Am I Just a P_ssy?
Discussion
Without wanting to invite too many simply "Yes" reply posts 
here's why I'm asking:
I took the Chimaera (4 litre) for a 'hard' drive over the Snake Pass when it has p!ssing it down (and I mean really badly) this weekend. The surface of that road is very bad in places, both in terms of variable grip and lots of bumps. I got a bit of a shock when the back end let go at 50mph when I was applying only the slightest bit of throttle in 3rd gear! Fortunately I managed to catch it but the entire drive was a little bit scary in that I think I would have been able to do it faster in my Golf GTi! The car was very nervous whenever the road got bumpy and there was a lot of standing water, which is to be expected to a certain extent with this sort of car, but I was still a bit taken aback. I've cracked 100mph over there in a '85 1.3 Honda Civic Automatic but by the time I'd reached the section where I've done this in the past I didn't trust the car enough to do it, though I know in my mind that it would have been fine.
In the dry I fairly regularly crack 120mph and have beaten a reasonably well driven Elise on a high speed road (i.e. long, high speed corners) but this whole wet weather behaviour aspect of the car is relatively new to me as up until now I hadn't really driven it hard in the wet. With autumn/winter and months of rain looming I'm just wondering whether anyone has any comments to pass on similar experiences or whether I'm just being a big girls blouse?!
Before anyone suggests it, I am intending to do a wet weather and performance driving course once the funds are available as I think my skills need improving more than I thought!
(However, if you've got any recommendations for good places to do this I'd be happy to hear them). Also, the car has virtually new Bridgestones so it's not the tyres!
roadsweeper. :waitingforaverbalbeatingfrompistonheadscrew:
here's why I'm asking: I took the Chimaera (4 litre) for a 'hard' drive over the Snake Pass when it has p!ssing it down (and I mean really badly) this weekend. The surface of that road is very bad in places, both in terms of variable grip and lots of bumps. I got a bit of a shock when the back end let go at 50mph when I was applying only the slightest bit of throttle in 3rd gear! Fortunately I managed to catch it but the entire drive was a little bit scary in that I think I would have been able to do it faster in my Golf GTi! The car was very nervous whenever the road got bumpy and there was a lot of standing water, which is to be expected to a certain extent with this sort of car, but I was still a bit taken aback. I've cracked 100mph over there in a '85 1.3 Honda Civic Automatic but by the time I'd reached the section where I've done this in the past I didn't trust the car enough to do it, though I know in my mind that it would have been fine.
In the dry I fairly regularly crack 120mph and have beaten a reasonably well driven Elise on a high speed road (i.e. long, high speed corners) but this whole wet weather behaviour aspect of the car is relatively new to me as up until now I hadn't really driven it hard in the wet. With autumn/winter and months of rain looming I'm just wondering whether anyone has any comments to pass on similar experiences or whether I'm just being a big girls blouse?!
Before anyone suggests it, I am intending to do a wet weather and performance driving course once the funds are available as I think my skills need improving more than I thought!
(However, if you've got any recommendations for good places to do this I'd be happy to hear them). Also, the car has virtually new Bridgestones so it's not the tyres! roadsweeper. :waitingforaverbalbeatingfrompistonheadscrew:
Hi Podie
That's exactly the section of road I mean. Cheers for the reassurance! I suppose that I shouldn't expect too much in those kind of conditions, but I would be interested to hear about any brave soul (not literally!) who's caned a Cerbera 4.5 or something even more hairy than my Chimaera in those conditions - I wonder how they found it?
P7LUG: Good point, but if I'm that bad a driver I'd like to know. I have a lot to learn for sure and I want to be able to get the most out of motor (where appropriate). If I was just into posing I'd probably have bought an Audi TT or something (apologies to anyone who has one and is offended by that!).
As for driving within my limits, that's a fair observation and I believe I did that. But it was still scary and I'm just trying to find out whether that's because my limits are low or because that kind of car on that kind of road is going to be a handful for most people.
Cheers for responses.
roadsweeper.
That's exactly the section of road I mean. Cheers for the reassurance!
I suppose that I shouldn't expect too much in those kind of conditions, but I would be interested to hear about any brave soul (not literally!) who's caned a Cerbera 4.5 or something even more hairy than my Chimaera in those conditions - I wonder how they found it? P7LUG: Good point, but if I'm that bad a driver I'd like to know. I have a lot to learn for sure and I want to be able to get the most out of motor (where appropriate). If I was just into posing I'd probably have bought an Audi TT or something (apologies to anyone who has one and is offended by that!
). As for driving within my limits, that's a fair observation and I believe I did that. But it was still scary and I'm just trying to find out whether that's because my limits are low or because that kind of car on that kind of road is going to be a handful for most people.
Cheers for responses.
roadsweeper.
mhibbins said:
That's a faultess example of logical deduction.
Right, I'm going to give that Schuey character a pounding!
quote:
My mate who was following me though I was toast and was amazed I caught it, therefore as I caught it and you did too then therefore we must both be great drivers and you should pat yourself on the back.
That's a faultess example of logical deduction.
Right, I'm going to give that Schuey character a pounding!
Hi rev-erend.
I had a hairy moment on a dual carriageway in the wet very shortly after buying the TVR. I was doing about 40mph on a straight bit of dual carriageway with a good surface but it was somewhat damp (as opposed to standing water). I floored it in an attempt to impress my (female) passenger and succeeded only in provoking a full-on fishtail down the road as I tried to correct and initally mis-timed it. Fortunately I got it in the end and put that one down to me being a p!llock, but the one on the Snake Pass was more worrying in that I was doing 50mph in 3rd so thought the torque would be much less likely to get the back end to kick out. From what people are saying I think it's probably to be expected to a certain extent on roads like the Snake Pass, particularly when it's in the middle of a torrential downpour - visibility was so bad at times that I couldn't overtake the car in front because I couldn't see far enough ahead even on straight roads due to the amount of rain coming down and being kicked up by the car in front.
Still, we learn from these things I suppose and my driving is a lot smoother after buying the Chimaera. I guess I'm just used to hanging the tail out on things like Honda Civics and Golf GTis (yes, I'm serious, I used to get my '85 Civic Auto into 4 wheel drifts at 90mph) but I'm too scared to do it with the TVR!
One day I will be sipping at the golden chalice of Tiff-style controlled oversteer in a TVR, though I wouldn't be doing it on road!
I had a hairy moment on a dual carriageway in the wet very shortly after buying the TVR. I was doing about 40mph on a straight bit of dual carriageway with a good surface but it was somewhat damp (as opposed to standing water). I floored it in an attempt to impress my (female) passenger and succeeded only in provoking a full-on fishtail down the road as I tried to correct and initally mis-timed it. Fortunately I got it in the end and put that one down to me being a p!llock, but the one on the Snake Pass was more worrying in that I was doing 50mph in 3rd so thought the torque would be much less likely to get the back end to kick out. From what people are saying I think it's probably to be expected to a certain extent on roads like the Snake Pass, particularly when it's in the middle of a torrential downpour - visibility was so bad at times that I couldn't overtake the car in front because I couldn't see far enough ahead even on straight roads due to the amount of rain coming down and being kicked up by the car in front.
Still, we learn from these things I suppose and my driving is a lot smoother after buying the Chimaera. I guess I'm just used to hanging the tail out on things like Honda Civics and Golf GTis (yes, I'm serious, I used to get my '85 Civic Auto into 4 wheel drifts at 90mph) but I'm too scared to do it with the TVR!
One day I will be sipping at the golden chalice of Tiff-style controlled oversteer in a TVR, though I wouldn't be doing it on road!
Hmmm... interesting comments.
To be honest I had expected that a Cerbera (particularly AJP8 4.2 and 4.5) would be much 'worse' than a Chimaera 400 in this kind of situation, despite the long wheelbase, due to the huge amount of torque on offer and their massive tyres. Sounds like I was wrong. Are we basically saying that all other things being equal it's easier/safer to driver a Cerbera in the wet than a Chimaera? In turn I would expect that a Griffith 500 would be really tricky in these kind of conditions but a weapon in the dry?
As for a Griff 500 - if I'd been driving one of those over the Snake Pass I don't think I'd have dropped below 4th for fear of spinning it, it was that bad. In fact davidy I might have taken your advice and pulled over for a while.
mondeoman: Scary! (Your post, not you!)
My conclusion appears to be that I have to be really careful in the wet (not just careful which I thought I had been) - guess it's all about learning the car. Before this my fastest car was a Golf MkII 1.8GTi!
Cheers.
roadsweeper.
To be honest I had expected that a Cerbera (particularly AJP8 4.2 and 4.5) would be much 'worse' than a Chimaera 400 in this kind of situation, despite the long wheelbase, due to the huge amount of torque on offer and their massive tyres. Sounds like I was wrong. Are we basically saying that all other things being equal it's easier/safer to driver a Cerbera in the wet than a Chimaera? In turn I would expect that a Griffith 500 would be really tricky in these kind of conditions but a weapon in the dry?
As for a Griff 500 - if I'd been driving one of those over the Snake Pass I don't think I'd have dropped below 4th for fear of spinning it, it was that bad. In fact davidy I might have taken your advice and pulled over for a while.
mondeoman: Scary! (Your post, not you!
) My conclusion appears to be that I have to be really careful in the wet (not just careful which I thought I had been) - guess it's all about learning the car. Before this my fastest car was a Golf MkII 1.8GTi!
Cheers.
roadsweeper.
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