TR7 verses modern car.

[Bobbieslandy]

This could be a bit of a dumb post, but as usual i'll post it anyway[:D]

A few of us at work have bought newish cars, most of them are pretty rapid such as a SEAT cupra thing, BMW 330 a Ford Focus ST and an Audi TT. Getting more power into a TR7 is reletively straight forward as is getting it to handle like a go kart but how far can bolt on goodies actually get you when it comes to keeping up with the above cars when it comes to performance and handling? At what point would you say you'd need to strengthen the rear suspension mounts, add a watts linkage etc etc. Any stories of that time you made mincemeat of a Ferrari or porsche would be ace!

Rob.

[windy one]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Bobbieslandy</i>

Any stories of that time you made mincemeat of a Ferrari or porsche would be ace! Rob. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Yes that would be interesting to read. Actually, stock my 7 handles very well, and rides like a new-ish car to me.
Although I did add poly bushes and a anti-dive kit to the front suspention, and stiffer springs in the rear.

Johnny

[Beans]

Modern cars can be pretty quick in a straight line but they are just too heavy for the really twisty bits.

Chased a Focus ST in the DHC over some Highland Moors a few years ago.
OK it was quicker on the straights, but these were pretty few.
In the end he got so fed up with me crawling all over his back on the twisty bits, that he pulled over to let me pass [:)]

But the best drive I had was in the Sprint, on one of my favourite roads in the area,
chasing a biker with a 600 cc Yamaha with lots of XX's and ZZ's on the sidess.
Passed it on the outside in the 4th corner, he wasn’t pleased with that [:D]

Rear engined Porsches are also very nice game for the Sprint, especially in the area around the Nürburgring [}:)]

<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, now restored and back on the road)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)</font id="blue">
<b>[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]<u><b><font size="2"><font color="red">My Weblog</font id="red"></font id="size2"></b></u>[/url]</b></i></center>

[Marsu]

I have a mate with a 2007 BMW E90 330i (170kW/228bhp/290Nm torque). In a straight line it just scoots away from the Sprint. It's quite embarassing how quickly and quietly it does so, appearing to be bearly even trying, while the Sprint is yelling its head off. [:0]

We had a run together through a nice long twisty road. I could keep up with him, but was driving at 8 to 10 tenths of my ability, which is not very forgiving. [B)]

After swapping cars I could easily get away from him, driving very comfortably within the limits of my ability. Very soon after he started flashing the lights, pulled over and swapped back into his own car. As he got out of the Sprint, rubbing his lower back, he was extremely disparaging about the harness of the ride and the brakes (I do have the Volvo 4 pot front calipers).

---
Locally there is a short four lane (two each way) twisty road that leads down then up the sides of a valley. It's perfect for the Sprint as it's not too steep, one second and a couple of third gear corners. I know this stretch very well and have often had drags with all sorts of cars over it. A number of times of I've been able to freak-out guys driving 911s by overtaking them on the outside. [:D]

[Beans]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Marsu</i>

... the Sprint is yelling its head off ... <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
That's what they are good at [:D]

<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, now restored and back on the road)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)</font id="blue">
<b>[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]<u><b><font size="2"><font color="red">My Weblog</font id="red"></font id="size2"></b></u>[/url]</b></i></center>

[HowardB]

My Site Manager, Ian was riding to work on his Suzuki bike when he found himself behind me on a nice sweeping bend - he couldn't believe just how fast my almost standard 7 could take it. Pity the rest of the road was straight or could have given him a serious run for his money!

[busheytrader]

I used to live near the TVR centre in NW London and seriously embarassed a few of their salesmen as they took prospective buyers out for test drives on the A1. They'd get past me..(Griffiths and Chimeras)........eventually.

The car that impressed me the most was a Delta Integrale in torrential rain. It didn't accelerate away from me in my 7V8. It just became very small very quickly.

I'm not a chassis expert but I reckon my DHC would need some serious stiffening before any further suspension mods.

Adam




TR7 V8 DHC Jaguar Solent Blue. 9.35cr Range Rover V8, Holley 390cfm, JWR Dual Port, 214 Cam, Lumention, Tubular Manifolds, S/S Single Pipe Exh, 3.08 Rear, 200lb Spax & PolyBushes all round, Anti- Dive, Strut-Top Roller Bearings, Capri Vented Discs & Calipers, Braided Hoses, 4 Speed Rear Cylinders, Uprated Master Cylinder & Servo, AT 14" 5 Spokes or Maestro Turbo 15" Alloys, Cruise Lights, S/S Heater Pipes, Replacement Fuel Tank. No Door Stickers. Mine since July 1986, V8 from 1991

[john]

kept a safe distance behind a Z4 coupe in the v8 about 2 months ago for about 10 miles as he accelerated so did i etc etc eventually his curiosity got the better of him and he pulled over when we hit the motorway to see just what had been following him in the distance...

very smug smile as i waved him goodbye

first thing when i got home was to check out the spec of the Z4 as surprisingly i found that even with it's modern 3ltr engine it's top speed and acceleration wasn't that hot

[8 whole cylinders worth of punch to ram the world through the windshield and out the rear view mirror. Car & Driver]
1981 Grinnall TR7 v8
1981 Black FHC
1979 & 1980 Black Premium FHC(laid to rest) Sorry


John

[Hasbeen]

I have yet to find any car that gives me the same sense that I know what each road wheel is doing, that I get from the 7. Since the suspension upgrades, the 8 has lost some of this feel.

The car to come closest to the 7 was an 82 Honda Prelude. It had almost as much feel, but with 2 chicken power, & front drive, it did not compare.

I have yet to have any car keep up with me in the 7, in the twisty stuff, & I am not that interested in exceeding the speed limits by too much, as I like having a licence.

I find my recently bought Peugeot 306 will take the local more difficult/more fun corners at similar speeds to the 7, although I think it may be closer to a sudden loss of control, & even my Ford Capri has similar cornering power.

Perhaps the cornering power of many cars is more to do with how they are driven, than the mechanical power built into them. An example of this recently was a most enjoyable 5Km down off the local range. At the top a mid 90s 4WD Ford F150 pulled in front of me, from the last side street. It had quite wide wheels, & did not body roll, so it had a few improvements I would guess.

He was exceeding the speed limit by a little more than me between the corners, but only a little. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he was going through most of the corners almost as quickly as I would have, if he wasn't there. It was really enjoyable to follow a competent driver down the hill.

At the bottom, we gave each other a wave, & a toot, as we went in different directions. This brought home to me the fact that it is driving ability, not necessarily the car, that makes for quick progress.

I also had some fun going up the same hill recently, when I was passed by 4 large capacity sport bikes just before the first corner. These blokes were howling, but the 7 caught them through the first long corner. They would blast off in the short straights, only to find me right on their tail in the corners.

I started to worry one of them might drop the thing in front of me, as they became quite wild on the narrow bumpy road, trying to get away from the little red tormentor behind them. I was not upset when we finally caught a van near the top, & all had to slow. That's one bunch of bikes who now know that they are not a match for a well driven car, on the twisty stuff.

This has always been the case. My Morgan +4, & other improved production sports cars were faster than all but the top half dozen 500cc GP bikes, around Bathurst in the 60s. This was before good fairings allowed the bikes top speeds to increase dramatically, but 4 good wheels are faster around corners than 2 good ones, at least on road tyres.

Hasbeen

[PeterTR7V8]

There are certainly a lot of point & squirt maestros on the roads. Our roads are typcally twisty one-lane contra flow affairs that scare the tourists rigid so the real skill in making progress is to maximise your passing opportunities. This is perhaps why visitors to this country don't appreciate our driving too much. Having a good power to weight ratio really helps so the 7V8 is in its element. When I had the GT6 its biggest asset was the electric overdrive wich gave me an instantaneous down change. I liked that but in the wedge I'd very rarely need to change out of 5th to pass especially with the 3.9 diff.

Having said that, I do things in the middle of corners in the Focus that I wouldn't attempt in the 7. But because it isn't an ST it has rather underwhelming acceleration.



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

[nadg63]

We have the red rally car, and I also own a 'played' with '99 Subaru WRX, reckon the TR stops/handles better than the Subaru with it's race brake/suspension set-up, (even though it does jar you to bits on uneven road surfaces!), but overall find the Subaru a much easier less tiring car to drive quickly, especially if it's a bit damp! (and I still get a buzz out of turbo power ......... might grow up one day ........... but then again my daily driver is a tweaked Astra Turbo [:D] )

At the end of the day, after all we have done to the TR, it still 'feels' like a 70/80's car, even with current technology re: suspension etc.

[FI Spyder]

While the 1991 Integra is nice to drive on twisty and straight roads, more so than most modern cars I have driven which seam dead by comparison it is much more fun the drive the TR7 especially on a twisty road. While I drive the Integra around the turns the TR7 seems to drive itself and seems to want me to drive it faster and it's the only vehicle I've ever found myself humming around corners except perhaps my 1968 Triumph 650cc when it was new back in the day.
But I was a kid then....the TR7 makes me a kid now.[:p]


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

[staningrimsby]

Who was it on the forum that bought the TR7 turbo charger off e-bay [?], does anybody know if they got it fitted and how its going.[?]

[Last TR]

TR7 vs modern car? I think my Wedge is my modern car, considering that my daily driver is a 10 year old Jeep with live axles front and rear (though my Jeep is fuel injected...)

Ken
Anchorage, Alaska

1980 TR8, 1973 TR6, 1965 Volvo PV544, 1958 MGA, Jeep Cherokees

[prlee]

I have been very impressed with the improved handling of the TR7 since I got her back. I have now covered over 350 miles, with the uprated suspension I find it corners far better than before, around islands I find it easliy hugs the curbs where as both the Spitfire and Touran Sport tend to go wider, bearing mind the Touran does handle very well itself. I am begining to push the TR a bit now.

Even the standard engine nows seems to perform much better. Comparing it to the Spitfire it is more than a generation apart.

Pete
81 DHC (MOT and tax, nearly finished)
79 Spitfire (big hole found in floor)