Discussion
F1 = 266 bhp a litre
TVR = 100 bhp a litre, with a guy called "Dave" building it, in a potting shed in Blackpool, with his dog tied to the lathe.
How many other manufacturers do you know, managing 100 bhp per litre without the use of blowers etc ?
Of the one's you can name, how many are doing it on the bank balance of one guy up north ?
There in, lies your answer.
TVR = 100 bhp a litre, with a guy called "Dave" building it, in a potting shed in Blackpool, with his dog tied to the lathe.
How many other manufacturers do you know, managing 100 bhp per litre without the use of blowers etc ?
Of the one's you can name, how many are doing it on the bank balance of one guy up north ?
There in, lies your answer.
Cerberosa said:
Another question!
Why is it that TVR's seem to need thier engines rebuilt after a few years?
Is it just wear and tear or do they just like to explode?
Mine is 11 years old and has just reached a point where it needs a new cam. First engine work its needed. For a car that's seen 160mph and done a few trackdays and Sprints, I'd say thats exceptional.
Edited by lazyitus on Tuesday 5th September 17:13
Whilst researching an article on an 80,000+ mile AJP8 engined Cerb that had had no work done to the engine, I found one with well over 100,000 miles, also without any work having been done. Both were serviced regularly. The 80,000 mile one was used regularly on track days and the 100,00 one on occasion.
I know it is all subjective, but the sound on the overrun isn't equalled by any other engine I've ever heard. It's absolute music.
I was driving along the M40 at around 70mph when a Cerb pulled up alongside and the driver gave a wave. He then must have depressed the clutch, revved up and then dropped it. The car left two black lines on the road and disappeared into the distance. Whoever you were it was stunning. Highly illegal as well and not to be condoned.
As you say, a fabulous engine.
I was driving along the M40 at around 70mph when a Cerb pulled up alongside and the driver gave a wave. He then must have depressed the clutch, revved up and then dropped it. The car left two black lines on the road and disappeared into the distance. Whoever you were it was stunning. Highly illegal as well and not to be condoned.
As you say, a fabulous engine.
Cerberosa said:
Another question!
Why is it that TVR's seem to need thier engines rebuilt after a few years?
Is it just wear and tear or do they just like to explode?
i've also heard that the 996 engine has been going 'Pop' - but its been a quiet issue...
Edited by dean_ratpac on Wednesday 6th September 13:52
dean_ratpac said:
Cerberosa said:
Another question!
Why is it that TVR's seem to need thier engines rebuilt after a few years?
Is it just wear and tear or do they just like to explode?
i've also heard that the 996 engine has been going 'Pop' - but its been a quiet issue...
You are right there.
Derek Smith said:
I was driving along the M40 at around 70mph when a Cerb pulled up alongside and the driver gave a wave. He then must have depressed the clutch, revved up and then dropped it. The car left two black lines on the road and disappeared into the distance. Whoever you were it was stunning. Highly illegal as well and not to be condoned.
Sounds legal to me
100bhp/ lt
I should coco Dave must have been suffering from a severe hang over when he built my engine try 55 bhp/lt hardly state of the art
Jesus you could buy a one lt 30 year old mini cooper with 65 BHP /lt it takes a lot of bad engineering to achieve the poor results they do.
Did you notice the BHP figures that TVR power are putting out for a 4 lt supercharged engine with air induction plenum and new can a massive 275 bhp who is kidding who
Its pathetic figures for a 5 lt car
Steve
I should coco Dave must have been suffering from a severe hang over when he built my engine try 55 bhp/lt hardly state of the art
Jesus you could buy a one lt 30 year old mini cooper with 65 BHP /lt it takes a lot of bad engineering to achieve the poor results they do.
Did you notice the BHP figures that TVR power are putting out for a 4 lt supercharged engine with air induction plenum and new can a massive 275 bhp who is kidding who
Its pathetic figures for a 5 lt car
Steve
Think you need to say what engines you are talking about, the RV8 is supposed to be reliable, mine has had 3 rebuilds in 20k and 4 years but more due to poor workman ship on the first two rebuild so the third it went to TVR Power, hopefully it'll last a bit longer this time lol. The AJP8 seem to be good except for some crank snapping on early 4.2 engines, the speed 6 is supposed to be reliable now too.
Cerberosa said:
Could someone put it straight to me why the engines get rebuilt.
because none of the answeres above have made it all that clear.
cheers for the replies and sorry for bein abit thick
The answers are fairly clear from Derek & Ben as a general answer to your general question.........they don't! Like many manufacturers have had, there were problems with batches of one particular engine design for a while.
There are so many posts on the engine problems that TVR suffer that I recommend you take a couple of hours and trawl through these to get an idea across the board of what the various perceived problems are.
Personally I started off with a TVR S which ran a Ford Cologne V6 - sounded great but put out only a tired 160bhp so not too stunning! Engine rock solid though and proved by Ford over many years. I then followed up with a Griff 500 which ran a TVR enhanced 5L Rover V8. Glorious engine note and good for around 300bhp, again no problems as its a proven reliable engine from Rover with a few tweaks.
The AJP8 was developed in conjunction with Peter Wheeler and race engine designer Al Melling when they were on good terms with a positive business approach. Having spoken to Mr Melling personally, it appears that the AJP8 exceeded all expectations when it came to performance - and thats why you'll find the Cerbys leaving 911s/ caterhams etc. for dust when you see them in videos over 1/4 mile track tests! This engine is much more expensive to service and maintain though and I believe has had the odd niggling problems with the early cranks.
The Sp6 was another Melling/ TVR partnership although it resulted in the ending of this collaboration on a particularly sour note according to Al Melling. Peter Wheeler apparently loved the traditional British straight six engines of years ago and wanted a similar beast in his TVR. However a variety of disagreements allegeldy led to Mr Melling being removed/ removing himself from the project and it was then finished/ tweaked in house. This is what he stated in his presentation on the Sp 6 and he claims led to the perceived technical flaws with this engine - tappets, oil feeds yada yada yada... I loved my Tuscan Sp 6 and it always bought a smile to my face, but we all know owners who have significant problems and horror stories!
The old TVRs had their foibles as I experienced - the door even fell off my 'S' when i went around the corner!! The Griff was much better in my experience but still suffered from crappy veneer/ problematic stepper motors/ overheating etc. We all knew they had issues and still luved em, however the issues never really amounted to anything as bad as 6k engine rebuilds at low mileages and that really concerned me with the Speed 6 - particularly the high numbers in the earlier cars. This is why the residuals have fallen so hard on the Speed 6's as people are recommended to incorporate a 6k rebuild into the purchase price or at least keep that amount in the bank 'just in case'. Personally I dont think that is acceptable in a car that costs circa 45k new, and having 'done my homework' I alas find myself waiting in earnest for a new engine to be bought commercially off the shelf to be put into the current line up of cars - which are utterly gorgeous! As an Avid TVR owner I will then be first in queue!!
Sorry, didnt mean to bang on but wanted to share my experiences and thoughts as I would find them useful if I were asking about the TVR engines...
Happy Tivving!
Personally I started off with a TVR S which ran a Ford Cologne V6 - sounded great but put out only a tired 160bhp so not too stunning! Engine rock solid though and proved by Ford over many years. I then followed up with a Griff 500 which ran a TVR enhanced 5L Rover V8. Glorious engine note and good for around 300bhp, again no problems as its a proven reliable engine from Rover with a few tweaks.
The AJP8 was developed in conjunction with Peter Wheeler and race engine designer Al Melling when they were on good terms with a positive business approach. Having spoken to Mr Melling personally, it appears that the AJP8 exceeded all expectations when it came to performance - and thats why you'll find the Cerbys leaving 911s/ caterhams etc. for dust when you see them in videos over 1/4 mile track tests! This engine is much more expensive to service and maintain though and I believe has had the odd niggling problems with the early cranks.
The Sp6 was another Melling/ TVR partnership although it resulted in the ending of this collaboration on a particularly sour note according to Al Melling. Peter Wheeler apparently loved the traditional British straight six engines of years ago and wanted a similar beast in his TVR. However a variety of disagreements allegeldy led to Mr Melling being removed/ removing himself from the project and it was then finished/ tweaked in house. This is what he stated in his presentation on the Sp 6 and he claims led to the perceived technical flaws with this engine - tappets, oil feeds yada yada yada... I loved my Tuscan Sp 6 and it always bought a smile to my face, but we all know owners who have significant problems and horror stories!
The old TVRs had their foibles as I experienced - the door even fell off my 'S' when i went around the corner!! The Griff was much better in my experience but still suffered from crappy veneer/ problematic stepper motors/ overheating etc. We all knew they had issues and still luved em, however the issues never really amounted to anything as bad as 6k engine rebuilds at low mileages and that really concerned me with the Speed 6 - particularly the high numbers in the earlier cars. This is why the residuals have fallen so hard on the Speed 6's as people are recommended to incorporate a 6k rebuild into the purchase price or at least keep that amount in the bank 'just in case'. Personally I dont think that is acceptable in a car that costs circa 45k new, and having 'done my homework' I alas find myself waiting in earnest for a new engine to be bought commercially off the shelf to be put into the current line up of cars - which are utterly gorgeous! As an Avid TVR owner I will then be first in queue!!
Sorry, didnt mean to bang on but wanted to share my experiences and thoughts as I would find them useful if I were asking about the TVR engines...
Happy Tivving!
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