OV9

Erm, where’s the radiator and where is that exhaust manifold going Never seen under the bonnet of a Griffith before.

The S2000 looks so fresh it could still be sold as a new car today if they just add some garish DRLs to it.

Cat - if fitted - is in the chunky pipe front centre and then it loops back under the engine and towards the rear. Chimp is the same.

Interesting, I guess being front mid engine there’s no place else for it to go. Off to check out other front mid engine cars to see how they’re done.

Mito Man wrote: Fri Apr 15, 2022 2:03 pm Interesting, I guess being front mid engine there’s no place else for it to go. Off to check out other front mid engine cars to see how they’re done.

I don’t think many do it like TVR. You have to remember that the chassis is a central spine, using the driver and passenger as side impact protection! There’s no space to collect the 8 pipes as the transmission tunnel would become too large.
Transaxle cars like Corvettes avoid this because the gearbox is out the back, freeing up space in the middle.

I’m sure TVR logic also did it to ensure that you’d burn yourself if working on a slightly warm engine, and to make sure that the radiator gets nice and toasty when in heavy traffic…

Pipes going the normal route are a pain to thread the steering column through too. Doing it the tvr way means it’s nowhere near and you can thread the pipe the opposite side to the column.

Now I like an S2000 as much as the next car geek . But. That’s not really a contest, is it?

The curving simplicity of the Griff design, on 17’s? <chef’s kiss>.

And whilst those fanny-moulds may indeed look rather silly, they allow the Griff to play one of the sweetest multi-toned tunes ever written for a 4-wheeled plaything, hence they are forgiven.

Want.

mik wrote: Fri Apr 15, 2022 7:23 pm Now I like an S2000 as much as the next car geek . But. That’s not really a contest, is it?

The curving simplicity of the Griff design, on 17’s? <chef’s kiss>.

And whilst those fanny-moulds may indeed look rather silly, they allow the Griff to play one of the sweetest multi-toned tunes ever written for a 4-wheeled plaything, hence they are forgiven.

Want.

MIC

The sound of a pre-cat Griff is aural ecstasy.

I wondered when I saw this comparison linked whether the S2000 would spring a surprise. Shame it can’t. The Griffith is a car that made me lose 45 minutes (and my girlfriend, who walked off) 30 years ago when I saw one parked in Oxford. But I’d never buy one; even when new, one of my stepfather’s friends had one and returned it after a few months because it just didn’t work. As a classic I guess you expect a bit of involvement in ongoing maintenance but I can imagine that, for me, the amount of that would take the shine off the driving and noise.

I have been in love with the Griff since they came out, but when it's come to making decisions with real money, much like Jobbo I end up worrying too much about the ownership proposition. I'm sure most of them have had their glitches ironed out by now in truth, but still reckon you need more spannering skillz than I have to make them viable.

My Dad had a Chimaera for quite a long time and apart from the annual service at a specialist being quite expensive (this was late nineties / early noughties when the car was still relatively new, maybe there's better options now) it gave very few problems. The only time he got stranded was when the alarm / immobiliser crapped itself and refused to let the engine start.

I had one for a while too and although it never gave me any problems I never totally trusted it and that tainted my enjoyment. And buying a TVR after a string of BMWs I found the build quality quite shocking

That said, they're not complicated cars. No reason at all why you can't spanner them yourself.

Jobbo & Duncs - just do it. YOLO etc.

Sadly only one garage spot, and I'm very happy with the Elise, but maybe one day.

I’d have an Elise, Alpine or even an ND MX5 in 184bhp form. Any of which I’d trust to work on the rare occasions I’d get to drive them.

duncs500 wrote: Sat Apr 16, 2022 8:42 am I have been in love with the Griff since they came out.

Snap.

Sitting beside one for about 15mins in 5-10mph M8 rush-hour traffic when they were a current model didn’t help. All windows down in my diseasel ZX Volcane - the glorious rumble was drowned out only by my beating heart.

It would need to be a 3rd car though. And since I don’t even have a 2nd car (that is mine) the dream is unlikely to ever become a reality.

Jobbo wrote: Sat Apr 16, 2022 10:09 am I’d have an Elise, Alpine or even an ND MX5 in 184bhp form. Any of which I’d trust to work on the rare occasions I’d get to drive them.

Oi!!

MikeHunt wrote: Sat Apr 16, 2022 10:46 am

Jobbo wrote: Sat Apr 16, 2022 10:09 am I’d have an Elise, Alpine or even an ND MX5 in 184bhp form. Any of which I’d trust to work on the rare occasions I’d get to drive them.

Oi!!

It’s the one I’m quite seriously considering, in preference to the other two, so I’m not demeaning it!

See my sig for Tiff Needell's preferred choice over a TVR and an S2000

speedingfine wrote: Sat Apr 16, 2022 5:53 pm See my sig for Tiff Needell's preferred choice over a TVR and an S2000

Yours is probably the only 7 he can fit in