Living in the hot seat
Discussion
I'm thinking of buying a Griff 500 for everyday use soon...hopefully 97 onward. I've heard that the cabin can get very warm without Air con. How do you Griff owners find it ? Was it a very expensive and rare option ? And can you get it retro fitted ?
Look forwerd to your advice and comments.
Look forwerd to your advice and comments.
No probs, I commute 80 miles daily on the M1 don't have air con and haven't cooked yet. Air con is apparently quite expensive to retro fit, somewhere around £2K on a Tuscan I seem to remember reading, so I'd guess something around that for a Griff.
I guess thats why the windows wind down!
DC
I guess thats why the windows wind down!
DC
In my humble opinion air-con is a total waste of money. If the model you happen to like has it then its a bonus but dont insist on it or get it retro fitted.
It doesnt really provide anything other than mildly cool air anyway. The only time you get a bit warm is on those dodgy English days where its raining and warm. you cant open windows or roof and it does get sweaty then
Cooling the beast in the engine bay is hard enough without cooling ocupants as well! On a hot day when you pull up to some lights stick your arm out of the drivers window and feel the gush of hot air come up the side of the car - gliders could stay up for hours if they followed TVR thermals
It doesnt really provide anything other than mildly cool air anyway. The only time you get a bit warm is on those dodgy English days where its raining and warm. you cant open windows or roof and it does get sweaty then
Cooling the beast in the engine bay is hard enough without cooling ocupants as well! On a hot day when you pull up to some lights stick your arm out of the drivers window and feel the gush of hot air come up the side of the car - gliders could stay up for hours if they followed TVR thermals
If you think you want it then make sure it's already fitted - £2k seems a lot for the few times you'll use it. I've got it and have to say I don't use it much. I'm very grateful for it when I do though - and it pumps out ice cold air. In fact I normally have to turn it off after a while 'cos I get too cold! Climate control would be nice 
If it's a hot day take the roof off, which is why we have convertibles in the first place. It's called 'Nature's Airconditioning'.
If it's a cold day put the heater on. When the cabin is warm enough, turn the heater off/down. If you can't get it to blow cold enough, close the vents.
You can also experiment with the side windows, which can be moved anywere between fully up and fully down.
Simple really!
If it's a cold day put the heater on. When the cabin is warm enough, turn the heater off/down. If you can't get it to blow cold enough, close the vents.
You can also experiment with the side windows, which can be moved anywere between fully up and fully down.
Simple really!
I am going to be different and say that air con would be high on my list. I've had both with and without. The air con in my Griff works well and is excellent for demisting the car just like that, including the rear and side windows.
It does give some cold air as well which is better than nothing and you can always switch it off.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
It does give some cold air as well which is better than nothing and you can always switch it off.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
SH has a good point - aircon is useful for demisting. Griffs are very prone to misting, though the 500 with extra fans/ventilation is much better than the early ones (at least from my experience). However, regarding retrofitted AC, I would still rather put the fan on and/or wind the windows down a bit than fork out £2K.
Well I have problems actually getting my Griff cabin warm enough. Something wierd has happened and the hot air from the engine seems to somehow miss going into the cabin - very odd. It wasn't like that when I bought it.
Even Thames Racetech have noticed it and can't figure out why. Steve Howard said it was the coldest Griff hes ever driven 
Something wierd has happened and the hot air from the engine seems to somehow miss going into the cabin - very odd. It wasn't like that when I bought it. Even Thames Racetech have noticed it and can't figure out why
. Steve Howard said it was the coldest Griff hes ever driven 
'Something wierd has happened and the hot air from the engine seems to somehow miss going into the cabin'
I recall from ye Bible that there's a flap valve that swivels to change the air coming in from cold to hot - this may be jammed to 'cold'.
As an emergency, you'll find that driving with the clutch fluid reservoir cover removed provides a blast of hot air straight from the manifold into the cabin - completely uncontrollable though and proably not advisable, as if it rained you'd also get a blast of cold water straight from the road into the cabin... ever seen those filmed where the U-boat gets depthcharged... ?
I recall from ye Bible that there's a flap valve that swivels to change the air coming in from cold to hot - this may be jammed to 'cold'.
As an emergency, you'll find that driving with the clutch fluid reservoir cover removed provides a blast of hot air straight from the manifold into the cabin - completely uncontrollable though and proably not advisable, as if it rained you'd also get a blast of cold water straight from the road into the cabin... ever seen those filmed where the U-boat gets depthcharged... ?
i'd go for air-con. mine has it, works well (more later)and i wouldn't have one without it!
i go to europe atleast once a year. and 35 degrees in a griff that done 300 miles is an exteme case...but the cote d'azur would not have been the same without aircon. also they heat up very quickly without airflow (posing at 10-30mph) and you need to counter act the backdraft from the fans!
it is necesary in the uk too. more often than you'd think. especially around town. on the move no probs.
also demist (see shpub)
ALSO you are buying a luxury!! Any car without aircon in 3 years will be considered prehistoric! even astra / escorts ( sorry focus') have it and to compete with the german shopping trolleys on the 2nd hand circuit (TT / Z3) your car should have aircon IMHO. would you spend £15k upward on ANY other car without A/C?
top spec cars only cost a few hundred pounds over a base car at the moment (if at all) but are a bit harder to find...NOT impossible. so i'd definately find one. waited 6 months to find mine...then joined TVRCC and found it 30 miles away!! (while your at it, get PAS and FULL leather)
with the limited additional cost when purchasing, it is not currently worth upgrading (about £2k) as ya won't get it back! i asked when buying as i fell in love with a base 500 in ocean haze - gorgeous!)
if you do... replace the stone guard (HA HA) with something more substancial! the wire mesh they put on is laughable and a condensor (air con rad) costs £400
-500! it did save my radiator though !
i go to europe atleast once a year. and 35 degrees in a griff that done 300 miles is an exteme case...but the cote d'azur would not have been the same without aircon. also they heat up very quickly without airflow (posing at 10-30mph) and you need to counter act the backdraft from the fans!
it is necesary in the uk too. more often than you'd think. especially around town. on the move no probs.
also demist (see shpub)
ALSO you are buying a luxury!! Any car without aircon in 3 years will be considered prehistoric! even astra / escorts ( sorry focus') have it and to compete with the german shopping trolleys on the 2nd hand circuit (TT / Z3) your car should have aircon IMHO. would you spend £15k upward on ANY other car without A/C?
top spec cars only cost a few hundred pounds over a base car at the moment (if at all) but are a bit harder to find...NOT impossible. so i'd definately find one. waited 6 months to find mine...then joined TVRCC and found it 30 miles away!! (while your at it, get PAS and FULL leather)
with the limited additional cost when purchasing, it is not currently worth upgrading (about £2k) as ya won't get it back! i asked when buying as i fell in love with a base 500 in ocean haze - gorgeous!)
if you do... replace the stone guard (HA HA) with something more substancial! the wire mesh they put on is laughable and a condensor (air con rad) costs £400
-500! it did save my radiator though !
i'd go for air-con. mine has it, works well (more later)and i wouldn't have one without it!
i go to europe atleast once a year. and 35 degrees in a griff that done 300 miles is an exteme case...but the cote d'azur would not have been the same without aircon. also they heat up very quickly without airflow (posing at 10-30mph) and you need to counter act the backdraft from the fans!
it is necesary in the uk too. more often than you'd think. especially around town. on the move no probs.
also demist (see shpub)
ALSO you are buying a luxury!! Any car without aircon in 3 years will be considered prehistoric! even astra / escorts ( sorry focus') have it and to compete with the german shopping trolleys on the 2nd hand circuit (TT / Z3) your car should have aircon IMHO. would you spend £15k upward on ANY other car without A/C?
top spec cars only cost a few hundred pounds over a base car at the moment (if at all) but are a bit harder to find...NOT impossible. so i'd definately find one. waited 6 months to find mine...then joined TVRCC and found it 30 miles away!! (while your at it, get PAS and FULL leather)
with the limited additional cost when purchasing, it is not currently worth upgrading (about £2k) as ya won't get it back! i asked when buying as i fell in love with a base 500 in ocean haze - gorgeous!)
if you do... replace the stone guard (HA HA) with something more substancial! the wire mesh they put on is laughable and a condensor (air con rad) costs £400
-500! it did save my radiator though !
i go to europe atleast once a year. and 35 degrees in a griff that done 300 miles is an exteme case...but the cote d'azur would not have been the same without aircon. also they heat up very quickly without airflow (posing at 10-30mph) and you need to counter act the backdraft from the fans!
it is necesary in the uk too. more often than you'd think. especially around town. on the move no probs.
also demist (see shpub)
ALSO you are buying a luxury!! Any car without aircon in 3 years will be considered prehistoric! even astra / escorts ( sorry focus') have it and to compete with the german shopping trolleys on the 2nd hand circuit (TT / Z3) your car should have aircon IMHO. would you spend £15k upward on ANY other car without A/C?
top spec cars only cost a few hundred pounds over a base car at the moment (if at all) but are a bit harder to find...NOT impossible. so i'd definately find one. waited 6 months to find mine...then joined TVRCC and found it 30 miles away!! (while your at it, get PAS and FULL leather)
with the limited additional cost when purchasing, it is not currently worth upgrading (about £2k) as ya won't get it back! i asked when buying as i fell in love with a base 500 in ocean haze - gorgeous!)
if you do... replace the stone guard (HA HA) with something more substancial! the wire mesh they put on is laughable and a condensor (air con rad) costs £400
-500! it did save my radiator though !
Thanks you lot. I found the bit about winding the windows down particularly useful. Interesting differences of opinion though...to A/C or not to A/C... spose it boils down to wether I can find one at the right price WITH it...and if I can't, well, tuff.
By the way how different is the 500...just a bit ? Or worth the extra ?
By the way how different is the 500...just a bit ? Or worth the extra ?
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