Straight Line Speed or Handling?

[tyranical]

What's your priority in cars?

For me, handling is great but the rush of acceleration is what really does it for me in cars.

[OMNIO]

Handling,

Gong fast in a straight line is nowhere near as fun.

[trickywoo]

OP - You need a motorcycle then.

Edited by trickywoo on Monday 15th November 16:46

[rhinochopig]

Neither. A slow and steady beauty in beige for me. I'm only here for the threads about relationships.

[iAlex]

Crap handling in a slow car would ultimately be the safest way to have fun at slower speeds?

For me, a bit of both. Nice to have a car with some punch which comes into its own on the twisties. i.e. leaving 'faster' cars behind you when you get to a corner.

[Thorburn]

Handling for me.

[tyranical]

Maybe I just haven't experienced the handling of a nice handling car to really appreciate it but do people not think that your average car on our roads unless you drive like a complete tosser, theres not really much difference in how they go round corners? I seem to take the same corners at the same speed regardless of what car i'm in.

[Jayho]

Handling. On the twisties its fun.

Everyone can get to 70mph in a straight line, but getting through the twisties at a higher speed than other cars is where u'd make up for lost time. But in saying that i travel a lot of country roads so it makes a difference for me for handling.

+ I've found those with quick acceleration and speed seem to get lazy round corners as they can make up for the speed loss, whereas in slower cars i'd be wanting to keep my cornering speed up so i dont have to waste time getting back up to speed again.

[done by a diesel]

i enjoy a gentle drive in an old hillman hunter but theres always someone in a tvr that wants to race youhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PECRSuwg-Mc

[blugnu]

Jayho said:

+ I've found those with quick acceleration and speed seem to get lazy round corners as they can make up for the speed loss, whereas in slower cars i'd be wanting to keep my cornering speed up so i dont have to waste time getting back up to speed again.

This is true. You learn a lot about driving if you regularly drive over Snake Pass (A57 Manchester - Sheffield) as a young man, driving either a 1.1 litre Peugeot 205 or a 20 year old 1.3 Viva.

If you carry on driving as though the brakes are made of glass when you get a more powerful car, it's surprising how quickly and smoothly you can cover ground.

I've had cars with crap handling (that'll be the Viva then), cars with lovely handling (Sportka), powerful cars (Alfa 156 2.4) and cars that are all things in between (Multipla, Saab 900, Mondeo, standard Ka) and I think all have their merits. One man's crap handling is anothers low-speed entertainment. Drive everything in the manner that suits it, and do it with a smile.

[PhillipM]

I've got a 1.4 with about 5 times the car's worth in suspension and steering bits, so I'll let you guess

[stuttgartmetal]

Both

[Thorburn]

blugnu said:

One man's crap handling is anothers low-speed entertainment. Drive everything in the manner that suits it, and do it with a smile.

Very true, my Forester has comically low levels of grip yet, awful brakes aside, it can be a surprising amount of fun to drive round on the door handles.

You aren't going quick, but you feel like you are.

[braddo]

tyranical said:

Maybe I just haven't experienced the handling of a nice handling car to really appreciate it but do people not think that your average car on our roads unless you drive like a complete tosser, theres not really much difference in how they go round corners? I seem to take the same corners at the same speed regardless of what car i'm in.

You're equating cornering speed with good handling but they're not necessarily linked. A lot of what makes a good handling car is about how it feels to the driver. An old MX5 on skinny tyres may not match the cornering speed of a new quattro Audi but there is little doubt over which will be considered the better handling car.

In fact, the feedback component is becoming ever more important because the average modern car's grip and pace are so much better than 10-20 years ago (the gap between the average car and a performance car is not as wide as it was).

A crap handling car is not fun at any speed, whereas a good handling one is the opposite.

[Zip106]

Luckily, my car can do both.

But I prefer the handling aspect.

I've had great fun driving the Cat & Fiddle, even at 50mph.

Edited by Zip106 on Monday 15th November 17:08

[havoc]

tyranical said:

Maybe I just haven't experienced the handling of a nice handling car to really appreciate it but do people not think that your average car on our roads unless you drive like a complete tosser, theres not really much difference in how they go round corners? I seem to take the same corners at the same speed regardless of what car i'm in.

In a lot of modern cars, yes. But there's a difference between handling and grip - most modern cars have too much grip and not enough handling!

Handling is more about how the car FEELS when going round a corner - whether you can tell what the wheels are up to, whether you can adjust the line with the throttle, whether the car remains keyed-in to the tarmac or it's skipping around underneath you. Also not having to adjust your steering input after committing to the corner.

You can tell when you've got a good car underneath you even at 5/10ths, as they tend to be 'nice to drive' at those speeds as well as balls-out.

Ultimately though it IS more relevant to cars with lower grip - e.g. the Focus ST and Golf GTi actually have good chassis, but you need to be travelling pretty quickly in them to start to appreciate that fact. Conversely, a Mk1 Audi TT that I drove (loaner) had more grip than my (similarly-shod) day-to-day diesel Focus Mk1, yet the Focus was far more fun to pedal down a back-road because it 'flowed better'.

[al1991]

Rush of acceleration is an amazing feeling but generally roads are too crowded to really stretch a fast car's legs.

You can enjoy the feel of a nicely balanced car, or good steering feel at any speed so handling for me I think.

[mattmoxon]

Straight line speed, nice V8 + auto box.

[RWD cossie wil]

What opened my eyes to handling was at the tender age of 19, in my first cossie ( rear drive sapphire, 280ish bhp), I got destroyed by a 205 gti mi16 down a twisty A road. I was reeling him in on the straight bits easily, but through the bends I just couldn't push as hard, as a standard Cos isn't the greatest handling car ever, and being slightly damp, even with only 280ish BHP I just couldn't get the power down..The 205 was just walking away on anything except nearly straight roads.

We stopped for a chat after, and had pretty much this same discussion!

Ultimatly, I love acceleration, but threading a car through the twisties neatly is more fun.

[Jayho]

blugnu said:

Jayho said:

+ I've found those with quick acceleration and speed seem to get lazy round corners as they can make up for the speed loss, whereas in slower cars i'd be wanting to keep my cornering speed up so i dont have to waste time getting back up to speed again.

This is true. You learn a lot about driving if you regularly drive over Snake Pass (A57 Manchester - Sheffield) as a young man, driving either a 1.1 litre Peugeot 205 or a 20 year old 1.3 Viva.

If you carry on driving as though the brakes are made of glass when you get a more powerful car, it's surprising how quickly and smoothly you can cover ground.

I've had cars with crap handling (that'll be the Viva then), cars with lovely handling (Sportka), powerful cars (Alfa 156 2.4) and cars that are all things in between (Multipla, Saab 900, Mondeo, standard Ka) and I think all have their merits. One man's crap handling is anothers low-speed entertainment. Drive everything in the manner that suits it, and do it with a smile.

Lol i Started quite similar to you (Saxo 1.1) and I couldnt have asked for a better first car for my driving needs! The handling was responsive and was brilliant on the country roads i covered. Learned a lot about cornering in the thing, and used what i aquired for future driving... Although some of my cornering has probably become a little lazier as i've progressed into something with more acceleration, but not all is lost.