Ever since I saw the review on them, I believe these to be quite an impressive and fun car. My question is, where does one go about buying the Noble M12, and what is the sticker price on one? Where to take them in for service? How are the service fees and the overall reliability of the car?
Lacir, if you really serious about the Noble, PM me with your contact info. A co-worker does pretty much all the maintenance/fix glitches of the Noble here in Orange County. Most of the Noble ordered are M400 now I believe. He just finished serviced one and got another one coming for this week end, there is definitely a market here for those cars. The guy is good and knows what he is doing. His brother works for 1G Racing in Hamilton, OH.
Obtaining a new Noble isnt that simple. You first need to order a chassis from www.1gracing.com (talk to Dean Rosen). 2nd you need to buy an engine and transmission package (Dean will point you in the right direction) and have it installed once the chassis arrives (1-3 mos unless you pick one en route). 3rd you need to arrange for installation. This process has been done over 110 times so far, and it goes relatively smoothly. The MOST important aspect of the purchase is who does the initial install. Most are being done by Greg Robb, and thats who 1G will probably recommend. Hes done over 40 cars, and knows what to look for, what to upgrade, etc. Now, you need to decide on an M12 GTO 3R or an M400. They are both described on the site. The differences (M12 left, M400 right) Leather vs Alcantara Decent seats vs. More comfy seats seating position moved in to center 30mm on M400 no oil guage vs oil gauge (easy add otherwise) side scoops on M400 silver trim and wheels vs anthracite (bluish black) T25 oil cooled bushing turbos vs T28R BB watercooled turbos 360HP (400HP upgrade avail from factory) vs 425HP slightly lighter suspension vs stiffer but fully adjustable suspension Baffled sump track pan option vs standard Front splitter vs no front splitter Color choice interior vs black only interior (alcantara) ECU in better location (relative to heat) vs worse location (easy fix) These differences are not huge. Comes down to personal preference. an M12 costs about $92K complete (incl room for some upgrades) and an M400 is just over $100k. Chassis cost difference is about 10k. The engine in both cars are IDENTICAL except for the turbos. You will get faster spooling with the M12 vs M400 but M400 will pull a bit harder up top. Reliability is pretty good. all pending original install was done correctly. There are a couple little issues here and there and the factory is quick to take care of them. Most issues are relatively minor, but sparse. Maintenance is cheap. oil changes can be done at any decent mechanic or Ford dealership for about 40-50 bucks. Factory recommends every 6k but will do at about 3-4k since cost is so cheap. Thats about it.. If your engine blows up, its 4400 bucks brand new, shipped to your door. just bolt on turbos. Why so cheap you ask? Well, AER builds em. They make about 4-800 engines a DAY. economies of scale. And Roush does the tuning. check www.nobleforums.com - the guys are great, tons of information and then some. The nature of this car demands little more passion and dedication to own. But anyone who appreciates this car for what it is will not have an issue. Warranty claims are made to the distributor, and they will arrange for your mechanic or other approved to do the work.
Great information, I appreciate it. I wanted to get the general idea before I think about what cars are out there as options! Seems that the Nobles are not that bad to own and keep running, but with a long process before it hits the front step. Wonder if anyone ever keeps one or two in a showroom pre-built?
Nobles are showing up on the used car market. There's a nice azure blue car on Noble Forums with only about 1500 miles or so...
Damn, you did such a good job of writing about it, I might need one now :-( you have any extra garage space ?? -a
occaisonally, 1G will have a spec one built that isn't spoken for. This means you just have to get the engine/tranny put in, will take 3-4 weeks for that instead of 2-4 mos. You can not legally buy a brand new complete car. That is the reason for all of the hassle in the first place, or they would ship them complete - needs to be separate to get imported without puting 5mph bumpers, airbags, current smog requirements, (400 more lbs), etc. plus they dont make enough cars to crash test 10 of them (1/10th the anual us intake!). Do it! Will only cost you the tax on the F50 I have one extra garage space, just need to eject all of my tools, misc crap, and boxes of childhood memories. ill be more than happy to keep her company for you
Great write up. The only thing left is what's the gas mileage on these cars? I read another thread that mentioned something like 12mpg. Is this true? Just curious.
The way the car wants you to drive it? yes. However, on my leg back from Vegas, we kept a mild-mannered consistant pace of about 85mph or so. virtually no sprints, and no traffic. (left at 530 am ). We went 200 miles almost on the nose, and i filled her up with 8.5 gallons, which would yield 23.5 mpg. Not bad! I also have my car running rich on purpose (10.5-11.5 AFR under boost) while the engine broke in and before final tuning to be safe. So, you have the potential for decent mileage. I doubt you will ever use the car for long liesurly trips however. Around town, count on 13-15. I think the modena does better for city driving.
I averaged about the same gas on our trip back from Vegas, though my tank is double the size of yours. My city driving is probably about 14-16 but I don't really do any city driving. It's always mixed in with some canyon driving. On some of our fun runs, I end up with about 9 mpg. I guess gas mileage goes down when you're at 8,500 rpm all day?
You didnt take it to 9K? wuss. i heard you get this cool smokescreen effect. Yes, the Noble has a 13gallon tank at best.
I have a question about the Noble. Can you put any engine you want into it (i.e., and Alfa V6 or Ferrari 308 engine)? Or is it only the engine they specify? It would be neat to get an Italian powered noble... Dom
you can put what ever you like in em' this issue becomes how much retro fit and cost -a Smart a$$ answer I know, but I am in a good mood this morn
I have a tog for all the tools and stuff.. and who needs childhood memories, when we have these great cars to create more I will start the search, so if you see one I might like let me know.. so would you rather keep the noble or the F50 at your place -a
Sure, if you want to completely re-engineer the car. In all seriousness, its not practical. And you would have to re-engineer the car. Its specifically designed around the factory setup. you would have to cut the frame, get all new electronics and engine management, etc etc etc. This car is sold at a dealership in England, its not a kit. It arrives ready to go, fully rolling chassis sans engine in the US. No one to date has put anything in other than the Noble factory spec engine. Its proven to work, its cheap, and does the job nicely. It will not be the same car with a tiny V8 (no disrespect) - its got gobs of torque at 3-4K rpm. That and its set up for a transverse mounted V6 twin turbo. You might be able to get a nissan V6 in there, but you will need to custom make the entire rear of the car, including tranny etc. Technically, you can do whatever you want with it, but the factory and distributor wont be supportive.
2 thoughts...... 1) If only a noble came available as a convertible!!!!! 2) Chris, does your mpg figure account for air-time? (I heard about your bounce)
1 - see attached (never came to fruition- based on previous version of 3R) 2 - No, does not.. no air time on the way home Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
