heat in a tamora

[gd]

hello all, looooooooong time since i posted on pistonheads. was forced to sell cerbera in october 2002, and let's just say i didn't take it too well!!!

anyway, all that's behind me now, and i'm, looking to get back into TVR ownership soonish. the thing is, i had a chimaera (without air con) before the cerb, which was fantastic with the fully convertible roof 'n' all. however, i can remember that on rainy summer days, and long journeys in blazing sunshine, i had the roof up and it got stupidly hot inside. the way i'm thinking now is that i fancy the convertible again, and not a targa or coupe. so...... is the heat generated inside a tamora just as bad in those conditions i.e should i look for one with air con?

[maddog-uk]

i have aircon and use it with the roof up only.

[Ffirg 005]

This has come up before so worth a search back...

I had a Tam without air-con and never felt I wanted it. Others who have air-con swear by it so I guess it's personal preference. If your use is mainly shortish weekend blats then you won't miss it IMO but I guess on a long motorway haul in summer when you want the roof on and wind noise kept down it would be good to have.

[targarama]

Whether you like it or not, the next prospective owner would more likely want your car if it had it fitted.

[stevend]

Mine does not have air con and I have never wished for it. The TVR is my third convertible and to me soft top means get the roof off as much as possible. When it is sunny I am more concerned about sunburn on my thinning top - but then I keep a basball cap in the car permenantly. Always felt air-con was something else to go wrong, and the 'old skool' in me means I can say my Tamora has no gadgets ;-)

Unless you are in heavy commuterland every morning (and would you use a TVR for that ?), I would put aircon low on my list of priorities after car condition, 18" wheels, service history etc.

regards


Steven

[chris watton]

Agree with Steve, baseball cap and sunglasses are essential, and should be carried in the Tam at all times, air con, not so essential.

[madbadger]

chris watton said:

Agree with Steve, baseball cap and sunglasses are essential, and should be carried in the Tam at all times, air con, not so essential.

I have it mine, but it is only used on the odd hot day when it is raining too heavily to have the roof off.

Not the most important thing in a soft top.

[patsy]

I've got a Tam without aircon, and I've never really missed it - aside from one situation last year when I was stuck on the M62 in very heavy traffic. It was completely tanking it down with rain, but it was also oddly quite a warm day. It did get a bit hot in there and I was a bit 2nd hand when I got home.

So...not quite as simple as 'if it gets too hot, just pop the roof off', but I've never been tempted to have it retro-fitted.

[Drinks01]

My Tam has Air con which i never seem to use, But i have had 4 different faults on it.

[Hilti]

My Tam didn't have aircon and the only time i wished it had is when you are commuting, stuck in traffic and it is impracticle to have the roof off. Other than that I tried to get rooof off as much as possible, then the aircon is useless anyway.

J

[alt]

Agreed, after four years I can only think of a couple of times when air-con would have been useful....

[gd]

ok. thanks for the replies.

no real comparisons to chimaera driving, which was what i was looking for in the original post. i too am a believer in taking the top off at every opportunity. driving well wrapped up when it's freezing with the roof off is fantastic. however, the heat from the transmission tunnel was silly in the chimaera, especially after a long (fast) run, then hitting traffic. maybe they've improved the heat shielding from the exhausts since 1995!

>> Edited by gd on Thursday 30th March 20:44

[coach]

Well, I have just come from a Chim to the Tam

Cant say I noticed much difference in the heat between the two. Cold air is a bit warm after a quick run...and that is in the winter.

Transmission heat is marginally better

Coach

[lundinoir]

I had a Chimaera without aircon and it was a boiler house.

My Tamora has aircon and I use it all the time. It's great at keeping the interior dehumidified during the winter to keep the glass from fogging up works a treat in the summer heat to keep the cabin cool.

Even with the hood down in traffic the vents are situated such that you can have cool air blowing on you whilst the sun toast you a nice shade.

However, when not using the aircon I have noticed that the Tamora cabin is much more insulated than the Chimaera. As a bonus the gear knob doesn't get hot either...

[madbadger]

My knob got massively hot in the South of France and Monaco, last summer.

It was pretty hot though

[maddog-uk]

Funnily enough I had my aircon on yesterday! It was chucking it down but stuck in traffic and slowly cooking so whacked the old aircon on and hey presto I was very happy!

But its a personal choice and I am not its that relevant as an option in a convertible.

[chris watton]

lundinoir said:

I had a Chimaera without aircon and it was a boiler house. .

Yes, definitely, in fact, one time, I got so hot in the Chim, stuck in traffic in Bath (we were heading south west for a couple of days hooning), I became very ill (bed ridden for two days!), and had to drive back home, the Chim didn't overheat, but it nearly killed me! As already said, the Tam seems to be a lot better regarding heat insulation.