10 seconds to 60 is faster than most people use
Discussion
All this talk of mental fast cars led me to think my car is crap with ten seconds. Except it isn't really, is it? Most people never use what they've got, annoyingly so when a traffic light can be reduced to half capacity by a slowbie. I floor it, it does it's auto stuff, and I'm well away. In the non PH world, ten seconds is still fast. Wish I had faster though! But then I have a bike for that with around 3.5, so I don't feel robbed. Discuss real world now...
I don't mash the accelerator into the floor every time I exit a corner or pull away from the lights - if I did the fuel consumption would be horrific!
Nope. What I want my (moderately) powerful sports cars to do is to provide me with the ability to overtake safely and smartly by cutting down time on the wrong side of the road. I also want them to stop like someone threw an anchor out the back and turn like they had that anchor in just the right position.
That way I know whatever manoeuvre I need to pull off it will be capable of doing for me. The times I'll need something special in order to make progress will be few and far between but having the capability there is what makes the cars fun to drive.
And from time to time its nice to outdrag the car to your left from the lights as you know they'll hold you up otherwise.
Nope. What I want my (moderately) powerful sports cars to do is to provide me with the ability to overtake safely and smartly by cutting down time on the wrong side of the road. I also want them to stop like someone threw an anchor out the back and turn like they had that anchor in just the right position.
That way I know whatever manoeuvre I need to pull off it will be capable of doing for me. The times I'll need something special in order to make progress will be few and far between but having the capability there is what makes the cars fun to drive.
And from time to time its nice to outdrag the car to your left from the lights as you know they'll hold you up otherwise.
amusingduck said:
In gear acceleration is much more relevant to real world driving than 0-60 times IMO, which is why I prefer turbocharged cars; I rarely see 4.5k+ in daily driving.
I would prefer a V8 though.
I think "involvement" is more important on our roads, so my next car will (hopefully) be little and loud and bumpy, so the lack of refinement makes think I'm on a qualifying lap, instead of using 20% of what the car can do.I would prefer a V8 though.
I'm more interested in checking that the traffic controlled by the other lights has stopped / is stopping. Having seen how often people jump red lights these days I'll leave the TLGP to those who have a death wish.
Last week a HGV came straight through an amber -> red on the off ramp of the motorway; had I gunned it I reckon I'd have been mincemeat.
Last week a HGV came straight through an amber -> red on the off ramp of the motorway; had I gunned it I reckon I'd have been mincemeat.
I sold my sport bike as getting any where near its capabilities on the road is near impossible, i bought a crusier, 0-60 around 6, so say normal ridding around 8, I've had it a year or so, never beat of the lights by a car, so yes most people don't get any where near what the car will do. When I drive my Lotus Carlton which is not ofton enought for me to worry about cost, I do use the accelerationa all the time, it does 8mpg, so most people wouldn't like to spend the money it cost to use acceleration on a daily basis
I think my aging S-Type is slow at 7.5secs to 60, and I regularly use WOT in the real world. Often that's for overtaking purposes but I also just enjoy accelerating. I don't mind revving the car. Although I do it anyway just because I can, I like to have a lot more power than the extreme majority of 0-60-in-10-seconds car offer just to make accelerating away from tight B-road corners or changing speed on the motorway nice and brisk.
Perhaps I should indeed go to Mumsnet instead where they're probably discussing the desire for a car with more "oomph" whilst Pistonheads members all try to out-mature one another.
Perhaps I should indeed go to Mumsnet instead where they're probably discussing the desire for a car with more "oomph" whilst Pistonheads members all try to out-mature one another.
I just find having a powerful car is useful. It just makes every aspect of driving easier to have a car you can put anywhere on the road with little effort - be it accelerating in to a gap when merging on to a motorway or over taking on a B-road. Obviously to a point, more power is better.
0-60 times are just a way of quantifying it I guess.
0-60 times are just a way of quantifying it I guess.
Around here there arent many traffic lights, a few roundabouts but mainly junctions. The cars I have rarely get to do a 0-60, 2 of them arent very sprightly and would take over 10 seconds anyway. Its the 30 to a NSL that my track CRX gets WOT and even though its 25 years old, it still hustles along.
This week I have been commuting in a 1998 Corrola GS 1.3.
Stats are as follows :
1.3 GS 3d
12.1 secs
105 mph
85 bhp
And despite using the "wrong" lane at most junctions to save time I can still out accelerate everyone and get in front of them safely. I am still quicker than most people joining motorway junctions. And I am still getting 40mpg so not exactly thrashing it, and I have not used more than 4.5k rpm all week.
So I am in violent agreement, 10secs 0-60 is quick enough to drive quicker than the majority of traffic.
Stats are as follows :
1.3 GS 3d
12.1 secs
105 mph
85 bhp
And despite using the "wrong" lane at most junctions to save time I can still out accelerate everyone and get in front of them safely. I am still quicker than most people joining motorway junctions. And I am still getting 40mpg so not exactly thrashing it, and I have not used more than 4.5k rpm all week.
So I am in violent agreement, 10secs 0-60 is quick enough to drive quicker than the majority of traffic.
Speak softly but carry a big stick. I drive a V8 S5, I commute through central Newcastle. I find that I'm either held up at lights by cars in front pulling away slowly or I have someone driving a rep-mobile thinking I'm going to try and out-drag them, which I generally don't. I rarely use WOT, because I'd need a pretty decent stretch of road before it didn't feel reckless, but I like having the power to ensure that if I really need to get past something I can.
10 seconds is slow though.
Our work pool cars are a bit slower than that and you have to use all of the available acceleration. It is when you are driving something quicker (or much quicker
) that you don't need to drive it quickly. As said above the joy of a quick car is what it has the potential to do. Particularly for overtaking.
Incidentally I prefer my N/A oomph as an overtaking tool, above the Turbo oopmh.
Our work pool cars are a bit slower than that and you have to use all of the available acceleration. It is when you are driving something quicker (or much quicker
) that you don't need to drive it quickly. As said above the joy of a quick car is what it has the potential to do. Particularly for overtaking.Incidentally I prefer my N/A oomph as an overtaking tool, above the Turbo oopmh.
0-60 is generally pretty irrelevant at the best of times, let alone daily driving. The most important daily driving performance stat I find is mid-range acceleration, 30-60mph-ish, especially living in the Fens where you're much more likely to get stuck behind a lorry on a quick bit of A-road than need to accelerate quickly from the lights.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff