Griffith 500 track prep
Discussion
Is there a well understood list of things you might need to upgrade/change on a 500 if you wanted to be able to do a decent day on track in it?
I've three times gone to buy a Griffith and each time, with money in hand, I've ended up with something else. First a Cerbera 4.2, second time an Evora S and recently my current 996 C4S (Hartech). All fantastic cars, but I just love the way the Griffith sounds and drives. The itch won't go away, in fact it's getting worse!
Realistically, if I buy one my use case will be 3-5 track days a year, the odd cross continental convoy and a few short runs with friends to somewhere that sells coffee and beer.
What I want is a Griffith I could drive to Spa, do a few 8-10lap sessions without breaking anything and then feel confident it'll make the 15hr drive home.
I've seen track videos, people doing multiple laps but what I'm not seeing is details of what might need to be done to get there.
How is the cooling, what oil temp do they run? Will it cook the starter motor? Brakes? Etc etc
Just looking to save myself some time by speaking to those who've been there.
Many thanks in advance.
Ben
I've three times gone to buy a Griffith and each time, with money in hand, I've ended up with something else. First a Cerbera 4.2, second time an Evora S and recently my current 996 C4S (Hartech). All fantastic cars, but I just love the way the Griffith sounds and drives. The itch won't go away, in fact it's getting worse!
Realistically, if I buy one my use case will be 3-5 track days a year, the odd cross continental convoy and a few short runs with friends to somewhere that sells coffee and beer.
What I want is a Griffith I could drive to Spa, do a few 8-10lap sessions without breaking anything and then feel confident it'll make the 15hr drive home.
I've seen track videos, people doing multiple laps but what I'm not seeing is details of what might need to be done to get there.
How is the cooling, what oil temp do they run? Will it cook the starter motor? Brakes? Etc etc
Just looking to save myself some time by speaking to those who've been there.
Many thanks in advance.
Ben
Rather than turn it into a track car capable of multiple lap runs which would require bigger brakes and oil coolers etc etc just keep track time to a minimal so say 15-20 min runs. Let it cool down then go again.
Biggest issues using standard brakes will be brake fade, boiling brake fluid and engine oil which can get past 120 degrees which is risky.
Decent trackday pads would be a minimal and easy to change back.
Every component will get hot including tyres so you’ll find the car will not perform well on long runs so rather than spend a fortune just restrict how long you stay on track and you’ll be fine.
Biggest issues using standard brakes will be brake fade, boiling brake fluid and engine oil which can get past 120 degrees which is risky.
Decent trackday pads would be a minimal and easy to change back.
Every component will get hot including tyres so you’ll find the car will not perform well on long runs so rather than spend a fortune just restrict how long you stay on track and you’ll be fine.
The only thing I do before a track day is check tyre pressure (24psi front, 26psi rear), oil, coolant, etc. I do have Wilwood front discs which are excellent but remember that the Griffith is a Grand Tourer so although fun on a track, it’s compromised. Wet track days don’t stress the car and you get to the limit very quickly so are entertaining !
TVR only track days are the best. Open days are full of cars bought on trailers with drivers who don’t really care about driving it home !
TVR only track days are the best. Open days are full of cars bought on trailers with drivers who don’t really care about driving it home !
ESDavey said:
Open days are full of cars bought on trailers with drivers who don t really care about driving it home !
Looks across the carpark at the last few TVRCC trackdays to see a load of trailers. 
Never had any issue on trackdays that weren't common across all irregardless of organiser.
You don't HAVE to do anything specific to prep a Grief that you wouldn't do to any other road car. Assuming all it working as it should then you can rock up and play.
You could;
Brakes - flush fluid and replace with track / race type. Upgrade pads. Upgrade brakes - plenty of options from the Ford parts bin all detailed here.
Cooling - overide fan switch. Add an oil cooler / heat exchanger with the cooling system.
Tyres - new boots always help.
Suspension - adjustable coilovers to replave the factory fixed items.
How much do you want to spend?
Thanks chaps. Pads/Fluid, less melty tyres, all sounds like pretty standard track day prep.
If oil temps over 120°C are common, sounds like an oil cooler wouldn't be a bad shout. I'd prefer to see that peaking around 110°C
Get some decent motorsport oil in the gearbox and Diff too, but no massive areas of concern coming up so far.
I'm not there to set lap times, I'm there to enjoy the 'Thrill of driving'
If oil temps over 120°C are common, sounds like an oil cooler wouldn't be a bad shout. I'd prefer to see that peaking around 110°C
Get some decent motorsport oil in the gearbox and Diff too, but no massive areas of concern coming up so far.
I'm not there to set lap times, I'm there to enjoy the 'Thrill of driving'
TVR went a heat exchanger on the SP6 engine rather than an oil cooler to stabalise oil temps.
IIRC - VAG units fit (might be recalling the 2.9 Cologne V6 used in the S though). I'll be fitting one to Wendy - 350i - during the recommissioning but she already has a remote oil filter so less faffage. Bit easier than fitting / plumbing in a cooler rad. Also I recall some of the Chimp / Grief brigade finding over cooling in road use with dedicated oil coolers.
Other than bonkers electrical layouts and solutions, there really isn't anything 'specially complicated' about TVRs. Indeed, they are prety simple.
IIRC - VAG units fit (might be recalling the 2.9 Cologne V6 used in the S though). I'll be fitting one to Wendy - 350i - during the recommissioning but she already has a remote oil filter so less faffage. Bit easier than fitting / plumbing in a cooler rad. Also I recall some of the Chimp / Grief brigade finding over cooling in road use with dedicated oil coolers.
Other than bonkers electrical layouts and solutions, there really isn't anything 'specially complicated' about TVRs. Indeed, they are prety simple.
Can't get them any more. The designer has replaced it with a cover that goes over the clip. Unfortunately, they don't fit the T cars - not tried any of the others. Work well in the Touran though.
I tried a couple of Ikea Bevara food bag clips - https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/bevara-sealing-clip-s... - next to the clip. Actually worked for a bit and a lot better than without. Nothing like a proper multipoint harness though.
I tried a couple of Ikea Bevara food bag clips - https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/bevara-sealing-clip-s... - next to the clip. Actually worked for a bit and a lot better than without. Nothing like a proper multipoint harness though.
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