Anyone know it
Discussion
I saw that one too and thought it looked interesting. Love the colour. Not sure about the hardtop arrangement. Nowt wrong with the stock roof arrangement IMHO.
Not sure I like the seats either and interior cour combo. Rest looks nice though. Doesn't say anything about chassis does it?
I have a quandary in either keeper my nice and perfect good Chimaera 400, or doing a turbo or SC mod, or going for a Chimaera 450 or 500 or later TCar.
Too many options and not sure which way to turn?!
Been talking to the owner of the nice red 500 on PH as well.
Any opinions on the debate on 500 vs 400 with Turbo or SC?
I'm miles away from both the red 500 in Nottingham and the Orange 400SC in Northumberland so would be a long day out for me to see both.
If the Orange one is local to you go to see it and see what you think.
Not sure I like the seats either and interior cour combo. Rest looks nice though. Doesn't say anything about chassis does it?
I have a quandary in either keeper my nice and perfect good Chimaera 400, or doing a turbo or SC mod, or going for a Chimaera 450 or 500 or later TCar.
Too many options and not sure which way to turn?!
Been talking to the owner of the nice red 500 on PH as well.
Any opinions on the debate on 500 vs 400 with Turbo or SC?
I'm miles away from both the red 500 in Nottingham and the Orange 400SC in Northumberland so would be a long day out for me to see both.
If the Orange one is local to you go to see it and see what you think.
rockits said:
I saw that one too and thought it looked interesting. Love the colour. Not sure about the hardtop arrangement. Nowt wrong with the stock roof arrangement IMHO.
Not sure I like the seats either and interior cour combo. Rest looks nice though. Doesn't say anything about chassis does it?
I have a quandary in either keeper my nice and perfect good Chimaera 400, or doing a turbo or SC mod, or going for a Chimaera 450 or 500 or later TCar.
Too many options and not sure which way to turn?!
Been talking to the owner of the nice red 500 on PH as well.
Any opinions on the debate on 500 vs 400 with Turbo or SC?
I'm miles away from both the red 500 in Nottingham and the Orange 400SC in Northumberland so would be a long day out for me to see both.
If the Orange one is local to you go to see it and see what you think.
The 500 is seen as the holy grail but does have its issues with the engine, probably a safe bet if resale in a few years is on the cards.Not sure I like the seats either and interior cour combo. Rest looks nice though. Doesn't say anything about chassis does it?
I have a quandary in either keeper my nice and perfect good Chimaera 400, or doing a turbo or SC mod, or going for a Chimaera 450 or 500 or later TCar.
Too many options and not sure which way to turn?!
Been talking to the owner of the nice red 500 on PH as well.
Any opinions on the debate on 500 vs 400 with Turbo or SC?
I'm miles away from both the red 500 in Nottingham and the Orange 400SC in Northumberland so would be a long day out for me to see both.
If the Orange one is local to you go to see it and see what you think.
If you could find one that has had its engine sorted it's a good buy.
For me personally I'd go for forced induction on my own car but they don't seem that easy to sell on so it's a tough choice.
It is a tough choice. Love the colour (Amaranth) on mine and mine also has the Speed 6 front end and headlights set up. Looks much better being more modern looking IMHO.
My thinking for the red 500 was mechanicals and underbody has had extensive works so all sorted but never been resprayed also I'm not a fan of the red. I would look to buy this cheaper than advertised price to allow some cash to maybe convert front end to Speed 6 then respray in a really nice popping darker heavy metallic/pearl red.
Then the burnt orange one popped up and although not a 500 the SC was interesting enough. Would like to put Speed 6 front end on it but then gets expensive as car has already been resprayed and guessing that colour would be hard to match.
I don't really want to have more than 20k in the TVR as want to buy an R53 Mini Cooper S SC as well.
Going to see Bespoke tmrw morning to talk about an annual service on my Chimaera. Will also have a chat about options to move out of my Chimaera into something still TVR but a bit more interesting than a stock 400.
My thinking for the red 500 was mechanicals and underbody has had extensive works so all sorted but never been resprayed also I'm not a fan of the red. I would look to buy this cheaper than advertised price to allow some cash to maybe convert front end to Speed 6 then respray in a really nice popping darker heavy metallic/pearl red.
Then the burnt orange one popped up and although not a 500 the SC was interesting enough. Would like to put Speed 6 front end on it but then gets expensive as car has already been resprayed and guessing that colour would be hard to match.
I don't really want to have more than 20k in the TVR as want to buy an R53 Mini Cooper S SC as well.
Going to see Bespoke tmrw morning to talk about an annual service on my Chimaera. Will also have a chat about options to move out of my Chimaera into something still TVR but a bit more interesting than a stock 400.
The SC 400 will be around 335 bhp, so more power than a standard 500.
That roof was £1500 plus paint, and it will all fit in the boot in two sections. Made by Steve Edwards in Halifax.
The MX5 seats give you better support if you are going to use the 335 bhp.
HHC are reputable and stand by the cars they sell.
That roof was £1500 plus paint, and it will all fit in the boot in two sections. Made by Steve Edwards in Halifax.
The MX5 seats give you better support if you are going to use the 335 bhp.
HHC are reputable and stand by the cars they sell.
So you personally think the orange one is a better option?
The red 500 had an engine complete rebuild and upgrade I think at the time of all the works with Dyno of 320bhp at the wheels I think so would be similar power wise.
Prefer the inside of the red 500 but the outside of the orange one!
Would the 400 SC be smoother and more drivable than the 500? I've read that the 500 can be a bit shunty and not as smooth.
The red 500 had an engine complete rebuild and upgrade I think at the time of all the works with Dyno of 320bhp at the wheels I think so would be similar power wise.
Prefer the inside of the red 500 but the outside of the orange one!
Would the 400 SC be smoother and more drivable than the 500? I've read that the 500 can be a bit shunty and not as smooth.
My 500 was unusually smooth, but it was a V8D engine and had a stealth cam, and was 315 bhp.
My 4.6 turbo engine in the same car is even smoother, but i have also had an ECU change. It makes 325 bhp in low boost mode and 395 bhp in high. Frankly, the high boost is not that much faster.
Yes, you won't notice much difference in performance, as both have good torque.
You can always change the seats in the orange one and have the colours changed......
Truth is, they are similar on performance.
One thing you WILL notice. On the road, driven normally, you will get 27-28 bhp out of the 400 SC, as normal driving doesn't use a lot of boost, and 19-21 mpg out of the 500.
My 4.6 turbo engine in the same car is even smoother, but i have also had an ECU change. It makes 325 bhp in low boost mode and 395 bhp in high. Frankly, the high boost is not that much faster.
Yes, you won't notice much difference in performance, as both have good torque.
You can always change the seats in the orange one and have the colours changed......
Truth is, they are similar on performance.
One thing you WILL notice. On the road, driven normally, you will get 27-28 bhp out of the 400 SC, as normal driving doesn't use a lot of boost, and 19-21 mpg out of the 500.
QBee said:
My 500 was unusually smooth, but it was a V8D engine and had a stealth cam, and was 315 bhp.
My 4.6 turbo engine in the same car is even smoother, but i have also had an ECU change. It makes 325 bhp in low boost mode and 395 bhp in high. Frankly, the high boost is not that much faster.
Yes, you won't notice much difference in performance, as both have good torque.
You can always change the seats in the orange one and have the colours changed......
Truth is, they are similar on performance.
One thing you WILL notice. On the road, driven normally, you will get 27-28 bhp out of the 400 SC, as normal driving doesn't use a lot of boost, and 19-21 mpg out of the 500.
Thanks, very useful.My 4.6 turbo engine in the same car is even smoother, but i have also had an ECU change. It makes 325 bhp in low boost mode and 395 bhp in high. Frankly, the high boost is not that much faster.
Yes, you won't notice much difference in performance, as both have good torque.
You can always change the seats in the orange one and have the colours changed......
Truth is, they are similar on performance.
One thing you WILL notice. On the road, driven normally, you will get 27-28 bhp out of the 400 SC, as normal driving doesn't use a lot of boost, and 19-21 mpg out of the 500.
I have had quite a few supercharged cars and love their delivery and not traditionally been a fan of turbo cars...especially diesel ones. I've had a couple of E55 AMG's and an SL55. Currently have a Jaguar XJ-L SuperSport with the 5.0 V8 Supercharged unit kicking out circa 510bhp.
One thing common on the SC AMG's units was heat soak issues mainly on track or on constant use due to cooler not up to the job. Many replaced with upgraded cooler's.
As we know most TVR's run hot so will that affect heat soak for a SC TVR?
Yes, I've got a nice old school trimmer in Hemel not far away called Hukes so re-trimming the MX-5 seats wouldn't be an issue.
It would be a whole long day out for me to see both cars as I'm down South.
Litcoat said:
I've bought cars from the HHC before and they are good to deal with, my problem is that I am seriously tempted by the Westfield as well as that is what I drove before the TVR, both cars excellent to drive but in different ways
Indeed plenty of interesting cars in stock. That Westfield looks bonkers fast. Now that must make for an interesting ride with a bike engine that revs round to goodness knows what!!Are you local to them then?
The heat question on an SC is not one I can answer. I wouldn't expect it to, as all you are doing is using the drive belt to force more air in, whereas a turbo uses exhaust gases to do the same and therefore gets very hot.
But someone will be able to.
The turbo definitely generates more heat under the bonnet - that red hot lump of metal that is the turbo is the culprit.
My car has a three position map switch, and i tend to run it on low boost on the public road, so around 325 bhp maximum..
I satisfy my need for speed on the track, as I simply don't think that driving like a nutter on the public road is something I want to do.]
At low boost my cooling system, combined with intercooler and oil cooler, deals with the heat issue.
On a hot track day I do have cooling issues, particularly at high boost, but we are working on that.
It's not water temperatures that are my problem, it's oil temperatures, so my plan is to revise the oil cooling.
I have no doubt your 5 litre XJ is a fast car, but don't forget that 510 bhp is hauling well over 2 tonnes of Britain's finest engineering around, so well under 250 bhp per tonne. The 335 bhp SC Chimaera is only hauling 1060 kg (plus your avoirdupois), so is more like 300 bhp per tonne. I had this argument with a DB9 owner....and proved it. The Chimaera was faster. Hence why the Westfield such an attractive option.
To illustrate this weight issue further, I was watching the Dunlop TVR Championship at Rockingham a couple of years ago and started timing the cars in the different races. The Formula Jedi cars (single seater, bike engine, weighing about as much as a gnat's jockstrap) were a full 20 seconds a lap quicker than the 4.5 litre 400 bhp TVR Tuscans and the LS engined Sagaris.
But someone will be able to.
The turbo definitely generates more heat under the bonnet - that red hot lump of metal that is the turbo is the culprit.
My car has a three position map switch, and i tend to run it on low boost on the public road, so around 325 bhp maximum..
I satisfy my need for speed on the track, as I simply don't think that driving like a nutter on the public road is something I want to do.]
At low boost my cooling system, combined with intercooler and oil cooler, deals with the heat issue.
On a hot track day I do have cooling issues, particularly at high boost, but we are working on that.
It's not water temperatures that are my problem, it's oil temperatures, so my plan is to revise the oil cooling.
I have no doubt your 5 litre XJ is a fast car, but don't forget that 510 bhp is hauling well over 2 tonnes of Britain's finest engineering around, so well under 250 bhp per tonne. The 335 bhp SC Chimaera is only hauling 1060 kg (plus your avoirdupois), so is more like 300 bhp per tonne. I had this argument with a DB9 owner....and proved it. The Chimaera was faster. Hence why the Westfield such an attractive option.
To illustrate this weight issue further, I was watching the Dunlop TVR Championship at Rockingham a couple of years ago and started timing the cars in the different races. The Formula Jedi cars (single seater, bike engine, weighing about as much as a gnat's jockstrap) were a full 20 seconds a lap quicker than the 4.5 litre 400 bhp TVR Tuscans and the LS engined Sagaris.
Yes, I live about 40 miles from Hexham, I'm going to have to get across there and have a look, my last Westfield had a 2 litre zetec silver top under the bonnet with jenveys, 175bhp in a car weighing 600kg made for a good bit of fun, I need to see how different the bike engined car behaves compared to a car engine, twice the revs, probably half the torque. Then I need to see how smooth the power delivery is on the chimaera, if the 14 cux has been upgraded to canems or omex etc, plus a good ratch about underneath to check chassis condition, then I need to compare them to my latest toy, Audi TTS , which has been slightly modified and is now stupid fast and handles really well.
Problems problems
Cheers Mark
Problems problems
Cheers Mark
LOL....enjoy. Not seen any chassis work on the Orange one so that was a concern and worth checking out. Maybe something. To budget in for outriggers at some point.
It is a likely 10 hour round trip for me so maybe a step too far.
I'm not a fan of the SC engine bays as they look a little messy and busy but the car looks good other than that. Not a fan of the seats either but they can be changed or retrimmed easily enough.
That Westfield would surely be bonkers and a real event.
It is a likely 10 hour round trip for me so maybe a step too far.
I'm not a fan of the SC engine bays as they look a little messy and busy but the car looks good other than that. Not a fan of the seats either but they can be changed or retrimmed easily enough.
That Westfield would surely be bonkers and a real event.
I know what you mean, to me, at that price, the chimaera should have an excellent chassis and I'll have to see what the inside of the car looks like in the flesh, the Westfield on the other hand is going to be limited as to when you can use it as it only has an aero screen so there is no roof plus going any distance you will need a helmet, it's all to think about
Nice, exciting, problem to have - take your time and make a good choice that suits you.
PS, I have the Steve Edwards roof on my car - I think they suit the car and have the bonus that you actually have a proper rear view for the first time.
Roof fully off and stored in the boot.........
Roof fully on, seen from above (mine is an earlier style - the later style is nicer IMHO)
Fully off again
Half on, half off
PS, I have the Steve Edwards roof on my car - I think they suit the car and have the bonus that you actually have a proper rear view for the first time.
Roof fully off and stored in the boot.........
Roof fully on, seen from above (mine is an earlier style - the later style is nicer IMHO)
Fully off again
Half on, half off
Edited by QBee on Tuesday 30th July 07:52
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff