Quick vs powerful

[Guest lotus49]

if you just want to stay on b roads and think you are already the king of it, why are we having this discussion lol, stick with what you know and be happy.

 

I don't just want to stay on B roads, but the majority of my spirited driving is always going to be on a B road because the attention of the authorities is non-existent on B roads in Yorkshire. I have only been done for speeding twice in 20 years and I've never owned a slow car. The main reason for this is I'm careful where I drive quickly.

 

The reason we are having this discussion is that I am looking for a faster car that is a bit different. I have been driving Imprezas for 6 years and I'd like a change, but I don't want to end up with something that only gets into its stride when I hit 100. Power is important, but not more so than grip and handling.

 

I don't know how well you lot know North Yorkshire, but the B roads around here have very few straight bits and even getting to 100 is frequently not possible. So I want a car that accelerates very fast up to about 120, but after that I really don't care that much.

 

I have said this before and I'll say it again. I think Supras are fantastic cars and I am NOT trying to suggest that the 4WD rally specials are better cars, I just want to make sure that I am informed before selling a car I love.

[JamieP]

If you want a car that accelerates very fast up to about 120, but after that you really don't care that much. get a evo 7 or 8 rs

[Guest Flat4_ire]

If you want a car that accelerates very fast up to about 120, but after that you really don't care that much. get a evo 7 or 8 rs

gwway with the evos man, anyway id pick an evo 6 makkinen white baby

[JamieP]

6 is good aswell but it has to be an RS, GSR are sh*t imo.

[Guest Flat4_ire]

6 is good aswell but it has to be an RS, GSR are sh*t imo.

yeah the rs is the light the ra or type r of scoobies, no colour coded mirrors/door handles weight saving and have adjustable diff instead of AYC right?

[JamieP]

yeah the rs is the light the ra or type r of scoobies, no colour coded mirrors/door handles weight saving and have adjustable diff instead of AYC right?

thats it

no ayc..lsd instead

no abs

no aircon or leccy windows

no carpets

close ratio box

[Guest lotus49]

yeah the rs is the light the ra or type r of scoobies, no colour coded mirrors

That 3 grams of paint makes all the difference I'm thinking of having the paint stripped off my mirrors, then I'll be able to keep up with you all.

[JamieP]

That 3 grams of paint makes all the difference I'm thinking of having the paint stripped off my mirrors, then I'll be able to keep up with you all.

have a sh*t before you go out and keep the paint:D

[Guest lotus49]

6 is good aswell but it has to be an RS, GSR are sh*t imo.

 

I have driven a 6 RS that had the interior completely stripped except for the front seats and mildly tuned (350+) and it was fantastic. It's a bit strong to call the GSR shit though. I have driven one of those as well and, while it wasn't as good, it's still one of the fastest and most enjoyable cars I have ever driven.

[JamieP]

I have driven a 6 RS that had the interior completely stripped except for the front seats and mildly tuned (350+) and it was fantastic. It's a bit strong to call the GSR shit though. I have driven one of those as well and, while it wasn't as good, it's still one of the fastest and most enjoyable cars I have ever driven.

i dont like the handling on the gsr, very odd when the ayc takes over:)

[Guest Flat4_ire]

I have driven a 6 RS that had the interior completely stripped except for the front seats and mildly tuned (350+) and it was fantastic. It's a bit strong to call the GSR shit though. I have driven one of those as well and, while it wasn't as good, it's still one of the fastest and most enjoyable cars I have ever driven.

350bhp in a stripped lightweight rally car is a nice feeling..i miss the gearbox from my STi Type R, seriously close

[MONKEYmark]

You are right of course, but I would like to gather some info before I try one out. There is also the issue that one hour in someone else's car that you really don't want to spank is not quite the same as driving your own car.

 

My wife is learning to drive and I will have to buy her something sensible (high mileage E class Merc is the current favourite) so I won't need to use my car every day, but I probably will.

 

I am interested that you say traction isn't an issue in the dry. Can a car putting 600+ BHP through the rear wheels do that in the first three gears without just lighting up the tyres?

 

eyefi`s single turbo with gt35 is rapid and the grip was like nothing i ever been in.was like it was on rails and never chirped the tyres with rltc.went round a roundabout like it was on rails.really supprised me how good it was.th gt35r are a small turbo with 600-700hp

 

cant wait till he gets it out on track.

 

scoobies look good fun to me.i have raced a few and beat them off the line too.scoobies seem fun in low gears.i went for a test passenger ride in a sti version 5 type r or something was so rapid off line.the guy driving was giving it a right pasting.it kept popping out of gears.

[Guest lotus49]

i dont like the handling on the gsr, very odd when the ayc takes over:)

I know what you mean. I generally don't like driver aids much apart from ABS but you learn to trust the AYC - it really knows what it's doing.

 

I have been driving an E class Merc for the last week and that has reminded me of how much I prefer to be telling the car what to be doing rather than the other way round. It's obviously not a performance car but it's always in the wrong gear. As soon as you lift off it changes down one or more gears. It was good for a long distance family holiday but I could never drive a car like that day in day out.

 

PS Thanks for the tip about having a crap before going for a spin, it's the cheapest performance upgrade anyone has ever suggested to me .

[Guest lotus49]

350bhp in a stripped lightweight rally car is a nice feeling..i miss the gearbox from my STi Type R, seriously close

That's what it was and I loved it. Just as you turn into a corner, stamp on the brake, wait for the back to swing round until the car was pointing the right way and stamp on the accelerator and it was off like a ferret up a drainpipe.

 

Unfortunately it was a little hard core for my family (and wasn't road legal anyway - boo hoo).

[Tom]

These sort of threads do annoy me, there's no point! it doesnt matter how quick a car is a to b, how much bhp, how much grip, bla bla bla, its about how the car makes you feel when driving it, it's all about the experince and having real enjoyment with the car, this is where you make your mind up imho.

[lambertpig]

These sort of threads do annoy me, there's no point! it doesnt matter how quick a car is a to b, how much bhp, how much grip, bla bla bla, its about how the car makes you feel when driving it, it's all about the experince and having real enjoyment with the car, this is where you make your mind up imho.

 

spot on bud

[Bobbeh]

Most of these 'racers' will never take it to a track (not a drag strip) and use it to its full potential either, so its all postuering.

[Tom]

These sort of threads do annoy me, there's no point! it doesnt matter how quick a car is a to b, how much bhp, how much grip, bla bla bla, its about how the car makes you feel when driving it, it's all about the experince and having real enjoyment with the car, this is where you make your mind up imho.

 

Just to add, the Supra feels great!

[JamieP]

Most of these 'racers' will never take it to a track (not a drag strip) and use it to its full potential either, so its all postuering.

not me, ive done a few track days in cars and bikes and i plan on doing the same in the supra now i have my brakes sorted:p

[Guest lotus49]

These sort of threads do annoy me, there's no point! it doesnt matter how quick a car is a to b, how much bhp, how much grip, bla bla bla, its about how the car makes you feel when driving it, it's all about the experince and having real enjoyment with the car, this is where you make your mind up imho.

My tip for you is not to read them if they annoy you. The fact that so many people are prepared to engage in such discussions here and elsewhere suggests that many people don't agree.

 

I agree that the most important issue is whether a driver enjoys driving his or her car, but comparisons between cars are valid and reading other opinions as to how various cars compare is teaching me a lot about what Supras are like and what their drivers think of them.

 

It may not matter to you how much blah blah blah, but it matters to me and to a lot of people here. Are you seriously telling me that you wouldn't mind being blown away by a spotty 19 year old in a Max'ed Nova as long as you enjoyed the car (I'm not suggesting you would be, but I bet you wouldn't like it).

[Guest lotus49]

Most of these 'racers' will never take it to a track (not a drag strip) and use it to its full potential either, so its all postuering.

I've been to two track days (I'd go to more, but the cost in terms of tyre and brake wear makes them very expensive) and I use my car to to its full potential as often as I can which is usually at least every few days. One of the joys of moving up North from London is that I get the opportunity to do this very frequently.

 

I have noticed that several people here get rather prickly as soon as any car other than Supras is mentioned. I would like to repeat that I think Supras are fantastic cars, I wouldn't be here otherwise. I am NOT trying to slag off Supras, I just want to understand what they are like from people who really know. All cars have advantages and disadvantages (OK not all, but most) and I want to understand what I would be letting myself in for if I swap cars.

[Bobbeh]

I know where you're coming from and wasnt implying that comment at you. But this sort of thing comes up a lot and its usually the case that its all bravado by people who never actually use them to the potential they're trying to argue about.

[MONKEYmark]

i been on a couple of tracks and sure is fun if you know what you doing,unlike me.u sure get to realise jap brakes are a bit crap on heavy use.donnington was a fun track.places like elvington are ok but not same on flat surfaces.someone who is a regular track driver will get more use out of track time.

i would like to have a scooby as a everyday car.

[chilli]

just been out in the supe, well after one year it never fails to make me smile and I still think it's very fast even now. Thats a first for me becuase generally I think a car is slow after about 2 minutes of driving it. Just been out in the wet and the dry on A and B roads and I still insist the supra handles extremely well indeed but really it's not even getting out of bed until 60, from there upwards it's starting to be extremtly aggressive out of bends and roundabouts, you would need to be 'going some' to put some distance on a healthy BPU supra with a decent driver, make no mistake,

 

but I would say, the weakest link is almost certainly the driver, the car offers far more potential than most could unlock with ease. Still this is what I love about the car, it's engaging to drive, very fast, amazingly effortless. Drive a well set up one with an open mind, I think you could be suprised. Whatever you think, I think it's a car that just grows and grows on you, not one to be bored of after a few months, anyway, it has so much mod potential the cars capability can match whatever you want from it, from 350 to 1000+ bhp - from a soft gentle ride to a track monster, the car is what you make it and it rewards you with every journey

[Tom]

My tip for you is not to read them if they annoy you. The fact that so many people are prepared to engage in such discussions here and elsewhere suggests that many people don't agree.

 

I agree that the most important issue is whether a driver enjoys driving his or her car, but comparisons between cars are valid and reading other opinions as to how various cars compare is teaching me a lot about what Supras are like and what their drivers think of them.

 

It may not matter to you how much blah blah blah, but it matters to me and to a lot of people here. Are you seriously telling me that you wouldn't mind being blown away by a spotty 19 year old in a Max'ed Nova as long as you enjoyed the car (I'm not suggesting you would be, but I bet you wouldn't like it).

 

It does matter to me too, I've always had to go for the best model, buy the best parts etc but when your comparing cars so are so close to each other in every area the only deciding factor is how you enjoy it, if we were comparing the supe or whatever to nova's then it would be a slightly different topic! but all these jap performance cars are great cars and it seems that people get a little to protective and bias over there cars sometimes.

 

It all depends what you want from the car, imo if you want something that's gonna feel on the limit, has great handling/speed and driver feel then I'd be looking at a GTR, mainly the R32 as the driving experience is awesome and I've always regarded the the GTR in any form as the ultimate of the jap cars.

 

This would be my unbiased view of the supra and this will hopefully help contribute to a descion, ok firstly it looks great, the engine is silky smooth, the driving position is the best of all the cars I've driven it really slungs you in low in the seats, the low down tourque and ability to pull so hard in any gear makes the power so effortless, the brakes are pretty good standard but I'd be trying to source one with the upgraded uk specs as they really are very very good!

 

Steering feel has seemed to vary through out the ones that I have tested, I think the uk specs I have driven were more comparable and I believe this is due to that the calibration is correct as with the j-specs there are many which do not have very good speedo converters in them which really messes about with the weight of the steering, mine is much heavier than most which is what I like and coming from a scoob this is what you will want as I've taken a p1 out and you can feel exactly where the tyres are pointing and just great general feedback through the steering wheel, this is an area that lets the supra down, another bad point is the fact that the speedo reading and the looking out the front window reading is silly!

 

I normally drive a few b roads and before I sold my new mini I took note of how quickly I could take the bends, now the mini felt quick through every corner and I'd be on the limit of it's capabilities(well on the road anyway) and though 5 corners of the little race track I would be consistantly 5mph faster while cornering and the supe didnt feel anywhere near on the limit and it didnt feel anything like I was going quicker, it felt much much slower than the mini, so this is something you'll want to think about as 150lph feels like 80 and so fourth.

 

Yep as you know the tunability is there and just a few well chosen mods should see you through the 400bhp barrier easy but I'm pretty sure that the more power your making the more hassell you'll have with the car and less enjoyment, as things will go wrong, it will be a pain to drive and will not drive like stock unless you spend a lot of money in doing so, and surely then the fun in the car is gone if your having to worry about so many different gauge readings all the time?.

 

Also the more power the less grip will be available, I struggle sometimes to put 320 down while flooring it round a slight curve, this is quite irritating as it throws you about a little, loadsa peeps will suggest rltc but it's only really the same as taking your foot of the pedal.

 

I think this has been quite a long post but like I say it does depend on what you want from a car..... if your local I'd gladly take you for a spin and let you have a drive.

 

Also what kinda roads will you be driving on?? I think location is definately gonna play a big part.