Stock Lotus Emira is soft on track but still impressive

[HankRS225]

See How Stock a Lotus Emira Really Is

Video: watch here

This is a video from the Gmotor 111 Lihpao Circuit Day (Taiwan), featuring the fiercest contenders in the Red Group battling it out. The clip shows these beasts braking hard at the end of the main straight and entering T1 with remarkable stability. However, Hank's stock Emira stands out—under heavy braking, the front dips noticeably, and the rear nearly lifts off, yet it still achieved an impressive lap time of 1:55.

It’s evident that Lotus’s chassis tuning doesn’t rely on sheer stiffness but instead achieves a sense of balance. Naturally, this softer, more compliant road-focused setup prioritises harmony and forgiveness during spirited driving on mountain roads. The exceptional sidewall rigidity of the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport RS tyres compensates to some extent for the suspension’s relative softness, enabling the Emira to deliver an impressive performance. (The Emira appears in the latter part of the video.)

 

[HankRS225]

Note: Tire is upgraded from Michelin Cup2 to Goodyear F1 SuperSport "RS", which is the top spec of Goodyear tires just like Michelin Cup2R, not the stock F1 SuperSport Street tires.

 

[OppositeLock]

It's nice to hear someone else's feedback from the track. I ran mine on the F1 SuperSport (touring tire).

Does your car have the touring or sport suspension?

 

[HankRS225]

It's nice to hear someone else's feedback from the track. I ran mine on the F1 SuperSport (touring tire).

Does your car have the touring or sport suspension?

Mine is Sport x Cup2

 

[AZemira-i4]

New i4 owner and rookie takes to the track at Podium Club (Attesa, AZ). I thoroughly enjoyed myself in a HPDE class last week. My car is stock with sport suspension and Cup 2’s. I liked the track layout. The instructors were excellent. It was a fun day. After the Z06 (C7) experienced an engine problem early in the day, I was the second fastest car behind a really cool Ariel track car.
One of the drivers went off the track at the end of the long straight away. There was no damage or injuries but the track closed for an hour. Twice, I felt a bit of oversteer on that same high speed turn but I’m pretty sure the eDiff saved me. I was very impressed with the braking and DCT.

 

[cdn_alien]

I drive by that track regularly on my way to San Diego. How are the run-off areas - are they friendly in terms of minimizing damage to the car? Who ran the HPDE sessions? It's been a long time since my last track day, and was just curious.

 

[MiamiBlue]

Is it the Touring setup? (Even the Sport setup is too soft for track work IMHO, but is acceptable for fast street).

 

[AZemira-i4]

Yes, Podium Club track is very friendly with flat runoff areas. Tim Rose did an excellent job as instructor. His advice on my first early morning Autocross run was “there’s a pedal to the right of the brake … try using it.” I did and my time improved by 6 seconds.
It’s a sport suspension with Cup 2’s. I was impressed with the Emira’s grip.

P.S. I planned to buy a one day track insurance policy but quotes were between $850 and $1100 with a $10k deductible. I wasn’t going to pay that!