Performance Cars - Are we going too far?

[Cole]

Originally Posted by D_Thissen

First and second gear pulls to redline . Pretty sure if my brother did that on his bike, he would break every posted speed limit in the country lol.

You know that straight line speed isn't necessarily the topic here, Dan. If we're talking super car, we're talking speed, grip, etc. And You can still get in plenty of trouble with speed alone, in the FRS. Since first and second gear pulls aren't where the car maxes out. Plus, I'm positive that if a cop saw you take off like a bat out of hell, he wouldn't hesitate to pull you over.

All I'm saying, is that outside of maybe kei cars, there's pretty much no way you can max any modern car on the street, legally of course.

[Summerwolf]

Originally Posted by RichardsFRS

Why are you even here if you are going to thrash on the car like that? Had I been you, the minute I bought my C7, these fourms would be historic history, never look back no regrets! It is what I plan to get next and you can bet your ass, the first thing I will do will detach here and attach to a Vette forum, UNLESS I end up keeping the FRS aswell, but I don't see that happening

www.corvetteforum.com


Unfortunately most of the people there talk about waxing their vehicles or chrome taillight covers and not actual performance or driving topics....


I visit pretty much every forum I have ever been a member of except dsmtuners, lol.

[tennisfreak]

Originally Posted by RichardsFRS

Why are you even here if you are going to thrash on the car like that? Had I been you, the minute I bought my C7, these fourms would be historic history, never look back no regrets! It is what I plan to get next and you can bet your ass, the first thing I will do will detach here and attach to a Vette forum, UNLESS I end up keeping the FRS aswell, but I don't see that happening

I'm not thrashing on the FR-S, please dont take my comments like that.

I loved the little car and if it had not been for a HUGE unexpected bonus I'd probably still be driving it today.

Why am I still here?
I like the community
I am still interested in the car
Most importantly, this is a good place to hear FT-1/Supra gossip/news. I am awaiting this fabled unicorn as the second this car becomes real my Vette will be on the "trade in" list.

[Toyarzee]

Originally Posted by Cockatoo

Trying to look into future of where car manufacturers want to be scares me.... I'm all for more safety, but if the endgame is to take the driver out of the equation, then as an enthusiast and a person that takes driving seriously, I hope it never comes to that point.

I feel like with all the fancy auto-braking and auto-accident avoidance, etc they are currently putting in, every time it has to intervene there should be some way to add points to your license...

ie. Fifth Element style... (robot voice) "Auto braking engaged... accident avoided... 2 points have been added to your licence.... you have 10 points remaining until suspension.... have a nice day"

If I could thank you more than once, I would 100 times over. I just got a ride in a new Explorer Sport ,and my buddy was proud as can be. He exclaimed he now only puts the car in cruise control and sets the car lengths he wants in front of him, and the car accelerates and brakes automatically and keeps you in your lane without touching pedals or the wheel. I was disgusted. He already sucks as a driver and this won't do him any favors... we keep saying that the driving future looks bleak, but the future is nigh!

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

[rant]
When watching cars at track days I see "classifications" of speed. There is slow, quick, there is fast, there is the crazy fast, then there are the race cars. I have only seen a GTR once at the local track; it was being driven. It fell into the crazy fast category. But the thing that gets me a little is that the car is being partly controlled by the software. It used to be that if a super car was being poorly driven it would chew you up and spit you out. Now days the software allows ordinary drivers to drive quickly. It does not make the cars fool-proof but it makes them more accessible to more drivers. This is a great thing for egos but some of the credit for going fast has to go to the people writing the software.

[/rant]

.

[RichardsFRS]

Originally Posted by tennisfreak

I'm not thrashing on the FR-S, please dont take my comments like that.

I loved the little car and if it had not been for a HUGE unexpected bonus I'd probably still be driving it today.

Why am I still here?
I like the community
I am still interested in the car
Most importantly, this is a good place to hear FT-1/Supra gossip/news. I am awaiting this fabled unicorn as the second this car becomes real my Vette will be on the "trade in" list.

I don't think it's a unicorn. The Supra will return I'm pretty sure

[dalli]

my dream car

audi r8 gated manual


DD

[themadscientist]

The article captures my feelings. I hate the new GT-R and people try to convince me I should love it because (insert nurburgring time), but that's not the point. I WANT TO DRIVE THE DAMNED THING! That car does so much of it for you, I don't want it. My 94' R is about as whiz-bang as I'll tolerate and I'd really like to lose the ABS too.

Technology is fine and I would gladly drive a big powerful luxury sedan daily, but when you speak of a sports car I expect the price of admission to be you better know how to drive or it will be very slow or soon punched into a ditch. Seems like the Ford GT40 was the last mass production car that didn't come equipped with a sense of humor. People were winding those up left and right when they came out.

My little BRZ ha a cute little wound up rubber band for an engine, but when I flip off the nanny tech, that car can raise some hell and find its limit. It's exciting and I respect what that little thing can do for a nice price and at speeds that allow me to learn my lesson with some chance of living to apply the new knowledge.

These uber cars will get you so damned deep into it that when it finally crosses the line, your just dead, end of story. You never saw it coming either. Everything was cool then it all comes crashing down. With a real drivers car you will have to work up to those kind of power and speed numbers and will have gotten better along the way.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by tennisfreak

Only someone that has never had a high horsepower car would say this.

I used to be one of you.

This past 5 days on my road trip, in a rented vehicle, I had never wanted my horsepower back so badly.

Passing, acceleration, going up hills, shifting, etc...... are all everyday benefits you enjoy in a high powered car that do not require going to the track.

I'm totally the opposite. My "fast" car is a 6.8 liter ~580hp FD RX-7. I love it, it is a real challenge to extract a decent percentage of its potential at the track . But I still I LOVE daily driving and road-tripping in my 240hp S2000. On the street, I seldom need to even get into VTEC, so it's essentially a ~150hp 2800 lb. FR sports car, and it's BRILLIANT to drive every day. Except for the wind noise through the single-layer convertible top. That, I am sick of...

I would much rather see more cars like the S2000, Elise, Miata, FR-S/BRZ on the market than the never-ending parade of uber-hyper-megacars. Simple, lightweight, rwd, fun >>> megapower and 1/4-mile and 'ring times for me.

[Captain Snooze]

I agree with most of what is being said here but I shall offer my 4 cents worth of opinion for FREE!!

1/ From a marketing pov this year's model has to be "better" than the previous model. One of the most easily comprehended "improvements" is the new model produces x more power than the previous model.
2/ Why do people keep on thinking that a car purchase is a purely rational decision?
3/ Having a better car than the neighbour/peers is important for some people.
4/ Some people like being able to brag that their car can lap that race track in such a such time. (All the while failing to admit that they couldn't replicate such a feat.)
5/ Bigger numbers sell more cars. More power, more legroom, more boot/trunk space, more paint options.
6/ Some people like powerful cars. I don't have an issue with that.

End of free reading. If you want more you will have to pay.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

I
2/ Why do people keep on thinking that a car purchase is a purely rational decision?

This ^^ all day long!
I always chuckle when I read "Dude get a STi they are waaaaay more practical".
No, a mini van is waaaay more practical. A STI is just marginally practical.
We can try and rationalize our choices but that does not make them actually rational.

[ZionsWrath]

I disagree.

If I could afford one I'd have some "nur designed" expensive car and track it, but I can't so I have a BRZ.

And the research and development and countless test hours put into cutting tenths off lap times is very important. It's the expensive flagships that pave the way and the lesser cars get the benefits over time.

[P@ul]

300 hp is the magic number for me. I'd rather pay extra money to "add lightness" at that point. *shrugs*

I think it's nuts that we have stock cars running the type of quarter mile times that require safety equipment. You split cars in half if you crash at the kinds of speeds these cars can do. It's intoxicating though... I went from a EK Civic to a Shelby GT500; you could do 120 mph at the top of 3rd gear. And that was the "old" one.

That power is a f'in drug, and I love it. I feel like I'd just end up in jail for using it though.

[Joakim3]

Originally Posted by P@ul

300 hp is the magic number for me. I'd rather pay extra money to "add lightness" at that point. *shrugs*

I think it's nuts that we have stock cars running the type of quarter mile times that require safety equipment. You split cars in half if you crash at the kinds of speeds these cars can do. It's intoxicating though... I went from a EK Civic to a Shelby GT500; you could do 120 mph at the top of 3rd gear. And that was the "old" one.

That power is a f'in drug, and I love it. I feel like I'd just end up in jail for using it though.

Sure its a drug and how many times its it genuinely accessible? lol

My car is limited to 155mph.... do I really need to go any faster (in the land of lunar surface for highways and or cops using every technique conceived to catch people going 5 mph over the speed limit let alone 50 over)

Cars now a days are so powerful and fast that your either going to kill yourself, someone else or land yourself in the back seat of squad car if you even attempt to use 50% of what their truly capable of