Transformed my Chimaera

[big_treacle]

By fitting a set of Nitrons! The car feels fantastic - so much tighter to drive & planted at speed. I have a fairly soft setup right now but looking forward to trying out the adjustments if this nice weather carries on over the weekend.
Highly recommend getting this done if your shocks need replacing.

[jimothy]

big_treacle said:

By fitting a set of Nitrons! The car feels fantastic - so much tighter to drive & planted at speed. I have a fairly soft setup right now but looking forward to trying out the adjustments if this nice weather carries on over the weekend. Highly recommend getting this done if your shocks need replacing.

How much? I'm getting mine looked at cos I think they need replacing and I've heard good things about Nitrons... But not if they're a lot more than standard TVR stuff.

[FlipFlopGriff]

They are about £850 plus fitting but you'll have to pay the fitting whatever.
I think the TVR ones are about £180 each so not much in it.
FFG

[big_treacle]

I think it was just over a grand for parts, then fitting and VAT. I had some other stuff done too so it was one of those slightly steep services. Definitely worth it.
I had to replace the rears to pass the MOT and Nitrons were around 100 quid more than standard. It seemed a shame not to get Nitrons, and to get those it would be even more of a shame to only get the back done and not do the full job. Its quite a soft setup right now so I'm going to investigate differnt settings at the weekend. Most looking forward to seeing what they're like at Castle Combe in June though!

[CraigAlsop]

Good aren't they
So the next things to think about are uprated springs & poly-bushes - because the nitrons are so good, you can actually get a better ride than standard, despite it being stiffer.
Did you get the car corner-weighted? I found that this helped quite a bit to give neutral handling under braking & cornering.

[big_treacle]

CraigAlsop said:

Good aren't they So the next things to think about are uprated springs & poly-bushes - because the nitrons are so good, you can actually get a better ride than standard, despite it being stiffer. Did you get the car corner-weighted? I found that this helped quite a bit to give neutral handling under braking & cornering.

Yep, got the car corner weighted and had uprated springs fitted too. Not sure about bushes tho. No mention of them.

[GreenV8S]

Corner weighting is fashionable but I reckon if the spring seat heights are symetrical from side to side it's a waste of time unless you have 1000 lb/in springs and drive on a billiard table, or your chassis is bent. Getting the geometry, right height and damper settings can make a huge difference though.

[CraigAlsop]

GreenV8S said:

Corner weighting is fashionable but I reckon if the spring seat heights are symetrical from side to side it's a waste of time unless you have 1000 lb/in springs and drive on a billiard table, or your chassis is bent.

That's what Noel at V8 Sports told me as well, so initally he didn't corner weight it.
I then found that the car had a slight bias to the right under heavy braking (NB the steering didn't pull at all & didn't feel like a geometry problem), so I asked him if it could be the corner weighting a bit out, as it was the only think that I could think of that fit the symptoms. Noel wasn't convinced, but humoured me by corner-weighting it - voila! the car now feels completely stable.
This was on typical Scottish B roads (definitely not billiard-table smooth, and my chassis isn't bent, as far as I'm aware)

So from my point of view, this another of the various occasions that conventional wisdom has proven incorrect.

[GreenV8S]

I would be interested to know what he found when he corner weighted it. If the spring seats are symetrical from side to side and the corner weights are out then there is something very wrong, either something is bent or the springs are not symmetrical (may mean one spring has sagged). Personally I would be inclined to investigate further before just correcting the corner weights. If the spring seats were out (they don't usually slip but do occasionally) then this could be found with a ruler, no need for the hassle and expense of corner weighting. I corner weight mine once a year just because I've got the kit and want to confirm everything is straight and the springs are all OK, and every year the numbers come out bang on. I also do the basic geometry check twice a year when I swap between summer and winter setup.

[joospeed]

I tell people the same as peter says .. corner weighting pretty much a waste of time. I do it because people expect it, and it sounds good.

Trouble is as soon as you put some fuel in, top up your screenwash, let 1 psi deflate from a tyre, add a passenger, add half a stone at xmas parties from too much cake the corner weighting changes.

anyone who can detect a change from corner weighting is a better driver than me, and *very* in tune with their car to the point that they should really be a test driver for a major manufacturer.

Either that or as peter says you're highlighting another fault on the car..

IMO

[big_treacle]

GreenV8S & Joospeed said:

Lots of interesting things

I guess then that corner weighting is good to ensure that there aren't other problems with knackered or bent parts even if it has no real effect, if everything is good and straight? Or is there usually another better way of figuring that out?

[jimothy]

Seeing as these aren't standard TVR parts, do they affect insurance?

[Steve_T]

I have a fair few mods on mine and the answer is perhaps by + a few %, but not massively no.

[CraigAlsop]

jimothy said:

Seeing as these aren't standard TVR parts, do they affect insurance?

I've always managed to find an insurer that hasn't upped the premium due to all my mods, but you do have to shop around.
Sunninghill are now a good deal again (after giving me a terrible quote last year)

[CraigAlsop]

joospeed said:

anyone who can detect a change from corner weighting is a better driver than me, and *very* in tune with their car to the point that they should really be a test driver for a major manufacturer. Either that or as peter says you're highlighting another fault on the car.. IMO

Well I know various PHers that are better drivers than me, but all I can say is that I could definitely tell the difference before & after, and Noel confirmed to me that the initial weights were different and in the direction I predicted (more on the front right)

I don't think I have any inherent faults in the car - at their last open day, V8 sports & classics asked if they could display my car as an example of their work, as I have had many of the mods that they do - it was up on ramps, wheels off - chassis looks straight and clean (I guess would need a jig to be sure)

[CraigAlsop]

joospeed said:

Trouble is as soon as you put some fuel in, top up your screenwash, let 1 psi deflate from a tyre, add a passenger, add half a stone at xmas parties from too much cake the corner weighting changes.

Sure, and you can tell the difference from them too - at least if you start off with an even balance, then it makes things easier

[GreenV8S]

CraigAlsop said:

Noel confirmed to me that the initial weights were different and in the direction I predicted (more on the front right)

Interesting, how far out were they?

[CraigAlsop]

GreenV8S said:

Interesting, how far out were they?

Dunno - I'll ask him next time I talk to him