Would you rather drive a...

[crazyVOLVOrob]

Slow car fast, or a fast car slow?


Just got back from mudding with some friends and hosed off the pickup and decided to run the truck through the gears. And boy is it fun drive a slow truck fast. Granted the roads I was on would have been easily been able to be tamed by my volvo (IE nothing to insane), but there is something about a 5speed pickup learning/attempting to heel toe around slight corners


With the fast cars I have driven (none on a track unfortunately) I never felt like I would reach the limits of the car

[erickonphoenix]

Fast is always better if not safer.

However, nothing is better than driving a fast car fast. But of course on the street you will probably never be pushing the limits which is why an even faster car is best because then you feel like your pushing the limits even when the car is comfortably within it's operating limits.

[dodgejoe]

That is 1 tough question,

[snoopyc4]

slow car fast. It would kill me to drive a fast car below its potential. Its like never takin a corvette past 55

[Z1NONLY]

My brother and I are both instructors at our track, so we get to drive a lot of cars (fast and slow).

We were talking just a couple weeks ago about how "slow" cars get our attention more often than the "fast" ones.

The Honda Fit was a nice surprise. (guttless sure, but a great dancer.)

When we talk to each other about fast cars we drive, the conversations are pretty short and to the point. "Good power, a little understeer, great brakes." etc.

However, when I got out of the Fit and he asked me how it was, I said something like, "I was flat-footed all the way out and it transitioned like a champ!.....and then a long back and forth ensues about the dynamics of the car.

Same thing when John (my brother) drove my wife's "slow" Scion. I, him and two other instructors passed that thing around and took many passes each.

Every now and then a "Fast" car will come along and make a lasting impression on me too.

The Cayman S and the brand new CTS-V are two that come to mind. My brother and I went on for hours about those two, but the conversations about the Elise and Viper were short. Positive, but short.

Fast in a fast car is still the best way to go, but fast in a slow car is better than slow in a fast car for sure.

[fire65]

Depends on where I will be driving.

[scull20]

I'm so used to seeing slow cars driving "fast" and recklessly here in New Jersey that its quite refreshing to see someone just cruising along in a new Gran Turismo or 911 Turbo. Just today I saw a new Civic Si dangerously weaving in an out of traffic around town (45 mph PSL), now by no means is the Si a fast car, but is certainly isn't "slow". I am not trying to offend anyone when I say this, but I would just not rather be that jerk in the civic driving a slower car fast. I think that almost anyone can put their foot to the floor in a slow car and wring out the higher RPM's of an engine, however it takes some restraint and a bit of self control to drive a fast car slow. That's just how I feel, please don't flame me, just some observations and realizations of mine is all

As for driving out on a track (which I have never been) I would definitely be driving whatever the hell I would be in to the extreme !!!

-Ryan

[JDS]

It all depends.

Are we talking about driving a fast car at its limits?

Or pushing it past its limits?

For example, I usually drive a "medium" car (my VW). It's very stable and controllable over 100 mph, and with the enormous rear sway bar I installed, it corners pretty well too. Not great, but pretty well. It's still heavy and only has 180 horsepower though. But it's a great car to drive fast.

Sometimes, like when the VW is in for maintenance, I drive the Crusher (Lexus LX470). That is a SLOW vehicle. SERIOUSLY slow. I swear every time I take that thing somewhere, I'm convinced I'm going to roll it before I reach my destination. I can push it to its limits, and a few times I've even pushed it a little beyond where I think is really safe, and I don't really enjoy it. It's just a vehicle that SHOULD NOT be driven fast. It's a great tow vehicle, and it's an excellent vehicle for driving over things. But it's just not enjoyable to drive at the limit.

Then I suppose there are vehicles like a BMW 720i or other European vehicles that handle very well but are available with terribly undersized engines. They're just plain SLOW in terms of acceleration, and they're heavy, but they're also very stable and safe. I suppose those might be interesting slow cars to drive fast.

[djrams80]

Where's happya$$'s catergory? Drive a slow car slow.

[supercowpowers]

It depends if the slow car is any good or not.

My first car was a Buick Century that was passed down by my mom. I think it weighed upwards of 3,500 pounds and only had ~160 lb/ft of torque pushed through ye olde GM four speed to move it along. It took about a hundred years to achieve as many miles an hour, and the only way to bump against the limiter at merely 7 MPH more was to drive downhill. It had terrible handling. Not scary, unpredictable handling, but the kind where the limit comes early and often and it's never fun - just a cornfield's worth of plowing. If you can't go fast in a straight line and you can't go fast in the corners, what's the point?

Compare that to the 1995 Miata I have. It has a similar power to weight ratio, but the experience is totally different. Every control input evokes a response, and the limits are high enough to have fun with. When you do get to the limit, there's a chance the car will understeer or oversteer depending on what you're doing with it, so you have to know what you're doing. It doesn't have a lot of power, but it's a ton of fun feeding it through the 5 speed to the wheels right behind your ass.

Same speeds, but I know which one I've had more fun with. For the record, I'd prefer the "slow" car driven fast. Even in my old Miata it's horribly frustrating to be stuck behind a bigger vehicle that can't go fast in the twisties, so I know what it feels like to not really take advantage of a car's limits.