Are TVR performance figures accurate?
Discussion
grigio alloy said: Tim,
Re Chimaera stability:
I have heard the same claim from German dealers and owners who have the chance to drive for extended periods at 130mph+.
When my 5.2 engine from Ray was running well (i.e. the full 380bhp)in the Griff I did get 7000rpm in 5th gear(in Belgium)- this is about 190mph. As the rev limiter was set at 7400rpm I am sure if I had not bottled out the car could have achieved 200mph However above 140mph the car never did feel stable and just lifting off the throttle above this speed was worrying because of the instability caused by the deceleration.The Chim 5 litre I drove from German dealer in Hagen felt much more stable at 140mph but obviously lacked the grunt of the 5.2.
By the way Tim I sometimes wish I still had the 5.2 when I see your superb multiple throttle body plenums etc.
I used to find the same in the V8S - around 120 it got quite unhappy (or rather, I did) and needed all three lanes of my private test track. However with the revised suspension and ride height it is completely transformed, and utterly stable (in a hands-off-the wheel kind of way) all the way up to 160, including hard cornering and braking (OK, hands on the wheel for them, but still feels completely stable if you see what I mean!). Small changes can make a huge difference at those speeds, and I wouldn't draw any general conclusions just from one or two cars.
Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)
Peter,
I am sure you are right about ride height/suspension set up etc making a huge difference in terms of stability for high speed cruising. Nonetheless I think the Griff in particular has a shape ideal for generating lift and I agree with Tim about the better rear overhang on the Chim(and boot lid as mini gurney spoiler?).
For example the Tamora feels much more stable at 140mph than the Griff ever did. I doubt the diffusor does much as it sits so high but I bet the boot spoiler does help.
The Boxster S I had for a few days was unfortunately much more stable than even the Tamora.
What are the main factors?
Should the T350C really be so much better than the Tamora?
I am sure you are right about ride height/suspension set up etc making a huge difference in terms of stability for high speed cruising. Nonetheless I think the Griff in particular has a shape ideal for generating lift and I agree with Tim about the better rear overhang on the Chim(and boot lid as mini gurney spoiler?).
For example the Tamora feels much more stable at 140mph than the Griff ever did. I doubt the diffusor does much as it sits so high but I bet the boot spoiler does help.
The Boxster S I had for a few days was unfortunately much more stable than even the Tamora.
What are the main factors?
Should the T350C really be so much better than the Tamora?
RichB said: Indeed, but slower than the Griff's
p.s. Here is the data table used for that chart. Rich...
performance data
They've missed the best loking TVR off that list
0-100 = 12.4secs ; standing 1/4 =13.7 ; max V 146.6mph
performance car sept 91, which going by the table quoted above makes it quicker off the mark than all Chims
, that or the clockwork timing devices back in 91 weren't up to the job . Harry
PS surprised I beat JSG to this clarification, obviously out of the country at the moment.
PPS to save you looking at the profile thats for a V8S btw
HarryW said: Peter (green V8S one) didn't you get the best 4L times at 'back home' a few years ago. I can't remember the figures, what were they again, if you don't mind posting.
Was that with the pre tweaked standard car or just stage one (of many) of the RS 16V upgrades
Harry
13.8 standing quarter IIRC, it was the fastest 4 liter of the day but obviously beaten by several of the bigger capacity cars. It was in standard trim at the time. I think everybody's times would have improved if we didn't have several bales of straw blowing across the track at the start line!
Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)
Without resorting to complex timing gear and gps based positioning gubbins I can offer this anecdote:
Its the end of September 1997, I've had the Chimp for about 3 months and gotten 'used' to its performance (scenery visits are decreasing in their frequency) and I'm up visiting my dad who is driving around in my old lease car (Calibra 4x4) until the lease expires. Dad announces that the Calibra is "bloody quick" in comparison to his other car (7 year old 205, so not that surprising) and that my new fangled TVR can't be much faster than the Vauxhall. Being keen to demonstrate my new toy to the old man, I suggest we take both cars out and see "what'll it do Mister?".
We happen upon a very quiet stretch of private test track (which bears a striking resemblance to the A500 in Stoke just off the M6) he’s in the Calibra, and I’m in the Chimaera. As a lease car with less than 3 months on it’s lease, I point out to dad that he can be as agricultural with the right foot as he desires and despite not having Schumacher’s skills, he feels comfortable that he’ll have no problem “giving it some welly”. Now Vauxhall used to quote 6.4 seconds to 60 for the Cab, which might be a little optimistic, but I’d definitely buy sub-7 seconds and the old-man looks pretty determined as he grips the wheel. A quick check for following traffic and we slow to a stop & he performs a Mike Reed-esque “Ready, Steady, GGGgggooo!”. I drop the clutch and feed on the power to prevent the dance-of-the-rear-end and push the car through 5000-ish rpm before changing up. I do the same for second and third before deciding that a ton will suffice for this demonstration. I ease off the accelerator and look in the rear-view – the Calibra is a black blob in the distance.
I have no ‘times’ per se, but over 1/2 mile or so, the Chimaera puts what looks like 300 yards between itself and the Calibra. We try the same piece of road but swap cars, and even though dad is somewhat cautious in the TVR and I drive the Calibra like an arse, he pulls effortlessly away from me. The Calibra had been a pinnacle for me, I had wanted one since the advert showing it next to a collapsed Berlin Wall in ’90, but next to the TVR felt as ordinary and slow as Dad’s 205…
Its the end of September 1997, I've had the Chimp for about 3 months and gotten 'used' to its performance (scenery visits are decreasing in their frequency) and I'm up visiting my dad who is driving around in my old lease car (Calibra 4x4) until the lease expires. Dad announces that the Calibra is "bloody quick" in comparison to his other car (7 year old 205, so not that surprising) and that my new fangled TVR can't be much faster than the Vauxhall. Being keen to demonstrate my new toy to the old man, I suggest we take both cars out and see "what'll it do Mister?".
We happen upon a very quiet stretch of private test track (which bears a striking resemblance to the A500 in Stoke just off the M6) he’s in the Calibra, and I’m in the Chimaera. As a lease car with less than 3 months on it’s lease, I point out to dad that he can be as agricultural with the right foot as he desires and despite not having Schumacher’s skills, he feels comfortable that he’ll have no problem “giving it some welly”. Now Vauxhall used to quote 6.4 seconds to 60 for the Cab, which might be a little optimistic, but I’d definitely buy sub-7 seconds and the old-man looks pretty determined as he grips the wheel. A quick check for following traffic and we slow to a stop & he performs a Mike Reed-esque “Ready, Steady, GGGgggooo!”. I drop the clutch and feed on the power to prevent the dance-of-the-rear-end and push the car through 5000-ish rpm before changing up. I do the same for second and third before deciding that a ton will suffice for this demonstration. I ease off the accelerator and look in the rear-view – the Calibra is a black blob in the distance.
I have no ‘times’ per se, but over 1/2 mile or so, the Chimaera puts what looks like 300 yards between itself and the Calibra. We try the same piece of road but swap cars, and even though dad is somewhat cautious in the TVR and I drive the Calibra like an arse, he pulls effortlessly away from me. The Calibra had been a pinnacle for me, I had wanted one since the advert showing it next to a collapsed Berlin Wall in ’90, but next to the TVR felt as ordinary and slow as Dad’s 205…
Nice anecdote, Paul. Bet your Dad enjoyed telling his version of taming the TVR beast when he was down the pub with his mates!
I took my 84 year old Mum down a similar piece of private road in my Chimaera with the top off at the end of last summer. Mum's the first to admit she talks quite a lot, but I felt sure that once she felt her skin flattening against her face as I stirred up a healthy dose of revs in each gear she would go quiet.
Actually she did because I couldn't hear anything she way saying over the v8 growl
but she's still talking about it to her friends, and taking names of other 80 year old TVR ton-up wannabes!
Hutch
I took my 84 year old Mum down a similar piece of private road
in my Chimaera with the top off at the end of last summer. Mum's the first to admit she talks quite a lot, but I felt sure that once she felt her skin flattening against her face as I stirred up a healthy dose of revs in each gear she would go quiet. Actually she did because I couldn't hear anything she way saying over the v8 growl
but she's still talking about it to her friends, and taking names of other 80 year old TVR ton-up wannabes! Hutch
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