Maybe another TVR Newbie

[SHIFTY]

I have been watching the board for a while (and the AM classifieds), I sold my TVR a few months back and need to fill the empty space in the garage.

Looked at Porsche and Jag but really looking for a manual vantage (poss 4.7).

Can someone confirm on the sportshift if the paddles stay put when turning the wheel as my next door neighbour had an M3 and the paddles moved with the wheel. Not really a problem but he often changed up when he wanted down due to the paddles moving with the wheel.

There is a really nice Tungsten Blue sportshift in Cheltenham, but not really after paying full price when low mileage examples are out there.

[Zod]

There are afdvantages to having the paddles move, just as there are to having them fixed. On track, where you tend most of the time to keep your hands at quarter to three, it makes sense to have the padddles move. BMW has the stick as well for use when the paddles are out of reach. Ferrari and Lamborghini have a lengthened up paddle. The Aston paddles stay still.

[SabreN400]

Yep, the sportshift paddles are mounted on the steering column, so do not move when turning the wheel.

The levers are quite long, so can be reached with finger tips from quite a large portion of the wheel.

It's down to personal taste, but I love the SportShift, and have no problems with it. The only downside I find is you can't, for example in a confined space such as a Car Park, dip the clutch and blip the throttle.

Lots of tests etc say that the Manual is the more "involving drive for the enthusiastic driver". While that may be true, I don't have the talents of a racing driver, so struggle with heel and toe changes and blipping the throttle on downshifts effectively etc when driving with any degree of vigour.

I think both systems on the Vantage are excellent, but after nearly 3 decades with manual cars, I thought I might like something different for a while.

[SHIFTY]

Gents

Many thanks, I think a test drive in a sportshift has to be in order......

[steve_amv8]

SHIFTY said:

Gents

Many thanks, I think a test drive in a sportshift has to be in order......

A word of warning - a short test drive may leave you uncertain about SS as it can take some getting used to and, as a result, may seem a bit jerky.

After a few hours of practice though, it becomes second nature. Personally, having had both a manual and SS, I prefer the whole feel of SS and I certainly disagree about it being less fun/interactive than the manual.

[Grant3]

Stretch to a 4.7 if you can , the flappy paddles are a personal thing, I feel they remove one layer of driver involvement, but as Steve says I suppose the system grows on you with time.