Nomad order - current owner advice

[anonymous-user]

Hi All

I have a deposit down on a Nomad and I'd be really keen to hear from any owners regarding the following:

1. Spec - must have options - I'm going for a hardcore/rallye spec with Ohlins as I'm going to ship it out to Namibia and drive across Southern Africa next year. Particularly interested in body panels and protection options given the fact that I'm going to be in direct sun and dust for a hell of a long time. I've spoken to Tom @ Ariel and they have some options in development but not sure what they constitute or when they'll be available.

2. Any forums/clubs/groups that are worth joining that might help while the days away until the car arrives?

Thanks


Alex

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping to see what existing owners were experiencing with use. I am spec'ing the car for competition with maximum protection and uprated everything. Appreciate that a press car will suffer some abuse but where did you see the greatest wear?

I have been told to expect delivery next summer so I have a lot of time and I held off on ordering for quite some time as I was building a house and was dependent on completion of garaging. Seems TopGear and media interest has stimulated orders and timings were +6months longer than when I first enquired with Henry.

When is yours due? How are you planning on using it?

[anonymous-user]

Lighty said:

Not heard from a single actual owner, hopefully some may come along. Info seems pretty thin on the ground.
I was quoted 9 to 12 months waiting list , and I ordered in Sep 2015. Would be interesting to now when you got your name down.
The most visible damage was on the tub, the Ohlins springs were very stonechipped, car had new suspension arms and fresh wheels, so hard to estimate damage really.
I will use mine to go to work in most days, currently use a Twizy, which is much the same, just slower .
Hope to do a bit of green laneing, I live near the Peak District, so there are plenty of great roads around this area.
A couple of guys on the other thread have cars on order & are expecting delivery quite soon .

The Ohlins are not cheap - I know they do covers for them which I assume will bear some of the cosmetic damage? Bit of patina I don't mind (my neighbour has a Range Rover that looks like it has never seen a muddy puddle and it's ridiculous) but I don't want to have to needlessly replace things. I'm also debating options like heated versus non-heated windscreens.

Seems there are quite a lot of unknowns regarding real world use and appreciate that Ariel are continuing to develop the platform. The all weather protection on the vehicle is of particular interest. Assume so as well for yourself?

I ordered in April and was told 12-14 months. I've just had to wait almost two years for one of my cars so long waits for cars seem to

[anonymous-user]

S10GTA said:

This sounds epic. I assume we'll be able to follow a thread (please!!)

There will be, although indications are there is going to be a long wait (unfortunately).

[anonymous-user]

stormcloud123 said:

Ordered May 2015, I have an expectation of August 2016. It should be a few weeks away from build...but this is Ariel...

Get the heated windscreen, that's all I can really say. They have the weatherproofing 99% done, looks good.

Road car for me so cannot advise on your adventures, sorry.


A.

I look forward to seeing some pictures when it arrives. I'm seeing them week after next so hope to see the weatherproofing. Do you know what it's made of? Assume it's soft panels per the conceptual sketches of the early concept?

[anonymous-user]

I'm not sure I want my vehicle looking like I am some sort of militarist devotee. You're only a roof mounted machine gun away from a coup and driving something with that look across Africa isn't bright and attracts unwanted attention.

I'm hoping that it doesn't require welded eyes. I would hope there is a plexi roof option of some sort. Having the sun beating down on you (not a UK problem judging by this year's summer) is not fun. For a couple of grand, you're in the realm of getting a third party to custom fabricate. Companies like stratasys can print using FDM (thermoplastic filament) which won't add weight.

I'll take pictures and if anyone has any questions, I'm happy to ask when I'm down there next week.

[anonymous-user]

stormcloud123 said:

Agree, I was hoping for a roof only option. Worth investigating, the only issue may be airflow if the circulation is somehow affected and the engine fumes are pulled back into the cabin. Unlikely, but you never know.

You could just pad out the frame, if you google topgear freak of the year award for the nomad you'll see they have rigged up some padding.

Engine fumes in the cabin? Surely the solution is to go faster! I'd be surprised if it was an issue. I think for most of the time, having a roof and side panels to deflect the worst that came off the tyres on turns would be perfect.

Storage on it is currently my dilemma as well. Thinking an offroad trailer might be a solution for the big trip and allow me some extra tyres. I'll speak to the guys when I'm in Somerset.

Did you do a test drive? I'm told it's going to be a bit sedate on public roads to get a feel for the car. I'm keen to experience the suspension options - I have driven a 911 rallye raid car with Ohlins suspension, disregarding the price, I was blown away by just how well it absorbed some serious abuse. Hoping that the Ohlins on the Nomad are of equivalent standard.

[anonymous-user]

stormcloud123 said:

You'd think that about the fumes, but previous experience of other cars tells me otherwise.

Also, they did drop the back window out of the prototype and run sides and roof only (half hood style Caterham thing), said the fumes were a major problem.

Test drive was as you'd expect, a pootle, I expected no different. I can only go by online reviews for real testing. I drove the off-road version with the expensive suspension options, it wasn't that great at all over the bumps and drains of the local area.

I can only imagine it was a heavy off-road setup, I was suppose to be in the orange road based version, but it wasn't available.

What wasn't great about the suspension? If you were on the Ohlins, that should soak up just about anything. I've driven a Porsche rally car at a foot high curb with Ohlins. I was expecting to leave half the car behind. It was incredibly impressive. Bumps/drains you shouldn't have noticed.

I have spoken to the factory and shared my spec so they know the direction I'm going in, hopefully I'll get a car to drive that is someway toward what I'm going to buy.

[anonymous-user]

Lighty said:

I test drove the off-road version with Ohlins & thought the suspension was sublime. Performance was not a ballistic as expected, which is why I am keen to get the supercharged version.
I was able to go pretty fast on the test & it's a bit like trying to drive a short wheel base land rover with plenty of poke, the knobbly tyres flexing along with the suspension makes it great fun even at steady speeds.
Felt like you could go straight off road and into a field without issue.
Looking forward to a drive in the forced induction version.

Interesting to hear that it wasn't as quick as you expected. I've been having a debate about the supercharger and am spec'ing with a view to having the option to add it later versus 'throwing away' parts. I'd be interested in finding out if there is any lag from anyone who has driven the supercharged version, I know all the journalists say that it's better but I'd like to make up my mind for myself. I also need to draw the line on my spec as well - it's currently at £60k!

[anonymous-user]

timjhhk said:

Hi

Ordered mine early August 15, spoke to the guys this week and was told to expect it around October. They are definitely getting through the build list but it looks like everyone is spec'ing the cars to a higher level than they expected hence the delays. I understand they look at a 120 hour build for a basic car which can stretch to 200+ with all the toys added.

My car will very much be for fun so probably wont go for the hard-core suspension options. Plan is to keep it in Yorkshire for a couple of years before shipping it out to its permanent home in Thailand.

Would be great to hear of other peoples ownership experiences.

Congratulations. What spec have you gone for? Going for the basic car doesn't make sense to me but what I thought was refreshing was the fact that they won't charge you to add options later i.e. supercharger. I'm used to Porsche who have somehow managed to break down the entire cost of a head unit into every component part and make it chargeable. To add anything afterwards, you're utterly gouged.

Be interested to hear of your delivery experience and to see some pictures.

[anonymous-user]

stormcloud123 said:

I am no suspension expert, and the test drive was a while ago, I just had an expectation of gliding over all but the most ferocious pot holes. In reality, even rumbling over drains I felt. A reason I felt the Atom was a little tiresome on the road was the stiff suspension, UK roads are poor. (negated quite a bit by the 10 point suspension I had fitted).

My expectation would be the same. Do you know what seats were fitted - I've been debating the difference to the carbon fibre. Just wondering how much feel they transmit back as they look pretty unforgiving. All my cars offer a lot more padding than the Nomad so I'm expecting a bit of objection come my wife's first passenger ride.

[anonymous-user]

stormcloud123 said:

Agree on the speed, think the basics of an Ariel is that they are fast, the 235 didn't feel it especially. I have ordered the heavy duty clutch and oil cooler in advance of having the charger fitted when funds allow. Clutch and Cooler are requirements for the charger, and the clutch is a labour intensive engine out job, so saving the labour rates on that for the return journey.

Similar strategy to me then. I guess it depends what you're used to as well. I was told that there were no additional labour costs for the upgrade, if you add the supercharger, the labour is rolled into that already. I guess the big question will be how they manage that into their production cycle - I would not want to wait a year or so for an upgrade to the vehicle.

[anonymous-user]

Lighty said:

I initially thought no supercharger was a good idea, but I wouldn't be happy thinking it wasn't the fastest possible. It's all about speed for me Iam afraid. I have driven most cars of every type, and was expecting it to be very fast, being so light.
However it was only reasonably fast. I was hoping for "terrifying".
My order went in September 15 , so am now expecting complete toon at the end of the year, or early next.
Cost is a real issue, as the options get stupid, mine is up near £60k , without a few items I would like, bet you could get to £70 k without much trouble, which is insane.

I'm hoping for something that'll put the frighteners on. I'm advised that the supercharger is a bad idea if I drive it anywhere with fuel that isn't of a high quality. Hopefully I'll be happy with NA.

[anonymous-user]

timjhhk said:

As I mentioned before, I ordered mine in early August last year.

I just got mail from Ariel telling me not to expect delivery before "early 2017", anyone who is thinking 9-12 months waiting needs to reset expectations to closer to 16-18 months

Factory told me 12-14 months from today when I spoke to them earlier. What was your original delivery lead time?

[anonymous-user]

Not sure I like that spec. Would have to swap out suspension and too many other parts.

If anyone is interested, this is the all weather protection. Thought it looked good.

[anonymous-user]

foxsasha said:

Is there any sort of race series for the Nomads yet? I'd love one but would want to be able to use it properly off road.

The Ohlins won't automatically give a magic carpet ride, it depends entirely on the set up. I expect can specify what you want from them. If you want ride quality then ask for that but bear in mind that you can't have it all. The better the ride quality the softer the spring and damping rates have to be so the more pitch and roll you'll get and less suitable the car will be for more aggressive driving. Having said that the damping adjustment range is huge with Ohlins so it could be that the test car had the dampers all set to hard hence the firm ride and just backing them off would have given you the ride quality you were expecting.

I think a race series relies on there being a sufficient number of Nomads being built! Ultimately, I'd like to compete in a race series but I think we're a few years away from that - I will ask Henry as I'm at the factory on Friday and see what progress has been made on that front.

I have been looking at green lanes and depending on where you are, you can generally find some rough tracks and also a few 4x4 centres dotted across the country have facilities. There is one about 20 miles away from me in Newmarket with a 6km rallycross track which is open to vehicles so there are options beyond just driving it on the road or in a series. It's why I posted this thread to see how people were using them.

Yeah, any setup is going to have some sort of bias but my experience of Ohlins is that they are sufficiently adjustable to give you what you want in concert with the rest of the setup of course. Try having a discussion with Ariel about tyres/wheels! I think it has been the longest part of the conversation regarding my spec.

[anonymous-user]

foxsasha said:

Non competitive play days would probably be enough to convince me, just the ability to hammer it somewhere off road. I've had modified 4x4s and have done a lot of greenlaning on enduro bikes over the years. Most 4x4 centres are designed for slow tricky progress rather than quick and you'd soon get annoyed with opening gates when greenlaning! I gave up on it with a bike as there are so few lanes to play on.

Access to rally cross tracks sounds like it would be a lot of fun. I wonder if you could enter something like this:

http://www.norc.org.uk

I've been looking at rally cross in my area (London + Suffolk). I think the trick is getting sufficient numbers of people together and hiring a place out. Wild Tracks who are near me in Cambridge - http://www.wildtracksltd.co.uk/off-road-4x4 - their course has a combination of surfaces including more technical elements which require snorkels and winches but a lot of loose surface. It's not that much to hire for a day - £350 or so which is probably worth it if you get 8-10 people together.

Yeah, opening gates, not my thing. My place out of London is semi-rural and there is plenty of farmland that I hope to be using. I've got some big trips planned for mine but for pure road use, I have better tools for the job so I need to ensure I can use it as intended. I'm surprised Ariel don't do more to foster the community but maybe it's because I've not joined the Ariel Owner's Club. Still, if you're thinking of one, it would encourage me to take the leap.

[anonymous-user]

stormcloud123 said:

Not tried CF, the standard is pretty comfortable and flexible (certainly better than the 'bench' in the Atom). TBH, you'd be better spending the CF money on padding yourself.

Yeah and waterproofing!

[anonymous-user]

stormcloud123 said:

When I bought a 245 Atom years ago, the SuperCharger was just over 5k I think on the options list. Ariel policy was that if you wanted a supercharger further down the line then come back and they'll charge you the option list price, which they did, all good.

With the Nomad, the SuperCharger has 2 other parts it needs, an oil cooler and an uprated clutch. So the 5k or so SuperCharger (similar price to Atom SC but different type / model) is now in reality a 7.5k option.

Anyhow, the Atom SC was a few days job (fit and shake down), a week or so to book the job in. I have no mechanical knowledge, but from the turn around time, it's a pretty easy job for them and mostly bolt-on. So I would be disappointed if they could not easily fit it in around Nomad builds, for the time it would take them it looks like easy money. Hence probably why they offer the bring it back and honour option price.

I think the oil cooler is an easy fit, but the clutch is a labour intensive 'engine out' job. So the labour on the clutch is the extra cost you want to avoid, this can be done by adding it to your spec sheet.

Hope that makes some sense.

It does and all really helpful. Tom said that it takes them 4 days but didn't mention how this will work from a scheduling perspective. That assumes you've taken the cooler and clutch already.

[anonymous-user]

stormcloud123 said:

Agree.

15-18mths should be the expectation

Mine seems to have slipped a week or two (expected from experience), but the chassis is in production from what I can tell, excitement builds!

Annoying when you can see the early dealers collecting and flipping the car.

If it's in build, I'll likely see it Friday. I'll take some pictures if you want so DM me some details and if I can get some shots, I will. Waiting for cars on long lead times is excruciatingly painful. I've just been through it with my last car which got delayed by 6 months for various part stop orders and custom paint. Communication was terrible from the manufacturer so having some pictures or information is always a bonus.