Aftermarket mods and accessories for Noble cars

[micknall]

Recently, Noble Automotive has serviced and repaired cars to which modifications have been made that were not authorised or approved by the factory. In one such case, the fitment of an aftermarket system resulted in serious damage to the car’s engine.

While Noble accepts that there are aftermarket products available for its cars which may enhance performance, it should not be assumed that all of these have been subjected to the same rigorous tests through which we put our own standard-fit components. Furthermore, any modification fitted without Noble’s approval may invalidate the car’s warranty.

The factory would also like to advise its owners that approved Noble sales and service centres are ONLY authorised to carry out standard service work, repair work and warranty work. If owners wish to carry out modifications, Noble has a menu of upgrades available (though not to increase engine power) a copy of which can be obtained by e-mailing the factory at [e-mail].

Noble has no wish to spoil your continued enjoyment of its cars, but we would urge all owners to ensure that any non-standard component you may consider having fitted will not affect your vehicle’s safety or reliability.

Regards,

Simon Hucknall
Press Officer
Noble Automotive Ltd.

[matt_fp]

Simon,

Thank you for clarifying the factory position on this matter.

May I take this opportunity to reiterate that all owners wishing to fit any FP upgrades to cars which are still within the warranty period please contact Simon or their supplying dealer first.

Best Regards
Matt Faulks

Faulks Performance

>> Edited by matt_fp on Monday 26th September 11:58

[V6GTO]

Simon...YHM

Martin.

[paulcundy]

Dear Simon,
Whilst obviously not wanting to be seen to endorse or promote any aftermarket mods in terms of improvements; I can see rival suppliers vieing for the best endorsement and of course it would be silly for Noble to promote products that rival your own in house ones.

However I wonder if the situation is a little different where you know of mods that HAVE damaged cars. Note the "have", i.e. not "we think might" or "could possibly" but actually have been proven to harm the car. If its proven theres no liability from saying so in public.

If that's the case it is of importance to all owners both in and out of warranty. If its definitely proven the aftermarket supplier is hardly in a position to nor likely to argue.

So should/could the factory let us know about any proven harmful mods?

What damaged those recently serviced engines?

Presumably it can't be any of the IC upgrades as these merely bring the power back to what is was and not beyond.

Regards
Paul C

>> Edited by paulcundy on Monday 26th September 13:33

[micknall]

Paul,

I'm afraid that we're not in a position to name companies, for obvious reasons.

And just to correct you, only one engine has failed that we're aware of, due to aftermarket modifications.

Simon

[matt_fp]

paulcundy said:

Presumably it can't be any of the IC upgrades as these merely bring the power back to what is was and not beyond. Regards Paul C

Correct, I must stress no FP products were involved in the failure mentioned above.

FP has its own research, development and testing programs which all of our products go through before being made available to owners. A fact demonstrated earlier this year when every privateer Noble M12 race car in the UK was running with development and/or production versions of forthcoming FP products.

Best Regards
Matt


>> Edited by matt_fp on Monday 26th September 13:58

[alex s]

Simon, I assume from the wording of your post, that it was a Noble dealer that supplied/fit the aftermarket part. Following on from this assumption , have you informed the dealer/garage of the damage caused and had assurances from them that they will not in future offer this "upgrade" because of the damage it can cause. Surley if a authorized dealer is to keep their status they should NOT be fitting this "upgrade" any more, and also informing their past clients of the possible outcome of this "upgrade".
Or i could be completly off the mark and it is not from a Noble auth. Garage.
Alex

[amg merc]

Poor Simon, I bet you knew this one would get a good running but you, quite rightly, had to mention it!

[Mr Noble]

Well that puts my LPG conversion and Flux Capasitor mods on hold then. At least till the warranty runs out!


Could someone (Martin?) e-mail me a copy of the Factory approved mods please. Just interested to see if there is anything I've missed!

Thanks.

Greg


>> Edited by Mr Noble on Monday 26th September 18:19

[No-bull]

Simon......So where does that leave me then, with numerous non standard BUT factory fitted mods that I have no specific information on (exact specification & dates of fitment etc)& a Noble official dealer warranty which covers "standard parts" such as turbo's for example, which it turns out may well need more care than normal (Oil cooled I'm told)?!
When/if I bring it in for service will all be revealed I wonder?

>> Edited by No-bull on Wednesday 28th September 14:24

[micknall]

Unfortunately, Noble Automotive cannot stop companies selling aftermarket products for its cars. There are, for sure, reputable outlets that sell products which enhance your car's performance without affecting its durability, but it is up to you - the buyer - to find them and judge for yourself.

We have always stated that the M400, in our opinion, represents the pinnacle of what you can do with this drivetrain and chassis and keep it reliable, safe and driveable. We acknowledge that the M400's package can be fine-tuned, but uprating the power substantially is something we have never tested.

Simon Hucknall
Press Officer
Noble Automotive Ltd.

[micknall]

No-Bull,

Not sure who you are (no name on your profile) so I'm struggling a bit here. If you bought a used car that had had a number of factory upgrades earlier in its life, these may or may not have been covered by the factory warranty at the time, depending on what they were.

Any warranty which kicks in after the first year is NOT approved by the factory, though this does not imply that there is anything wrong with a dealer warranty.

Feel free to e-mail me from my profile if you're at all concerned.

Simon Hucknall
Press Officer
Noble Automotive Ltd.

[ThatPhilBrettGuy]

paulcundy said:

However I wonder if the situation is a little different where you know of mods that HAVE damaged cars.

Ah well, there's the problem. I fit a wizzo enhancer. My widgets then fail. Oky doky, hands up it may be my wizzo enhancer.

Without data on all widget related issues however, I couldn't make an informed decision.... Would my widgets fail anyway at some point? Are there lots of widget problems or is it just me? What can be proved as to the wizzo/widget link?

It's a problem all round really.

[No-bull]

micknall said:

No-Bull, Feel free to e-mail me from my profile if you're at all concerned. Simon Hucknall Press Officer Noble Automotive Ltd.

Thank you for the direct reply, I have e-mailed (lengthy - sorry!).
Steve

[gizard]

Okay here is a question: My Exhaust system is literally disintergrating in all sorts of places - It never fitted properly from the start - it has dents etc. in it - I was told that it was the only way it could be made to fit (this exhaust has only done about 12k) So whilst I am willing to buy a new exhaust system (the whole thing, as I think the manifolds need replacing as well), I am not preparded to buy another std. one as it will probably be just as bad as the current one. Are there any factory approved exhaust systems - that will not damage the engine....

[ThatPhilBrettGuy]

Another thing to throw in the pot is the model being modded. A 3R with it's lower standard power output probably has more of it's components within limits. M400's, unless every part of the engine is changed, must be nearer the edge obviously.

[chillidog]

Matt - YHM
--
Richard