Discussion
Is it me or does my Clio seem to handle better in the wet?
The reason I ask is that I have no idea because im a little nervous putting my foot down in the wet or even going round corners at med speed, in the wet. There is a stretch of road on the way to work which to be honest I don’t know all that well. I’ve driven it in the Tuscan, fine (dry) but in the wet I have oodles more confidence in the Clio, I know that if I crash it, it won’t be expensive to fix, if also know that its slow enough not to get me into trouble and that being front wheel drive is easier (to me) to handle that the Tuscan, if it gets itself in a mess.
I’m going to book a ride drive course in the Tuscan when it’s back from TVR power (blown piston ring)
Having read some of the stories about people writing theirs off at low speeds less than 35mph, is this the right attitude to have or is it confidence issue? Don’t get me wrong it have no incline to rang it around in the wet, its just 60mph in the Clio is fine round the twisties to work, (wet), I just cant imagine myself doing it in the Tuscan.
I’ve only had the car over this winter so I’m trying hard not to push it, till the weather gets better and I can do a couple of track days.
Your title is just about right - its all about confidence. FWD cars are good at getting the confidence right as they behave in a way that allows you to get close to the limits in pretty much safety. A RWD car is ultimately faster and more efficient, but confidence in the way that it behaves might be lower - its not a case of just backing off the power if it does start to go....
A TVR in the wet (with decent tyres) will be much fsater than a Clio, but get yourself onto a Ride and Drive course and let someone help you build the confidence. Its quite suprising too - did this myself and the whole day for my RnD was raining, not scared of it now.
A TVR in the wet (with decent tyres) will be much fsater than a Clio, but get yourself onto a Ride and Drive course and let someone help you build the confidence. Its quite suprising too - did this myself and the whole day for my RnD was raining, not scared of it now.
Same here. Did Ridedrive a few months back and the weather was appaling - the morning road session was just a bit damp, not much to worry about but, being my first TVR I drove a bit cautiously.
Around lunch time, when we hit the track, the rain started in buckets. Combined with the crappy surface of the track it was probably THE worst driving conditions for a powerful RWD car with a (as far as TVRs go) relatively inexperience driver (me). Made a complete mess a few times but this goes a long way to teaching you the limits of the car (which were much further than I imagined from all the horror stories you hear). As well as confidence building, loosing it big-time also teaches you to respect the car. Something best discovered away from public roads.
On the way back through the Lincs. country roads the rain continued but this time, with a confidence boost and armed with knowledge about the cars handling, I was much more confident pressing on rounds the twisties in the wet.
Around lunch time, when we hit the track, the rain started in buckets. Combined with the crappy surface of the track it was probably THE worst driving conditions for a powerful RWD car with a (as far as TVRs go) relatively inexperience driver (me). Made a complete mess a few times but this goes a long way to teaching you the limits of the car (which were much further than I imagined from all the horror stories you hear). As well as confidence building, loosing it big-time also teaches you to respect the car. Something best discovered away from public roads.
On the way back through the Lincs. country roads the rain continued but this time, with a confidence boost and armed with knowledge about the cars handling, I was much more confident pressing on rounds the twisties in the wet.
Can't wait 
I'd like to have more details too, please.h19 jjm said:Here y'ar..
Out of curiosity how much is the full day at Ride-Drive,and where is it?
www.ridedrive.co.uk/tvr/
I'm doing my ride-drive in Leeds with a guy called Stuart Griggs, starting at Tockwith, an hour on the track, an hour skid pan and then in the afternoon 4 hours on the public roads.
It was a Christmas pressie from Fish but I do know it was around the £300 mark.
It should definitley give me a lot more confidence in the T350
indeed.
It was a Christmas pressie from Fish but I do know it was around the £300 mark.
It should definitley give me a lot more confidence in the T350
indeed.Mrs Fish said:
I'm doing my ride-drive in Leeds with a guy called Stuart Griggs, starting at Tockwith, an hour on the track, an hour skid pan and then in the afternoon 4 hours on the public roads.
It was a Christmas pressie from Fish but I do know it was around the £300 mark.
It should definitley give me a lot more confidence in the T350
I thought it was 1 hour track, 1 hour skid pan, 1 hour on the road and 3 hours with Suzannah and Trinny to get your TVR Advanced Attire Certificate
Sin Bin here I come!
neil.b said:
The full day Advance TVR Handling course is £300. They have various instructors nationally so where you do the course depends on where you live.
Should've added; they also do other courses, including a half-day one for about £120 if i remember correctly. Drop Julian Smith an email - motoring@ridedrive.co.uk
Guy who did mine was Simon Roots, a class 1 police driver from Nottinham. We drove around North Lincs (for the life of me I can't remember the track but it was on a dissused RAF air strip).
Its worth noting that if you do one of the road-only courses they can pretty much cover anywhere in the UK - if your time includes track work then it will have to gravitate to within a reasonable travelling distance of one of the tracks they use.
Give them a call.
I don't think corner speed is the problem, it's the fact that the power delivery can easily upset the car in the wet if you are not very gentle with the throttle.
I know that I'm not the world's best driver by any stretch of the imagination, but I have grown up with rwd cars. I started out in tuned Mk1&2 RS Escorts, which have fairly lively rear ends, so I'm more used to the feeling. I've not yet had a problem with the Tuscan, but my friend (who crashed it for me recently on a wet roundabout at about 25mph) is used to driving an Integrale, where the 4wd sorts things out for you.
I know that I'm not the world's best driver by any stretch of the imagination, but I have grown up with rwd cars. I started out in tuned Mk1&2 RS Escorts, which have fairly lively rear ends, so I'm more used to the feeling. I've not yet had a problem with the Tuscan, but my friend (who crashed it for me recently on a wet roundabout at about 25mph) is used to driving an Integrale, where the 4wd sorts things out for you.
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