350bhp power option, what do you get?

[Herohonda]

Other than the obvious an extra 30bhp, for almost £3k option what do you get other than a decat pipe and a ECU flash?

Im going through the options list on a Atom4, but £3k for 30bhp seems a bit steep if its jusf a ECU flash and a decat pipe. Or is there more to it?

[phil4]

I think that's about it. Yes it's a bit pricey, but the map has to be developed, and there's no mass market for it once done.

[Herohonda]

Thats a shame, id love to have the extra 30bhp but £3k seems too steep. If it included the rad and intercooler option as a pack then it would be worth it I think.

Most likely I will not be ticking this option. However out of interest, anyone know if the decat would make the car too loud for trackdays?

[Hedge]

You can always choose to have it done after build. It’s about another 400 quid or so to go that route.

As standard, it puts out the same as the previous iteration in SC-guise. Many seem to think this isn’t enough but each to their own.

Cheers,
Hedge

[Anon]

Yes it is expensive and I didn't spec it at build either but the reason I had it at my service was because the default map felt too bland low down the rev range and not responsive enough, for me. Also it could of sounded better. It depends on what you are used to driving though. If you have never driven anything like it, i.e. never a race car or supercar then the default map will feel fine and very quick.

The other thing I like is with the decat and remap, you get the smells like a racing car too, sounds funny but it adds to the experience and familiarity.

The 350bhp map turns the car into a completely different animal, worth £3k easily.

Sound difference is here, way better with the decat and map:

[robfitz]

On the earlier price list I’ve got you got the sports exhaust for your money as well but that seems to have changed.

Does the sports exhaust definitely break the noise thresholds on trackdays? That video seems much quieter than my k20 Elise which was just about ok at Bedford with their 99db drive by.

Going to miss the wailing NA soundtrack, hope the rest of it makes up for it....

[phil4]

Does the sports exhaust definitely break the noise thresholds on trackdays?

Yes, I believe it does. And you're right, on the pricelist I had around launch time, it was sports exhaust, decat + ecu reflash, so yes, that too might have changed (and I believe the sports exhaust is an extra £990).

[Peter255]

OK so when i got my early 4 your ~£3k gets you:

1)Upgrade to sports back box. This is instead of the stock back box, not as well as it.
2)New downpipe (to fit sports cat or decat)
3)Decat pipe (fitted)
4)Sports cat (not fitted, for MOT)
5)ECU re-flash

I didn't want the Sports box so they removed that for me. That is also costed separately on the price list so you can deduct that simply.

Is it worth it? Having driven both, when considered on top of £55,000+ yes. Its only ~5% more and it makes a significant improvement to the car. It goes much better and sounds better. For me the car felt flat and dull before it. Now it goes like the old charged cars! Remember the 4 is quite a bit heavier than the 3/3.5 and as base has only gone from 310->320BHP. Power to weight has gone down until you get 350ish.

But in isolation the 350 upgrade is a rip off. The downpipe should be a few hundred quid, the back box £300, decat pipe less than £200, and you can buy sports cats for similar applications for ~£500. The ECU map has to be developed (and time is money) but is effectively free now for multiple future cars, and could have been put on all cars as standard! All in its ~£600 of pipe work and a cat for ~£500, so around a grand cost price. IMO it should be £2k allowing a nice profit for Ariel. As a direct comparison you can take your Honda Civic with the same engine to places and get it remaped for ~£500, a pay £500 upwards for a new exhaust, add a sports cat (£500) etc. So £1500 upwards, and thats allowing the other firm to still make a profit.

Having driven both, if your on a budget delete some other stuff you don't really need (wings, carbon, Ohlins etc) and get the 350. Then with whatever is left buy the other bits. No one needs wings, or carbon bits, or race spec coilovers. But the 4 does need the remap IMO. Get the remap as a priority.

I wonder when somewhere will start offering 3rd party Atom4 remaps? £200 decat downpipe and £500 off the shelf map. You could charge £1k with fat profit.

[Badders]

Does the sports exhaust definitely break the noise thresholds on trackdays? That video seems much quieter than my k20 Elise which was just about ok at Bedford with their 99db drive by.

Just fitted the standard silencer in place of the sports single exit on my 350 as I tested it at just under 109db static (my equipment, not the circuit's). That will cause issues at most circuits. Does sound better on the sports exhaust though.

350 upgrade: If you've got the budget, do it. Different animal.

[robfitz]

When I looked at the price list I wondered why anyone would want to have both exhausts but I can almost see why now...

I presume the 350 doesn’t have more turbo lag, they haven’t just upped the boost?

[Anon]

When I looked at the price list I wondered why anyone would want to have both exhausts but I can almost see why now...

I presume the 350 doesn’t have more turbo lag, they haven’t just upped the boost?

There is 0 turbo lag, at least to me, if it's there I cannot feel it. I considered getting my car mapped by a third party, but because I am getting the sequential gearbox and just want it all to work in harmony I went back to Ariel for it.

It's not just more boost, it's everything the power curve is different. The way I describe this is the 320 stock map feels like the "Comfort" mode on a BMW. The 350bhp is like permanent "Sport+" mode. The car feels very sleepy in 320 map mode, it will go but you got to get the revs up and the boost comes in all of a sudden, perfectly fine for a road Atom. 350bhp just feels a lot stronger throughout the rev range - the linear curve is very different and throttle response is ultra sensitive. I would NEVER go back! As Peter said above, I would honestly spec this over better shocks if it came to it.

One option is, you could just spec the stock 320bhp map, then at the service get the 350bhp if you feel you need it. Also do remember it's not just 30bhp, look at this from a bhp per tonne perspective.

I am not sure how much power your Elise has but this is nothing like any Elise I have been in or driven.

[robfitz]

Sounds good - another for the spec sheet

My Elise is not entirely standard....a bored and stroked 2.2 litre k20 on throttle bodies, ported head, different cams, far too much money spent on it... but 305bhp at 8600 with a really light flywheel and 725kgs with a full tank.

Looks like it is sold now and on its way to Northern Ireland on Tuesday so I can spend more time obsessing about Atom specs!

B6BDED67-8277-4A7A-9CEE-C090A72C614C.jpeg (732.21 KiB) Viewed 921 times

[Peter255]

Another way to explain is the 350 map is more aggressive as well as running higher boost. Whereas the 320 map is very smooth and progressive with lower boost.

The 350 map has more max power (and more torque obv), but it feels as if the power comes in harder and faster. It may be the mid range boost is MUCH higher than the 320 map and the small 30BHP max increase does not tell the full story. The mid range feels particularly strong. We need to get some rolling road figures to see the full picture. I wouldn't be surprised if the mapping differences mean the 350 cars are gaining even more in the mid range and the gap narrowing down to only 30BHP at the top end.

Spool up could be faster also due to the decat. That is common to decatted turbo cars due to the reduced exhaust restriction.

Robfitz,

This will be a VERY different beast lots of mid range grunt after your lovely NA screamer. Unlike the old s/c Atoms there is no need to run the 4 out to the red line. 4-6k is play time in the 4. The older cars where 6-8K bouncing off the limiter. You will be a gear up, but probably faster at all times.

[Hedge]

Or, for the sake of 400 odd quid, you could - as I said earlier - see what you make of the car without the upgrade first. Then make your own choice.

I genuinely don’t see what the rush/ need is for the upgrade. I’m massively enjoying my car without it & slow, it isn’t. And I’m on my 4th Atom iteration.

Cheers,
Hedge

[Anon]

I genuinely don’t see what the rush/ need is for the upgrade. I’m massively enjoying my car without it & slow, it isn’t. And I’m on my 4th Atom iteration.

Cheers,
Hedge

I would say you need to go out in a 350bhp car if you haven't already and get someone to boot it full throttle, the 320bhp does feel a lot slower by comparison and less responsive. Like everything, it's all relative.

When there is a new map for the 4R (assuming there will be a 4R) I will get that as well because you soon get used to the power, got to keep those GT3 RS's at bay!