My 1gRacing/Noble experience

**Zman** · 03-06-2005, 17:54

I was in Columbus Ohio for the Arnold Classic Weekend so I thought I could finally see and drive a Noble while wifey worked the expo.

Dynamic Motorsports/1gRacing is located in a small town called Ross in the middle of nowhere(really its not far from Cincinnati). This proves to be a great "test track" for the Noble since there was no shortage of winding back roads to show off the cars performance. They had 6 Nobles-2 M400's, the rest M12's, with one being a rolling chassis. The first thing I thought when seeing the Noble in person is that it is 10X better looking as compared to photos. It is sleek, aggressive and just bad ass!! The interior was much better than I expected and I really liked the alcantara racing seats.

Dean is a down to earth South African guy who just a pleasure to hang out with. After signing the waiver, it was off in the M12GTO3R. Dean drove first taking me thru numerous hilly curving roads at speeds of at least 100mph. The acceleration in these cars is awesome!! The power is linear with no turbo lag. The sound of the engine and blow-off from the turbo's is intoxicating. The handling is unbelievable!! After about 15 minutes it was my turn. The first thing he said is that I am not going to be driving on the same roads that he did!! He also told me a story how he almost got killed in a test drive in one of those cobra replicas so he is a little paranoid with test drives-understandable. The gear box was pretty smooth (improved on the newer cars and M400). The clutch is short but a little stiff especially compared to an NSX but than again everything feels heavy when making that comparison. All I can really say about the driving experience after that is WOW!! This car is what the NSX should be. There is a quick learning curve in driving a car with this much power with no traction control.

After the roads dried up a little more, I convinced Dean to take out the M400(400hp/ton) beast!! He was apprehensive because of the tires- P-zero corsas and the increased power(425hp with 400ftlbs of torque) on the wet roads. As amazing as the M12 was, this car was even more impressive. The increased torque and noise from the larger Garrett blowers was noticable immediately. This car absolutely rocks!! The suspension and steering are geared more for the track in the M400. The car still handles beautifully on the open road.

I will post pics when I download them from camera. I really think there will be a Noble M400 in the garage and a 97NSX for sale in the near future. I strongly recommend going to Ohio and meeting Dean and driving one of these machines-you won't be disappointed!!

**ANYTIME** · 03-06-2005, 18:00

SpeedDemon sold his 97 for a Noble and sold it shortly thereafter. Paid about 90k by the time is was said and done with. He pretty much made all of his money back selling it after he got it federalized. Which by the way was not an easy task. All this happened in Cali, so your mileage may vary.

**Zman** · 03-06-2005, 18:04

I talked to him at length about the car and his situation. I'm glad he got what he put into it!! Someone is having alot of fun in California with that car!!

**Carguy!** · 03-06-2005, 18:37

Originally Posted by Zman

I was in Columbus Ohio for the Arnold Classic Weekend so I thought I could finally see and drive a Noble while wifey worked the expo.

Dynamic Motorsports/1gRacing is located in a small town called Ross in the middle of nowhere(really its not far from Cincinnati). This proves to be a great "test track" for the Noble since there was no shortage of winding back roads to show off the cars performance. They had 6 Nobles-2 M400's, the rest M12's, with one being a rolling chassis. The first thing I thought when seeing the Noble in person is that it is 10X better looking as compared to photos. It is sleek, aggressive and just bad ass!! The interior was much better than I expected and I really liked the alcantara racing seats.

Dean is a down to earth South African guy who just a pleasure to hang out with. After signing the waiver, it was off in the M12GTO3R. Dean drove first taking me thru numerous hilly curving roads at speeds of at least 100mph. The acceleration in these cars is awesome!! The power is linear with no turbo lag. The sound of the engine and blow-off from the turbo's is intoxicating. The handling is unbelievable!! After about 15 minutes it was my turn. The first thing he said is that I am not going to be driving on the same roads that he did!! He also told me a story how he almost got killed in a test drive in one of those cobra replicas so he is a little paranoid with test drives-understandable. The gear box was pretty smooth (improved on the newer cars and M400). The clutch is short but a little stiff especially compared to an NSX but than again everything feels heavy when making that comparison. All I can really say about the driving experience after that is WOW!! This car is what the NSX should be. There is a quick learning curve in driving a car with this much power with no traction control.

After the roads dried up a little more, I convinced Dean to take out the M400(400hp/ton) beast!! He was apprehensive because of the tires- P-zero corsas and the increased power(425hp with 400ftlbs of torque) on the wet roads. As amazing as the M12 was, this car was even more impressive. The increased torque and noise from the larger Garrett blowers was noticable immediately. This car absolutely rocks!! The suspension and steering are geared more for the track in the M400. The car still handles beautifully on the open road.

I will post pics when I download them from camera. I really think there will be a Noble M400 in the garage and a 97NSX for sale in the near future. I strongly recommend going to Ohio and meeting Dean and driving one of these machines-you won't be disappointed!!

I have always loved the looks and specs of the Noble, I have never had a chance to drive one but I am sure it is awesome. I might have to take a ride down there one day and try it out.

Lets get together soon!

**Zman** · 03-07-2005, 02:21

John,

This car is a must for your stable!! At $95,000 it is hard to beat. It had a better lap time by almost 2 seconds on a Ford GT. You know what supercar performance feels like!! (Or will soon when the weather breaks) LOL

**Zman** · 03-10-2005, 13:18

Here are a few of the pics.

**comquat1** · 03-10-2005, 19:28

More pics please....

**Zman** · 03-11-2005, 08:57

Some more pics!

**comquat1** · 03-11-2005, 14:41

I never realized they had 4 lug wheels..

Isn't there an advantage to five lug? i.e. better strength maybe? I dunno

**SoCalDude** · 03-11-2005, 14:48

Good looking car except for the Tuner style wing.

**White92** · 03-11-2005, 15:06

Originally Posted by SoCalDude

Good looking car except for the Tuner style wing.

I'm guessing it's functional on a car like this though.

**Juice** · 03-11-2005, 15:35

Originally Posted by SoCalDude

Good looking car except for the Tuner style wing.

Yes.

I'm guessing it's functional on a car like this though.

Yes again. Still, the design element could have been carried out better. Much better.

Is there any trunk space in the M400? I know the M12 is completely devoid of this amenity.

**jorligan** · 03-11-2005, 16:53

Josh, No. The M400 is essentially the M12 with some minor changes excluding the engine of course.

Dan, If you do decide to go with the Noble and you want the leather seats, let me know as we will probably be upgrading our seats to Sparco Milanos. Also, I would be glad to answer any questions about options as well as registration (Much easier than CA). The M12 now has an optional engine management program so before you order an M400, let me know. There is a guy in the area who has the upgrade (MORE power). I am going to try to get Craig to the Michigan get together in June. There is also a third Noble in the Detroit area, NOBLGRL. Soon, we will have the largest concentration of Nobles in the country outside of OH.

John, I would gladly let you drive our Noble if I can drive the Porsche GT

The wing can be ordered as a delete. You still get the wing but it is not attached to the car. I liked it better without the wing but not my decision. By the way, don't order Steel Blue Metallic since that is the color of ours and Craig ordered an identical car since he saw ours in OH but didn't know that the car was also headed to MI, 30 miles away.

Tim

**Doug Axelrod** · 04-30-2005, 15:34

How interesting!!

I drove the M400 a few weeks ago. It's an entirely different beast than the M12. The power and handling are just amazing. But it has absolutely no storage space and is "self assembled", requiring addition of engine and trannie. Total is about $97K all in.

But the experience has me selling my Superformance Shelby Cobra replica (let me know if you're interested...) for something with more modern handling and with water proofing. And that's why I've been cruising this site!

So tell me about how the NSX compares to the Noble, Zman. I've always loved the looks of the NSX, but never drove one, and suspect the midengine handling is wonderful, but am concerned about power. I'm looking for something for both street and track.
Thanks!
Doug Axelrod
Milford, OH

**jorligan** · 04-30-2005, 20:11

Doug,

Got both. M12 GTO3R and the NSX. My NSX is a twin turbo, 360 RWHP 275 torque.

Handling: Noble Not a fair comparison. Noble is a street legal track car.
Acceleration: Noble..Power/weight ratio clarly favors Noble.
Head Turner: Noble. NSX essentially ignored.
Maintenance Cost: Noble. Engine costs only 5K since it is basically a Ford Duratech engine.
Ride: Pretty similar when compared to Lowered NSX with larger wheels and lower profile tires.

Initial Cost: Used NSX is less expensive and even with the addition of BBK, wheels, new tires, major engine rebuild (FX500), upgraded suspension, it may still cost less.
Practicality: NSX. It has a trunk. Windows go down all the way. Power windows. Much nicer seats.

Ultimately, the Noble is a great car but you clearly need another vehicle. This is from someone who drove the car on an 8 hour trip with clothes for 5 days. My wife could never have done it with me do to limited luggage room. On the other hand, the difference in performance is triggering me to go to a low compression high boost system as well as somesuspension changes.

By the way, there are now built up Nobles with over 500 HP. That would be a wild ride. If anyone has other questions about the Noble vs NSX, PM me.

Tim

**Zman** · 05-01-2005, 03:36

Doug,

Tim gives a great comparison since he owes both. The Noble is a street race car with supercar performance compared to a stock NSX. It is a whole different driving experience. It all depends on your needs. I have never taken my NSX on a long trip or do I plan to, I'd rather take my M5 for that. So for playing around town or the track the Noble would be the way to go. It is also such a head turner because of it's rarity. I agree that the M400 is the way to go. If you are interested in a NSX come up to Michigan for a test drive and sale if you like. I have a '97 black/tan with 16,500 miles.

Tim,

The new Sparco seats in the M400 in alcantara are quite comfortable! But I didn't drive the car for 8 hours!! Do you have both cars out now? I may still take you up on your offer to compare the two.

Dan

**Arshad** · 05-01-2005, 04:13

Here are a couple of video clips from NSXPO 2004 of Jorligan's Noble. Definitely check out the first clip, to hear the sound as he blows by my NSX -- unbelievable! (There's a link to a WMV later in the thread if you can't playback MPEG-4's):

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41882

**Doug Axelrod** · 05-01-2005, 07:27

Tim and Dan,

Well, NOW this is getting more interesting.

I drove the M400 and had driven the M123R and the M400 is even better in power and handling. So I can extrapolate.

Once I sell the cobra, the "other" car is a 2003 EvoVIII modded and custom tuned by Vishnu Stage 1 with swaybar, stainless brake lines, and CF hood. It's wonderfully fast, very sharp handling, and looks like a boy-racer's dream (not mine). It's got 4 doors and a trunk and is my every day drive and handles great with Advans and goes anywhere with AWD in the snow with Blizzak M22's. But with a Noble, I couldn't even drive to the track with a friend and still have room for my helmet!

How's the Noble for maintainance and breakage? Any heat problems?

And should I be thinking the "P" word as well?

Thanks for your insights...
Doug

**jorligan** · 05-01-2005, 07:54

You could do the track thing since there is room behind the seats. We are replacing our seats in the Noble so that they can tilt forward to allow better access. I think that the M400 also has fixed back seats but those were made by Sparco so there maybe a drop in replacement.

No major problems with our car thus far. The Noble does not come with a blow-off valve so the sound that you are hearing is the chirp of the turbos. I have come off the accelerater too hard and actually blown the tubing off the turbo as the ring clamp snapped. Also had a leak from a turbocharger coolant line, no big deal..There is a heat issue and you have to make sure that your installer is meticulous about running the electrical lines. There is a report of one electrical fire (British car ya know). For further heat control, I would consider getting the exhaust manifolds coated and the turbochargers covered by thermal blankets.

P car, had one. Sold it. Unless you go with a turbo, you won't get the performance that you might be expecting. Definitely won't get the ooh and aahs. If you want performance, excellent handling, reliability, styling and some creature comforts like a trunk, then I would get an NSX and get a turbo package (FX500 = Same power/wt ratio as M400) with suspension package (Call Chris or Seth at Science of Speed).

When the NSX is finished later this summer, I can give you a better idea. There is another person here in MI who has a Cobra and now also has a Noble. You might want to go to nobleforums.com for more info.

Tim

**Zman** · 05-01-2005, 07:58

Doug,

Your friend can hold your helmet!! Not a Porsche fan, tried to like the 996TT but it wasn't for me. The ultimate road/track car for the money is the Noble. Did you read all the reviews from Europe on it? You will know the right car for you when you drive it!!

**gheba_nsx** · 05-01-2005, 09:36

If somebody is ineterested this are the results for the Best GT Car of the year, done in November 2004...

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44381

BTW the wing is not really functional, that was said by mr Noble back in 2003...