Drove the 160 today

[catgreenhorse]

Went to see Tom at the factory today. Fantastic afternoon and what a great guy- very helpful.
Coming to Ariel from a 7 Superlight. The difference is awesome. I found the lightness of the steering and compliant ride at fast road speed's the biggest contrast's to my Superlight. The std brakes took some getting used to - lots of pedal travel and then I found them easy to lock up. What do you guys think about the brake bias adjuster is it worth specifying for track use?

Any thoughts on essential's to spec for fast road and c10 trackdays per year. Tom suggests 15" wheels and tyres, comp rod ends. Is it worth spec'cing anything else for this type of use?#
Regards
Rich

[scottsman]

Rich,

I hope you enjoyed it. If it was WA04 LKD then you drove my car!! I've to wait a few more weeks before Tom can "release" it.

If it was this car then it already has competition discs and pads front and rear although not the Alcon 4 pots. They say this doesn't improve the braking - just keeps them a little cooler. Certainly won me over.

>> Edited by scottsman on Tuesday 15th February 21:23

[Bruce Fielding]

catgreenhorse said:

What do you guys think about the brake bias adjuster is it worth specifying for track use?

Yes, it's great to help understand the difference that brake bias can make - and on the Atom, it's nice to have the fronts lock up before the rears so that you can see as well as feel what you're doing and adjust accordingly...

catgreenhorse said:

Any thoughts on essentials to spec for fast road and c10 trackdays per year. Tom suggests 15" wheels and tyres, comp rod ends. Is it worth spec'ing anything else for this type of use?

Competition rod ends are definitely a must. I'm not sure if the baffled sump is standard or an option but that's useful, too. After that, it all depends on how serious you are about track work. If you want to be seriously quick around the bends then there's lots you can do in wheels, tyres, suspension, brakes etc..., but the truly superb thing about the Atom is that upgrades are about on a par with other machinery (Caterfield/Elise etc.) in terms of item cost but cheaper in labour terms as there's less effort to do it! For fast roads, you might want the bubble screen. I'd also get an electrical outlet sorted, as you'll use it for comms and heated clothing etc...

As far as I'm aware, these are the current factory options (if I'm wrong, newer owners, please let me know...) along with my own purely personal opinion in your case, Rich

Road Pack - essential
UK Single Vehicle Approval Test - essential
Limited Slip Differential - essential
Baffled Sump - essential
Aluminium Radiator - cosmetic (I think?)
Competition Discs/Pads Front - good for track use
Competition Discs/Pads Rear - good for track use
Alcon 4 Pot Caliper/290mm Disc Front Brakes - good for serious racers
Bilstein Alum. Dampers - Adjustable Spring Platform - useful on 220bhp+
Bilstein Alum. Dampers – Adjustable Bounce & Rebound - good for track use
Eibach Race Springs and Assister Springs - good for track use
Competition Rod Ends - essential
Competition Steering Rack - good for track use, hopeless on the road
Removable QR SPA Steering wheel boss - good security deterrent, but not essential
Suede Steering wheel with gearshift lights - mostly cosmetic, but handy
Aerofoil Package - mostly cosmetic, unless you're a serious racer
Stainless Silencer - standard?
Stainless 4 - 2 - 1 Manifold - standard?
Stainless Cat By Pass Pipe - cosmetic, but sounds lovely!
Polished complete Stainless System/Stainless Flanges - cosmetic
Stainless Steel Bolts and Fixings - cosmetic
15” Wheel/Tyre Package - ideal for 160bhp
16” Wheel/Tyre Package - ideal for 220bhp+
17” Wheel/Tyre Package - cosmetic
16” Wheel/Track Tyre Package - essential for track use
16” Magnesium Wheel/Track tyre Package - serious race drivers with deep pockets only
Tinted Screen - cosmetic, but cool
Twin Bubble Screen - good for lots of road driving
High Level Brake light - not essential but handy in town
Locking Fuel Cap - depends where the car's kept
Seat/Instrument Panel Anti Slip Coating - essential
Aluminium Gear Knob/Handbrake Grip - cosmetic, but most have it
3” FIA Seat Belts - essential for track use
3” Seat Belt Pads - useful for touring
2” Seat Belt pads - useful for touring
Car cover interior fitted stretch fleece - cosmetic
Car cover exterior fitted shower proof - cosmetic unless you don't have garage
Electrical outlet - essential
Autocom - essential
Side Panels - good for extended road use in bad weather

Edited to add a couple of items I forgot

>> Edited by Bruce Fielding on Tuesday 15th February 21:35

[ross.mcw]

Don't worry about the baffled sump on the 160 - it's a very different design internally to the 220 and doesn't need it.

If you're going for a low cost road/track day car, then the basic 160 with road pack on 15" wheels should be a really good purchase IMHO.

Keep the costs down on this one, run it for a year, then sell it (you won't lose much at all) and upgrade to a 220 with all the 'bits' a year later.

...oh and yep, the competition rod ends should be standard I reckon given how important they are.

Cheers, Ross.

>> Edited by ross.mcw on Tuesday 15th February 22:24

[catgreenhorse]

Guys,
thanks for the advice, Ross I think you've hit the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned, the standard 160 spec is for me until I have the funds to upgrade to 220 with all the toys. Scottsman, yes I think the car was your's & Tom was very gentle with it. V impressed with his approach. You are a lucky man,this spec is v similar to what I'm looking at. Hope to see you at Bedford on the 5th. Tom said he may bring a car along to the RMA day.
Regards
Rich

[S2satom]

For fast road and some track use in a 160, why are the comp rod ends considered essential?

How are the comp versions different and under what conditions do they become important i.e. fast, high stress corners?

Cheers Stewart

[ross.mcw]

I believe the competition grade rod ends are just a higher grade material and so should be less prone to fatigue related failure.

I think I'm the only one that's had a complete failure of a standard rod end on the road, but believe me - that was as scary as hell and no amount of money will convince me to take anything less than the best parts for items like this in the future

IMPORTANT NOTE. My original car was one of the earliest mark 1 Atoms and the part that failed was a smaller size in comparison to all the later cars. I'm not aware of any other failures of this type at all.

[coxm]

I'd agree with general sentiment and not go mad on this one.

If you have competition rod ends; the brake bias is something you can easily adjust with an allen key so I wouldn't bother with the remote; and the 15/16 wheel package, you can make more of a difference by changing the tyres than spending a pile more money up front. I can't speak for the sump point.

If its relevant, I have the ex-dem 220 which we are about to sell as we are upgrading to a 300, will be available in May. You may be able to short-circuit straight to a 220 that way.

MC

[Atom120]

Bruntingthorpe have still got one of their Mk1 cars available - only 120bhp, but you could uprate the Rover engine to 160bhp without too much trouble I should think. Plus, they come with the 15/15 wheel package, removable steering wheel, stainless exhaust, competition rod ends ...and come with adjustable (yes, it can, and usually is turned off) traction control which can be handy if you're using it as an everyday car in the wet/snow. For £15k, that's not bad.