Cerbera as a track day toy?

[PiB]

Greetings, it has taken awhile but these beasts are finally available for import to the USA legally. The answers are all here somewhere on the forum when I was much younger twenty years ago lurking.

Can I use a Cerbera as a consistent track car like I can an Evora GT or BMW M4, 911 etc?

On paper it ticks all the boxes but how is it for cooling, brakes, track alignment's with plenty of negative camber?

[ukkid35]

PiB said:

Greetings, it has taken awhile but these beasts are finally available for import to the USA legally. The answers are all here somewhere on the forum when I was much younger twenty years ago lurking.

Can I use a Cerbera as a consistent track car like I can an Evora GT or BMW M4, 911 etc?

On paper it ticks all the boxes but how is it for cooling, brakes, track alignment's with plenty of negative camber?

The cooling problem is mainly about heat soak affecting/damaging the ancillaries, but this can be handled if you add heat shields

I have lost expansion tanks and starter motors, which can be very irritating, especially before I started carrying spares

I find the standard brakes to be perfectly adequate, but I mainly drive at Nurburgring track days, and the Ring is not that hard on brakes, not as hard as Spa for instance

My Cerb is also a road car, so I don't max out the camber, but there is a fair amount of adjustment, and if you want even more then it would be a very simple job to modify the upper A arms

I should add cooling for the PS fluid, because there is one corner where I run out of assistance, but only when I am braking harder than usual

Also, I run rubber bushes, except on the ARBs, as I don't want to introduce poly harshness

I've been using AD08 for years, so not the softest track day tyres, mainly because it's also a road car and I drive to and from tracks

However, comparing the Cerb to an Evora or M4 or any other car that is 10 or 15 years younger is, well, there is no comparison - you have to drive the Cerb, other cars will do a lot of heavy lifting for you

[PiB]

Thanks for the information. Interesting about the power steering. I have had some cars with that problem but wasn't expecting it with a tvr. The other thing that worries me despite being a very raw car the electronics to start the car open the doors seem a little suspect at times.

[MarkwG]

Ref doors- if its not "popping" effectively possibly the solenoids. There's an upgrade idea using Ford Cmax iirc. There's also the emergency handle in the sill, both sides

[ukkid35]

Actually I did have a problem with the MBE ECU, which has suffered from heat soak in extreme heat and traffic, but never on track

I now always carry a spare and swap them if it plays up, which I haven't had to do for several years

[PiB]

Parts and spares like that readily available? In the USA there is an importer in Arizona that should be helping owners.

TVR Garage

[ukkid35]

PiB said:

Parts and spares like that readily available? In the USA there is an importer in Arizona that should be helping owners.

TVR Garage

This thread explains one significant part that is NLA, and also the workarounds available

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

As it happens, if you're in the US, the solution is slightly easier

[Byker28i]

I've upgraded front and rear pads to Carbon Lorraine, and had no problems with brake fade or disk warp after that, but thats 20 min stints on trackdays, let the car cool down.
Biggest problem I've found is on a full throttle circuit like Castle Coombe, Silverstone etc, you can get down to about 6mpg.

Such fun though

[PiB]

Nice! Thanks for all the input. I need to read through the huge archive here. I gotta do this now that it is possible.

[ukkid35]

PiB said:

Nice! Thanks for all the input. I need to read through the huge archive here. I gotta do this now that it is possible.

Here's a lap at the Ring in case you're interested

[Imran999]

ukkid35 said:

PiB said:

Nice! Thanks for all the input. I need to read through the huge archive here. I gotta do this now that it is possible.

Here's a lap at the Ring in case you're interested

Bloody hell Paul, that looked seriously quick!
Seems to corner really flat and flies on the straights - I see you keep your inputs very smooth, lots of practise!
For a car with zero driver aids, that’s quite the pace.

[ukkid35]

Imran999 said:

Bloody hell Paul, that looked seriously quick!
Seems to corner really flat and flies on the straights - I see you keep your inputs very smooth, lots of practise!
For a car with zero driver aids, that’s quite the pace.

Let's hope you can make it to the Ring one day, it would be great to meet up, and take you out on track

There are plenty of hire car options to give you a chance to get some laps yourself as well