G40R has arrived - Woohoo!
Discussion
G40R has arrived! - 5 days early! - Good times.
Drove it back from the factory yesterday evening, 250miles of thunderous cabin noise, loved it. (although I was wearing some rather effective in-ear noise cancelling BOSE headphones whilst thundering down the M1).
Thanks to Jamie and Mike at the factory for getting the car pushed through, good to finally get back to a serious car.
I had a few decals added at the factory and am pretty pleased with the finish, not had a chance to assess the graphics yet, the back looks nice with the decaled wing but may touch up the side and front with some subtle additions, i am really going to try to keep it as my only car (weekends are my only needs anyway), so I cannot go mad on stickers.
So, loud on the outside, very loud on the inside, thunderously loud on the move, hilariously loud when you put the hammer down. Didn't like the wing at the factory a few months ago, but the decal to my eyes makes it look like a bespoke performance option rather than boy racer.
No real niggles, may consider a small lumber support (although I was driving for 4 hours which is not really what this car is about), wipers don't quite return to position once used. Boot lid is a little tight on one side (but i know the fit is not an Audi and I'm just being fussy). Oh, and there appears to be no air-con recycle in the car, so the long long motorway options may be to either cook or choke, there may be a button for recycle, I haven't pressed all of them as yet.
Current thoughts:
Thunderously loud
Very direct dart steering
Feels light
Brisk pace
Brake pedal is clearly not servo assisted...
An actual genuine 100% race car for the road, makes the exige v6 I drove a while ago feel like a toy.
Still not sure why they bothered making the G40R when the GRDC is road legal (but very glad they did).
Spec:
Orange
Custom Decals
Wing
Vbox setup from GRDC car
GRDC geo (whilst accounting for s.bumps)
QR wheel
Air-con / Heater pack
Fire Extinguisher
Recommended:
That Ginetta also provide ear plugs.
Drove it back from the factory yesterday evening, 250miles of thunderous cabin noise, loved it. (although I was wearing some rather effective in-ear noise cancelling BOSE headphones whilst thundering down the M1).
Thanks to Jamie and Mike at the factory for getting the car pushed through, good to finally get back to a serious car.
I had a few decals added at the factory and am pretty pleased with the finish, not had a chance to assess the graphics yet, the back looks nice with the decaled wing but may touch up the side and front with some subtle additions, i am really going to try to keep it as my only car (weekends are my only needs anyway), so I cannot go mad on stickers.
So, loud on the outside, very loud on the inside, thunderously loud on the move, hilariously loud when you put the hammer down. Didn't like the wing at the factory a few months ago, but the decal to my eyes makes it look like a bespoke performance option rather than boy racer.
No real niggles, may consider a small lumber support (although I was driving for 4 hours which is not really what this car is about), wipers don't quite return to position once used. Boot lid is a little tight on one side (but i know the fit is not an Audi and I'm just being fussy). Oh, and there appears to be no air-con recycle in the car, so the long long motorway options may be to either cook or choke, there may be a button for recycle, I haven't pressed all of them as yet.
Current thoughts:
Thunderously loud
Very direct dart steering
Feels light
Brisk pace
Brake pedal is clearly not servo assisted...
An actual genuine 100% race car for the road, makes the exige v6 I drove a while ago feel like a toy.
Still not sure why they bothered making the G40R when the GRDC is road legal (but very glad they did).
Spec:
Orange
Custom Decals
Wing
Vbox setup from GRDC car
GRDC geo (whilst accounting for s.bumps)
QR wheel
Air-con / Heater pack
Fire Extinguisher
Recommended:
That Ginetta also provide ear plugs.
geeeman said:
looks good, nice G10(?) in the background too
how is the G40 in traffic?
More to the point, how much did it cost with all the extras? how is the G40 in traffic?
Does look good, although I'd need to be a bit younger to be seen in one.
Nice (ahem, cough No.3
) G10 in background. (wonder what they're doing with it, looks like it's being worked on?)
Here's the original road G10 (No.2) now in the States. What I'd give to get hold of that!
The car in traffic is ok, clutch is not overly heavy and gear shift is easy considering the purpose of the car. If you have a reasonably heavy footed way of driving you'd be unlikely to stall it, but it does like revs. Not ideal for a motorway crawl. Throttle is also pretty sensitive which helps, not used the brakes in anger as yet, but out of everything (excluding cabin noise), the brakes are the thing that remind you it should really be on a track.
30k plus 4 and a bit on options. VFM may be an issue when I decide to tune the duratec, still, TVR, Ariel to Ginetta, keeping it British.
30k plus 4 and a bit on options. VFM may be an issue when I decide to tune the duratec, still, TVR, Ariel to Ginetta, keeping it British.
stormcloud123 said:
The car in traffic is ok, clutch is not overly heavy and gear shift is easy considering the purpose of the car. If you have a reasonably heavy footed way of driving you'd be unlikely to stall it, but it does like revs. Not ideal for a motorway crawl. Throttle is also pretty sensitive which helps, not used the brakes in anger as yet, but out of everything (excluding cabin noise), the brakes are the thing that remind you it should really be on a track.
30k plus 4 and a bit on options. VFM may be an issue when I decide to tune the duratec, still, TVR, Ariel to Ginetta, keeping it British.
30k plus 4 and a bit on options. VFM may be an issue when I decide to tune the duratec, still, TVR, Ariel to Ginetta, keeping it British.
Yes it possibly needs a 6 speed gearbox for the motorway as its pretty noisy sitting at motorway speeds. I find the clutch very heavy when sitting in heavy traffic though town but perfect the rest of the time.
For the motorway in my G40r, I got some custom plugs made from ultimate ear, I think thats what they are called. Road noise is reduced massively with them in and I can listen and answer my phone with the blue tooth adapter, worked great on the trip to LeMans 600 miles from Newcastle to LeMans!!
Aircon only works for about a hour or so in mine, at that point the heat from the engine rushing down the tunnel, the exhaust passing though the panels near your right leg and the heat soak make it unable to cope. Its been in getting a bit of adjustment since LeMans to help it cope more. Personally I think it needs a bit of forced ventilation to force some air out of the cabin and a cold air feed to the aircon, its currently fed from inside the engine bay.
Kris
Edited by Krismc on Sunday 7th September 08:54
Great to hear about another owner picking up a new car - congratulations!
I've owned my 2012 G40R since April this year. Agree with all the comments so far - its certainly raw and noisy! I was initially disappointed with the handling before realising that I wasn't pushing it nearly hard enough. Without loading up the suspension, the steering feels light and too darty. It was only after a track visit I began to understand the car better. I've not played around with any damper or roll bar settings yet.
I love the fact that they are so rare on the road. As for performance, it needs to be revved. I would certainly like to supercharge it at some point in the future - maybe a BBR Cosworth kit as fitted to the MX5 would work?
I enjoy everything about the car, except the exhaust fumes finding their way into the cabin - it makes my eyes sting and my clothes smell after any journey. I've tried windows up/down, fan on full/off, aircon on/off but it doesn't make a huge difference. The only thing that has helped slightly is the addition of a GRDC rear wing. I understand that Ginetta are aware of this issue, but I await an answer from them on a suggested solution.
Anyone else experience this problem?
I've owned my 2012 G40R since April this year. Agree with all the comments so far - its certainly raw and noisy! I was initially disappointed with the handling before realising that I wasn't pushing it nearly hard enough. Without loading up the suspension, the steering feels light and too darty. It was only after a track visit I began to understand the car better. I've not played around with any damper or roll bar settings yet.
I love the fact that they are so rare on the road. As for performance, it needs to be revved. I would certainly like to supercharge it at some point in the future - maybe a BBR Cosworth kit as fitted to the MX5 would work?
I enjoy everything about the car, except the exhaust fumes finding their way into the cabin - it makes my eyes sting and my clothes smell after any journey. I've tried windows up/down, fan on full/off, aircon on/off but it doesn't make a huge difference. The only thing that has helped slightly is the addition of a GRDC rear wing. I understand that Ginetta are aware of this issue, but I await an answer from them on a suggested solution.
Anyone else experience this problem?
Stormcloud - great looking car, not sure about that wing though... Can't figure out if it looks to small or being angular looks at odds to the shape of the car, but saying that wonder if they can retrofit it to mine?
Riversides, thought it was just me, fumes don't quite give me a headache but are certainly noticeable and the smell lingers... Tried the same things, windows open, closed, part open.. Part closed... Aircon on and off, tried fiddling with the heater dial just in case it helped airflow but that's a bit ropey anyhow
What are you all doing about servicing and maintenance ... Presume the factory is the preferred option... Have an intermittent problem with mine and just can't nail down the cause...
Sorry lots of questions, just started drifting back onto pistonheads after a bit of time away, actually a lot of time away...
JP
Riversides, thought it was just me, fumes don't quite give me a headache but are certainly noticeable and the smell lingers... Tried the same things, windows open, closed, part open.. Part closed... Aircon on and off, tried fiddling with the heater dial just in case it helped airflow but that's a bit ropey anyhow
What are you all doing about servicing and maintenance ... Presume the factory is the preferred option... Have an intermittent problem with mine and just can't nail down the cause...
Sorry lots of questions, just started drifting back onto pistonheads after a bit of time away, actually a lot of time away...
JP
I think the wing is better in the flesh than the pictures (and that goes for the car as a whole). Didn't like the wing at first but Lawrence convinced me it would handle noticibly better, I had planned to take it off and replace with grommets when not on track, but in the flesh with the Ginetta decal, i think it looks like it's meant to be there not just another Halfrauds piece.
The car could do with some low down poke on the road, i'm not for the 5k rpm starting limit on public roads tbh, the torque of a v8 tvr would be nice, however, it does have suitable power when it gets going and is certain to perform on track well. Still, 250 - 280 bhp NA route for me, done the SC thing, not looking to make it something crazy (and i like NA noise)
Steering i find is pretty heavy all the time, it does lighten up at high speed, it'll be interesting to see if this helps or hinders on high speed bends, again, that's something i only save for track days.
I will matt Orange the front 1/5 of the bonnet next weekend to try and protect the front a little from debris and add a few more smaller decals, but I'm very happy with mine.
The smell is odd, can't help thinking some of it is from the old tvr glue days. Certainly noticed the smell in the 250 mile trip home, not so much in the 100 mile trip yesterday and hardly at all in the 25 min drive I had today. Thing is, if you wind down the window on the motorway you bring in all the fumes from the motorway traffic anyway. Air-con seems to help, but that may only be due to moving the air around a little. I keep the car in a garage and currently gave the windows down, it'll be like that until next weekend, so any fumes should be gone, leaving me with a glue smell or nothing, then i'll have a baseline.
I'll say the 250 miles trip back was in a lot of heavy 50 avg speed sections, the 100 mile yesterday wasn't but I only noticed the fumes really when on the motorways, not smaller B roads. It does make me think that a lot of the smell is due to the lack of cabin isolation from the outside environment due to panel gaps and no seals. Still, i knew what i was buying, so i'm all happy.
The car could do with some low down poke on the road, i'm not for the 5k rpm starting limit on public roads tbh, the torque of a v8 tvr would be nice, however, it does have suitable power when it gets going and is certain to perform on track well. Still, 250 - 280 bhp NA route for me, done the SC thing, not looking to make it something crazy (and i like NA noise)
Steering i find is pretty heavy all the time, it does lighten up at high speed, it'll be interesting to see if this helps or hinders on high speed bends, again, that's something i only save for track days.
I will matt Orange the front 1/5 of the bonnet next weekend to try and protect the front a little from debris and add a few more smaller decals, but I'm very happy with mine.
The smell is odd, can't help thinking some of it is from the old tvr glue days. Certainly noticed the smell in the 250 mile trip home, not so much in the 100 mile trip yesterday and hardly at all in the 25 min drive I had today. Thing is, if you wind down the window on the motorway you bring in all the fumes from the motorway traffic anyway. Air-con seems to help, but that may only be due to moving the air around a little. I keep the car in a garage and currently gave the windows down, it'll be like that until next weekend, so any fumes should be gone, leaving me with a glue smell or nothing, then i'll have a baseline.
I'll say the 250 miles trip back was in a lot of heavy 50 avg speed sections, the 100 mile yesterday wasn't but I only noticed the fumes really when on the motorways, not smaller B roads. It does make me think that a lot of the smell is due to the lack of cabin isolation from the outside environment due to panel gaps and no seals. Still, i knew what i was buying, so i'm all happy.
Oh, and i'll be having my servicing completed at Mole-Valley (Surrey) where I ordered my car from initially (although it was the first one they've arrange from new and they haven't even seen what they helped me to buy yet!). I think they want some advertising pictures of the car for their site, so I'll be heading down in a few weeks. They are factory accredited (if that is the right word), along with Hexam these are the only two dealers I know of.
JP - The wing can be retrofitted. I ordered it direct from Ginetta. I fitted myself, so nothing too difficult as long as you are careful drilling into the bootlid. I think it improves the looks IMO, and certainly helped with the fumes. Not sure about increased downforce! I think the design of the rear end causes the fumes to be sucked back into the cabin. The engine seems to run very rich, so there is always plenty of black soot coming out the back which probably adds to the smell.
The fuel gauge is also next to useless on mine, which caused me to run out of fuel soon after I got the car. Not realising that I had, I succeeded in burning out the fuel pump which had to be replaced. I'm no mechanic, so it took me a bit of time to figure out what had happened, not to mention having to remove the fuel cell and get into the pump itself! All sorted now though. There's an official dealer in Perthshire that I can use for servicing or HHC which is a bit further south for me.
The fuel gauge is also next to useless on mine, which caused me to run out of fuel soon after I got the car. Not realising that I had, I succeeded in burning out the fuel pump which had to be replaced. I'm no mechanic, so it took me a bit of time to figure out what had happened, not to mention having to remove the fuel cell and get into the pump itself! All sorted now though. There's an official dealer in Perthshire that I can use for servicing or HHC which is a bit further south for me.
Cabin fumes at speed are generally caused by a low pressure region behind the car which generated by its shape. The exhaust fumes get trapped in this low pressure region, recirculating until they escape into the main air stream or find their way into the cabin.
The fix is generally to seal all gaps at the back of the car and reduce the size of the wake by encouraging the the boundary layer to stay attached and energized as far back along the car as possible. Not easy with a short, tall cabin and a bluff tail! If the wing is situated in this area, it can actually increase rear end lift, because the normal wing function does not apply and the re-circ air comes up underneath the wing, pushing it up, but from all accounts that does not seem to afflict the G40.
Additional vents could be added to direct air from the sides, through the engine bay but this would be a major tear up to the body, not great.
You could also try extending the exhaust pipe backwards to get it out of the low pressure, but I suspect it would be a fairly large extension.
One other option could be to use vortex generators across the trailing edge of the roof. These would act to re-energize the flow and reattach the boundary layer down the rear screen. If successful, this would dramatically reduce the wake and would provide more laminar airflow to the rear wing, reducing the drag coefficient and possibly generating more downforce. The downside is they don't look great, but could be blended in with a coat of Ginetta orange;-) Who knows, you may even be able to get the factory to offer them as an optional extra if it works!
Just like to add my congrats, its a lovely looking car and thanks for sharing your experiences.
The fix is generally to seal all gaps at the back of the car and reduce the size of the wake by encouraging the the boundary layer to stay attached and energized as far back along the car as possible. Not easy with a short, tall cabin and a bluff tail! If the wing is situated in this area, it can actually increase rear end lift, because the normal wing function does not apply and the re-circ air comes up underneath the wing, pushing it up, but from all accounts that does not seem to afflict the G40.
Additional vents could be added to direct air from the sides, through the engine bay but this would be a major tear up to the body, not great.
You could also try extending the exhaust pipe backwards to get it out of the low pressure, but I suspect it would be a fairly large extension.
One other option could be to use vortex generators across the trailing edge of the roof. These would act to re-energize the flow and reattach the boundary layer down the rear screen. If successful, this would dramatically reduce the wake and would provide more laminar airflow to the rear wing, reducing the drag coefficient and possibly generating more downforce. The downside is they don't look great, but could be blended in with a coat of Ginetta orange;-) Who knows, you may even be able to get the factory to offer them as an optional extra if it works!
Just like to add my congrats, its a lovely looking car and thanks for sharing your experiences.
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