Just got my Tamora! coming from elise sc
Discussion
Picked up my shiny 04 silver tamora from yesterday, not really had a chance to properly drive it because it was all motorway, and today we got that crap white stuff, so here is a brain dump of what I think so far.
I'm coming from a lotus elise sc... to cut a long story short I loved its communicativeness, but its luggage capacity, cruising comfort, entry/exit, and engine devoid of soul got to me.
I had been longing for a TVR for ages, finally decided to go for it, because you only live once, and I figured I could use the extra cash that would otherwise go to servicing the elise finance for a rebuild 'when' the time comes.
So, the good:
- responsive nat asp engine, bags of character. Missed my s2000 so loving the NA again, sc whine in the elise got old quick.
-pedals seems perfectly positioned for h&t
- great brake feel! the elise sc was crap in this respect. Need to learn it properly at full braking force as there is no abs nanny. I always leave a ton of room in front of me but need to prepare for the unexpected.
- I love how it looks, I dont think it photographs well, but its stunning in person (stereo vision), imo looks better than the t350... eye of the beholder and all that.
- People have a 'wtf is that?' mixed with awe look on their faces
- far more comfortable and quieter cruiser, travelled down in the elise with noise canceling headphones on (wind/tire noise) but the return trip was with naked ears. Love the massive elbow rest.
- lots of room, so no more unboxing kids xmas presents so they fit in the boot!
- standard exhaust is reasonably quiet.
The bad:
- standard exhaust does not supply pops and bangs... I loved the 2bular exhaust I had on the elise, it was as quiet idling and in fact quieter when cruising, but when pushing and on the overrun sounded fantastic, gurgling and popping, but not too much, you had to work for it, it was the perfect balance... Anything similar for the Tamora?
- When using indicators there is a super annoying buzzer, Im really hoping someone will chime in with an easy solution for that.
- suspension seems to oscilate quite badly over low frequency road ondulations in the road surface, when approaching 0.85 leptons. Whole car starts shaking. Reminds me of my s2000 on its original 25k shocks before I put on quality coilovers. It crossed my mind it might be unbalanced wheels or engine mount...
- now I know what bump steer is, its when you hit a bump in a corner and the car changes direction without slipping while your eyes and steering stays fixed, obviously quite disconcerting.
- I get the impression it has cheap or knackered shocks. I'm already eyeing a set of nitrons... do they do the 46mm kit for the tamora?
- turning circle is pathetic, had to do a 3 point turn on a wide 3 lane road today.
- ground clearance is utterly impractical, low kerbs will scrape, speed bumps will scrape at anything more than 4 mph... and I think I can forget ever attempting a multi storey car park, I'll either hit the ramp on the way up or perch on the way down. The tam is 100mm whereas the elise was 130mm, when the nitrons go on I'll want it raised to at least 120mm, maybe in combination with bigger tires to achieve the height and keep the arches filled as before.
-the clutch is heavy, but I can probably learn to use the top of the pedal for more leverage. Im already getting used to the upside down pedals though.
- when engaging the clutch after gear selection on the move there is a wirring sound, like something metalic stiring around inside something rotating, or a metalic slurping sound, lasts about 2 seconds... is this a broken clutch finger? or normal.
- the passenger door doesnt fall open, have to push the button maybe 3 time while syncronising a pull. Ill try greasing the lock, any objections?
-passenger window doesnt go all the way up 100% maybe 2mm gap, probably for the same reason the door is reluctant to open.
I'm coming from a lotus elise sc... to cut a long story short I loved its communicativeness, but its luggage capacity, cruising comfort, entry/exit, and engine devoid of soul got to me.
I had been longing for a TVR for ages, finally decided to go for it, because you only live once, and I figured I could use the extra cash that would otherwise go to servicing the elise finance for a rebuild 'when' the time comes.
So, the good:
- responsive nat asp engine, bags of character. Missed my s2000 so loving the NA again, sc whine in the elise got old quick.
-pedals seems perfectly positioned for h&t
- great brake feel! the elise sc was crap in this respect. Need to learn it properly at full braking force as there is no abs nanny. I always leave a ton of room in front of me but need to prepare for the unexpected.
- I love how it looks, I dont think it photographs well, but its stunning in person (stereo vision), imo looks better than the t350... eye of the beholder and all that.
- People have a 'wtf is that?' mixed with awe look on their faces
- far more comfortable and quieter cruiser, travelled down in the elise with noise canceling headphones on (wind/tire noise) but the return trip was with naked ears. Love the massive elbow rest.
- lots of room, so no more unboxing kids xmas presents so they fit in the boot!
- standard exhaust is reasonably quiet.
The bad:
- standard exhaust does not supply pops and bangs... I loved the 2bular exhaust I had on the elise, it was as quiet idling and in fact quieter when cruising, but when pushing and on the overrun sounded fantastic, gurgling and popping, but not too much, you had to work for it, it was the perfect balance... Anything similar for the Tamora?
- When using indicators there is a super annoying buzzer, Im really hoping someone will chime in with an easy solution for that.
- suspension seems to oscilate quite badly over low frequency road ondulations in the road surface, when approaching 0.85 leptons. Whole car starts shaking. Reminds me of my s2000 on its original 25k shocks before I put on quality coilovers. It crossed my mind it might be unbalanced wheels or engine mount...
- now I know what bump steer is, its when you hit a bump in a corner and the car changes direction without slipping while your eyes and steering stays fixed, obviously quite disconcerting.
- I get the impression it has cheap or knackered shocks. I'm already eyeing a set of nitrons... do they do the 46mm kit for the tamora?
- turning circle is pathetic, had to do a 3 point turn on a wide 3 lane road today.
- ground clearance is utterly impractical, low kerbs will scrape, speed bumps will scrape at anything more than 4 mph... and I think I can forget ever attempting a multi storey car park, I'll either hit the ramp on the way up or perch on the way down. The tam is 100mm whereas the elise was 130mm, when the nitrons go on I'll want it raised to at least 120mm, maybe in combination with bigger tires to achieve the height and keep the arches filled as before.
-the clutch is heavy, but I can probably learn to use the top of the pedal for more leverage. Im already getting used to the upside down pedals though.
- when engaging the clutch after gear selection on the move there is a wirring sound, like something metalic stiring around inside something rotating, or a metalic slurping sound, lasts about 2 seconds... is this a broken clutch finger? or normal.
- the passenger door doesnt fall open, have to push the button maybe 3 time while syncronising a pull. Ill try greasing the lock, any objections?
-passenger window doesnt go all the way up 100% maybe 2mm gap, probably for the same reason the door is reluctant to open.
Welcome
Can't answer all your points, but:
Pipes - there are a few aftermarket options, depending on how loud you want it. Personally I have 'Blueflame' on the rear of my Tam. There are louder options (JP and another that I can't recall) but I decided that I didnt want anything too ear piercing. Mine sounds good but isn't too loud on a motorway run. A Compromise.
Indicators - yeah annoying but you get used to it. Not heard of an alternative though.
Turning circle - yep, you will have to deal with that.
Ride - I wonder if the tyre pressures are high. They are fairly sensitive to this, 24psi all round seems to be the consensus. When its cold, I find the ride is worse, assume due to the tyres not performing so well, this may also be a factor.
Ride Height - 100mm seems low, maybe it already has adjustable shocks on?? I have standard set up and whilst its possible to clip the most fierce of humps if doing speed, I rarely catch anything now I know what to avoid.
Enjoy (when the weather improves!)
Can't answer all your points, but:
Pipes - there are a few aftermarket options, depending on how loud you want it. Personally I have 'Blueflame' on the rear of my Tam. There are louder options (JP and another that I can't recall) but I decided that I didnt want anything too ear piercing. Mine sounds good but isn't too loud on a motorway run. A Compromise.
Indicators - yeah annoying but you get used to it. Not heard of an alternative though.
Turning circle - yep, you will have to deal with that.
Ride - I wonder if the tyre pressures are high. They are fairly sensitive to this, 24psi all round seems to be the consensus. When its cold, I find the ride is worse, assume due to the tyres not performing so well, this may also be a factor.
Ride Height - 100mm seems low, maybe it already has adjustable shocks on?? I have standard set up and whilst its possible to clip the most fierce of humps if doing speed, I rarely catch anything now I know what to avoid.
Enjoy (when the weather improves!)
press both steering wheel buttons at the same time while on the menu home page, go into options, then click through till you find buzzer sound, press both buttons to adjust and turn down the volume as far as it will go, its then much more livable.
Get the tvr power sports pipes/blue flame/jp, i had the tvr power ones, mega loud pops and bangs on overrun but that was a t350, not sure if they fit the tam.
Get the tvr power sports pipes/blue flame/jp, i had the tvr power ones, mega loud pops and bangs on overrun but that was a t350, not sure if they fit the tam.
Hi, good decision :0)
TVR Power Sports exhaust is a good option if you want something a little more antisocial...will need to change it for track days though as is a little on the loud side.
Tyre pressures are really, really important. First day I got mine I thought it was trying to kill me. I like 24 front 26 rear. When I picked it up it was about 30 all round and it felt like I was driving on a frozen pond.
Indicator buzzers can be neutralised, cant remember how but it's one of the menus. Handbook will tell you.
Got Nitrons on mine, massive improvement. Best handling upgrade was tyres. Toyo R1Rs or R888 will transform confidence when cornering and braking.
Ground clearance isn't great, but I remember being really nervous about it at first, now it doesnt worry me so much. I rarely seem to scrape anything, I think you just get used to it and pick your spots. Combination of turning circle and clearance do make multi storeys a bit of a no no.
The door needs to release and open a touch when the catch opens, otherwise it just re engages. If the door seals are a bit hard then they don't push the door open enough. Maybe the reason there is a gap round the window?
Turning circle. A small application of right foot at the appropriate moment will narrow it somewhat :0)
Enjoy your car, hope to see you out and about.
Sam
TVR Power Sports exhaust is a good option if you want something a little more antisocial...will need to change it for track days though as is a little on the loud side.
Tyre pressures are really, really important. First day I got mine I thought it was trying to kill me. I like 24 front 26 rear. When I picked it up it was about 30 all round and it felt like I was driving on a frozen pond.
Indicator buzzers can be neutralised, cant remember how but it's one of the menus. Handbook will tell you.
Got Nitrons on mine, massive improvement. Best handling upgrade was tyres. Toyo R1Rs or R888 will transform confidence when cornering and braking.
Ground clearance isn't great, but I remember being really nervous about it at first, now it doesnt worry me so much. I rarely seem to scrape anything, I think you just get used to it and pick your spots. Combination of turning circle and clearance do make multi storeys a bit of a no no.
The door needs to release and open a touch when the catch opens, otherwise it just re engages. If the door seals are a bit hard then they don't push the door open enough. Maybe the reason there is a gap round the window?
Turning circle. A small application of right foot at the appropriate moment will narrow it somewhat :0)
Enjoy your car, hope to see you out and about.
Sam
Welcome!
On ground clearance, Bespoke in Ware have developed a small hydraulic based lifter kit which can be fitted to your car to lift or lower the car a few inches to help. Still being fitted to my car, but once done it should help solve the clearance problem.
Annoying indicator sound can be resolved by menus as pointed out above.
Sounds like you need new shocks anyway
Cheers!
On ground clearance, Bespoke in Ware have developed a small hydraulic based lifter kit which can be fitted to your car to lift or lower the car a few inches to help. Still being fitted to my car, but once done it should help solve the clearance problem.
Annoying indicator sound can be resolved by menus as pointed out above.
Sounds like you need new shocks anyway
Cheers!
Thanks for the tips guys!
So glad to hear about the buzzer, must be set all the way up.
Re the exhaust, I'm after something that isn't any louder idling or starting up, but comes to life when pushing on and pops and bangs on the overrun when dropping from high revs. The 2bular on the lotus did this.
I do like the sound of a big bore system but really dislike the very loud raspy metalic sound most of the after market pipes seem to produce.
The car has cats.
I have a very good rubber seal conditioning product so will apply this lube on all of them. The cold wheather probably has something to do with the seals not pushing the door.
Will check tire pressures first thing!
Then continue reading through the entire forum... page 70 now and counting
So glad to hear about the buzzer, must be set all the way up.
Re the exhaust, I'm after something that isn't any louder idling or starting up, but comes to life when pushing on and pops and bangs on the overrun when dropping from high revs. The 2bular on the lotus did this.
I do like the sound of a big bore system but really dislike the very loud raspy metalic sound most of the after market pipes seem to produce.
The car has cats.
I have a very good rubber seal conditioning product so will apply this lube on all of them. The cold wheather probably has something to do with the seals not pushing the door.
Will check tire pressures first thing!
Then continue reading through the entire forum... page 70 now and counting
alex_gray255 said:
Welcome!
On ground clearance, Bespoke in Ware have developed a small hydraulic based lifter kit which can be fitted to your car to lift or lower the car a few inches to help. Still being fitted to my car, but once done it should help solve the clearance problem.
Annoying indicator sound can be resolved by menus as pointed out above.
Sounds like you need new shocks anyway
Cheers!
Just a little overkill on the hydraulic On ground clearance, Bespoke in Ware have developed a small hydraulic based lifter kit which can be fitted to your car to lift or lower the car a few inches to help. Still being fitted to my car, but once done it should help solve the clearance problem.
Annoying indicator sound can be resolved by menus as pointed out above.
Sounds like you need new shocks anyway
Cheers!
Your car will drive itself soon Look forward to seeing it at Chatsworth Simply sort shocks out, if they actually need sorting, adjust ride height, if it really needs it and something that will cost nothing, be aware of your car, surroundings and drive accordingly
In terms of noise. Your driving your car in cold weather....it takes much longer to warm up, which is when the pops and bangs come more often, maybe review when the weather is warmer as the noises and responsiveness will be different. Mines a decat jp, when warmed up its like a machine gun, in the cold or before fully warmed up, quieter by far
Standard exhaust was discarded immediately, just didn't feel it :/Edited by ShiDevil on Saturday 23 March 10:12
ShiDevil said:
Just a little overkill on the hydraulic Your car will drive itself soon Look forward to seeing it at Chatsworth
I'll introduce you to driving down the country lanes where I live sometime, Steve. You'll see why I was interested in this option. Your car will drive itself soon Look forward to seeing it at Chatsworth I'm also wanting to take my Sag to work now to run the new engine in which means I need the ability to go over speed bumps without grounding the front splitter every time and scuffling the fibreglass.
A very nice practical solution to a practical problem
Not sure about the self driving kit though - I'll wait for the technology to develop a bit more before I install that option
See you at Chatsworth, mate!
alex_gray255 said:
I'll introduce you to driving down the country lanes where I live sometime, Steve. You'll see why I was interested in this option.
I'm also wanting to take my Sag to work now to run the new engine in which means I need the ability to go over speed bumps without grounding the front splitter every time and scuffling the fibreglass.
A very nice practical solution to a practical problem
Not sure about the self driving kit though - I'll wait for the technology to develop a bit more before I install that option
See you at Chatsworth, mate!
Hi,I'm also wanting to take my Sag to work now to run the new engine in which means I need the ability to go over speed bumps without grounding the front splitter every time and scuffling the fibreglass.
A very nice practical solution to a practical problem
Not sure about the self driving kit though - I'll wait for the technology to develop a bit more before I install that option
See you at Chatsworth, mate!
How does it actually work? Special dampers?
cheers
S
alex_gray255 said:
I'll introduce you to driving down the country lanes where I live sometime, Steve. You'll see why I was interested in this option.
I bet like me you have a number of routes you take or don't take/avoid it's not nice experiencing the gritted teeth syndrome over the bumps. I find an angled approach helps no end pleased to hear your going to be driving the car it needs to be seen on the road, it's like the white stag in 'animals of farthing wood' ShiDevil said:
I bet like me you have a number of routes you take or don't take/avoid it's not nice experiencing the gritted teeth syndrome over the bumps.... it's like the white stag in 'animals of farthing wood'
Unfortunately, when the lanes in question are the only way to the house, you don't have much choice. They didn't design the country with TVRs in mind unfortunately. (Must remember to register a complaint on that!) it's not nice experiencing the gritted teeth syndrome over the bumps.... it's like the white stag in 'animals of farthing wood' White stag - nah, more like White unicorn. The mythical creature that gets spotted at rare times, but never reliability reported on
egoold said:
I think i spotted you yesterday heading to waitrose carpark? I was in the E63 leaving the car park.
Previously i had a T350 and had no problem getting it into the car park at waitrose so I suspect your ride height might be a bit low.
Yeah that was me, I got in ok as I know the ramp is reasonably shallow, but I actually stalled it on the way up as I was caught in two minds when it dawned on me that I would have to get back out... through the tight curved exit at the bottom with the super tall kerb. Managed it ok but I definitely need to re-calibrate my spacial awareness after the elise, feel like I don't know where the extremities are. Previously i had a T350 and had no problem getting it into the car park at waitrose so I suspect your ride height might be a bit low.
Something like the NCP on Mitchell Street I'm 100% sure no chance in hell of making it, definitely would have both wheels off the ground on the down ramps.
Do you not have the t350 any more? Wondering about who to go to for small odd jobs, hexham, trackvroad... what about dreadnought ever tried them?
Edited by SergSC on Saturday 23 March 13:25
Changed the T350 for a red evora which you might have seen around the west end. I always used TrackVroad for servicing. Repairs and upgrades. They also dealt with the sale of the car. Have nothing but praise for them, never used Hexham but only here good things about them.
Have a friend that has a Tuscan and he uses Dreadnoughts, don't think he ever has any issues with them. however after speaking to both TrackVroad I felt they were far more on the ball.
Have a friend that has a Tuscan and he uses Dreadnoughts, don't think he ever has any issues with them. however after speaking to both TrackVroad I felt they were far more on the ball.
egoold said:
Changed the T350 for a red evora which you might have seen around the west end. I always used TrackVroad for servicing. Repairs and upgrades. They also dealt with the sale of the car. Have nothing but praise for them, never used Hexham but only here good things about them.
Have a friend that has a Tuscan and he uses Dreadnoughts, don't think he ever has any issues with them. however after speaking to both TrackVroad I felt they were far more on the ball.
I flashed you in my dark grey elise a few weeks ago as you drove up the Waitrose ramp! haha Have a friend that has a Tuscan and he uses Dreadnoughts, don't think he ever has any issues with them. however after speaking to both TrackVroad I felt they were far more on the ball.
The evora was/is on my list, I test drove one of the murray cars the day before I went to see the Tam. Its the one I will go to if and when I retire from crazy cars
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