MDifficult’s E82 1M Coupe & Ariel Atom 3
Discussion
Court_S said:
BMW’s digital dash is horrible; I hate the shape and the colours. It seems far less resolved than those of the competition.
How did you find the driving nannies? I had a new one series a few weeks ago and the lane departure system did my head in especially because you had to kill it every time you started the car. It’s flash the speed up too if you crept over the limit.
The new interiors do feel very well put together though.
Totally agree, the interior was absolutely fantastic, with a lot of touch-points putting the M5 to shame. As for the nannies, two occasions where they really hacked me off…How did you find the driving nannies? I had a new one series a few weeks ago and the lane departure system did my head in especially because you had to kill it every time you started the car. It’s flash the speed up too if you crept over the limit.
The new interiors do feel very well put together though.
One was straightlining a roundabout (where there’s two lanes marked on the roundabout but there’s no cars in sight so you clip all three apexes) and suddenly the steering pulled as I entered the roundabout. I guess that’s the lane departure or something but made me jump. The other was crawling along in traffic and it starting flashing a red car at me and dabbed the brakes - I really hope that it’s set to some ultra nanny setting or that would get really tedious really fast because I was miles away.
Otherwise though, lovely car.
So it’s been a hectic 48 hours with the MINI!
To get it ready for Brands on Wednesday night I decided to take C70Rs advice (as well as my own gut instinct) and wind a little ride height into the shocks to be on the safe side.
Those of you who follow the thread know i’m one notch above a total mechanical halfwit but my lovely wife had bought me a sexy new low-entry aluminium trolley jack for my birthday and… how hard could it be?
As my driveway is pretty sloped, all jacking needs to take place in the garage. Good job it wasn’t hot as f@ck on Saturday
Thankfully the KW Clubsports are a doddle to adjust according to the manual. Clean everything, bit of lube on the threads, remove grub screw from collar, rotate, measure, screw back in, done.
…and that’s how it proved to be. Being a highly qualified chassis engineer I went for a very basic option. On the first shock I put some electrical tape under the collar, put a tab of paint on the collar, then wound it up the number of full turns until I got a measurement I was happy with. Two full turns on the rear and three turns on the front was the ticket - taking out a tiny amount of the rake in the process. Hardly a massive change but about 4mm rear and 6mm front.
When I’d finished, I went around all four wheels again with the torque wrench (better safe than sorry) and decided to go out for a quick run to make sure all was good, no noises etc.
Everything was wonderful until about 15 mins from home when, changing 3rd to 4th the clutch hit the floor and stayed there. Fuuuuuuu….
In a split second I did a couple of things, all while still clipping along in busy traffic:
- Tried to get my foot under the clutch and pull it up. Great success!
- Tried the clutch again… straight to the floor. Okay, it’s proper broken
- Tried to decide whether to find somewhere to stop and just accept defeat or… try for home…
- Once I’d decided home was the best option, did a human satnav of about 20 different routes home trying to think of one without any traffic lights. Yup, just one. A very complicated one.
What followed was probably the most intense 15 mins of driving in my life. I knew from previous experience with a knackered clutch on my Micra 20 years ago that 3rd and 4th without a clutch would be fine, 2nd would be a challenge and 1st would be a no-go. Stopping possibly would be okay if a downslope or using the starter motor at a pinch, but uphill also a no go.
Long story short, I made it. Eyeballs on stalks, approaching roundabouts at walking pace then booting it as soon as a gap appeared, even through two single-file bridge crossings where, thank goodness, nobody was coming the other way.
Stuttered to a halt on the curb in front of my house - counted my lucky stars and phoned a mechanic mate who lives up the road.
Suspecting the slave cylinder, he recovered the car back to his and ultimately diagnosed that a rusty clip on the clutch hard-line failed and the flexi popped off. Clean everything up, new clip, bleed the clutch and fixed. He even dropped it home again for me!
If that wasn’t enough, the drivers window stopped playing ball. Thankfully, a couple of well aimed thumps to the door card (classic R53 remedy) and I fixed it. That makes me a mechanic too right?
On the plus side, at least this didn’t all happen on the M25!
So, with a day to spare, I think we’re all good. Let’s see…
Epilogue
It got so hot today that the stickies holding on the 1Ms front number plate melted and it fell off onto my driveway. Facepalm.
To get it ready for Brands on Wednesday night I decided to take C70Rs advice (as well as my own gut instinct) and wind a little ride height into the shocks to be on the safe side.
Those of you who follow the thread know i’m one notch above a total mechanical halfwit but my lovely wife had bought me a sexy new low-entry aluminium trolley jack for my birthday and… how hard could it be?
As my driveway is pretty sloped, all jacking needs to take place in the garage. Good job it wasn’t hot as f@ck on Saturday
Thankfully the KW Clubsports are a doddle to adjust according to the manual. Clean everything, bit of lube on the threads, remove grub screw from collar, rotate, measure, screw back in, done.
…and that’s how it proved to be. Being a highly qualified chassis engineer I went for a very basic option. On the first shock I put some electrical tape under the collar, put a tab of paint on the collar, then wound it up the number of full turns until I got a measurement I was happy with. Two full turns on the rear and three turns on the front was the ticket - taking out a tiny amount of the rake in the process. Hardly a massive change but about 4mm rear and 6mm front.
When I’d finished, I went around all four wheels again with the torque wrench (better safe than sorry) and decided to go out for a quick run to make sure all was good, no noises etc.
Everything was wonderful until about 15 mins from home when, changing 3rd to 4th the clutch hit the floor and stayed there. Fuuuuuuu….
In a split second I did a couple of things, all while still clipping along in busy traffic:
- Tried to get my foot under the clutch and pull it up. Great success!
- Tried the clutch again… straight to the floor. Okay, it’s proper broken
- Tried to decide whether to find somewhere to stop and just accept defeat or… try for home…
- Once I’d decided home was the best option, did a human satnav of about 20 different routes home trying to think of one without any traffic lights. Yup, just one. A very complicated one.
What followed was probably the most intense 15 mins of driving in my life. I knew from previous experience with a knackered clutch on my Micra 20 years ago that 3rd and 4th without a clutch would be fine, 2nd would be a challenge and 1st would be a no-go. Stopping possibly would be okay if a downslope or using the starter motor at a pinch, but uphill also a no go.
Long story short, I made it. Eyeballs on stalks, approaching roundabouts at walking pace then booting it as soon as a gap appeared, even through two single-file bridge crossings where, thank goodness, nobody was coming the other way.
Stuttered to a halt on the curb in front of my house - counted my lucky stars and phoned a mechanic mate who lives up the road.
Suspecting the slave cylinder, he recovered the car back to his and ultimately diagnosed that a rusty clip on the clutch hard-line failed and the flexi popped off. Clean everything up, new clip, bleed the clutch and fixed. He even dropped it home again for me!
If that wasn’t enough, the drivers window stopped playing ball. Thankfully, a couple of well aimed thumps to the door card (classic R53 remedy) and I fixed it. That makes me a mechanic too right?
On the plus side, at least this didn’t all happen on the M25!
So, with a day to spare, I think we’re all good. Let’s see…
Epilogue
It got so hot today that the stickies holding on the 1Ms front number plate melted and it fell off onto my driveway. Facepalm.
Edited by MDifficult on Monday 14th June 21:44
Better to have the issue now than on Wednesday.
As you seen on my thread, I had an awful time bleeding the clutch on my mini. Glad to hear yours was a quick and simple fix, even if it did involve a sketchy drive home.
Will you get the alignment done between now and Wednesday or with such a small difference the result would be negligible?
Good luck at the track day!
As you seen on my thread, I had an awful time bleeding the clutch on my mini. Glad to hear yours was a quick and simple fix, even if it did involve a sketchy drive home.
Will you get the alignment done between now and Wednesday or with such a small difference the result would be negligible?
Good luck at the track day!
jordmcd151 said:
Better to have the issue now than on Wednesday.
As you seen on my thread, I had an awful time bleeding the clutch on my mini. Glad to hear yours was a quick and simple fix, even if it did involve a sketchy drive home.
Will you get the alignment done between now and Wednesday or with such a small difference the result would be negligible?
Good luck at the track day!
Deffo better to have the issue now - and glad it wasn’t expensive. The mech said bleeding was a pain, had to reach for the ‘big’ pressure bleeder to get it done. As you seen on my thread, I had an awful time bleeding the clutch on my mini. Glad to hear yours was a quick and simple fix, even if it did involve a sketchy drive home.
Will you get the alignment done between now and Wednesday or with such a small difference the result would be negligible?
Good luck at the track day!
On alignment, I’ve convinced myself that such a small change isn’t going to change the geo much and a full setup will be wasted if I need to adjust it again (up or down) at the track. Instead, I’ll do Brands and then consider a proper set up all goes well.
Blimey. That sounds like a bundle of fun. Reminds me of the time many moons ago when I tried to drive a £50 MOT failure Polo from London to Cardiff - I lost 5th gear at Hammersmith, and 4th gear just past Swindon. We were being overtaken by wildlife by the time I got off the motorway!
As I mentioned previously, you'd be surprised how much camber you can get into the car without whacking it on every speedbump.
If you wanted a reference, this lot creates a very predictable car with a back end that can be moved around safely on the throttle.
And this is how it sits (on BC Racing RM suspension) on its 17" road wheels.
As I mentioned previously, you'd be surprised how much camber you can get into the car without whacking it on every speedbump.
If you wanted a reference, this lot creates a very predictable car with a back end that can be moved around safely on the throttle.
And this is how it sits (on BC Racing RM suspension) on its 17" road wheels.
Court_S said:
Sounds like a rather intense drive home! At least it wasn’t a major failure that hammered you’re wallet!
It certainly was a new life experience - hopefully never to be repeated. If I'd have got caught on one of those single-file bridge crossings I would have become really unpopular, really fast C70R said:
If you wanted a reference, this lot creates a very predictable car with a back end that can be moved around safely on the throttle.
That's really helpful, thank you - I'll keep it to hand 
With the recent clutch issue fresh in my mind, I’ll admit to a little extra anxiety about the track evening yesterday. Not only was the car faced with a brutally hot evening on a track that’s all corners and chock-full of traffic, but also a schlep around the southern-loop of the M25 in nose-to-tail traffic. If the car was going to break, this could be it…
…but thankfully, bar a few small issues I’ll explain later, all was good and we had a cracking time!
Couldn’t resist a good clean before we left…
The evening
When we arrived, there seemed to be LOADS of cars waiting. I had no idea how we’d get any track time with this lot in the carpark but it turned out not to be an issue. A surprising number of cars failed the static noise test (cue lots of storming off in a huff, and one guy absolutely launching his car away from the testing team and out of the exit) and then through the evening many of the others just gradually disappeared. You’d see a car for a few laps and then… never again. Each time I set off to do some laps the wait in the pits was less than 2 minutes, which was perfect.
I’m guessing it was the heat that was putting people out, but by the time the evening came to a halt (about 45 mins early after another MINI rolled through the gravel at Paddock Hill bend and a few other cars went into the gravel taking avoiding action), there weren’t all that many cars left lapping. Probably for the best it ended early as it deluged a few minutes later.
Incident wise, apart from that ‘big one’ that stopped the evening, the only other red flag was for a poor guy who stopped after blowing up and dropping oil all over the main straight. I’ll add some in-car footage further down this post and you can see all the cement dust.
Apart from the rolling red MINI (which had spun a couple of laps previously too), driving standards were really pretty good considering how tight Brands Indy is. Always a couple of d@ckheads but nothing more than usual. Oh, and there was an obligatory GR Yaris. Box ticked.
The car
Considering I did a LOT of laps, and it was insanely hot, the car was fantastic. It’s come alive on the R888Rs and can lap and lap and lap without issue. No wheel rubbing that I could tell. Only two small technicals:
- I ran really wide on one lap on the exit of Druids and took a trip over the saw-toothed curb. This lit up a bunch of lights on the dash (you can see in the on-board) which I guess was from the shock to the wheel sensor - but after cycling the ignition in the pits they disappeared.
- After a particularly hard 30 minute run, the car decided to drop a little coolant when I pulled up in the pits. I had an initial panic, but popped the bonnet and could see that it had come out of the header-tank overflow. I let it cool down and just topped up. The engine temp on track never went over 98 but the header tank sensor showed well over 100 which probably explains the overflow...
Other than that, everything was great. Oil never went over 113 despite being in traffic a lot of the time, and the meth seemed to do a good enough job of stopping the intake temps from being completely bonkers. The clutch got a major workout on the M25 on the way there so I can stop worrying about that too.
The laps
Unlike MrTouring, with the heat in my mind my mechanical sympathy kicked in early and I resisted the temptation to wring every rev out of every gear. Instead, I focussed on my lines and braking points, and trying a gear higher at places like Druids. The benefit of such a short track is that you get to find your rhythm really quickly.
I didn’t do any lap timing, but looking at the videos most of my laps were about a minute - not too shabby for a ham-fisted ape and plenty fast enough to keep away from the swarms of MX5s.
GoPro
I’d spent a lot of time improving the mount location and audio from the last track day. Much better now!
I did run an external mic near the exhaust for the first few laps which sounded hilarious but ridiculously loud and aggressive. I reverted to the in-car one for all the rest which, with the better mount, was much improved. Really want to find a good way to get more supercharger noise and less interior rattles, so back to testing more mic locations for next time.
Here’s an onboard of me chasing MrTouring for a few laps - again!
What’s next?
Not really much to do! Going to give the car a good check over - and consider a proper corner-weighting and geo. But I might just leave it alone until after Castle Coombe in a few weeks.
I’ll post up some of Opentrack’s pics as soon as they release them.
…but thankfully, bar a few small issues I’ll explain later, all was good and we had a cracking time!
Couldn’t resist a good clean before we left…
The evening
When we arrived, there seemed to be LOADS of cars waiting. I had no idea how we’d get any track time with this lot in the carpark but it turned out not to be an issue. A surprising number of cars failed the static noise test (cue lots of storming off in a huff, and one guy absolutely launching his car away from the testing team and out of the exit) and then through the evening many of the others just gradually disappeared. You’d see a car for a few laps and then… never again. Each time I set off to do some laps the wait in the pits was less than 2 minutes, which was perfect.
I’m guessing it was the heat that was putting people out, but by the time the evening came to a halt (about 45 mins early after another MINI rolled through the gravel at Paddock Hill bend and a few other cars went into the gravel taking avoiding action), there weren’t all that many cars left lapping. Probably for the best it ended early as it deluged a few minutes later.
Incident wise, apart from that ‘big one’ that stopped the evening, the only other red flag was for a poor guy who stopped after blowing up and dropping oil all over the main straight. I’ll add some in-car footage further down this post and you can see all the cement dust.
Apart from the rolling red MINI (which had spun a couple of laps previously too), driving standards were really pretty good considering how tight Brands Indy is. Always a couple of d@ckheads but nothing more than usual. Oh, and there was an obligatory GR Yaris. Box ticked.
The car
Considering I did a LOT of laps, and it was insanely hot, the car was fantastic. It’s come alive on the R888Rs and can lap and lap and lap without issue. No wheel rubbing that I could tell. Only two small technicals:
- I ran really wide on one lap on the exit of Druids and took a trip over the saw-toothed curb. This lit up a bunch of lights on the dash (you can see in the on-board) which I guess was from the shock to the wheel sensor - but after cycling the ignition in the pits they disappeared.
- After a particularly hard 30 minute run, the car decided to drop a little coolant when I pulled up in the pits. I had an initial panic, but popped the bonnet and could see that it had come out of the header-tank overflow. I let it cool down and just topped up. The engine temp on track never went over 98 but the header tank sensor showed well over 100 which probably explains the overflow...
Other than that, everything was great. Oil never went over 113 despite being in traffic a lot of the time, and the meth seemed to do a good enough job of stopping the intake temps from being completely bonkers. The clutch got a major workout on the M25 on the way there so I can stop worrying about that too.
The laps
Unlike MrTouring, with the heat in my mind my mechanical sympathy kicked in early and I resisted the temptation to wring every rev out of every gear. Instead, I focussed on my lines and braking points, and trying a gear higher at places like Druids. The benefit of such a short track is that you get to find your rhythm really quickly.
I didn’t do any lap timing, but looking at the videos most of my laps were about a minute - not too shabby for a ham-fisted ape
and plenty fast enough to keep away from the swarms of MX5s. GoPro
I’d spent a lot of time improving the mount location and audio from the last track day. Much better now!
I did run an external mic near the exhaust for the first few laps which sounded hilarious but ridiculously loud and aggressive. I reverted to the in-car one for all the rest which, with the better mount, was much improved. Really want to find a good way to get more supercharger noise and less interior rattles, so back to testing more mic locations for next time.
Here’s an onboard of me chasing MrTouring for a few laps - again!
What’s next?
Not really much to do! Going to give the car a good check over - and consider a proper corner-weighting and geo. But I might just leave it alone until after Castle Coombe in a few weeks.
I’ll post up some of Opentrack’s pics as soon as they release them.
puttything said:
Your sticker game is strong!
Enjoying the thread, great selection of cars
Cheers mate, very kind of you. Unfortunately I can’t take any credit for the stickers - all of them are the work of the previous owners. I’ve removed loads from the outside but left the under-bonnet ones Enjoying the thread, great selection of cars
At least they’re all stickers for things that are actually fitted to the car!
Looks like fun. I don't think I'll ever do a Brands Indy day, but I'm always open to a GP day.
Interesting to see the header tank pressure release cap going. I've lapped mine hard and long on hot days without any sign of that happening. Have you checked the level to see if it's overfilled? If not, I might check if the OBD is throwing any codes (because overheating can be a sign of other issues).
If that's blank too, I'd just suggest swapping over the cap for a new one. I had the same issue (a tiny weep) with my brake reservoir cap on the Ring, which required some very careful checking at the end of each lap. A new cap solved the issue completed.
Interesting to see the header tank pressure release cap going. I've lapped mine hard and long on hot days without any sign of that happening. Have you checked the level to see if it's overfilled? If not, I might check if the OBD is throwing any codes (because overheating can be a sign of other issues).
If that's blank too, I'd just suggest swapping over the cap for a new one. I had the same issue (a tiny weep) with my brake reservoir cap on the Ring, which required some very careful checking at the end of each lap. A new cap solved the issue completed.
C70R said:
Looks like fun. I don't think I'll ever do a Brands Indy day, but I'm always open to a GP day.
Interesting to see the header tank pressure release cap going. I've lapped mine hard and long on hot days without any sign of that happening. Have you checked the level to see if it's overfilled? If not, I might check if the OBD is throwing any codes (because overheating can be a sign of other issues).
If that's blank too, I'd just suggest swapping over the cap for a new one. I had the same issue (a tiny weep) with my brake reservoir cap on the Ring, which required some very careful checking at the end of each lap. A new cap solved the issue completed.
Cheers. It was bit weird, but it was the overflow not the cap so I'm tempted to think it was bit over-filled and so it just shot it all out of the pipe when it got to peak temp. Will keep an eye on it and see what happens. Any repeat and it'll be a new cap. Interesting to see the header tank pressure release cap going. I've lapped mine hard and long on hot days without any sign of that happening. Have you checked the level to see if it's overfilled? If not, I might check if the OBD is throwing any codes (because overheating can be a sign of other issues).
If that's blank too, I'd just suggest swapping over the cap for a new one. I had the same issue (a tiny weep) with my brake reservoir cap on the Ring, which required some very careful checking at the end of each lap. A new cap solved the issue completed.
Genuinely, I would really recommend the indy circuit. Yes it's a bit busy, but it's bloody great fun and you get to try the same corner many, many time in one evening which really helps.
MDifficult said:
When we arrived, there seemed to be LOADS of cars waiting. I had no idea how we’d get any track time with this lot in the carpark but it turned out not to be an issue. A surprising number of cars failed the static noise test (cue lots of storming off in a huff, and one guy absolutely launching his car away from the testing team and out of the exit) and then through the evening many of the others just gradually disappeared. You’d see a car for a few laps and then… never again. Each time I set off to do some laps the wait in the pits was less than 2 minutes, which was perfect.
I've been looking forward to this update, sounds like the car run well, overflow excluded.The track looked busier than the track days I've been on before.
Always amazes me when people have loud exhausts and expect to meet a standard track day noise test, as for the idiot launching away... why? Maybe 'I don't get it'
Opentrack run a really good day in my, limited, experience
Court_S said:
Looks like a good evening. The little MINI looks to have held its own.
It’s just great fun. Fast enough that it’s exciting, really consistent, yet not so fast that you’re constantly zooming up behind people or having to overtake, or scared sh@tless that it’s gonna have you off jordmcd151 said:
I've been looking forward to this update, sounds like the car run well, overflow excluded.
The track looked busier than the track days I've been on before.
Always amazes me when people have loud exhausts and expect to meet a standard track day noise test, as for the idiot launching away... why? Maybe 'I don't get it'
Opentrack run a really good day in my, limited, experience
Yup, big fan of Opentrack. All the logistics are super-smooth and everyone seemed very pleasant. Good communication during the red flags too. Free pictures are always a bonus The track looked busier than the track days I've been on before.
Always amazes me when people have loud exhausts and expect to meet a standard track day noise test, as for the idiot launching away... why? Maybe 'I don't get it'
Opentrack run a really good day in my, limited, experience
I’m always paranoid about loud exhausts because I would be gutted to be sent home - but I don’t understand lads throwing a strop at the static test. It’s literally a binary decision by an electronic tool. Thankfully YAY has had two static tests now and both said 88, so it’s as quiet as a church mouse (outside at least)!
Looks like it was a fun day and the car looks amazing .
I have done Brands Hatch Indy a couple of times in my old MR2 and it was great fun .
The Mrs did not like Paddock hill that much
https://youtu.be/hX1PrGH4M3Y
Here's a few more..
[/quote]
I have done Brands Hatch Indy a couple of times in my old MR2 and it was great fun .
The Mrs did not like Paddock hill that much
https://youtu.be/hX1PrGH4M3Y
Here's a few more..
[/quote]
Took the 1M down to the Ace Cafe this morning with the family for a BMW Car Club GB meet. Again, to celebrate the 10th birthday there was an ambition to try and get a few 1Ms together...
Mission Accomplished!
Really great to meet some more owners. The other white car is a daily and used for trackdays too - so totally had my admiration. The black car was absolutely MINT, lovely looking but I still prefer white.
Had two people offer to buy it
Mission Accomplished!
Really great to meet some more owners. The other white car is a daily and used for trackdays too - so totally had my admiration. The black car was absolutely MINT, lovely looking but I still prefer white.
Had two people offer to buy it
Edited by MDifficult on Saturday 19th June 19:38
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