Alpine A110 owners
Discussion
s111dpc said:
Lol, fair challenge 
I was planning on speccing a Pure with the following, sports exhaust, mirror pack, parking sensors, blue calipers, Focal audio and steering wheel with blue trim. But then went to the dealers again and started looking at the S properly (they had 3 at the dealers) and really liked the black and orange trim, plus it comes fully kitted out with all the option I was considering. So after running the numbers a few times and doing a bit of man maths I signed on the dotted line for an S in Glacier white with the mirror pack.
I drove the S...it's awesome! Congrats!I was planning on speccing a Pure with the following, sports exhaust, mirror pack, parking sensors, blue calipers, Focal audio and steering wheel with blue trim. But then went to the dealers again and started looking at the S properly (they had 3 at the dealers) and really liked the black and orange trim, plus it comes fully kitted out with all the option I was considering. So after running the numbers a few times and doing a bit of man maths I signed on the dotted line for an S in Glacier white with the mirror pack.
Franzino said:
I drove the S...it's awesome! Congrats!
If you haven't tried the standard car too, I would. As many road tests say the S is a bit (but not hugely) different from the standard car - but, depending on your use of the car, not necessarily a better choice. Of course the aesthetics may play a part in the decision, but spec for spec a Pure is around £4000 cheaper. I've tried both back to back on road and track and personally prefer a Pure - but I'd not turn my nose up at an S,bcr5784 said:
Franzino said:
I drove the S...it's awesome! Congrats!
If you haven't tried the standard car too, I would. As many road tests say the S is a bit (but not hugely) different from the standard car - but, depending on your use of the car, not necessarily a better choice. Of course the aesthetics may play a part in the decision, but spec for spec a Pure is around £4000 cheaper. I've tried both back to back on road and track and personally prefer a Pure - but I'd not turn my nose up at an S,I realy love the suspension and the handling of the PE/Pure/Legende on normal twisty roads...It's epic! The only thing I don't like that much is when you brake really heavy (only really noticeable on track) then you get a really big noise dive on the front suspension (mainly because of the soft springs). That is the reason I'm going to fit this bespoke spring set to get something between a S and non S. https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Maybe this review and this video can help in the S vs non S
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/review/alpine-a11...
https://youtu.be/hLVZ-SFgrys
Edited by Franzino on Monday 3rd February 14:31
Franzino said:
I realy love the suspension and the handling of the PE/Pure/Legende on normal twisty roads...It's epic! The only thing I don't like that much is when you brake really heavy (only really noticeable on track) then you get a really big noise dive on the front suspension (mainly because of the soft springs). That is the reason I'm going to fit this bespoke spring set to get something between a S and non S. https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
While I have to agree that there is a lot of nosedive under braking with a non-S, I can't say it upsets me - or the car. Trail braking is an absolute doddle. Is the S quicker round a track - quite possibly. Is it more fun - not so sure. You do have to be a smoother on the steering with the non-S, an S handles being chucked into a bend better than the non-S as you might expect. Your driving style may well influence which you prefer.Edited by Franzino on Monday 3rd February 14:31
It would be interesting to hear from S owners who have been driving the car in the recent cold and damp conditions. My PE is absolutely wonderfully confidence inspiring even in damp conditions and 2 degrees. Amazing.
bcr5784 said:
It would be interesting to hear from S owners who have been driving the car in the recent cold and damp conditions. My PE is absolutely wonderfully confidence inspiring even in damp conditions and 2 degrees. Amazing.
This is interesting to hear. I came from an NC MX-5, which had hydraulic steering and a dialled-in alignment — the steering feel was like running your fingertips along the road. Moving into the A110 (Légende, but the non-S variants are all the same in this regard), I've lost that steering feel and at the beginning, I didn't get confidence at all — as I was getting used to it, one day I accelerated through a very shallow uphill bend and it started to understeer halfway through the bend as the speed was building up. I didn't feel it coming through the steering wheel at all, and it took me by complete surprise and kind of terrified me.Now, after the fact I realise that even though I was completely taken by surprise, I was doing a rather silly speed and I didn't come close to leaving the lane I was in — the car communicated this to me, just not through the steering wheel. Over the past few weeks I've been exploring this a little more (at slower speeds, on sharper corners) and am starting to learn how the car communicates.
Still, driving the car on greasy, twisty roads I would still describe it as being on "tiptoes" — that said, I am on winter tyres. I've got it booked in for an alignment later in the month, so hopefully that and getting summer tyres on it will improve communication and confidence.
it is a mid engine car, if you carry too much speed into a corner... hydro or EPS, it will understeer. you have to put weight at the front, turn and once u reach the inflection point, full throttle. can assure you, it is proper quick this thing!
took delivery of mine 3weeks ago, love it and am coming from a 981 cayman gts!
took delivery of mine 3weeks ago, love it and am coming from a 981 cayman gts!
Montygt4 said:
Due to collect my S on March 1 st from Martins in Winchester , Went to see it today , looks awesome in grey with standard wheels . Spec is only adding mirrors , camera and mats , also ordered two small cases for the front luggage .
Will add pictures next Sunday ! Can’t wait ......
Good luck for this weekend hope the weather holds off for you. Just had confirmation mine’s been built and should be with Martins in the next 8 weeks. Starting to get excited now Will add pictures next Sunday ! Can’t wait ......
Trgasy said:
it is a mid engine car, if you carry too much speed into a corner... hydro or EPS, it will understeer. you have to put weight at the front, turn and once u reach the inflection point, full throttle. can assure you, it is proper quick this thing!
took delivery of mine 3weeks ago, love it and am coming from a 981 cayman gts!
It's not really a function of it being mid -engined, more just that it is set up to be forgiving/safe. On track and in high grip situations at speed there simply isn't enough grunt to overcome the built-in understeer. At lower speeds or in the wet either power or trail braking can neutralise things. I personally think it's a great setup for a road car - but I'd want more front end on track - whether on the standard car or the S. took delivery of mine 3weeks ago, love it and am coming from a 981 cayman gts!
Edited by bcr5784 on Friday 28th February 20:13
TurboBlue said:
Looks lovely, if you think it is riding a bit hard it is worth checking the tyre pressure's ; they may be set at the eco setting - which is 36psi - I've brought mine down to the road setting which is 29/30 psi (for a Pure, may be different for an S).
Enjoy the S.
The other thing(s) to check are the coolant levels. It does seem that the system traps air and that the levels drop - not to dangerously low levels, but towards the minimum level - especially in the offside reservoir.Enjoy the S.
Edited by bcr5784 on Sunday 1st March 20:53
So here is the luggage for the front . All fits very well and will be useful on first road trip coming up to South Wales in early April for 5 days .
Was lucky enough to drive one at Thruxton in December and was very impressed ... will take a look at the tyre pressures , so many thanks for the comment .
bcr5784 said:
It's not really a function of it being mid -engined, more just that it is set up to be forgiving/safe. On track and in high grip situations at speed there simply isn't enough grunt to overcome the built-in understeer. At lower speeds or in the wet either power or trail braking can neutralise things. I personally think it's a great setup for a road car - but I'd want more front end on track - whether on the standard car or the S.
A couple of weeks ago I took my A110 to the alignment shop to have a different geo put on it, and my car is much better now. Of course, it's still mid-engined, so that behaviour is still there, but it feels much more grippy and confidence-inspiring than it did before — I can feel what's going on now, for a start. The geo I had put on reduces the toe quite significantly (replacing a lot of toe-out at the front with a little toe-in), and adding some negative camber. The setup is from David Pook, somewhat of an expert, which he's since made available for free if you want to check it out: https://life110.co.uk/collections/alpine-a110-tuni...
From his site:
said:
…markedly improve the steering connection and turn in, reduce the tendency for the car to wander on motorways and in cross winds and add stability on track.
I have been following David and his Alpine Life modifications, really interested to hear feedback from other people who have implemented the change.
I am not keen on making modifications to the car but tweeking the suspension settings may well be worth considering.
Did you install his alternative springs as well?
I am not keen on making modifications to the car but tweeking the suspension settings may well be worth considering.
Did you install his alternative springs as well?
No springs for now, just the geo — baby steps!
FWIW, I've never owned a car that didn't benefit from an alignment after buying it, even if just to the factory specs by a specialist shop. The factory tolerances can be rather wide, and sloppily applied at that. My particular A110 wasn't _too_ far off factory specs, but it was a bit lop-sided.
FWIW, I've never owned a car that didn't benefit from an alignment after buying it, even if just to the factory specs by a specialist shop. The factory tolerances can be rather wide, and sloppily applied at that. My particular A110 wasn't _too_ far off factory specs, but it was a bit lop-sided.
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