New Member, Familiar Car + My other toy.

[Chappers]

Hi everyone,

I did a brief intro in the new members thread but after a quick washing session this afternoon, I thought I'd take some pics and tell you all a bit about myself.

I'm a Stability Control Systems and ABS engineer for a certain feline-based car company in the Midlands. My job means I travel a lot (average 2 weeks/month) so I don't do a lot of miles but I do love my cars.

Until recently my daily runaround was an E36 328i which was a bit of a shed and something I never really took to. My second car, which I still have, is a Noble M12 GTO 2.5

I've wanted a CSL ever since I saw it on Top Gear in November 2003 but unfortunately was only 17 at the time and had been driving a mere 5 months when the episode aired. I've thought about them ever since and looked at getting one a couple of years ago with a certain reseller but came away cold after he was unable to explain the clutch slur to me and cut my drive somewhat short, not to mention it would have meant selling my other car first. Things changed a bit this year; I paid off my student loan, did a large amount of overtime and before I knew it I had a nice little savings account ripe and ready put a deposit down on a house... But that's not me, not yet anyway...

So I started looking for a replacement for the 328 as my daily. First on the list was a Megane 250. I never actually drove one before I realised I was only a few thousand off a V8 M3. Drove both a DCT and a Manual and whilst they're very nice cars I didn't think they were special enough, not to mention being "just a few more thousand off CSL territory". So I started look around, saw that the prices had once again risen since I last looked but noticed a certain high mileage car. Initially I dismissed it and thought I'd missed the boat but I just happened to be travelling back to my parents house and gave Mr.Chin a call. The car was still for sale. On the way down I'd convinced myself it was a terrible idea. High mileage, no transferable warranty, no safety net, what was I thinking?

...And then he opened the garage door, and one of the cleanest CSL's I'd seen was sitting there looking at me. Nick, you had my curiosity but now you have my attention. Unfortunately it was raining so we chatted for a while about the car, about ownership etc. and rescheduled for a drive, weather permitting, on the 11th May. I had a trackday the next day in the Noble which would be the decision point. If nothing went wrong (as it usually did) then the CSL would be mine. Nothing broke so the next day we discussed some intricacies and the payment was made. I collected the car this Saturday and I'm on my second tank of fuel today :)

The more I drive it the more I love it. It's an incredible thing and is even better than I could have imagined. It's so well set up, so easy to handle and my god, that noise. THAT NOISE.

Anyway, here are some pictures of them both together. I shall have a think about whether I need them both over the next few months / year. For now the CSL is my daily driver but it's actually quite a bit nicer than the Noble so I'm already having issues finding correct parking spaces and find myself constantly looking out the window to check if it's still there, was ever there or if I'm imagining the whole crazy situation!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5153167/noblecsl/noblecsl1.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5153167/noblecsl/noblecsl2.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5153167/noblecsl/noblecsl3.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5153167/noblecsl/noblecsl4.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5153167/noblecsl/noblecsl5.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5153167/noblecsl/noblecsl6.jpg

Thanks for looking, I'll be here to stay :beer:

[sp2c]

Hi Chappers & welcome
Very nice intro. & pics
Pleased Nick's car has found a good home

[LeinsCSL]

Nice pics Chappers, and like the look of that Noble too! :)

[Das Chin]

nice work dave
you do have very good taste in cars..plus you also know alot about them too.
its hard not to enjoy a csl and the more you drive it the more you will fall in love with it.
look after the old girl :-)
i did enjoy the blast in the noble and that is one bonkers fast torque monster.
NW

[Marv968]

We know who to pester if we have ABS problems now ;)

The engine noise is addictive, isn't it?!?

Good to see Nick's car has gone to a good home :smokin:

[Chappers]

Thanks chaps. Out of interest is there anyone near Leamington with a lower mileage car? I'd quite like to compare and see how different mine feels. It's an engineer's curse to worry about every little thing you hear, even though most of it is due to a lack of sound deadening I'm sure.

[mattCSLnut]

Welcome aboard Dave :beer: Good to see Nick's old steed end up in the hands of an enthusiast :thumbs:
I bet your face is aching to the max from the perma-grin most first time owners sport at the begining of Cecil ownership ;)
Don't worry ... that's quite normal ;) Enjoy the noise :supz:

[Trawler]

Welcome on board. Great car line up. Always fancied a Noble until I was advised they suffered from oil surge on corners and the resulting engine damage.

[Chrispy]

Want to give us more of a rundown on the noble? We don't get them over here in Australia :( good to see more (reasonably) young guys here haha!

[Chappers]

Welcome on board. Great car line up. Always fancied a Noble until I was advised they suffered from oil surge on corners and the resulting engine damage.

Yes, that happened to me. New crank, new oil pump, bottom end bearings and a rather large bill. Easily fixed with the track sump.

As for the a rundown...

2002 Noble M12 GTO
2.5 Ford V6 with Twin Turbos
343bhp, 350lb ft
1050kg
Bespoke spaceframe chassis with inbuilt roll cage
Full flat floor
Glass fibre body
AP racing brakes all round
265/30/18 rear
225/40/18 front
No anti-roll bars due to low roll centre and road-biased setup
2 seats, no boot
No ABS
No TCS
No DSC
Mine has:
Pro Alloy radiator upgrade
Pro Alloy intercooler upgrade
Quaife LSD upgrade
Track Sump upgrade
Remap

[Chrispy]

Interesting! Looks like a grown up exige. I was tossing up between the exige and the csl. I think I made the right choice...

[Trawler]

Ouch that bill must have hurt. Be interesting to read your thoughts how the two cars compare on track.

[cslsuperfan]

Thanks chaps. Out of interest is there anyone near Leamington with a lower mileage car? I'd quite like to compare and see how different mine feels. It's an engineer's curse to worry about every little thing you hear, even though most of it is due to a lack of sound deadening I'm sure.

Chappers I'm a couple of hours from L/Spa and more than happy to meet up. If you're about a few of us are tearing round mid wales 27-30 May. A few great routes which are a dream for some loudbox testing!!

PS Plod still being issued with stermey archer pushbikes in Wales!!

[Chappers]

Ouch that bill must have hurt. Be interesting to read your thoughts how the two cars compare on track.

Yeah just a bit, but I was warned before I did it:bigcry:

I imagine it'll go on track at some point but I don't know when. My Noble is very road biased without the ARBs and suffers from roll on track which leads to an interesting oversteer characteristic around the limit. It's quick though, very quick but already it's feeling a little outclassed next to the CSL.

[Chappers]

So...After a few recommendations and being by far the cheapest I ordered a set of Super Sports from tyreleader.co.uk.

First issue, DPD tried to deliver to my tyre fitter at 18:11 which is some time after they closed. Not an issue, no massive rush.

However... whilst sorting out the delivery I've been informed that there are indeed three parcels, one is 8kg and two are 11kg. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm fairly sure I need four :bigcry:

We shall see. I'm actually away for a week in Europe in the weekend. I did momentarily consider taking the CSL but there's no way this will be sorted in time.

To be fair, I had to drive 60 miles in the rain yesterday and the cups did surprisingly well, particularly in braking performance. Traction was not so good and lateral grip was fairly fun but I wouldn't be so worried in future if I got caught out.

[Das Chin]

rears will be heavier as wider? maybe they have put the two fronts in the one? seems a bit odd though.

cups are funny in the wet.

[Chappers]

Panic over, 4 tyres arrived with the wrong weight for the fronts which were packaged together. Car booked in tomorrow and then I'm not in the country to drive it for a week :(

[Trawler]

To be fair, I had to drive 60 miles in the rain yesterday and the cups did surprisingly well, particularly in braking performance. Traction was not so good and lateral grip was fairly fun but I wouldn't be so worried in future if I got caught out.

I believe the cups have more grip than normal tyres in the wet when up to temp (as reported by a certain W Rohl). It's just standing water they don't like. My mrs some how knows about this, which, means my left ear hurts when it rains

[Chappers]

Cleaned it this evening, drove to an industrial estate, realised I don't have anything but an iPhone camera.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5153167/IMG_2198.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5153167/IMG_2200.jpg

[LeinsCSL]

Nic pic! :smokin:

That part of the estate doesn't look too industrious though

[Chappers]

I'm sure it bursts into life at the break of day and that all the boards nailed onto the various windows are temporary...

[LeinsCSL]

I'm sure it does! ;) While a bit sad to see, I do find places like that fascinating, plus they're brilliant backdrops for shiny sportscars

[Loaded]

Nice looking Noble!

[Chappers]

I haven't quite made the decision yet, but I've made the first move... Private reg now transferred to CSL.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5153167/newreg.jpg