Tyres and sidewall heights

[ClassicChimaera]

Mine might have been a 1980 registered Series 3 but had all MK2 switch gear etc Daimler so different seat stitching etc but very similar to yours.
Yours looks a bit special.
Nice Ice

Is the lower body in as good a condition as these pics suggest. Looks a nice dry car.

Can't get on with your steering wheel but it's not my car. Manual gearbox. Awesome

I might have some pics of mine,,,, on stands with no interior I seem to remember! I've never been a big photo taker of any of my cars,,,, the Tvr about 2400

Edited by ClassicChimaera on Friday 13th January 12:27

[RobXjcoupe]

It's had a lot of work done by myself and the previous owner. Inner and outer sills, new boot floor, bottoms of front wings, wheel arches inner front wings, inner rear wings. New front and rear windscreen rubbers which stopped the floor rotting leaks. The gauges are a mix of series 2 and 3. The manual box is a series 3 item. The speedo drive is an electronic sender, so I changed the series 2 speedo to a series 3 version but fitted the series 2 bezel surround to match the original gauges. Then noticed the indicator warning was a different shape to the rev counter one, so I fitted a series 3 rev counter and again fitted with the series 2 bezel. The steering wheel was fitted when I bought the car but I do still have the original 2 metre diameter jaguar one .
The manual gearstick uses an original rubber gaiter but I made the gearstick as I couldn't find an original chrome one. The vinyl wrapped plate at the base of the gearstick was an item I drew up and was laser cut. Looks original but isn't. I think I had 3 attempts at getting the hole right for correct movement of the gearstick and gaiter without the rubber pulling out one way or another. The door openings actually have new old stock proper jaguar coupe aluminium trim kick plates. Not the replacement stainless steel versions which are better wearing but not original.
Interior needs replacing now if I'm honest. I replaced the ambla trim in original biscuit but the leather had sun bleached a magnolia shade. The leather was re-coloured back to biscuit but it's showing wear again with stictching coming undone also. Good thing with Jaguar classics is all interiors can be bought new. I priced up a stripped and repaired shell with modern rust protection finished in new piant and a brand new interior at £14k. Would take 12 months to complete the shell with myself restoring the front and rear axles ready to be built up again by the restorer. A good price but I don't have £14k due to money going into the house and owning two dogs that enjoy regular visits to the vets lol. Latest is my Doberman has had his tail amputated due to infection. £234 I was quoted so said yes. Poor fella nearly bled out and stayed overnight. £340 then currently two weeks of bandage changing and tablets at £30 every other day and back again today :s family life lol

[ClassicChimaera]

What a fantastic car
Toolmaker,, its in the right hands too but I'd check your math (2 metre diameter) wheel
I love those big skinny steering wheels, like touching something female

To be wafted along in such an emotional car ( for a limo) is better than speed. It really is.
So is this a 4 speed box, must evoke feelings of ETypes when dropping a cog and flooring it.

The engine looks stunning.
The support for these great cars is good and yes you can get most things for them.

I knew another Jag expert, had a series 3 bodyshell that had never been built, direct from Jaguar hanging off his garage wall.

has the suspension been altered at all, just looking at your skinny tyre's.
See your profile pic Rob. you've got a sense of humour as well as a nice fleet

This Jag is starting to get at me.
I think I'm just glad I've now made my Tvr soft as cushions with these funkie cheap tyre's.
See I'm actually trying to get it like my old Jag!

[ClassicChimaera]

Back to reality.
Tyre test today if the weather stays dry. A nice drive down some salt free lanes just to bed them in and feel them out a bit.

I've had a few local journeys so far, using roads that usually have me cringing over the bumps and speed humps ( school run),,, it's so much better for this slow localised driving. Thank the tyre gods for that cos I was ready to quit!
Little things like having to pull away slowly off a curb, just a squidgy swish rather than" tha dump "

I've never had the best tyre's on my car, good tyre's but not compliant enough for real world situations.
This wet/dry soft tyre has added a sense of sophistication to the cars manners.

Dunno about it's handling at speed yet though. I m not likely either, this weather I'm just glad to get where I'm going.

I'm excited because this might be a transformation and a chance for my chassis and nerves to relax a touch.

I have to say they look great to my eye. I've never liked how it looked on 17 fronts and 40 profile tyre's let alone how it took bumps ( handling is great mind) so my big front tyre's are the real test, the reas are feeling made for the car already.
245 on a 7.5 inch rim isn't advised but that's what came when I got the wheels, it's a very flat tyre with a sudden edge and tyre drop off, at high speed when cornering you can get the middle of the tyre flexing in towards the rim centre,

235 on the rear looks more rounded with less of an edge and the tyre centre should stay more taught with less flex it's curvature offers better resistance to these side forces,,,, but then I think too deep about stuff I know little about

Does that make sense to anyone

Edited by ClassicChimaera on Saturday 14th January 08:49

[QBee]

Perfect sense. Have a fun drive.
To eliminate that inside edge full lock slight catch, fit 5mm spacers as you suggested.

[CHIMV8 500]

I ended up moving up again to

225x45x17 front with 5mm spacer

255x45x17 10" rears with 10mm hub centric spacer and longer bolts

Brought the ride height up,but still got the rake front to back

Front rubs on arch slightly on full lock,but no other rubbing issues throughout,much smoother ride and good cushion effect over bumps etc

[QBee]

I have 225 45/17 fronts shod with Toyo R1Rs, and they catch on the back of the headlight inspection panels at full lock.
Planning on changing them back to 215 45/17, in Rainsport 3s, with 235 45/17 rears.
So your findings are keenly awaited Alun, as I have only driven my Saab on Rainsport 3s, not my TVR.
If you decide you don't like them, then I will buy yours off you, but I cannot imagine that opportunity will arise.

[RobXjcoupe]

ClassicChimaera said:

What a fantastic car
Toolmaker,, its in the right hands too but I'd check your math (2 metre diameter) wheel
I love those big skinny steering wheels, like touching something female

To be wafted along in such an emotional car ( for a limo) is better than speed. It really is.
So is this a 4 speed box, must evoke feelings of ETypes when dropping a cog and flooring it.

The engine looks stunning.
The support for these great cars is good and yes you can get most things for them.

I knew another Jag expert, had a series 3 bodyshell that had never been built, direct from Jaguar hanging off his garage wall.

has the suspension been altered at all, just looking at your skinny tyre's.
See your profile pic Rob. you've got a sense of humour as well as a nice fleet

This Jag is starting to get at me.
I think I'm just glad I've now made my Tvr soft as cushions with these funkie cheap tyre's.
See I'm actually trying to get it like my old Jag!

Apologies to the others for the jag chat :s
Suspension was altered at the front with short springs by the previous owner. The front cross member is approx 30mm off the road which is far too low and doesn't do well for cornering. So waft yes but cornering no! The ride quality is still extremely good with the 40 series tyres. You can just feel drain covers when driving over them. Standard jag suspension use a lot of rubber bushes! A good upgrade on the suspension is a set of db7 springs and shocks as that car is a xjs underneath and the xjs is a short wheelbase xj6 underneath.
The manual box I fitted is a 5 speed unit, an lt77 Land Rover but with jag xk engine bellhousing and flywheel. Although the actual Land Rover version for the Rover v8 has a different dia input shaft so not a perfect swap in that sense. In theory you could build a chimaera with a straight six from the LT77 gearbox but use a jag fitment instead. The cast iron block is far too heavy though for the TVR :s
The toolmaker in me is a menace as everything in my head is perfect but modified items take time to machine. The wheels I have on the coupe are Jag xk8 with the correct imperial pcd but the front wheels needed the centres jig bored to a larger diameter to allow for the bigger front axle bearings. Then I needed to machine a centre to cover the larger hole and fit the matching jag wheel centre badges as per the rear wheels, also the wheel nuts needed to be a shoulder fitment rather than the self aligned chamfer as most wheel nuts/bolts are. Things snowball but are achievable and that's just fitting a set of wheels :s
The profile pic was when I moved from Essex to South Wales to a rented home as I relocated for my new toolmaker job. Initially a body press and die toolmaker for 24 years and now i work in an engine plant. More machining one offs or repair work now but it pays well and I get to make more off my own car stuff. Last week on nightshift a pair of standard front brake discs were grooved as a handed pair, my best mod was a set of bbs 5 stud splitrims I converted to 4 stud with changed offsets to suit my old mk1 focus estate. Bit wide on the rear at 81/2j but I made them fit
So back to TVRs
Question how do you get 350ftlb from a 4.6? My 5.0 taraka only makes 300ftlb?

[N7GTX]

RobXjcoupe said:

So back to TVRs
Question how do you get 350ftlb from a 4.6? My 5.0 taraka only makes 300ftlb?

Forced induction

Before turbo, my 4.0 had 230 ft/lbs. After, 481 (at the wheels).

[ClassicChimaera]

QBee said:

Perfect sense. Have a fun drive.
To eliminate that inside edge full lock slight catch, fit 5mm spacers as you suggested.

Thank feck for that

I've ordered some Anthony.
5mm allround so should be just right.
I tried again and I get no scuffing on full lock going forwards and non when turning left and going backwards,,, I didn't do the right side, berk!

So road test.
Went out dry and headed towards Banbury, I know the road like my hand and it's usually quiet since the M40 was developed. Got 3 miles up the road after getting everything toasty as it was 2 degrees !
It started to rain, hmmm well for the interests of the TVR massive I decided I'd batter on through the now sleet conditions because sooner or later I'm going to be driving in similar conditions for some insane reason

It's true to say it's easier to find the limit of a tyre's grip in the rain and wet roads,,,, not these it ain't

Every thing happens sooner/slower and more progressively in the wet so as the ride was feeling wonderful I ploughed on through salt washed roads and grit attacking the car,,,,
More stones and road decree getting picked up and hitting the inner wheel arches,,, good sign I thought bad sign as it's obviously fecking salt!
So I've got the heating warming me like a dog by the fire,,, I'm having fun here
Wipers on clearing the screen no bother,,, I'll stop amusing myself for a moment and be serious.
Transformed. I've done something right for once, I'm not as thick as I look and talk

I used a roundabout I know that's quite isolated from traffic and just went round in circles slowly building the speed.....
very wet and ice cold remember
fksake I'm going faster than I've ever gone before on such a tight lock as the G's load up around such an obstacle, and I mean in the DRY. GOODGOD!
my mechanic friend and I share a love of bikes so he loves helping me like putting the tyre's on and he was raving about these Rainsports and said something like
"They are supposed to only have a 3% loss of grip from Dry to wet
I felt sceptical.
Dunno if that is true as I havnt checked but that simple load up test was fantastic. I was trying to feel the side wall,,, I'm wondering if it's to soft for fast fast turning 100 mph + so I'm trying to roll the tyre, waste of time normally on wet roads as it will break away miles early, couldn't get both fronts or rears to break away and tyre felt very secure, I'm now going really fast getting dizzy and if it goes now I'm bksed so stopped, looked at the tyre's and yelled aloud

So compared to T1R's as fitted to my car about 70% better in the wet and very cold conditions. I mean it.
My car is safer to drive, oddly feels slower but it's because my hearts not pumping knowing full well I'm at the edge of traction and about to go slide ways

I'll be honest I can't tell if the bigger rear tyre changes the gear ratios much but it feels like there longer but it's negligible.

The rear tyre's fit me like a glove, I can feel them and they grip like hell, the G's I was pulling would have had it break in the dry before,,,, work that out.
Finally the ride and slow speed manoeuvres which used to break my heart.
I'm so so happy.
I new it all along, what a tosser, fk shocks get your tyre's right first!

I have twin adjustable Protechs,,, like all these shocks I'm never convinced by there action, a week ago I wanted to throw them away,,, now I love em
It's funny Jaguar got introduced to this thread via Robs help with offsets etc
Having reminded myself of those lovely cars that glide over anything and handle really bloody good,fantastic in fact,,, I've spun my XK8 with gas bottles the lot at Mallery in the wet 2x 360's and I then caught it and carried on,,, end of Stebbe straight rather fast,
I digress,,,
So the ride.... I know what a good ride is,,, oh err missus
The Tvr in a straight line sort of nods, it's the roads mainly but the shocks won't really react to these tiny road changes so you often get it just a little, that's gone
Smoother and softened the whole driving vibe. Relaxing almost. Electrics don't suffer anything like the juddering.
The tyre's are soft enough on the tread pattern to manipulate and take these tiny ossolations much better especially turning at slower speed,, steerings pin point straight and no tracking, I'd get a small amount of tracking on the harder 40 front tyre's not much but it was there, now it seems virtually gone.
Wow all this in a tyre, my chassis don't feel so ancient.

Put simply its everything I dared hope for and some.
I feel like buying 4 sets and hiding them in the warm because I can't believe the price.
Fantastic stuff today, easily the most enjoyable drive I've had, more confidence and a happier car.

I'm driving along barely feeling the bumps and thinking this is the third best thing I've done Mbe, Brembo brakes and a set of poxy tyre's. As they say, it's the only part of the car attached to the road, well now I'm well attached and it felt quite unreal.

Edited by ClassicChimaera on Saturday 14th January 14:24

Edited by ClassicChimaera on Saturday 14th January 20:50

[QBee]

So I am going to have to go shopping for a set of my own then.....?

[QBee]

PS, my Rainsport 3 fronts lasted 22,000 miles and the rears 32,000 miles on my 1700 kg Saab....so you won't be wearing those out any time soon with an 1100 kg TVR.

[ClassicChimaera]

QBee said:

So I am going to have to go shopping for a set of my own then.....?

Coffee on computer,,,,,, again
Looks like it my friend, sorry

I know I go over the top but I do drive and consider it from a real perspective and I drive this car so much that the moment I lowered myself into it I could tell it was higher 10 mm for gordsake but it felt a lot higher, weird really, it's simply easier to get in and out for a start.

When something looks good it usually is,,, for the first time since the time I had 15/16 wheels on, these 17's looks and feel right.
I'm still high on ride height by way of shocks and when I've had a bit more running will tweak it, its higher at the front now so slightly less rake but with such added front tyre grip it seems very nice.
It feels like a proper grand tourer it's a plastic bit of junk, it has no right
Yet it's got high high levels of grip at road speeds,,,, best of both worlds.
3 figures were reached and pushed behind and it felt awesome.
I suppose I should say something about water displacement
Says something that it's come at the end, today was a puddle filled ride,
I'd normally feel the car wander a few mm as say the left hit a puddle, aquaplaining etc nothing, cuts through them like a knife through butter.
My biggest gripe was things like where a roads been tarmac'ed over old tarmac that's harder so the new stuff lifts up, beaks away from the surface you get tracks of the old stuff showing through, my car would feel that like mini bumps and steering would be effected, now it's not noticeable from a noise or feel perspective, the steering wheel barely moves when before it could judder from such forces. Seem very quiet but you can hear the water splashing the wheel arches, serious displacement. Today's conditions were extreme and normally very dangerous other than snails pace, I felt confidence in it for the first time,,, ever.
Proper tyre for a properblight car.
Final thing was to feel the tyre's heat build up at the end, stone cold as you'd expect so when they are warm as in a sunny day,,, come here Porsche boy, you just come here .....

[ClassicChimaera]

Power output is cos I've been cheating,,
This is at the wheels on Powers Dyno after MBE install.

So if you add anything from as low as 15% to as high as 20% for road train losses
At 20 % you get to 350 torques,,,
These new tyre's have just proved it's not got that much but it's not that far off at 18% which is where Jason would put it it's still 342.
More engine mods required! FFS

I couldn't bare Daz taking the piss so I stretched the truth rather than lie




You might notice how the limiter comes in at 5900,,, I'd not noticed it either!
Then I remember telling Jason I wouldn't be thrashing it and rarely hit 6000. it's allover by then anyway as you can see.

But I do hit the limiter very easily, it's a PITA so I might get that stretched a little

Edited by ClassicChimaera on Saturday 14th January 15:51

[ClassicChimaera]

All I know is I'm going drag racing with a laptop and Rainsports on the rear only,,,,,
13.1 so far ,, I'm going to take that time apart
12.7 would be nice,,,,

Look at the leader board for 1/4 mile times and you'll see that's quicker than most of the so called faster cars could ever muster without serious work doing to them first.

As Dom always tells me it's not just about ultimate power to get the RV8 singing,, but that's bks and now I need bigger heads

[ClassicChimaera]

CHIMV8 500 said:

I ended up moving up again to

225x45x17 front with 5mm spacer

255x45x17 10" rears with 10mm hub centric spacer and longer bolts

Brought the ride height up,but still got the rake front to back

Front rubs on arch slightly on full lock,but no other rubbing issues throughout,much smoother ride and good cushion effect over bumps etc

That looks great. I think the bigger tyre's and wheels are ok as long as the tyre's got the right compound. They are better again or should be.

[QBee]

I have long had a theory that good wet road tyres were the best thing for us drag amatuers. Daz rather proved it.
My best run was done on a knackered set of Conti Ecocontacts. My 888s were slower on a cold damp day.

[ClassicChimaera]

Absolutely, I think Daz ran his flat,,,, what a ridiculously fast time on road tyre's when you looked around him.

If I could knock 4 tenths off the 60 ft times I'm in

And I think it's possible if I can get my act together when driving the car!

[ClassicChimaera]

If I'd had these Rainsports on the car and got used to the grip then put the tyre's on that have just come off the car assuming they'd have a similar level of grip I'd fall off on the very next corner,,, simple as that!

[ClassicChimaera]

Here's the new front tyre on the wheel. You should be able to see the naff scuff marks on the rim from a curbing incident

As much as me being a crap driver the 215/40/17 tyre didn't even make it to the edge of the wheel and it looks plain to me these 215/45/17 will protect the rim. If the wheel is in the same position then these are widening my outer track by quite some amount regardless of numbers because it's plain to see.

Look how much this tyre sticks out over the rim,, now more like how the rears have always been









Long Itch Diner. just cos it's nice to see a Tiv even if it is raining

Edited by ClassicChimaera on Saturday 14th January 21:17

Edited by ClassicChimaera on Saturday 14th January 21:18