madkaw Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 A friend with more money than sense bought a 2012 Roush Mustang Stage 3 -600hp with smaller pulley. He traded his SS 2010 Camaro for it and kept wanting me to come over and drive it. Of course, I wanted to drive it too, I've never driven anything with that much HP!! Of the new "retro" looking muscle cars, I do favor the mustang better than the others-camaro and challenger, I think Ford did well with the look of the car. The car sounds racy, but almost to barbaric. The mufflers are smaller than the ones on my Z-LOL . The car is very loud outside, but so quiet inside you can't even hear the supercharger whistle-that was kind of a disappointment. Handling-what do you think with a car that is probably just shy of 4000lbs. I'm quite sure it would be fun stepping out the rear around a track, but it felt numbing when driving. I don't get a chance to drive cars like this enough to judge, I can only compare to my Z. After driving that Mustang I realize how much I like my Z. I like feeling the road, I like turning the steering wheel and getting instant response to my input. The mustang was more like -point and shoot. Even with all that power the mustang had, it felt slow and or lethargic. Just my 2 cents... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonmreiss Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I met a guy at a gas station here locally, he had a new gt500, beautifull car. 500+ hp. He said driving it was almost boring! How dare he, I wanted to smack him for complaining about his car, and I don't even like mustangs. Anyway, new hp is nothing like old hp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted August 4, 2012 Author Share Posted August 4, 2012 Boring would have been a good description of my drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 One of the subtle issues with today's high performance cars is that the level of performance is so much higher. 7/10ths in a modern high performance car is way past 10/10ths in most S30s. The level of speed needed to get to 10/10ths (not boring) in these cars, especially on the street, is beyond what most people are used to and way beyond safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clutchdust Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I can relate. A guy in our local Corvette club asked me to help him change his battery (I know, right?). His car is an '03 and I have an '01 and an '81. We were talking about the differences and I told him how much I enjoyed the '81. The c5 ('97-'04) cars are just incredible, they do absolutely everything better. They handle better, get better mileage, have more power (most of the time) and are more reliable. But there is just more of a connectedness when I drive my '81. It's loud and rattles, and it tries to kill me if I screw up, but I still just love how it feels when I drive it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I think weight is the biggest problem with modern cars. They are 2 ton behemoths these days. They have big everything but it is still just too much weight to be snappy and nimble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Weight is the real enemy here. Sure, the poise of modern cars – the suspension development, rigidity and so forth – makes them comparatively “boring†at modest speeds, whereas older cars require a higher level of driver attention, making them in that sense less boring. But the real problem is that a 4000 lb car just doesn’t have the effortless dynamics of a 2000 lb car, regardless of its power or engineering-refinement. Even a base-model showroom-stock modern Mustang can take corners at higher constant speed with more predictability than my Z – and it can doing it more safely and more consistently. In other words, it does it at higher V^2/R. But my Z can be made to dart hither and fro much more easily. A couple of years ago, I test-drove a supercharged 2006 GTO. Pretty car, only modestly heavy by 2012 muscle-car standards (3800 lbs), with a claimed 550 hp, and actually quite good ergonomics. And yet, it just didn’t have the delight of tossability that I had expected. And it really is not a matter of “sports car†vs. commuter car, or even – gasp! – FWD vs. RWD. My former 1990 Toyota Corolla had that feeling of tossability, with its 90 hp 4-banger and FWD. In some ways, that car was more satisfying to drive than a modern muscle car, because its weight was so low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emeraldlion Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I've always stood by the idea that feeling "fast" is much more fun than actually being fast. The age old mantra, it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. For most of us, we just won't be in the situation to appropriately apply 500+ hp in a truly fun manner. I suppose straight line drag racing is a bit more attainable, but I would argue the basic still applies. I have always felt like my 1974 karmann ghia with 1900lbs and 100hp, and my 2008 si sedan were more fun to drive that the higher horsepower cars I have driven. They just felt more lively, and I wasn't afraid to push them a little harder in my daily driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazeum Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I had the chance to test drive for 1hr a Nissan GTR and I come up to the same conclusion. Level of performance is incredible, passing slow car on the raod is just so easy. I went up to 210kph while passing a car that I was following just 5 second before running at 70kph (the speed limit). it was just ridiculous. My friends were driving Z's in front of me from time to time, they were fighting with their steering wheel while I was driving with one hand looking at features on the dashboard behind with the GTR. I had no fun at regular speed limit (or even x2 times speed limit), the GTR was just too good & too comfortable to enjoy driving it. I was actually quite happy to get back to my Z after this experience, it's so much more fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgeezer Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I had the chance to test drive for 1hr a Nissan GTR and I come up to the same conclusion. Level of performance is incredible, passing slow car on the raod is just so easy. I went up to 210kph while passing a car that I was following just 5 second before running at 70kph (the speed limit). it was just ridiculous. My friends were driving Z's in front of me from time to time, they were fighting with their steering wheel while I was driving with one hand looking at features on the dashboard behind with the GTR. I had no fun at regular speed limit (or even x2 times speed limit), the GTR was just too good & too comfortable to enjoy driving it. I was actually quite happy to get back to my Z after this experience, it's so much more fun. For me, the only time I could really take advantage of 500hp+ would be at a drag strip or making that pass around a tractor and 55' trailer beginning at 55mph. Then, I could use the HP. Meanwhile, my DD continues to be a Mazda Mx5 MazdaSpeed with a longer gear set in the back and a hard top. Not much HP... less than 180.., but little turbo lag and a great connection to the road. It makes little difference in the size of my smile, whether I'm driving over to the local stop & rob or have just come down the 18 from Big Bear to San Bernardino: its a great ride. My 10 year Z project will be my replacement for the MS... a little more comfort in the passenger side for my partner and, yes, about twice the horsepower. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger280zx Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 The most fun I have ever had in an automobile was in a modded GSR Integra. +or- 230 whp b18 (read high comp. BIG cams) probably 2700lbs with two slim dudes in it. Running through the mountains of Tennessee, quickly through second gear 5000-9000 rpm, over and over and over again. A balls out shot down the interstate would yeald a hellish 160mph, though it took much longer to get there than in a modern muscle car. I've not been in a GTR or TT911 or a ZR1 (yet) but the 750hp super snake was; though incredibly fast, it was equally boring. This is basically the argument made by Porsche guys for the last 40+ years. With every generation the technology allows more and more power, newer models benefit further as tire and suspension technologies advance. Yet all the leather, sound depression, and cup holders in the world could not replace the sensation of being near the limit in a 930. Knowing that the slightest mistake could mean swapping ends and leaving our world in a firey mess of twisted metal and fiberglass, hoping only that you reach the big road course in the sky. Its an age old topic. What is interesting is in the new Subaru/Toyota they have plumed part of the intake into the cabin. Resulting in more engine noise in the passenger compartment. Leading back to the point that a quick revving tossable car that makes cool sounds is better to drive than one that can melt away your license before you hit 3rd gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 There's always Brutus: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.