for me, it would have to be a car that is predictable and balanced and is relatively easy to correct (oversteer or understeer). absolute grip isn't near as important to me as those three traits. sure, tons of grip is nice, but balancing a car at the edge of grip and slip is a very fun feeling, and if you can easily do that under any cirumstances, it's going to be a lot more fun to drive all of the time than a car that grips like a F1 car. by that tolken I'd likely have something like a Miata before I'd have a Caparo T1, just because you can dance a Miata at the limits of grip a lot more easily every day than you can a Caparo T1. I don't think you could get to the limits of grip with a Caparo T1 unless you were on the Nurburgring
poopshovel wrote:
Lots of great points here, especially about subjectivity and venue.
For a good FWD street car / autocrosser, I like adjustability. Struts and rear bar specifically. I like something that's tame, yet tossable on the street, and something that enjoys/rewards being driven in anger on an auto-x course.
I'm pretty berkeleying aggressive on an auto-x course, so a little trail-brake or lift-throttle induced oversteer is great. However, I've driven friends cars that are so tail happy, I have to struggle just to get a clean run. Works great for them, and it shows in the times. Just not my thing.
I'm also of the Dave Hardy school of thought that the same things that make a great FWD autocross car make it downright miserable, perhaps even dangerous on the street.
poop, I'm running "wrong wheel drive" too, and I enjoy them. That being said, you're dead right about the venue/setup thing.
I've got a buddy at work that runs a SW20 MR2 in autocross. He's not bad..even trophied at Nationals one year (and his coaching this year has helped this rusty old circuit racer understand auto-x a lot better than I did before). He signed up for a PDX at Road Atlanta.
I asked him how it went, and I was really surprised by his answer. He wasn't sure if he enjoyed it at all. He specifically mentioned running through Turn 12, and wondering if the car he once trusted was going to bite his butt down there where the concrete lives.
I asked him if he'd adjusted the suspension (well, as much as he could-he runs E Stock, and IIRC there's not a lot you can do), and he said he didn't.
I've ridden with him on an autoX run, and in that environment, his Mister 2 is a well-handling, predictable car. Hearing him talk about not running PDX anymore makes me wish he'd just borrowed/rented somebody's track day car, instead of taking that animal out on a racetrack.
You're right about adjustability, and about understanding your environment. "Good Handling" means different things in different places. Of course, that just proves what we've all been saying about it being "subjective"..
