am I missing something?
Discussion
hello there, new to Pistonheads and new to TVR's so this seemed a good place to start! I've just been presented with a '98 R-reg Chimaera after having previously owned a Lotus Exige.
apparently I'm a heathen for not thinking much of the Chimaera!
I find the handling appalling and the whole feel of the car sluggish and flat. In fact, after having owned the car for just two weeks, it's already been wheeled back to the garage from where it came owing to the main fuse box requiring replacement due to corrosion and two leaking rear dampers.
The build quality is questionable to say the least and not at all what I would have expected from a manufacturer with such a renowned name as TVR.
I do want to give the Chimaera a chance, but I'm finding it a little hard to give it the time of day after all the trouble I've had from it!
Is anyone else here new to this model, and what do you think of them?
apparently I'm a heathen for not thinking much of the Chimaera!
I find the handling appalling and the whole feel of the car sluggish and flat. In fact, after having owned the car for just two weeks, it's already been wheeled back to the garage from where it came owing to the main fuse box requiring replacement due to corrosion and two leaking rear dampers.
The build quality is questionable to say the least and not at all what I would have expected from a manufacturer with such a renowned name as TVR.
I do want to give the Chimaera a chance, but I'm finding it a little hard to give it the time of day after all the trouble I've had from it!
Is anyone else here new to this model, and what do you think of them?
Well if the dampers are leaking that will have an effect on the handling.
Of course the build quality is questionable, it's hand built in some sheds in Blackpool.
You've come from an Exige it's bound to feel different - give it time.
The sluggishness may just be the car needs a bit of TLC.
I'm sure you made the right decision the Exige is a great looking car (quite fancy one myself) but it ain't no classic, and do we need to start comparing soundtracks?
Of course the build quality is questionable, it's hand built in some sheds in Blackpool.
You've come from an Exige it's bound to feel different - give it time.
The sluggishness may just be the car needs a bit of TLC.
I'm sure you made the right decision the Exige is a great looking car (quite fancy one myself) but it ain't no classic, and do we need to start comparing soundtracks?
I wish I'd been presented with mine. I'll be paying for it for some time yet, but there's nothing I'd rather part with the money for.
Lotus Exige is a fine lively modern British sportscar, so not much is going to top that. It would be faster on track than most TVR's, it gains that through the corners by compromising on comfort though.
Your Chimaera is a different type of car and it will have cost a lot less. It has a look, sound, acceleration, boot, stereo, interior comfort level a lot better than the Exige and the roof comes off. Most of these are down to personal taste though, and if the V8 power and sound doesn't exite you, you're not fussed about the look of leather and wallnut, and you prefer the more modern look of the Exige, then you should have kept the Exige.
The ride is stiff, but you'd be used to that from the Lotus. There's a particularly bumpy road near my house that I hate in the TVR, but on the track it's a blast. If the shocks were leaking how did the handling compare afterwards and how are the fronts?
I'm guessing you have a 4 litre that perhaps needs a tune, but flat, no, not even an old 4litre should be flat if it's OK. If you can't swap ends with too much throttle there's something wrong with it.
It will feel more cumbersome than the Lotus in everyday driving and perhaps you will need time to adjust to feel more comfortable in it. Give it a chance on that score and keep the revs above 2,000 to avoid getting bogged down in higher gears.
Lotus drivers tend to love their cars and TVR drivers tend to love their cars. You've presented a stiff contender and not the best time of year to have made the switch. Time will tell whether the TVR pushes more of your buttons than the Lotus.
Lotus Exige is a fine lively modern British sportscar, so not much is going to top that. It would be faster on track than most TVR's, it gains that through the corners by compromising on comfort though.
Your Chimaera is a different type of car and it will have cost a lot less. It has a look, sound, acceleration, boot, stereo, interior comfort level a lot better than the Exige and the roof comes off. Most of these are down to personal taste though, and if the V8 power and sound doesn't exite you, you're not fussed about the look of leather and wallnut, and you prefer the more modern look of the Exige, then you should have kept the Exige.
The ride is stiff, but you'd be used to that from the Lotus. There's a particularly bumpy road near my house that I hate in the TVR, but on the track it's a blast. If the shocks were leaking how did the handling compare afterwards and how are the fronts?
I'm guessing you have a 4 litre that perhaps needs a tune, but flat, no, not even an old 4litre should be flat if it's OK. If you can't swap ends with too much throttle there's something wrong with it.
It will feel more cumbersome than the Lotus in everyday driving and perhaps you will need time to adjust to feel more comfortable in it. Give it a chance on that score and keep the revs above 2,000 to avoid getting bogged down in higher gears.
Lotus drivers tend to love their cars and TVR drivers tend to love their cars. You've presented a stiff contender and not the best time of year to have made the switch. Time will tell whether the TVR pushes more of your buttons than the Lotus.
Georgia said:That'll be me then! Not that I'll be all that useful as I've only driven a 1.2 Clio on a regular basis before, but you did ask
Is anyone else here new to this model...
.Georgia said:Erm... where do I begin?
...what do you think of them?
Well I had been thinking about an Elise/VX220, but I can get luggage in the Chim. I never got round to driving either of the others so it's a tad hard to compare the driving experience. That said the noise is... erm... I'm a bit lost for words, but fantastic will do for now.
Other than that wrinkly has summed it up pretty well.
Well if I had a car like the one you describe, I would be very unhappy. My car is completly nothing like the car you describe, so I suggest you swap it for one like mine which is a TVR Chimaera, completely the opposite of whatever you have
>> Edited by greeny on Wednesday 5th November 22:58
Sorry, please excuse the late night sarcasm! Sounds like yours needs to be sorted, yours is not the usual response to new ownership.
>> Edited by greeny on Wednesday 5th November 23:10
>> Edited by greeny on Wednesday 5th November 22:58
Sorry, please excuse the late night sarcasm! Sounds like yours needs to be sorted, yours is not the usual response to new ownership.
>> Edited by greeny on Wednesday 5th November 23:10
Suspension, while not quite in the Lotus league should be pretty good, although softer - for under a grand, you can make it better with some adjustable shocks. Some 4.0 Chims I have been in weren't that quick - suggest you take it down to Mark Adams to get it tuned - if you have a good one, it should be a *lot* quicker in a straight line than the Exige. It should also have less wayward handling than an Exige, with it less likely to swap ends if you back off in a corner, although this is only a matter of degree
Oh, and you also get a boot that doesn't toast your luggage & you can fit a whole Exige in it
Oh, and you also get a boot that doesn't toast your luggage & you can fit a whole Exige in it
Hmm, is this a wind-up?
I seriously thought about an Exige rather than a Chimaera, but having had two MkI Elises I thought that it would be too similar, and I really wanted a different experience.
From a personal perspective, the difference between the Elise and Chimaera are huge, I can only guess that the differences would be even greater with an Exige. Having said that the two, supposedly identical, Elises I had at one time, were poles apart in terms of handling characteristics. One was fantastic, inspiring confidence when driving it just asking to be driven hard, whilst the other was just good. Going to show that even examples of the same model can be completely different.
There is no doubt that the Elise handelled far better than my TVR, even the 'bad' one. However as a GT the TVR is far better. The Lotus would run out of puff very quickly whereas the TVR will see the very naughty side of 150 effortlesly.
In the Elise I would go out of my way find the country lanes and B roads to get that 'buzz' from pushing it round a corner, hoping not to find damp leaves on the apex and an Esprit coming in the opposite direction, but that's another story.
Whereas the TVR excells on the main roads, illustrated beautifully last weekend on a 320 mile round trip to Market Harborough. The new stretch of the A6 was just glorious, even in the rain.
If you bought the Chimaera as a replacement for the TVR them I'm not suprised you're dissapointed, they are totally different beasts, with their individual merits.
Oh and here's a photo of one of my old Elises, not too shabby as a company car, and we had three at one point, all in racing livery:
Tim
PS: If you now own PLM, sorry but it was caned and I only blew it up once - honest!
>> Edited by TT Tim on Thursday 6th November 08:16
I seriously thought about an Exige rather than a Chimaera, but having had two MkI Elises I thought that it would be too similar, and I really wanted a different experience.
From a personal perspective, the difference between the Elise and Chimaera are huge, I can only guess that the differences would be even greater with an Exige. Having said that the two, supposedly identical, Elises I had at one time, were poles apart in terms of handling characteristics. One was fantastic, inspiring confidence when driving it just asking to be driven hard, whilst the other was just good. Going to show that even examples of the same model can be completely different.
There is no doubt that the Elise handelled far better than my TVR, even the 'bad' one. However as a GT the TVR is far better. The Lotus would run out of puff very quickly whereas the TVR will see the very naughty side of 150 effortlesly.
In the Elise I would go out of my way find the country lanes and B roads to get that 'buzz' from pushing it round a corner, hoping not to find damp leaves on the apex and an Esprit coming in the opposite direction, but that's another story.
Whereas the TVR excells on the main roads, illustrated beautifully last weekend on a 320 mile round trip to Market Harborough. The new stretch of the A6 was just glorious, even in the rain.
If you bought the Chimaera as a replacement for the TVR them I'm not suprised you're dissapointed, they are totally different beasts, with their individual merits.
Oh and here's a photo of one of my old Elises, not too shabby as a company car, and we had three at one point, all in racing livery
: Tim
PS: If you now own PLM, sorry but it was caned and I only blew it up once - honest!
>> Edited by TT Tim on Thursday 6th November 08:16
This has GOT to be a wind up. How do you get 'presented' with a Chimaera?
You must have test drove it before you were 'presented' with it?
Or was that on Gran Turisimo?
This is your first post and you have recently joined PH, you don't give any information AT ALL away on your profile - TROLL!!
I don't know of anyone who has experienced a 'flat' TVR. Or anyone who doesn't appreciate what it is.
Go back to your PS2
You must have test drove it before you were 'presented' with it?
Or was that on Gran Turisimo?
This is your first post and you have recently joined PH, you don't give any information AT ALL away on your profile - TROLL!!
I don't know of anyone who has experienced a 'flat' TVR. Or anyone who doesn't appreciate what it is.
Go back to your PS2
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff