Anyone Racing TVR Vixen's?
Discussion
There was a really nice (recently restored by the look) looking one out in the CSCC Swing Sixties on Sunday.
http://www.davidstallardphotography.com/ClassicSpo... (Practice), mind does not seem to have made the race in page 35 on. Looked at lap chart and it did one lap in Practice! Looked nice in the garage!
http://www.davidstallardphotography.com/ClassicSpo... (Practice), mind does not seem to have made the race in page 35 on. Looked at lap chart and it did one lap in Practice! Looked nice in the garage!
The factory owners manual for a Vixen S2 shows weight as 762 Kilos (page 6). they probably varied week by week, chassis by chassis so the only way to know is to take any particular car to a weigh bridge which, I have been assured by operators, is calibrated to be very accurate regardless of the vehicle type/weight.
I took LVX1235F to my local weigh bridge and it turned the scales at exactly 800 kilos, which gave me a bit of turn at the time especially as pilot weight at the time (me) would add another 100 kilos!
After a little thought I sat down and did my best estimate for additional equipment on the car (full cage, fire extinguisher, oil cooler etc) and soon got within 1/2 a kilo of the extra 38 kilos.
Without mentioning names, the lightest Vixen in the TVRCC speed championship ten years back was I believe, getting close to 720 kilos. I think the glass fibre body is probably quite thick in standard form but there must have been some made with a thinner shell if specified by the purchaser? Perhaps sand blasting is the answer!! Standard finned alloy wheels are also quite heavy in comparison with modern mag.alloys.
Pete Sims
I took LVX1235F to my local weigh bridge and it turned the scales at exactly 800 kilos, which gave me a bit of turn at the time especially as pilot weight at the time (me) would add another 100 kilos!
After a little thought I sat down and did my best estimate for additional equipment on the car (full cage, fire extinguisher, oil cooler etc) and soon got within 1/2 a kilo of the extra 38 kilos.
Without mentioning names, the lightest Vixen in the TVRCC speed championship ten years back was I believe, getting close to 720 kilos. I think the glass fibre body is probably quite thick in standard form but there must have been some made with a thinner shell if specified by the purchaser? Perhaps sand blasting is the answer!! Standard finned alloy wheels are also quite heavy in comparison with modern mag.alloys.
Pete Sims
Lightening is not the answer...for racing a structurally new made shell is the only way forward, the cars from OE are made from many parts, all then bonded in each corner by 2" x 2" pieces of tissue, the integrity and strength is lost in removing ANY of these bonded corners...so each and every corner needs to be laid up in place rolling the mould to eliminate as many as possible.
I know, I have just repaired what was a 'dressed' racing shell after an accident.
It is this attention to these details in the 'NEW' Griffith racers that are being made at the moment, that is impressive. I have always said, when people asking me for light weight bonnets, when get told the cost is the same as for a standard weight, even thought only half the material is used, the effort and attention in laying up is important.
Adrian@
I know, I have just repaired what was a 'dressed' racing shell after an accident.
It is this attention to these details in the 'NEW' Griffith racers that are being made at the moment, that is impressive. I have always said, when people asking me for light weight bonnets, when get told the cost is the same as for a standard weight, even thought only half the material is used, the effort and attention in laying up is important.
Adrian@
Edited by Adrian@ on Thursday 23 October 09:27
Gassing Station | TVR Classics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff