MDifficult’s E82 1M Coupe & Ariel Atom 3
Discussion
MDifficult said:
Just like The Hobbit, we made it there, and back again!
Proper write-up and pics to follow but here’s a little snippet of the screamer…
I was there as well, i think we even had a bit of a track fun together. I was in my silver e46 m3 track toyProper write-up and pics to follow but here’s a little snippet of the screamer…
Great day, bloody hot.....!
si_xsi said:
Great write up as always. I was behind a white clio 200 and grey r53 today around Eynsham in Oxon, wondered if it was you guys out again exploring the local roads up here. Perhaps a coincidence!
Cheers mate - definitely a coincidence I’m afraid, but delighted to know we have doppelgängers!GCCP said:
I was there as well, i think we even had a bit of a track fun together. I was in my silver e46 m3 track toy
Great day, bloody hot.....!
Hey - with the red harnesses? I was admiring that from the first turn observation hill… sounded fantastic.Great day, bloody hot.....!
I’ll put up some of my videos later when I’ve finished editing down the hours of footage - hopefully you’re in there somewhere.
You’re right though, bloody hot. Great day though, fast track, relaxed organisation, not too many stoppages. Only real negative was finding out the photographer was £45
Much like last time, the last-minute radiator SNAFU knocked my confidence in the car a bit, so the entire journey from home to Castle Combe had me monitoring all the various temperature gauges like the operator of a nuclear reactor in the week after the Chernobyl disaster.
In the end, I needn’t have worried. The new rad and cooling system clear-out did wonders for the running temps of the car despite the >25C air temps and blistering sun. Water never went over 90 all day and the oil didn’t get over 108 even at the end of 15 lap stints in the afternoon heat. The meth did a fair job with intake temps too.
One other MINI owner wasn’t so lucky - in an effort to reduce temps he removed his headlights. I don’t know if it did much for temps but the bonnet blowing open on the straight and smashing his windscreen to smitherines certainly didn’t help the forward visibility. Ouch.
Despite my fears, my car just kept running and running, 15 lap (25min) stints over and over again. I really enjoyed Bedford and Brands but Combe was another level again, the flowing nature really suiting both the car and I. I got in from every stint absolutely buzzing.
I had a long stint behind a race MX5 early in the afternoon and I learned a huge amount about how confident I could be through the bravery corners of Avon and Old Paddock Bend. I found loads of time so a massive ‘thank you’ to that guy.
Enough talk - time for some video! Let’s start with my first ever ‘fastest lap’ vid. I’ve no idea how this stacks up time-wise but it felt FAST. Done mid afternoon and was the penultimate lap of a 15 lap stint
I also managed two long stints tussling with MrTouring which showed again how similar these two cars are. The MINI had a bit more legs on the straights, and was much quicker through the Esses and Bobbies, but with the Clio pulling distance in Quarry and Camp.
Here’s one of the chase stints, but a little bit of traffic from time to time…
Lastly, a little highlights reel. If you play close attention you’ll see the exact moment the little MG blows either engine, gearbox, diff (or all three) and instantly locks it’s rear wheels as I’m overtaking. That opened my eyes for sure!
All in all, a cracking day. The car was strong and faultless bar a small hum developing from somewhere. It’s not with revs so is either something rubbing, a wheel bearing, a driveshaft, or something else. If it gets worse it’ll help diagnosis!
The new seat is infinitely more comfortable and holds me much more snug too - so that turned out to be a result.
I may add some pictures later - but still debating whether I can bring myself to stump up £45 for some photographs
In the end, I needn’t have worried. The new rad and cooling system clear-out did wonders for the running temps of the car despite the >25C air temps and blistering sun. Water never went over 90 all day and the oil didn’t get over 108 even at the end of 15 lap stints in the afternoon heat. The meth did a fair job with intake temps too.
One other MINI owner wasn’t so lucky - in an effort to reduce temps he removed his headlights. I don’t know if it did much for temps but the bonnet blowing open on the straight and smashing his windscreen to smitherines certainly didn’t help the forward visibility. Ouch.
Despite my fears, my car just kept running and running, 15 lap (25min) stints over and over again. I really enjoyed Bedford and Brands but Combe was another level again, the flowing nature really suiting both the car and I. I got in from every stint absolutely buzzing.
I had a long stint behind a race MX5 early in the afternoon and I learned a huge amount about how confident I could be through the bravery corners of Avon and Old Paddock Bend. I found loads of time so a massive ‘thank you’ to that guy.
Enough talk - time for some video! Let’s start with my first ever ‘fastest lap’ vid. I’ve no idea how this stacks up time-wise but it felt FAST. Done mid afternoon and was the penultimate lap of a 15 lap stint
I also managed two long stints tussling with MrTouring which showed again how similar these two cars are. The MINI had a bit more legs on the straights, and was much quicker through the Esses and Bobbies, but with the Clio pulling distance in Quarry and Camp.
Here’s one of the chase stints, but a little bit of traffic from time to time…
Lastly, a little highlights reel. If you play close attention you’ll see the exact moment the little MG blows either engine, gearbox, diff (or all three) and instantly locks it’s rear wheels as I’m overtaking. That opened my eyes for sure!
All in all, a cracking day. The car was strong and faultless bar a small hum developing from somewhere. It’s not with revs so is either something rubbing, a wheel bearing, a driveshaft, or something else. If it gets worse it’ll help diagnosis!
The new seat is infinitely more comfortable and holds me much more snug too - so that turned out to be a result.
I may add some pictures later - but still debating whether I can bring myself to stump up £45 for some photographs
Great to write up and to hear that the MINI ran so well for you and you enjoyed Coombe. Fantastic videos too and really interesting to see how well the MINIs and Clios run against the variety of other cars on track. On the strength of your highlights video, There must be quite a few 911 owners who have nightmares about fwd hatches !
MDifficult said:
si_xsi said:
Great write up as always. I was behind a white clio 200 and grey r53 today around Eynsham in Oxon, wondered if it was you guys out again exploring the local roads up here. Perhaps a coincidence!
Cheers mate - definitely a coincidence I’m afraid, but delighted to know we have doppelgängers!GCCP said:
I was there as well, i think we even had a bit of a track fun together. I was in my silver e46 m3 track toy
Great day, bloody hot.....!
Hey - with the red harnesses? I was admiring that from the first turn observation hill… sounded fantastic.Great day, bloody hot.....!
I’ll put up some of my videos later when I’ve finished editing down the hours of footage - hopefully you’re in there somewhere.
You’re right though, bloody hot. Great day though, fast track, relaxed organisation, not too many stoppages. Only real negative was finding out the photographer was £45
Tom4398cc said:
Great to write up and to hear that the MINI ran so well for you and you enjoyed Coombe. Fantastic videos too and really interesting to see how well the MINIs and Clios run against the variety of other cars on track. On the strength of your highlights video, There must be quite a few 911 owners who have nightmares about fwd hatches !
Cheers, glad you enjoyed it all To be honest, it’s all in the editing
They’re either on slow laps, or just desperate to get out the way of yet another cheap hatchback being driven on its door handles GCCP said:
Yep that was me, i was with the other BMWs from Autoworks that were absolutely flying! I only realised it was you when I saw this thread again. Combe is my local circuit so i must have done 100's of laps, its still one of my favourites. I didnt realise the combe photographer was now £45! You only get him when its a castle combe circuit operated day vs a BHP, Slip and grip etc (they then come free). The good thing with Combe organising though is that you (before covid, not sure now) could have free tuition! There also seemed to be a lot more staff on as well, so it all went really well. Great day!
I really liked the relaxed atmosphere and one of the reasons my highlights reel was so short (despite hours of footage) was because of the long periods of empty space.I can only assume that the fast corners and lack of real ‘power’ straights means that I wasn’t constantly stuck behind big stuff in slow corners but then constantly blasted past in the straights. Really evened everything out.
Those e92s though… boy they’re rapid and sound good into the bargain
I didn’t realise there was free tuition - kicking myself now - always open to advice!
MDifficult said:
GCCP said:
Yep that was me, i was with the other BMWs from Autoworks that were absolutely flying! I only realised it was you when I saw this thread again. Combe is my local circuit so i must have done 100's of laps, its still one of my favourites. I didnt realise the combe photographer was now £45! You only get him when its a castle combe circuit operated day vs a BHP, Slip and grip etc (they then come free). The good thing with Combe organising though is that you (before covid, not sure now) could have free tuition! There also seemed to be a lot more staff on as well, so it all went really well. Great day!
I really liked the relaxed atmosphere and one of the reasons my highlights reel was so short (despite hours of footage) was because of the long periods of empty space.I can only assume that the fast corners and lack of real ‘power’ straights means that I wasn’t constantly stuck behind big stuff in slow corners but then constantly blasted past in the straights. Really evened everything out.
Those e92s though… boy they’re rapid and sound good into the bargain
I didn’t realise there was free tuition - kicking myself now - always open to advice!
How were you finding the left-right combo at the start of the lap? I was changing up to 5th before the left, and then having to come back down too many before the right. Leaving it in 4th and hammering the limiter before turning left was smoother, but not very sympathetic. Not sure I got that one right once...
C70R said:
One thing you'll notice about Combe is that they allow fewer cars on track than other circuits. There is almost always a queue to get out, and it means you get loads of time and space on an excellent track.
Yeah, absolutely. Long periods of empty track around me was lovely and gave time to explore different options and stick to lines. Loved it. C70R said:
How were you finding the left-right combo at the start of the lap? I was changing up to 5th before the left, and then having to come back down too many before the right. Leaving it in 4th and hammering the limiter before turning left was smoother, but not very sympathetic. Not sure I got that one right once...
For most laps I was staying well away from the limiter as it’s not a race and mechanical sympathy is important to me. That said, after the start-finish I needed to hit fifth before the left kink, so I’d then dab, down to fourth, through the left, brake again, down to third, then through the right.
I tried once doing the left in 5th but that lacked control/was sketchy AF, and also tried the right in 2nd rather than 3rd and that didn’t feel like it gained me much.
In the end, 5th, brake, 4th, turn, brake, 3rd, turn was the smoothest and for me, smooth = fast. That’s what’s in my ‘fastest lap’ vid above.
That said, I know where I would look for a few extra seconds though: the right before the start finish, and the left after it. Big brave corners where I left loads margin. I’d also brake a lot later for most of the other corners - again, left loads of margin.
MDifficult said:
In the end, 5th, brake, 4th, turn, brake, 3rd, turn was the smoothest and for me, smooth = fast. That’s what’s in my ‘fastest lap’ vid above.
I wasn't doing any timing, and my GoPro went for a Burton when the mount broke after some kerb action. But sticking in fourth felt intrinsically smoother to me, if not very sympathetic.C70R said:
MDifficult said:
In the end, 5th, brake, 4th, turn, brake, 3rd, turn was the smoothest and for me, smooth = fast. That’s what’s in my ‘fastest lap’ vid above.
I wasn't doing any timing, and my GoPro went for a Burton when the mount broke after some kerb action. But sticking in fourth felt intrinsically smoother to me, if not very sympathetic.So I couldn't resist in the end and stumped up the money. Here's some of the better shots from last Friday...
Being chased by that pesky Clio...
STILL being chased by that pesky Clio...
Quick cameo from MrTouring in the passenger seat...
Full 'original Stig' mode...
Being hunted down by a gang of nutters...
Another one...
Pesky Clio again...
Camber + Sticky...
Being chased by that pesky Clio...
STILL being chased by that pesky Clio...
Quick cameo from MrTouring in the passenger seat...
Full 'original Stig' mode...
Being hunted down by a gang of nutters...
Another one...
Pesky Clio again...
Camber + Sticky...
Edited by MDifficult on Wednesday 28th July 12:10
MDifficult said:
C70R said:
MDifficult said:
In the end, 5th, brake, 4th, turn, brake, 3rd, turn was the smoothest and for me, smooth = fast. That’s what’s in my ‘fastest lap’ vid above.
I wasn't doing any timing, and my GoPro went for a Burton when the mount broke after some kerb action. But sticking in fourth felt intrinsically smoother to me, if not very sympathetic.With MrTouring in the process of selling his Clio and replacing it with a Megane (that I will henceforth be calling 'Markle'), we decided to take it out for one final goodbye run together.
It wasn't a long one, being a weekday the traffic started to appear about 7am, but the early start meant some great photo opportunities...
Thank goodness his new incoming car is white, or it would really throw off the aesthetic
In other news, I treated the 1M to some new washer jet caps. One of the originals had succumbed to a lovely stone-chip right in the centre and the other had started to go a bit bubbly and scabby. With the covers being pretty cheap from BMW I opted for a new set and had them painted and fitted by Gemclean who did a cracking job as always. They also used the opportunity to give my PPF the once-over now it's a year old and fully-cured, with a couple of edges trimmed and cleaned.
Out with the old...
..and on with the new...
And lastly, a new car has joined the family - a 2013 VW Polo 1.4 DSG with 50k miles which will be taking care of my daughter's new commute to work. Early days, but it's everything you expect from a VW. Quiet, comfortable, lovely ride, well-made. Should look after her nicely.
It wasn't a long one, being a weekday the traffic started to appear about 7am, but the early start meant some great photo opportunities...
Thank goodness his new incoming car is white, or it would really throw off the aesthetic
In other news, I treated the 1M to some new washer jet caps. One of the originals had succumbed to a lovely stone-chip right in the centre and the other had started to go a bit bubbly and scabby. With the covers being pretty cheap from BMW I opted for a new set and had them painted and fitted by Gemclean who did a cracking job as always. They also used the opportunity to give my PPF the once-over now it's a year old and fully-cured, with a couple of edges trimmed and cleaned.
Out with the old...
..and on with the new...
And lastly, a new car has joined the family - a 2013 VW Polo 1.4 DSG with 50k miles which will be taking care of my daughter's new commute to work. Early days, but it's everything you expect from a VW. Quiet, comfortable, lovely ride, well-made. Should look after her nicely.
Tom4398cc said:
MDifficult………..was it your stipulation that your daughter buy a white car too?
The Polo looks good btw
The Polo looks good btw
To be fair, I tried to talk her out of a white car (as they’re a pain in the backside) but she loves it. It’s actually a special order pearl white metallic rather than a plain white, so the car was instantly christened ‘Pearl’
MDifficult said:
Yes thanks - had it over a year now and it’s still keeping me entertained! Prices keep going up, up, up so it’s temping to look at what else I could get for the money - but it’s just such a great thing!
Ace. I adore them, they look amazing. The rear arches almost look comical because they’re s big on a dinky car. I love the seats in yours.There’s something about he last of the E series cars that I really like but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Even my little 130 puts a smile on my face.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff