Chim 450's?

[cerbielee]

Hi all,i have noticed alot of people have gone for the 450,there seems to be more of these than the 500? is there a reason for this? or was there just more made? is it a stronger engine or no performance difference? or is it more tuneable?
Thanks Lee

[tvrbubblecar]

I would like to give a technical answer to why I went for a 450 nearly 3 years ago

but the truth is I bought it because it was the best car that I test drove and it was low mileage in excellent condition.

I certainly have no regrets and I guess the extra kick from a 500 would be great but the 450 is plenty fast enough for me on the road

Hope you find a good one whichever model you choose - you wont regret it

Chris

[Roberto Rica]

For starters all 450s have the stronger cross-bolted blocks as they use a later improved Range Rover engine supply. In comparison the 500s went on using the earlier non-cross-bolted 4 litre block until the very tailend of production.

Rob

[that daddy]

I think the 4.5 is an ideal size chim,a good mix or torque & power and a good base for serious mods if thats your bag,some say they find the 5.0 a bit of an animal,,,,still i like animal

[E2DJH]

tvrbubblecar said:

I would like to give a technical answer to why I went for a 450 nearly 3 years ago

but the truth is I bought it because it was the best car that I test drove and it was low mileage in excellent condition.

I certainly have no regrets and I guess the extra kick from a 500 would be great but the 450 is plenty fast enough for me on the road

Hope you find a good one whichever model you choose - you wont regret it

Chris

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Exactly the same as wot he says

[5LitreV8]

Don't worry too much about 5 or 4.5 - just make sure you buy a nice one.

[george 500]

The 500 is great but it can be a bit of a pig if you need to tootle around in traffic. To a greater or lesser extent most seem to "chunter" at low engine revs. Mines got a spicy cam on it and farts and shunts on a part throttle at anything less than 2000rpm. What this means is that it won't creep at all which can be a right bloody nuisance.
From what I've read that is because the 500 is effectively a big valve engine. This can be seen in specific outputs in that the output per litre is higher from a five than the "little" engines which is surely counter to expectations.
The 450 is also certainly more common than the 500, I think that the kind of individual who liked the bigger engine was probably more enticed by the macho image of the Griff.
They are pretty variable though and I have no doubt that a good 450 is a much better bet than a weak 500 so try a few.

[phlap]

george 500 said:

The 500 is great but it can be a bit of a pig if you need to tootle around in traffic. To a greater or lesser extent most seem to "chunter" at low engine revs. Mines got a spicy cam on it and farts and shunts on a part throttle at anything less than 2000rpm. What this means is that it won't creep at all which can be a right bloody nuisance.

I be heard this a few times regarding 500s but it very much depends on the car. I test drove 2 and they were both fine. The one I bought is as easy to drive as my old 400 and pulls smoothly from low revs without shunting or jerkiness. The 450 I tried felt more muscular than my 400. Id have been quite happy with a 450 or a 500 to be honest but the extra urge of the 5 won the day for me. However, as previous posters have said, better a nice 450 than a ropey 500 .

[cerbielee]

Thanks chapsi think im swaying towards a chim! i was took out in a 4ltr and wasnt too impressed to be honest,not that quick! sounded nice though.

[jasandjules]

Oddly my 400 wasn't ever happy at less than 30mph but the 5 seems fine at all speeds, even stuck in traffic on a hot day she was faultless.

As said above, just get a good one.

[george 500]

I don't think you'd be dissapointed with a 500. In pure numbers terms a weakish 400 (200hp) has a power to weight ratio of 181hp per ton (taking a weight of 1100kg). A strong 500 (300hp) has a power to weight ratio of 272hp per ton. As a benchmark a Porsche 996 turbo has a bhp/ton of 260....

Oh and not necessarily meaning to tempt you but there is a gorgeous green 500 in the classifieds at present with all the bits done on it and an Austec verified 296hp and apparently 345lb/ft of stump pulling power!!

Edited by george 500 on Wednesday 14th March 17:11

[tvr keith]

I have driven a mates 1998 400 as well as my 2000 450. Both are run on Shell V power/Tesco 99/BP Ultimar.
The 400 is rather snatchy at low revs, the 450 is smooth at all revs. I definitely noticed the difference in power although because the 400 has a little less I found that I could actually floor it and generally drive the thing a bit harder than mine.
Having said that the 400 still goes like stink and its only because I have the 450 that I notice the difference.
I have never driven a 500 but feel that it would possibly require someone with the skill of Michael Schumacher to use its potential and stay on the road. I do not profess to have that skill.
I think that if I was buying again as a newcomer to a TVR I would have got as much pleasure from a 400 as the 450. As has been said many times on here, buy on condition, a good 400 is better than a poor condition 450/500