Differences between Chim 500 and Cerb...
Discussion
Hello all, went up to Fernhurst today for a look around, now 2 cars really caught my eye:
1. 5.0 Chim
2. 4.2 Cerb
Now is there a VAST difference between the performance and handling of those 2 cars?
I know the Cerb would be more expensive to run, but I would only do about 3K miles a year, so would it be a vast difference in running costs?
Finally, I would also want track day the car, so would there be a big difference between the 2?
Thanks
Lee
1. 5.0 Chim
2. 4.2 Cerb
Now is there a VAST difference between the performance and handling of those 2 cars?
I know the Cerb would be more expensive to run, but I would only do about 3K miles a year, so would it be a vast difference in running costs?
Finally, I would also want track day the car, so would there be a big difference between the 2?
Thanks
Lee
Yes on all counts. Performance is "more than adequate" for both, but the Cerbera is in a different league IMHO.
Can't really comment on the handling as I've not run a Cerb, but if a Cerb is even close to being as good as my Tuscan then it will be a big improvement over the (already capable) Chimaera.
I would budget for Cerbera running costs to be around double that of the Chimaera, and then hopefully get away with a bit less.
Can't really comment on the handling as I've not run a Cerb, but if a Cerb is even close to being as good as my Tuscan then it will be a big improvement over the (already capable) Chimaera.
I would budget for Cerbera running costs to be around double that of the Chimaera, and then hopefully get away with a bit less.
Here we go again Lee - did you actually get to drive them, or just have a look around? You must have some idea of what you want by now?
I have had a Chim 400 followed by a Cerb 4.2 V8 and now have a Chim 450. The Cerbera is utterly in a different league in terms of both handling and performance to even the 500 engined cars. Griff drivers would beg to differ, but as standard the Cerbera is substantially quicker, and yes handles far far better.
The cavet however is that the demeanour of the two cars is totally different, mostly due to the different character of their engines - the 500 V8 is thought to need more revs in comparison to the 400 or 450, but when you compare it to the AJP8 in the Cerberas it's actually still very lazy - purely as the AJP8 is a race engine engineered for the road, it wants to be revved, it goads you into going faster still...
For goodness sake man, drive them, then you'll know which is for you!
I have had a Chim 400 followed by a Cerb 4.2 V8 and now have a Chim 450. The Cerbera is utterly in a different league in terms of both handling and performance to even the 500 engined cars. Griff drivers would beg to differ, but as standard the Cerbera is substantially quicker, and yes handles far far better.
The cavet however is that the demeanour of the two cars is totally different, mostly due to the different character of their engines - the 500 V8 is thought to need more revs in comparison to the 400 or 450, but when you compare it to the AJP8 in the Cerberas it's actually still very lazy - purely as the AJP8 is a race engine engineered for the road, it wants to be revved, it goads you into going faster still...
For goodness sake man, drive them, then you'll know which is for you!
Ok....that is me told off then.....LOL
The thing is I know I may be asking a LOT of questions, but I just want to be certain that is all, as I do not want to buy one and then want to change it a month or so later....
I guess I will get my ass back to Ferhnursts in the next few weeks and have a go of them both!
Lee
The thing is I know I may be asking a LOT of questions, but I just want to be certain that is all, as I do not want to buy one and then want to change it a month or so later....
I guess I will get my ass back to Ferhnursts in the next few weeks and have a go of them both!
Lee
Sorry Lee, didn't mean to come across all harsh - what I was meaning is we're all rooting for you, and totally support you in doing your research, it'll be worth it in the long run. However, you still can't narrow it down, and there are so many different questions depending on model, spec and engine choices that there's little substitute for getting out there, driving them and then asking more questions to help make up your mind.
Best of luck with the hunt, you'll get there in the end!
Best of luck with the hunt, you'll get there in the end!
the cerb hyas there own TVR engine nwhich is highly tuned 'ie' a race engine, it is a fair bit faster than the chimaera, but if you are not going to use it that much the chimaera is the way to go because cerb's need to be used, they dont like not being used!. the rover V8 is alot more reliable compared to the AJP. Are old chimaera was very reliable, but as soon as we brought are cerb it turned into an endless pit of money!.
Dan
Dan
dc53 said:
the rover V8 is alot more reliable compared to the AJP.
Dan
Dan
I have issue with this statement. YOUR AJP may be less reliable than YOUR rover V8. I still get the feeling the 4.5 AJP is a rather robust engine, yeah a few horror storys on 4.2's, but there have been occaisions where the same has happened on RV8s.
I have a feeling YOUR AJP may be problematic because its done a pathetic amount of miles in ten years. I hope you can get it sorted soon.
My immediate impression when I got my Cerbera 4.5 was that it made my Griffith 500 seem pedestrian. I couldn't believe either. Yup, the RV8 had plenty of low end torque but a remapped 4.5 does too (frankly they're a bit shit at low RPM the way they come out of the factory). The AJP8 pulls all the way to 7500rpm - about 50% more than an RV8 which gives you astonishing in-gear acceleration.
Comments from mates who sat in the Cerbera noted that it felt a far more sophisticated car than the Griff - it is.
Cerbera unreliability is a myth. The skinny crank 4.2s must have all but died/been fixed by now. I have never done any major damage to an AJP8 - I DID snap a camshaft in my Griffith 500. You see a lot of posts on here about Cerbera 'problems' but what you should glean from that is that ANSWERS are usually posted within minutes of the thread starting. Don't focus on the thread title - look at the last post. PH is the primary place where people learn about their Cerbera quirks.
Half gleefully (because I am itching to rebuild an AJP8) I recently suspected I'd killed my 4.5 ....only to find it was the oil pressure relief spring. With the new spring in, it became evident that the spring had been deteriorating for some time because the oil pressure is back to where it was when it was new. The engine has had over 40,000 miles of serious punishment - I very much doubt many/any of the German 'paragons' would have lasted as well.
Cerbera vs RV8 car? NO CONTEST.
Comments from mates who sat in the Cerbera noted that it felt a far more sophisticated car than the Griff - it is.
Cerbera unreliability is a myth. The skinny crank 4.2s must have all but died/been fixed by now. I have never done any major damage to an AJP8 - I DID snap a camshaft in my Griffith 500. You see a lot of posts on here about Cerbera 'problems' but what you should glean from that is that ANSWERS are usually posted within minutes of the thread starting. Don't focus on the thread title - look at the last post. PH is the primary place where people learn about their Cerbera quirks.
Half gleefully (because I am itching to rebuild an AJP8) I recently suspected I'd killed my 4.5 ....only to find it was the oil pressure relief spring. With the new spring in, it became evident that the spring had been deteriorating for some time because the oil pressure is back to where it was when it was new. The engine has had over 40,000 miles of serious punishment - I very much doubt many/any of the German 'paragons' would have lasted as well.
Cerbera vs RV8 car? NO CONTEST.
BossCerbera said:
Cerbera vs RV8 car? NO CONTEST.
not so sure it's as cut and dry as that. They really are two different types of car. The Chim is a open top sports car, and the Cerb is an out and out race bred supercar.
I went from a Modified jap rally turbo nutter car that loved to rev to a Griff 500. i loved the lazy V8 torque, and was plenty fast enough for me upto 140/150mph.
I eventually got the "i want to have a cerb" out of my system, when i test drove a 4.5RR cerb at fernhurst a few years back.
It was a great car, totally different from the Griff. begged to be revved, but it wasn't what i wanted.
horses for courses as they say.
p.s of course you're cerb (bosscerbera) is a one off mental version. Much respect for the choice and one-off build
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