I've put my SVX up for sale on Pistonheads - Page 3

DJW svx · #31 03-16-2011, 12:25 PM

Had the guy who does my repairs do the track rod ends today so has anyone got the figures needed just in case they do not have them when I go to get it aligned? I asked him to have a look at the CV joints and he said no play was obvious but I guess it may be under load that it shows.

stevek · #32 03-16-2011, 01:42 PM

The clicking round left handers is almost certainly your Faberge egg collection doing a Newtons Cradle in the glovebox.....
Why don't you stick with the SVX and buy a new bike instead? I know someone who can do you a good deal btw.
If it's an image thing with this car change lark Dave I'll lend you one of my old Volvo's (if its a really special occasion that is - just ask). Oh, and you needn't rush bringing it back either.

DJW svx · #33 03-16-2011, 02:15 PM

Thanks Steve think I'll pass on this one.

svxistentialist · #34 03-17-2011, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJW svx

Had the guy who does my repairs do the track rod ends today so has anyone got the figures needed just in case they do not have them when I go to get it aligned? I asked him to have a look at the CV joints and he said no play was obvious but I guess it may be under load that it shows.

Hi Dave

Have a look in my photo locker for wheel alignment details:
Technical locker

Joe

DJW svx · #35 03-17-2011, 12:12 PM

Thanks Joe

DJW svx · #36 03-26-2011, 06:48 AM

The SVX now has a new owner but as with my proposed purchase of another car its all gone up in the air. This is what happened this Tuesday I had a deal sorted with a Porsche specialist to p/x the SVX against a 2002 996 911 Turbo which after extensive trials with all other cars in a £30K price range came out as best suited to me. I arrived at the dealer assuming the deal was done for them to take the SVX and allow me the £2K I was asking when it came to it they only offered me £1K which to me was taking the **** so I told them so and the resulting spat lead me telling them to **** themselves and I walked out. I had phoned a guy earlier in the week who had a late 2001 Lotus Esprit V8 for sale but he sounded so abrupt I didn't bother taking it further so I phoned him and said I'd like to try it. He took the car out of the garage and it was like a brand new car in metallic grey with matching wheels a full 55,000 mile service history with main dealer I drove it and bought it straight away. He said tell me about this SVX of yours then so I told him all about it and how like him I had had a few timewasters he then drove the car to the bank and gave me £2K cash so it saved me having to come back and pick it up so I drove home in my new Esprit and he put the SVX back in the garage where the Lotus was. Hows that for a strange day the twin turbo 3.5 litre V8 Esprit is brutal to say the least and thats coming from someone who used to drive a 400 bhp RX7 round tracks.

svxistentialist · #37 03-26-2011, 08:41 AM

Nice one Dave.

Lotus Esprit is a car with interesting pedigree, design wise and development wise.

When that V8 version came out the Muttering Rotters condemned it by disliking the sound that it made. Lotus had designed the engine for power and higher revs than the equivalent US heavy metal.

I think they are absolutely brilliant and I wish you well and good enjoyment with your purchase.

Joe

stevek · #38 03-26-2011, 02:24 PM

When I last enquired, there wasn't £30,000 in the whole of Stoke on Trent!
I've had a Lotus and enjoyed it. However, my brother said that Colin Chapmans goal was to finish first, and for the car to expire as it took the flag. For the road cars he added 10% more durability....
Take my hat off to you for your decisiveness (is that a word?) and for £2000 your Lotus man has had a bargain IMO.
Can we still have a go in this one?

icingdeath88 · #39 03-26-2011, 04:01 PM

Pics of the esprit, please

Sounds like an awesome replacement for the SVX.

b3lha · #40 03-26-2011, 05:04 PM

DJW svx · #41 03-26-2011, 05:19 PM

Thanks I'll certainly bring it up to the annual meet. Its interesting when you go about trying other cars for instance I tried a Maserati 4200 first of all the paddle shift is really horrible lurch forward experience and the skyhook active suspension didn't really do anything so being Italian thought it would fail and cost a lot of money, all the other cars I tried had really sophisticated drive and suspension systems which to a greater or lesser extent work but the point I have been missing in all this if a car is that well designed from the start then why go over the top with technology. The Lotus Esprit has become over the years a well fettled but basic sports car with very good handling characteristics they then put this V8 lump in it and refined that over the many years of production so what you have with the late ones is a basic good handling car with a brutal engine. Of all the cars I've driven recently not one is able to squirrel down the road in third gear and scare me half to death traction control who needs it its for wimps.

svxistentialist · #42 03-27-2011, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJW svx

Thanks I'll certainly bring it up to the annual meet. Its interesting when you go about trying other cars for instance I tried a Maserati 4200 first of all the paddle shift is really horrible lurch forward experience and the skyhook active suspension didn't really do anything so being Italian thought it would fail and cost a lot of money, all the other cars I tried had really sophisticated drive and suspension systems which to a greater or lesser extent work but the point I have been missing in all this if a car is that well designed from the start then why go over the top with technology. The Lotus Esprit has become over the years a well fettled but basic sports car with very good handling characteristics they then put this V8 lump in it and refined that over the many years of production so what you have with the late ones is a basic good handling car with a brutal engine. Of all the cars I've driven recently not one is able to squirrel down the road in third gear and scare me half to death traction control who needs it its for wimps.

I don't doubt what you say Dave. From your track racing experience and from your recent dithering phase you have certainly tried enough of what's out there to be informed about what makes a true sports car.

In addition we have an erudite ex member in NZ who would I think agree very much with your findings, and his chariot of choice is an MX5, a modern copy of another Chapman design, the original Elan.

Nonetheless none of what you say has derailed my intention of getting my hands on a second hand model the current GTR when they get cheap enough. Technology overload or no, that's the one for me.

I of course, need all the technology I can get to mask my ham fisted driving skills.

Joe

b3lha · #43 03-27-2011, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svxistentialist

Nonetheless none of what you say has derailed my intention of getting my hands on a second hand model the current GTR when they get cheap enough. Technology overload or no, that's the one for me.

Best car in the world if you want bone-crushing acceleration all the time. Pretty unpleasant for day to day transport though.
I was doing some testing at work on Friday afternoon, and when I finished, it was an absolute joy to get out of it and drive home in my SVX.

DJW svx · #44 03-27-2011, 01:17 PM

A number of my friends have the new GTR and I've tried one twice now but can't justify the cost although I saw one for £37K the other day. They are amazing cars but do too much for you and when you use them in anger on trackdays they cost a fortune on front brakes etc because of the weight. When my reactions and driving skill falter I will buy one.

svxistentialist · #45 03-27-2011, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b3lha

Best car in the world if you want bone-crushing acceleration all the time. Pretty unpleasant for day to day transport though.
I was doing some testing at work on Friday afternoon, and when I finished, it was an absolute joy to get out of it and drive home in my SVX.

Interesting comment Phil and I see where you are coming from.

"Bone crushing acceleration" Good phrase, I like it.

I call that Clingon acceleration on my motorcycle.

You see there is a commonality here when owners leave the SVX fold for another motor. Not all of them, but a goodly percentage of them change over to something that actually supplies acceleration. This is to be expected in my view.

The SVX has a suite of graces that together make it much better to own and use than the sum of its parts might show on paper. One glaring omission from its canon of virtues is acceleration, and that's the one thing that entices owners to move away from the SVX and on to big Audis or Mercs. When I stopped using the SVX as an everyday car I moved over to the twin turbo Legacy. Double the acceleration but just as bad a set of brakes.

This inability of the SVX to accelerate is caused by a number of factors, highish weight, not really enough power or torque to shift the weight, auto gearbox only and very high final drive. And to seal its fate as a sluggard in UK terms the native gearbox is programmed for economy, with no access to the Sport mode that Japanese home market cars get.

I'll reserve judgement till I have a go in a Nissan, but to me these GTR things deliver what I like to see in a car. Like Dave, of course I could be diverted by a nice V8 Merc SL or some such meantime. We'll see.

Joe