Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Roadster crashed in Southport on Sunday

Just heard that a 3.7 Roadster crashed on the Pontins roundabout in Southport on Sunday

No details but I hope whoever is OK

Bad news. Lets hope no one was hurt.

Lifes Motors in Southport said this was the second crashed Roadster they’ve had in the last month

So to all Roadster owners - be very careful out there

I have driven a 3.7L Roadster, unlike my 3.0L one it wasn't nice.
I hope the accident wasn't serious.

My view is that that engine shows up the limits of the chassis and coupled with the way power is delivered the back end always seems to be on edge, ready to take over it you let your attention slips. In the cold and wet I'll bet it is just waiting to bite the unwary.

The BMW M140i is going for much the same reason: the back end is on edge and on anything but a dry road I just don't trust it not to bite.

Tarka is different, the capability of the chassis and the grip at the back means I can make the back step out, but it never feels as it it wants to be in charge.

Peter,
I agree. Even the one I drove with 5 link rear suspension was twitchy. A bit like a 70s 2 stroke Jap bike on skinny cheap tyres.

Yes, but they only had non-stick tyres so that you wouldn't find the limits of the hinged frame

How does the driver’s ability fit in?
When I changed to the Plus8 from a 4/4 there was a clear changeover acclimitisation when the response was being learned.
A few back end twitches due to over exuberant throttle use and the extea torque having an effect. Enthusiastic 4/4 style had to be modified.
I went the other way for a while by using the torque to keep going.
Eventually I got the feel and learned the response of the car.
So......the 3.7 Roadster is a punchy beast and have the drivers learned the responses?
Do they have the rev hang issue and not compensate?
The 3.7 certainly pushes the boundary of the chassis/suspension but surely only if driven hard?
I have had twitches due to diesel spills but none beyond basic recovery.
Perhaps anyone buying a 3.7 Roadster should have an accompanied test drive to be pre warned?
There is always a temptation to “try the car out” especially if a high performance one but care is needed!

Sospan,
agreed on the learning part, hence my comment on 70s Kwackers. But in the 3.7 with fly by wire throttle etc I can image it is easy to go to far. Even my 3 l is a bit lively when wet & I have done a 180 spin on the A5 coming off a roundabout whilst accelerating a bit too soon & hitting diesel. I was tired , I knew there was often diesel there so it was my own stupid fault.

I have not driven a 3.7 roadster, my 3.0 suffered from rev hang and made driving it unpleasant if not dangerous when approaching roundabouts or junctions, you had to rely on the brakes as the engine held its revs, it's a shame Morgan can't sort out the ecu problems, they seem to be prevalent in quite a few models/engines.

Hope there were no injuries.

I had a series 2 of 2008 with rev hang as well and for this models there was a solution by changing the ECU under warranty one year later. Perhaps MMC has some more spare ECUs regarding this model. It also felt more powerful after the change.