So, is your car fast?
Discussion
I think a car tends to feel fast if it is low to the ground and has litle/no sound insulation and is open top. I have a stripped out VX220 which covers all 3 of these points, so even 60 MPH feels fast TBH. Having said that it is also genuinely fast both round corners and on the straights. Details here if you are interested: https://sites.google.com/site/z20letpower/home
Depends who is driving it, and where it is being driven.
To my missus and her friends, our ATR family wagon is really fast (but only when I drive it, she's scared of VTEC).
To me and my friends, it is acceptably brisk on the IOW roads. Not the fastest, but by no means the slowest either.
On the mainland, especially on motorways, it's really not that fast at all.
To my missus and her friends, our ATR family wagon is really fast (but only when I drive it, she's scared of VTEC).
To me and my friends, it is acceptably brisk on the IOW roads. Not the fastest, but by no means the slowest either.
On the mainland, especially on motorways, it's really not that fast at all.
For me the only thing that matters, with such restrictive speed limits is in gear overtaking acceleration.
My 4.6L TR8 really gets with it in second from just under 50 to about 85, as does the S2000 in third, which makes country driving a joy, & dawdlers not a problem.
The TR7 is OK just, but to time the acceleration of the Oz built 1.6L Ford Capri, & the lady's Mazda 2 you need a calendar, not a stop watch. Overtaking is only to be undertaken at your leisure.
My 4.6L TR8 really gets with it in second from just under 50 to about 85, as does the S2000 in third, which makes country driving a joy, & dawdlers not a problem.
The TR7 is OK just, but to time the acceleration of the Oz built 1.6L Ford Capri, & the lady's Mazda 2 you need a calendar, not a stop watch. Overtaking is only to be undertaken at your leisure.
Are we talking quick, as in acceleration, or fast as in top speed?
Well, my missus thinks my Rover 25 1.4 (yep, the detuned 85hp one) is quick and thinks my R32 engined Corrado is terrifyingly quick, but I've owned much quicker and faster cars.
The sensation of speed is too subjective to be pinned down.
Well, my missus thinks my Rover 25 1.4 (yep, the detuned 85hp one) is quick and thinks my R32 engined Corrado is terrifyingly quick, but I've owned much quicker and faster cars.
The sensation of speed is too subjective to be pinned down.
Marcos is 348bhp in 890kg - yes it's fast, and feels faster than it is as no driver aids, and no weight over the rear wheels. It's a handful I never lose concentration whenever I get in it.
DB9 with 522bhp is probably faster with switchable suspension, fast rack, huge brakes, massive rear section tyres and electronic aids. But the Marcos feels faster
DB9 with 522bhp is probably faster with switchable suspension, fast rack, huge brakes, massive rear section tyres and electronic aids. But the Marcos feels faster
My measure of 'how fast' is the time to complete a journey. I have two regular routes, one is a 55 mile commute on M/A/B and C roads. The other is 66 miles on A and B roads.
In both cases I can complete the journey in the S4 a good 10 mins quicker than in the Alfa and the Alfa is no slouch. And this is without hitting silly speeds. The difference, to my mind, is down simply to the rate of acceleration.
If the journeys were mainly M/DC then it would come down to top speed. The S4 would undoubtedly win again but my licence would lose out I think.
In both cases I can complete the journey in the S4 a good 10 mins quicker than in the Alfa and the Alfa is no slouch. And this is without hitting silly speeds. The difference, to my mind, is down simply to the rate of acceleration.
If the journeys were mainly M/DC then it would come down to top speed. The S4 would undoubtedly win again but my licence would lose out I think.
bennyboysvuk said:
Z4M - 245bhp per ton (ish) I deem it to be quite quick, but not really fast. My friends think it's a missile once they've experienced it.
R1 - 635bhp per ton with me on it. I consider it to be seriously fast.
After driving/riding those two for a bit, it makes my 120d feel like the throttle's broken.
Got into a bogo polo 1. nothing from Heathrow Airport today as i pulled out of Avis i thought i'd pulled away in 3rd..... turned out i hadnt.... why again do i want to go to one of these fuel efficent cars?R1 - 635bhp per ton with me on it. I consider it to be seriously fast.
After driving/riding those two for a bit, it makes my 120d feel like the throttle's broken.
My Civic Type R is quick, but not fast, in PH terms I think. It's certainly fast enough to make good progress, I don't subscribe to this "no torque, no overtaking" that diesel drivers seem to bandy about, I've never had any trouble in it. To most passengers it's a fast car, especially because it's so loud the VTEC seems pretty brutal.
In comparison to some cars I've been in though, it's not fast at all. An E39 M5 with that monster V8 is no lightweight racer, but the engine gives it unbelievable shove. It was the first, and to date, only super saloon I've ever had a ride in, and the combination of luxury and performance is like nothing I've ever experienced. I'd love to catch a ride in a C63 or something one day!
On a level above that, I had a ride in a 996 Turbo S that was just mental. With 4WD, 50bhp more than the M5 and much less weight, it seemed ballistic even in comparison. To get better performance than GTR / Turbo S level, you need to spend a lot of money, but if you can afford the next level of car I suppose even those cars might seem a bit slow.
I suppose when you get to that level of power, weight and traction, the returns are less and less as you go up the bhp chart as it becomes harder to get it to the road. I do often wonder if something like a Pagani Huayra could make a GT-R seem slow. It's got another 220bhp or so and weighs about 300kg less than the GT-R, but how much difference would that really make?
In comparison to some cars I've been in though, it's not fast at all. An E39 M5 with that monster V8 is no lightweight racer, but the engine gives it unbelievable shove. It was the first, and to date, only super saloon I've ever had a ride in, and the combination of luxury and performance is like nothing I've ever experienced. I'd love to catch a ride in a C63 or something one day!
On a level above that, I had a ride in a 996 Turbo S that was just mental. With 4WD, 50bhp more than the M5 and much less weight, it seemed ballistic even in comparison. To get better performance than GTR / Turbo S level, you need to spend a lot of money, but if you can afford the next level of car I suppose even those cars might seem a bit slow.
I suppose when you get to that level of power, weight and traction, the returns are less and less as you go up the bhp chart as it becomes harder to get it to the road. I do often wonder if something like a Pagani Huayra could make a GT-R seem slow. It's got another 220bhp or so and weighs about 300kg less than the GT-R, but how much difference would that really make?
Mastodon2 said:
On a level above that, I had a ride in a 996 Turbo S that was just mental. With 4WD, 50bhp more than the M5 and much less weight, it seemed ballistic even in comparison. To get better performance than GTR / Turbo S level, you need to spend a lot of money, but if you can afford the next level of car I suppose even those cars might seem a bit slow.
Not very many cars more accelerative (at public road relevant speeds) than a Caterham R500, and I should imagine that it feels even faster than it is.
I drive it even slowerMustangs - one had over 1000hp so of course it was fast in a straight line, but that's about it. If you go past quarter throttle on most roads it'll end up backwards in a hedge so you have to drive it like a saint.
Porsches - Cayman is faster in the real world than 991 on the basis that you can push it and push it and it can always find more grip and never reacts violently or unpredictably to driver inputs. 991 has more power but is slower on actual roads because in trying to futher mask the 911 handling traits they have just left it feeling entirely unpredictable, if you really push it can snap oversteer or chronic understeer and switch between the two on the same corner taken at the same speed with the same weight preloading for no apparent reason.
Everyone should own a 1000hp+ car at some point, if anything it gives you some perspective on why the traffic light GP is an idiotic measure to judge road cars.
Porsches - Cayman is faster in the real world than 991 on the basis that you can push it and push it and it can always find more grip and never reacts violently or unpredictably to driver inputs. 991 has more power but is slower on actual roads because in trying to futher mask the 911 handling traits they have just left it feeling entirely unpredictable, if you really push it can snap oversteer or chronic understeer and switch between the two on the same corner taken at the same speed with the same weight preloading for no apparent reason.
Everyone should own a 1000hp+ car at some point, if anything it gives you some perspective on why the traffic light GP is an idiotic measure to judge road cars.
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