Considering equal driver skill, an SC coupe or Carrera can be made to run a faster lap time than a stock Lotus Exige or Elise fairly easily. It just takes money for a well sorted track suspension set-up (about $7K) with 2.5-3 degrees of front camber, some 225's up front and 245's rear (minimum), and requires you pull a lot of weight from the car.
An excellent driver in a "stock" Exige or Elise can be expected to run a 1:35-1:37 at Willow Springs International Raceway on R compound street tires (not slicks), and a 1:45-1:47 at Laguna Seca. A "stock" SC in GOOD mechanical condition is about 10-12 seconds behind this.
In my 78 SC set-up for Porsche Owners Club "IP" class (3.0 SC "Prepared") I ran a 1:34's at WSIR and 1:43's at Laguna Seca. This was a car that was still street legal with torsion bars, had all it's steel fenders, hood, decklid, doors, and sunroof. I even drove it to the PCA breakfast and on the Malibu Cyn roads occasionally...but there was HELL to pay on the spine if you didn't see a pot hole. Oh yeah, and there was only one gas station within 20 miles that I was high enough to get up the driveway without high-centering
(Flieger knows the drill)
Maybe the previous poster was right...Enjoy your laps on the track and point the Lotus by
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Craig T
Volvo V60 - Daily Driver (I love it!)
997 Turbo - FVD Exhaust, GIAC Tune - 542 dyno hp on 93 oct
1972 Chevy K-10 Pick-Up Truck Hugger Orange
