New owner- 1k miles in
Discussion
Hi all!
After owning a Honda S2000 for 4 years and spending about the value of the vehicle again in chassis modifications and under-bonnet sparkles, the crank shaft bearing went.
One complex bit of man maths later, plus the discounting of a 911 or M3 and I found myself looking for a Chimaera.
I wanted a facelift 500 in blue.
Naturally, I ended up with a pre-facelift. In Red. With a v8d stage II 4.6, new clutch, new hood, new wheels and tyres, great chassis, new wishbones and newly connolised interior.
I intended not to modify it in any way.
I failed.
Before collection, I added Nitrons and Goodridge hoses to the mix.
Well I've done my 1000 miles of running in, and it's had it's first oil change.
The car is weekends and track days.
Thoughts so far:
I love the torques, and the pull.
I love the noise.
I love the reception it gets from other people.
I don't like the seats at all, so I'm looking for some Cerbera seats to put in. Plus the passenger seat needs to be raised slightly as my girlfriend has the windscreen wipers right in her eye line!
The handling is going to take some getting used to. I've got some development to do with the geo and damper settings. It currently feels a bit wallowy at low speeds, and only really starts to grip when it's moving along at a rate. I'd possibly like a thicker arb at the front as well.
Bigger front brakes are going to be a requirement, plus I really don't like the feel - they're very wooden!
The power delivery has some funny idiosyncrasies - I'm going to have the 14cux mapped to suit the engine as best as possible in the short term, and look at Emerald in the longer term.
The lights are a lot better than I had expected..!.. But the reflectors on mine are looking pretty tarnished now.
It's a very different prospect to the s2k - it's definitely quicker..as it should be with a dollop of extra power and a 200kg weight saving. However it doesn't feel anything like as direct, or point and shoot.
I'm going to need to heat-proof the centre tunnel at some point, it gets waaayy too hot in the cabin for my liking!
No idea what mpg I'm getting, don't want to know and currently don't care.
Other than that, not a lot else to say at the moment! Lots of things floating around in my head and already a few changes I'd like to make but I'm going to try to play the long game for now!
Also need to get hold of a copy of the bible, and join tvrcc.
Track days once I'm happy it's fully run in!
Rgds
Keith
After owning a Honda S2000 for 4 years and spending about the value of the vehicle again in chassis modifications and under-bonnet sparkles, the crank shaft bearing went.
One complex bit of man maths later, plus the discounting of a 911 or M3 and I found myself looking for a Chimaera.
I wanted a facelift 500 in blue.
Naturally, I ended up with a pre-facelift. In Red. With a v8d stage II 4.6, new clutch, new hood, new wheels and tyres, great chassis, new wishbones and newly connolised interior.
I intended not to modify it in any way.
I failed.
Before collection, I added Nitrons and Goodridge hoses to the mix.
Well I've done my 1000 miles of running in, and it's had it's first oil change.
The car is weekends and track days.
Thoughts so far:
I love the torques, and the pull.
I love the noise.
I love the reception it gets from other people.
I don't like the seats at all, so I'm looking for some Cerbera seats to put in. Plus the passenger seat needs to be raised slightly as my girlfriend has the windscreen wipers right in her eye line!
The handling is going to take some getting used to. I've got some development to do with the geo and damper settings. It currently feels a bit wallowy at low speeds, and only really starts to grip when it's moving along at a rate. I'd possibly like a thicker arb at the front as well.
Bigger front brakes are going to be a requirement, plus I really don't like the feel - they're very wooden!
The power delivery has some funny idiosyncrasies - I'm going to have the 14cux mapped to suit the engine as best as possible in the short term, and look at Emerald in the longer term.
The lights are a lot better than I had expected..!.. But the reflectors on mine are looking pretty tarnished now.
It's a very different prospect to the s2k - it's definitely quicker..as it should be with a dollop of extra power and a 200kg weight saving. However it doesn't feel anything like as direct, or point and shoot.
I'm going to need to heat-proof the centre tunnel at some point, it gets waaayy too hot in the cabin for my liking!
No idea what mpg I'm getting, don't want to know and currently don't care.
Other than that, not a lot else to say at the moment! Lots of things floating around in my head and already a few changes I'd like to make but I'm going to try to play the long game for now!
Also need to get hold of a copy of the bible, and join tvrcc.
Track days once I'm happy it's fully run in!
Rgds
Keith
Edited by keith2.2 on Sunday 28th July 07:43
Ha it will be in due course. It's 2.2 from when I put a h22 prelude engine into my stripped out civic. The folly of youth!
I've now amended all of the auto-corrects so the first post makes sense!
Think I've summed up the handling; there's no way I could keep up with my old s2000 around track, and the tvr currently wouldn't give me the confidence to try.
Something that did make me laugh, however. I went out for a spin with my friend in his s1 Elise. We pulled over at the side of the road and the conversation went..
Voice comes from the Elise..
"Mate...what revs did you say you were using?"
"Max of 3.5k while I'm running in"
"[crikey], I'm flat in 2nd and 3rd and you're pulling away! That thing is going to be quick!"
So a couple of pics;
Shiny shiny:
Nice and solid;
And finally one of the actual car! The rear has been raised since this shot was taken!
I've now amended all of the auto-corrects so the first post makes sense!
Think I've summed up the handling; there's no way I could keep up with my old s2000 around track, and the tvr currently wouldn't give me the confidence to try.
Something that did make me laugh, however. I went out for a spin with my friend in his s1 Elise. We pulled over at the side of the road and the conversation went..
Voice comes from the Elise..
"Mate...what revs did you say you were using?"
"Max of 3.5k while I'm running in"
"[crikey], I'm flat in 2nd and 3rd and you're pulling away! That thing is going to be quick!"
So a couple of pics;
Shiny shiny:
Nice and solid;
And finally one of the actual car! The rear has been raised since this shot was taken!
Nice! 
There's a couple of nice looking red 500s in the classifieds at the moment, but they are both about £15k. I can't decide whether or not that's too much to spend, as a big part of the appeal of the Chim is its VFM. However, if I buy the best possible example, I'm not going to feel like I've compromised. I'm tempted to buy something for not much more than half that price, but the worry I'll spend loads on it (as you do) then still wish I'd started with a newer, nicer, bigger engined car. I bet that V8 D engine is fab!
There's a couple of nice looking red 500s in the classifieds at the moment, but they are both about £15k. I can't decide whether or not that's too much to spend, as a big part of the appeal of the Chim is its VFM. However, if I buy the best possible example, I'm not going to feel like I've compromised. I'm tempted to buy something for not much more than half that price, but the worry I'll spend loads on it (as you do) then still wish I'd started with a newer, nicer, bigger engined car. I bet that V8 D engine is fab!Edited by slippery on Sunday 28th July 08:55
I ended up spending "rather a lot" more than I was originally planning to - but it feels like the sort of car where it's really important to buy the right one and I'm really glad I went for the one I've got.
The v8d engine - it feels like there's quite a lot of potential to be had from intake, mapping etc. even so, it's fair to say it doesn't hang about...
The v8d engine - it feels like there's quite a lot of potential to be had from intake, mapping etc. even so, it's fair to say it doesn't hang about...
keith2.2 said:
I ended up spending "rather a lot" more than I was originally planning to - but it feels like the sort of car where it's really important to buy the right one and I'm really glad I went for the one I've got.
The v8d engine - it feels like there's quite a lot of potential to be had from intake, mapping etc. even so, it's fair to say it doesn't hang about...
I had my engine built by V8D in 2011, much modifications which are still ongoing, including induction, outline spec is in my profile The v8d engine - it feels like there's quite a lot of potential to be had from intake, mapping etc. even so, it's fair to say it doesn't hang about...
Yes I live in Hertford - I couldn't believe my luck when I started looking into where my nearest specialist was!
Happy to show you around it sometime!
Just driven back from Lincolnshire - it's bloody exhausting! I was expecting it to be a relatively effortless distance machine but there's just so much going on I found it physically hard work?!
Happy to show you around it sometime!
Just driven back from Lincolnshire - it's bloody exhausting! I was expecting it to be a relatively effortless distance machine but there's just so much going on I found it physically hard work?!
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