Chimera and long fast motorway driving
Discussion
quote:I'm off to Germany next week for an extended tour, trip to Rumania etc. I'll be visiting the german agent. Perhaps the german Chims have altered exhausts. I'd hate it if the sound would go, I just want the volume down. Chims cost £ 5,000.00 more in Germany - perhaps different exhausts are an explanation. I've been thinking - how many casks of Spitfire can we get for one XKR? How about our own pub?!? Trouble is - how do we explain away n number of casks as a business expense?? Rgds, WalterU
Walter, You can get removable inserts for the exhausts that bring the noise level down by a few dBs. They're meant for use with sports exhausts so that cars can conform to noise regulations at track days and so on However, they may work with the standard exhaust too. If there's anything else I can do to assist with imminent and vast expenditure, just let me know
quote:I've thought of that. They would have to be combined with my car phone - I'm on that all the time when I'm in the car. See, that was an additional problem. However in Germany (I know Germany very well) the legality is borderline. Probably the idea is that you're supposed to be able to hear plod shouting at you, or hear ambulance/police car/air raid sirens etc.. Officious plods will stop you if you're cyling with a walkman on. Rgds, WalterU
Just a thought re deafening yourself in a TVR - I was reading about a bloke here in the states who uses noise reducing headphones to enable him to drive his Cobra for long periods. Didn't say what brand, but Bose sell a set of noise reducing headphones for $299 that can be used during air travel. Sony & Panasonic also sell a setup ($199 & $150) that are advertised for coach travel as well as other modes of transport. You can still listen to the hi-fi, it just cuts out the ambient drone of the vehicle... I've no idea of the legality of these devices in Europe (or even here in the US), but possibly worth a look?
I owe all the people that gave so generously of their advice and knowledge an update.
I went to Germany for 2½ weeks late March. While there I hired a Boxster and flogged it over the Autobahn. Lovely car, but too loud above 125 mph. I also drove an XKR Cabriolet, but it also was too loud at high speeds, and had a tendency to bounce like a kangaroo over short bumps.
In the end, after much soul-searching and with much trepidation, I bought a Mercedes SLK 320. Performance-wise, it lies between a Boxster and a Boxster S, so its quite quick. It has all the odds and sods I need, such as Navigation and cruise control. The steel roof meant that it was the only roadster I found where you can have a phone conversation at 130 mph. You can even talk to someone, albeit with difficulties, doing 85 mph when the roof is open.
But its not a Chimaera - sigh
![](http://../gassing/images/cool.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle> <hr height=1 noshade></BLOCKQUOTE>
I would love a TVR, and I have a soft spot for the "old-style" TVR's, i.e. Griffith and Chimaera. I went into it with an open mind. But considering that I do around 80% of my motoring on the continent, and most of it in Germany, where the dealer network is very, very limited, everybody I spoke to told me to go for a TVR with the Rover motor. The reasoning was that most Range Rover and Land Rover dealers would be able to cope - more or less - with the engine, and that the AJP engines where not yet bullet-proof. I needed a big boot - so I went for the Chimaera.
Regds, WalterU
)
quote:2nd attempt - dont know what went wrong first time. Everyone I spoke suggested I would be better off with a Rover-based engine rather than the AJP engines which are not yet 100% bulletproof. Don't forget that I spend 70% of my time on german motorways. There is only one dealer in Germany. Everyone I spoke to suggested that the simpler engine problems could be dealt with by Range Rover dealers. Because I also need a big boot, this left only the Chimaera. Rgds, WalterU
Walter - did you consider a Tuscan?
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff