New tyres too grippy...more power?

[notax]

I have recently bought my third Chimaera and am happily enjoying TVR ownership again. The car had original SO3s when I bought it, rock hard and dangerously perished - but very slidey! All my Chimaeras have been 4.0 but the previous one was unusually powerful (in fact the most powerful allegedly standard 4.0 tested by Surrey Rolling Road). The new one has a clean bill of health but can’t light up the new T1R Toyos nearly as easily - it just digs in and goes. I prefer being able to power slide when the opportunity arises. What is the easiest/cheapest/most reliable way to get more power? Not sure how much I need, but I guess even 30bhp would help.

Other options, sell and buy a 4.5 or 5.0, but this car is a nice one, so I’m reluctant.

Or buy some Teflon rear tyres.

Or pump the T1Rs up to 50psi...

Any thoughts appreciated

[sherman]

Just coat the rear tyres in some grease. Sideways and smokey

[thebraketester]

T1R..... grippy? You sure about that？

[StuVT]

thebraketester said:

T1R..... grippy? You sure about that?

Mine are a year old and once they're warm they are great. No issues and I trust them.



ste in the rain though..

[Belle427]

Buy a more powerful car is the honest answer, any mods will cost you roughly £100 per 1 Bhp gain. Supercharger conversions offer the best bang for buck and still allow you to retain the engines character.
Your into cylinder head swaps etc for a 30 Bhp gain.

[spitfire4v8]

There's little you're going to be able to do to help, here's why:

The sort of revs you're doing when you're typically wanting to slide the tail out (second gear, 3000rpm ish) isn't an area of the rev range that's going to be easy to improve, that's because at those revs the cylinders are already being quite well filled, the breathing restrictions haven't become 30hp worth of restriction at that point. Also you're probably trying to break traction with part throttle (not many people go straight to full throttle travel when trying to slide the back end out)

so .. either a capacity increase (the 500s aren't the easiest to slide for no reason, they have loads of mid range hp) .. or you need to amplify your throttle action - a larger butterfly would do this so you get a greater rate of change of airflow per pedal movement.

Sadly you can't overcome the laws of physics, and a sticky tyred 400 is always going to be a challenge to slide unless you're already well loaded up laterally.

Try some geo / tyre pressure changes in the meantime, that's going to help you more than trying to improve the midrange on a 400 engine I think.

[notax]

Thanks for the replies, good point about needing extra bhp (and torque) low down the rev range. Why do you mention the 500 is hard to slide when it has a powerful mid range? Supercharger sounds like a nice option, but no doubt a very pricey one...

If anyone is interested in seeing me getting a bit sideways in my previous Chimaera, here you go... I did have a little bit of fun in a grass field yesterday too

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kyeChgOvhrs

[spitfire4v8]

notax said:

Why do you mention the 500 is hard to slide when it has a powerful mid range?

I think my double negative makes it sound the opposite way to how I was trying to word it. They're easy to slide because of their massive midrange poke

[aka_kerrly]

thebraketester said:

T1R..... grippy? You sure about that?

Lets see if there is another thread in a couple of weeks... toyo+damp+cold =hedge

[Jhonno]

thebraketester said:

T1R..... grippy? You sure about that?

This.. 15yr old tyre tech..

[notax]

Well, they certainly seem grippy on the new TVR. I don't know whether the compound has changed, I've certainly been able to play more when they've been fitted to my previous Chimaeras. Maybe my new car has even less power than I think - the Top Gear thing of losing a few horses every year

Perhaps things will improve when it gets colder...

[Sardonicus]

After watching that vid I think I may have read the most bizarre TVR thread in over 13 years on PH and trust me when I say.... That Takes Some Doing

[Classic Chim]

T1R grippy,,,, “raises an eye brow” hmmm.
Some say the compound has been revised on newer T1R tyres so maybe the latest ones are a bit better?

Nice bit of grasstracking.

No substitute for cubic inches if you want to drift

Or an old set of T1R should provide lethal enough,,,
I know you know this already but,,,,
In the dry most road surfaces are not consistent enough or even lend themselves to sliding as in surface type and camber so unles you know every dip and bump on that particular bend very subjective as to what will happen if you boot it, excess entry speed then a great big chuck of the steering is really the only way to enter a corner sideways, that and lots of power to over steer it at the same time then catch the slide, speedway stylie, dunno how you can do that on public roads with only one lane available to you!
So I assume you mean powersliding at much slower entry speeds, mid range power so more cc for torque is the easy answer.

Or stiffen your suspension,,,
I’m not advising any of this unless it’s for car parks and closed events as it’s a recipe for disaster on public roads

[Classic Chim]

Sardonicus said:

After watching that vid I think I may have read the most bizarre TVR thread in over 13 years on PH and trust me when I say.... That Takes Some Doing

It is bizarre but I do sort of get it since putting my car onto Rainsport 3 it sticks like st to a blanket at anything but warp speed,,, so my 300bhp goes like foook but can’t spin it up anything like as easily, it’s gone from wanting to kill me to being rather civilised, I much prefer it but that edgy unknown car has gone and I can’t help but miss it from my childish grassing days myself

I did a grass event in and XJ8 with lpg in the boot, took six months to finally remove all the grass from the underside hanging it out like a loony full bore was worth it though,, just like bike trailing, straight to a local garage and blast off the worst of the st,, great craic,,, but not entirely recommended in a Chim in dust but by eck this lad has some fun

[ChimpOnGas]

Try a couple of Chimaera space savers on the back, that'll get you sliding alright

[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/TyKsgQLv[/url

And a pair of the same on the front if you prefer a more ballanced death trap

[300bhp/ton]

notax said:

I have recently bought my third Chimaera and am happily enjoying TVR ownership again. The car had original SO3s when I bought it, rock hard and dangerously perished - but very slidey! All my Chimaeras have been 4.0 but the previous one was unusually powerful (in fact the most powerful allegedly standard 4.0 tested by Surrey Rolling Road). The new one has a clean bill of health but can’t light up the new T1R Toyos nearly as easily - it just digs in and goes. I prefer being able to power slide when the opportunity arises. What is the easiest/cheapest/most reliable way to get more power? Not sure how much I need, but I guess even 30bhp would help.

Other options, sell and buy a 4.5 or 5.0, but this car is a nice one, so I’m reluctant.

Or buy some Teflon rear tyres.

Or pump the T1Rs up to 50psi...

Any thoughts appreciated

Lots of ways of getting more power. Depends how much you want to spend. Supercharger kits are probably one of the most expensive ways though... good gains. But hardly a budget option.

Buying a 4.6 out of a Range Rover, adding a big cam and replacing your 4.0 would probably be a fairly economical way of getting more power and grunt.

[notax]

Sardonicus said:

After watching that vid I think I may have read the most bizarre TVR thread in over 13 years on PH and trust me when I say.... That Takes Some Doing

Glad to have won the most bizarre thread award Hope you enjoyed the vid...

Decided to take my reliable sports car to work today rather than the TVR, and the i8 ended up on the back of a tow truck so only just home. Modern cars!

[notax]

Classic Chim said:

T1R grippy,,,, “raises an eye brow” hmmm.
Some say the compound has been revised on newer T1R tyres so maybe the latest ones are a bit better?

Nice bit of grasstracking.

No substitute for cubic inches if you want to drift

Or an old set of T1R should provide lethal enough,,,
I know you know this already but,,,,
In the dry most road surfaces are not consistent enough or even lend themselves to sliding as in surface type and camber so unles you know every dip and bump on that particular bend very subjective as to what will happen if you boot it, excess entry speed then a great big chuck of the steering is really the only way to enter a corner sideways, that and lots of power to over steer it at the same time then catch the slide, speedway stylie, dunno how you can do that on public roads with only one lane available to you!
So I assume you mean powersliding at much slower entry speeds, mid range power so more cc for torque is the easy answer.

Or stiffen your suspension,,,
I’m not advising any of this unless it’s for car parks and closed events as it’s a recipe for disaster on public roads

Thanks, don’t worry, I only play when and where I think it is safe to do so. I’ve been rally driving for over 20 years so have had a lot of practice too I have actually just fitted Gaz Gold Pros to stiffen and lower the car, it has improved the handling but not the ease of breaking traction, although I suppose it would on a very bumpy road... As people who have attended my early morning hoons will know, you can still enjoy yourself on the public roads, just a question of the right road and the right time

[notax]

Classic Chim said:

It is bizarre but I do sort of get it since putting my car onto Rainsport 3 it sticks like st to a blanket at anything but warp speed,,, so my 300bhp goes like foook but can’t spin it up anything like as easily, it’s gone from wanting to kill me to being rather civilised, I much prefer it but that edgy unknown car has gone and I can’t help but miss it from my childish grassing days myself

I did a grass event in and XJ8 with lpg in the boot, took six months to finally remove all the grass from the underside hanging it out like a loony full bore was worth it though,, just like bike trailing, straight to a local garage and blast off the worst of the st,, great craic,,, but not entirely recommended in a Chim in dust but by eck this lad has some fun

You get it exactly! Rather civilised is not what I want from a TVR, I’m looking for excitement and edginess, with a healthy dose of lunacy. I had an absolute blast in the video, my car club organises such events regularly throughout the year both on grass and tarmac. Touch wood, my TVRs have never let me down at such events - in fact they seem to thrive on it!

Perhaps a 500 would be the best answer for the road, have any enthusiastic drivers on here swapped from 400 to 500? Any thoughts?