Fast car slow or slow car fast?

In reply to racerfink :

Cool I've driven a GT3-RS and they are amazing. I take the 720S is very user friendly then?

They have a decent amount of downforce, which makes the car feel stable at speed, but the brake feel on the both the 720S and 720S Spider I've driven have high brake effort.  Not exactly inspiring heading into the hairpin at about 155, or T17 at 170.  It's not a faster car than the GT3 RS, and that particular RS had some mods (Cat and muffler bypass for track maybe?  It was LOUD!).  It was nice to reel him in and get the point by when my student let me take the car out myself in the expert group.

Okay, I get the slow car fast thing. My H Stock Ford Es_cort  humbled more than a few Porsches. But I still like my RS best of all.

https://youtu.be/OS-JBfrjwqA?si=EcFZhbkWj_g-n40p

3rd overall in PAX out of 104 entrants, and 2nd was another Focus RS.

In reply to jstein77 :

This video shows why I can't go back to the Datsun for autocross.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4IWZgHRDsg0&pp=ygUOc2N1ZGVyaWEgcG9rZXk%3D

I have never owned what could be called even a moderately fast car. I have driven a few cars that were considered fast for their time (350 hp civic 350 hp STI, an M3 and Corvette) Nothing even close to 500hp much less what qualifies for a "fast" car by today's standards (700-800hp is becoming common?)  I have owned my 116 hp Civic Si for over 20 years and it is now the slowest car at any track day I take it to. I love it, it is fun every time I drive it, but it is not fast.  I have given many many people rides and they always say wow or cool and then I tell them to go ride in a fast car. I guess I will be in the slow car fast category for life. I have enough trouble reining myself in on the street in the Si, I cannot fathom what it would be like to drive 500hp daily. 

In reply to LopRacer :

This is me with the Datsun; I love driving it and the fact that it's the slowest car in the run group doesn't bother me.

Fast car slow or slow car fast? I'm not sure I understand the question. To me, a fast car slow means that it is under tired and slow car fast means that it is over tired? My 138hp 6 cylinder Volvo 1800 was what would be called pretty fast back in the late 70's but now is slower than a minivan and was fun on skinny Michelin 185/70-15 XWX tires. It was also fun in an entirely opposite way with 265/50-15 and 295/50-15 BF Goodrich TA tires. The sticky Michelin's lasted about 10,000 miles while the greasy Goodrich hippy van tires never did wear out. I always drove at 9/10ths. :)

I think there is a happy medium. We've gotten into 500-800 hp being available to almost all at reasonable price. I used to want this, then I experienced a bunch of them and realized it's not for me. Useless on the street, hard to use in autox, and can even be hard to utilize on the track. I've come around to the 300-500 range in a ~3k lb car. I don't consider these slow but they also aren't fast.

Slow car fast, fast car  faster

YRMV

Tom1200 said:

In reply to jstein77 :

This video shows why I can't go back to the Datsun for autocross.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4IWZgHRDsg0&pp=ygUOc2N1ZGVyaWEgcG9rZXk%3D

Yikes, that's fast.

I'm in the got an fmod for autocross and won't go back camp.

I started with a 97 mustang cobra for autocross. Moved up to having race tires. I'd call it quick. (Still have the car, but it's not had better than 200tw in years)

Then I got an sts Miata. Lighter and chuckable. I got extremely consistent in it. All runs within a tenth or two at autocross consistent. Great car, predictable. But it got boring after several seasons. Don't get me wrong, great great training tool, great car. But I wanted a bigger personal challenge. I could extract a fair amount of what it had without massive effort. It was slower than the mustang on all but the tightest courses, but didn't have to be taken by the scruff of the neck and told "DO THIS" like the mustang did.

F500- getting it set up takes a bit, but HOLY HELL it's fast. I much more frequently finish runs with my hands shaking from adrenaline with this car than anything else I've driven. It takes effort and work to be fast. It's taking time to adjust and effort, but right now, that effort is what I'm looking for. 

Another perspective - every race car has been lighter than the last for me. There is something about lighter cars and how reactive they are that draws me. So maybe not simply speed, but a more complex factor.

I don't know why it added the moss thing, won't let me delete it.

jstein77 said:

Tom1200 said:

In reply to jstein77 :

This video shows why I can't go back to the Datsun for autocross.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4IWZgHRDsg0&pp=ygUOc2N1ZGVyaWEgcG9rZXk%3D

Yikes, that's fast.

There's a reason why those of running F mod / F600 tout the virtues of these cars..........they're are super cool to drive.

You probably caught the 45 second mark where I came nearly through the car away. My car is an older one on a 73" wheelbase and it's kinda oversteery. LOL