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    My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Well what I can I say about these two, they are probably rated as the 2 best "pure" driver's sports cars the British or any other manufacturer has to offer on the market today. Both manufacturers had similar ideals and goals in mind upon conception of these cars - they must be light as possible, good balance of power and handling that is just out of this world.

    First we have the Lotus Exige, well what I can say... I have not had this much fun in a car in quite some time, well not atleast in the sub 2.0 motor category at least. This 1.8 Toyota motor has really impressed me far beyond my wildest expectations, considering that I'm 4100 feet about sea level and this is a normally aspirated engine - all I can say is WOW! The braking on the car is more than adequate, comes to a stop so quickly and effortlessly. The car does not have power steering and nor does it need it, I find it even more fun without the power-assisted steering - you really feel as if you're one with the road. The interior is VERY basic, even more than the Noble (and that's a statement you can't make very often) no carpets, or any simple luxuries that you would even find on a VW Golf. The only things would probably qualify as luxuries, be the electric windows, central locking doors and air-conditioning... suppose you can include the audio system (can't really even hear it, because this car is fitted with a stage 2 exhaust system) and it is LOUD!

    Ahhh now we have the Lee Noble's creation, the Noble M400. What a machine! It's also made right here! This 3.0 Ford Mondeo motor has been equipped with two turbochargers and stuck into basically a shell of a car. The result? 0-60 in 3.5! The sound that this car makes while you're just cruising down the highway with it's dump valve going off sends cringes of satisfaction down your spine. The car at wide open throttle is a whole new ball game, you need to be focused 100% to keep this baby under control, otherwise it's just tire spin all the way into 3-4th gear! This Noble is a slightly modified, it's boost has been increased to 1.2 bar instead of the stock 0.85 - which is a little too much in my opinion. The interior is also very plain, basically just what your need on a track. Roll-bar, 4 point harness. The car comes also with air-conditioning, power-assisted steering, audio system. No electric windows on this car too.

    The conclusion? Well, it is a tough call. First you have the Lotus, small, agile and much easier to drive around on at track due to it's size. You can hit every apex perfectly! The power is however lacking on the long straights, but it makes up for it in the turns. The Noble, well you can go from 0-100mph faster than a Ferrari F430 and most sports cars for that matter. It also turns on a track like a train on rails, but which one is better than?

    I would take the Lotus, you can drive it to the limit more than the Noble. With the Noble, if you're not a particularly experienced driver, it can get you into a lot of trouble. Plus it's just the fun factor, the Lotus for me gives me the same feeling as when I climb into my Cooper S. It just looks so much fun! The Noble, is more serious and agressive - I wonder if I'll make it back home in one piece everytime I get behind the wheel, it really is a toy not to be underestimated!

    Now for the pictures!



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    Last one!

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Great Thanks!

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Thanks for the review of two awesome cars. I found the lack of rearward visibility in the Exige to be unsettling. What has your experience been? Thanks.

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    GREAT review and nice photos, thank you! I'm looking forward to your next review - maybe Cayenne vs. X5 accompanied with some pics in cross-country for example

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Awesome review!
    1.2 bar for the Noble...How wicked

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Awesome Mike, thanks for sharing!

    What a stable, two real driver's cars

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Quote:
    hatchback said:
    Thanks for the review of two awesome cars. I found the lack of rearward visibility in the Exige to be unsettling. What has your experience been? Thanks.



    Yes, definately. The rear visibilty on the Exige is almost none existant. The Exige S will be worse as that is where the intercooler is sitting

    Luckily the car is not very big, so it is not that much of a set back.

    Quote:
    martinv said:
    GREAT review and nice photos, thank you! I'm looking forward to your next review - maybe Cayenne vs. X5 accompanied with some pics in cross-country for example



    I already made a review of the Cayenne Turbo vs the Touareg V10 vs X5 4.8 Search for it on the forums, should be here somewhere!

    Quote:
    Hurst said:
    Awesome review!
    1.2 bar for the Noble...How wicked



    Thanks

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Quote:
    Carlos from Spain said:
    Awesome Mike, thanks for sharing!

    What a stable, two real driver's cars



    Thank you Carlos

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Awesome, Mike,

    My M400 is still being "registered" by the State of New York (aka the State of Suspended Animation ), as I have passed the first test (the DMV inspected it, determined it wasn't contraband, and assigned it a VIN# ), next I'll get it inspected (again ) on Friday, and thereafter I'll be able to register, title and insure it. So perhaps by the end of July (earlier than I first thought), I'll be able to complete the run-in and have my own test drive and review posted here on rennteam.

    As Hurst said, 1.2bar-cool! I bet you have more than 425 peak bhp and can do faster than stock #'s of 0-60mph in 3.5 and 0-100mph in sub-8. Mine is still at stock setting of 0.85bar, but I plan an upgrade this winter for an "M500," there's a tuner in Florida who does Noble's along with Porsche's amongst others. Do you know who did your ECU mapping? I know Roush did the stock program.

    Al

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Quote:
    Mike S said:
    Yes, definately. The rear visibilty on the Exige is almost none existant. The Exige S will be worse as that is where the intercooler is sitting




    Who needs rear visibility? All one needs is front visibility to see where one is going.

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Awesome Revier mike Indeed.
    Thank you very much!

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Quote:
    Turbo Al said:As Hurst said, 1.2bar-cool! I bet you have more than 425 peak bhp


    Absolutely! The M15 makes 455hp at 1.2 Bar, but has a new gearbox to handle the add'l juice. I think I'd leave my boost level stock, since the gearbox is supposedly the weak link in the drivetrain...

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    I like the Noble... "scared that I might not make it home". But, I like the interior of the Lotus much better, nicely understated, but...I like the exterior of the Noble. Tough choice, I'll take a Lotus with the noble motor!

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Quote:
    Grant said:
    Quote:
    Turbo Al said:As Hurst said, 1.2bar-cool! I bet you have more than 425 peak bhp


    Absolutely! The M15 makes 455hp at 1.2 Bar, but has a new gearbox to handle the add'l juice. I think I'd leave my boost level stock, since the gearbox is supposedly the weak link in the drivetrain...



    Absolutely Grant,

    I wouldn't upgrade the power without upgrading the tranny-amongst other things-partly why I await western New York's lovely winter (the days are already getting shorter-less than six months and counting ), since I wouldn't be driving it for months on end and would put up with sending it away for work-I'll also await the run-in.

    As you likely know, part of the fun of these kit cars is the pre-requisite buyer-controlled final assembly as well as the lower financial risk of "tweaking" and tuning the car, and thus losing one's warranty coverage-since there isn't much coverage in the first place.

    Indeed, the new M15 I believe uses the same Ford Duratec 3.0L V6, and Ford plans to make a 3.5L version for use on some of their traditional line-up. I understand the overall engine is similar to the 3.0 in terms of external dimensions, just with a 17% (3.0 to 3.5) gain in displacement. But I wouldn't think about anything like that-at least not until I nuke the stock engine.

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Quote:
    95jersey said:
    I like the Noble... "scared that I might not make it home". But, I like the interior of the Lotus much better, nicely understated, but...I like the exterior of the Noble. Tough choice, I'll take a Lotus with the noble motor!



    95jersey,

    I tested the M400 last fall and I found it easy to drive, even with 35F ambient temps with just a semblance of road adherence with good traction, and the car handled well, likely owing to the low mass and the well-set suspension. I just won't drive it in the rain-or anytime in the winter.

    The M400 is definitely "raw" in the sense that the car is not a piece of jewelry, and is loud, especially since I had a tranny cooling system installed, along with a lightweight flywheel (about 8 lb).

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Quote:
    Turbo Al said:
    Awesome, Mike,

    My M400 is still being "registered" by the State of New York (aka the State of Suspended Animation ), as I have passed the first test (the DMV inspected it, determined it wasn't contraband, and assigned it a VIN# ), next I'll get it inspected (again ) on Friday, and thereafter I'll be able to register, title and insure it. So perhaps by the end of July (earlier than I first thought), I'll be able to complete the run-in and have my own test drive and review posted here on rennteam.

    As Hurst said, 1.2bar-cool! I bet you have more than 425 peak bhp and can do faster than stock #'s of 0-60mph in 3.5 and 0-100mph in sub-8. Mine is still at stock setting of 0.85bar, but I plan an upgrade this winter for an "M500," there's a tuner in Florida who does Noble's along with Porsche's amongst others. Do you know who did your ECU mapping? I know Roush did the stock program.

    Al



    The boost was set up by the factory in Port Elizabeth, they did everything.

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Quote:
    Grant said:
    Quote:
    Turbo Al said:As Hurst said, 1.2bar-cool! I bet you have more than 425 peak bhp


    Absolutely! The M15 makes 455hp at 1.2 Bar, but has a new gearbox to handle the add'l juice. I think I'd leave my boost level stock, since the gearbox is supposedly the weak link in the drivetrain...



    I have had not one single kink in the gearbox so far(touch wood ) and I've driven 4000 miles in the car. Not to mention several track days in it.

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Great Mike!!!

    You can improve the Exige A LOT. Here are the specs of my brother's. We where on a track this week end , I am joining two pics.

    1. Compressor Bemani ( supposed to be much better then the Lotus/Toyota one) 265 HP
    2. Shocks : Nitron ( better handling)
    3. Changed the 'stability bar' ( sorry , don't know the correct name in english) to a adjustable one
    4. Lighter rims ( SSR.. 6.5 kg per rim. Ordered in Japan)
    5. Exaust Bemani ( The noise is from another world!!!!! ) goes together with compressor)
    6. Tyres : Pirelli Corsa + P Zero C
    7. Lighter engine wheel ( sorry don't know the correct name in english)
    8. Toe linq kit
    9. Carbon inside
    10. Mono steering wheel that comes off
    11. Next stept: change the brakes for AP Racing 5000 plus

    And then you get a true track beast!!!!

    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

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    Re: My review: Noble M400 vs Lotus Exige

    Quote:
    Mike S said:
    Quote:
    Grant said:
    Quote:
    Turbo Al said:As Hurst said, 1.2bar-cool! I bet you have more than 425 peak bhp


    Absolutely! The M15 makes 455hp at 1.2 Bar, but has a new gearbox to handle the add'l juice. I think I'd leave my boost level stock, since the gearbox is supposedly the weak link in the drivetrain...



    I have had not one single kink in the gearbox so far(touch wood ) and I've driven 4000 miles in the car. Not to mention several track days in it.


    Mike - I didn't mean to throw stones - just that I wouldn't get too carried away with extra boost. I think your car looks amazing!

     
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