Modified Griff, Modified EVO or Modified Cerb?

[andysgriff]

Ladies n Gents
I've been immune to the 'need for speed' thing for a few years.. but its back and I need some advice.

Budget circa £30K, my shortlist;

1) Modified Griff - at least 300 whp
2) Modified Evo (8 or 9) - at least 500 awhp
3) modified Cerb - RR Spec (again) - what ever that gives these days with induction, mapping etc. 350 whp?

I have had all three of the above standard versions (apart from the Cerb) which was sweet whilst it was running.

A quick summary of what I thought of the cars;

Griff 500
Pros - sound, reliability, roof off, solid value, a dream to drive to LM etc
Cons - Standard a bit iffy dynamically, wheezy past 5k

Evo 9 360
Pros - ridiculous handling, truly an order of magnitude above anything I have driven on a typical wet, stty, mud strewm, pot holed British road. Reliability etc, Very very quick for a 'sedan', performance value for money etc.
Cons - not an event to drive, interior?

Cer 4.5 RR
Pros - the maddest sounding and looking car I have ever driven, gets the pulse racing each time you set off, mostly wondering 'whats gonna happen this time?' So so quick, speed just piles on and on..
Cons - see above....

Any other suggestions?

Help, I have an itch that needs scratching quick.
Cheers
Andy

[900T-R]

Do you want outright speed, or do you want the experience of going fast?

[450Nick]

You want a kick in the back then, and a lively car... So I'd go with a heavily modified Chim/Griff. Much more fun and far more savage to drive than a Cerb once tuned up. With £30k I'd look at a full suspension/brake upgrade to sort out the handling, and then build a nice short stroke 5L with a SC Power blower on to reach around 450bhp, and that all important torque to give the muscle car feel. £30k will build you pretty much a mint example specced as you like. Set up correctly they actually handle very well with proper damping etc. I've driven a couple of Cerbs back to back with my SC Chim and they felt like fast VWs - nowhere near as much drama. The roof down action is a big factor too.

A friend of mine has a 400+ bhp evo 8, and whilst it is technically very impressive, it is rather souless - I'd take the character and feel of a TVR over one any day..

[Mr M]

> Any other suggestions?

TVR Power 4.5 Tamora.

[Alexdaredevilz]

For 30k I'd be looking at the lower end of the Ultima's

But 20k will build you a mental Chim/Griff

[LordGrover]

Only issue I foresee with the Griff is at 300whp it's not likely to be refined and reliable. What would it take, +350BHP at the fly?
Unless FI?
If it's that kind of grunt and slam in the back, stick to the Cerb.

PS. I've never had one so pure speculation.

[scotty_d]

LordGrover said:

Only issue I foresee with the Griff is at 300whp it's not likely to be refined and reliable. What would it take, +350BHP at the fly?
Unless FI?
If it's that kind of grunt and slam in the back, stick to the Cerb.

PS. I've never had one so pure speculation.

I agree the chassis is much better in the Cerb so handling is miles apart, You can at least use 100% of that kind of power with out fear of death in a straight line when opening the taps. Had both a chim and now cerb and i have no where as much fear in the wet in the cerb as i did in the chim, torque much higher up in the rev range so much easier to feed power in when wet as well.

I just prefer it all round tbh But if you spent a few quid you could build a monster of a cerb a 4.7 ajp

[450Nick]

LordGrover said:

Only issue I foresee with the Griff is at 300whp it's not likely to be refined and reliable. What would it take, +350BHP at the fly?
Unless FI?
If it's that kind of grunt and slam in the back, stick to the Cerb.

PS. I've never had one so pure speculation.

The one thing you don't get in a Cerb is a slam in the back, its a long elastic band delivery of power; which is what accounts for it building big speed without you really noticing too much. This is due to its flat plane crank, its a revvy race engine and hence makes very good bhp, but does require winding up. A suitably blown RV8 is far more snappy and altogether more angry in its power deliver, giving much more excitement IMHO. AJP for the track, but for a mental road car you want as much torque as possible; and a speed 6 or AJP just won't do that.

[TimJM]

For 30K I would be looking for a Griff with a v8D 5.5 engine + new heads, should push you above your bhp target NA or add a blower for even more than your target.

[andysgriff]

450Nick said:

LordGrover said:

Only issue I foresee with the Griff is at 300whp it's not likely to be refined and reliable. What would it take, +350BHP at the fly?
Unless FI?
If it's that kind of grunt and slam in the back, stick to the Cerb.

PS. I've never had one so pure speculation.

The one thing you don't get in a Cerb is a slam in the back, its a long elastic band delivery of power; which is what accounts for it building big speed without you really noticing too much. This is due to its flat plane crank, its a revvy race engine and hence makes very good bhp, but does require winding up. A suitably blown RV8 is far more snappy and altogether more angry in its power deliver, giving much more excitement IMHO. AJP for the track, but for a mental road car you want as much torque as possible; and a speed 6 or AJP just won't do that.

I'd agree, I am really erring to a modded Griff, however is it OK to say I'd want one with a LS power plant? I understand 'one' can get a LS engine Griff transplant these days with '480 hp' at the crank. reliability and serious whp. I thought the Cerb handled way better and braked way above the Griff though....

[TimJM]

Where is "7 TVR"?...his LS powered Griff is very nice. Although if you are going LS route, it would be interesting to look at the LS7 650BHP option, that should be more than enough power to satisfy anyone.

[andysgriff]

TimJM said:

Where is "7 TVR"?...his LS powered Griff is very nice. Although if you are going LS route, it would be interesting to look at the LS7 650BHP option, that should be more than enough power to satisfy anyone.

650 in a Griff chassis. gulp.. sounds bloody awesome where do I sign?

[andysgriff]

900T-R said:

Do you want outright speed, or do you want the experience of going fast?

I want the real thing, no excuses....

[450Nick]

Yeah actually for £30k you should be able to drop an LS in no problem and that'd solve the problem nicely..

[andysgriff]

450Nick said:

Yeah actually for £30k you should be able to drop an LS in no problem and that'd solve the problem nicely..

Thanks.. http://www.sportmotive.com/ ?

[pwd95]

http://www.sportmotive.com/lsengine.html

Would luurrrvvveee to do it.

[pwd95]

This looks very interesting too....

http://www.tvrpower.co.uk/upgrades/rv8-turbo/

[andysgriff]

pwd95 said:

This looks very interesting too....

http://www.tvrpower.co.uk/upgrades/rv8-turbo/

Thanks!!. So much more available in the last 10 years for tuning so it seems.

[Ant.]

Buy my 4.6 and SC it. Easy

[pwd95]

Ant. said:

Buy my 4.6 and SC it. Easy

If I had the wonga this is exactly what I'd do. Pre Cat Griff with a blower.