's right up there with fitting decent speakers...

To be fair it works but don't expect euro box levels though. It kinda goes down one level.. Ie 'burning hot' goes to 'uncomfortably hot'... It'll never get down to feeling 'cold' or 'cool'.

No big deal though - just take the roof off and wear baseball cap

So you reckon air con not worth worrying about? The 111s is considerably more expensive than the 'standard' 1.8, is it worth it or can mods be easily done to the 1.8 to increase bhp without sacrificing reliability?

adsgreen wrote:Whoa
Buy this before I do!
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 04/1458802

135r one of the best all round factory models.
Lotus sport suspension, harnesses, oz sport wheels (wider), semi slick tyres, mild tuning, reliable...
Bespoke colours.

Nice !

OP I'd have the lotus over the Lego brick anyday

With the model variations, does 'tourer' mean it has AC? What other differences are there?

vestax32 wrote:With the model variations, does 'tourer' mean it has AC? What other differences are there?

Iirc leather, extra sound deadening and driving lights to name a few. Not ac

111s has been used for lots depending on year...
Original 111s was slightly more power (usually from using a vvc variant of the rover engine)
For the Toyota car it can be used for the single cam lower powered Toyota (relative to the 111r), supercharged 1.8 or anything in between...

I've never had air con in an Elise and its never really bothered... Sure it's be nice but its not powerful enough to put a dent in most heat.
I don't think any version or option pack had air con as standard.

Sport tourer usually more padded seats, carpets, 4 speakers (instead of 2)...
Nothing performance wise... For Elise's I can't think of any performance option pack.

The first main choice is rover or Toyota engine.
Rover is unrefined, less powerful in standard trim but it much lighter (over 100kgs) more charismatic and very DIY to mess with.
Toyota is a modern engine revving to 8k+ but a bit soulless, worse fuel economy and all you can do to improve performance is supercharge it.

Given the aero of an Elise isn't great the difference between 190ps from the Toyota and
135ps from the rover (in 135r) really doesn't mean too much. With a few hundred quid easy enough to get 170ps out of the rover. Feeling adventurous then a few k can get 190ps... I had 220 ish out of mine and loved it - lumpy idle and all.

Can't think I ever used ac in my old Elise. I only had it because it was the only red one available straight away from the factory. Yes I'm impatient and it cost a few bob!

More necessary in the exige which does get very hot so it takes the edge of the heat

Ads is referring to me changing the speakers in my recently required Elise 111R - make no difference at all really - I am adding a sub though wooooooooop wooooooooop! I have ac too which just takes the air from burning hot to less burning hot - I wouldn't bother. I've just taken it out for a monster drive and appreciate it a lot more now, I wasn't driving it full on so didn't really like it - I now allow it a place in my driveway so it must have been doing something right. Hot roads today and a lot of grip - does understeer when you push it but I prefer that to the alternative on public roads.