Nomad v Atom - first impressions

[fb.george]

>Hello all
After 44000+ miles in an Atom 3, new in 2012, last Friday I and my co-owner were at the factory collecting A N04MAD. Ordered at FOS in 2017, 17 months later she lives.
I will post the spec at the bottom but thought I would share my initial observations. Having been the coldest, and the hottest and everything in between in the Atom, and taken her on many road trips, I feel vaguely qualified to compare and contrast. Hope it is of interest and maybe some help to those browsing and looking to take the plunge.

- first and foremost, it is an Ariel through and through. Every mile is an experience. It is vinyl to everything else’s CD. Wonderful.
- I very quickly noticed that the Nomad is more effort than the Atom, although not in a bad way. You discover the extra weight of the front wheels, the Atom having 5 spoke light Dymags, the Nomad having 15” steel with A/T tyres. It simply takes more effort, and on a 60 mile cross country dash including a couple of Fell roads, my muscles knew they were working hard.
- There is more mental effort too. The Atom is very intuitive, almost telepathic to hustle. The Nomad needs more thought. Partly that is getting used to the extra pitching of the suspension, but also the weight and in the wet I had a couple of moments of understeer. But the chassis is so communicative, it was never an issue, just made me more aware
- Hustle the Nomad you can though. Although she is only NA (for now!), up to 60 there is not a lot in it, and keep the revs above 4000, it feels quick<br/>
- I specced the Alcons all round and wow! They are so good I have a regret I only went Alcon on the fronts with the Atom, sports on the back, as they would be so much more confidence giving on track. They really do stop the extra weight of the Nomad quickly
- Hit some B roads, and the Nomad was much nicer to drive than the Atom. Fell roads in Cumbria are not known for their smooth surface,and taking the Atom at speed over them is akin to riding a roller coaster with a bad safety record. The Nomad eats them for breakfast, very surefooted<br/>
- A roads the Atom has the edge because of its flat cornering and intuitive responses, but the Nomad is not a disappointment. Andy, my co-owner is making his first foray into Ariel ownership and was amazed by the Nomad. I just have those miles in the Atom, where it is stupendous on a quick A road
- Getting the back end out is not difficult in the Nomad, especially as almost all of its 1250 miles this week have been in the wet. I need to practice much more but it’s already clear it is very controllable. More so than the Atom which I am always wary of, having swapped ends and crashed in the wet at Goodwood before. I can’t wait for a bit of snow
- The Ken Block stick is great. Useful for hill starts and very effective in getting you round. Much fun to come.
- I mention rain, which brings me onto a negative. It’s wetter inside the Nomad. Counter intuitive I know, but very true. How so
- Rain pours through the gap between the windscreen and the chassis bar. I had made no preparations on the first trip and quickly had a wet through and cold right foot. There are solutions on here which I will try out. But my work around, which was effective, was Sealskinz waterproof socks and a pair of gaiters from fell walking. Kept the feet dry at least
- Rain pools on the dash by the wing mirror. It then gets blown in your face. Which is rather inconvenient wearing glasses. Not to say dangerous. The factory, as they are top bananas, cut out a Perspex triangle and fitted for me at first service and first impressions are it makes a big difference, to wind and rain pooling.
- The seats are the Atom4 seats and need a drain hole drilling. When that was done at first service I stopped having to sit in a pool,of water! That issue is fixed.
The bottom line is it’s an open top car so no one should bleat about a bit of rain. But on the first trip it was a surprise that the Nomad was wetter than an Atom. Part of the fun is then finding solutions.
- The Nomad gets similar attention as the Atom although interestingly doesn’t seem to get the nod from bikers. Maybe it’s the windscreen and no helmet. But filling up with petrol is the same question fest.
- The seats are as comfortable and comparable with the Atom
- Inside the cockpit I would say is a tad noisier in the Nomad than the Atom
- the heated windscreen has already proved its worth.

That’s it for initial impressions. Of course we have the added future excitement of BOAT’s and UCR’s, all of which are being researched avidly, nd that is something the Atom cannot give you.

Yet again the factory were superb at its first service. Where else, actually in the world, can you have a sandwich bought for you from the butty van by the man who created the car and owns the company?! All part of this fabulous experience of Ariel ownership.

The Atom hasn’t been sold. It will be SORN’d or lent out to a mate. And to the Doris I have made it clear I will decide which one is kept in a couple of years. The reality is I have 2 years to find a way to keep them both!

Spec
Black Chassis, MPH, RHD, Black Body Panels w Red Big Logo
235BHP 6 Speed
Heavy Duty Clutch including K20 Flywheel
Oil Cooler System (In Engine Bay)
Cat Bypass Pipe
Exhaust Guard Black
Stainless Fittings on Brake lines and Clutch Line
Alcon 4 Pot Caliper/290 Disc Front
Alcon 4 Pot Caliper/290 Disc Rear
Hydraulic Handbrake System
Raised air intake
Bilstein Remote Reservoir 2 way Adjustable Dampers with 2 piece springs Side Panels Clear
15" Wheel Package/All Terrain Sport 50% Road 50% Off Road Tyres Spare Wheel and Tyre
Side panels clear
Spare Wheel Carrier
Stainless Steel Fixings
Full Heated Front Windscreen including Washers and Wipers
12v Cigarette Lighter Socket
Fitted TomTom Rider Europe GPS
Passenger + clutch footrest
Fabric Cabin Cover Boss Only
Front Winch Bumper (includes Front Tow Eye and Radiator Guard) Front Suspension Box and Body Tub Guard
Coolant Pipe Guard - Engine Bay to Body Tub
Sump Guard/Bash Plate
Light Moutning Bar with x 4 Daytime Running Lamps and Driving Light
Paint Bulkheads etc Black

[Trigger]

The noise I reckon mainly comes from the light bar - it is super noisy and I am planning on taking the lights off for the first trackday I am doing in March - it should also reduce drag alot !

The rain avoidance is a big issue if you drive in that weather - I dont really but intersted anyway in case i get caught - how did the factory attach the small triangles in the gap ? Zip ties ?

Glad you like it - after 3 Atoms I love mine and once you start going on BOATs you realise what an amazingly versatile car it is !

Look forward to more updates !

Trigger

[fb.george]

Trigger
Zip ties it is. And worked amazingly well.
Got a trip planned to the West coast of Scotland end of March.
Then Isle of Man for the TT in May/June
In between times, am looking forward to finding some off road in the Cumbrian fells.
It’s a proper hoot
All the best
Mark

[Trigger]

I see you have the same adjustable bilsteins - off road i find the best settings are 3/4 on blue and 8-9 on red fyg.

What I am enjoying with the Nomad as opposed to Atom is the way it rides on the crappy roads and doesnt crash/thump all the time. Also the softer set up means in anything other than dry its much less fidgety. It isnt as fast I agree, and i miss that absolute insane push at times but mine is sc and it isnt too far behind. I am not as brave or talented as many on this forum but I have found the ability to let the back drift a touch doesnt terrify me like it did on Atoms. The steering is heavier - just try it with sticky rally cross tyres i have for trackdays........its like a PT session !!

I am looking forward to spring though to get back out there.

T