Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) 3.7 Roadster crashes

I've seen a number of references to 3.7s being involved in crashes. Having driven one, which I gelled with instantly, I'm at a loss to explain why this should be the case - could someone please enlighten me?

I think 300 bhp/tonne sums it up.

Haven't found mine dangerous in the dry but the huge reserve of power requires respect especially above 3500 rpm.

with no traction control they can be a handful in the wet if you floor the right peddle

I've wondered about this too? Surely no-one just mashes the accelerator pedal to the floor in any powerful car? It is as if people can't modulate the pedal, even with a cart spring live axle back end, which is always going to be less grippy than IRS.

Never having driven one, I would be very interested in owners views on this.

Is this the 3rd Roadster accident in as many weeks ?
Nice Roadster for repair on Car and Classic.
Is it other Motorist want a closer look!

This feature is not confined to a Morgan.

Put a lot of torque and BHP in to a lightweight rear wheel drive car and you need to treat it respect.

I had a GT6 which would occasionally bite you on damp or greasy roads and this had about half the BHP of a Roadster.

The cause is normally sitting in the driver seat

Agreed, but I do feel sorry for one of our recent members that got smashed into by an idiot from a side road Nick the Greek style recently.

I guess we all have respect for the loud pedal really though after one or two "catches" there is a lot of luck attached to this too.

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.

Totally agree with Mog615. Nothing more to be said. With 250bhp plus and much lighter than the V6 roadster the new Ecoboost Plus 4 Plus requires skill and restraint on anything but a dry surface.