Why are TVR handbrakes so cr@p?
Discussion
Got the job of delivering our neighbour's daughter to her friends house last night - ready to go out for her High School Ball. She wanted to arrive in style in front of her friends - before getting the white stretched limo etc etc, so the Tuscan was the desired means of transport. 
We got to the drop of point, a pair of posh houses, through the electric gates and I was confronted by a driveway that looked as steep as the North face of Everest.
I wasn't sure that the nose of the car was going to clear the ground so I took it really nice and slow until we were on the gradient.
Half way up the slope, their neighbour was coming down so I tucked myself over to the left hand side of this steep drive to allow him to pass. About 18" on my left was a huge dry stone wall.
I had to come to a full stop to let him pass, and this was where the trouble started. I had to do a hill start - but the handbrake could not hold the car (it was something between a 1:3 and a 1:4 - no joking). I even tried to pull the handbrake on using both hands - but it just couldn't do it! Everytime I took my foot off of the footbrake, we rolled back down the hill another six inches. Because of the shape of the drive, I was rolling back closer and closer to the dry stone wall, until eventually, the back of the car was no more than 12" away from hitting the wall
. All this and I had 3 families, all these girls etc etc - VIDEOING my arrivial! :0
I pondered what to do. Could I get someone with a 4x4 and tow rope to anchor themselves to the front of the car? Could we chock the car up to stop it rolling back? No and no.
Only thing for it - and only one chance at it without smashing the back of the car onto the wall:
Right foot on foot brake. Clutch up gently with left foot - then get my right foot off the brake onto the gas as quick as possible and give it enough revs to get it moving upwards without wheelspin. Tricky, very very tricky, and rather scary - all under pressure. Anyway, it worked. The torque of the S6 got us moving up nice and smoothly - but the pedal control to get it 'all right' was really devilish.
So, from now on I'm going to avoid stopping on hills and having to do hill starts. I found it really difficult in the Tuscan and the handbrake just doesn't cut the mustard. Its not a Tuscan fault though, the Chimaera I had before was just as bad!!
Just waiting to be shown the video now making an @rse of myself on camera - which did kind of spoil the planned gracefully entrance for all to see!
>>> Edited by TUS 373 on Monday 24th May 18:22
We got to the drop of point, a pair of posh houses, through the electric gates and I was confronted by a driveway that looked as steep as the North face of Everest.
I wasn't sure that the nose of the car was going to clear the ground so I took it really nice and slow until we were on the gradient. Half way up the slope, their neighbour was coming down so I tucked myself over to the left hand side of this steep drive to allow him to pass. About 18" on my left was a huge dry stone wall.
I had to come to a full stop to let him pass, and this was where the trouble started. I had to do a hill start - but the handbrake could not hold the car (it was something between a 1:3 and a 1:4 - no joking). I even tried to pull the handbrake on using both hands - but it just couldn't do it! Everytime I took my foot off of the footbrake, we rolled back down the hill another six inches. Because of the shape of the drive, I was rolling back closer and closer to the dry stone wall, until eventually, the back of the car was no more than 12" away from hitting the wall
. All this and I had 3 families, all these girls etc etc - VIDEOING my arrivial! :0 I pondered what to do. Could I get someone with a 4x4 and tow rope to anchor themselves to the front of the car? Could we chock the car up to stop it rolling back? No and no.
Only thing for it - and only one chance at it without smashing the back of the car onto the wall:
Right foot on foot brake. Clutch up gently with left foot - then get my right foot off the brake onto the gas as quick as possible and give it enough revs to get it moving upwards without wheelspin. Tricky, very very tricky, and rather scary - all under pressure. Anyway, it worked. The torque of the S6 got us moving up nice and smoothly - but the pedal control to get it 'all right' was really devilish.
So, from now on I'm going to avoid stopping on hills and having to do hill starts. I found it really difficult in the Tuscan and the handbrake just doesn't cut the mustard. Its not a Tuscan fault though, the Chimaera I had before was just as bad!!
Just waiting to be shown the video now making an @rse of myself on camera - which did kind of spoil the planned gracefully entrance for all to see!
>>> Edited by TUS 373 on Monday 24th May 18:22
got told once it was the routing of the cable that made them so useless.
Always made me laugh that scene from Swordfish when he yanks the handbrake to stand up and shoot as the 2 cars go flying by. Would love to see that in real life when the pathetic handbrake starts to slow the car down over a mile, the 2 baddies drive past and shoot the crap out of travolta. thats more like it
Always made me laugh that scene from Swordfish when he yanks the handbrake to stand up and shoot as the 2 cars go flying by. Would love to see that in real life when the pathetic handbrake starts to slow the car down over a mile, the 2 baddies drive past and shoot the crap out of travolta. thats more like it
shnozz said:
Always made me laugh that scene from Swordfish when he yanks the handbrake to stand up and shoot as the 2 cars go flying by. Would love to see that in real life when the pathetic handbrake starts to slow the car down over a mile, the 2 baddies drive past and shoot the crap out of travolta. thats more like it
I read somewhere that one of the cars used for Swordfish was "specially modified" to allow them to do handbrake turns.
TSS said:
Always made me laugh that scene from Swordfish when he yanks the handbrake to stand up and shoot as the 2 cars go flying by. Would love to see that in real life when the pathetic handbrake starts to slow the car down over a mile, the 2 baddies drive past and shoot the crap out of travolta. thats more like it
I read somewhere that one of the cars used for Swordfish was "specially modified" to allow them to do handbrake turns.
yeah, I had a chat with someone involved with the cars that told me how it was set up for the film
shnozz said:
got told once it was the routing of the cable that made them so useless.
Always made me laugh that scene from Swordfish when he yanks the handbrake to stand up and shoot as the 2 cars go flying by. Would love to see that in real life when the pathetic handbrake starts to slow the car down over a mile, the 2 baddies drive past and shoot the crap out of travolta. thats more like it
IIRC stunt cars often have two handbrakes - each independently operating one of the back wheels.
I'd be just happy to have one handbrake that works on BOTH wheels properly! Failing that, I need a Dick Dastardly style harpoon fired grappling iron and winch putting on the front to hold the car on hills.
I'd be just happy to have one handbrake that works on BOTH wheels properly! Failing that, I need a Dick Dastardly style harpoon fired grappling iron and winch putting on the front to hold the car on hills.
The handbrake on my cerb works very well, now that the inside of the rear drums have been opened up and all the detritus extracted, so that the shoes can make clean contact with them...
Not a particularly difficult job, either. Of course, before that it was the H+T hill-start method.
Not a particularly difficult job, either. Of course, before that it was the H+T hill-start method.
hehehe.
re: hill starts.. learn to heel and toe ! then you can do the brake and throttle at the same time for stuff like this...as well as being far smoother driver with your new found heel and toeing skills.
as for swordfish, I though they had been converted to hyraulic handbrakes ?
re: hill starts.. learn to heel and toe ! then you can do the brake and throttle at the same time for stuff like this...as well as being far smoother driver with your new found heel and toeing skills.
as for swordfish, I though they had been converted to hyraulic handbrakes ?
I'm currently hunting for either a Tuscan or a Tamora but want to make sure there are no major problems with these models. Looks like from what TUS373 says the handbrake might be the Tuscan's achilles heel. What else should I look out for when examining a Tuscan? Is the Tamora's handbrake the same design?
Hi
I've owned 2 TVRs and the handbrakes have been a bit crap on both of them when there is a steep gradient to contend with. On my Chimaera, the bloody thing nearly rolled away on day 1. After a trip to the dealer and a service at TVR, it was still just as crap. IMHO, a genuine case of "they all do that Sir".
If parking on a gradient, its an absolute must to leave a TVR in gear. Brake discs can cool down and the grip of the handbrake works loose. If doing a hill start on a very steep hil, some deft footwork is called for. I doubt that a Tamora would be much better, but I'd love to be proved wrong!
I've owned 2 TVRs and the handbrakes have been a bit crap on both of them when there is a steep gradient to contend with. On my Chimaera, the bloody thing nearly rolled away on day 1. After a trip to the dealer and a service at TVR, it was still just as crap. IMHO, a genuine case of "they all do that Sir".
If parking on a gradient, its an absolute must to leave a TVR in gear. Brake discs can cool down and the grip of the handbrake works loose. If doing a hill start on a very steep hil, some deft footwork is called for. I doubt that a Tamora would be much better, but I'd love to be proved wrong!
TVR handbrakes CAN be made to work fine, the Chimaera uses the rear disks and pads, the Tuscan uses a seperate drum brake for the handbrake (and so is 'less' suseptable to the effects of cooling disks) but both of my cars have had perfectly fine working handbrakes, so either I expect the handbrake to be cr@P or Walldonway know how to set them up properly!!
Gaham
Gaham
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