Not a bad drive.

[Hasbeen]

Back home, with my son, after picking him up from Sydney. 2900 Km in 3 days, with 2 runs of 1250 Km door to door, with just fuel & coffee stops, in the 8.

The first one down to Sydney took 14 hours, as the first 200Km was very slow, in thick fog, & the last 70 in the city was slow in moderate rain. I started with the hood/top down, but was getting so much condensation on the cabin side of the windscreen in the fog, that I had to stop & put the hood up.

The trip home was better, as it took 12.5 hours, so an average of 100Km/H, not bad with a 100Km speed limit most of the way. [No officer, I'm sure I wasn't speeding].

We spent one part, [about 40Km] of this behind a convoy of 2 low loaders, 5 police cars & half a dozen pilot vehicles, with a 210 tonne dump truck on one, & it's tipper body on the other. The tipper body was almost 3 lanes wide, so the cops were stopping the oncoming traffic traffic, & moving it right off the road to let the trucks past.

The 8 pured along most of the way, & I don't think I used more than an inch of throttle all the way. The rout was mostly single lane roads, but we flew past semi trailers in very short overtaking opportunities, with just a little touch of throttle.

This trip proved that high power & moderate speed don't have to be expensive. It averaged 10.01 liters/100Km, [about 28 MPG], only about 25% more than the 7 has done on the same trip.

Only problems were, when I turned the head lights off, in Sydney, the lights went off, but the passengers pod continued to cycle up & down. A trick I then discovered was that when I restarted the motor, to move into the light to look at it, the thing stopped. The electrical shock, of the starter must have tripped the bad earth.

Then, when my son turned the heater on, [this system shuts the heater water flow off when the heater is off], the thing started to get hot. I realised I must have filled the water, with the heater off as I never turn heaters on. Must always make sure I fill it in future. The heater matrix must hold more than I expected.

A great trip, as usual. These cars are just so comfortable for long trips. That much time behind the wheel of almost any other car would have had an old bloke like me almost crippled, but not a problem in the 7 or 8.

Hasbeen

[Bobbieslandy]

I'm assuming you have the standard seats Hasbeen? i've found the standard seats so comfortable that i've been able to drive for hundreds of miles without once feeling tired or rough. In fact i'd go as far to say it's more comfortable than some more modern machinary i've had the displeasure to drive. My seats are in quite good condition though, i dread to think what they'd be like when worn.

[PeterTR7V8]

Great report. 28mpg is very good indeed. I'd be happy to get 22mpg but since I can't go without a pie for more than 4 hours I don't mind having to stop more often. [:)]



The map: http://tinyurl.com/wedgemap . The blog: http://www.forum.triumphtr7.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8548

[FI Spyder]

They are very comfy indeed. I did a 10 hour stint the second day when bringing mine home. That's when I got just over 40 mpg at reduced speed and tires pumped up for less rolling resistance. A third of that was through montain passes and the rest was flat though.


TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[catmanboo]

roger on the comfy seats! my '76 fhc has what I believe are the original seat covers (light tan striped), one small stitching separation on driver's seat, with a VB seat cover on it. I find it totally suitable, although haven't taken a long trip yet- have a few more issues to fix (mainly, the rattly front strut assemblies). the topper was when my 16-yrs.old niece (a big, tall'un) told me how comfy the seat was! coming from a teen-ager, considering that most of'em don't know anything not computer-related, I was most pleased![:D]

[John Clancy]

I find the TR7 more comfortable than any other car I've been in. The early Lotus Esprit was possibly just as good but haven't been in one for years now. With regards to anything modern, just forget it - I get numb derriere in just about everything over recent years.

Drove the TR down to the south of France years ago and only had to get out for fuel.

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[Hasbeen]

Peter, before all the new modifications it had much less power, ran much hotter, & would have used about 14L/100Km, about 40% more.

The gear stick, & centre tunnel used to get hot as did the cabin, so better tuning has improved so many things. The exhaust system, & the engine bay are so much cooler, it's almost unbelievable.

The 8 with stiff springs, shocks & anti roll bars is not as comfortable, or as easy to drive as the 7 for cruising driving, but still the second best thing I've used on long runs, [after the 7]. Something about the driving position must be just right in them, as pinched nerves play up giving a pain in my right knee, & my left hand goes numb in all other types of cars.

Yes Bob, stock seats, with 3 year old diaphragms, just so comfortable, but fully supportive, & hold you in place beautifully.

Hasbeen