Are TVR's Boy Racer Magnet's?
Discussion
Fabulous weather that we're enjoying this week... TVR waken from winter hibernation, top off and taken out for a plesant drive. Within about 10 minutes I have a Golf GTI driving about 6 inches behind me... it's hard to resist the loud pedal, and although It's dual carriageway I 'sort of' resist the temptation so no big deal there. Go along a bit further and this time find a scooby 6 inches away... now I'm no slouch but I'm getting a 'why me' complex by now. This time we're on a country road with many blind corners etc, does that stop the scooby, oh no.. in what has to be a testosterone charged moment he (assuming it was a he) blasts past with absolutely no desire to live a moment longer, hits the curb on the way past and recovers just in time to miss the poor motorist driving in the opposite direction.
Is it me?
Is it me?
Red V8 said:
Is it me?
Happens to most of us at some point TBH! Too many idiots thinking they have a point to prove. My solution is to slow down/pull over and let the prats past then continue my journey at my pace without a dangerous idiot 6" from your bumper pressing you into making a mistake!Funny that, I had the same yesterday. A Fiesta thought it good to drive right up my backside for 5-6 miles, no attempt to overtake, when the roads were better he just seemed to dissapear somehow...
But, tonight was great. 3 chaps in a van pulled up behind me at lights and were craning to see what it was.
Wife didn't like the flames from the exhausts though
But, tonight was great. 3 chaps in a van pulled up behind me at lights and were craning to see what it was.
Wife didn't like the flames from the exhausts though
I've managed to put a positive spin on this.
TVRs can out accelerate most things on the road and it ends up as just a case of who is willing to break the speed limit by the highest margin to prove their manhood/womanhood really.
I cultivate a superiority complex and let all the Doh-brains have their moment. (most of the time!
)
TVRs can out accelerate most things on the road and it ends up as just a case of who is willing to break the speed limit by the highest margin to prove their manhood/womanhood really.
I cultivate a superiority complex and let all the Doh-brains have their moment. (most of the time!
)Yes guys, Its happened to me too this week!!!
Must be the sun.
So far ive avoided the temptation to have a squirt and leave the pillocks behind, but how much can you take before being baited.
I live with smug fact that I know I can but choose not too.
Some of these younger drivers would race a tractor and lose!!
Must be the sun.
So far ive avoided the temptation to have a squirt and leave the pillocks behind, but how much can you take before being baited.
I live with smug fact that I know I can but choose not too.
Some of these younger drivers would race a tractor and lose!!
In the 80s I used to bait Wedges because I loved the sound of them.
I probably did annoy some Wedge owners back in the 80s, but others would take the bait, laugh and give it a clogful which would make my day.
Sure, there are a few who reckon they can take on a TVR but I find most of the time they just want the same as I did 20 years ago - to hear a TVR on full reheat. If the road's clear/safe, I'm happy to oblige.
I probably did annoy some Wedge owners back in the 80s, but others would take the bait, laugh and give it a clogful which would make my day.
Sure, there are a few who reckon they can take on a TVR but I find most of the time they just want the same as I did 20 years ago - to hear a TVR on full reheat. If the road's clear/safe, I'm happy to oblige.
I get the same kind of thing in my Jags (Everyday X300 and the show car XJC) I find the best way to make them give up (without breaking the speed limit most of the time) is to wait till you are at a slow point (best of all a set of lights) and leave them so far behind as you accelerate to the speed limit, they will normally not keep trying. You can then continue the rest of your journey at your own pace in safety.
I've even had a motorbike try it against my 4.2L XJ and the look on his face (imagined from outside the helmet as he looked at his speedo and at my car and back again several times) when I deliberately just kept pace with him will make me laugh for years to come. And I had 3 passengers in the car too!!
The joys of 0 to 50 in first gear.
I've even had a motorbike try it against my 4.2L XJ and the look on his face (imagined from outside the helmet as he looked at his speedo and at my car and back again several times) when I deliberately just kept pace with him will make me laugh for years to come. And I had 3 passengers in the car too!!
The joys of 0 to 50 in first gear.
Red V8 said:
Is it me?
No.Virtually every time I take the car out I get something like that. Even my dad's (1972) 1600M attracts the same sort of attention. On a non-TVR note he also has a early 50s Le Mans car which is very amusing as it looks distinctly vintage, yet it's probably faster than my S3. You can really upset the boyracers with that.
I had a similar experience the other evening actually.. I came off a large roundabout onto a nice big, well known dual carrigeway (oh joy!). As the road turned straight, I noticed a BMW 3 series in my rear view mirror hanging on rather close and clearly going for it. So I did my usual trick of pulling into the slow lane to invite him to pass, before nailing it to deny him the chance as I was in the mood for a bit of BMW bashing. Not so it seems! As the speed rose, he didn't seem to be getting any smaller which seemed a bit odd. I had a friend in the car, the roof off and a half full boot so thought my power to weight may not be as good as usual, but surely plenty to see off a 3 series?? I mean my car is by no means slow, it will happily see off a std 500 Chim or Griff and will hang on to a 4.5 Cerb until its bhp and revs kick in approaching a ton but this 3 series was nonetheless not going away.
At the next set of lights I smiled at the driver who smiled back and said "quick for a diesel, isn't it?!". That did it, I was not being beaten by a diesel, so we had another go on the next stretch and after getting a better start, I got in front, but still he hung on like a fly on s
t. As the speed built to 'a fair bit', I started to leave him behind slowly as the diesel's lack of revs hindered its progress but he didn't drop back very far!
So whilst braking for the next roundabout, I let him cruise past to see what monster Alpina or M powered varient he had... To my dismay, it was a new 335d. Bugger. Holding my head in shame, when I got home I had a quick look at the figures on the internet to see what was what. I was a bit relieved when I found out it has close to FIVE HUNDERED ft/lbs torque and almost 300 bhp. Not bad for a diesel eh??
So watch out people, these beemers are dangerous!
At the next set of lights I smiled at the driver who smiled back and said "quick for a diesel, isn't it?!". That did it, I was not being beaten by a diesel, so we had another go on the next stretch and after getting a better start, I got in front, but still he hung on like a fly on s
t. As the speed built to 'a fair bit', I started to leave him behind slowly as the diesel's lack of revs hindered its progress but he didn't drop back very far!So whilst braking for the next roundabout, I let him cruise past to see what monster Alpina or M powered varient he had... To my dismay, it was a new 335d. Bugger. Holding my head in shame, when I got home I had a quick look at the figures on the internet to see what was what. I was a bit relieved when I found out it has close to FIVE HUNDERED ft/lbs torque and almost 300 bhp. Not bad for a diesel eh??
So watch out people, these beemers are dangerous!
I used to get this all the time when i lived near Erith in Kent.(Different breed of people there altogether).Funniest moment i ever had.Was coming home from work early one saturday morning,i had just driven past Belmarsh prison,when in the rear view mirror of my old Chimaera,i notice a Golf Rallye coming up fast behind me.He sits on my arse for a few hundred yards,then i decide to pull away from him.With the car bouncing off the limiter in all gears i leave him for dead.I look in my rear mirror to see him disappear further in to the distance,then a plume of white smoke appears behind him as his engine detonates.(he was trying).I slow right up to a virtual stop as he is trying to coax the motor along the road.He eventually draws alongside with his engine knocking like f**k and gives me the thumbs up,and tells me how the noise from the Chimaera is f**king mental.He then trundles off with his knocking engine and smoke following him.
)
.....guess it made his day.I must admit I had a slight lapse of maturity today. There was a Nova (apparently without a turbocharged Calibra V6) that went past in the 30mph limit near my garage. Come NSL onto a dual carriageway slip road... straight past on the rev limiter. Really does demonstrate how much difference there is between even a fairly basic sports car and, well, a Nova.
Red V8 said:
Is it me?
No! wish it was (in the nicest possible way), I get this all the time, and like you, I feel, is it me?? but basically it's not us it's them (them being whatever you prefered word is for these people). So far even though I feel like nothing more than droping a cog and burying the throtle, so far I have managed to resist.Also had the reverse a few times, cruising along in the outside lane (nothing excessive, 80ish) and for no visible reason a car changes lanes in front of me, nothing to overtake and does not speed up, I just resign myself to the fact, ease off to a safe distance and cruise.
If road conditions permit, the best solution is to quickly pull away, like from traffic lights. Stop at the next lights and when the fool finally catches up. Smile sweetly and signal ‘after you’ and then pull away slowly. It usually irritates them more than racing them.
If you do race them and they stack it, you get blamed too. You don’t know how bad a driver they are. You have already proved the obvious superiority of your car.
One other trick, for those who sit right on your bumper.
You need an ECU with multiple maps that can be switched from the dash to do this one. Have a flamethrower map. Switch to that map. They are sat inches from your tailpipes when big flames come out. They are likely to back off in a hurry.
For those who don’t know what a flamethrower map is. It’s an ECU map designed for theatrical effects, rather than power. Maximum noise, popping, flames shooting out the tail pipes. All that sort of thing.
If you do race them and they stack it, you get blamed too. You don’t know how bad a driver they are. You have already proved the obvious superiority of your car.
One other trick, for those who sit right on your bumper.
You need an ECU with multiple maps that can be switched from the dash to do this one. Have a flamethrower map. Switch to that map. They are sat inches from your tailpipes when big flames come out. They are likely to back off in a hurry.
For those who don’t know what a flamethrower map is. It’s an ECU map designed for theatrical effects, rather than power. Maximum noise, popping, flames shooting out the tail pipes. All that sort of thing.
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