MDifficult’s E82 1M Coupe & Ariel Atom 3
Discussion
MDifficult said:
Cheers Ben, I can't wait for a Sunday Service! You're right - the seats are basically Recaro CS Sportsters, but once re-trimmed with BMW written on them they're suddenly £4,000 a pair 
- Have to say though, I tried the heating out when I did my v.early morning runout on Saturday and they're absolutely roasting.
Only downside to the seats... finding somewhere to put the originals! Right now they're tucked up in the garage along with the original exhaust. Don't want to sell them because they'd be near impossible to ever replace, with the embossed headrests and orange stitching. Some BMW office furniture perhaps?
I didn't realise you could get them heated – that makes all the difference! I fitted some leather CS Sportsters into my Megane when I had it and was very tempted to turn the standard seats into office chairs ala Top Gear sofa style, but ended up sticking them in the loft until I sold the car... - Have to say though, I tried the heating out when I did my v.early morning runout on Saturday and they're absolutely roasting. Only downside to the seats... finding somewhere to put the originals! Right now they're tucked up in the garage along with the original exhaust. Don't want to sell them because they'd be near impossible to ever replace, with the embossed headrests and orange stitching. Some BMW office furniture perhaps?
1 week on... time for a few small updates on the 1M..
Firstly, MrTouring and I managed a lovely early-morning run out. The two big fat arses (the cars, not us
) make a great couple...
But that wasn't enough, so I got up at dawn on Wednesday for a solitary run to the coast, to get properly acquainted, take a few photos, and generally start building a bond with the car.
What can I say? What was supposed to be a quick 70 mile round trip ended up more like 150 miles until the traffic started building up and a decided it was time to head home again
I was also joined for the last 15 minutes or so by another white car with a tasty engine note! Holy s
tballs these sound amazing, even over the sound of my own car.
What else? Well - here's an default engine bay pic... although not much to see here other than it's nice and clean...
But, a quick peek shows that a previous owner has swapped out the notoriously weak plastic chargepipe with an upgraded metal one. Can't see any brands on it (although I didn't look particularly hard), but good to know that's one thing not to worry about.
A fresh set of rear tyres have arrived and are tucked up in the garage - not needed immediately but the rears aren't long for this world and wanted to have the replacements ready and on standby. I went for MPSS as it's what I run on the M5 and had on the MINI and I think they're amazing. Enquired about PS4S which I hear are even better but more expensive and Camskill were out of stock until July at least.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, the car's booked in for Suntek paint protection film on Monday. I've gone for a happy medium between keeping the car looking as good as possible, but not treating it like a piece of precious art so... gone for front bumper, entire side skirts, then splashguards on the front and rear of the rear arches. That should keep all the road-rash off and I can enjoy some bigger adventures
Oh.. one more thing... a little exhaust clip. I promise a better one at some point, and it was cut short because the phone was blown over
Firstly, MrTouring and I managed a lovely early-morning run out. The two big fat arses (the cars, not us
) make a great couple...But that wasn't enough, so I got up at dawn on Wednesday for a solitary run to the coast, to get properly acquainted, take a few photos, and generally start building a bond with the car.
What can I say? What was supposed to be a quick 70 mile round trip ended up more like 150 miles until the traffic started building up and a decided it was time to head home again
I was also joined for the last 15 minutes or so by another white car with a tasty engine note! Holy s
tballs these sound amazing, even over the sound of my own car.What else? Well - here's an default engine bay pic... although not much to see here other than it's nice and clean...
But, a quick peek shows that a previous owner has swapped out the notoriously weak plastic chargepipe with an upgraded metal one. Can't see any brands on it (although I didn't look particularly hard), but good to know that's one thing not to worry about.
A fresh set of rear tyres have arrived and are tucked up in the garage - not needed immediately but the rears aren't long for this world and wanted to have the replacements ready and on standby. I went for MPSS as it's what I run on the M5 and had on the MINI and I think they're amazing. Enquired about PS4S which I hear are even better but more expensive and Camskill were out of stock until July at least.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, the car's booked in for Suntek paint protection film on Monday. I've gone for a happy medium between keeping the car looking as good as possible, but not treating it like a piece of precious art so... gone for front bumper, entire side skirts, then splashguards on the front and rear of the rear arches. That should keep all the road-rash off and I can enjoy some bigger adventures
Oh.. one more thing... a little exhaust clip. I promise a better one at some point, and it was cut short because the phone was blown over
Edited by MDifficult on Friday 26th June 18:11
MDifficult said:
1 week on... time for a few small updates on the 1M..
Firstly, MrTouring and I managed a lovely early-morning run out. The two big fat arses (the cars, not us) make a great couple...
But that wasn't enough, so I got up at dawn on Wednesday for a solitary run to the coast, to get properly acquainted, take a few photos, and generally start building a bond with the car.
What can I say? What was supposed to be a quick 70 mile round trip ended up more like 150 miles until the traffic started building up and a decided it was time to head home again
I was also joined for the last 15 minutes or so by another white car with a tasty engine note! Holy stballs these sound amazing, even over the sound of my own car.
What else? Well - here's an default engine bay pic... although not much to see here other than it's nice and clean...
But, a quick peek shows that a previous owner has swapped out the notoriously weak plastic chargepipe with an upgraded metal one. Can't see any brands on it (although I didn't look particularly hard), but good to know that's one thing not to worry about.
A fresh set of rear tyres have arrived and are tucked up in the garage - not needed immediately but the rears aren't long for this world and wanted to have the replacements ready and on standby. I went for MPSS as it's what I run on the M5 and had on the MINI and I think they're amazing. Enquired about PS4S which I hear are even better but more expensive and Camskill were out of stock until July at least.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, the car's booked in for Suntek paint protection film on Monday. I've gone for a happy medium between keeping the car looking as good as possible, but not treating it like a piece of precious art so... gone for front bumper, entire side skirts, then splashguards on the front and rear of the rear arches. That should keep all the road-rash off and I can enjoy some bigger adventures
Oh.. one more thing... a little exhaust clip. I promise a better one at some point, and it was cut short because the phone was blown over
Well well well MD.... Firstly, MrTouring and I managed a lovely early-morning run out. The two big fat arses (the cars, not us
) make a great couple...But that wasn't enough, so I got up at dawn on Wednesday for a solitary run to the coast, to get properly acquainted, take a few photos, and generally start building a bond with the car.
What can I say? What was supposed to be a quick 70 mile round trip ended up more like 150 miles until the traffic started building up and a decided it was time to head home again
I was also joined for the last 15 minutes or so by another white car with a tasty engine note! Holy s
tballs these sound amazing, even over the sound of my own car.What else? Well - here's an default engine bay pic... although not much to see here other than it's nice and clean...
But, a quick peek shows that a previous owner has swapped out the notoriously weak plastic chargepipe with an upgraded metal one. Can't see any brands on it (although I didn't look particularly hard), but good to know that's one thing not to worry about.
A fresh set of rear tyres have arrived and are tucked up in the garage - not needed immediately but the rears aren't long for this world and wanted to have the replacements ready and on standby. I went for MPSS as it's what I run on the M5 and had on the MINI and I think they're amazing. Enquired about PS4S which I hear are even better but more expensive and Camskill were out of stock until July at least.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, the car's booked in for Suntek paint protection film on Monday. I've gone for a happy medium between keeping the car looking as good as possible, but not treating it like a piece of precious art so... gone for front bumper, entire side skirts, then splashguards on the front and rear of the rear arches. That should keep all the road-rash off and I can enjoy some bigger adventures
Oh.. one more thing... a little exhaust clip. I promise a better one at some point, and it was cut short because the phone was blown over
Edited by MDifficult on Friday 26th June 18:11
What a choice to replace the GP with, I’ve been racking my brains recently to what I’d replace it with for sensible money, M2, E92 M3 and 1M were the logical way to go, clearly you had a bit of a similar thought process.
Glad to see you’ve gone for something limited, but proper. Remember when one of these pulled up in a Pub car park on my bday and dad couldn’t figure out why I was straight up to have a look at it.
It’s the fat arches at the back, as you may know Chris Harris has a 1M and has done some sensible mods to his which he also thinks transform it.
Seats is a great addition as the standard ones are far too high.
You’ve got the exhaust tinkered with (and you can go further should you so wish. (I think you will - who doesn’t want more noise!)
If you really want some more poke as per Chris Harris’ 1M you can have it remapped by DMS and they can extract some serious poke from them (quicker than an M2), as warranty isn’t an issue on it once you’re acquainted I can deffo recommend one, very clever stuff.
Have attached what their website says but I think CH car sees 450bhp. Mental!
Look forward to seeing more write ups, you jammy swine!!!
After what's felt like forever, the 1M is back with me after having a little nip & tuck.
Really hard to show photos of PPF, but this is what I went for in the end. Full single-piece front bumper, full side skirts, then bespoke splashguards front and back of the rear arches. A quick bit of photoshop bodgery to show you what I was looking for:
But also, for a bit of fun I treated the car to these... rather than black vinyl these are actually made from black PPF so wont fade, age or scratch. Right now, I think they look awesome but appreciate they're potentially an acquired taste.
In my defence, my extensive reading of the history of the 1M Coupe turned up that these vents were always intended by BMW to be open, however they couldn't get the tooling right in time for launch, so left them closed. The vents in the front and rear bumper have black inserts from the factory, so I thought I'd give them a go.
Opinions? Naff or Spaff?
In addition, the boys treated the car to an engine detail... so shiny...
and the titanium tips cleaned and protected with ceramic to stop them getting pitted over time...
All of the PPF was customised to maximise the coverage and improve the fit, and the front bumper was removed and refitted to make sure everything was perfect edge to edge. Even goes under the washer jets rather than cutting around...
And the result? Well, from a distance it looks exactly like it did before! But, with all the road rash areas now protected I can drive it without fear! I've tweaked these pictures to try to make it easier to see where the PPF is
So with the car all sorted, it's probably time I drove it! I've got a couple of little one-day adventures planned in the near future, and something longer for later.
I also need to stop going outside just to look at it. I still can't quite believe it's mine!
Really hard to show photos of PPF, but this is what I went for in the end. Full single-piece front bumper, full side skirts, then bespoke splashguards front and back of the rear arches. A quick bit of photoshop bodgery to show you what I was looking for:
But also, for a bit of fun I treated the car to these... rather than black vinyl these are actually made from black PPF so wont fade, age or scratch. Right now, I think they look awesome but appreciate they're potentially an acquired taste.
In my defence, my extensive reading of the history of the 1M Coupe turned up that these vents were always intended by BMW to be open, however they couldn't get the tooling right in time for launch, so left them closed. The vents in the front and rear bumper have black inserts from the factory, so I thought I'd give them a go.
Opinions? Naff or Spaff?
In addition, the boys treated the car to an engine detail... so shiny...
and the titanium tips cleaned and protected with ceramic to stop them getting pitted over time...
All of the PPF was customised to maximise the coverage and improve the fit, and the front bumper was removed and refitted to make sure everything was perfect edge to edge. Even goes under the washer jets rather than cutting around...
And the result? Well, from a distance it looks exactly like it did before! But, with all the road rash areas now protected I can drive it without fear! I've tweaked these pictures to try to make it easier to see where the PPF is
So with the car all sorted, it's probably time I drove it! I've got a couple of little one-day adventures planned in the near future, and something longer for later.
I also need to stop going outside just to look at it. I still can't quite believe it's mine!
Edited by MDifficult on Monday 6th July 21:41
Loving the 1M; those seats are ace and make the interior look much more special. I really like BMW’s standard sport seats and find them really comfy, they just don’t look great (especially with more modern seats looking interesting).
I love how silly the rear arches are; they so wide the car almost looks square. I popped into T H Boler last summer with an uncle and they had an orange one in stock which managed to grab my attention far more than the super cars.
I don’t mind the vinyl to the ‘vent’. At first glance it’s not that noticeable.
I love how silly the rear arches are; they so wide the car almost looks square. I popped into T H Boler last summer with an uncle and they had an orange one in stock which managed to grab my attention far more than the super cars.
I don’t mind the vinyl to the ‘vent’. At first glance it’s not that noticeable.
mattf93 said:
Well well well MD....
What a choice to replace the GP with, I’ve been racking my brains recently to what I’d replace it with for sensible money, M2, E92 M3 and 1M were the logical way to go, clearly you had a bit of a similar thought process.
Glad to see you’ve gone for something limited, but proper. Remember when one of these pulled up in a Pub car park on my bday and dad couldn’t figure out why I was straight up to have a look at it.
It’s the fat arches at the back, as you may know Chris Harris has a 1M and has done some sensible mods to his which he also thinks transform it.
Seats is a great addition as the standard ones are far too high.
You’ve got the exhaust tinkered with (and you can go further should you so wish. (I think you will - who doesn’t want more noise!)
If you really want some more poke as per Chris Harris’ 1M you can have it remapped by DMS and they can extract some serious poke from them (quicker than an M2), as warranty isn’t an issue on it once you’re acquainted I can deffo recommend one, very clever stuff.
Have attached what their website says but I think CH car sees 450bhp. Mental!
Look forward to seeing more write ups, you jammy swine!!!
Cheer Matt - very glad you approve!What a choice to replace the GP with, I’ve been racking my brains recently to what I’d replace it with for sensible money, M2, E92 M3 and 1M were the logical way to go, clearly you had a bit of a similar thought process.
Glad to see you’ve gone for something limited, but proper. Remember when one of these pulled up in a Pub car park on my bday and dad couldn’t figure out why I was straight up to have a look at it.
It’s the fat arches at the back, as you may know Chris Harris has a 1M and has done some sensible mods to his which he also thinks transform it.
Seats is a great addition as the standard ones are far too high.
You’ve got the exhaust tinkered with (and you can go further should you so wish. (I think you will - who doesn’t want more noise!)
If you really want some more poke as per Chris Harris’ 1M you can have it remapped by DMS and they can extract some serious poke from them (quicker than an M2), as warranty isn’t an issue on it once you’re acquainted I can deffo recommend one, very clever stuff.
Have attached what their website says but I think CH car sees 450bhp. Mental!
Look forward to seeing more write ups, you jammy swine!!!
Chris Harris' love affair with his 1M was certainly a factor... I've watched all his videos more times than is probably acceptable!
I know his map is the Cobb Sport one from Litchfield, and he's got the full Akro system. Mine's got the same backbox but, I don't think I'd go the Cobb route as they're pretty old hat now - probably more likely to go down the MHD route if I decided to map it in the future - I really like the DIY solution they have now. That said, with the wet weather and not a lot of meat on the rear tyres, more power is the last thing I think it needs!
Don't worry - plenty updates coming!
Court_S said:
Loving the 1M; those seats are ace and make the interior look much more special. I really like BMW’s standard sport seats and find them really comfy, they just don’t look great (especially with more modern seats looking interesting).
I love how silly the rear arches are; they so wide the car almost looks square. I popped into T H Boler last summer with an uncle and they had an orange one in stock which managed to grab my attention far more than the super cars.
I don’t mind the vinyl to the ‘vent’. At first glance it’s not that noticeable.
I think that comment on the 'vent' could be 'damning with faint praise' I love how silly the rear arches are; they so wide the car almost looks square. I popped into T H Boler last summer with an uncle and they had an orange one in stock which managed to grab my attention far more than the super cars.
I don’t mind the vinyl to the ‘vent’. At first glance it’s not that noticeable.
but cheers anyway!I keep just walking around it looking at it from different angles... as you say, it's a square squat little b
d 
Fortunately, I had the day off today so spent most of it driving! Absolutely brilliant fun but, with the filthy weather the car now looks a right state.
I would clean it, but I've been warned to leave it at least a week before using any soap to avoid accidentally lifting any corners of the PPF. So for now, it's sitting looking properly 'used'.
But, after a day in the rain I decided enough was enough on the rear tyres so popped over to the tyre place to fit the new MPSS. I can see why the 1M didn't come with a spare!
Had a funny moment at the tyre fitters. Was chatting with the fitter when a Reliant Robin drove passed. "Don't see those every day" I said, and the fitter replied "I've been in this game for 25 years, but never done the front tyre on one of those"
Next thing you know, the Robin pulls in, parks up, young guy gets out and asks for a new front tyre! Tyre fitter and I burst out laughing
He got to pop his Reliant Robin front tyre cherry
I would clean it, but I've been warned to leave it at least a week before using any soap to avoid accidentally lifting any corners of the PPF. So for now, it's sitting looking properly 'used'.
But, after a day in the rain I decided enough was enough on the rear tyres so popped over to the tyre place to fit the new MPSS. I can see why the 1M didn't come with a spare!
Had a funny moment at the tyre fitters. Was chatting with the fitter when a Reliant Robin drove passed. "Don't see those every day" I said, and the fitter replied "I've been in this game for 25 years, but never done the front tyre on one of those"
Next thing you know, the Robin pulls in, parks up, young guy gets out and asks for a new front tyre! Tyre fitter and I burst out laughing
He got to pop his Reliant Robin front tyre cherry
MDifficult said:
I think that comment on the 'vent' could be 'damning with faint praise' but cheers anyway!
I keep just walking around it looking at it from different angles... as you say, it's a square squat little bd
but cheers anyway!I keep just walking around it looking at it from different angles... as you say, it's a square squat little b
d It wasn’t meant to sound like that.More that it doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb and look crud.
Time for another update, and this one will be as much a product review as it is a Readers Cars post…
With both myself and MrTouring in possession of new cars (me the 1M, him the Z3M) that have a reputation for being pretty ‘tricky' on the limit, we decided to follow through on an adventure I’ve wanted to do for a few years… an ‘on the limit’ handing day with a driving coach.
First mission was to find the right one… and after searching a few PH threads I came up with a few potential names. After that, it was just a case of cross-referencing with coaches who do their coaching somewhere local. Eventually, I fixed on Gary Marsh who has some excellent reviews on PH but also coaches at Abingdon airfield which is nice and local with loads of space and very little to hit!
Gary was easy to get hold of (don’t be put off by his slightly outdated website) and really helpful over email, giving us suggestions for what, where and how to put together what we were looking for. In the end, we settled for a dedicated day for the two of us last Friday 10th July at Abingdon, focused on getting comfortable and confident in the cars at the limit.
After a few last minute panics (I’ll let MrTouring share the details of those in his thread!) we rocked up at Abingdon airfield super-early on Friday morning, amongst the first arrivals. I was a little nervous about my car passing the 100db static noise test as the exhaust is pretty bloody loud especially at 4.5k revs but thankfully it got through.
After meeting up with Gary, introductions, exploration of our various track experience and a safety briefing, Gary took us over to the end of the airfield where he’d already laid out a number of areas for us to play in over the day. Gary’s careful to use very light cones so there’s not too much worry about clipping one.. which is good news considering we both collected a few through the day!
Part 1: The Brakes
The first session was focussed on getting used to very heavy braking technique and using the weight transfer of the car to improve the braking performance. From a fixed start position we’d accelerate up to 60-70 then, at Gary’s signal, try to stop as quickly as possible. First few runs were pants but Gary’s coaching to ‘hint’ to the car by touching the brake then pressing hard to the stop rather than just stamping on the pedal soon had us pulling up astonishingly quickly.
After confidence with straight line braking, we moved to object avoidance, with an even faster run but then moving one lane to the right mid-braking zone (between two blue cones). Imagine being on a motorway in the middle lane and needing to brake hard while also moving into the outside lane to avoid something. Again, after a few runs and using the weight transfer to the front to add grip prior to the move, we were soon threading the needle between the two blue cones, fully on the nose and with amazing accuracy. Not for the first time, I was staggered with the performance of the car using Gary’s techniques.
More to follow..
With both myself and MrTouring in possession of new cars (me the 1M, him the Z3M) that have a reputation for being pretty ‘tricky' on the limit, we decided to follow through on an adventure I’ve wanted to do for a few years… an ‘on the limit’ handing day with a driving coach.
First mission was to find the right one… and after searching a few PH threads I came up with a few potential names. After that, it was just a case of cross-referencing with coaches who do their coaching somewhere local. Eventually, I fixed on Gary Marsh who has some excellent reviews on PH but also coaches at Abingdon airfield which is nice and local with loads of space and very little to hit!
Gary was easy to get hold of (don’t be put off by his slightly outdated website) and really helpful over email, giving us suggestions for what, where and how to put together what we were looking for. In the end, we settled for a dedicated day for the two of us last Friday 10th July at Abingdon, focused on getting comfortable and confident in the cars at the limit.
After a few last minute panics (I’ll let MrTouring share the details of those in his thread!) we rocked up at Abingdon airfield super-early on Friday morning, amongst the first arrivals. I was a little nervous about my car passing the 100db static noise test as the exhaust is pretty bloody loud especially at 4.5k revs but thankfully it got through.
After meeting up with Gary, introductions, exploration of our various track experience and a safety briefing, Gary took us over to the end of the airfield where he’d already laid out a number of areas for us to play in over the day. Gary’s careful to use very light cones so there’s not too much worry about clipping one.. which is good news considering we both collected a few through the day!
Part 1: The Brakes
The first session was focussed on getting used to very heavy braking technique and using the weight transfer of the car to improve the braking performance. From a fixed start position we’d accelerate up to 60-70 then, at Gary’s signal, try to stop as quickly as possible. First few runs were pants but Gary’s coaching to ‘hint’ to the car by touching the brake then pressing hard to the stop rather than just stamping on the pedal soon had us pulling up astonishingly quickly.
After confidence with straight line braking, we moved to object avoidance, with an even faster run but then moving one lane to the right mid-braking zone (between two blue cones). Imagine being on a motorway in the middle lane and needing to brake hard while also moving into the outside lane to avoid something. Again, after a few runs and using the weight transfer to the front to add grip prior to the move, we were soon threading the needle between the two blue cones, fully on the nose and with amazing accuracy. Not for the first time, I was staggered with the performance of the car using Gary’s techniques.
More to follow..
Part 2: The test course
Gary had laid out a small course similar to an autocross course in order to get a sense of our individual driving performance. Even now, I can shut my eyes and remember this non-stop course like it’s burned into my brain!
Start the stopwatch. Pull away from the start (gentleman’s agreement to keep the starts gentle as we’d be doing many, many launches over the day), hard on the power and instantly into a gentle right hander, moving up through second, into third and about 80/85Mph. Focus on the blue braking cone, hard on the brakes and straight into the 100 degree right hander , clipping the apex at about 45, onto the power and unwind the lock until you’re up against the imaginary concrete wall (a line of cones).
Catch your breath, over to the right, onto the brakes hard, down to second (or first if you’re keen) and into the roundabout. Do a full 360 degrees anti-clockwise of the roundabout then hard on the power on down the runway, up to third and about 80. Take a breath. Hard on the brakes, down into second and into the very tight left-hand hairpin lined with cones which are only about 2 foot wider than the car. Easy does it, don’t hit any, then hard on the power, manage the oversteer and back down the runway to the roundabout again.
Hard on the brakes, into second, full 360 anti-clockwise lap of the roundabout then back on the power for a split-second before going into the slalom (this is the imaginary concrete wall from earlier, but is now a slalom of cones). Carefully does it, don’t rush it, left, right, left, right, left, right, left then into the fast 75 degree right hander.
Up into third through the right hander (don’t st your pants when the back steps out!) then onto the straight and up to the very top of third (about 95/100 in my car) then fully on the anchors for the slowest, tightest left-hand hairpin imaginable. This time, the cones that make up the hairpin are only about 6 inches wider than the car, so it’s first gear and almost walking pace. Careful, careful, done! Hard on the power and back down the fast straight, up into second, and into third… take another breath…
… and it’s into the left-right right-left chicane, second if you’re being careful, but third if you’re feeling brave, out the other side then hard on the power for the last time towards the garage. Yup, a garage made of cones. Hit the end of the garage you get a penalty, but fail to get into the garage… penalty. So to finish the lap it’s a case of picking your spot and hard on the brakes from 85/90 to a dead-stop in the garage. Stop the stopwatch. Take another breath. Drive back to Gary and get your feedback. Then do it all over again!
After probably 7 or 8 runs both MrTouring and I has settled into consistent 1m47s and nothing I could do would eke out a faster lap. In fact, the more I tried, the slower I got.
Gary had laid out a small course similar to an autocross course in order to get a sense of our individual driving performance. Even now, I can shut my eyes and remember this non-stop course like it’s burned into my brain!
Start the stopwatch. Pull away from the start (gentleman’s agreement to keep the starts gentle as we’d be doing many, many launches over the day), hard on the power and instantly into a gentle right hander, moving up through second, into third and about 80/85Mph. Focus on the blue braking cone, hard on the brakes and straight into the 100 degree right hander , clipping the apex at about 45, onto the power and unwind the lock until you’re up against the imaginary concrete wall (a line of cones).
Catch your breath, over to the right, onto the brakes hard, down to second (or first if you’re keen) and into the roundabout. Do a full 360 degrees anti-clockwise of the roundabout then hard on the power on down the runway, up to third and about 80. Take a breath. Hard on the brakes, down into second and into the very tight left-hand hairpin lined with cones which are only about 2 foot wider than the car. Easy does it, don’t hit any, then hard on the power, manage the oversteer and back down the runway to the roundabout again.
Hard on the brakes, into second, full 360 anti-clockwise lap of the roundabout then back on the power for a split-second before going into the slalom (this is the imaginary concrete wall from earlier, but is now a slalom of cones). Carefully does it, don’t rush it, left, right, left, right, left, right, left then into the fast 75 degree right hander.
Up into third through the right hander (don’t s
t your pants when the back steps out!) then onto the straight and up to the very top of third (about 95/100 in my car) then fully on the anchors for the slowest, tightest left-hand hairpin imaginable. This time, the cones that make up the hairpin are only about 6 inches wider than the car, so it’s first gear and almost walking pace. Careful, careful, done! Hard on the power and back down the fast straight, up into second, and into third… take another breath…… and it’s into the left-right right-left chicane, second if you’re being careful, but third if you’re feeling brave, out the other side then hard on the power for the last time towards the garage. Yup, a garage made of cones. Hit the end of the garage you get a penalty, but fail to get into the garage… penalty. So to finish the lap it’s a case of picking your spot and hard on the brakes from 85/90 to a dead-stop in the garage. Stop the stopwatch. Take another breath. Drive back to Gary and get your feedback. Then do it all over again!
After probably 7 or 8 runs both MrTouring and I has settled into consistent 1m47s and nothing I could do would eke out a faster lap. In fact, the more I tried, the slower I got.
Lunch
By this point we were both pretty tired so it was a good chance to rest ourselves, and the cars, and get something to eat. A trackday was taking place on the main part of Abingdon so we grabbed a burger from the van and had a mooch around the eclectic mix in the paddock. Highlights for me were the Lotus Carlton (yes, really, I still can’t believe it) and two lads in their Tesla Model 3s who’d apparently been rinsing everyone all morning.
Part 3: Weight Transfer
This is really the meat of Gary’s coaching where he used the tough 100 degree right-hander to demonstrate the value of weight transfer and ‘hinting’ to the car what you’re going to do, in order to keep the weight transferred and the car settled, and using this to maximise the performance of the car through the corner. Hard to explain, even harder to do! But in short, the biggest difference is in how you brake and how you turn.
I’ve always been one to get all my braking done in a straight line, off the brakes, then turn into the apex, then power out. But Gary taught us how to use trail braking (i.e continuing to stay on the brakes while initially turning in) and using a gentle early steering input to maximise the weight and stability on the outside front tyre. This, combined with a change in my line meant I could make the turn with less lock, carry more speed, and get on the power harder and earlier and with more confidence. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really hard and turns a simple corner into a process of many, many parts but the results speak for themselves. Speed & Confidence.
Part 4: Upping the pace
To prove his point (and push my limits) Gary opened out the corner so it became a wide corner with a much higher apex speed. Barrel down the straight, onto the brakes, gentle then firm turn while still braking, off the brakes, clip the apex, then firmly and hard onto the power and steer the car out of the turn on the throttle.
I had multiple goes at this but most of them ended in huge screeching understeer (100 yards of front tyre skid marks). Partly because I wasn’t getting enough weight over the front (not braking hard enough and not letting the car settle before turning) and partly because my rear tyres are new and the fronts are half worn. But once, just once, I nailed it. Hard on the brakes, hint the front in, apex, then lovely drifty oversteer on the way out! Not exactly Chris Harris but I promise you I felt like a f**king hero!
Part 5: The proof is in the pudding
So, after all the coaching, the tweaking and the trying, Gary put the original test course back in place and we re-ran it. Remember, my best run pre-coaching was a consistent 1m47s.
Post coaching, my very first run was a 1m40! Seven seconds knocked off but I wasn’t perfect. Second run, a 1m37! 10 whole seconds off my best effort pre coaching.
I had a third go, but it was clear I was exhausted and I wasn’t going to go any faster. That 1m37 was my personal perfect lap and it was time to call it a day. Absolutely bloody brilliant!
Summary
First things first, Gary is a fantastic guy, coach, driver and raconteur. It’s worth paying the money just to listen to the tales, tips and anecdotes that pepper all the discussions between each run and each part of the course. I could listen to the stories all day so it’s important to remind yourself why you’re there - stop asking questions and get back behind the wheel. Gary’s patient, confidence inspiring, funny and was quick to read that MrTouring and I needed coaching in slightly different ways to get the best from us.
As for the day itself, it was everything I hoped it would be and I’ll definitely be doing another one - although next time I’d really like to try it in the wet. Yes. Really.
Lastly, did I learn anything? Well, the stopwatch doesn’t lie and knocking 10 full seconds off a course where I would swear blind I was driving it as fast as I could shows the quality of the training. But also, it was fascinating and so confidence inspiring. I approach the 1M as a car I know and understand rather than something to be slightly wary of, which is exactly what I was looking for. The car is so much more capable than I would have imagined, but I also know that I can get so much more from it now. Money well spent.
Plus… I can now park into my garage accurately from 100Mph, so that’s useful
Would I recommend it? Do you really need to ask?
Any downsides? The only real negatives are that, due to COVID, Gary has to do all his coaching and observation from outside the car.. but it didn’t really diminish anything.
Anyway, I hope that was interesting. I was so busy having fun I didn’t really take many pictures and for safety, you can’t really get any video because only Gary and the driver are close to the action - but the memories will last longer.
By this point we were both pretty tired so it was a good chance to rest ourselves, and the cars, and get something to eat. A trackday was taking place on the main part of Abingdon so we grabbed a burger from the van and had a mooch around the eclectic mix in the paddock. Highlights for me were the Lotus Carlton (yes, really, I still can’t believe it) and two lads in their Tesla Model 3s who’d apparently been rinsing everyone all morning.
Part 3: Weight Transfer
This is really the meat of Gary’s coaching where he used the tough 100 degree right-hander to demonstrate the value of weight transfer and ‘hinting’ to the car what you’re going to do, in order to keep the weight transferred and the car settled, and using this to maximise the performance of the car through the corner. Hard to explain, even harder to do! But in short, the biggest difference is in how you brake and how you turn.
I’ve always been one to get all my braking done in a straight line, off the brakes, then turn into the apex, then power out. But Gary taught us how to use trail braking (i.e continuing to stay on the brakes while initially turning in) and using a gentle early steering input to maximise the weight and stability on the outside front tyre. This, combined with a change in my line meant I could make the turn with less lock, carry more speed, and get on the power harder and earlier and with more confidence. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really hard and turns a simple corner into a process of many, many parts but the results speak for themselves. Speed & Confidence.
Part 4: Upping the pace
To prove his point (and push my limits) Gary opened out the corner so it became a wide corner with a much higher apex speed. Barrel down the straight, onto the brakes, gentle then firm turn while still braking, off the brakes, clip the apex, then firmly and hard onto the power and steer the car out of the turn on the throttle.
I had multiple goes at this but most of them ended in huge screeching understeer (100 yards of front tyre skid marks). Partly because I wasn’t getting enough weight over the front (not braking hard enough and not letting the car settle before turning) and partly because my rear tyres are new and the fronts are half worn. But once, just once, I nailed it. Hard on the brakes, hint the front in, apex, then lovely drifty oversteer on the way out! Not exactly Chris Harris but I promise you I felt like a f**king hero!
Part 5: The proof is in the pudding
So, after all the coaching, the tweaking and the trying, Gary put the original test course back in place and we re-ran it. Remember, my best run pre-coaching was a consistent 1m47s.
Post coaching, my very first run was a 1m40! Seven seconds knocked off but I wasn’t perfect. Second run, a 1m37! 10 whole seconds off my best effort pre coaching.
I had a third go, but it was clear I was exhausted and I wasn’t going to go any faster. That 1m37 was my personal perfect lap and it was time to call it a day. Absolutely bloody brilliant!
Summary
First things first, Gary is a fantastic guy, coach, driver and raconteur. It’s worth paying the money just to listen to the tales, tips and anecdotes that pepper all the discussions between each run and each part of the course. I could listen to the stories all day so it’s important to remind yourself why you’re there - stop asking questions and get back behind the wheel. Gary’s patient, confidence inspiring, funny and was quick to read that MrTouring and I needed coaching in slightly different ways to get the best from us.
As for the day itself, it was everything I hoped it would be and I’ll definitely be doing another one - although next time I’d really like to try it in the wet. Yes. Really.
Lastly, did I learn anything? Well, the stopwatch doesn’t lie and knocking 10 full seconds off a course where I would swear blind I was driving it as fast as I could shows the quality of the training. But also, it was fascinating and so confidence inspiring. I approach the 1M as a car I know and understand rather than something to be slightly wary of, which is exactly what I was looking for. The car is so much more capable than I would have imagined, but I also know that I can get so much more from it now. Money well spent.
Plus… I can now park into my garage accurately from 100Mph, so that’s useful
Would I recommend it? Do you really need to ask?
Any downsides? The only real negatives are that, due to COVID, Gary has to do all his coaching and observation from outside the car.. but it didn’t really diminish anything.
Anyway, I hope that was interesting. I was so busy having fun I didn’t really take many pictures and for safety, you can’t really get any video because only Gary and the driver are close to the action - but the memories will last longer.
Edited by MDifficult on Sunday 12th July 23:20
Edited by MDifficult on Sunday 12th July 23:22
Julian Thompson said:
I think I like the black vinyl bits. PPF looks an amazing job.
I can’t get my head around how a coach coaches from outside the car. Bizarre!
Cheers - they're definitely growing on me I think! I can’t get my head around how a coach coaches from outside the car. Bizarre!
Honestly, after every single run you'd pull up to Gary, wind the window down and he'd diagnose what you'd done/not done and he was spot on every. single. time.
He'd suggest a little change, provide a little tip, send you on your way and, if you did what he said the results were exactly as he said they would be. And if you screwed up, he'd see it and know exactly what you'd done
The guy is a magician. Always encouraging, with a huge smile and a thumbs up if you'd nailed it
Final step of the plan fell into place today with the sale of the CBR. Sad to see it go but ideal time to sell it and put some money IN to the bank for a change.
The joy of buying a motorbike in the middle of torrential weather in October and selling on a sunny day in July is the money worked in my favour for once. Managed to buy the bike, fix a couple of small things, change the tyres & battery, do some tinkering, pay the tax & insurance for 9 months, do a good few hundred miles and still pocket a few quid as a little bonus.
I think it still went for a fair price considering the remarkable condition - I haven't seen a better one come up for sale since I bought it. I put it up for a bit of a cheeky £4,250 to give me a little negotiating room but didn't need much after all - there's loads of tosh for sale at the £3,999 price-point at the moment. The new owner seems like the perfect buyer who's looking to enjoy/polish it in equal measure and was a joy to sell to.
Downsides? Sadly, I had to use Autotrader to get it sold and the absolutely epic number of dreamers and time-wasters was astonishing compared to PH. Par for the course I guess. The usual rule of thumb of 'don't believe a word until they're in front of you, with the money' holds as true as ever.
So, bye bye CBR600RR, you sexy motherfker. 
Apart from that.. more gratuitous 1M pictures...
The joy of buying a motorbike in the middle of torrential weather in October and selling on a sunny day in July is the money worked in my favour for once. Managed to buy the bike, fix a couple of small things, change the tyres & battery, do some tinkering, pay the tax & insurance for 9 months, do a good few hundred miles and still pocket a few quid as a little bonus.
I think it still went for a fair price considering the remarkable condition - I haven't seen a better one come up for sale since I bought it. I put it up for a bit of a cheeky £4,250 to give me a little negotiating room but didn't need much after all - there's loads of tosh for sale at the £3,999 price-point at the moment. The new owner seems like the perfect buyer who's looking to enjoy/polish it in equal measure and was a joy to sell to.
Downsides? Sadly, I had to use Autotrader to get it sold and the absolutely epic number of dreamers and time-wasters was astonishing compared to PH. Par for the course I guess. The usual rule of thumb of 'don't believe a word until they're in front of you, with the money' holds as true as ever.
So, bye bye CBR600RR, you sexy motherf
ker. Apart from that.. more gratuitous 1M pictures...
Absolutely fantastic car OP! Congrats on the new purchase and glad to see your enjoying it!
I would’ve loved to get one of these but unfortunately they were out of my price range by £10k lol!
I decided to opt for a Alpine E92 M3 instead.
If your ever near Kent let me know, would love to get a few pics of the cars and see how they compare on the road
I would’ve loved to get one of these but unfortunately they were out of my price range by £10k lol!
I decided to opt for a Alpine E92 M3 instead.
If your ever near Kent let me know, would love to get a few pics of the cars and see how they compare on the road
Court_S said:
Love those two bottom pics of the 1M.
Looks very nice.
Thanks - I'm either driving it or taking photographs of it at the moment!Looks very nice.
5mileofdeath said:
Absolutely fantastic car OP! Congrats on the new purchase and glad to see your enjoying it!
I would’ve loved to get one of these but unfortunately they were out of my price range by £10k lol!
I decided to opt for a Alpine E92 M3 instead.
If your ever near Kent let me know, would love to get a few pics of the cars and see how they compare on the road
Cheers, thank you. I love the fact that people who don't know what it is really don't know what it is. But those who know, know. I would’ve loved to get one of these but unfortunately they were out of my price range by £10k lol!
I decided to opt for a Alpine E92 M3 instead.
If your ever near Kent let me know, would love to get a few pics of the cars and see how they compare on the road
You won't believe how many E92 M3s are in my eBay watch list right now
So, so tempting at the moment - fantastic car. Red or White FTW. I've not been out to Kent for a run-out in forever, so once I've exhausted all my usual routes nearer home I'll let you know
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