Discussion
Having Just bought a my first TVR, a lovely blue S2 
. The one thing I am concerned about is all the things I have read regarding Failing Brakes and the Brake Master Cylinder going soft ect. Should this be something I should be very worried about. The car is going in for service next month and am reluctant to spend the £200 on new plastic. ? is there a cheaper alternative and where can I get one, in order to get the garage to fit as I don't have the facilities to do it myself ??
. The one thing I am concerned about is all the things I have read regarding Failing Brakes and the Brake Master Cylinder going soft ect. Should this be something I should be very worried about. The car is going in for service next month and am reluctant to spend the £200 on new plastic. ? is there a cheaper alternative and where can I get one, in order to get the garage to fit as I don't have the facilities to do it myself ?? Thanks, 
I will keep my hand near the hand brake while driving just in case. The car I have just bought is Mike Smiths old Azure Blue S2. (page 2 reluctant Sale, in the adverts), best thing I ever did. Just a little worried about reliability at the mo. Only one brake down in the first month. (battery went flat)
I will keep my hand near the hand brake while driving just in case. The car I have just bought is Mike Smiths old Azure Blue S2. (page 2 reluctant Sale, in the adverts), best thing I ever did. Just a little worried about reliability at the mo. Only one brake down in the first month. (battery went flat) adyw said:
Thanks,
I would not worry about this 2 much, I have owned my S2 for over 5 years and have only ever heard of this happening once. I'm sure it has happened more than once but out of a few thousand cars that is still very rare.
As for reliabliity, luck of the draw, but one thing is certain, the more you use it the more reliable it will become.
Sorry if i offend a few ""gurus" here but I can not believe what I am reading.Andy, Pete, and Keiran have all posted at similar post pub closing times as this but what are they drinking? I like the odd glass of wine or two(well documented) but to discuss 15 year old brakes with potential problems and dismiss spending £200 to rectify them and then discuss "Firetrace" at £300 as though it was important leaves me COLD.
Adrian, it may not be a good suggestion to discuss with your wife/girlfriend/mother whether they would rather you spend money on something which makes you go slower or more money on something you do not need but think it through.( always remember the fastest car from A to B is the one with the best brakes ------ look at Grand Prix cars from the 1930's and they were more powerfull and quicker than modern Grand Prix car apart from the brakes). If you are worried about the electrics catching fire then check them before driving the car and you will immediately save £100 more than it will cost you to overhaul 15 year old brakes.
Dont overhaul the brakes and rely on the handbrake as Keiran suggests is surely not that clever. Find yourself a mile or so of unused road( not in the UK because there aren't any), drive up to 70 miles an hour and see how long it takes to stop using just the handbrake. Then try it in a car with effective and correctly maintained brakes( obviously not yours), deduct the difference and if it is more than the length of the bonnet then the worst thing if you are not dead is the price of a new bonnet(£1540 +vat plus fitting plus painting plus possibly a chassis plus suspension plus a radiator+++++++++)
I can put Pete and Keirans comments down to seasonal spirits but if you think the brakes are more important than a fire extinguisher system on a 15 year old road car then I am obviously getting too old and driving too slow.
Must go my nurse is wanting to give me a bed bath. Drive safely sTeVeR
Adrian, it may not be a good suggestion to discuss with your wife/girlfriend/mother whether they would rather you spend money on something which makes you go slower or more money on something you do not need but think it through.( always remember the fastest car from A to B is the one with the best brakes ------ look at Grand Prix cars from the 1930's and they were more powerfull and quicker than modern Grand Prix car apart from the brakes). If you are worried about the electrics catching fire then check them before driving the car and you will immediately save £100 more than it will cost you to overhaul 15 year old brakes.
Dont overhaul the brakes and rely on the handbrake as Keiran suggests is surely not that clever. Find yourself a mile or so of unused road( not in the UK because there aren't any), drive up to 70 miles an hour and see how long it takes to stop using just the handbrake. Then try it in a car with effective and correctly maintained brakes( obviously not yours), deduct the difference and if it is more than the length of the bonnet then the worst thing if you are not dead is the price of a new bonnet(£1540 +vat plus fitting plus painting plus possibly a chassis plus suspension plus a radiator+++++++++)
I can put Pete and Keirans comments down to seasonal spirits but if you think the brakes are more important than a fire extinguisher system on a 15 year old road car then I am obviously getting too old and driving too slow.
Must go my nurse is wanting to give me a bed bath. Drive safely sTeVeR
Now, I'm confused.
Yes the frietrace idea was just over protection on my behalf compairing a price of hand held to an automatic system, and yes if I am worried about the thing going up in smoke having a good look under the bonnet is a good idea. But in reply to the brake issue, still confused. Yes she is going in for a full service next month, but is there anything else I should be asking them to do / replace to stop any failures. Some say yes some no, 
Yes the frietrace idea was just over protection on my behalf compairing a price of hand held to an automatic system, and yes if I am worried about the thing going up in smoke having a good look under the bonnet is a good idea. But in reply to the brake issue, still confused. Yes she is going in for a full service next month, but is there anything else I should be asking them to do / replace to stop any failures. Some say yes some no, Andy your car is no more likely to burst into flames than any other car and your brakes are unlikely to fail either if they are properly mainained. its just a matter of priorities. You are more likely to be spending money on a fuel tank, trailing arms or exhaust manifolds in the near future so forget firetrace and keep some money aside to replace the things that die of old age and keep the car in good order, you will enjoy it more than worying about it catching fire and which is the chosen method of putting it out
Not offended Steve but simply don't follow your reasoning. Always interesting to get a different point of view though.
As I understand it, the brakes are currently working fine and the question is: given that other people have reported problems with this widget failing, should he have it replaced 'just in case'? My advice is no.
Brakes are obviously safety critical. If there's any problem with them, you should get it fixed immediately. Money is not an issue - if you can't afford to fix it, don't drive the car until you can. Similarly, if you have any doubts about the brakes, have them checked by an expert (for example, the person who services the car). If the expert advises you that you have a problem that needs fixing, or a potential problem that needs to be addressed, then follow their advise. Otherwise leave well alone. I dont think either of these are the case here. The plastic widget hasn't failed, and there is no particular reason (IMO) to suppose it will fail. There are a thousand and one things on the car that might fail at some point, and if you replace them all 'just in case' you will end up spending an awfull lot of time and money on the car for no benefit (well, your mechanic will thank you for funding his summer holidays, but no benefit to you). Fix the problems you have, not the problems other people have.
The fire extinguisher thing I view as a luxury. For most people, a fire extinguisher is a pointless thing to buy. The chances that the car will catch fire while you're in it are so remote that you can pretty much ignore them, and the chances that when it catches fire it will be a small enough fire to put out with a standard extinguisher are even smaller. All it does is encourage you to put yourself at risk while you try to fight the fire. And the odds are that by the time you come to use it the extinguisher will have lost pressure anyway unless you have maintained it. For most people this is a waste of time and money IMO so if you're going to waste money, waste as little as possible.
Having said that, I do actually have a fire extinguisher in the V8S. Partly because it is mandated for competition, and partly because there's a small danger that I'll be trapped in the car when it catches fire. The hand-held unit might just protect me long enough for the fire marshals to arrive. If it catches fire and I'm out of the car, I'm sure as hell not putting myself at risk trying to put it out though. I can buy a new car; much harder to buy a new face.
As I understand it, the brakes are currently working fine and the question is: given that other people have reported problems with this widget failing, should he have it replaced 'just in case'? My advice is no.
Brakes are obviously safety critical. If there's any problem with them, you should get it fixed immediately. Money is not an issue - if you can't afford to fix it, don't drive the car until you can. Similarly, if you have any doubts about the brakes, have them checked by an expert (for example, the person who services the car). If the expert advises you that you have a problem that needs fixing, or a potential problem that needs to be addressed, then follow their advise. Otherwise leave well alone. I dont think either of these are the case here. The plastic widget hasn't failed, and there is no particular reason (IMO) to suppose it will fail. There are a thousand and one things on the car that might fail at some point, and if you replace them all 'just in case' you will end up spending an awfull lot of time and money on the car for no benefit (well, your mechanic will thank you for funding his summer holidays, but no benefit to you). Fix the problems you have, not the problems other people have.
The fire extinguisher thing I view as a luxury. For most people, a fire extinguisher is a pointless thing to buy. The chances that the car will catch fire while you're in it are so remote that you can pretty much ignore them, and the chances that when it catches fire it will be a small enough fire to put out with a standard extinguisher are even smaller. All it does is encourage you to put yourself at risk while you try to fight the fire. And the odds are that by the time you come to use it the extinguisher will have lost pressure anyway unless you have maintained it. For most people this is a waste of time and money IMO so if you're going to waste money, waste as little as possible.
Having said that, I do actually have a fire extinguisher in the V8S. Partly because it is mandated for competition, and partly because there's a small danger that I'll be trapped in the car when it catches fire. The hand-held unit might just protect me long enough for the fire marshals to arrive. If it catches fire and I'm out of the car, I'm sure as hell not putting myself at risk trying to put it out though. I can buy a new car; much harder to buy a new face.
GreenV8S said:
As I understand it, the brakes are currently working fine and the question is: given that other people have reported problems with this widget failing, should he have it replaced 'just in case'? My advice is no.
That is exactly the way I took it.
Tis perhaps you Steve, who have had too much Christmas Cheer.
P.S. I'm not offended Steve, but I Would appreciate it if you re-read my post, I have just done so and cannot find the word "Handbrake" used anywhere !
>> Edited by keirangrogan on Sunday 4th January 18:23
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