The Best ///M/Barge/General Rant/Look at this/O/T (Vol XVI)
Discussion
olly22n said:
jeremyc said:
olly22n said:
driving into london tonight from stamford.
Leaving about 1600 - is it best to head straight in down Edgware and the a41 or go round to the M40?
:shrug:
Which part of London are you trying to get to?Leaving about 1600 - is it best to head straight in down Edgware and the a41 or go round to the M40?
:shrug:
NonduJour said:
A41
This.But I'd suggest parking up at Brent Cross or similar and getting the tube in'n'out.
Though you do realise you could travel by train and have a drink on the way there and back.
The V8 luxo-barge is dead. Long live the V8 luxo-barge.
You know when you find satisfaction in the most unlikely of cars? Well, this is it. Back, by popular demand (i.e. mine), after breaking two Saabs and getting an Alfa 159 to smoke around, I began to miss the horrendously cheap interior, clangy doors, terrible seats, plastic steering wheel and quite unexpectedly snarly, wonderfully potent 6.2 V8 rear wheel drive Chevy Caprice that I once had a loan of previously.
So I've done a long term rental of it
If the profile looks vaguely familiar, that's because it's based on the Holden Commodore, or as we know it in Blighty, the VXR8 (albeit far more potent). In 'Murikka, the civilian Caprice gets a typically schnitzy makeover. It's a car that most of you won't be familiar with, because 'my' car's spec is only available outside the middle east as a police cruiser for the Yanks. Therefore you get a very ordinary looking saloon car which sits somewhere between an E and an S Class Merc in terms of size, with no go faster bits stuck to it whatsover. Even as a petrolhead, you'd dismiss it almost immediately. What lurks underneath the hood however, is a slightly de-tuned Corvette LS3 motor, packing nigh-on four-hungees and a moon's gravity of torque. It's mated to a very co-operative auto 'box which more often that not knows which gear you need to be in, and this makes for possibly the best q-car since the 500E; only it's faster. Much faster. Sixty is doable in the mid fives, according to my butt dyno.
The drive is wafty and normally very quiet. As a passenger, you could be in any taxi, until I sink the throttle... The snarl from beyond the bulkhead is pure NASCAR, which is matched with sufficiently horizon-catching forward momentum. Or at least, once it finds some traction. Sure it rolls a bit, but this all makes it part of the fun. Tyres are 225 section all round, which predictably means that traffic light get-aways-are smokey affairs, and that's with the TC enabled!
Out here, where the roads are devoid of any character whatsoever and largely poorly surfaced, it's just about the perfect car to waft around in and dispatch Landcruisers with disdain. It's covertness makes it all the more entertaining, and means that German or Italian exotica gets an even harder time with the benefit of being able to creep up unnoticed.
In short, I love it. In fact I'm thinking of buying one. And marrying it.
Ah, but what about fuel consumption? What about it indeed. A tank costs £8.50 to fill up.
You know when you find satisfaction in the most unlikely of cars? Well, this is it. Back, by popular demand (i.e. mine), after breaking two Saabs and getting an Alfa 159 to smoke around, I began to miss the horrendously cheap interior, clangy doors, terrible seats, plastic steering wheel and quite unexpectedly snarly, wonderfully potent 6.2 V8 rear wheel drive Chevy Caprice that I once had a loan of previously.
So I've done a long term rental of it
If the profile looks vaguely familiar, that's because it's based on the Holden Commodore, or as we know it in Blighty, the VXR8 (albeit far more potent). In 'Murikka, the civilian Caprice gets a typically schnitzy makeover. It's a car that most of you won't be familiar with, because 'my' car's spec is only available outside the middle east as a police cruiser for the Yanks. Therefore you get a very ordinary looking saloon car which sits somewhere between an E and an S Class Merc in terms of size, with no go faster bits stuck to it whatsover. Even as a petrolhead, you'd dismiss it almost immediately. What lurks underneath the hood however, is a slightly de-tuned Corvette LS3 motor, packing nigh-on four-hungees and a moon's gravity of torque. It's mated to a very co-operative auto 'box which more often that not knows which gear you need to be in, and this makes for possibly the best q-car since the 500E; only it's faster. Much faster. Sixty is doable in the mid fives, according to my butt dyno.
The drive is wafty and normally very quiet. As a passenger, you could be in any taxi, until I sink the throttle... The snarl from beyond the bulkhead is pure NASCAR, which is matched with sufficiently horizon-catching forward momentum. Or at least, once it finds some traction. Sure it rolls a bit, but this all makes it part of the fun. Tyres are 225 section all round, which predictably means that traffic light get-aways-are smokey affairs, and that's with the TC enabled!
Out here, where the roads are devoid of any character whatsoever and largely poorly surfaced, it's just about the perfect car to waft around in and dispatch Landcruisers with disdain. It's covertness makes it all the more entertaining, and means that German or Italian exotica gets an even harder time with the benefit of being able to creep up unnoticed.
In short, I love it. In fact I'm thinking of buying one. And marrying it.
Ah, but what about fuel consumption? What about it indeed. A tank costs £8.50 to fill up.
I don't know much about any types of Porsche, but isn't this rather cheap at 8k?
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C567957
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C567957
I know this seems expensive but it's still a want.
68,000 miles
1 [previous] owner
£5,250.00
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201222758806
68,000 miles
1 [previous] owner
£5,250.00
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201222758806
Output Flange said:
LaurasOtherHalf said:
Rang up on a whim this lunchtime, deposit taken this morning.
Disappoint
barchetta_boy said:
I like the thought of buying an Aston on a whim.
They are not great to drive though. Really poorly positioned gearlever and such a heavy flywheel that it really bluntens the drive. Bamford Rose do a kit which apparently transforms them.
I'm surprised there isn't that much love for them around here They are not great to drive though. Really poorly positioned gearlever and such a heavy flywheel that it really bluntens the drive. Bamford Rose do a kit which apparently transforms them.
Let's get the most important bit out of the way, yes I know they're heavy!
Admittedly, I've only driven one once but I really rather liked it. Not too frantic, oozes style and an engine note to die for. What I like more, is how similar they are to the GT4 cars that aston race (except the weight obv.), kind of like 911s used to be in the old aircooled days.
The 4.3 I drove felt remarkably like my old 350Z, and that's not really a bad thing if I'm honest, like a bigger but better Z4M coupe-& I liked my Z coop as well
Edited by LaurasOtherHalf on Friday 12th December 17:39
The Z4M is a scalpel with a very rev-happy straight six, rock hard ride and a pointy, short wheelbase feel to the handling. My main criticism is a rock-hard ride. Straight out of the box it laps the Nurburgring like little else this side of a GT3.
The Aston is very different. Throttle response is very sluggish, no way does it feel like 370bhp. I really do think the flywheel ruins the drive. The engine note is nice because it's a bent 8, but compared to other V8s it actually sounds quite synthetic. I'd place it behind my Porsche 928 or a Griffith or an R8 but ahead of an E92 M3. The handling is good but the steering feel is non-existent compared to the Z.
The interior is flawed too - Volvo sat nav (which is functionally crap as well as fugly) and it can't make it's mind up whether it's a GT or a sports car. It feels like an awkward mix of mass market and overblown premium: crappy plastics and switchgear, and *terrible* instruments. The Z has a nice, simple purity of purpose to it and of course BMW instruments are always good.
Despite this, I'd still love one and if/when they hit £20k could be tempted.
Now, I must get back to pursuading my wife that a 2003 C32 Kompressor AMG wagon would be a good daily for her. Please feel free to help me out.
The Aston is very different. Throttle response is very sluggish, no way does it feel like 370bhp. I really do think the flywheel ruins the drive. The engine note is nice because it's a bent 8, but compared to other V8s it actually sounds quite synthetic. I'd place it behind my Porsche 928 or a Griffith or an R8 but ahead of an E92 M3. The handling is good but the steering feel is non-existent compared to the Z.
The interior is flawed too - Volvo sat nav (which is functionally crap as well as fugly) and it can't make it's mind up whether it's a GT or a sports car. It feels like an awkward mix of mass market and overblown premium: crappy plastics and switchgear, and *terrible* instruments. The Z has a nice, simple purity of purpose to it and of course BMW instruments are always good.
Despite this, I'd still love one and if/when they hit £20k could be tempted.
Now, I must get back to pursuading my wife that a 2003 C32 Kompressor AMG wagon would be a good daily for her. Please feel free to help me out.
The Z4M is a what now?! Sorry Joel, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one 
I did nurburgring and spa (as well as uk) track days in mine and it certainly doesn't lap like a lot of other things out there!
Lovely car, great engine, simply pant dropping good looks (why do cab-back GTs look just right?) but not a scalpel in the handling department-the rear suspension was a joke as well-still remains the only car (apart from the GTR but that wasn't mine) I ever felt I needed to leave the electronics switched on when lapping!
I did nurburgring and spa (as well as uk) track days in mine and it certainly doesn't lap like a lot of other things out there!
Lovely car, great engine, simply pant dropping good looks (why do cab-back GTs look just right?) but not a scalpel in the handling department-the rear suspension was a joke as well-still remains the only car (apart from the GTR but that wasn't mine) I ever felt I needed to leave the electronics switched on when lapping!
Started looking at these again today, after someone at work was raving about how good they were.
Want:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...
Want:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...
L100NYY said:
I would much rather have an Elise at the same money despite the power deficit.
Why? Interested, as genuinely tempted to look at Elise/VX soon. The above has piqued my latent interest in them (it's not just the Friday night ), but the money looks strong.Need to keep myself busy (bathroom shopping...
, 
) tomorrow, to stop me from ringing up re that VX...L100NYY said:
it just misses that certain something that the Elise possesses.
Leaks in the head gasket? 
I loved my VX. Used it in sun or slush, every day of the week. No car I've owned was quicker down "my road". (We all have "a road", don't we?)
Personally I'd look for a good N/A over a Turbo and pop in an LSD with the pennies saved. The iron blocked Turbo adds an unwelcome lump of weight in the wrong place compared with the featherweight, alloy blocked N/A.
Once had a rush of blood one Saturday and decided to go and swap it for a Turbo at the local dealership. Some lunatic salesman took me out in one and frightened me silly, which conversely meant I wasn't bothered about holding back when we eventually swapped seats. So between us, we spent an enjoyable half hour laying down black lines around the local industrial estate. It was too tempting to return and have a go at the same pace on the way home in my own car, when it was soon decided that the N/A was the sweeter machine: the reduction of sheer grunt was more than compensated by the lovely balance and feel of the lighter car.
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