None of us really wish to cast a critical eye over either the drivers or the car, but just a few observations.
Anything over 250 bhp on a leaf spring rear axle is going to be tricky to control on the limit. This is where the SSL rear suspension kit helps A LOT, but other suspension mods are of course available . Dare I suggest this is why MMC introduced their coil sprung rear end?
My +8 was fine on dry smooth roads but it always felt slightly edgy and sometimes even twitchy under sub-optimal conditions (poor road surfaces, damp or muddy or contaminated roads). As a result I would reduce speed accordingly to try and balance the grip available. Now I have the SSL rear end I feel much more confident and I am happy for my wife to drive me under more challenging conditions.
Coming from a Morgan competition background also helps . From track experience I can feel when breakaway is imminent, and I try to make sure that I react accordingly. Sometimes I get it right , sometimes I don't, but I would like to think that the former outweighs the latter.
If you are used to today's cars with full electronic driver aids, you have to adopt a very different mindset when driving a Morgan fast. You need to feel for incipient brake lock-up and not just mash the pedal. You need sensitivity on the throttle to ensure you have enough grip to keep the car on your intended track. Yes it is fun to deliberately break rear end traction and then catch it again, but make sure you have the skill to ensure you apply just enough power to do this and not one NM of torque more.
Also I think it is useful to do some driver training on low friction surfaces. This Easter I am taking the whole family on a skid pan experience to give them the benefit of professional instruction on how to drive when grip is low to non-existent.
Couldn’t agree more. It helps to have grown up and evolved with cars which were mainly rear wheel drive and with no modern aids and generally poor suspension set ups. We learned how easy it was to lose the rear end and, importantly, how to correct it. The basic physics has not changed. What has changed is the huge uplifts in power and when you plant 250 plus BHP into an old chassis and suspension set up such as in a classic Morgan you create something which both adds excitement for the experienced driver but danger to the inexperienced.
I totally endorse the advice about taking instruction and on a track where if you lose the rear end you should not cause any damage to you, your car or anyone else. I bought a classic Porsche two years ago and one of the first things I did was to book a session at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone where you are encouraged to drive your own car to its limits within a specialist track environment. There is even a slippery tarmac area which is designed to make you lose the rear end and thereby increase your recovery skills. It was the most fun I had had with my clothes on for years! Importantly though, it gave me a great understanding of just where the limits of the car are. It would have been irresponsible to experiment such driving on the open road.
The same thing goes for my 3.7 Roadster. It has 50 more BHP than the Porsche and less sophisticated suspension. Therefore I treat it with much greater respect but the excitement is still there.
The moral of this thread, as amplified by all the above, is that new entrants to our world need to tread carefully (literally on the throttle) and take track day instruction ideally. That way they will get much more enjoyment from their investment.
The last thing we need is for the cars to get a bad reputation which would be all to do with the driver, not the car.
