Chim what next ?
Discussion
Supercharge or turbocharge your present car?
No mod that gives you 20 bhp is worth spending serious amounts of money on, but forced induction can add 100 bhp at a stroke for a modest amount of money (£2500-3500, plus ECU if you decide to upgrade it). Cannot speak for supercharging, but turbocharging also gives you a load of extra torque too.
But do your research first.
Your 4 litre is probably making around 220 bhp and a say 250 ft lbs. I have turbocharged a bog standard Range Rover 4.6 engine and it makes 325 bhp/395 ft lbs at very low boost, 395 bhp/525 ft lbs at moderate boost. Nothing too way out there, I didn't want to have to strengthen virtually every expensive component on the car.
Subject to a compression and leakdown test, your engine should be good for 330-350 bhp and 400 ft lbs.
But do try driving one first - it might make you realise how good the 4 litre already is on the public road, and decide to have a holiday instead. If you are anywhere near the east Midlands, come and drive mine.
And then go and buy a Tuscan, not so much for the power, but for the drama and theatre every time you drive it. Until you own one, and in a bright colour, you never realise how many people were born with a universal joint for a neck
No mod that gives you 20 bhp is worth spending serious amounts of money on, but forced induction can add 100 bhp at a stroke for a modest amount of money (£2500-3500, plus ECU if you decide to upgrade it). Cannot speak for supercharging, but turbocharging also gives you a load of extra torque too.
But do your research first.
Your 4 litre is probably making around 220 bhp and a say 250 ft lbs. I have turbocharged a bog standard Range Rover 4.6 engine and it makes 325 bhp/395 ft lbs at very low boost, 395 bhp/525 ft lbs at moderate boost. Nothing too way out there, I didn't want to have to strengthen virtually every expensive component on the car.
Subject to a compression and leakdown test, your engine should be good for 330-350 bhp and 400 ft lbs.
But do try driving one first - it might make you realise how good the 4 litre already is on the public road, and decide to have a holiday instead. If you are anywhere near the east Midlands, come and drive mine.
And then go and buy a Tuscan, not so much for the power, but for the drama and theatre every time you drive it. Until you own one, and in a bright colour, you never realise how many people were born with a universal joint for a neck
Tomtvr1 said:
Thanks for the suggestion it would be great to see the differing options in one place , sadly work gets in the way ??
Shame you cannot take the Friday before the August bank holiday weekend off.....its not as if much work will be done, with 25% of the UK workforce on holiday or a sickie.....A TVR trackday is a wonderful opportunity to check out the true acceleration of the different models all at one venue, and actually decide if you really need an upgrade.
Ok, I went from a 315 bhp 5 litre to a 395bhp 4.6 turbo, but in all honesty I am underwhelmed by the increase in power and performance for the money i spent. The Chimaera in all forms is such a quick car anyway that a half second to one second improvement in 0-60 times is really not that big a deal. And that is all you would get if you lashed out the extra £60k and bought a Sagaris.
I do know of an LS-engined Tamora for sale right now.....
Tomtvr1 said:
Well coming up to a year ownership and still makes me smile (4lt chim), but wanting a bit more "poke" but keeping the roof off feel and the boot space. Thinking old school griff or Tuscan but both with the pops and bangs.
Pros and cons for both ?
If you manage to find yourself a nice Griff 500, then after a year of the 500 you'll want something a bit quicker! Pros and cons for both ?
It's just a continual spiral.
Your only hope is a Mclaren convertible or equivalent budget permitting.
Andy_mr2sc said:
A Porsche Cayman S, or even better an R.
Get a decent exhaust on it and you'll have all the fun and noise with a properly built, German engineered car that actually starts, stops and goes round corners from the factory...
Definitely worth considering. Plenty of precision engineering to play with, but not a convertible. Perhaps lacking in character for some enthusiasts. Get a decent exhaust on it and you'll have all the fun and noise with a properly built, German engineered car that actually starts, stops and goes round corners from the factory...
citizen smith said:
Definitely worth considering. Plenty of precision engineering to play with, but not a convertible. Perhaps lacking in character for some enthusiasts.
I was going to suggest a Boxster but it seems you need to be bald and/or have a beard and be over 50 to own one. Oh, hang on a minute....The character part concerned me a little when I bought mine but the fact it does the above three mentioned jobs very well more than makes up for it. I guess if you wanted more 'character' you could leave some wet fibreglass resin in the footwell, loosen some electrical connectors so the doors, mirrors, boot, engine etc stops working and and adjust all of the suspension geometry so it bump steers like crazy!
Edited by Andy_mr2sc on Thursday 9th August 14:02
I have to agree with you. Having owned three over a nine year period up until last year I think I'm very qualified to take the mickey. I, like most owners have spent many an hour underneath one and as many on here will know I'm still involved with them (ironically sorting out issues inherent from the factory!) Personally I just got to a point where the everyday performance, reliability and practicality came above spending evenings and weekends tinkering and fixing them.
Now I've posted that my Cayman will no doubt start suffering with the 'bore score' and 'IMS bearing failure' issues and need an engine rebuild!!
Now I've posted that my Cayman will no doubt start suffering with the 'bore score' and 'IMS bearing failure' issues and need an engine rebuild!!
Edited by Andy_mr2sc on Thursday 9th August 14:36
Andy_mr2sc said:
I was going to suggest a Boxster but it seems you need to be bald and/or have a beard and be over 50 to own one. Oh, hang on a minute....
The character part concerned me a little when I bought mine but the fact it does the above three mentioned jobs very well more than makes up for it. I guess if you wanted more 'character' you could leave some wet fibreglass resin in the footwell, loosen some electrical connectors so the doors, mirrors, boot, engine etc stops working and and adjust all of the suspension geometry so it bump steers like crazy!
I suppose the only benefit of the TVR now, are used car re-sale values that don't crash through the floor after a few years.The character part concerned me a little when I bought mine but the fact it does the above three mentioned jobs very well more than makes up for it. I guess if you wanted more 'character' you could leave some wet fibreglass resin in the footwell, loosen some electrical connectors so the doors, mirrors, boot, engine etc stops working and and adjust all of the suspension geometry so it bump steers like crazy!
Edited by Andy_mr2sc on Thursday 9th August 14:02
I can remember a magazine article quite a few years ago now, comparing a Griff 500 with a Boxster S (2003 ish). Obviously the Boxster S was best then, but look at the market values now. What is a 2003 Boxster S worth - £6k ish v Griff 500 £20k +, who's the winner now then!
Your problem is the one every TVR owner struggles with - what do you replace it with? It is by far the best bang for buck out there for a road going sports touring car with half decent performance. To get better performance you are into mega-money, to get better track manners you are into either mega-money again, or into cars like Lotuses and Caterhams that don't really have the all weather touring ability of the TVR. The TVR does both while making them fun.
And the TVR comes with a great gang of like minded owners, better than any other marque, and a wow factor - it is universally loved by everyone out there.
And the TVR comes with a great gang of like minded owners, better than any other marque, and a wow factor - it is universally loved by everyone out there.
citizen smith said:
I suppose the only benefit of the TVR now, are used car re-sale values that don't crash through the floor after a few years.
I can remember a magazine article quite a few years ago now, comparing a Griff 500 with a Boxster S (2003 ish). Obviously the Boxster S was best then, but look at the market values now. What is a 2003 Boxster S worth - £6k ish v Griff 500 £20k +, who's the winner now then!
Valid point. Early Boxsters can be had for <£2k. 911s on the other hand have rocketed in the last few years. Sadly my budget wasn't large enough to buy one worth having and I was too impatient to wait.I can remember a magazine article quite a few years ago now, comparing a Griff 500 with a Boxster S (2003 ish). Obviously the Boxster S was best then, but look at the market values now. What is a 2003 Boxster S worth - £6k ish v Griff 500 £20k +, who's the winner now then!
Not so much with Chims and Griffs but the costs involved in getting a tired T car or Cerb up to top drawer money can be large as is seen on here time and again which would no doubt hurt the profit margin. There is no doubt though they can be a solid investment and are only going one way.
(Apologies OP, we've taken over your thread a little)
Andy_mr2sc said:
citizen smith said:
I suppose the only benefit of the TVR now, are used car re-sale values that don't crash through the floor after a few years.
I can remember a magazine article quite a few years ago now, comparing a Griff 500 with a Boxster S (2003 ish). Obviously the Boxster S was best then, but look at the market values now. What is a 2003 Boxster S worth - £6k ish v Griff 500 £20k +, who's the winner now then!
Valid point. Early Boxsters can be had for <£2k. 911s on the other hand have rocketed in the last few years. Sadly my budget wasn't large enough to buy one worth having and I was too impatient to wait.I can remember a magazine article quite a few years ago now, comparing a Griff 500 with a Boxster S (2003 ish). Obviously the Boxster S was best then, but look at the market values now. What is a 2003 Boxster S worth - £6k ish v Griff 500 £20k +, who's the winner now then!
Not so much with Chims and Griffs but the costs involved in getting a tired T car or Cerb up to top drawer money can be large as is seen on here time and again which would no doubt hurt the profit margin. There is no doubt though they can be a solid investment and are only going one way.
(Apologies OP, we've taken over your thread a little)
On the other hand, if you want a car to just drive, including maybe thrash around the tracks, rather than take to car shows, then a tired and shabby TVR is
a good way of getting one cheap
It depends on what kind of person you are, and what your budget is.
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