the 70 percenter

cfweber

Haven't you read reviews detailing how a car handles at 100%-

on the ragged edge?

it occurs to me I don't enjoy pushing to the edge

to go faster I'd probably get a faster car and still

use (only) 70 %

spearfish25

There aren't many places you can really enjoy the ragged edge without fear of consequence. Even a road course can bite you if you screw up. I found one of my first edge-detection sessions during my last autocross at the Tire Rack headquarters. Their test track is awesome, totally safe, and can be configured into a very fast autocross where driving the limit can be enjoyed.

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ImportConvert

I'm the same way. That's why 0-60 times don't mean anything to me.5-60 tells way more about how the car will feel if you don't plan on replacing clutches and tires several times a year.

Davey

I like the 0-100 time myself. It's easy to gear a wheezy little econobox low and get to 60 in a relatively big hurry, but without some horsepower, you're going to run out of steam well before 100.

Plus, AWD cars have a huge advantage on a 0-60 run so long as you don't mind potentially breaking axles and gears.

But anyway, yeah, I like to feel some G's when I corner and put my foot down, but I'm not interested in going 100% unless it's somewhere very safe for the car, me, and anyone else.

kenchan

I like driving my Z to about 70% myself too. Anything more sounds too much out of the engine. Suspension wise not sure cause not too many turns in my area.

ImportConvert

Even 0-100 doesn't really get a measure of a sports car.

0-150 takes into account power, gearing, and aerodynamics.

I just don't like the "0" part, because I am not going to "launch" a car all the time on the street, whereas I am likely as not to run it from 30-80 or something quite often. I'm not about clutch jobs.

Mt Tam I am

Strangely, I like to go 90-100% on the turns but no where near that on the straights. So when you average it out, I may still be a 70%er.

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ImportConvert

I have found that I don't really push corners at all. My comfort range is about .6-7G's in a corner. At that point, I am already uncomfortable on the street. I always worry about gravel, oil, antifreeze, etc. showing up in the worse spot.

Davey

Even 0 - 150 doesn't really get a measure of a sports car. 0 - 200 is an even better indicator.

My point wasn't what time-to-speed is a good indicator of whether a car is a "sports car" or not, or how to measure the performance of a "sports car" the point is that the 0 - 60 times is useless in considering the performance of any performance car.

I suppose you could argue that 0 - 100 is useless as well but I'd say that in the price and performance range of most cars under $50K, and in the typical range of operation on a public road, you'd be wrong.

So, I get what you're saying and it's a valid point, it just doesn't have anything to do with what I'm saying.

I mean, a Subaru Forester does 0 - 60 in about 5 seconds... That's about the same as a G37S. I am pretty sure the Infiniti will be at 100 MPH a second or two before the Subaru, though.

kenchan

Basically spec racer data is useless.

nuTinmuch

I agree.

When people argue that X car is better because it is .001 seconds faster or something, I really could care less. Even if I track my car, I'm never going to run all out. I don't have the skill for that -- hell, I don't even have the skill to run 70%.

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shadoquad

I bought this car primarily for its mix of handling and grunt. I'm not a drag racer, I'm a corner carver.

I do push the handling on this car. I have no idea if I'm pushing it 70% or 100%, but the feel of knifing through apexes and then accelerating quickly out is why I chose the Z. And it does this very well. I even know a few routes with choice hairpin turns.

But whatever percent I'm at, it is only as fast as I feel the car comfortably operates. I have fishtailed a few times, but easily corrected because I wasn't going way too fast. For me, the lateral G's is the joy of the car. And I agree, you probably don't have to be pushing the limits to get that out of it.

ImportConvert

I think a lot of people have no clue what their car can do or how to do it. I say this because on the other forum I am a member of, time and time again people who come from the Bondurant racing school experience say things like "The instructors were in STOCK cadillac CTS's, NOT V's, and we couldn't even keep up in Z06's".

What that tells me, is that unless you have a lot of experience on track with a lot of proper coaching, you probably just FEEL like you're going fast. I know when I got a car with a G-meter I was surprised that to ME, 0.5G in a banked on-ramp corner felt pretty gnarly even if the car was capable over over 1G.

shadoquad

Well, as previously discussed, I'm not tracking it - yet, and whether it's 1G or .5G, it feels fun in the Z, as I'm sure it does in the Vette, to let it loose in tight corners, and that's all that really matters.

Edit: Plus, I've heard similar stories. I know a guy who tracks his Z, and when he first went out with an instructor, he let the guy drive, and he said he was amazed at how fast they were taking turns. Realistically, even if I'm slow or only pulling .5G or whatever (and who knows?), I enjoy the rate at which I take corners, and the vehicle can safely achieve it, so why do I need to go any faster until I'm ready to track?

ImportConvert

don't know how you took my post, hard to tell over the net, but what I mean is that as much fun as we are having in our cars--370z or z06 or whatever, we are most likely very far from their potential in the twisties. Fun is what counts, but pushing a car with 50/50 dost in a corner on the street is risky if you go much past 70%.