I drive fast because the car feel "slow"

[fang_gt86]

Originally Posted by CAMBAM_6

I would say its the complete opposite OP....My car "feels fast" when im actually going slow. The low profile, the rumbling exhaust notes and the heavy steering wheel makes normal driving feel fast when in reality im normally doing maybe 5 mph over the speed limit

I guess my perception of going "just a little" over the speed limit have been spoiled by this car.

[OnkelC]

Originally Posted by CAMBAM_6

I would say its the complete opposite OP....My car "feels fast" when im actually going slow. The low profile, the rumbling exhaust notes and the heavy steering wheel makes normal driving feel fast when in reality im normally doing maybe 5 mph over the speed limit

same here.

[itsbirdy]

To me there's a little bit of power that hits after 3500 - 4000 rpms.
But usually you'd be already over the speed limit.

[SUB-FT86]

I always thought the 151 lb ft of torque would feel like crap. But it has a nice pull nature that suggest it feels fast even though it's not that fast. The immediacy is astounding in this car. I understand the term "hardwired to your brain and fingertips" with this car. I'm a hard guy to please and I vowed to never own a torqueless wonder but this car is just brilliant and greater than the sum of it's part and horsepower.

[brianhj]

Originally Posted by itsbirdy

To me there's a little bit of power that hits after 3500 - 4000 rpms.
But usually you'd be already over the speed limit.

That's what I don't get about the whole "it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow." I disagree. I think it's great to drive a fast car (big engine) at low speeds with all that low-end torque. Unless you're tracking how often do you get to drive a slow car "fast"?

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by brianhj

That's what I don't get about the whole "it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow." I disagree. I think it's great to drive a fast car (big engine) at low speeds with all that low-end torque. Unless you're tracking how often do you get to drive a slow car "fast"?

I find the constant need for self control takes a great deal from the experience. There is a skill and rhythm required to smoothly operate in the powerband of a well tuned small-engined vehicle. At barely-legal speeds, this car puts it in just the right places.

[brianhj]

And by the time you're out of the torque dip it's time to stop accelerating because you're driving at the speed limit

[Ultramaroon]

That's because you're granny shifting, not double clutching like you should.

[brianhj]

Whaaaaaat... Why are you double clutching if you have synchros?

And what does that have to do with being in the torque dip?

I always thought granny shifting just meant shifting at low rpms?

[brianhj]

Not being rude,genuinely curious

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by brianhj

Whaaaaaat... Why are you double clutching if you have synchros?

And what does that have to do with being in the torque dip?

I always thought granny shifting just meant shifting at low rpms?

whoosh it's a fast and the furious joke

However I do think there's a shred of truth to applying it to your situation, double clutching is unnecessary but I see no reason why you cant run up first gear to redline, second gear to redline ~59 mph and floor it in third until you feel comfortable lifting. Repeat for every freeway onramp.

I try to do that daily, aside from getting up first gear there is no torque dip in that scenario (especially if you start from a roll). Complaining that you never get out of the torque dip sounds like you're a gear too high.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by brianhj

Whaaaaaat... Why are you double clutching if you have synchros?

And what does that have to do with being in the torque dip?

I always thought granny shifting just meant shifting at low rpms?

Originally Posted by brianhj

Not being rude,genuinely curious

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmlZZRsckM4"]Granny shifting not double clutching like you should - YouTube[/ame]

Granny shifting has everything to do with the "torque dip." In the old days we called it the flat spot. It's a common effect of tuning an engine for peak hp. Go ride any sub-liter crotch rocket to redline.

It's all about learning the machine. Appreciate it for what it is and why it does it.

[Ultramaroon]

Consider cruising at 60 mph and preparing for a pass. I skip down into 3rd. I never do it without double-clutching because I intend to keep my car on its original transmission for as long as possible. A 6-3 downshift puts a tremendous strain on the 3rd gear synchro unless double-clutching and allowing the primary side of the transmission to sink into mesh rather than pushing hard on the gearshift forcing the synchro to spool it up.

Done properly, it takes zero effort to engage 3rd gear and a passenger will get zero whiplash from the manoeuvre.

Done improperly and especially if in a turn, it can make for a dangerous situation. Downshifting mid-turn is considered terrible technique but sometimes it has to be done.

[ls1ac]

Ok flame away. Maybe definitions have changed but double clutching had been letting the clutch reengage while in NEUTRAL to spin the gears up to a matching rpm to engage in the lower gear. This required pushing the clutch down twice for each shift, hence the term double clutching. This was necessary in old transitions without synchromesh. They were fondly called crash boxes. As shifting up or down required gear speed matching. To day we use rev-matching to do the same thing. Simply pressing the accelerator with the clutch pressed before engaging the next gear will do the same in a modern trans. Rev matching is NOT double clutching.
While were at it, toe heal usually means blipping the throttle (or rev matching) while under breaking. Originally the pedals were far enough apart and required a large movement of the pedals so you put your heal on the brake and your toe on the gas, now the pedal spacing and the throw allows the use the sides of your foot. This is needed to down shift (usually on a track) where hard breaking and down shifting is need at the same time. Usually coming into a corner, it is seldom used on the street unless practicing for the track.
Why do I care and how do I know, first I am old and second I still run old cars like my 1932 MG-J2, it has a crash box, (no syncros) and third I still love my time on the track as an instructor and a driver.
This is only offered as a FYI.