speed six sales

[john i]

just a quick question how many tvr's with the six cylinder engine been sold anyone know roughly

[VYT]

My guess would be about 4000.

[john i]

if they have sold that many to be honest there not doing that bad as from what i can work out there dont seem to be that many gone wrong on here,please correct me if I'm wrong

[dvs_dave]

That's one of the problems with the whole Speed 6 reliability can of worms. Nobody (except possibly TVR) know the actual numbers so it's impossible for anyone to come up with meaningful failure rates.

Its been said by the original engine designer (Al Melling) that there are some inherent flaws engineered into the design (allegedly by TVR for various unconfirmed reasons) that can result in premature top end failure. However nobody knows what these failure rates are and it does seem very sporadic, with some engines needing 3 rebuilds in 15000 miles and many still going strong at 25-30k with nothing more than oil changes. Apparently the engines are very sensitive to the initial build quality so if you get a goodun' it should last reasonably well.

However, there is gargantuan amount of rumor, conjecture, hearsay and utter rubbish knocking about on the subject so have fun picking who/what you choose to believe.

I hasten to add IMO

[john i]

looking at the ramps on the cam they look like there going to give the top end a hard time

[yzf1070]

john i said:

looking at the ramps on the cam they look like there going to give the top end a hard time

Exactly...which is why TVRCraft are offering new replacement cams with a profile to suit the existing factory followers and Crafts own re-designed finger followers which provide a constant oil feed to the cam lobe and follower pad, this amongst their many other mods on offer.

I would love to see inside a 2005+ SP6 to see what differences have been incorporated. Craft found that my 2003 engine had steel valve guides and coated stem valves. This sort of mod is aimed at increasing the longevity, but the way I see it; it will only slightly and does not address the inherent issues with the build. Masking such a problem instead of taking it head on and engineering a proper solution; well it is like burying ones head in the sand hoping it will all go away.....then again it probably will for 36K miles or 3 years.....yes I am a sceptic. Untill I see the proof I certainly would not buy another speed 6. I would like to see details and customer accumulated data.....guess I will have my Craft S6 for a long time then....I hope!

Edited by yzf1070 on Friday 30th June 23:57