Best handling car?

[gt8613]

Originally Posted by chrisl

I wouldn't want to drive my Cayman in the snow any more than I'd want to drive a GT3 or a Ferrari. The ride isn't a whole lot softer either (though I do have a bit more ground clearance, which is nice for speed bumps, curbs, etc). As for luggage? 911s carry a lot more than you might think - the GT3 has a fair amount of room in front, and the spot where the rear seats would be (in any other 911) is pretty large too. I can't comment on the Ferrari though.

There is a video on you ft ube about 911 being the ultimate automobiles for snoe...joy wise. There is s company tgat does that for tourists and such.

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[chrisl]

Originally Posted by gt8613

There is a video on you ft ube about 911 being the ultimate automobiles for snoe...joy wise. There is s company tgat does that for tourists and such.

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I would bet that the 4wd ones would be a lot of fun in the snow (Carrera 4, 4S, Turbo), but I would think that the RWD 911s (incl. the GT3)/Caymans/Boxsters would be pretty terrifying.

[mike the snake]

That was an uneducated guess. The BRZ has such crappy tires, and handles so well even with them, and it has very good weight distribution, and it's very lightweight, seems to me it's got all the ingredients for supreme handling with better tires.

It would be interesting to see a comparison of the 2 cars with equal tires.

Originally Posted by chrisl

Why would you think that? I would expect the Cayman's slightly rear-heavy, mid engine layout to be a better overall platform for handling than the front-heavy, front-engine BRZ, even with equal tires.

[chrisl]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

That was an uneducated guess. The BRZ has such crappy tires, and handles so well even with them, and it has very good weight distribution, and it's very lightweight, seems to me it's got all the ingredients for supreme handling with better tires.

It would be interesting to see a comparison of the 2 cars with equal tires.

It probably depends in part on what exactly you are looking for in the car - the front-heavy distribution of the BRZ is probably a bit better for drifting, but for high-speed cornering and agility, I would guess that the Cayman's weight distribution would be better. I would also expect that the Cayman's chassis is probably a bit stiffer, and the fact that the Cayman has Porsche's torque vectoring system should also work in its favor. As for weight, the BRZ is 2776, vs the Cayman's 2910 (for the S) or 2888 (for the non-S), so there's not a ton of difference there. It would be an interesting comparison for sure, but I would expect the Cayman to win, even on equal tires.

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by chrisl

It probably depends in part on what exactly you are looking for in the car - the front-heavy distribution of the BRZ is probably a bit better for drifting, but for high-speed cornering and agility, I would guess that the Cayman's weight distribution would be better. I would also expect that the Cayman's chassis is probably a bit stiffer, and the fact that the Cayman has Porsche's torque vectoring system should also work in its favor. As for weight, the BRZ is 2776, vs the Cayman's 2910 (for the S) or 2888 (for the non-S), so there's not a ton of difference there. It would be an interesting comparison for sure, but I would expect the Cayman to win, even on equal tires.

i would imagine that the front biased weight would be better for both drifting and high speed cornering. the agility is where the cayman would probably have an inherent advantage.

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by chrisl

I wouldn't want to drive my Cayman in the snow any more than I'd want to drive a GT3 or a Ferrari. The ride isn't a whole lot softer either (though I do have a bit more ground clearance, which is nice for speed bumps, curbs, etc). As for luggage? 911s carry a lot more than you might think - the GT3 has a fair amount of room in front, and the spot where the rear seats would be (in any other 911) is pretty large too. I can't comment on the Ferrari though.

911 can carry luggage in the back "seat" but the official trunk is tiny, smaller than the BRZ. No golf bag will fit, but you can fit two golf bags in a Cayman.

Porsche promotes winter driving their cars and SUVs up here in Canada, knowing how short our summers are. They put on ice driving sessions for Porsche customers. They promote winter tire/alloy packages at (for Porsche) reasonable prices. Driving a Porsche in winter is commonplace in Europe.

Because they handle so well they drive exceptionally well in winter, especially the 911 with its rear weight bias although a sand bag in the trunk is a good idea. The Cayman needs no sandbag, I winter test drove one and it is truly amazing. I expect my BRZ will be just as good as a good chassis in the dry will be good in the wet, unless it's a BMW.

[MY13FRS]

Originally Posted by mwjcyber

Watch YouTube videos of ft86 vs rx-8. RX-8 isn't even close.

Had all three and the video review is dead on. The dynamics of the FRS/BRZ is nothing new. Perhaps for the late comers (whom have never owned any Japanese sporty cars before), then this car seems to have it all.

But the fact is, it's really a copy of older Jap cars, except it's deemed more "affordable").

That is all.

[chrisl]

Originally Posted by Suberman

The Cayman needs no sandbag, I winter test drove one and it is truly amazing. I expect my BRZ will be just as good as a good chassis in the dry will be good in the wet, unless it's a BMW.

Really? I'll have to try that sometime then - I just assumed that (as a powerful, rear-drive sportscar) the Cayman would be terrible in the snow.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by MY13FRS

Had all three and the video review is dead on. The dynamics of the FRS/BRZ is nothing new. Perhaps for the late comers (whom have never owned any Japanese sporty cars before), then this car seems to have it all.

But the fact is, it's really a copy of older Jap cars, except it's deemed more "affordable").

That is all.

I would disagree. The dynamic of the FR-S/BRZ is far different from the S2k and RX-8.

[solidONE]

Mazda MX-5 [end thread]

[chrisl]

Originally Posted by solidONE

Mazda MX-5 [end thread]

Not sure if serious....

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by chrisl

Not sure if serious....

im pretty sure hes serious. either handling is looked at as subjective and then its pretty hard to beat the little miata for some magical reason or its objective and the answer should probably end up being a vette or viper of some sort

[solidONE]

Originally Posted by chrisl

Not sure if serious....

Originally Posted by fatoni

im pretty sure hes serious. either handling is looked at as subjective and then its pretty hard to beat the little miata for some magical reason or its objective and the answer should probably end up being a vette or viper of some sort

I was serious, then I though of a couple other cars that handles even better.

Lotus Exige and Ariel Atom.

Except for the above 2, handicap any high dollar car you can think of to the same power to weight ratio and tires as the MX-5 and it will kick their asses around any twisty track or road and hand it back to them.

[Sport-Tech]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

The new Corvette is getting rave reviews. And this time those reviews are raving not just about the car's performance, but also about how easy it is to drive the car and how connected to the road the driver feels. We finally have a Corvette that is the complete package and can compete with Porsche in not just performance but also driving feel, driver position and interior refinement.

Agreed, and let me add something to that. A member of Corvetteforum lives near Laguna Seca and has contacts at GM, so was able to be there last week when Motor Trend brought a C7 w/Z51 and mag ride shocks (about $57k) to do battle with a 991 C2S ($100k+). As per their normal practice, Randy Pobst was there to give a pro perspective. The poster had to agree to some non-disclosure to preserve his future access, but he made it pretty clear that the C7 gave the Porsche a bit of a beatdown, and not just on the objective tests. Can't wait till that comparison gets published.

I can see some of my liquid assets getting a little less liquid soon....