Section : Moaning Students

Top Gear Sunday 18th July 

Posted By : Chris Wilson, 18-Jul-2004, 03:23pm

• Top Gear Sunday 18th July 

  Posted By : James Carruthers, 18-Jul-2004, 04:07pm

  I believe there will be a works TR7V8 rally car on the show.
  
  
  James
  

• Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

  Posted By : Craig Gingell, 18-Jul-2004, 10:30pm

  I have to say the Maserati Quattroporte on Top Gear was a bit behind on the technology front. Triumph designed and built a transaxle over 30 years ago. Canleys have the original prototype axle in their museum -
  
  http://www.canleyclassics.com/museumparts.asp?uid=...
  
  More info on the Quattroporte at -
  
  http://www.maserati.co.uk

  • Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

    Posted By : William Davies, 18-Jul-2004, 10:53pm

    I missed the bit on the Quattroporte, I saw the second half of the progeramme though. I've always had a soft spot for Maseratis, there's a 1964 Quattroporte "project" on ebay at the moment - not feeling rich or rash enough to seriously consider it though,
    Cheers,
    Bill.
    

  • Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

    Posted By : Chris Herridge, 23-Jul-2004, 00:13am

    erm,... god this is going to sound so stupid....
    
    
    What is a transaxle?!
    
    i've looked at the piccie of the item canley has...
    ...gearbox and differential combined?
    
    
    
    help settle a confused mind!
    
    

    • Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

      Posted By : David Pearson, 23-Jul-2004, 07:14am

      Chris
      
      It is simply as you say a combined diff, gearbox, and in the case of the Zebu one we have in our museum, intregal inboard drum brakes. A very neat piece of engineering. In the case of the Zebu it would have simply bolted up into its normal (diff) location with the gearbox bit of it ending up under the rear seat base. A remote gearchange linkage would have run down along the prop tunnel. Benefits include wonderful near perfect weight distribution, very low unsprung weight of the rear suspension, and ease of maintainence, clutch changes being very easy! The only downside as far as I can see would have been an uncomfortably thin (in the middle anyway) rear seat base.
      Our transaxle was prototype No1 of three units, all of which survived at least up until last year, we were offered all three, wonder what happened to the other two?
      
      David

      • Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

        Posted By : Chris Herridge, 25-Jul-2004, 01:11am

        cool, what *was* then Zebu going to be?
        any concept art? etc.?
        
        are you going to make an all-alloy version of this transaxle?
        c'mon! you know you want to!
        
        LOL
        
        does anybody else find their spit handles *much* better when the petrol tank is more than half full?
        
        what (other than the gearbox) can we move to the back to aid weight-distribution... i know you racer types move the battery, but does that *really* make a difference?
        
        
        
        oh, and another little niggle... does anybody else actualy lock their back wheels up when switching off the overdrive???
        i almost span today 'cause of that!!!
        
        crusing at 50 around a corner, switched off overdrive for hill ahead, and whoo-hooo my arse is wanting to overtake!
        
        d'oh!
        
        

        • Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

          Posted By : Jason Chinn, 25-Jul-2004, 07:40pm

          That does't sound like normal to me - I've <never> experenced that in some pretty hard and unsympathetic driving of overdrive cars. Neither have I ever heard of an overdrive causing that kind of reaction!
          Anyone else had these symptons?

          • Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

            Posted By : Graham Reeks, 26-Jul-2004, 02:08pm

            Had wheel spin on down change before in a '69 Alfa GTV ... several times in fact.

            • Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

              Posted By : Ben Ferguson, 26-Jul-2004, 05:16pm

              Ahh yes but I can do that in my Herald too, even pre mods, just takes a little of the red devil spirit

              • Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

                Posted By : Graham Reeks, 27-Jul-2004, 07:58am

                Indeed, this thing had the twin-spark and the 5 speed with the transaxle, and the webbers and the ton up on Venice Blvd at 3am ... it would have been wrong not to

                • Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

                  Posted By : Chris Herridge, 27-Jul-2004, 11:53pm

                  it's just odd, if im doing 4500rpm in 3rd o/d on a straight (not chaning speed at all, so a resonable balance of weight on the rear tyres) and then i flick off the overdrive switch (flying me well into the lovely RPM zone)
                  the back wheels will skid very, very slightly (i assume as the engine braking is coming into affect)
                  but only for a very short time,
                  
                  but it's just that very short 'skip' which breaks open the floodgates of skiddyness when trying to claw the car around a corner...
                  
                  
                  i love my car
                  but does it not love me?

        • Top Gear Sunday 18th July - Maserati Quattroporte  

          Posted By : James Carruthers, 26-Jul-2004, 01:40pm

          You shouldnt really ever change gear in the middle of a corner anyway... should be changing down before it...
          
          It shouldnt lock the back wheels up - you'd expect them to spin faster...
          
          You shouldn't be on the power when changing down either - usually slowing down or braking.
          
          
          James