Magic Boot

Hope to be moving UP from a scoob to a Griff. 500. Anyone done same or care to comment (read FLAME me )

Richard Askew

Lucky git

imatrukahs

Hmmmm slow unstable,springs to mind...I raced one and kept up with my mere 350bhp Cossie,but backed off,cause when he changed gear it went sideways...

FreeT

Iain Young

A chap at work has one. Sounds amazing, looks great, and handles well in the dry. Get up close however, and the build quality is not great, and it seems to break down with alarming frequency. Perhaps he's just got a bad one

jjk

awesome machine.
i considered a 4 litre Chimp before choosing scoob.
I bought the scoob with my head and not my heart.
Reason was that I had been burnt before with a bad experience with a new westfield. Lots of mechanical and build quality problems.
Think that if I didnt have probs with my Westfield then I would have got the TVR.
Very happy with the scoob but still would love a tivver.
Just watch out for high servicing costs and build quality.
TVR rawer and prob harder to extract the maximum out of, but a fantastic motor.
Good luck
jas

imatrukahs

Free T,you really ought to go looking for a better looking girlfriend...

igratton

Wet (or dry for that matter) roundabouts will never be the same again

Ian

Magic Boot

Sorry for bad proof reading of Topic title, should be GRIFFITH of course.

Thanks for the replies with the exception of Free T , playtime is nearly over, back to class and don't forget to drink your milk!

Can't believe there aren't more TVR owners past or present on here.

Jza

I very nearly bought a Chimera 4.5 but bought the WRX as i needed to commute. Griffith is way to raw and massively powerful for me. You'll be sliding everywhere in the wet!!!! Try the Chimera - used examples are good deals as everyone wants a new Tamora!!!

Griffith is a very wild beast - to compare to a scooby - well you can't really. Sounds awesome - go cart like handling - but in the wet or on the limit you've had it. I got one sideways out of the car park in the dry when i test drove a 500!!!!!! You really need to be a good driver to be quick and safe. The scooby makes you think your a star - the griffith lets you know your not!!

It would make a great second car - but not something you'd want on a day to day basis!!!! You could just about live with a Chimera!!

They do break down A LOT - even the dealers admit this!! Service history and low mileage are v.important. check the history of the car and get someone to look at it if your buying private. Expect huge servicing bills (£500+ if nothing goes wrong - which it will) and frequent trips to get it fixed...... but

Nothing - and i mean nothing IMHO beats a TVR on the roads for performance, sound, street cred and looks for the $$$$$$'s

But to swap from a scooby... be prepared for a shock!!!!!!

Jza

ScoobyJawa

MB,

Think FreeT was aiming the pig at IMA so don't worry

Griffith are nice but if I was gonna buy a TVR it wouldn't be one of them, would be a Chim or Cer

[Edited by ScoobyJawa - 2/20/2002 1:48:49 PM]

IntegraR

I drove a 4.3 pre cat for a good long test drive, it had 500 engine mods and quaiffe diff, and hell!! those things shift!!
Not sure what Imatruk is on about with the whole "moving sideways" bit, pushed this one hard, and it felt very stable, cornered well.

Controls feel very heavy after most normal cars. Its a proper heavy handed car, and you have to do some work while driving.

The sound is mind blowing, but to be honest, I was painfully aware of the reliability issues whilst driving it, and felt nervous about using it really hard.

I seriously considered it, but there was LOTS of damp everywhere, and of course the whole reliability issue didnt help. Ver kit car.

Fantastically powerful and light though, and frightening as well, like you put your foot down on a straight, and before you've had time to compose yourself, you're at the corner already!! it just keeps pulling, and the experience makes you realise that they're quite dangerous cars, lets just say I was more hanging on for dear life rather than controlling it, though with more experience of it, I imagine that would change.

As a second car, yes, as an only car, I wouldnt.


[Edited by IntegraR - 2/20/2002 1:53:05 PM]

ScoobySnack

Hi Magic Boot,

Owned 3 in the past, last one being a 4.0 Chimp before changing to a Scooby for everyday use.

I'm now saving cos I want a 5.0 Grif for the garage (bright yellow with anthracite wheels). It seems the low prices of these used TVR's means you won't find this kind of bargain anywhere else.

(I've just spotted an R plate with 12k £19K, shame my money ain't there yet)

The noise, power and the torque in a 1000kg car is awesome. People can always have a go at any car, sod them its you that is buying it.

J

FreeT

imatrukahs

Osama Mc Donalds

Bad Mistake, although best of luck with it!
I used to own one and trust me you will regreat it. I found it to be a bad all round car but each to their own.

P1 is way better

Osama

Yex

Interesting thread this as I'm test driving a Tuscan Speed 6 in the near future as an alternative to my RB5WR. It will always be a second car so not too fussed about running costs, more concerned about reliability so will be lookng into this in the mean time. If I buy the Tuscan I will certainly be on the TVR web site booking a driving education day at Bedford, money very well spent I would think

Yex

Jza

If you want nervous... wait until the salesman start saying "dont WHAT EVER you do floor it coming out of this corner" at every sharp corner when you test drive it.....

Guy needed nappies!!!

Jza

jjk

Hi Yex,

You have the same ideas as me then Yex.
A mate of mine who used to work with me has a mate who has one and said it is unreal.
He has had a few teething problems with interior etc falling off.
Im still tempted though.
Sound and look stunning

Jas

IntegraR

I know what you mean Jza, I got "its not necessary to change down, the torque will pull you along", but I ingored him, and changed down, and the kick!!! he wasnt well impressed with some of the driving, and I must admit, I never meant to enter some of those corners at that speed, but its like being strapped into a missile, and its fun!!

I cant understand why with there engineers, and the length of time they've used these engines, they cant make them reliable? surely they arent that overstressed that they should be so unreliable?

If they could sort that out, then TVR could wipe out just about all their competitors, cause they have the performance and style, but also carry around these huge reliability concerns.

Lovely though, and that TVR rumble is unmistakeable, but be careful, running and servicing arent cheap.

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

Driven a few.
Chimera was my favorite.
As has been said before.
Not the most reliable
Big running costs
Fantastic Noise... what a ******* great noise
Very very quick.
A real handfull
Would rather have a TVR for sound, looks and roof down pose
Would rather have my Scoob because it is a better all round car and a boxer flat 4 sounds pretty good when you have a good full exhaust system bolted on.
Just my thoughts

Steve

Jon1T

Best mate had a Tuscan. It was very very very very hairy in the wet. It was fun to be in for about 20 miles but after that the noise and the massive heat soak from the engine was unbearable. Oh and it squeaked and rattled and bits fell off.

It was awesome tho - but I wouldn't buy one as a sole car.

skipjack

very kind of you to offer. i'll have one in BRG thanks.

chris p1

I've done it the other way round,i had a Griff 500 for nearly 2 years before the p1 and it is a fantastic car all the time it's working very fast sounds awsome and looks great but when it goes wrong be ready for some huge bills and i mean HUGE these things aren't cheap to keep going but if you can justify this they are great fun,i don't regret having one at all.Try to get one with a warranty so at least you won't have any big worry's for the first year.
Chris.

Andy Hall

I had a Griff 500, scared the **** out of myself so many times I changed over to scoobs.
Amazing noise, amazing wheelspining in 4th gear at 80 as you overtake on a very slightly damp road (if you weren't also going sideways).
Gorgeous interior and looks but I wouldn't recommend you buy it to cover the ground at anything like the rate you can in a scooby

I can lap Castle Coombe faster in my Dads S2 3L V6 than I could in the Griff. With the Griff when it goes, its gone before you know it. I've heard the Chimaera breaks away more progressively but havent tried one.

Good luck

Andy

banshi

Chris, warranty is normally limited to 1k which don't go far when things go wrong. Things fall off. Fail or break, just cos it's costly doesn't change the fact it's a kit car.

Came close to buying a 5ltr Griff, but concluded it wouldn't work as a second car and much as I would have loved it I couldn't afford a third/weekend only motor.

Agree with all the (informed) comments above except Jza's one on go kart handling who has driving skills that exceed mine by some margin.

Someone said in another thread 75% of Tivi accidents involved no other vehicle!

Not wishing to be a partypooper but do get some instruction before exploring a TVRs capabilities. Brother in Law, who races a Westfield, owned two Chimeras. The first one placed him in intensive care for five days, three of which we spent by his bed wondering if he would make dawn. For the next nine months he wore a double colostomy bag until his insides were
up to accepting piping to join everything back together.

His error? Picked it up after a service and checked if it was running right. On a dry warm summers day he floored it on a long straight .........

Bought another though and if I had the cash so would I

BTW they were Chimeras

storm555

I nearly bought a 4litre Griffith....it looked great and went well...but iffy build quality...totally impractical and no quicker than my WRX......5 litre will be quicker...sounds great but my WRX has full Prodrive Exhaust sounds just as nice......

Martin J Stirling

I would dearly love a Tuscan. To me it is possibly the best looking car ever made. One criticism I always had of the usual supercar exotica was their bulk, Ferraris, Lambos etc are huge, yet the Tuscan with equal performance is just perfect in terms of size weight and proportions.

One thing I can't get my head around are the reliability issues. You can now pick up an Y reg Tuscan with 3K miles for £30K which is just ludicrous, that's £15K or 33% depreciation in a year! The reason? Because people are desperate to sell and no-one wants to buy.

I did a lot of research into getting one before the P1 as I was tempted by the seemingly bargain price, but with a basic service costing a minimum of £500 and services costing £3000 not uncommon, I started to get wary. Further investigation found reports of between 50 - 200 Tuscans waiting an engine rebuild at any one time and owners quoting more time spent in the garage than on the road eventually sealed it for me. I decided not to get one.

I still want one though, so maybe in a few years when reliability issues are resolved and I can afford a weekend runaround then maybe I'll consider it. Until then, the Skyline will get my money, when I can afford it..

MS

Jeff Wiltshire

I've always wanted a 4.5 Cerbera...driven the Griff 500 & a Chimera and I have to say that the Chimera felt a better handling car..but the Cerbera was even more impressive 180+ mph....

Reliabilty is going to be a problem..!


Jeff

scottdg

umm, interesting thread this. My thoughts are as follows:

A lot of you are saying these things are awsome in a straight line, wheel spins at 80 etc, etc, gut wrenching acceleration and so on. So TVR's are an awesome performance car, right? But I certainly don't think they're on a another level as a performance car and certainly not as a drivers car.

A quick flick through Auto car shows 0-60 times for Chimaeras and Griffiths (both engine sizes) as anywhere between 4.2 & 5.2 seconds, 0-100 times of 10-14 secs. OK so they can move off the line and through the gears. But hey so can any good scoob.

And we haven't even discussed the merits of full time 4 wheel drive. I've played with a number of TVR's on road and track, some of which belonged to friends who are not too bad behind the wheel either, and have to say that until highly illegal speeds are reached there is nothing in it. Throw in a couple of bends and it's good night Trevor.

Don't be fooled by a flash badge and a lumpy V8 in other words, IMHO they aren't what they're cracked up to be.

Jza

Sorry Scott, fair opinion but test drive one!

Its really not all about "my cars faster A-B". The point with TVR is they an EXPERIENCE. Scoobys are really dull and antisceptic in comparison.

TVR's are raw and uncompromising.... a lot like riding a bike.

And the 0-60 times dont tell the tale of the MASSIVE torque and low weight. And the noise, wind in face ans amazingly zany interior that only they provide. Remember the Tuscan S wiped the floor in the performance stakes etc in recent Evo, against Porches and Ferraris.... double the price.

So if your only after a quick way of getting from A-B then fine... if you want to live on the edge a bit get a TVR...

.....if its ever working

Jza