Winter Atom care

[adam]

Anything special you folks do for your Atom over winter? Assuming you put it into hibernation as opposed to drive it with thicker pants on

What do you do with the battery? Disconnect? Permanent trickle charger? I opted for the latter but I got the dreaded click last November so am just waiting for spring to fit the new battery.

Anything special you do when spring finally arrives to wake it up gently? Anything special you need to check?

Cheers,
Adam

[IanG]

Trickle charger
A great time to clean everything maybe not as throughly as some

[PhilM]

The battery doesn't seem to like being constantly on trickle charge. The best way seems to be charge it for a couple of hours every few weeks. Apart from that I just turn the wheels slightly once a month.

[ODonnks]

In the US here. My 3S came prewired with a receptacle to use a CETEK MXS 5.0 charger/maintainer that has specific setting based on different battery types. I leave it connected the entire winter.

[Fastlane]

Trickle charger
A great time to clean everything maybe not as throughly as some

Agreed. I take my Atom off the road in October and just leave mine on trickle charge until April, nothing else. The battery is as old as the car - 17 years this month.

Seems perfectly reasonable! Mine is off to Arch on Thursday.

[Bounz]

Wow, nice job !

While the chassis is visible, could you show us the additional renforcement tubes of the 3.5 against the 3 ?

[IanG]

The main difference is they weld a small strengthening bar in the corner of the engine frame

[atomiser]

top off petrol tank to stop moisture getting in- debatable point but no harm in doing it

use a trickle charger that handles AGM batteries (some CTEK ones have to put in the right mode - carefully read manual otherwise you will balloon the battery, halfraud generic ones will also do this or as suggested put it on a timer. i personally put the kill switch, since these batteries can just sit on the shelf and lose very little charge)

pump up the tyres to max pressure allowed or 40psi (i personally don't bother with this, but it minimises the tyres having a weak spot)

cover your pride and joy to stop dust

dehumify garage if not part of house or damp - yes it does stop the rust and doesn't cost much to run if you use one such as meaco dehumidifier.

sorn it - why pay for road tax when wrapped up for winter?

I also do the factory service in November so it is ready to rock and ruin in spring.

[bounz]

Thanks lang for this pics, you're the best

[Fastlane]

The main difference is they weld a small strengthening bar in the corner of the engine frame

There is also an additional tube that runs from the top to bottom main chassis rails above the fuel tank to stop the brazing from cracking on the lower section of the chassis - ask me how I know!

My Atom 3

20220813_163609.jpg (3.21 MiB) Viewed 788 times

Atom 3.5

Ariel Atom 3.5.JPG (158.39 KiB) Viewed 788 times

[Bounz]

Finally I now know what's the difference betweens 3 and 3.5. Thanks a lot guyz.

Did you experienced this cracking on a AA3 ?

Should we put some reinforcement on AA3s ? Which brasing should we check exactly ?

[Fastlane]

Finally I now know what's the difference betweens 3 and 3.5. Thanks a lot guyz.

Did you experienced this cracking on a AA3 ?

Should we put some reinforcement on AA3s ? Which brasing should we check exactly ?

Yes, the cracking is on an Atom 3. The brazing on all the joints around the engine compartment. Mine appeared as a 10mm hairline crack in the powder coat on the section where the extra tubes are added on the 3.5 chassis. It was very difficult too see and the only tell-tale that it was more serious was a very slight line of rust along the crack.

It doesn't happen on all Atom 3's and I believe it is more common on the supercharged cars as they put more stress on the chassis. I would only add in the reinforcements if I was rebuilding the car anyway.

[Farmer73]

Right now its a moot point for me due to space. However, for you guys that take the car down to the frame, how long does that take and how long to reassemble? My frame is a bit scratched up and I would love to strip it and re paint or powder coat it one day.

[Fastlane]

Right now its a moot point for me due to space. However, for you guys that take the car down to the frame, how long does that take and how long to reassemble? My frame is a bit scratched up and I would love to strip it and re paint or powder coat it one day.

I believe it is reckoned to be around 40 hours to strip, which is about what it took me. I did it over about a 6 week period, so I reckon I would have been quicker if I'd done it all at once. I would think it will be the same again to put it back together.

The record to strip an Atom is 8 hours by the Service Manager Steve Rooke at the factory, or so he told me!

[Farmer73]

doesn't sound too bad. now if I just hd the room in my garage. lol. Thanks for the info!