S owners and Track days
Discussion
I have attended a number of TVR track days over the last 4 years but have been quite suprised by the lack of S series cars in attendance.
The S realy does hold its own on the circuit and with some minor suspension changes can embarass some of the more powerful machinery (or is that drivers).
So why do S owners shy away from these events?
The S realy does hold its own on the circuit and with some minor suspension changes can embarass some of the more powerful machinery (or is that drivers).
So why do S owners shy away from these events?
worried about being made to look stupid by some lunatic in an S bearing the registration G6UNT 
A couple of things have stopped me to date
1. My current insurers wont cover me so I would have to add at least £100 each day to cover insurance. Will change insurers at renewal mind.
2. Its my only car and worried if I do break something I shall be left stranded for work/social life etc.
My solution will hopefully happen in the summer when i change insurers and buy a second car. Until then though, I will have to stay off the track
looking forward to getting on the track to find the limits though
would be interested to hear what you recommend re suspension....
A couple of things have stopped me to date
1. My current insurers wont cover me so I would have to add at least £100 each day to cover insurance. Will change insurers at renewal mind.
2. Its my only car and worried if I do break something I shall be left stranded for work/social life etc.
My solution will hopefully happen in the summer when i change insurers and buy a second car. Until then though, I will have to stay off the track
looking forward to getting on the track to find the limits though
would be interested to hear what you recommend re suspension....I can only speak for myself, but I basically can't afford to do it, much as I would love to. I could just about afford to buy the S and I do not have the spare cash to pay for sets of tyres, brakes etc, nor would I like to risk long term wear and damage as I have to use it every day.
It may be that as the S is the "TVR on a budget" car, many other owners are in the same boat as me, I don't know, but it is a shame we can't all get on the track with these beauties.
Andy
It may be that as the S is the "TVR on a budget" car, many other owners are in the same boat as me, I don't know, but it is a shame we can't all get on the track with these beauties.
Andy
One of the reasons I bought my S was to use it on track days.
Unfortunatly I need to do a lot of work to the car before I take it on the track (things like getting a roll bar fitted, upgrading the brakes, suspension and making sure that I will be safe should I spin off !!!). I'm hoping that I will be able to get all these things done for next year so I can get out on the track then...
Unfortunatly I need to do a lot of work to the car before I take it on the track (things like getting a roll bar fitted, upgrading the brakes, suspension and making sure that I will be safe should I spin off !!!). I'm hoping that I will be able to get all these things done for next year so I can get out on the track then...
Unfortunatly I need to do a lot of work to the car before I take it on the track (things like getting a roll bar fitted, upgrading the brakes, suspension and making sure that I will be safe should I spin off !!!). I'm hoping that I will be able to get all these things done for next year so I can get out on the track then...
All commendable stuff but i would recommend getting to know the car on the circuit first, then you find out what realy needs doing. i.e. im still running with everything as standard apart from the suspension which has slightly stiffer springs/redilne dampers.
The above bits and pieces are all good and might inspire confidence but i have not seen many owners on a track day go this far.
Its all for fun at the end of the day and initially you will only go as fast as you feel comfortable. The cars are far more capable than you might think even in standard form.
All commendable stuff but i would recommend getting to know the car on the circuit first, then you find out what realy needs doing. i.e. im still running with everything as standard apart from the suspension which has slightly stiffer springs/redilne dampers.
The above bits and pieces are all good and might inspire confidence but i have not seen many owners on a track day go this far.
Its all for fun at the end of the day and initially you will only go as fast as you feel comfortable. The cars are far more capable than you might think even in standard form.
I do a number of track days a yea in my S, just back from Folembray. I was the slowest car there for a number of reasons, there were some very good drivers on average better then most trackdays I've been on. Some very fast cars and I was not pushing as hard as I would, at an event in this country (the fact that I'm a crap driver has nothing to do with it).
The brakes in standard form are not that bad. I have had Drilled, grooved and big disc upgrades and I'm back to standard at the moment (except braded hoses & fast road pads). The upgraded discs were too expensive did not last as long and was not that much better. I've got a set of Mondao brakes ready to go on just waiting for the current pads to get down a bit.
As for budget TVR Yes they are but they are also the budget TVR track car. I've hard of a number of Rover V8's, AJP's, speed 6 engines detonating themselves on track @ £5000+ to replace. I've not hard of a V6 doing that but if it did £600 for a recon.
Mark
The brakes in standard form are not that bad. I have had Drilled, grooved and big disc upgrades and I'm back to standard at the moment (except braded hoses & fast road pads). The upgraded discs were too expensive did not last as long and was not that much better. I've got a set of Mondao brakes ready to go on just waiting for the current pads to get down a bit.
As for budget TVR Yes they are but they are also the budget TVR track car. I've hard of a number of Rover V8's, AJP's, speed 6 engines detonating themselves on track @ £5000+ to replace. I've not hard of a V6 doing that but if it did £600 for a recon.
Mark
Shhh, if everyone else finds out there'll be no places left for the rest of us! Agree S series are far faster on track compared to the V8 and later TVRs than you'd think by looking at the bhp figures. In some ways this is bad news because even if you're lapping faster, it can be very difficult to get past somebody who has a 100 bhp advantage over you when you're only allowed to overtake on the straights! Fortunately with the V8S this tends to be less of a problem these days. 
you can all look dforward to some dedicated S stuff from me in the future .. Guy is doing me some very short stroke Nitrons so i an play with extra hard springs and work my way back to what works best. The griff 500 sized front disc conversion works a treat too .. straight bolt on fitment from the rarer XR4i Sierra.
joospeed said: you can all look dforward to some dedicated S stuff from me in the future .. Guy is doing me some very short stroke Nitrons so i an play with extra hard springs and work my way back to what works best. The griff 500 sized front disc conversion works a treat too .. straight bolt on fitment from the rarer XR4i Sierra.
Ooohhhh...
I've still got the standard brakes on my S. Admittedly it's the S4 so I've got rear discs but front and rear are scarily small and they cope just fine. They don't last that many track days as they do get worked hard (got three track days out of this set of pads and the discs are looking tired again) so they're probably next on the list of minor enhancements.
I'll echo what has been said elsewhere - the standard car is extremely capable and on certain circuits can embarress poorly driven exotica with twice the power.
I'll echo what has been said elsewhere - the standard car is extremely capable and on certain circuits can embarress poorly driven exotica with twice the power.
GreenV8S said: Very short stroke - even shorter than mine? Only problem I had was droop travel on the front, limited because the neggy camber I run reduces the travel on the top ball joint.
that's easy to get around .. just file the holes further to angle the ball joint more.
I'm having some hub top carriers machined to increase camber on turns too, so i can reduce the castor and lighten the steering a tad .. I'm looking at power steering conversion too if that doesn't work
Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff