Sprint gearing
Discussion
Hi all - had my Tuscan 2S on the road for about a month now after a 12 month rebuild (it was a Cat D write-off). Mighty pleased with it except for one thing - the gearing seems SO high. Compared to the two Griff 500s and Cerbera 4.5 that I've owned before, it doesn't seem so fast, simply because in everyday use, by the time you've really come on cam in second, you're doing 90.
So let's say you're stuck behind somebody doing 40 and you go to overtake. Yes, you get past them plenty quick enough, but you don't experience the "OH MY GOOD GOD!" hit in the back because you end up letting off before you're fully on cam.
And I really don't fancy changing down to 1st to overtake!
Is this normal, or has my car got a stupidly high final drive ratio? And are there any diffs available with sprintier ratios? I really don't care that it will no longer be able to do 170+.
BTW, it's a November 2004 car, so it should have the close ratio box in it (I understand that some later 'S's didn't as they ran out of stock!).
So let's say you're stuck behind somebody doing 40 and you go to overtake. Yes, you get past them plenty quick enough, but you don't experience the "OH MY GOOD GOD!" hit in the back because you end up letting off before you're fully on cam.
And I really don't fancy changing down to 1st to overtake!
Is this normal, or has my car got a stupidly high final drive ratio? And are there any diffs available with sprintier ratios? I really don't care that it will no longer be able to do 170+.
BTW, it's a November 2004 car, so it should have the close ratio box in it (I understand that some later 'S's didn't as they ran out of stock!).
These post make all the hassle of the LS conversion worth while
I can sit in 3rd at 900rpm (30mph) press the go pedal and smoke the tyres up through the box to god knows what speed, it really comes down to your driving skills not what the S6 can do
i dont think the 3.6 or 4.0L ever produced enough torque (for the weight of the engine, more than an american V8) hence the bigger displacements from power etc
I can sit in 3rd at 900rpm (30mph) press the go pedal and smoke the tyres up through the box to god knows what speed, it really comes down to your driving skills not what the S6 can do
i dont think the 3.6 or 4.0L ever produced enough torque (for the weight of the engine, more than an american V8) hence the bigger displacements from power etc
Edited by Walford on Wednesday 1st August 08:05
But the LS engine just ain't the same! And I've driven a Corvette all the way up the West Coast of America in three days (and got three speeding tickets in the process...), avoiding all freeways.
Lovely engine, but it hasn't got that something very special that TVR's own engines have - the nearest thing to a race engine on the road if you ask me.
That said though, I am certainly disappointed that it hasn't got the boxing glove in the kidneys feel that my old de-catted & rechipped (by the factory) Cerbera 4.5 had. From 4000rpm in second, my wife used to complain that it made her feel physically sick!
And to put that in context, my wife's current daily driver is a Nissan GT-R, so she's not exactly your average girly...
Lovely engine, but it hasn't got that something very special that TVR's own engines have - the nearest thing to a race engine on the road if you ask me.
That said though, I am certainly disappointed that it hasn't got the boxing glove in the kidneys feel that my old de-catted & rechipped (by the factory) Cerbera 4.5 had. From 4000rpm in second, my wife used to complain that it made her feel physically sick!
And to put that in context, my wife's current daily driver is a Nissan GT-R, so she's not exactly your average girly...
Batwick2 said:
But the LS engine just ain't the same! And I've driven a Corvette all the way up the West Coast of America in three days (and got three speeding tickets in the process...), avoiding all freeways.
Lovely engine, but it hasn't got that something very special that TVR's own engines have - the nearest thing to a race engine on the road if you ask me.
put a speed six in a 1600kg car then tell me its specialLovely engine, but it hasn't got that something very special that TVR's own engines have - the nearest thing to a race engine on the road if you ask me.
you'd be shifting down gears till you were in reverse
If they were any good people would be putting them in Corvettes
The speed 6 engine killed TVR
Edited by Walford on Thursday 2nd August 06:53
Batwick2 said:
Hi all - had my Tuscan 2S on the road for about a month now after a 12 month rebuild (it was a Cat D write-off). Mighty pleased with it except for one thing - the gearing seems SO high. Compared to the two Griff 500s and Cerbera 4.5 that I've owned before, it doesn't seem so fast, simply because in everyday use, by the time you've really come on cam in second, you're doing 90.
So let's say you're stuck behind somebody doing 40 and you go to overtake. Yes, you get past them plenty quick enough, but you don't experience the "OH MY GOOD GOD!" hit in the back because you end up letting off before you're fully on cam.
And I really don't fancy changing down to 1st to overtake!
Is this normal, or has my car got a stupidly high final drive ratio? And are there any diffs available with sprintier ratios? I really don't care that it will no longer be able to do 170+.
BTW, it's a November 2004 car, so it should have the close ratio box in it (I understand that some later 'S's didn't as they ran out of stock!).
Now there is a blast from the past. Mr Buckland, IIRC I remember you from the early Cerbera Yahoo Groups days?! So let's say you're stuck behind somebody doing 40 and you go to overtake. Yes, you get past them plenty quick enough, but you don't experience the "OH MY GOOD GOD!" hit in the back because you end up letting off before you're fully on cam.
And I really don't fancy changing down to 1st to overtake!
Is this normal, or has my car got a stupidly high final drive ratio? And are there any diffs available with sprintier ratios? I really don't care that it will no longer be able to do 170+.
BTW, it's a November 2004 car, so it should have the close ratio box in it (I understand that some later 'S's didn't as they ran out of stock!).
The six is nothing on the AJP8 in terms of feeling its violence as you gun it. The AJP is an absolutely mighty engine in it's delivery, however, the six is a peach - it disguises its ability in smoothness. We too have moved from a Cerby 4.5 to a S6, in our case, a T350. It was underwhelming at first, but in the 3.6 atleast - all the power is right at the top... For more power (and more importantly, torque) there are loads of options out there. I'm keeping a keen eye on what Spitfire4v8 is doing to maximise engine potential, as a rebuild is hopefully off the cards for both of us for a while! There are great options out there though; RG, Str8six, Power - all highly regarded. Some of the figures we're starting to see would give a Cerby 4.5 Red Rose a scare, and my personal experience of a 4.2 str8six engine was quite AJP like in its feel.
Ignoring the engine though, the final drive would be a great change - our T350 does 122mph in third - which seems a bit daft... again, our friend has a 3.91 diff that makes it much closer to 100mph in third and much more biased to acceleration. I think you'd need a fair bit more power plus the gearing to bridge the gap with a GTR though! Immense cars, a Japanese Cerbera in terms of its ability to punch above its weight.
Have fun with it, and let us know what you decide to do/the effects.
Yes, I was very active in the late 90s in the Cerb groups - and wrote the Cerbera FAQ that is still floating around actually. Cerb had to go in 2000 - it was that or the mortgage - but I only lasted until 2001 and then got a Griff 500 with TVR Power's engine upgrade (gas-flowed, solid lifters, race cam etc) for a couple of years. That went too for financial reasons! Finally back in a Tiv again, having spent 12 months doing a full restoration of a Cat D write-off Tuscan 2S.
Just had it out for it's first proper outing - to Wilton supercar festival in a rather fast convoy with some friends in an Aston Vantage and an R8. Great fun.
But it only rubbed-in the crazy gearing even more. I was in second when other cars would be in fourth (and our GT-R would have gone to sixth in auto!).
Need to get that 3.9 diff.
Will definitely look into engine upgrades when pennies allow (or when I blow this one up - that's what triggered the Griff upgrade).
Just had it out for it's first proper outing - to Wilton supercar festival in a rather fast convoy with some friends in an Aston Vantage and an R8. Great fun.
But it only rubbed-in the crazy gearing even more. I was in second when other cars would be in fourth (and our GT-R would have gone to sixth in auto!).
Need to get that 3.9 diff.
Will definitely look into engine upgrades when pennies allow (or when I blow this one up - that's what triggered the Griff upgrade).
Walford said:
Batwick2 said:
But the LS engine just ain't the same! And I've driven a Corvette all the way up the West Coast of America in three days (and got three speeding tickets in the process...), avoiding all freeways.
Lovely engine, but it hasn't got that something very special that TVR's own engines have - the nearest thing to a race engine on the road if you ask me.
put a speed six in a 1600kg car then tell me its specialLovely engine, but it hasn't got that something very special that TVR's own engines have - the nearest thing to a race engine on the road if you ask me.
you'd be shifting down gears till you were in reverse
If they were any good people would be putting them in Corvettes
The speed 6 engine killed TVR
Nonsence,,
Poor parts in the speed six engine didn't help but as for the speed six being responsible for killing of TVR utter nonsence.
Edited by Walford on Thursday 2nd August 06:53
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