4l 4lHC 4.5 5.0 5.0HC ?!?
Discussion
Hi lads (and ladies?) - My first post 
I'm yet another tvr owner soon to be, with any luck.
I'm currently searching around for a reasonably cheap chimaera as my first TVR after having wanted one for... well ages really.
There seem to be so many engine variations around and little consistancy with performance figures. I'm looking at 4l chimaeras but worried that I won't get blown away by the performance. People seem to think they actually only pull 210-220 bhp and reading that has made me worried that after all this lusting over TVRs, as soon as I get one I'll want a 5l or something because the 4l isn't all that much quicker than my current car (170bhp lil hatchback)
I know the V8 grunt makes the most of that 220 brake but how fast are all these engine variations?!? Help!
As far as I can see there is little price to buy or price to insure difference between the 4l and 5l versions so why do people get the 4?
In the end I'm not buying it for the performance, more for the sound and looks. Having said that, I'd hate for the performance to be the one thing that lets it down?!
Anyone have any thoughts?
I'm yet another tvr owner soon to be, with any luck.
I'm currently searching around for a reasonably cheap chimaera as my first TVR after having wanted one for... well ages really.
There seem to be so many engine variations around and little consistancy with performance figures. I'm looking at 4l chimaeras but worried that I won't get blown away by the performance. People seem to think they actually only pull 210-220 bhp and reading that has made me worried that after all this lusting over TVRs, as soon as I get one I'll want a 5l or something because the 4l isn't all that much quicker than my current car (170bhp lil hatchback)
I know the V8 grunt makes the most of that 220 brake but how fast are all these engine variations?!? Help!
As far as I can see there is little price to buy or price to insure difference between the 4l and 5l versions so why do people get the 4?
In the end I'm not buying it for the performance, more for the sound and looks. Having said that, I'd hate for the performance to be the one thing that lets it down?!
Anyone have any thoughts?
Whatever the HP they actually produce, they still meet the performance claims. Which would you prefer?
You can get any of these engines tuned to be much closer to TVRs quoted figures, meaning even better performance and a smoother ride with better power delivery.
I say go for the colour/condition you want unless you're an absolute speed junkie. Naturally a 5.0 is fastest etc. and I would choose one if 2 cars in my chosen colour/trim/condition were available. But in real world driving I have always found the 4.0L to be easier to drive fast in the wet/on bumpy roads. The 5.0 may be faster, but you'll have sweatier palms.
(I have no vested interest in any model having sold mine and I'm now looking at T350s (oops, maybe I AM a speed junkie after all).)
You can get any of these engines tuned to be much closer to TVRs quoted figures, meaning even better performance and a smoother ride with better power delivery.
I say go for the colour/condition you want unless you're an absolute speed junkie. Naturally a 5.0 is fastest etc. and I would choose one if 2 cars in my chosen colour/trim/condition were available. But in real world driving I have always found the 4.0L to be easier to drive fast in the wet/on bumpy roads. The 5.0 may be faster, but you'll have sweatier palms.
(I have no vested interest in any model having sold mine and I'm now looking at T350s (oops, maybe I AM a speed junkie after all).)
Take a look at this post from the FAQ's, it might answer some of your questions.
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?p=2&f=8&t=31149&h=0
God luck with your hunt!
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?p=2&f=8&t=31149&h=0
God luck with your hunt!
sorry to pick on a newbie but it does get dull reading the amount of these posts. "Ive got a fast sports/hatch at the moment and feel the performance of a 4 litre isnt going to be enough"
My answer, go and drive one and see how you get on. These cars weigh sweet FA. Its also a 4 litre lump producing low bhp, so the torque is massive. If you havent driven one yet, what are you basing your assumptions on, a bhp figure?? Book a test drive of a 4 litre, it aint hard.
My second car is a Rover 620Ti which makes 205bhp. Its hopelessly slow compared to the TVR, and yet on paper its still good for 150mph and 60 in 7 seconds dead.
As a quick guide, have a play with this....
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?p=5&f=13&t=83353&h=0&hw=quarter+mile+simulator
the 4 litre chim may surprise you, even with only 240bhp
>> Edited by shnozz on Tuesday 6th April 13:08
My answer, go and drive one and see how you get on. These cars weigh sweet FA. Its also a 4 litre lump producing low bhp, so the torque is massive. If you havent driven one yet, what are you basing your assumptions on, a bhp figure?? Book a test drive of a 4 litre, it aint hard.
My second car is a Rover 620Ti which makes 205bhp. Its hopelessly slow compared to the TVR, and yet on paper its still good for 150mph and 60 in 7 seconds dead.
As a quick guide, have a play with this....
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?p=5&f=13&t=83353&h=0&hw=quarter+mile+simulator
the 4 litre chim may surprise you, even with only 240bhp
>> Edited by shnozz on Tuesday 6th April 13:08
When we bought ours, we went purely on condition, except for it having to have PAS..... look at lots of them, and buy on condition.... get the newest you can afford, and be happy with whatever engine is in the one you buy. For all day to day driving the 4 litre cars are plenty quick enough (I would say that, mine is a 4 litre HC).... the 4 litre cars will easily keep up with 90% of anything you will come across (if that's your thing) and are (aparently) less "fussy" around town.... and you'll only really notice the difference when/if you go trackside with 5 litre cars, or if you try to keep up with a Cerb as it disapears out of the 40 limit into a NSL in front of you (
Crazycats)
Crazycats)
Cheers lads. That's exaclty the sort of thing I was hoping to hear...
Shnozz - I'm sure you were in a similar position at some point in your life... 20 grand is a lot of money to spend. I'd be crazy not to worry a little
Mind you, I still can't figure out why the 4l HC is more expensive to insurance than a 5l. Wierd.
All the ones with decent interiors I've seen so far have been 4s anyways.
Ta again lads
Shnozz - I'm sure you were in a similar position at some point in your life... 20 grand is a lot of money to spend. I'd be crazy not to worry a little
Mind you, I still can't figure out why the 4l HC is more expensive to insurance than a 5l. Wierd.
All the ones with decent interiors I've seen so far have been 4s anyways.
Ta again lads
Rigs said:
Cheers lads. That's exaclty the sort of thing I was hoping to hear...
Shnozz - I'm sure you were in a similar position at some point in your life... 20 grand is a lot of money to spend. I'd be crazy not to worry a little
Mind you, I still can't figure out why the 4l HC is more expensive to insurance than a 5l. Wierd.
All the ones with decent interiors I've seen so far have been 4s anyways.
Ta again lads
20 grand?? I take it you're looking at the newer ones then? There's a 4.0 in the classifieds for <10k which I think would make a really nice first TVR. For 20k you should be able to have your choice of models though (my first TVR was a 5.0 RV8 which I bought because I'm the sort of person who wouldn't be satisifed with a 4.0).
Rigs said:
Cheers lads. That's exaclty the sort of thing I was hoping to hear...
Shnozz - I'm sure you were in a similar position at some point in your life... 20 grand is a lot of money to spend. I'd be crazy not to worry a little
Mind you, I still can't figure out why the 4l HC is more expensive to insurance than a 5l. Wierd.
All the ones with decent interiors I've seen so far have been 4s anyways.
Ta again lads
yes, you are quite right. Once again I apologise for the slightly arsey reply but I have seen similar threads appear on a very frequent basis prior to test drives. The reality of it is that no one can tell you anything on here that you cant experience for yourself. If you drive them all then you can then decide. For some, such as me, the 4 litre was plenty and the chassis and brakes dont always cope with that power well enough IMHO. For others, they want the ultimate nutter mobile that will rip your head off and shove it down your neck. Horses for courses. But dont just base it on bhp figures, they mean jack. These cars do not compare in the slightest to your 170bhp hot hatch, unless its a 170bhp caterham or the like.
You might want to get down WH Smith and pick up "Classic cars for sale" which features the chimaera this month. Very nice pictures of a certain green one too (ahem, its mine
). As it states in there.... "the 4.0 litre is the most useable and quite frankly offers more than adequate performance demonstrated by the 1992 Performance Car figures: 155mph 0 - 100 in 11.1 seconds and 50 - 70 mph in top gear just 5.8 seconds. Say no more!"
Indeed, neither do i
the "4.0HC is more to insure than a 5.0" quote is interesting.... which insurer said that?? When I got quotes for ours, they didn't care which engine size it was, and said quotes would be within a few quid of each other..... indeed when we actually purchased and found out we had bought a HC, the policy didn't change, but, of course, they like to know these things, and it's always best to tell them!
HarryW said:
Because you can 
Precisely - have you ever pulled away in third and taken it to (cough) an indicated 80 or so - just because you can?
Anyway, back to our newbie - welcome aboard
- there's a good search facility on the forums, and useful reviews and faqs, which will help whet your appetite even more. I reckon that you needn't worry too much about relative performance unless you're going to take it to a track and race it all the time. For a road car, you're better off finding the example you like for your money. Perhaps put some budget aside and, whatever you get, wheel it round to a specialist for a rolling road session and a Mark Adams chip if you want to get the top performance.
Good luck.
PS has anybody mentioned Big Al's car yet.........
....just a thought!
N17 TVR said:
arent all the 5.0 litre V8's HC variants ?
Yes, all 5 litres are HC's.
Whilst we all agree on here that the performance of all engine variants is stunning, I should point out that there have been a number of threads on here along the lines of:-
"What is the most cost effective way of improving the performance of my 4.0litre?" to which the reply is "Trade it in for a 5.0litre".
If you fall into the 'you can never have enough power' camp, and are planning to, or can envisage spending cash improving engine performance, then you might as well start 'The Big One' if you can find a decent example. Just ensure that you don't kill yourself!
Please note, this posting was written solely for the purpose of boosting the resale value of my 5.0litre (not that I can ever see myself selling).
I hate to disagree with my esteemed fellow PHers, but when I hopped out of my 200bhp / 190lb ft 1240kg Corrado VR6 into a Chimaera 400 for a test drive, I found it to be extremely disappointing. I wanted a jump in performance of an order of magnitude, but didn't find it.
I then test drove a Chimaera 500 and found what I was looking for.
However, at the end of the day I would say that you should test drive plenty of cars and go with what you like. The 500 is a bit of an animal, especially in the wet, even more so in the wet with tyres that are down to 3mm or so, and the 400 is undoubtedly easier to drive. So go with what pushes your buttons.
I then test drove a Chimaera 500 and found what I was looking for.
However, at the end of the day I would say that you should test drive plenty of cars and go with what you like. The 500 is a bit of an animal, especially in the wet, even more so in the wet with tyres that are down to 3mm or so, and the 400 is undoubtedly easier to drive. So go with what pushes your buttons.
Still maintain there are good and bad examples in all engine sizes. The rule, drive as many as you can and buy the best you can afford in the best spec/condition is the main overrider.
Yes the 5 is the big boy, then again there are plenty of 5's out there that don't perform as well, you may well be surprised.
Try em all I say
, however if you think there is the slightest chance you are ever going to upgrade it then the 5 is posssibly a better starting point.
Then again a very well sorted early pre-cat 4 or 4.3 not only goes as well as 9/10 5's out there they sound 10 times better IMHO. Horses for courses, blah blah...........
Harry
Yes the 5 is the big boy, then again there are plenty of 5's out there that don't perform as well, you may well be surprised. Try em all I say
, however if you think there is the slightest chance you are ever going to upgrade it then the 5 is posssibly a better starting point. Then again a very well sorted early pre-cat 4 or 4.3 not only goes as well as 9/10 5's out there they sound 10 times better IMHO. Horses for courses, blah blah........... Harry
I agree with schnozz. My previous car was a Rover 620Ti as well, with good paper figures regarding performance... however a top power front wheel drive car can't match the Chim. Think about the weight penalty and the joy of not having your front wheels delivering both power and steering. Get the Tiv and trust me, you'll never look back.
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