stone chips and general wear

[bilton_d]

Went to have a look at a 54 plate 3R with under 4000 miles on the clock (didn't test drive it due to the weather)i was bit concerned about the number of stone chips on such a low mileage car, do they really chip that bad?
Tyre wear ... rears were well down. What is the normal mileage out of the rear tyres?
Do you always re-fit the SO3's or has anyone tried the Eagle GSD3's or Toyo T1R's etc

[Ash M400]

Armourfend will protect you.

I had it on my first M12, the M400 I ran out of time due to the Gumball. I now need a front clam respray.

Tyres depends on how you drive. Smooth then they will last at least 10k, slide her around, 3k max.

[monitor]

They do chip easily. Many owners fit paint protection film as soon as they buy the car. The combination of water based paint (very common now) with GRP body (hard to get a good bone) makes chips inevitable. Dark colors are worse only because the undercoat is apparently light color so chips show easily.

The autopaint protection films help.

As to tyres... depends a lot on how the car is driven, spirited driving and some track days can easily smoke a rear set in well under 10K.

[AMG Merc]

bilton_d said:

Went to have a look at a 54 plate 3R with under 4000 miles on the clock (didn't test drive it due to the weather)i was bit concerned about the number of stone chips on such a low mileage car, do they really chip that bad? Tyre wear ... rears were well down. What is the normal mileage out of the rear tyres? Do you always re-fit the SO3's or has anyone tried the Eagle GSD3's or Toyo T1R's etc

Well it depends on the kind of life it has led and where it lives really - mine has 8,000 miles and a handful of track days and has minimal chips. I suppose it's a no brainer but if you drive too close to whatever's in front you'll suffer damage!

4,000 miles on a set of rears (mine are still legal) suggests maybe a few track days (did it have a track day sump fitted do you know?) but that's what the thing was built for IMHO.

Also check out the classifed on this site - there are some absolute bargains!

[bilton_d]

Yes it has the trackday sump ...... I didn't think the Nobles could come without the rear spoiler, does look nice mind

[micknall]

The S0-3s actually suit the 3R well - we've always used them for all our models, apart from the M400.

Bear in mind that, what works for other cars, doesn't necessarily work for the Noble's chassis. There are better track tyres available for the car, granted, but few offer the on-road manners of the Bridgestones.

Simon Hucknall
Press Officer
Noble Automotive Ltd.