Griffith 500 v 500HC
Discussion
steviegtr said:
I'll have my coat ready , but never in 60 years in motors have ever heard a HC not be High compression. Surely Dom at TVR can answer this one for once & for all.
Steve.
in this TVR article it says such also >>the HC standing for High Compression.<<Steve.
https://www.tvr.co.uk/models/tvr/chimera-400hc
also here, both around the 4.0 though>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TVR_Chimaera
and here>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TVR_Griffith
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TVR_Chimaera
and here>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TVR_Griffith
We can all gain a bit of higher compression by simply replacing the head gaskets for thinner ones.
Rather than relying on published figures which as we know are not necessarily correct I’d rather rely on the words of the people who built the engines who all say HC means Highlift Cam in Tvr terminology.
If one person can come on here and confirm they have been told different from said guru’s then you should say so…. But nobody does because the guru will confirm it’s a reference to the cam.
Tvr quite cleverly simply used the HC badge to confirm what was already the case in 500 engines as indeed they had and always had a highlift cam.
Just a sales ploy.
Lucy and others have suggested it’s High compression which is a standard answer from someone who knows engine terminology but not Tvr terminology.
If the people who built the engines tell you it’s Highlift Cam then that’s what we should believe, that and all the 500 owners who have put these cars on dyno machines hundreds of times which all confirm a badged 500 HC has no more power than a 500 and is the same engine with the same high spec cam.
Rather than relying on published figures which as we know are not necessarily correct I’d rather rely on the words of the people who built the engines who all say HC means Highlift Cam in Tvr terminology.
If one person can come on here and confirm they have been told different from said guru’s then you should say so…. But nobody does because the guru will confirm it’s a reference to the cam.
Tvr quite cleverly simply used the HC badge to confirm what was already the case in 500 engines as indeed they had and always had a highlift cam.
Just a sales ploy.
Lucy and others have suggested it’s High compression which is a standard answer from someone who knows engine terminology but not Tvr terminology.
If the people who built the engines tell you it’s Highlift Cam then that’s what we should believe, that and all the 500 owners who have put these cars on dyno machines hundreds of times which all confirm a badged 500 HC has no more power than a 500 and is the same engine with the same high spec cam.
Edited by Classic Chim on Monday 4th March 08:48
I posed this question not because I seek’d the answer but more to help others who might be duped into thinking the 500HC is somehow a different engine from a normal 500.
It then became a debate as to what HC stands for which is why this issue never gets resolved.
In TVR speak HC stands for what cams installed not specifically High Compression.
Back in the day Tvr salesmen didn’t know anymore than we do now and gave you whatever answer suited you best and probably included words like high compression and high lift cam.
Unless there were changes to either head gaskets or pistons or deck heights etc during production then the non badged 500 will have exactly the same compression as HC badged cars and that’s the answer to this debate.
The cut of the cam has gone through various experiments and indeed could have had slightly more comp on earlier engines until it all became standardised with the 885 and then later Taraka replacement which is more of an allround cam.
I don’t own a 500 engine so has anyone had an engine with differing head gaskets or do the likes of Powers offer different choices based on your standard engine spec?
It then became a debate as to what HC stands for which is why this issue never gets resolved.
In TVR speak HC stands for what cams installed not specifically High Compression.
Back in the day Tvr salesmen didn’t know anymore than we do now and gave you whatever answer suited you best and probably included words like high compression and high lift cam.
Unless there were changes to either head gaskets or pistons or deck heights etc during production then the non badged 500 will have exactly the same compression as HC badged cars and that’s the answer to this debate.
The cut of the cam has gone through various experiments and indeed could have had slightly more comp on earlier engines until it all became standardised with the 885 and then later Taraka replacement which is more of an allround cam.
I don’t own a 500 engine so has anyone had an engine with differing head gaskets or do the likes of Powers offer different choices based on your standard engine spec?
The thing is Tvr probably tried different permutations of all these aspects in any number of engines we bought until it became more standardised. Normal Tvr operation 
Hardly any of it recorded
I’m sure Powers and others would put whatever gaskets you want in as long as you take the liability on the engine
Hardly any of it recorded I’m sure Powers and others would put whatever gaskets you want in as long as you take the liability on the engine
Explanation on the engines here from someone i would trust, ok it does not mention the 500HC but explains the other models are definitely high lift cam.
There is no reason they would suddenly start calling it high compression.
Ex Tvr employees are having a good laugh at this.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
There is no reason they would suddenly start calling it high compression.
Ex Tvr employees are having a good laugh at this.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Hah so very true.
What’s amusing from other threads and comments on the subject
The most likely accurate answer I can find must be “they used whatever badge was lying around”
Whatever the answer to what HC represents in Tvr circles that was never the question I posed.
The question was are there any differences in a 500 engine and a 500HC engine and the answer seems to be no.
What’s amusing from other threads and comments on the subject
The most likely accurate answer I can find must be “they used whatever badge was lying around”
Whatever the answer to what HC represents in Tvr circles that was never the question I posed.
The question was are there any differences in a 500 engine and a 500HC engine and the answer seems to be no.
Verified by this old thread from 2004
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
HC was the claimed 340bhp, instead of the 500 320bhp
Sounds like the Cerbera lightweight
Temptation.
I remember back in the day ( early 80’s ) and guys pin striping there cars with what was the new off the roll jobbies. Different thicknesses, gold coloured was always my favourite
I remember an artist and sign writer who had a side line pin striping newly painted cars before those more modern graphics type came along.
Fascinating watching him as a kid.
I remember back in the day ( early 80’s ) and guys pin striping there cars with what was the new off the roll jobbies. Different thicknesses, gold coloured was always my favourite
I remember an artist and sign writer who had a side line pin striping newly painted cars before those more modern graphics type came along.
Fascinating watching him as a kid.
macdeb said:
You sir are too kind. Yes, still got the car after nearly 3.5 years! Where's time go? and it still amazes me every single time I get in it.
Ok completely off topic but it’s British it’s brilliant and blisteringly quick. Edited by macdeb on Sunday 3rd March 14:33
Macs worked his balls off and has a rare thing few of us can ever experience.
Just for those of us who can’t afford to own one you can still get your hands on them and with me as your instructor and if you listen, buy extra laps and built momentum I’ll let you drive it faster than you might think. Look for the guy wearing the TVR hat
It’s never cheap running cars like these and the Mclarens are the busiest cars running all day without being switched off more than a handful of times . Really good cars if easy to break but it’s a bloody race car so everything’s meant to be light, be easy on the controls and it will reward you like an F1 car. They often run on fast circuits and the aero effect at 150 mph gives more grip than 60 mph, it makes you want to go flat out and the faster I go the better it is. What a car.
Our driver took a customer round Goodwood in our 720s and reached 174 mph before the mechanics on the pit wall slowed him down as they were watching the telemetry on the computers
Cornwall last year. Tight twisty bumpy track. I’m in the 570s big go cart, got a full tank of gas, we’re wearing sun glasses let’s hit it.
Edited by Classic Chim on Tuesday 5th March 19:29
steviegtr said:
I'll have my coat ready , but never in 60 years in motors have ever heard a HC not be High compression. Surely Dom at TVR can answer this one for once & for all.
Steve.
When I bought my Chim years ago the dealer told me it stood for huge con. When I rebuilt that engine a year or so later I found out how Rover it was and how standard the cams were . Still liked the car .Steve.
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff