Oversteers way to much...

[Nick C]

Edit:

NickC, do you have remote brake bais adjuster?

yes I do....

[smokin]

If you need some measurements to check your dampers are set up correctly - let us know at the factory!

Just got the measurements for my set up from Steve and I'm 'mm' perfect all round. I'd taken the springs off some time ago to have the dampers tested and serviced by Bilstien. I think the only reason they were spot on was because I haven't touched the pushrods since it had it's proper geo setup done. I was shocked and a little disappointed as I was looking forward to a weekend of setup work.

Thanks again Henry et al

[HenryJS]

NickC:

Try Resetting the brake Bias to factory 'Road Setting'

Turn the Adjuster completely one way.
Wind back 7 FULL TURNS (there are 14 full turns in the adjustment) dont force it, otherwise it will bind.

If you have Alcons all round:
Wind it 3 full turns to the front.

If you have Alcons up front and sports rears:
wind it 1-2 turns to the front.

Then start again on track - as it might be the rears are locking up under braking on the way into the corner (from the video!)

And the tyre advice Steve gave is sound. (i cant remember if overheated tyres was mentioned - but this can have an effect)


Smokin:

If you want a weekend of fiddling with setup:

Put some more camber in!

-1deg 30mins max front
-2deg max rear with standard wishbones and reduce the ride height by 5mm or go the full 10mm and see what happens!

Any further than this and we feel as the though the rod ends don't have enough thread in the wishbone.

Or you could clean up your bellcranks - fresh grease in there always goes a long way. Reduces 'stiction' in the bellcrank and lets the damper move more freely.

Polish the silencer and manifold? (again)

*Coat accquired.

Have a good weekend all!

[Nick C]

thank you Henry.... much appreciated..


come across something strange again.
so the car looks like it might have a "race set up" although its never been raced. the ride height is approx. 118mm at the front and 110mm at the rear -

but here is where it appears to get strange..

the passenger side has more camber than the drivers side., both front and rear.
by 1.0deg on the front and almost 2deg at the rear - has anyone ever come across or tried this kind of set up before ?

is it set up for "clockwise" tracks I wonder ?

[Nick C]

looks ok here though...

[Nick C]

I love this pic...

[John Scherrer]

Hello Nick C

Looks like you bought my car !

I can confirm that it was only ever used on the road apart from a couple of 2 hour track day sessions and I never tweaked the suspension alignment. The only spanner work was to take the wheels off to clean etc and put the catalytic converter on for MOT.

Is it going to be purely for track use now?

I miss it

[Nick C]

Hello Nick C

Looks like you bought my car !

I can confirm that it was only ever used on the road apart from a couple of 2 hour track day sessions and I never tweaked the suspension alignment. The only spanner work was to take the wheels off to clean etc and put the catalytic converter on for MOT.

Is it going to be purely for track use now?

I miss it

Hi John...
yes, I do believe it was your car.

I was told it was in fantastic condition and it is - A credit to you!

It is only ever going to be dry stored and under cover and will never go out in the rain.
it will be mainly for trackdays -yes. but again, only ever dry days. and I am planning on doing a trip or two through France, Spain and Portugal but only in the dry.
and I very mechanically sympathetic with my cars. always properly warmed up and cooled down and regular oil changes every couple of trackdays.


I am curious to the set up as it looks (seems) like it has been corner weighted - for you I guess?
the drivers seat is lower than the passenger side, but the ride height on the driver side is slightly higher and there is defo more camber on the passenger side when the car is empty - i.e when I am not sat in it. we are going to re-measure it later with me sat in it.
out of curiosity John, if has been set up for you - what do you weigh ? I am 93kgs.

[Nick C]

I can understand you missing it.. its simply an awesome machine. so visceral and physical in every way.

[John Scherrer]

Thanks for the info Nick - No, it was purely a road car for me, although it had some nice track options - all the gear and no idea some might say !

It was never set up for me, just standard factory spec when I had it. Only the factory touched it and it never had any damage or any offs nor ever hit the curb etc, so not sure why it seems to have an odd setup?

I'm only 71 Kg ..

I hope you enjoy the car as much as I did and i look forward to reading about your exploits on here ..

[Nick C]

Hi john..

thanks for the feedback on the car. its in very, very condition. been al underneath it. hardly a mark anywhere and zero rust. - always a good sign.

I actually now don't think there is much for me to be concerned about.
the main problem is, no matter where we place the car - on a ramp, level surface etc, we always get different camber reading. and soon as we touch the car or sit in it etc, it changes again -
from "eye" it looks ok. and the tyre wear is very even across the tread. that's usually a good tell sign. if anything, we have been running the pressures a bit high.

Ariel have suggested some ideas about how to set up.. but it does involve, removing wheels, detaching the shocks and fiddling with all-sorts of stuff I am not qualified to do...
So for now I going to change the tyres, run lower pressures and focus on my driving..

at the end of the year, most likely send it back to Ariel for a full alighnment and set up if there is anything I feel wrong etc.

next day out (weather permitting) cannot come soon enough !

[Nick C]

UPDATE....

ok, so after struggling massively again on track, I decided to change the rear tyres, (even thought the others did not appear 100% dead) and OMG !
what a difference...
it has completely transformed the car.

I cant believe how much difference in handling and grip there is.
now it is simply sensational and confidence inspiring - where as before it was borderline dangerous...

the tyres that came with the car looked brand new. - so I don't what`s happened to them, but whatever it was, they were completely buggered.

very happy - I was starting to think there was something fundamentally wrong with the car - or me !

[Fastlane]

Thought that may be the case - they really are very sensitive to tyres.

Really glad it's sorted and you are now able to appreciate how brilliant an Atom is. I must try out a track day one day!

[smokin]

Tyres not stored sympathetically for a prolonged period of time can turn to plastic (well that's what it feels like). Check your tyre DOT code to see just how old they are.

https://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-article/t ... anufacture

[GraemeW]

Thanks for that Smokin.

I have bought some second hand spare wheels with AD048s with plenty of tread left. Looks like they were used for a couple of track days only with the usual bits of molten rubber track day tyres collect.

However following your link indicates the rear tyres Ive bought were manufactured in mid 2014, and the fronts mid 2010. So the rears on the limit in terms of age and the fronts way over? So I assume the advice is, despite the fact plenty of tread still there, these tyres should be changed? Especially as the are for an Atom. Or would they be ok for Road use for 6 months?

I didn't pay very much for them, so its ok. Maybe I should get your free AD08s, if I was travelling up to Telford sometime :-)