Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) The ARP4 has landed

Thanks for the advice, I'm popping back to the dealer for a check over for peace of mind

Enjoyed your observations and the pictures, your car looks awesome. Love the colour and the cockpit layout.

A quick update on how I am getting on with the ARP4. Have done about 350 miles in it now and its beginning to loosen up a bit, as are my fillings!

The engine is very characterful but gutless at low revs, and I find that I am usually a gear lower than you might expect. I suspect a lower final drive ratio would help here, but this will be less of an issue once I start to use more of the rev range. The engine really does want to rev, and I suspect that the real fun is to be had above 5K rpm …

The steering is very meaty with decent feedback. The car feels sensitive to road camber and the steering can weight up quite alarmingly on off-camber bends. It is a car that you have to grab by the scruff of the neck and drive to get the most out of it.

My car has a lot of vibration through the steering wheel and steering wheel shake at all speeds, with a bad resonance around 70 mph. It has been back to the dealer to rebalance the front wheels which has improved things a little, but I’m still not sure it’s as it should be and it will be going back to the dealers again in a week or so for further investigation. I’d be interested to hear whether other owners are experiencing the same symptoms.

I would describe the build quality on mine as adequate rather than stunning, and I can see a few areas that I’d like to fettle and improve. I think the aluminium interior panels (which are painted) will mark up quite easily. I have added a square of black stick-on plastic (from a race number sticker) on mine on the dash under the immobiliser slot to stop the keys scratching the dash panel.

I find my left leg leans onto the transmission tunnel and the edge here is quite sharp. The storage pockets I have had made provide some cushioning but I may add some additional padding.
The car is very loud – both my wife and I had tinnitus this morning having spent a few hours in the car yesterday, and I will be wearing ear plugs when I drive the car in future. I love the noise that it makes - especially the theatrical pops and bangs on the overrun - but not enough to want to damage my hearing. It is loud!

I’ve yet to try the music system, which will need to something special to defeat the engine and road noise. Nor have I driven the car yet with the hood up so can’t yet comment on that experience.

The throttle on my car sticks on when cold but seems to sort itself out after a few miles.

I had planned to take the ARP4 to a car meeting in Bristol today but took my GT4 instead so that I could buy some earplugs before using the ARP4 again. Jumping out of the ARP4 into the GT4 was an interesting experience. Objectively the two cars are very difference and it would be unfair to compare them directly, but both are excellent in their own way and are great drivers’ cars that demand your full attention. I never expected that I would be taking the GT4 out of the garage for its civility and comfort though.

Right, the sun is shining, just need to select the right scarf/hat combo for this afternoon’s adventure …

Good report...stick with it ...you will soon know if you can live with it.

My passenger ride at the TM factory visit made me decide the ARP4 was not for me,so it was a useful visit in that respect and I decided to further develop my 4/4.

I don't know how the music system will cope !!

Keep the faith !!!

A few observations following your 2nd report.

The steering shouldn't shake, I cruised mine at 3500rpm, which is an indicated 80 or so, and snuck it a little higher for a short while, and the steering was as steady as a rock, although it may be that my electric steering helps, but I suspect there is a little problem somewhere.

I too thought my throttle pedal was sticking when cold, but further experimentation has shown that it is a built in 'rev hang' but only until the water temp reaches 60, when it disappears and behaves normally. I'm guessing this is to minimise CO2 on the cold start map, as it'll burn off the excess fuel. It is easy to drive around for a short time, but would be a pia if it happened all the time.

The car is very loud, which is why my exhaust system is currently on the bench and I'm planning a trip to a local exhaust manufacturer with an old 6" x 32" straight through silencer that was surplus to requirements. I may have to get them to make a complete silencer, if this doesn't quieten things down a bit.

The suspension is also very hard and unyielding, see my previous comments. I have emailed Steve Morris about this, as, frankly it isn't satisfactory on the roads we have to put up with in this country. He replied very quickly to say that he hasn't had any other complaints, but that he had forwarded my email on to his engineers. So far I'm still waiting, but in fairness it was only last Wednesday.

I'm rather hoping that they might be able to do a 'Comfort' option which they can install at no extra charge, but I'll have to wait and see. I would also be very interested if other owners find the ride unacceptably hard for road use? Although probably perfect for the track.

Reference my previous post I found the ride too much like the Porsche 911 track car I had...not acceptable for a road car I thought.

I did not drive,only as a passenger, but thought the novelty would soon wear off in my opinion and any people/friends I would take as passengers would not approve !!!

Hope it works out for all you ARP4 drivers

my unassisted steering is rock solid at speed, no vibration or anything.

I don't find it too loud, except between 2 and 3k when it's a bit boomy. At other speeds, it's loud when accelerating but OK when just cruising.

suspension wise, it's firm, and slightly crashy, but again, for me, fine.

Thanks for the comments. I am really enjoying the car and the experience is quite addictive. I am planning to have the steering/front end checked out again. I may take it into the factory for the AR people to give it the once over.

The ride is very firm but generally I find the car surprisingly comfortable: the seats insulate and cosset quite well and the ride is mostly well damped. Occasionally on certain road surfaces the suspension gets very 'excited' and then does feel under damped, which makes it quite a handful. The condition of some of my local roads is frankly shocking and this does not help.

The rear of the car feels very planted, whereas the front end is a little more unpredictable. I am told that this may be the Kingpins bedding-in and should improve with more miles.

The engine is tractable, but it is much happier at higher revs.

Overall the car is more 'hard core' than I had expected it to be, more race car than cruiser, which I guess is obvious from the spec. Mrs T and I did around 50 miles this afternoon in the Tetbury area, complete with ear plugs, and had a lot of fun, albeit without the ability to converse much except at junctions!

I even managed to put the hood up this evening without any drama before tucking it away in the garage.

SFO, thanks for the feedback, my steering is unassisted as well. Based on feedback received it does seem like the front end setup/steering on mine needs a bit of attention, it's anything but rock steady! It's unpleasant holding the steering wheel at anything above 50 or so. I will be getting it checked out.

I can certainly live with the suspension setup apart from that.

It might be a good idea to swap tyres, rears to front, or side to side, just in case they are out of balance, if it is still bad, then at least you will have ruled out the wheels, and it is up to Morgan.