3000 miles, 10 days, TVR vs The Alps.....
Discussion
Hi folks, been a while since I've posted, as seemingly Nick's S2 is running cock on! Not had any problems recently after ironing out his rebuild teething problems. Now, he's decided to go on a road trip round Europe in it in June, and obviously this will involve lots of big mountains and hot temperatures.
He's thinking of fitting a lower thermostat, as then the cooling system will get a 'head start' on keeping the engine cool. Firstly, is this necessary? Secondly, if it is, what temperature ratings are available for the 2.9 V6?
Also, he's thinking of putting some 10w60 Miller CFS motorsport oil in it, is this ok? He's been told it's one of the best oils money can buy, and he gets it at trade price.
Oh, one last thing, spark plug gaps, what is the correct gap on them? He can't remember!
He's thinking of fitting a lower thermostat, as then the cooling system will get a 'head start' on keeping the engine cool. Firstly, is this necessary? Secondly, if it is, what temperature ratings are available for the 2.9 V6?
Also, he's thinking of putting some 10w60 Miller CFS motorsport oil in it, is this ok? He's been told it's one of the best oils money can buy, and he gets it at trade price.
Oh, one last thing, spark plug gaps, what is the correct gap on them? He can't remember!
please don't take this the wrong way but I still find it funny that Nick won't post here... Does he know you do on his behalf..?
Good to hear the S is going strong though can't help with the rest I am afraid except plug gap which google says should be 0.7mm on 2.9 and 0.6 on 2.8 according to mr Heath.
Thanks Damian
Good to hear the S is going strong though can't help with the rest I am afraid except plug gap which google says should be 0.7mm on 2.9 and 0.6 on 2.8 according to mr Heath.
Thanks Damian
Hi Tony,
Glad to hear Nick's car is back together and going well.
As to your questions....
Thermostat
Personally I don't think a thermostat will make any difference. I have driven my car when it has been absolutely boiling and done 1/4 mile sprints in it, it didn't over heat, just sat bang on the bottom of the red part of the gauge with the fan on full blast. Had I had a cooler thermostat then it would have opened 5 minutes sooner when I started the car up that morning but still stayed open the whole time as my standard 'hot' one did.
My point is it is a switch, once the car is hot the thermostat switching temperature makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. If your worried about cooling then I would suggest making the cooling more efficient. Make sure the coolant system and radiator fins are clean and the coolant is fresh although I doubt any of those are a problem on Nick's freshly rebuilt car. Other than that directing more air throughout the radiator will help matters with either some sort of ducting or a bigger better fan (highest flow rate possible)
If that isn't enough an oil cooler will allow another fluid to remove heat from the engine although make sure that has a thermostat too otherwise you will damage the engine.
Oil
These engines were originally specced with semi-synth (or mineral!?) but anyway the engine is a saloon car engine designed for high miles and reliability. As such it doesn't need the latest £500/litre oil (an exaggeration but you get the idea). A decent fully synthetic oil will be excellent for the engine's needs but it doesn't have to be the absolute dogs danglies. Personally I have Mobil 1 Motorsport oil which is probably touching on over the top but it was on offer. If Nick can get a good fully synthetic oil for a discounted rate then go for it, it can only help.
As for the viscosity, well I have 15W50 in mine but I have no idea how sensitive engines are to viscosity changes. Best person to ask would probably be Opie Oils bloke who hangs around on PH.
Spark plug gaps
This depends on how good the ignition system is, as I'm guessing Nick's is all fairly new I would say he could go to 0.8mm. Personally I have mine set at 0.7mm. I increased mine to 0.9mm and it misfired slightly so I changed it back to 0.7mm. I have recently replaced everything (and I mean everything) in the ignition system so my new plugs will go in at 0.8mm
Sorry for the long post but hope that helps!!
Glad to hear Nick's car is back together and going well.
As to your questions....
Thermostat
Personally I don't think a thermostat will make any difference. I have driven my car when it has been absolutely boiling and done 1/4 mile sprints in it, it didn't over heat, just sat bang on the bottom of the red part of the gauge with the fan on full blast. Had I had a cooler thermostat then it would have opened 5 minutes sooner when I started the car up that morning but still stayed open the whole time as my standard 'hot' one did.
My point is it is a switch, once the car is hot the thermostat switching temperature makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. If your worried about cooling then I would suggest making the cooling more efficient. Make sure the coolant system and radiator fins are clean and the coolant is fresh although I doubt any of those are a problem on Nick's freshly rebuilt car. Other than that directing more air throughout the radiator will help matters with either some sort of ducting or a bigger better fan (highest flow rate possible)
If that isn't enough an oil cooler will allow another fluid to remove heat from the engine although make sure that has a thermostat too otherwise you will damage the engine.
Oil
These engines were originally specced with semi-synth (or mineral!?) but anyway the engine is a saloon car engine designed for high miles and reliability. As such it doesn't need the latest £500/litre oil (an exaggeration but you get the idea). A decent fully synthetic oil will be excellent for the engine's needs but it doesn't have to be the absolute dogs danglies. Personally I have Mobil 1 Motorsport oil which is probably touching on over the top but it was on offer. If Nick can get a good fully synthetic oil for a discounted rate then go for it, it can only help.
As for the viscosity, well I have 15W50 in mine but I have no idea how sensitive engines are to viscosity changes. Best person to ask would probably be Opie Oils bloke who hangs around on PH.
Spark plug gaps
This depends on how good the ignition system is, as I'm guessing Nick's is all fairly new I would say he could go to 0.8mm. Personally I have mine set at 0.7mm. I increased mine to 0.9mm and it misfired slightly so I changed it back to 0.7mm. I have recently replaced everything (and I mean everything) in the ignition system so my new plugs will go in at 0.8mm
Sorry for the long post but hope that helps!!
v8s4me said:
Be aware thats edition one much more information in edition 2 currently available from Steve or via TVR Car Clubtechbotics said:
please don't take this the wrong way but I still find it funny that Nick won't post here... Does he know you do on his behalf..?
I often think the same, although he got a bit of a rough ride on here when he used to post, sometimes fair and sometimes perhaps not. The last I knew was the car was for sale on here straight after his rebuild, anyway that trip would be great fun in an S but bloody hard work, all those hairpins etc with no power steering and a hard ride etc, I did it last June in a 6 month old civic and it was hard work in that, brilliant fun though.Cheers.....Tony..
v8s4me said:
Hard work? In June? Yer 'aving a laff! Try doing it in September 
....where do I begin?... I second that.Also don't worry about the heat... We were actually in T shirts later that day coming down the other side in Italy...as tested on 10 TVR S's. It may have been down hill then but the engines were pushed - you know who you are
... And I disagree about the difficulty of driving on those roads - an S in the alps is one of the best things you can do, and 20 S's is even better....
Agree. Have also taken one up and down the Stelvio Pass, Brilliant fun.techbotics said:
please don't take this the wrong way but I still find it funny that Nick won't post here... Does he know you do on his behalf..?
I think the appropriate phrase here is 'can't post here' rather than 'won't post here' if you follow....?I'm sure the questions are being asked with full knowledge and 'help'
tozerman said:
Maybe Nick is Kingfisher....
Cheers.....Tony..
who was ever in doubt ?Cheers.....Tony..
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/HowTo:Refer_to_...
K
King Fisher said:
He's thinking of fitting a lower thermostat, as then the cooling system will get a 'head start' on keeping the engine cool.
If one isn't fitted already an over ride switch is a good idea so fan kicks in sooner if stuck in traffic in hot weather tozerman said:
Ok I do feel a bit of a wuss now, but we did do it on one day in june and it took 13 hours to get from Basel to Lake Garda in one hit 
Cheers.....Tony..
13 hours driving anywhere in an S will be tiring! The S Club Alps trip with it'c combo of tight twisties and fast flowing bits is THE best thing I've ever done in any car (despite the weather on "that" day!) Cheers.....Tony..
On this subject I have finally found Toms vid on that awesome drive down into Italy....which reminds me, alps advice would be to remove those cosmetic brake dust covers, they reduce brake cooling, and they only melt anyway
Www.flickr.com/#/photos/9836922@N07/5094396641
If it doesn't work go to Greig Leachs photo stream on flickr
Www.flickr.com/#/photos/9836922@N07/5094396641
If it doesn't work go to Greig Leachs photo stream on flickr
Edited by AutoAndy on Wednesday 14th March 21:54
Edited by AutoAndy on Wednesday 14th March 21:55
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