Bye Bye 996TT hello something MUCH faster!!!
Bye Bye 996TT hello something MUCH faster!!!
Author
Discussion

northnoble

Original Poster:

362 posts

216 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
After 2 years (and quite a few £000's) I decided a proper (read relaible and fun) toy is what I wanted. Bye bye remapped 996 and hello Ariel Atom 3 300 bounce

OMG....different league...

Much faster acceleration
Much better road feel (helped by seeing the wheels etc)
Much better driving experience
Much better public reaction...waves not fingers!

OK...bl**dy freezing in this weather (without the right gear) but if you want a toy, throw away your over engineered, expensive pampered cruiser and buy a proper racer!

not looking back, despite 2 years of fun.

byebye



Matt Seabrook

563 posts

281 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
Glad your enjoying the Atom. Having come from a Westfield with slightly better performance on the track than your Atom I can understand your enthusiasm for this type of car but I found it just too impractical with the UK weather and used it less and less so brought a Cayman and have not looked back wink

Henry-F

4,791 posts

275 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
northnoble said:
After 2 years (and quite a few £000's) I decided a proper (read relaible and fun) toy is what I wanted. Bye bye remapped 996 and hello Ariel Atom 3 300 bounce

OMG....different league...

Much faster acceleration
Much better road feel (helped by seeing the wheels etc)
Much better driving experience
Much better public reaction...waves not fingers!

OK...bl**dy freezing in this weather (without the right gear) but if you want a toy, throw away your over engineered, expensive pampered cruiser and buy a proper racer!

not looking back, despite 2 years of fun.

byebye
Good luck.

I've only seen 2 Atoms but had a chance to give them a really good look.










They were both sitting in the pits with owners who couldn't get them started!

Henry smile

northnoble

Original Poster:

362 posts

216 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
joys of having a bike battery...but keep them trickle charged and no problem.....unlike a RMS/IMS engine rebuild!!!

Citrus7

1,672 posts

211 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
Congrats on the new toy. Had a Atom 3 245 for 6 months, mainly winter , and had a great time.

Having a friend who had same car for 3 years, plus my experience over the 6 months and 3k miles, have to say it was ultra reliable. Never had to do a thing to it , other than fuel and some new rear tyres (get used to that consumable with the 300 wink )

Make sure you checkout the Atom Owners forum. Good bunch of guys there.

Enjoy.



Edited by Citrus7 on Tuesday 5th February 20:31

northnoble

Original Poster:

362 posts

216 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
Agreed! Been told it sets records for eating tyres.......but at £100 a shot, not the worst problem in the world!

Citrus7

1,672 posts

211 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
2K miles with spirited driving.

Remember 1st passenger ride in a 300, with spirited driver, where he struggle to change gear fast enough in 1st 3 gears, with the inevitable wheels spin too.

One of the cheapest performance cars out there in real terms.

davek_964

11,302 posts

205 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
northnoble said:
joys of having a bike battery...but keep them trickle charged and no problem.....unlike a RMS/IMS engine rebuild!!!
Ah, but you had a turbo - you didn't need to worry about that. wink

northnoble

Original Poster:

362 posts

216 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
Had to worry about clutches, coolant failures, oil gauges, failed keys, radiators etc etc

davek_964

11,302 posts

205 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
northnoble said:
Had to worry about clutches, coolant failures, oil gauges, failed keys, radiators etc etc
I don't tend to worry about stuff on mine at all - generally seems to be very reliable, and stuff like clutches are simply consumables.

Glad you're happy with the replacement though. Think it's a bit hardcore for me these days - I'd rather pay for a new clutch on a 996 turbo than use an Atom at this time of year! smile

jackal

11,251 posts

312 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
northnoble said:
After 2 years (and quite a few £000's) I decided a proper (read relaible and fun) toy is what I wanted. Bye bye remapped 996 and hello Ariel Atom 3 300 bounce

OMG....different league...

Much faster acceleration
Much better road feel (helped by seeing the wheels etc)
Much better driving experience
Much better public reaction...waves not fingers!

OK...bl**dy freezing in this weather (without the right gear) but if you want a toy, throw away your over engineered, expensive pampered cruiser and buy a proper racer!

not looking back, despite 2 years of fun.

byebye
Congrats and enjoy. There really is no substitute for a proper lightweight.

Ikebaddog

318 posts

165 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
northnoble said:
After 2 years (and quite a few £000's) I decided a proper (read relaible and fun) toy is what I wanted. Bye bye remapped 996 and hello Ariel Atom 3 300 bounce

OMG....different league...

Much faster acceleration
Much better road feel (helped by seeing the wheels etc)
Much better driving experience
Much better public reaction...waves not fingers!

OK...bl**dy freezing in this weather (without the right gear) but if you want a toy, throw away your over engineered, expensive pampered cruiser and buy a proper racer!

not looking back, despite 2 years of fun.

byebye
Had a go in an Atom a while ago, fabulous driver, couldnt afford to buy one so got a Caterham as next best thing, same principle, lightness spanks power, love it.

northnoble

Original Poster:

362 posts

216 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
davek_964 said:
northnoble said:
Had to worry about clutches, coolant failures, oil gauges, failed keys, radiators etc etc
I don't tend to worry about stuff on mine at all - generally seems to be very reliable, and stuff like clutches are simply consumables.

Glad you're happy with the replacement though. Think it's a bit hardcore for me these days - I'd rather pay for a new clutch on a 996 turbo than use an Atom at this time of year! smile
Good point......that's what my X3 35D Turbo is for.........suppose it depends what you want your car/toy for!

6C4GTS

5,186 posts

208 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
From reading your posts on here on various issues i think you have had an unlucky time with the turbo - moving from a noble should have been a whole new world of reliability. Some cars just seem awkward - I've got a mate with a 997 turbo which seems to break down for comedy value!

Good luck with the atom - look forward to seeing it making an appearance on the next PH run in the frozen north.

OggyDJ

533 posts

172 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
6C4GTS said:
I've got a mate with a 997 turbo which seems to break down for comedy value!.
Break down.....never !

Oh, wait a minute frown



Enjoy the Ariel, at least if that breaks down you can carry it to the garage !

marky911

4,433 posts

249 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
Nice one op!

Got to hand it to those Atoms they go alright. No good for a weekend away with my lass though. I'd rather have the 911 and a cheaper trackcar.

I used to run this Global GT Light. Great fun when it worked but it didn't always work. smile
Atoms couldn't catch me very often mind. wink




Matt Seabrook

563 posts

281 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
Light weight is great my old Westfield was under 500kg. Light weight and down force is something else though.

Terminator X

20,721 posts

234 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
How do the top speeds compare?

TX.

Terminator X

20,721 posts

234 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
How do the top speeds compare?

TX.

northnoble

Original Poster:

362 posts

216 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
Terminator X said:
How do the top speeds compare?

TX.
Both go marginally above the national speed limit........one gets there a whole let quicker!

But seriously, it's the experience that you remember bow