Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

m4a1mustang · 02-02-2012, 11:33 AM

I was thinking a little bit earlier about how "handling" is truly subjective. Regardless of numbers or track results how a car "handles" is entirely up to the person driving.

A good example would be the difference in setups between NASCAR cars. If you examine the setups from Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon (same team) you'll find that the setups are completely different. Jimmie Johnson prefers a car that rotates freely to the point where you're turning the car with the right rear wheel. On the other hand Jeff Gordon likes a more neutral car with maybe a hint of understeer. He prefers to steer the car with the front wheels rather than the back wheels.

The interesting part is that even though both setups are almost opposite of one another, they both run similar lap times. They are accomplishing the same result by a different approach. Jeff Gordon might not think Jimmie Johnson's car handles nearly as well as his, even though they're equally as quick.

You could say that perhaps Johnson would prefer driving the 5.0 and Gordon would prefer driving the Z. Whether a car handles well or not is completely up to the driver. Does it do what you want and feel like you want it to feel? If yes, then it handles well. If not, then it doesn't.

In the end it's just a difficult thing to argue because different drivers prefer different feelings. But certainly it's very hard to argue lap times. If a car is fast it's fast... there's no denying that!

02-02-2012, 11:33 AM	#2534 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	I was thinking a little bit earlier about how "handling" is truly subjective. Regardless of numbers or track results how a car "handles" is entirely up to the person driving. A good example would be the difference in setups between NASCAR cars. If you examine the setups from Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon (same team) you'll find that the setups are completely different. Jimmie Johnson prefers a car that rotates freely to the point where you're turning the car with the right rear wheel. On the other hand Jeff Gordon likes a more neutral car with maybe a hint of understeer. He prefers to steer the car with the front wheels rather than the back wheels. The interesting part is that even though both setups are almost opposite of one another, they both run similar lap times. They are accomplishing the same result by a different approach. Jeff Gordon might not think Jimmie Johnson's car handles nearly as well as his, even though they're equally as quick. You could say that perhaps Johnson would prefer driving the 5.0 and Gordon would prefer driving the Z. Whether a car handles well or not is completely up to the driver. Does it do what you want and feel like you want it to feel? If yes, then it handles well. If not, then it doesn't. In the end it's just a difficult thing to argue because different drivers prefer different feelings. But certainly it's very hard to argue lap times. If a car is fast it's fast... there's no denying that! __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!