SLEEPERS! Anyone have a street sleeper here?
Discussion
My old work truck back in the early 90s was a rusty old p100 (the siera shaped one) i'm a chippy so had my old stalls strapped to the back, tow bar, cement down the side.
Underneath it had the 4x4 system from the xr4x4 of the time plus the 2.9 v6 but with a janspeed turbo strapped to it, about 300bhp all told but very light without a load.
Used to do runs up,& down the a31 in the south, sierra cosworths had the funniest expression when my stalls came wizzing past them when they were gunning it, fun times
Only give away were the xr4x4 wheels, had to have them for the drive train bur p100s were,often seen with imitation wheels on to,look like the xr range so still looked very plausible as standard
Eta. Looked like this as near as damn it
Underneath it had the 4x4 system from the xr4x4 of the time plus the 2.9 v6 but with a janspeed turbo strapped to it, about 300bhp all told but very light without a load.
Used to do runs up,& down the a31 in the south, sierra cosworths had the funniest expression when my stalls came wizzing past them when they were gunning it, fun times
Only give away were the xr4x4 wheels, had to have them for the drive train bur p100s were,often seen with imitation wheels on to,look like the xr range so still looked very plausible as standard
Eta. Looked like this as near as damn it
Edited by Pvapour on Tuesday 24th January 21:37
Is there a certain speed a sleeper has to be capable of?
The sleeper gurus on here getting wet over mouldy Astras, Renaults and VWs with a different engine to standard but with only 170-250bhp. Thats average car pace these days and wouldnt even scare a reasonable diesel let alone a recent performance car.
IMO and I know everyone is going to say I'm wrong but a sleeper can be anything that wildly exceeds the performance expected of it. This can include shiny cars, cars with big wheels, etc.
Can a sleeper be different things to different people?
Eg Joe Public in his Audi A4 TDI gets a bit surprised that he is getting slightly left behind by a 10 year old dirty Astra = sleeper.
Car enthusiast in moderate performance car leaves Astra behind but not by as much as thought = meh didnt realise they were that quick, never mind.
I think the only thing that matters is that it can take you by surprise with its performance.
I also think a lot of the picky posters here are giving the public too much credit. Saying things like, cant be a sleeper "on low profile tyres" "got a slightly bigger exhaust than normal" 90% of the public cant tell one car from another except by colour, they are never going to look at a car, notice a 35 profile tyre instead of a 50 and think that its going to be fast.
Just to post an example of my thinking.
You come up being this thing.
General public would think its a chavvy boy racer, might be driven stupidly but will be a 1.0-1.4l not fast.
A nerdy car enthusiast might know that a 2.0 or 2.0 turbo conversion is a mod for these so may approach with caution thinking it may have 170-270bhp and be quite nippy.
So you may give it a go, thinking even if it is a 2.0 turbo your M3 should handle it. And you get wasted.
That particular Corsa was running over 550bhp and would take down most things up to the point it ran out of gears at 165mph. It ran a higher speed in the 1/4 mile than a Nissan GTR.
Based on that I would call it a sleeper but I know none of you lot will
The sleeper gurus on here getting wet over mouldy Astras, Renaults and VWs with a different engine to standard but with only 170-250bhp. Thats average car pace these days and wouldnt even scare a reasonable diesel let alone a recent performance car.
IMO and I know everyone is going to say I'm wrong but a sleeper can be anything that wildly exceeds the performance expected of it. This can include shiny cars, cars with big wheels, etc.
Can a sleeper be different things to different people?
Eg Joe Public in his Audi A4 TDI gets a bit surprised that he is getting slightly left behind by a 10 year old dirty Astra = sleeper.
Car enthusiast in moderate performance car leaves Astra behind but not by as much as thought = meh didnt realise they were that quick, never mind.
I think the only thing that matters is that it can take you by surprise with its performance.
I also think a lot of the picky posters here are giving the public too much credit. Saying things like, cant be a sleeper "on low profile tyres" "got a slightly bigger exhaust than normal" 90% of the public cant tell one car from another except by colour, they are never going to look at a car, notice a 35 profile tyre instead of a 50 and think that its going to be fast.
Just to post an example of my thinking.
You come up being this thing.
General public would think its a chavvy boy racer, might be driven stupidly but will be a 1.0-1.4l not fast.
A nerdy car enthusiast might know that a 2.0 or 2.0 turbo conversion is a mod for these so may approach with caution thinking it may have 170-270bhp and be quite nippy.
So you may give it a go, thinking even if it is a 2.0 turbo your M3 should handle it. And you get wasted.
That particular Corsa was running over 550bhp and would take down most things up to the point it ran out of gears at 165mph. It ran a higher speed in the 1/4 mile than a Nissan GTR.
Based on that I would call it a sleeper but I know none of you lot will
RB Will said:
Is there a certain speed a sleeper has to be capable of?
The sleeper gurus on here getting wet over mouldy Astras, Renaults and VWs with a different engine to standard but with only 170-250bhp. Thats average car pace these days and wouldnt even scare a reasonable diesel let alone a recent performance car.
Based on that I would call it a sleeper but I know none of you lot will
Fast from a traffic light alone is in my mind not the key, massive engine upgrade for me is not the key, personally a massive engine upgrade that just results in the creation going into the nearest hedge at the first corner does not make a good sleeper as the car has been severely compromised by the modification. That is only good for SantaPod.The sleeper gurus on here getting wet over mouldy Astras, Renaults and VWs with a different engine to standard but with only 170-250bhp. Thats average car pace these days and wouldnt even scare a reasonable diesel let alone a recent performance car.
Based on that I would call it a sleeper but I know none of you lot will
It should be a package and as such I agree with you.
As for sleeper and that Corsa, some would and others would not because as you say, anything can have a massive engine or stupid boost.
Edited by Stickyfinger on Wednesday 25th January 12:38
Stickyfinger said:
RB Will said:
Is there a certain speed a sleeper has to be capable of?
The sleeper gurus on here getting wet over mouldy Astras, Renaults and VWs with a different engine to standard but with only 170-250bhp. Thats average car pace these days and wouldnt even scare a reasonable diesel let alone a recent performance car.
Based on that I would call it a sleeper but I know none of you lot will
Fast from a traffic light alone is in my mind not the key, massive engine upgrade for me is not the key, personally a massive engine upgrade that just results in the creation going into the nearest hedge at the first corner does not make a good sleeper as the car has been severely compromised by the modification. That is only good for SantaPod.The sleeper gurus on here getting wet over mouldy Astras, Renaults and VWs with a different engine to standard but with only 170-250bhp. Thats average car pace these days and wouldnt even scare a reasonable diesel let alone a recent performance car.
Based on that I would call it a sleeper but I know none of you lot will
It should be a package and as such I agree with you.
As for sleeper and that Corsa, some would and others would not because as you say, anything can have a massive engine or stupid boost.
Edited by Stickyfinger on Wednesday 25th January 12:38
RB Will said:
Is there a certain speed a sleeper has to be capable of?
The sleeper gurus on here getting wet over mouldy Astras, Renaults and VWs with a different engine to standard but with only 170-250bhp. Thats average car pace these days and wouldnt even scare a reasonable diesel let alone a recent performance car.
IMO and I know everyone is going to say I'm wrong but a sleeper can be anything that wildly exceeds the performance expected of it. This can include shiny cars, cars with big wheels, etc.
Can a sleeper be different things to different people?
Eg Joe Public in his Audi A4 TDI gets a bit surprised that he is getting slightly left behind by a 10 year old dirty Astra = sleeper.
Car enthusiast in moderate performance car leaves Astra behind but not by as much as thought = meh didnt realise they were that quick, never mind.
I think the only thing that matters is that it can take you by surprise with its performance.
I also think a lot of the picky posters here are giving the public too much credit. Saying things like, cant be a sleeper "on low profile tyres" "got a slightly bigger exhaust than normal" 90% of the public cant tell one car from another except by colour, they are never going to look at a car, notice a 35 profile tyre instead of a 50 and think that its going to be fast.
Just to post an example of my thinking.
You come up being this thing.
General public would think its a chavvy boy racer, might be driven stupidly but will be a 1.0-1.4l not fast.
A nerdy car enthusiast might know that a 2.0 or 2.0 turbo conversion is a mod for these so may approach with caution thinking it may have 170-270bhp and be quite nippy.
So you may give it a go, thinking even if it is a 2.0 turbo your M3 should handle it. And you get wasted.
That particular Corsa was running over 550bhp and would take down most things up to the point it ran out of gears at 165mph. It ran a higher speed in the 1/4 mile than a Nissan GTR.
Based on that I would call it a sleeper but I know none of you lot will
It is a sleeper of sorts that Corsa but it stands out as it is shiny, has different wheels, stickers and it is a model that is dwindling and is known to be modified.The sleeper gurus on here getting wet over mouldy Astras, Renaults and VWs with a different engine to standard but with only 170-250bhp. Thats average car pace these days and wouldnt even scare a reasonable diesel let alone a recent performance car.
IMO and I know everyone is going to say I'm wrong but a sleeper can be anything that wildly exceeds the performance expected of it. This can include shiny cars, cars with big wheels, etc.
Can a sleeper be different things to different people?
Eg Joe Public in his Audi A4 TDI gets a bit surprised that he is getting slightly left behind by a 10 year old dirty Astra = sleeper.
Car enthusiast in moderate performance car leaves Astra behind but not by as much as thought = meh didnt realise they were that quick, never mind.
I think the only thing that matters is that it can take you by surprise with its performance.
I also think a lot of the picky posters here are giving the public too much credit. Saying things like, cant be a sleeper "on low profile tyres" "got a slightly bigger exhaust than normal" 90% of the public cant tell one car from another except by colour, they are never going to look at a car, notice a 35 profile tyre instead of a 50 and think that its going to be fast.
Just to post an example of my thinking.
You come up being this thing.
General public would think its a chavvy boy racer, might be driven stupidly but will be a 1.0-1.4l not fast.
A nerdy car enthusiast might know that a 2.0 or 2.0 turbo conversion is a mod for these so may approach with caution thinking it may have 170-270bhp and be quite nippy.
So you may give it a go, thinking even if it is a 2.0 turbo your M3 should handle it. And you get wasted.
That particular Corsa was running over 550bhp and would take down most things up to the point it ran out of gears at 165mph. It ran a higher speed in the 1/4 mile than a Nissan GTR.
Based on that I would call it a sleeper but I know none of you lot will
Maybe there is an algorithm to work out the score, SQ, or "Sleeper Quotient" ?
There can be a double bluff here, i.e. bazztastic Corsa with 500 odd bhp when we expect at best say 250 but usually about 70 on a good day, but the ultimate aim is to fool a hard bitten, observant Pistonheader, not your average punter which, is like fooling a dog with a magic trick a lot of the time.
Power original/expected vs current power - expressed as a multiplier, for example 100 bhp 1.6 Astra with 270 bhp = 2.7
Spec/Colour, dowdier the better 1 to 10, that sludge green Astra scores well.
Sound, does it make too much noise ? 1 to 10 1 being sounds like Funny Car in pre stage, and 10 sounds like a 4 cyl 1.6 with added knocking sounds and whining alternator belt
Visible modifications 1 to 10 where 1 = complete dogs dinner, stands out and 10 is full marks, completely standard looking
State of repair/cleanliness, with Sleepers, looking down at heel is best, missing trim, steelies, National trust or Christian fish stickers 1 to 10
Ubiquity, i.e. how many still around in general use 1 to 10, where 1 is Hens teeth (Mk 1 Cortina) and 10, still depressing numbers around, Mk1 Citroen Picasso.
Needs work but we could work out a scoring matrix that defines the type, the power thing is the main one, maybe add something for other mods, change to RWD/4WD ?
Maximum marks would be a Citroen Picasso, in Gold, battered and bruised, evidence of hard use with loads of kids, but with 4wd running gear and 1000 bhp but sounds like a diesel
Digby said:
Wait, so a true sleeper can lose sleeper status once people who understand sleepers realise they are often sleeper material?
No, but, Yes. If there are obvious "true" signs of quality workmanship and spend in the "correct" areas.4 foot wide Drag tyres and a narrow Jag ID axle on a Transit for example, so the sleeper maker needs to be clever to hide them rather than show them off.....gets complicated on the edge
Hiding in plain sight
Skylines can be sleepers you just need to use the right skyline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruTv_0I7fkQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xNtRQSeyzU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruTv_0I7fkQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xNtRQSeyzU
Coatesy351 said:
Skylines can be sleepers you just need to use the right skyline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruTv_0I7fkQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xNtRQSeyzU
Skyline = FAIL, established facthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruTv_0I7fkQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xNtRQSeyzU
Dude took the running gear from a V70R (300bhp) and put it into an XC70
http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?164535...
http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?164535...
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