Help please! Potential new owner with some daft questions...

[northnoble]

All, am a car nut at heart but have a couple of pet hates (silly maintenance costs and/or breakdowns and speed bumps/sloped driveways)

Last 2 cars have been a Noble M12 and a Porsche 996 turbo. Got fed up with the noble as it was so low I couldn't go anywhere and in reality it kept breaking down (but always gave me an enormous smile when it was working) so tried a 570bhp 911 with all the creature comforts.....but it cost me a fortune to maintain (5k a year) and in reality I only used it about the same amount as the noble ie at weekends in good weather!

So, have decided I want a real but reliable toy!...........step forward the Ariel Atom 3 300

Questions.......

How reliable and what is a realistic annual maintenance budget assuming say 2000 miles and 3 sensible track days?

My driveway has a bit of a slope - Porsche was ok but Noble got stuck! What will an Ariel be like?

Finally, anyone with an Ariel in the Dundee/Aberdeen area......please PM me, would love a chat.

Thanks,

Hamish

[fishboy]

only had mine for a few months
speed humps are a bit of a pain but you can rase the nose a bit , so not to much of a problem
it goed up my drive much better than the vipers ive had
if you get ariel to service it once a year its around £600
and oil changes are easy to do your self castral magnetec £20 a change

[KMF]

The Atom is not an expensive car to run. It has a Honda Civic type R or type S engine so the engine servicing will cost the same as that car. Some are fitted with 15" wheels so those even have cheap tyres (195-50-15). Track tyres can be expensive, and do not last well, either Toyo 888 or Yokohama AO48. Some fit road tyres Yoko AD08 (best road tyre) or (not as good) Toyo T1R (cheap). The suspention is were you can have more costs with the fully adjustable Rose Jointed suspention. Replacement and set of replacements. You will never find another car anywere that will give you so much attention and respect with other sports car enthusiasts. Even the 120hp cars will be faster that most other cars on the road. Nothing will catch a 300. The Atom realy is an asault on your senses and not good to drive in the cold

[fishboy]

dont talk to me about tyres

[KMF]

Hehehe i am putting the AD08s on my car not bad for the 195-50-15 as i dont track it, just road use.

[fishboy]

you can poke those AO48"s in the cold , i was nearly dead cos of those

[KMF]

Do'nt know, I do'nt do cold. If its's under 15 then I I'm not goin out. I have soft top cars for 32 years so its not a novelty for me. Perhaps I am just getin old.
One of the good things with the Atom is that Honda engine. It's a super engine, givin super car performance on a budget with bomb proof reliability. It would seem most cost can be with tyres, suspention and set up but that is not anywere near supercar bills. The chassis is a work of art, you cold hang one on the wall at the Tate. I had a Caterham before the Atom but those Ford engines are no were as nice as the Honda engines. Definately recommend one.

[northnoble]

Thanks for all the quick responses. Thankfully much as expected. Happy with the reliability of the Honda engine (had an imported CRX with the 1.6 Vtec engine.......put 60,000 miles on it and only problem in almost 3 years was a new clutch) what are the electrics like on the Atom? That was the Nobles biggest problem!

I think my biggest problem/concern is getting it in and out of my drive. Are the lowest hanging front and rear parts reasonably solid? I had to put boards down to get the Noble out and that drove me crazy!!!

Thanks again.

[fishboy]

my viper and my pals lambo would only go up one side of my drive , the other side was a no go , even my pals celica wouldn't go up it ,
but the atom does no problem at all , both sides

[KMF]

electrics like on the Atom?

What are those. The air con is to die for tho.
It is rather basic
I have never caught the underside of my car on a speed bump but you do have to drive very slowly over them.

[northnoble]

[quote=KMF]electrics like on the Atom?

Kind of hoping for lights and indicators!.........indicating was sometimes a challenge for the Noble as was its oil and temp gauges!........but great fun when they did!

[northnoble]

fishboy said:

my viper and my pals lambo would only go up one side of my drive , the other side was a no go , even my pals celica wouldn't go up it ,
but the atom does no problem at all , both sides

That's what I want to hear......cheers.

[northnoble]

fishboy said:

my viper and my pals lambo would only go up one side of my drive , the other side was a no go , even my pals celica wouldn't go up it ,
but the atom does no problem at all , both sides

Just had a look at your profile picture.......another daft question, how big a difference does the windscreen and side panels make for day road driving? I know the windscreen can be retrofitted (approx £1500) so assume the side panels can be...or did your car come with them?

Apologies for more daft questions......haven't asked enough of them in the past and regretted it later.

[KMF]

Windscreen and side panels can only be retro fitted to an Atom 3. Side panels can be retro fitted to an Atom 2. The 3 is slightly wider than the 2 across the top tubes and the windscreen was only designed for the 3. I have never tried an Atom with a windscreen but i am sure my wife would like it much more.
Anything under 15 and it is not too nice to be in.

[swampy56]

I've had both cars 500hp noble and 300 atom, the atom is more fun by far, noble was a lot lower than the atom.
Swampy

[spikeyhead]

I had a nightmare drive when I lived in Luton yet never had a problem with the Atom. Maintenance is and oil and filter change annually, along with a fuel filter and gearbox oil change and check everything else is ok.

I'm currently running AD08s and have a set of full wets on different rims for winter use.

Get some decent skiwear and it's an all year car.

[tim_bailey125]

I am living in Italy and now on my second Atom. I drove mine out from the UK 3 months ago through rain and snow with no problems other than cold feet! In 10k miles of road driving I have never hit the bottom of the car on a speed bump, and it has no issues on my crazy Neapolitan sloped driveway. Being nowhere near a reputable dealer, I service the car myself and even with my limited skill/knowledge it is very simple. I have not paid a penny to a dealer in over 18 months of ownership. Clearly you are better off getting it done at the factory, but needs must!

[FlyingTrotter]

"What are the electrics like" ?

Well the lights are crap and have been No 1 owner winge for the last 10 years - headlights ugly and light the footwell not road - others tend to suffer with bulbs falling out of sockets especially after track days BUT there are now new lights and they are retrofittable and plenty of owners have fitted there own choice of lights

Indicators do not self cancel - means you tend to leave them on but it's hardly a massive deal and if you don't get used to it you can get an aftermarket solution for a small cost

What else ? Spa analogue dash is pretty good but there is now a new race tech dash 2 option again retrofittable

Fuels gauge is crap but you get used to it

I wouldn't pass on a car because of concerns over electrics !!

[northnoble]

Job done

Ariel 3 300 delivered a couple of days ago

Thanks for all the input! Just want some dry weather now

Cheers

H