Spinning!!

[bangers]

I got my beautiful '96 Chimera during the summer and have been having a great time - what a beauty, and to think I even hesitated just prior to buying!!

Anyway, I took her out of the garage a few days ago just after it had been teaming with the wet stuff. Now this is the first outing on anything other than a dry road. So, being very very wary of the posts I have read regarding back-to-front driving in wet conditions! I made my way somewhat gingerly towards the A1 from Hitchin down here in Herts. In 3rd gear coming off the roundabout onto the uphill sliproad to join the A1(M) I gently press down on the pedal just before I'm straight and to my great surprise the back came out very very quickly and resulted in me going through 270+ degrees before stopping!

The car came with brand new SO/2's on the front and somewhat worn P6000's on the rear. Now, I want to change these rear tyres so that I have more chance of making it to next summer! My question is:

Do I need 225/55/16's or 225/50/16's????????? Presently the P6000's are the 55 size but according to blackcircle tyres the 96 chim has the option - Please help!!

As an afterthought, anyone know the part number of the backlighters for the rear number plate?

>>> Edited by bangers on Monday 28th October 17:13

[raceboy]

Well I had 2 new 225/50/ZR16 SO3's fitted to mine on Saturday, and what a difference it made this morning on the wet drive to work, but then the ones that came off were slicks especially after 'playing' in a local supermarket carpark on Friday night

[Graham]

i had p6000's on mine they are shit in the dry never mind the wet, get em off now...

[shadowninja]

you should try avons then. they're good for a laugh... if you enjoy going sideways

[qube]

i've got RE71's on the rear at present and need changing soon, if i drive in the wet and give it a bit of throttle the rear just snakes about, the idea is to be prepared for such events by positioning the car better into corners and roundabouts, these cars don't compare to other road cars as there is so much torque low down the revs, take your time until you settle in in the wet, and upgrade the tyres.

[19560]

It is probably best to stick to the 55 section. 50s have less tyre wall, more reinforcement and will stay flatter which is great in the dry but not as good for most of the winter.
The late Chimaeras had the 225/50/16 section at the rear (or 245/45/16) with 205/55/15 or 225/50/15 at the front. These all give the same tyre wall.
Which tyres do you have on the front? If its 225/55/16 on the rear then its probably 205/60/15 on the front and if you fit the 50s on the rear with the 60s on the front you may upset the handling.
Either change all four tyres to the later set up or fit 225/55/ZR16 Goodyear F1 GS-D3 to the rear. (These appear to be superior to the SO-3 in the wet.)
Avons are best left to the Avon Lady.

[shadowninja]

19560 said:
Avons are best left to the Avon Lady.

oi! i take offense to that!!!

plus you're completely wrong: if the avon lady put avons on her tvr she'd poo her avon knickers!

I like avons cos they are a harder compound so last longer but ultimately have a lot less traction esp in the wet.

A mechanic once said to me that I'd be more confident about driving the chimaera if I put Bridgestones on (not that i have that problem)... I had to bite my tongue so I didnt say "so you can't handle it then?" :teehee:

btw if you want a decent tyre stick to SO3s

>> Edited by shadowninja on Monday 28th October 20:30

[ribol]

I have a Chim 400 and wanted the Griff wheels on it. After a bit of research I found out that towards the end of production they went over to 16" front and back as opposed to 15" front and 16" rear.

The car originally had:
205/55ZR15 F
225/50ZR16 R

It now has:
225/45ZR16 F
245/45ZR16 R

Car drives like a dream, no tram lining, just grip. Only downside if you go the 16"/16" route is you have to fit rack stops to stop the front wheels fouling which gives you the turning circle of a 747 on slicks!

Ivan

[bangers]

Thanks all very much for you're replies.

I've just had a look at the car and I currently have:
Front: 205/55/15 SO/2
Rear: 225/55/16 P6000

It seems from your posts that I should have 225/50/16 on the back not the 55. The thing is I can get hold of two SO/2 in the 55 which will match the front or I can get SO/3 in the 50 for the rear and change the front to SO/3's when they need replacing.

What do you think?

Cheers

James.

[19560]

Get a good price for the tried and tested SO-2PPs and enjoy your car.

[trefor]

I think the brand of tyre will make far more difference than the 50/55 profile in this case. P6000s are not very good tyres for this application. I'd go for 50's to stiffen things up a bit - the std Chimaera suspension is quite soft so it should take it.

FWIW I'm running 225/50x15 on the front and 245/45 on the rear. If anything there is too much grip (am I really saying this?). What I mean is I find I have to be quite rude to break traction. SO2s at the moment, but have used SO3s on other sporty cars with good results and I will change to SO3s on my Chimaera soon.

T/.

[cutmonster]

It's that time of year when a warning should be issued to TVR owners new and old of the dangers of spinning! Twas 12 months ago that I pirouetted down Shooters Hill Road in Blackheath, London just two months after having bought my Chimaera. Cold tyres, cold day, wet road, too much gas....and a lovely 360 degree spin avoiding everything except a bruised ego!

So hey! Let's be careful out there....

[shadowninja]

warning? time to party more like. its the only sport that's more fun in the rain!! muahahahahahahahah!

[chrisch]

I have a part worn 225 x 55 in the garage (Offers?). took it off when i realised the tyre at the otherside was a 50 profile. The car drives so much better now! dont think previous owner knew.

[bangers]

Trefor,

What are the implications on the accuracy of the speedo if I swap the P600 55's with the Bstone 50's?

Thanks guys.

[19560]

About 3.5% but which size was your speedo calibrated to originally and is it that accurate anyway?

Chrisch should have been able to do doughnuts easily.

[tantivy]

trefor said: I'm running 225/50x15 on the front and 245/45 on the rear. If anything there is too much grip (am I really saying this?)

Pleased to hear your positive report on this setup, Trefor, as this is the route I'm going to go with SO3s when my flippin Avons finally run out of tread (I didn't put them on - groan, why do they last so long...?). My RE71s on the back are down to 3mm & lethal in the wet - like no grip at all...so danger of is higher than I'd like. Did you adjust yr camber/caster on the front with 225s or just the same?

[shadowninja]

tantivy said:
Pleased to hear your positive report on this setup, Trefor, as this is the route I'm going to go with SO3s when my flippin Avons finally run out of tread (I didn't put them on - groan, why do they last so long...?). My RE71s on the back are down to 3mm &

see, avons are great!

lethal in the wet - like no grip at all...so danger of is higher than I'd like. Did you adjust yr camber/caster on the front with 225s or just the same?

seriously tho... must be unnerving having no grip at the front and even less at the back... kinda 4 wheel drift off the roundabout?

[bangers]

Thanks for all your help chaps, I'm going with the SO/2's same size as the current P6000's. I used BlackCircles.com £115 each fully fitted etc. and the garage happens to be about 1 mile away - result

[leerdam23]

Avons are certainly different. last for ever, squeal at the slightest provocation and build up lots of heat on track days, so after 3 laps there is no grip at all, but they still won't wear out....believe me I have tried.

>> Edited by leerdam23 on Wednesday 30th October 22:35