Driving a Chimaera for the first time soon...
Discussion
Hopefully....
I am in the process of looking for a Chimaera 4L, I have begun reading the bible, but am a little concerned (scared??) about driving one of these beasts for the first time. I read in said Bible that you cannot engine break, but to heel and toe. I have very little experience of rear wheel drive cars (coming from a front wheel drive Audi 2.6 v6, but have driven a caterham on track and my gf's Eunos), and have never had the power beneath my foot.
So my questions are:
Do you really need to do it, and how do you do it?
Will I end up in a bush?
What can I espect (apart from big grins)
How long before you get used to driving one?
Should I take a spare pair of pants?
Cheers
Mike
I am in the process of looking for a Chimaera 4L, I have begun reading the bible, but am a little concerned (scared??) about driving one of these beasts for the first time. I read in said Bible that you cannot engine break, but to heel and toe. I have very little experience of rear wheel drive cars (coming from a front wheel drive Audi 2.6 v6, but have driven a caterham on track and my gf's Eunos), and have never had the power beneath my foot.
So my questions are:
Do you really need to do it, and how do you do it?
Will I end up in a bush?
What can I espect (apart from big grins)
How long before you get used to driving one?
Should I take a spare pair of pants?
Cheers
Mike
I think you can forget about the heel and toe braking, you really wont need it, if you are sensible you will find the car very easy to drive, just dont plant yuor foot too hard coming out of corners and you will be fine..one of the easiest sports caras to drive, at any speed , the torque makes it veryy easy to drive at low revs with little chance of stalling, dont be afraid of it , enjoy it....
Fear not, you don't have to heel and toe. You do however need to sort out any bad habits like braking through bends etc. (I'm not saying you do this btw). If you enter a bend at a speed where you can accelerate gently through it, the acceleration will help balance the forces acting front and rear of the car.
Being able to heel and toe will enable you to make slightly faster progress, but it's certainly not mandatory. If anything it should be avoided on the road until you're competant at it, because it leaves less margin for error, as you'll be braking later. It's only really needed on the track.
Cheers,
Steve
>> Edited by Steve_T on Tuesday 15th April 12:51
Being able to heel and toe will enable you to make slightly faster progress, but it's certainly not mandatory. If anything it should be avoided on the road until you're competant at it, because it leaves less margin for error, as you'll be braking later. It's only really needed on the track.
Cheers,
Steve
>> Edited by Steve_T on Tuesday 15th April 12:51
Hi Mike,
5 people coming to check mine out now so you better get a move on!
Driving position is very natural after a few minutes, though the inability to tell where the n/s of the car is takes a bit longer to get used to!
Clutch may be heavy compared to the Audi. Compared to most other cars I've driven, the throttle is weighted (a plus!).
Don't try full throttle in 1st or 2nd until your sure you've got a feel for the car - even then take care.
And of course, make sure the roofs off!
5 people coming to check mine out now so you better get a move on!
Driving position is very natural after a few minutes, though the inability to tell where the n/s of the car is takes a bit longer to get used to!
Clutch may be heavy compared to the Audi. Compared to most other cars I've driven, the throttle is weighted (a plus!).
Don't try full throttle in 1st or 2nd until your sure you've got a feel for the car - even then take care.
And of course, make sure the roofs off!
I got mine recently (also coming from an Audi!), and all i'd add to this is that you need to feed the power in, rather than stamping on the gas and holding on. You'll also have a much longer travel on the pedal, so foot to floor isn't needed like it is in most other cars.
To illustrate, I had a moment yesterday (whilst leaving the dealer - oops!) when I put too much power on and the clutch slipped from under my foot. The result was a nice little wiggle from the rear end!
The other observation i'd make is that the gearing is really different, but totally suited to the power the car has. It just makes driving slowly in 4th or 5th (like you could in an Audi) a little more difficult ;-)
So, get used to the car, use the power carefully until you're used to it, and put the grin on now!
Keith
To illustrate, I had a moment yesterday (whilst leaving the dealer - oops!) when I put too much power on and the clutch slipped from under my foot. The result was a nice little wiggle from the rear end!
The other observation i'd make is that the gearing is really different, but totally suited to the power the car has. It just makes driving slowly in 4th or 5th (like you could in an Audi) a little more difficult ;-)
So, get used to the car, use the power carefully until you're used to it, and put the grin on now!
Keith
keppy said: The other observation i'd make is that the gearing is really different, but totally suited to the power the car has. It just makes driving slowly in 4th or 5th (like you could in an Audi) a little more difficult ;-)
That reminded me.... it took a while before I could cruise at 30 in 4th when I first bought. Very slight throttle adjustments that are needed, rather than the 'stamp n go' for the average runaround.
Take it easy. Do things one at a time and in a straight line and don't stamp on the pedal and you should be OK. It is worth practicing heel and toe and you don't need to be doing warp 9 either. Find an empty road and practice at 20 mph. May need to experiment finding the right place for your fott and so on. It is a lot quicker as you can overlap the gear changing with the braking and blip the throttle to make some noise.
Worth learning as there will come a time when you want to go quicker and the normal technique will get rushed and that is when mistakes happen.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
Worth learning as there will come a time when you want to go quicker and the normal technique will get rushed and that is when mistakes happen.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
I wouldn't worry too much mate. I was a bit concerned about driving my Chim 4l for the first time too. But after a few minutes it feels very natural and comfy. A couple of things to watch out for is that you must bear in mind that there is a couple of footsworth of bonnet past the bit you can see. And also it's hardish to judge the nearside position of the car to start of with (or maybe it's just me!!)
The engine braking thing I think is more relavent to 5 litre owners with stacks of torque. But saying that it probably is good practise (when stopping from speed) just to use the brakes and pop the clutch in. Saves your clutch and in the wet i'd imagine a 4 litre could lock up and spin if you were a bit aggresive with the clutch and gears.
Most of all though buddy, enjoy it, they're a beauty to drive, with nice progresive acceleration (unlike turbos that almost break your neck!) and sound the absolute bol**cks! Haven't regretted buying mine for a second even though my bank has!!
The engine braking thing I think is more relavent to 5 litre owners with stacks of torque. But saying that it probably is good practise (when stopping from speed) just to use the brakes and pop the clutch in. Saves your clutch and in the wet i'd imagine a 4 litre could lock up and spin if you were a bit aggresive with the clutch and gears.
Most of all though buddy, enjoy it, they're a beauty to drive, with nice progresive acceleration (unlike turbos that almost break your neck!) and sound the absolute bol**cks! Haven't regretted buying mine for a second even though my bank has!!
Hopefully....
I am in the process of looking for a Chimaera 4L, I have begun reading the bible, but am a little concerned (scared??) about the standard of my golf. I read in said Bible that you cannot slice the ball, but must follow through with a clean stroke. I have very little experience of teeing off (coming from a pitch & put course, but have driven a few on the range), and have never had the power of a nine iron at my fingertips before.
So my questions are:
Do you really need to use a golf trolley, and will it fir in the boot with the roof in there as well?
Will I end up in a bush, or just a bunker?
What can I espect (apart from funny handshakes in the clubhouse)?
How long before you get used to driving said nine iron.
Should I take a spare pair of plus fours?
Cheers
Mike
dannyboyo said: I wouldn't worry too much mate. I was a bit concerned about driving my Chim 4l for the first time too. But after a few minutes it feels very natural and comfy. A couple of things to watch out for is that you must bear in mind that there is a couple of footsworth of bonnet past the bit you can see. And also it's hardish to judge the nearside position of the car to start of with (or maybe it's just me!!)
I'd agree with this, managed to clip a kerb the first time I test drove a Chim - but would never admit this in public!
Might also be worth starting the test drive with the roof up. Lower it for the second part of the drive - I'm sure the extra noise adds a few bhp and the grin will be even bigger.
Cheers
Alex
It is the technique of braking with one bit of your right foot while blipping the throttle with another bit of your right foot so that you can match the engine revs when changing down while braking. Heel on brake, toe on throttle or vice versa. I use the ball of my foot on the brake and the outside on the throttle.
You can also use it to feed power while coming off the brakes. End result is a smoother more balanced car and no liklihood of a rear wheel lock up. Overlaps the gear change and braking so is a lot lot quicker.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
You can also use it to feed power while coming off the brakes. End result is a smoother more balanced car and no liklihood of a rear wheel lock up. Overlaps the gear change and braking so is a lot lot quicker.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
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