Is there any point in having a decent car?
Discussion
Got the Summer car and spent the majority of time avoiding craters in the road. It’s shocking. I can see why so many people buy SUVs. Round here in West Suffolk the roads are 100% worse than last year. Come down the Newmarket by-pass and my car was going along the sunken tracks the lorries have created.
Other than just sticking to A roads or motorways I don’t know what the answer is.
Other than just sticking to A roads or motorways I don’t know what the answer is.
don’t forget the immigrants…Potholes thread here - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I know the feeling. I'd got used to working out the best lines to avoid the potholes along the various A and B roads round here but I notice the councils have been slowly but surely filling them in. Just annoying until they sort it which can be months. In many ways my TT is better than a 992 GT3 due to the 16" alloys and huge tyres... but even then it's not great so I try to avoid them. Can't imagine what it must be like driving around in any modern sports car with 20" or bigger wheels.
Hoofy said:
I know the feeling. I'd got used to working out the best lines to avoid the potholes along the various A and B roads round here but I notice the councils have been slowly but surely filling them in. Just annoying until they sort it which can be months. In many ways my TT is better than a 992 GT3 due to the 16" alloys and huge tyres... but even then it's not great so I try to avoid them. Can't imagine what it must be like driving around in any modern sports car with 20" or bigger wheels.
I know, I’ve got a little old Fiesta which bangs and shakes to be expected and I’ve got a 20 year old Maserati which if the suspension needs renewing it would be a big part of the car’s value as it’s not worth a great deal.Another one I’ve noticed more than ever this year is the tarmac eroding away at the side of roads, not good with a wide car.
M138 said:
I know, I’ve got a little old Fiesta which bangs and shakes to be expected and I’ve got a 20 year old Maserati which if the suspension needs renewing it would be a big part of the car’s value as it’s not worth a great deal.
Another one I’ve noticed more than ever this year is the tarmac eroding away at the side of roads, not good with a wide car.
Not noticed that (but then I don't have a wide car).Another one I’ve noticed more than ever this year is the tarmac eroding away at the side of roads, not good with a wide car.
Skyedriver said:
Sorry M138 by I did laugh a little
And if you think you've got problems I've an Italian built Swedish car from 1990. All the parts made out of unobtainium by unicorns.
Ditto And if you think you've got problems I've an Italian built Swedish car from 1990. All the parts made out of unobtainium by unicorns.
This is another problem, the parts either cost a fortune or nla.
At least the Fiesta parts are still plentiful.
I've done a few trips to Scotland in the last couple of years and read all sorts of doom and gloom stories about potholes, but they weren't any worse than what I've encountered closer to home in Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire - they are everywhere these days.
Anyone following me could be forgiven for thinking I'm driving under the influence, but I'm just trying to avoid potholes!
Anyone following me could be forgiven for thinking I'm driving under the influence, but I'm just trying to avoid potholes!
"Nice" cars aren't even very quick.
In the UK, or at least many parts of it, the parts with the fun roads, see 180+ days a year of rain. That means the roads are wet more often than not.
How much do you have to spend on a "nice" car to get something that goes considerably faster than an old Subaru or similar? (You can pick any quick AWD ordinary car, MK1 Audi S3, whatever)
I was on a drive out with a few friends, one of whom has a 450hp BMW M4, which is a very nice car, and in the dry, is unbelievably quick. I was in my old, £3000 Subaru, which weighs about the same as the M4, but has 200hp less. It was wet. The expensive car wasn't just slower, it was A LOT slower.
What couldn't I keep up with? The twin turbo, V8, AWD M5. It was no quicker in the turns, it was easy to keep up in the twistier bits, but every straight it just shot off.
I imagine that the cheapest thing that could leave a cheap quick AWD car behind on a wet mountain road is probably an expensive AWD car, its hard to guess what the hirearchy looks like, but Id say a newer STI, or an Audi TTRS/RS3/RS4, if not then a 911 C4, if not then an Audi R8 or 911 Turbo or a GTR.
Obviously if it happens to be dry, then it's a completely different story, and the advantage of AWD, certainly compared to RWD, isn't realised unless you have a vastly more powerful car. But I'd argue, more often than not, it isn't dry.
Nice cars are just for showing off. You buy a BMW M-car or a Porsche or a Jag/Aston/Ferarri/Lambo/McLaren/whatever because you want to be seen in it, or because they are a really nice thing to own, or they make a nice noise. You don't buy them for the function of driving around in, and you certainly don't buy them because they are fast.
In the UK, or at least many parts of it, the parts with the fun roads, see 180+ days a year of rain. That means the roads are wet more often than not.
How much do you have to spend on a "nice" car to get something that goes considerably faster than an old Subaru or similar? (You can pick any quick AWD ordinary car, MK1 Audi S3, whatever)
I was on a drive out with a few friends, one of whom has a 450hp BMW M4, which is a very nice car, and in the dry, is unbelievably quick. I was in my old, £3000 Subaru, which weighs about the same as the M4, but has 200hp less. It was wet. The expensive car wasn't just slower, it was A LOT slower.
What couldn't I keep up with? The twin turbo, V8, AWD M5. It was no quicker in the turns, it was easy to keep up in the twistier bits, but every straight it just shot off.
I imagine that the cheapest thing that could leave a cheap quick AWD car behind on a wet mountain road is probably an expensive AWD car, its hard to guess what the hirearchy looks like, but Id say a newer STI, or an Audi TTRS/RS3/RS4, if not then a 911 C4, if not then an Audi R8 or 911 Turbo or a GTR.
Obviously if it happens to be dry, then it's a completely different story, and the advantage of AWD, certainly compared to RWD, isn't realised unless you have a vastly more powerful car. But I'd argue, more often than not, it isn't dry.
Nice cars are just for showing off. You buy a BMW M-car or a Porsche or a Jag/Aston/Ferarri/Lambo/McLaren/whatever because you want to be seen in it, or because they are a really nice thing to own, or they make a nice noise. You don't buy them for the function of driving around in, and you certainly don't buy them because they are fast.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff