The latest Lotus Elise and Exige parts and services and motorsport plans from Hangar 111 Lotus Performance

Review of the Komo-Tec ‘Ko-Bra-4-4’ brake upgrade kit for V6-engined cars, from a first-time Hangar 111 customer:

“I’ve been running my Exige V6 for close to two years, the car is used mainly for track and weekend outings. I typically run about 6 track days a year with an intention to get to 2 track days a month over the course of 2016.

Many Lotus Exige owners have been fairly happy with their brake setup, however many including myself, found the initial weak point of the setup being the brake fluid used from the factory. I found for example, my brake fluid needed changing after just one hard track day.

Over time as with anything, consumables need replacing, and it was time for a pad and disc upgrade. I had had issues with drilled disks before, holes filling up and needing maintaining etc… So as I looked at what options where available I was keen to ensure I upgraded to grooved discs, I was also keen to look at upgrading to a 2-piece disc setup as found on the Lotus Exige V6 CUP which interestingly is also grooved and not drilled as per the standard v6. My options where to upgrade to the CUP setup from Lotus Motorsport, or look go aftermarket.

It’s here where I realised that there were not many tested options available to the market, other than the KoBra 4-4 setup from Komo-Tec which had been available for over a year and had done thousands of miles testing on the Nurburgring.

As is always the case when looking at OEM vs aftermarket, there’s always that doubt or concern as to if going aftermarket is the right thing to do, will it be of the same quality as OEM, will it work, will I get support etc.. etc..

So with this in mind I reached out to Hangar 111 as I wanted to test the level of UK support available as I wasn’t too keen on relying on overseas support by buying direct from Komo-Tec. Not that I had any concern with Komo-Tec, but basically I wanted someone local I could get hold off in the event of something going wrong! I was very pleased with the speed of response from Hangar 111 to all my questions, equally the depth of their answers gave me the confidence not only that they knew what they were talking about, but equally they knew the Komo-Tec products, and if they didn’t know the answer straight away they’d have me a firm answer within 24 hours.

With regret I wasn’t able to get such a high speed response from my local Lotus dealer who I had enquired about the Lotus Motorsport option.

Putting support aside I also looked at the cost difference, and was surprised to see the high cost of the Lotus Motorsport kit. In essence with the Lotus kit you also have to purchase a new set of pads, where on the Komo-Tec kit Performance Friction pads for the front and back come as part of the package. So the Komo-Tec kit is a more complete package and actually cheaper than the Lotus option.

So knowing the Komo-Tec kit was well proven – I even got to speak to Komo-Tec’s test driver! Support in the UK from Hangar111 was great, and from a price perspective and complete package it was better than Lotus Motorsport. I went ahead with my order for the KoBra 4-4 setup via Hangar111.

Within a week the kit had arrived and was installed. The kit itself is a work of art, everything looks extremely well engineered, for example the bells are nicely engraved with the Komo-Tec logo, the hardware is of the highest quality, and the finish makes it a real shame to hide them behind the wheels! The instructions were comprehensive and pretty easy to follow.

After a brief bedding in period I was out at my local circuit (Castle Combe) and ready to really test the kit under track day pressure. The durability of the KoBra system is pretty phenomenal as a package it did not budge from being epic all day. The feel of the pedal and brake was consistently strong and did not degrade at all and this is after a good second half of the day whereby my confidence was at the highest and I started to attack lap times. The stopping power is so good I’ve had to re-evaluate my normal braking points, thus allowing me to brake even later, and building further confidence in holding higher speeds into the corners.

At the end of the day I checked over the brakes and they looked as new as when I started, the other advantage of the KoBra system using Performance Friction components also seems to result in pretty much zero brake dust.

Highly recommend both the Komo-Tec product and Hangar 111.”

Customer review of the EV430 performance upgrade for the Evora:

“As the organiser of a successful car event in North East Scotland, I always find myself searching around for ways to differentiate my own car from that of the many hundreds of entrants that compete and display at my event each summer. Traditionally I have achieved this simply by changing my car for another one. In 2013 I had a Lotus Evora S and in 2014 I was running a lovely Lotus Exige V6. However, not long after the 2014 event I was given the opportunity to get into a brand new Lotus Evora S SR in solar yellow – and the temptation was just too great to resist. However… coming back to the same old problem… I had already exhibited an Evora at my event, and in any case – the Evora wasn’t nearly as potent on a track as the Exige had already proven to be.

I’ve always been a fan of Hangar 111, but given my geographical location they were never really on my radar as a viable option for tuning. When I first got to hear about the EV430 kit, I was very interested and deeply curious as to how this would affect the character of the Evora. I’ve never been left wanting from the car; it’s on road behaviour is remarkable – with a pliancy through the chassis which is echoed by its power delivery. OK – so it could do with more power… but as a GT car the Evora is a lovely place to be. What would happen if you bolted another 90hp to it with no additional weight (arguably a saving in weight once the heavy OEM exhaust system and airbox have been ditched!).

I spent some time trying to find some meaningful reviews, but apart from a few YouTube clips I couldn’t find anything to really help me make up my mind. I gave Hangar 111 a call in January 2015 and started dialogue with Greg which would ultimately see me travelling to Suffolk in the summertime to get the kit fitted. Greg was a great source of information and support – and his enthusiasm for the kit finally convinced me that this was the right thing to do.

One evening, around 9pm, in June 2015, I set off from my house in rural Aberdeenshire and started the 600mile journey towards Suffolk. It’s fair to say that this was the longest single journey which I had ever undertaken in any of my Lotus’. I was pleased to be in a comfortable and relatively quiet cruiser – and was thankful for my mod-cons and cruise control. I made steady progress through the night and arrived in Suffolk in the early morning, ready for a shower and some breakfast at the campsite which I had decided to stay in – some ¾ mile or so from Hangar 111 itself. I averaged 31mpg on the trip down to Suffolk.

The car was booked in for 9am, so after breakfast I dropped the car off – had a cup of tea with Greg and Marianne and talked through the procedure. I also looked around at some other fantastic cars which were at the workshop – including a lovely S1 Esprit and several cracking Elise’s. We went out for a run in the Evora to check that everything was running properly and then Greg drove me back to my campsite so I could get some sleep.

Much later……. I remember distinctively hearing the unmistakable sound of a V6 motor being wound up. I gave the workshop a call out of curiosity to be told that Greg was out road testing my Evora and it might have been my car that I had heard. I made my way back to the workshop to be greeted by a beaming Greg. He claimed that it was a proper sports car now….. real supercar punch. Well, I guess I would be the judge of that. I leapt in the car and took it down the road just to get an initial impression. To be perfectly honest – I wasn’t expecting much – I already knew what the car was like, and I wasn’t convinced that it would have changed that much. OH MY GOD. It was amazing. Brutal, relentless, noisy, scary, playful,….. it’s got just enough power to remind you that this will quite easily ruin your day if you don’t respect it. And I had never ever experienced that in an Evora before. This thing would destroy an Exige. This thing would destroy pretty much any car which came up alongside it on the road.

I went back to the workshop and duly handed over my money and tried to stop smiling. I was seriously impressed. The kit, the installation, the service – the genuine enthusiasm for the product and the cars. I had come along way – and it felt as though that mattered. I said my goodbyes and headed back to the campsite where I packed up and set about my journey home. I knew the car was quick – and I knew that I could get home much quicker if I dared…. However, not only was I tired, but sods-law told me that the police would be on to me as soon as I put my foot down. I adopted the same approach to the journey as I had on the way down – cruise control on – and set about making steady progress home. I averaged 30mpg.

Since the kit has been installed I have covered a couple of thousand miles. The kit has never caused me any problems at all, and when driving around on a daily basis you just cannot tell that it is there…. Which is probably the biggest compliment I could give it. It’s a little nosier, but it’s not intrusive in any way – and the mpg is still very reasonable. Its civilised, well made and attainable. I can’t say more than that.

I have also taken the car to the west of Scotland for a boys weekend with my dad who was riding a lovely Ducati 1198P. That’s a very very fast bike which taught me that the EV430 is a very very very fast car. With the exhaust valve opened, accelerating hard this thing will demolish gears…. Its appetite for the redline and the way it pulls in the 2^nd half of the rev range is frightening. The car moves around under you. You are always very conscious that there is now “more power” than grip…… spinning the wheels from 4^th into 5^th on a greasy road was a particular highlight……. The car feels so alive and so raw. It was a perfect partner for the bike…. Although arguably the overall dimensions of the Evora held it back on some of the minor roads where the EX430 (Exige) would be like a ballistic missile!

And as for my Event? Well I competed in ‘pursuits’ against a 911 Turbo and a TVR Tuscan R. I also took part in a (for fun) drag race against a Nissan GTR and a Jaguar XFR-S. Nothing came close to me.

Don’t think about whether you need an EV/ EX430 kit for a second longer. You have decided to read this because, like me, you have pretty much already made up your mind but you can’t quite imagine how it is going to feel. You wanted more power…. And this is pretty much close to perfection. The 430 kit does everything which the new Evora400 does – and then throws another 30hp into the mix for good measure. It is guaranteed to make you laugh and scream (in equal measure) every time you drive it.”