Obsessed with power? Slightly contentious!
Discussion
Hi, seeing a thread for engine mods get 5 million hits in a few hours, are we too obsessed with power in car that already does 0 to 60 in 4.5 secs?? Should we be more interested in handling? The Griff does not match power with handling, nearly everyone complains about tramlining, etc (incl me), yet there appears to be no real solution? I recon my Ford Galaxy would beat the Griff cross country, as I can do a ton over any surface and not panick about going in the ditch!
Am I odd? Or all of us?
Nic
(expecting a roasting!)
Am I odd? Or all of us?
Nic
(expecting a roasting!)
Nic,
Brave post…. Not odd at all...Funnily enough I was talking to a couple of mates about this last weekend: We were all at lemons together this year in a variety of cars from current porkers to a 1970 lotus: On paper my Griff is probably the quickest of the bunch but in practice as soon as we got off the auto route I was well down the pecking order. Cornering is a different kettle of fish: I’m no slouch but simply had to accept that I didn’t have a hope on the bendy bits…. I’m no pro racing driver but neither were the others…. I think next winters project will be handling rather than horsepower then perhaps back to horsepower later
..
M
Brave post…. Not odd at all...Funnily enough I was talking to a couple of mates about this last weekend: We were all at lemons together this year in a variety of cars from current porkers to a 1970 lotus: On paper my Griff is probably the quickest of the bunch but in practice as soon as we got off the auto route I was well down the pecking order. Cornering is a different kettle of fish: I’m no slouch but simply had to accept that I didn’t have a hope on the bendy bits…. I’m no pro racing driver but neither were the others…. I think next winters project will be handling rather than horsepower then perhaps back to horsepower later
.. M
How could you have missed all the threads on dampers, spring rates, geometry, roll bar drop links, tyres, tyre pressures, wheels etc. etc.? I guess there are just as many on the topic of handling as there are on power, well, nearly anyway. I agree though - get the handling sorted first - they are fabulous cars that canm handle realy well (despite what some say) 
Power is always nice to have,and a griff will easily cope with plenty more.I would never want an undriveable 700+bhp car of any kind,but your not realistically going to achieve this anyway.Part of the fun in improving performance is seeing what mods make the best improvements,and there are so many permutations it's always an interesting subject.
As far as the handling goes,i think a lot of us dont realise just what the Griff is capable of.Sure its no Elise,but having been driven around Spa in a completely standard Griff,by someone who knew just how to drive it,i was really impressed with just what a standard car can do in this respect.The car will never corner that flat,and to me this was always what felt unnerving,but it continues to grip much further beyond flat than i thought possible,we just dont find these limits on the road,obviously.
As far as the handling goes,i think a lot of us dont realise just what the Griff is capable of.Sure its no Elise,but having been driven around Spa in a completely standard Griff,by someone who knew just how to drive it,i was really impressed with just what a standard car can do in this respect.The car will never corner that flat,and to me this was always what felt unnerving,but it continues to grip much further beyond flat than i thought possible,we just dont find these limits on the road,obviously.
All this talk about handling and power, what about the brakes?! seriously though, the Griff needs to be in top fettle to perform well, especially with less sophisticated suspension, ie stock. Personally I found accurate tyre pressures, good geometry and poly bushes made a hell of a difference to mine, brakes were adequate as standard for road use. Aerodynamically it got a little to eager to fly at around 150 apart from that it were great
nicbowman said:
Hi, seeing a thread for engine mods get 5 million hits in a few hours, are we too obsessed with power in car that already does 0 to 60 in 4.5 secs?? Should we be more interested in handling? The Griff does not match power with handling, nearly everyone complains about tramlining, etc (incl me), yet there appears to be no real solution? I recon my Ford Galaxy would beat the Griff cross country, as I can do a ton over any surface and not panick about going in the ditch!
Am I odd? Or all of us?
Nic
(expecting a roasting!)
Am I odd? Or all of us?
Nic
(expecting a roasting!)
you must have missed the many posts about suspension, damper, brake upgrades..
plus geometry checks, tyre pressures, bushes etc.
Now have ohlins (tuned for a griff by tvr center spec) and it now feels totally lean on able and planted on the road.
Don't need any more power myself.
B
Edited by bjwoods on Wednesday 19th July 17:57
Good post Nic... all the replies seem to be along similar lines... extra power without good handling/setup/brakes is of little use. Had the shocks, springs and bushes replaced on my griff and then set up by Steve Guglielmi ... it really has made an enormous difference especially on the twisty stuff!
Having been out with a few 'race' car drivers i know what you mean. I think there is a message here for alot of us.... maybe spend a bit less on the power mods and a bit more on driver training?!
cheers, john
mongoose said:
having been driven around Spa in a completely standard Griff,by someone who knew just how to drive it,i was really impressed with just what a standard car can do in this respect.
Having been out with a few 'race' car drivers i know what you mean. I think there is a message here for alot of us.... maybe spend a bit less on the power mods and a bit more on driver training?!
cheers, john
Hi, my main concern with handling is kick back through the steering and straight line stability when bumpy. But, the normal view from TVR garages is 'that is normal'. I wonder why a car with a basic good suspension set, unequal length wishbones, coil overs, should not be completely fixable. My car has no bump steer (measured), but still kicks back, I wonder if the wheel offset is wrong for the Ford upright? Or somthing else fundamental?
Nic
Nic
redboy said:
Had the shocks, springs and bushes replaced on my griff and then set up by Steve Guglielmi ... it really has made an enormous difference especially on the twisty stuff!
Steve took me around Spa,in my car in the wet,on the same day i was refering to earlier,
,what an amazing guy!
,and a thoroughly nice chap to talk to
mongoose said:
redboy said:
Had the shocks, springs and bushes replaced on my griff and then set up by Steve Guglielmi ... it really has made an enormous difference especially on the twisty stuff!
Steve took me around Spa,in my car in the wet,on the same day i was refering to earlier,,what an amazing guy!,and a thoroughly nice chap to talk to"The driving God"
took me around Snetterton in my car, i never believed it could handle that well. Steve also commented that it was very well set up
and not lacking in power 
nicbowman said:
Hi, my main concern with handling is kick back through the steering and straight line stability when bumpy.
Nic
Nic
Nic... this was one of my main concerns, basically the car did not feel confident on bumpy or uneven country roads. Mine (4.3) was running on the original Koni's and springs, the car is now transformed after a trip to Steve G, would really recommend a visit to him... as Mongoose and Seasider have said he's a nice guy who knows his stuff and always has time for a chat!
nicbowman said:
Hi Ta all, who is this Steve G? I will give him a try, I am happy to spend money!
Nic
Nic
all the info here -> www.scaredstifff.com/index.htm
cheers, john
Back to the plot, the idea that RV8 engined TVR owners are obsessed with power, hairy chests and medallions is just nonsense.
This thread proves it
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=13&t=290594
This thread proves it
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=13&t=290594
RichardD said:
Back to the plot, the idea that RV8 engined TVR owners are obsessed with power, hairy chests and medallions is just nonsense.
This thread proves it
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=13&t=290594
That threads been lockedThis thread proves it
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=13&t=290594
,any idea why
Also, once you do have it properly set up, maybe you also need to get used to getting so much feedback.
Your Galaxy is still being moved around by the road, you just don't feel it (I've got a Voyager, same deal). Maybe that isn't such a good thing after all.
If you do have a good set up and you get used to all that info the you get a lot more confident, in the dry at least.
gooner
Your Galaxy is still being moved around by the road, you just don't feel it (I've got a Voyager, same deal). Maybe that isn't such a good thing after all.
If you do have a good set up and you get used to all that info the you get a lot more confident, in the dry at least.
gooner
jellison said:
Where is Topsparks when you want a comment - he has the same engine, not sure still in one piece at the moment though.
Why whats happened? I got an email of him just the other day and he said everything was fine. I've been speaking to Shaun at V8D about this for my chim and id be interested to hear if Topsparks has had any probs with his?
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