Zygrene - Lotus Emira V6 Sport Track Review

[Nestor]

 

[benjh1028]

Fun video! Thanks for sharing!

 

[SJM]

Interesting that we both have experience with the GR86 platform (mine was 2023 BRZ)and Emira.
GR/ Subie was fun on the track but V6 Emira is better( though harder on consumables).

 

[OppositeLock]

I'm intimately familiar with that track, having done easily 100 track days there, and I started out with an Emira V6 touring on the Goodyears. I'll totally agree with that Zygrene guy that the tires suck. Since I was planning on putting Nitrons in mine before I even bought it, I didn't mind that it had touring shocks, but I did track it with the touring shocks, and found them way too soft. I would be curious what the sports suspension feels like, but I heard it's not very different.

When you put a proper suspension in this car, and good brake pads, and good tires, it completely wakes up. It may not feel as fast as a Cayman GT4, but I can slowly reel those guys in.

Good video, good observations, particularly about the car feeling rear engined, which is basically is.

 

[Tracked Emira]

Best video yet. Like he said those tires suck & stay on throttle around the sweepers so rear doesn't oversteer. And get better brake pads with SRF brake fluid

 

[Frimley111R]

Good video, I liked the comments during the laps. The Emira is a brilliant road car and can be used on track but the GT4 is a hardcore track car really, so not a great comparison.

 

[brainf18]

Shorts with racing gloves...sorry but hard to take anything he says seriously

 

[MiamiBlue]

I'm intimately familiar with that track, having done easily 100 track days there, and I started out with an Emira V6 touring on the Goodyears.

Did you buy that spec knowing you would track the car?
I think the Tour suspension is far too soft and undoubtedly slows you down. But great for touring..

 

[OppositeLock]

Did you buy that spec knowing you would track the car?
I think the Tour suspension is far too soft and undoubtedly slows you down. But great for touring..

I bought that spec because the car was orphaned, sitting on a dealer lot, and I was able to have it right away. They had no sports package cars available in a color that I liked.

I knew that I'd track the car, and I knew that both factory suspensions aren't good enough. The stiffness difference is small, about 10% and the sports package has firmer dampeners, I know that. The Nitron Clubsports are still too soft for someone who would track an Emira really hard, but I didn't want to completely ruin it on the street, so I consider even the Clubsports to be a compromise.

 

[MickOpalak]

Shorts with racing gloves...sorry but hard to take anything he says seriously

There's actually a very good reason for it. Let's say your car crashes at a track day. You're upside down and the car is on fire. You've got to undo your harnesses/seatbelt, unlock the car, grab the door handle, and get out of the car as soon as possible. Hard to do when your hands are on fire.

 

[Syzygy]

Good video, I liked the comments during the laps. The Emira is a brilliant road car and can be used on track but the GT4 is a hardcore track car really, so not a great comparison.

A flattering comparison IMO. Wish they would make a hotter v6 version like zygrene said. Maybe some aero, bucket seats, higher redline and more power.

 

[benjh1028]

There's actually a very good reason for it. Let's say your car crashes at a track day. You're upside down and the car is on fire. You've got to undo your harnesses/seatbelt, unlock the car, grab the door handle, and get out of the car as soon as possible. Hard to do when your hands are on fire.

I think the point here was more that "why protect your hands but leave the rest of your body exposed".

 

[David s]

Shorts with racing gloves...sorry but hard to take anything he says seriously

Probably wearing sandals as well.

 

[David s]

I think the point here was more that "why protect your hands but leave the rest of your body exposed".

Probably had condom on as well. So all good.

 

[OppositeLock]

Regardless of what he is wearing, and having driven this track a hundred times in an Elise, and twice in an Emira at this point, his commentary was totally fine. His line was pretty good, he handled the car well, he noticed the tires getting greasy, and the lap time he put down (2:08 was it?) is quite respectable for a car he's driving for the first time on mediocre tires. Best I've ever done on my factory SC Elise on slicks was a 2:03.9 in that configuration, so for some dude in flip flops and gloves to pull a 2:08 with his first time in the car tells me he's a pretty good driver, and therefore, I'll listen to his feedback, but not take it as gospel.

 

[sbproducer]

Even though my GO-TO is lightweight running shoes like the Nike Pegasus, I do enjoy giving my self a challenge and just doing my footwork barefooted. The feedback is exceptional. Sometimes, I don't even use my left heel for clutchwork.. I call it "Air-clutching." When you hit those downshifts... feels great. For an even bigger challenge, I air-clutch down and backup multiple times within a short window of a few seconds watching the rpm gauge for clean shifts.. all while meditating to music.