Define 'handling'
Author
Discussion

Rawwr

Original Poster:

22,722 posts

255 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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The many threads about MX5s, Elises, GT86s and Sevens sometimes make me question if other peoples' definitions of 'handling' are different to mine.

What do you define handling as?

AndyLB

428 posts

185 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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A few points for me (willing to go first and be ripped apart!)

1) Stable - not acres of roll like a top heavy transit
2) Ability to chuck said car into bends at speeds you feel slightly uncomfortable with, and come out the other side without the car getting out of shape
3) Plenty of feedback - nice to know what the front end is doing - although this is difficult to quantify


8potdave

2,641 posts

234 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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How quickly the car can corner, how much stability and grip the car has, how it reacts to steering inputs and corrections, but generally it's 'feel' more than anything.

DanDC5

19,704 posts

188 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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Not sure how I'd define it exactly, only give a comparison as to the last 2 cars I've owned. I'd describe the VXR as a car that grips well, the Integra as a car that handles and grips well.IMO it's down to how it changes direction, how 'pointy' the nose of the car is and how quickly it responds.

Not great I know but the best I could do.

Chrisw666

22,655 posts

220 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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IMO good handling is a nice balance of grip, feedback to driver and response to driver inputs.

I don't think it is a definable quality though as everyone will like slightly different things.

Kozy

3,169 posts

239 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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It is not the same as grip.

Crusoe

4,114 posts

252 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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AndyLB said:
A few points for me (willing to go first and be ripped apart!)

1) Stable - not acres of roll like a top heavy transit
2) Ability to chuck said car into bends at speeds you feel slightly uncomfortable with, and come out the other side without the car getting out of shape
3) Plenty of feedback - nice to know what the front end is doing - although this is difficult to quantify
Number 1 for me is consistency, if you go through the same corner and give it the same input it does the same thing.
Followed closely by a chassis that gives you options rather than just understeering if you get to quick.


StottyZr

6,860 posts

184 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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You know a go-kart? If it handles like one, its good at handling

Rawwr

Original Poster:

22,722 posts

255 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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Indeed, I don't think grip has any bearing on handling. I see them as two clearly distinct attributes.

ewenm

28,506 posts

266 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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To me "handling" is how the car reacts to and gives feedback from a given input by the driver.

pilchardthecat

7,483 posts

200 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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Kozy said:
It is not the same as grip.
No, but it is the ability of the car to communicate to the driver how much of the available grip you are using (for example)

GroundEffect

13,864 posts

177 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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Balance and predictability


Chrisw666

22,655 posts

220 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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Rawwr said:
Indeed, I don't think grip has any bearing on handling. I see them as two clearly distinct attributes.
Where I see grip as a part of the package that makes a car handle well.

But I've driven a lot of cars with more grip than I could use safely that were still dull and lifeless things to steer.

blearyeyedboy

6,693 posts

200 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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I would agree with the gist of what most people have said and I'll add one point: If the corner tightens on a road when I didn't expect it, a good handling car will be able to adapt without spitting me into the scenery and without making me feel like it was a close shave. (Stupid entry speed to a corner notwithstanding, of course.)

EDIT: I don't mean grip here. I've had cars where a little slippage happened but in a predictable way that I could manage.

Edited by blearyeyedboy on Wednesday 25th July 15:57

DeadMeat_UK

3,058 posts

303 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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Predictable, reactive, increasingly forgiving as I get older.

Rawwr

Original Poster:

22,722 posts

255 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
quotequote all
Chrisw666 said:
Where I see grip as a part of the package that makes a car handle well.
I'd use the Ford Ka as reasonable argument to that. A Ka has the mechanical grip of an egg on a Teflon pan but it handles really well.

J4CKO

45,376 posts

221 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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Its a measure of whether you enjoy driving it

Chrisw666

22,655 posts

220 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
quotequote all
Rawwr said:
I'd use the Ford Ka as reasonable argument to that. A Ka has the mechanical grip of an egg on a Teflon pan but it handles really well.
I didn't say that a car needs good grip levels to be good. Indeed the KA would be very dull if you found super sticky rubber for it.

aka_kerrly

12,493 posts

231 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
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StottyZr said:
You know a go-kart? If it handles like one, its good at handling
So not masses of grip, no suspension, only rear brakes, half a turn lock to lock - yeh that sounds great;)


It is interesting though that some people define handling as GRIP.

I agree with what someone else said that handling is about consistency, knowing that a car behaves a certain way in a multitude of situations is far more reassuring and thus inspires far more confidence to push on rather than having eg traction control, electronic stability or whatever acronym which electronically "fixes" the car when the driver fails to control it.

Ranger 6

7,508 posts

270 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
quotequote all
aka_kerrly said:
StottyZr said:
You know a go-kart? If it handles like one, its good at handling
So not masses of grip, no suspension, only rear brakes, half a turn lock to lock - yeah that sounds great;)
hehe yup, I've been some karts which were just appaling.....

To me the definition of handling is how the car feels - people here seem to be trying to just define good handling and getting confused with grip.