Advice please on Speed6 upgrades

[alt]

My Tamora'll be 3 years old in a couple of weeks (first customer car) and is booked into TVR Power for its 24,000 mile service and MOT.

I've decided that the only thing I would want to replace it is another Tamora so as it's reliable I've decided to keep it maybe spend some money on an upgrade.

So other than the service I'm looking at:-

Sports Exhaust
Nitons
Engine Blueprinting
3.6 to 4.0 RR upgrade

I think the exhaust is a definite so has anyone had any of the others?

Would nitrons make much of a difference for normal driving? 45 mile daily round trip on bumpy a-roads.

Is blueprinting worth the money? What are the advantages if you don't have any engine trouble to start with?

Basically I'm not made of money so find it hard to justify some of these things.

Any advice would be welcome please.

Cheers.... Andrew

[ricardo]

My suggestions would be to check that you have the latest spec on all aspects of the car (I'm not sure what revisions would have been made on the Tamora); then definately Sports Exhaust - or full bid-bore sports system if you fancy it but it costs a lot more; Nitons if you want to use it extensively on the track; blue printing is costly compared to the gains; and 3.6 to 4.0 RR upgrade if you want a better mid-range - I'd love it but it isn't cheap and I quite like the drivability of the 3.6.

Dom will be able to give a sensible responses to cost/benefit questions.

Rich

[alt]

Thanks Ricardo, I called in for a chat with Dom Friday afternoon but am still undecided!
Think I've ruled out the blueprinting and 4.0l RR so that just leaves the decision on the Nitons! Exhaust is a definite!
Cheers...... Andrew

[ricardo]

alt said:

Thanks Ricardo, I called in for a chat with Dom Friday afternoon but am still undecided! Think I've ruled out the blueprinting and 4.0l RR so that just leaves the decision on the Nitons! Exhaust is a definite! Cheers...... Andrew

If you do go for the Nitrons please let me know how it is for daily commuting

[nubbin]

If I were to do anything, Andrew, I would have a Red Rose brake conversion, and a de-cat, modified chip, and sports exhaust - de-cat and exhaust about £300 each, and RR brakes about £1000 (at a guess).

If I was made of money, the RR engine is blueprinted anyway, and the standard chassis could certainly take it. In fact mine will be going to TVR Power for a decat and chip, when I get round to sorting out the speed sensor issue.

[alt]

Hi Nubbin, when I was talking to Dom about the 4.0l RR upgrade he said that no brake-work was needed as the Tamora's standard brakes were up to the job.

What are the 'chip' changes you mentioned?

[nubbin]

They modify the chip when they remove the cats, to cope with reduced back pressure and to allow for emissions changes - so it would still pass your upcoming MOT!

I will certainly get this done before the next Eurohoon - the noise will be spectacular! £300 well spent IMHO...

[alt]

Right then, it's now booked in for its 24,000 mile service, MOT, sports exhaust and nitrons!
Looking forward to it already!
I'll let you know if/how the nitrons transform the handling.
Cheers..... Andrew

[Mr Freefall]

nubbin said:

They modify the chip when they remove the cats, to cope with reduced back pressure and to allow for emissions changes - so it would still pass your upcoming MOT! I will certainly get this done before the next Eurohoon - the noise will be spectacular! £300 well spent IMHO...

I have my T350 de-catted, do not expect a big change in the exhaust note... Speak to do about modifying your back box also with the de-catt and rechip. You will notice the difference then.

I have had a de-catt for 1 month now hoping for a difference note on the exhaust, but not much happening there, so I will opt for a sports exhuast, but, Dom has said the super sports exhuasts will be too loud, and effect the back pressure even more, so the only thing to so is modify my back box (basically sleave) for a free flowing exhaust...

[Ffirg 005]

Will be very interested to hear how much of a difference the Nitrons make. I had them fitted to my Griff and they totally transformed the handling. Standard dampers on the Tamora are already very good IMO, but would expect the Nitrons to be a big improvement all the same.

As for daily driveability - it'll be fine. Even on a firm setting the nitroned Griff produced less jarring on bumpy roads than the 3-series BeeEm (with factory standard sports suspension) that I also had then.

[alt]

Yep, agree that the standard Tamora shocks are very good but have gone with Dom's advice that the Nitrons will be a big improvement.
I'll let you know the outcome in a couple of weeks.....

[chris watton]

I have gone down the close ratio gearbox route , will be interesting to hear what difference the Nitrons make though!

[Targarama]

So what about finding out what Austec can do for us? I emailed them after the article on PH recently. Not heard anything back.

I'm in the US on business right now so can't exactly get my car to them, but if you guys are actively upgrading then why not find out what they can do? A rechip or whatever is going to be cheaper than some of the other options like an RR upgrade. The RR upgrade only gives 375hp vs 350 (or is it 360) std hp (what are the torque gains?). If a rechip gives 5% gain at the top end with a bit more torque on the way then it's as good as an RR upgrade.

[alt]

The TVR Power 3.6l to 4.0l RR upgrade gives 390bhp.....

[nubbin]

Mr Freefall said:

I have my T350 de-catted, do not expect a big change in the exhaust note... Speak to do about modifying your back box also with the de-catt and rechip. You will notice the difference then. I have had a de-catt for 1 month now hoping for a difference note on the exhaust, but not much happening there, so I will opt for a sports exhuast, but, Dom has said the super sports exhuasts will be too loud, and effect the back pressure even more, so the only thing to so is modify my back box (basically sleave) for a free flowing exhaust...

Another point - it was VERY noticeable on Eurohoon last year that all the cars had roughly the same preformance - from Honda S2000 through to Griffs, even if power delivery was slightly different. The 996 Turbo and DB9 were somwhat faster, but it made me realise that talking "pub horsepower" means nothing in real world driving - my Tamora was just as fast, and considerably more nimble, than a RR Tuscan - if you want to feel a REAL world change, you would need at least another 100bhp - and potentially over-stress the speed six.

I already have the JP sports exhauast, and I get the desired pops and bangs, which started me thinking about what it is all doing to the cats - and after chatting to a few mechanics etc. they also felt that it will eventually destroy the cats - so I think I'll have them off, and the modified chip - it will probably amplify the pops and bangs, but not make a huge difference to the overall sound as the sports exhaust is seriously loud already. (Might get some flames out of the exhaust though!! )

Having said that, JSG's de-catted Tuscan sounded like a gunfight in a burning firework factory!!

>> Edited by nubbin on Thursday 13th January 08:43

[chris watton]

nubbin said:

Mr Freefall said: I have my T350 de-catted, do not expect a big change in the exhaust note... Speak to do about modifying your back box also with the de-catt and rechip. You will notice the difference then. I have had a de-catt for 1 month now hoping for a difference note on the exhaust, but not much happening there, so I will opt for a sports exhuast, but, Dom has said the super sports exhuasts will be too loud, and effect the back pressure even more, so the only thing to so is modify my back box (basically sleave) for a free flowing exhaust... Another point - it was VERY noticeable on Eurohoon last year that all the cars had roughly the same preformance - from Honda S2000 through to Griffs, even if power delivery was slightly different. The 996 Turbo and DB9 were somwhat faster, but it made me realise that talking "pub horsepower" means nothing in real world driving - my Tamora was just as fast, and considerably more nimble, than a RR Tuscan - if you want to feel a REAL world change, you would need at least another 100bhp - and potentially over-stress the speed six. I already have the JP sports exhauast, and I get the desired pops and bangs, which started me thinking about what it is all doing to the cats - and after chatting to a few mechanics etc. they also felt that it will eventually destroy the cats - so I think I'll have them off, and the modified chip - it will probably amplify the pops and bangs, but not make a huge difference to the overall sound as the sports exhaust is seriously loud already. (Might get some flames out of the exhaust though!! ) Having said that, JSG's de-catted Tuscan sounded like a gunfight in a burning firework factory!! >> Edited by nubbin on Thursday 13th January 08:43

Was that your letter I read in EVO Nubbin?? , You are right, there isn't a lot of difference at all in the real worl regarding how fast different (quite similar, ie- plus or minus 50-60 bhp,, when we had our ZR160, the forums always had idiots bragging about what they 'smoked', in reality, a 160BHP car is no quicker than most saloon cars, in fact, I remember finding it hard to keep up with a relatively heavier Zaifra GSI in the ZR,, you do need at least 100BHP more for you to see a difference in performance, that is so true,,, so,,, an extra 25 or even 40BHP is not worth the cost of a RR upgrade,,, a close ratio gearbox,, however,,,,,,

[joospeed]

It's true that at the sort of performance you have in a TVR you need a lot of power to feel you're going faster .. generally to feel any faster you need at least ten percent extra poke. That means around 35-40bhp in a Tamora.

As Nubbin rightfully says it wouldn't actually make any significant difference to it's ability to cover ground quickly either , so on that basis it's poor value for money.

However get off the road and onto a track where you can consistently put in fast laps then the extra poke becomes more significant.

Many TVRs are used on track, and in competition and in these arenas any extra poke you have is going to make you faster if you can use it wisely.

The SP6 cars have excellent throttle response as standard, so remapping wouldn't get you noticebaly better results there either .. on the cerbera 4.5s we're constantly battling to get good throttle response .. remapping is practically the only way to do it .. and remapping makes far more sense on these cars as they're so far from their optimum as delivered from the factory ..

the Sp6 cars though are stunning performers as std .. doesn't mean that improvements are a total waste of time and money, just that as rightfully pointed out here - if you only drive on the road then extra poke from the SP6 is probably very low on the priority list for ground-covering ability.

[nubbin]

chris watton said:

Was that your letter I read in EVO Nubbin?? ...a close ratio gearbox,, however,,,,,,

that was me alright, Chris

How have you found the CR 'box? It was on my original spec. list for my first tamora, but I forgot about it when finalisng the order. How much diffeence does it make to the feel of acceleration?

[alt]

joospeed said:

the Sp6 cars though are stunning performers as std .. doesn't mean that improvements are a total waste of time and money, just that as rightfully pointed out here - if you only drive on the road then extra poke from the SP6 is probably very low on the priority list for ground-covering ability.

So does that mean I'm not wasting my money by getting the Nitrons fitted?

[mjc]

alt said:

joospeed said: the Sp6 cars though are stunning performers as std .. doesn't mean that improvements are a total waste of time and money, just that as rightfully pointed out here - if you only drive on the road then extra poke from the SP6 is probably very low on the priority list for ground-covering ability. So does that mean I'm not wasting my money by getting the Nitrons fitted?

I personally dont think you are - Its the one thing I'm planning on having one in the near future, although I would reccomend you get them from somewher that takes thier time in setting them up properly for you...


Joo,

What sort of things can / can we not expect in terms of improvement if we get them fitted? I'm really looking for a lot more composure.... The car is great on a "billiard table smooth" road, but as soon as you take it down a 'B' road with a less than perfect surface it very easily becomes unsettled..... it also does this at "higher" speed on dual-carriageways etc.... Will Nitrons help in this, or are they just going to give a slight improvement in the normal ride quality...?