MDifficult’s E82 1M Coupe & Ariel Atom 3
Discussion
Court_S said:
As much as I like the M2, I’d still chose the 1M. There’s something about the, no doubt helped by the rarity.
If it had to be more of an 'everyday' car I'd have the M2C in a heartbeat - it's got that amazing combo of ridiculous big car performance in a small-car package - plus the creature comforts are bloody lovey. But, I'm very fortunate to be able to have the 1M for special occasions so none of that really matters. Have to respect my mate for choosing a manual though. The level of engagement/skill required to drive something like that, with that power, one-handed is what makes manual cars such a joy. Rather than just planting a foot and clicking the paddle, he's dancing on the pedals and waving his arms about - seriously entertaining stuff
MBeemerman said:
Mdifficult, is your 1M running standard power ?
Yeah, standard. Quite honestly, I've not had a single moment where I've wished for more! I guess if that day ever came the N54 is a great platform to fiddle with - but for now I think it's in a sweet-spot performance-wise for a road car, and I like the warranty both for the comfort but also for any future resale. I felt like that about mine but then got offered a cobb access port from a friend.
Mines running there stage 1 plus map which only turns it up a bit so nice and safe with a forge intercooler that's a direct fit with the old one, solid charge pipe, n55 mid pipe and Akra back box.
The car feels alot more alive with that set up and with the Schnitzer coilovers puts its power down brilliantly.
Mines running there stage 1 plus map which only turns it up a bit so nice and safe with a forge intercooler that's a direct fit with the old one, solid charge pipe, n55 mid pipe and Akra back box.
The car feels alot more alive with that set up and with the Schnitzer coilovers puts its power down brilliantly.
MBeemerman said:
I felt like that about mine but then got offered a cobb access port from a friend.
Mines running there stage 1 plus map which only turns it up a bit so nice and safe with a forge intercooler that's a direct fit with the old one, solid charge pipe, n55 mid pipe and Akra back box.
The car feels alot more alive with that set up and with the Schnitzer coilovers puts its power down brilliantly.
Don’t tempt me! Mines running there stage 1 plus map which only turns it up a bit so nice and safe with a forge intercooler that's a direct fit with the old one, solid charge pipe, n55 mid pipe and Akra back box.
The car feels alot more alive with that set up and with the Schnitzer coilovers puts its power down brilliantly.
Last thing I need to do is start pouring money and chasing performance in the 1M - that’s what the MINIs for
Chris Harris had a similar spec to yours on his and raved about the improvement. Did you do the CDV delete? Mine’s had that and apparently a huge improvement in clutch consistency (according to the previous owner who did it!).
Nice car history. The e46 being the pick of the bunch for me. I also had a 16v Calibra back in the day but when I borrowed the ex FIL's Puma, I understood what all the fuss was about. Cracking chassis, gear change and handling. I had some great times in the Lake District chasing down faster cars in the little green 1.7 Puma.
I currently have the latest gen BMW 540i xDrive and it's extremely capable in most situations. It's on PCP and I have another couple of years before it goes back. I'm seriously considering buying an F10 M5 to replace it. It would free up the monthlies and although slightly older, would still offer modern tech and give me that M car itch that I've yet to scratch. I love the brutal nature the M5. Most of my driving is on dual carriageway's and in town so I don't need a hot hatch. I suspect I['ll need a bigger slush fund for the M5 than I do now though!
Thanks for sharing. Enjoyable read.
I currently have the latest gen BMW 540i xDrive and it's extremely capable in most situations. It's on PCP and I have another couple of years before it goes back. I'm seriously considering buying an F10 M5 to replace it. It would free up the monthlies and although slightly older, would still offer modern tech and give me that M car itch that I've yet to scratch. I love the brutal nature the M5. Most of my driving is on dual carriageway's and in town so I don't need a hot hatch. I suspect I['ll need a bigger slush fund for the M5 than I do now though!
Thanks for sharing. Enjoyable read.
toon10 said:
Nice car history. The e46 being the pick of the bunch for me. I also had a 16v Calibra back in the day but when I borrowed the ex FIL's Puma, I understood what all the fuss was about. Cracking chassis, gear change and handling. I had some great times in the Lake District chasing down faster cars in the little green 1.7 Puma.
I currently have the latest gen BMW 540i xDrive and it's extremely capable in most situations. It's on PCP and I have another couple of years before it goes back. I'm seriously considering buying an F10 M5 to replace it. It would free up the monthlies and although slightly older, would still offer modern tech and give me that M car itch that I've yet to scratch. I love the brutal nature the M5. Most of my driving is on dual carriageway's and in town so I don't need a hot hatch. I suspect I['ll need a bigger slush fund for the M5 than I do now though!
Thanks for sharing. Enjoyable read.
Cheers mate, glad you’re enjoying it I currently have the latest gen BMW 540i xDrive and it's extremely capable in most situations. It's on PCP and I have another couple of years before it goes back. I'm seriously considering buying an F10 M5 to replace it. It would free up the monthlies and although slightly older, would still offer modern tech and give me that M car itch that I've yet to scratch. I love the brutal nature the M5. Most of my driving is on dual carriageway's and in town so I don't need a hot hatch. I suspect I['ll need a bigger slush fund for the M5 than I do now though!
Thanks for sharing. Enjoyable read.
Looks like you’ve driven some of the highlights from my back catalogue! The Puma really IS one of those cars you had to drive to understand - so much more than the sum of its parts.
As for the F10 M5 slush fund… they only go wrong when they’re not being driven - so the answer is never stop driving!
MBeemerman said:
MDifficult said:
That's because he's too busy biting chunks out of the driver's seat with his @rsehole
He definitely was on a wet drive out 3 weeks ago when he insisted on driving it with traction control off !MDifficult said:
Yeah, standard. Quite honestly, I've not had a single moment where I've wished for more! I guess if that day ever came the N54 is a great platform to fiddle with - but for now I think it's in a sweet-spot performance-wise for a road car, and I like the warranty both for the comfort but also for any future resale.
I feel the same about my 1M. I can't think that more power would make it a more enjoyable road car for me. On most roads I think it has a great balance of power. I'm not into traffic light Grand Prix or road racing but if I was I'm sure there are plenty of faster cars for the money.I don't drive mine too often but coming back from Goodwood FOS on Sunday night I felt it's such a great package of specialness, involvement, comfort, performance, noise and running costs that I really don't know what could replace it. More than that, every drive is just bloody good fun!
In the main people don't know what it is but I have had some great reactions from people who do and are clearly very excited to see one out in the wild!
With the next track day for the MINI just around the corner, there's been a couple of little jobs to tackle.
No more little wees
First was to investigate the coolant issue from Brands. The car's fitted with a Canton header-tank which is regarded as one of the very best options, so doubtful there's much wrong with it - but it doesn't have an obvious 'level'. A quick chat with the original builder (thanks Luke!) suggested that the level should be less than half and more like the bottom third. My tank was more like 60% full so that explains the issue. Thanks to the discovery of Hero of Alexandria about 2,000 years ago, I was able to use a bit of plastic tube to siphon out the excess coolant and lowered the level to about 30-40% full. Let's see if that does the job. Fingers' crossed.
Strut brace fix
While fixing the clutch issue a few weeks back, my mechanic pointed out that the lovely M7 strut brace on the car has incorrect hardware fitted and the threads between to brace and the tower defenders were on their way out. Clearly, with the amount of work this car has had under the bonnet, it had been repeatedly removed and re-fitted, then at some point the hardware was lost and replaced with something to hand. Being Aluminium, it was only a matter of time.
My original plan was to whip it all off, take it to a local engineering firm or my mechanic and get them to sort it out all out. But then I remember how much I enjoy tinkering so decided to have a crack at sorting it myself.
Health warning! If you're any kind of mechanic, what follows is going to be so unbelievably basic you're going to be embarrassed for me. Please don't be - everyone has to do something for the first time
First I removed one of the incorrect bolts from the strut brace. Yup.. that's a bodge right there...
After removing the brace I investigated the threads in the tower defenders...
Yup, that's f@cked...
After removing the defenders, it was obvious how f@cked. Very f@cked...
A bit of Googling gave me two options. Either drill and tap for a larger bolt, or fit a helicoil. I decided that a helicoil was a better option as it'd be stronger than another aluminium thread and more resilient to the bolts being removed and re-tightened in future.
Off to eBay I went, and invested the princely sum of £4.99 (including delivery) in an M10 helicoil kit. Only the best for me! So out with my trusty Black & Decker workmate, some clamps and off we go...
Step 1 - Drill out the hole with the supplied HSS bit, using some oil to lubricate. No going back now...
Step 2 - Improvise a tap handle and tap the hole with the supplied tap. Dim memories of metalwork class reminded me that its 2 turns forward and a quarter turn back and repeat. Worked fine!
Step 3 - Wind in the helicoil using the suppled doodah. I added a smidge of blue loctite.
Step 4 - Hammer out the tang, and repeat the whole process 3 more times. Try out sexy new black bolts. Bob's-your-uncle...
Step 5 - Refit the whole lot. Torque the tower bolts to 35nm. I'm not a fan of the small silver washers I've used so I've ordered some slightly larger black ones to spread the load better.
Well that worked out well and all it cost me was a fiver - and I added another new skill to my repertoire! If there's no further updates then I got something horribly wrong, it all fell apart during my next drive and I was instantly killed.
No more little wees
First was to investigate the coolant issue from Brands. The car's fitted with a Canton header-tank which is regarded as one of the very best options, so doubtful there's much wrong with it - but it doesn't have an obvious 'level'. A quick chat with the original builder (thanks Luke!) suggested that the level should be less than half and more like the bottom third. My tank was more like 60% full so that explains the issue. Thanks to the discovery of Hero of Alexandria about 2,000 years ago, I was able to use a bit of plastic tube to siphon out the excess coolant and lowered the level to about 30-40% full. Let's see if that does the job. Fingers' crossed.
Strut brace fix
While fixing the clutch issue a few weeks back, my mechanic pointed out that the lovely M7 strut brace on the car has incorrect hardware fitted and the threads between to brace and the tower defenders were on their way out. Clearly, with the amount of work this car has had under the bonnet, it had been repeatedly removed and re-fitted, then at some point the hardware was lost and replaced with something to hand. Being Aluminium, it was only a matter of time.
My original plan was to whip it all off, take it to a local engineering firm or my mechanic and get them to sort it out all out. But then I remember how much I enjoy tinkering so decided to have a crack at sorting it myself.
Health warning! If you're any kind of mechanic, what follows is going to be so unbelievably basic you're going to be embarrassed for me. Please don't be - everyone has to do something for the first time
First I removed one of the incorrect bolts from the strut brace. Yup.. that's a bodge right there...
After removing the brace I investigated the threads in the tower defenders...
Yup, that's f@cked...
After removing the defenders, it was obvious how f@cked. Very f@cked...
A bit of Googling gave me two options. Either drill and tap for a larger bolt, or fit a helicoil. I decided that a helicoil was a better option as it'd be stronger than another aluminium thread and more resilient to the bolts being removed and re-tightened in future.
Off to eBay I went, and invested the princely sum of £4.99 (including delivery) in an M10 helicoil kit. Only the best for me! So out with my trusty Black & Decker workmate, some clamps and off we go...
Step 1 - Drill out the hole with the supplied HSS bit, using some oil to lubricate. No going back now...
Step 2 - Improvise a tap handle and tap the hole with the supplied tap. Dim memories of metalwork class reminded me that its 2 turns forward and a quarter turn back and repeat. Worked fine!
Step 3 - Wind in the helicoil using the suppled doodah. I added a smidge of blue loctite.
Step 4 - Hammer out the tang, and repeat the whole process 3 more times. Try out sexy new black bolts. Bob's-your-uncle...
Step 5 - Refit the whole lot. Torque the tower bolts to 35nm. I'm not a fan of the small silver washers I've used so I've ordered some slightly larger black ones to spread the load better.
Well that worked out well and all it cost me was a fiver - and I added another new skill to my repertoire! If there's no further updates then I got something horribly wrong, it all fell apart during my next drive and I was instantly killed.
bencollins4 said:
I feel the same about my 1M. I can't think that more power would make it a more enjoyable road car for me. On most roads I think it has a great balance of power. I'm not into traffic light Grand Prix or road racing but if I was I'm sure there are plenty of faster cars for the money.
I don't drive mine too often but coming back from Goodwood FOS on Sunday night I felt it's such a great package of specialness, involvement, comfort, performance, noise and running costs that I really don't know what could replace it. More than that, every drive is just bloody good fun!
In the main people don't know what it is but I have had some great reactions from people who do and are clearly very excited to see one out in the wild!
Sounds like we see it very much the same! I don't drive mine too often but coming back from Goodwood FOS on Sunday night I felt it's such a great package of specialness, involvement, comfort, performance, noise and running costs that I really don't know what could replace it. More than that, every drive is just bloody good fun!
In the main people don't know what it is but I have had some great reactions from people who do and are clearly very excited to see one out in the wild!
My daughter had a friend 'round the other day - a lad who's into his BMWs. He took some convincing that my 1M was a real one - he knew what it was instantly but couldn't believe it.
MDifficult said:
Court_S said:
As much as I like the M2, I’d still chose the 1M. There’s something about the, no doubt helped by the rarity.
If it had to be more of an 'everyday' car I'd have the M2C in a heartbeat - it's got that amazing combo of ridiculous big car performance in a small-car package - plus the creature comforts are bloody lovey. But, I'm very fortunate to be able to have the 1M for special occasions so none of that really matters. Have to respect my mate for choosing a manual though. The level of engagement/skill required to drive something like that, with that power, one-handed is what makes manual cars such a joy. Rather than just planting a foot and clicking the paddle, he's dancing on the pedals and waving his arms about - seriously entertaining stuff
I’m torn between an M2 (OG) and an E92 M3 next. We’ll have to see I guess, the lure of that V8 is strong.
Good work sorting through bolts out on the MINI.
MDifficult said:
Strut brace fix
While fixing the clutch issue a few weeks back, my mechanic pointed out that the lovely M7 strut brace on the car has incorrect hardware fitted and the threads between to brace and the tower defenders were on their way out. Clearly, with the amount of work this car has had under the bonnet, it had been repeatedly removed and re-fitted, then at some point the hardware was lost and replaced with something to hand. Being Aluminium, it was only a matter of time.
Good job !!While fixing the clutch issue a few weeks back, my mechanic pointed out that the lovely M7 strut brace on the car has incorrect hardware fitted and the threads between to brace and the tower defenders were on their way out. Clearly, with the amount of work this car has had under the bonnet, it had been repeatedly removed and re-fitted, then at some point the hardware was lost and replaced with something to hand. Being Aluminium, it was only a matter of time.
If you find yourself in the same situation again, or needing to repair something more mechanically critical, use Timeserts. they're considerably more expensive, but far, far superior to Helicoils :
https://www.timesert.com/
Slippydiff said:
Good job !!
If you find yourself in the same situation again, or needing to repair something more mechanically critical, use Timeserts. they're considerably more expensive, but far, far superior to Helicoils :
https://www.timesert.com/
Cheers mate! I did actually take a look at timeserts (out of interest really) but as you say, the cost and complexity put me off immediately. At £5 it was a bit of fun, but much more than that it’s just easier to pay someone who actually knows what they’re doing If you find yourself in the same situation again, or needing to repair something more mechanically critical, use Timeserts. they're considerably more expensive, but far, far superior to Helicoils :
https://www.timesert.com/
So… remember how last month the MINI gave me a very uncomfortable 48 hours by having the clutch fail 3 days before a trackday?
Well, as we’re off to Castle Combe tomorrow I checked the car over thoroughly about a week ago and no issues.
Then, two nights ago I went into the garage and noticed a little coolant pooled under the car, by the front bumper on the drivers side. Yup - the radiator had failed. On its own. Just sitting there doing nothing. If that’s not R53 life, I don’t know what is!
I can only assume that it was absolutely on the edge of failure and the blistering temps in my garage over the last few days juuuust tipped it over. Bugger.
Cue yet another late night, very panicky text message to my increasingly heroic mechanic up the road. Could we get it fixed in time?
To his credit he ordered a new rad first thing in the morning (we needed confidence in quality and same day availability so went OEM MINI). He picked my car up in the morning, took it to his workshop, stripped it down, drained and cleaned out the coolant system, picked up the rad about lunchtime, put everything back together, bled and then tested everything and dropped it back to me last night…. Almost exactly 24h after my text. What a legend!
I’m naively hopeful that one day the car will stop doing stuff like this to me - but on a more positive note as least it did it then an not on my first lap at Combe. So I guess I should be grateful
If anyone’s at Combe tomorrow, come say ‘hi’. I’m really excited to do a track I’ve never been to, as driver or spectator, but have heard so much good stuff about.
Updates to follow!
Well, as we’re off to Castle Combe tomorrow I checked the car over thoroughly about a week ago and no issues.
Then, two nights ago I went into the garage and noticed a little coolant pooled under the car, by the front bumper on the drivers side. Yup - the radiator had failed. On its own. Just sitting there doing nothing. If that’s not R53 life, I don’t know what is!
I can only assume that it was absolutely on the edge of failure and the blistering temps in my garage over the last few days juuuust tipped it over. Bugger.
Cue yet another late night, very panicky text message to my increasingly heroic mechanic up the road. Could we get it fixed in time?
To his credit he ordered a new rad first thing in the morning (we needed confidence in quality and same day availability so went OEM MINI). He picked my car up in the morning, took it to his workshop, stripped it down, drained and cleaned out the coolant system, picked up the rad about lunchtime, put everything back together, bled and then tested everything and dropped it back to me last night…. Almost exactly 24h after my text. What a legend!
I’m naively hopeful that one day the car will stop doing stuff like this to me - but on a more positive note as least it did it then an not on my first lap at Combe. So I guess I should be grateful
If anyone’s at Combe tomorrow, come say ‘hi’. I’m really excited to do a track I’ve never been to, as driver or spectator, but have heard so much good stuff about.
Updates to follow!
That is just typical you think everything is spot on then bang .
I also like it when the day before you go for one final check and then start over thinking like im sure that noise was not there before
Looking forward to some updates about how you get on at Castle Combe as it is a great track that i will get back to some when .
I also like it when the day before you go for one final check and then start over thinking like im sure that noise was not there before
Looking forward to some updates about how you get on at Castle Combe as it is a great track that i will get back to some when .
MDifficult said:
So… remember how last month the MINI gave me a very uncomfortable 48 hours by having the clutch fail 3 days before a trackday?
Well, as we’re off to Castle Combe tomorrow I checked the car over thoroughly about a week ago and no issues.
Then, two nights ago I went into the garage and noticed a little coolant pooled under the car, by the front bumper on the drivers side. Yup - the radiator had failed. On its own. Just sitting there doing nothing. If that’s not R53 life, I don’t know what is!
I can only assume that it was absolutely on the edge of failure and the blistering temps in my garage over the last few days juuuust tipped it over. Bugger.
Cue yet another late night, very panicky text message to my increasingly heroic mechanic up the road. Could we get it fixed in time?
To his credit he ordered a new rad first thing in the morning (we needed confidence in quality and same day availability so went OEM MINI). He picked my car up in the morning, took it to his workshop, stripped it down, drained and cleaned out the coolant system, picked up the rad about lunchtime, put everything back together, bled and then tested everything and dropped it back to me last night…. Almost exactly 24h after my text. What a legend!
I’m naively hopeful that one day the car will stop doing stuff like this to me - but on a more positive note as least it did it then an not on my first lap at Combe. So I guess I should be grateful
If anyone’s at Combe tomorrow, come say ‘hi’. I’m really excited to do a track I’ve never been to, as driver or spectator, but have heard so much good stuff about.
Updates to follow!
Well, as we’re off to Castle Combe tomorrow I checked the car over thoroughly about a week ago and no issues.
Then, two nights ago I went into the garage and noticed a little coolant pooled under the car, by the front bumper on the drivers side. Yup - the radiator had failed. On its own. Just sitting there doing nothing. If that’s not R53 life, I don’t know what is!
I can only assume that it was absolutely on the edge of failure and the blistering temps in my garage over the last few days juuuust tipped it over. Bugger.
Cue yet another late night, very panicky text message to my increasingly heroic mechanic up the road. Could we get it fixed in time?
To his credit he ordered a new rad first thing in the morning (we needed confidence in quality and same day availability so went OEM MINI). He picked my car up in the morning, took it to his workshop, stripped it down, drained and cleaned out the coolant system, picked up the rad about lunchtime, put everything back together, bled and then tested everything and dropped it back to me last night…. Almost exactly 24h after my text. What a legend!
I’m naively hopeful that one day the car will stop doing stuff like this to me - but on a more positive note as least it did it then an not on my first lap at Combe. So I guess I should be grateful
If anyone’s at Combe tomorrow, come say ‘hi’. I’m really excited to do a track I’ve never been to, as driver or spectator, but have heard so much good stuff about.
Updates to follow!
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