Any sense in building a slow car on purpose ?
Discussion
One of my old cars which i miss the most is a golf 1.4 mk3.
I had modified it more for performance than anything else, proper avo coilovers, chassis strengthening, big brakes, but left the engine standard except for a piperx viper and a big loud exhaust system, inc manifold etc.
Why do i miss this the most ? It was slow.
But it was loud and fun to drive it attracted lots of looks and compliments (except for the noise) and i fully intended to bolt bike tb's on it and get it mapped on megasquirt. ended up selling it due to being broke.
Owned faster cars since inc vr6 etc yet dont miss them as much.
heres why.
Down here, in the SW, police hate modified cars. They will pull you for speed at any opportunity, and even now in a remapped diesel i find it hard to enjoy the car because it will hit 70 before a blink of an eye and im always wondering if there will be a speed camera up ahead. Even when out on the common moor, 40mph speed limits and loads of visibility, its hard to enjoy a car knowing there could be a mobile camera sitting a few miles up.
Which leads me to think, driving to the extremes of a slow car is more enjoyable than driving within the lower limits of a fast one ?
I guess this is what trackdays are for but kind of hard when the nearest one is 300 miles away, expensive, and insurance is an issue.
I would love an e46 csl but i dont think i could enjoy one at this present time, i see speed cameras everywhere!
Thoughts ?
I had modified it more for performance than anything else, proper avo coilovers, chassis strengthening, big brakes, but left the engine standard except for a piperx viper and a big loud exhaust system, inc manifold etc.
Why do i miss this the most ? It was slow.
But it was loud and fun to drive it attracted lots of looks and compliments (except for the noise) and i fully intended to bolt bike tb's on it and get it mapped on megasquirt. ended up selling it due to being broke.
Owned faster cars since inc vr6 etc yet dont miss them as much.
heres why.
Down here, in the SW, police hate modified cars. They will pull you for speed at any opportunity, and even now in a remapped diesel i find it hard to enjoy the car because it will hit 70 before a blink of an eye and im always wondering if there will be a speed camera up ahead. Even when out on the common moor, 40mph speed limits and loads of visibility, its hard to enjoy a car knowing there could be a mobile camera sitting a few miles up.
Which leads me to think, driving to the extremes of a slow car is more enjoyable than driving within the lower limits of a fast one ?
I guess this is what trackdays are for but kind of hard when the nearest one is 300 miles away, expensive, and insurance is an issue.
I would love an e46 csl but i dont think i could enjoy one at this present time, i see speed cameras everywhere!
Thoughts ?
I know exactly what you mean, I don't want to go fast, I just want the adrenaline rush and feeling of driving fast without breaking too many laws. Standard answers would be a classic like an MGB, something where you have to have some skill to link a few corners together. Or an MX5, the 1.6 is supposed to be the best because you have to thrash it to make progress, yet you won't be going that fast. Or how about an old beetle or a mini?
twoblacklines said:
Which leads me to think, driving to the extremes of a slow car is more enjoyable than driving within the lower limits of a fast one
You are absolutely right. Any tit can drive a fast car fast, and loose their licence in the process. But to get the best out of a slow car, you have to drive it on the limit, which is much more fun - plus if it all goes Pete Tong you are heading backwards into a hedge at 60mph rather than 90.James Hunt used to drive an A35 van on crossplies. Reckoned it was far more fun than any contemporary supercar.
Me and the old man had a similar conversation the other day, he currently has a DB7 Vantage and a 1996 Fiesta 1.25.
For a long run on the motorway the Aston wins hands down but ragging around town and shortish journeys on A/B roads when the Fiesta feels more fun.
We concluded its because you are pushing the Fiesta to its limits which makes it more exciting, finding the limit in the Aston results in license losing speeds and is beyond both our driving skills
2nd gear in the Aston up a slip road does give me a semi though
Well, hopefully you'll like this then, I have the same intention!
http://pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
http://pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
On a similar note ... I had a 306 GTi-6 now its no super car but can get you in a lot of trouble easily. I keep thinking about getting another and just using it for fun.
But, since the majority of driving will be on road rather than on track I keep thinking about getting a 106 Quicksilver (looks like a GTi but has a 1.4 engine) and putting 306 Gti brakes and after market uprated springs and shocks from Bilstein as well as upper and lower strut braces.
I think this would make a pretty fun car for minimum outlay. It won't be the fastest, it won't be nearly the fastest ... but it will be fun. Fast just impresses other people.
But, since the majority of driving will be on road rather than on track I keep thinking about getting a 106 Quicksilver (looks like a GTi but has a 1.4 engine) and putting 306 Gti brakes and after market uprated springs and shocks from Bilstein as well as upper and lower strut braces.
I think this would make a pretty fun car for minimum outlay. It won't be the fastest, it won't be nearly the fastest ... but it will be fun. Fast just impresses other people.
twoblacklines said:
Wont a westfield be even worse ? They weigh next to nothing so will be more likely to be done for speeding ?
Your sat with your arse scraping the deck and your nose level with lorry wheel nuts it has tiny tyres and weighs the same as a flea.You don't have to be going fast to be having fun.
I can relate to that theory. Back in my uni days I modified a Corsa 1.2LS which was a whopping 45bhp. The mods I made to it were ICE, wheels, suspension, re-spray, interior, etc. None of which helped performance, in fact the added weight probably hindered it! It did handle very well though and I used to love taking corners as fast as possible as not to lose momentum. This was great fun and meant I had to really work the engine, but I suspect I wasn't breaking the speed limit by very much (if at all). There's a certain satisfaction to squeezing out every last horse as well as sticking with quicker cars purely on the basis I was being braver on the corners.
Would I go back to it though? Nope! I think at almost 30 I would look a bit ridiculous in an underpowered modified loud Corsa but it was great fun while it lasted. The same as my first bike - a Yamaha FS1e (Fizzy), much the same mentality!
Would I go back to it though? Nope! I think at almost 30 I would look a bit ridiculous in an underpowered modified loud Corsa but it was great fun while it lasted. The same as my first bike - a Yamaha FS1e (Fizzy), much the same mentality!
I must admit, when I'm down the lanes in the Escort (1.3) I can rag it properly. I don't make any progress, certainly don't reach license losing speeds. It's immense fun where an Impreza or something would just be beyond my own talent. The only pain in the arse is overtaking is a complete no-no, just not enough power unless you have literally half a mile of clear visibility. 
Yup, just before my 40th birthday I bought a 1 litre Nova three door to take rubbish to the tip in. We were "landscaping" the back garden at the time and I bought the car for less than the cost of hiring a skip. It was bloody brilliant, about 12 bhp at the wheels, zero grip, iffy handling but everything worked and I didn't care if anyone opened their door into it at Tescos. I drove it for two years and nothing went wrong on it, the two MOT's I put on it involved changing a driveshaft boot (£3.99) and a brake cylinder (£5). I changed the oil twice using that £2.99 a gallon recycled crap and it cost £2 10s 6d to insure. Naturally I sold it for twice what I'd paid for it.
All hail The Heap!
All hail The Heap!
Edited by Mound Dawg on Thursday 10th February 21:39
Edited by Mound Dawg on Thursday 10th February 21:40
if you wanna get the buzz of going fast without breaking the law, its gotta be a mk1 mx5 1.6 with a nice loud exhaust
roof down, foot down, BWAAAAAAARRRRRP and in several second you'd be doing 40, maybe 45...
Take it on the motorway and then suddenly 70 feels very fast indeed with the amount of buffeting from the wind!
i still miss my old 1.8 306... put a induction kit and and exhaust on it and placebo effect of going fast was huge. plus, the induction kit made the throttle response really sharp (similar story on an mx5)
roof down, foot down, BWAAAAAAARRRRRP and in several second you'd be doing 40, maybe 45...
Take it on the motorway and then suddenly 70 feels very fast indeed with the amount of buffeting from the wind!
i still miss my old 1.8 306... put a induction kit and and exhaust on it and placebo effect of going fast was huge. plus, the induction kit made the throttle response really sharp (similar story on an mx5)
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