h a l f b a k e r yContrary to popular belief
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With all the problems with people crashing onto each other on the roads these days, perhaps it is time to redesign the motor car. At the moment, most cars are sold on the idea that when you point the car at the open road and put your foot down, you will be catapaulted along at waaay over the speed limit,
yet to the occupants of the motor, will be reclining in air-conditioned comfort listening to Pavorotti from the 10 speaker stereo, completely insulated from the noise and the dirt and speed. Well imagine if a car was built so that it felt like you were doing 100 miles an hour when in fact you were doing 40. Lowering the thing a few inches, a bit less noise insulation, see thru floor, whatever. I know there is a thing called a Lada that is flat out at 40 and feels it, but I don't mean crap quality, just make a car 'feel' like its going fast, rather than "feel' like its a big safe enclosed environment when your actually doing 120 along the motorway in the rain. I think something called risk compensation are the key words. Anyway, I eagerly await being shot to pieces.
Pro Karts
http://www.racing-s....co.uk/kartfrmr.htm
Bet these beauties are fun to drive!! [TwoSheds, Aug 02 2002]
[link]
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Have you never been in a Caterham Super 7? (Or Lotus 7 as it was originally.) Or a 1968 Triumph Spitfire? Or a 1932 MG TA? |
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I have a Caterham (with a 2 Litre 16 valve Mondeo engine in it). Driving the five minutes to the shops is an adventure in itself. You can reach down and touch the road as you travel you're so low. There is almost nothing as far as conventional body work is understood, and the soft compound tires and hard suspension mean I very rarely have to slow down. You should feel what it is like when I am really doing 100... |
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Sounds like you are dreaming of an Austin 7 |
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Now I know this'll sound ~really~ silly, but we have a Volvo 960. Might not sound like much, but it's silver with alloy wheels, low-profiles tyres and pretty hard suspension. Going up the motorway in Sports mode is like a dream (as far as Volvos go), as you shoot off past BMWs, leaving their drivers astounded and choking in your spray/dust and getting pushed back in your seat after the high rev's and blissful acceleration. Enough said.
I also see a lovely grey R-reg Nissan Skyline every time I leave Chester. It's £24,995 - anyone who would like to buy it for me is quite welcome. |
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well not exactly shot down.... The thing is now that everyone has had a chance to show off about their encyclopaedic knowledge of obselete/rare/expensive autos (I've got a Turbo charged Subaru) what I'm on about is a well built mass produced,probably Jap, stylee car that feels LIKE its going fast when it isn't. Not a little sporty job, with go faster stripes and numbers on the side. Maybe some kind of fake engine noise generator that enhances the doppler effect of vehicles going the other way? I don't know , the idea is half baked. It is 2 in the morning here, after all. Ps.NTG. every man and his missus drives a skyline here, They're not that cool, or expensive( 3000 quid for a five year old turbo with knobs bells and whistles). They look good in Chester cos therer aren't many around. they are as common as mondeos in NZ. |
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Getting parts for Skylines is no problem here. The scrappies are full of them. Hence my HB idea. And new parts are no problem either... |
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Well it's still a nice car for me :-p
And you can't beat my Volvo story can you? Ha-di-ha-ha |
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Yes I can, as can he³² and she³²... |
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I think me an' SteveJ might be on the same wavelength here. Transparent bottoms all round I say. |
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I've got a big, behemoth, '93 Bonneville. At 80 mph, it feels like it's going 50. Good thing the speedo works. |
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I drove a Ford Aspire rental car once. It accomplished [briandamage]'s goal by transmitting (possibly amplifying) all road and engine noise to the cabin, riding as smooth as a buckboard and steering like a go-kart. Any genuine speed or acceleration was definitely an illusion. |
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[RayfordSteele], I know whatcha mean. A '58 Cadillac, now that's a behemoth. I helped restore one once. On the shakedown run, I learned the true origin of the term "land yacht". Definitely a warped sense of speed in that beast. Even with the convertible top down, 75 felt more like 35. |
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How about those 777's? At 550 or so they feel as if they're not even moving at all. |
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Sure, until you put the top down. |
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I have an advertisement for a '38 Cord. Bits of it read, 'The driver of no other car is enjoying the same kind of motoring luxury the Cord owner enjoys. Such as easy steering, a quietness so unusual you can hardly tell whether the engine is running; and a bounceless-swayless-smoothness that can be compared only to coasting.' |
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I have an ad for a 1911 Silent Waverly:
* HIGH EFFICIENCY SHAFT DRIVE
* Truly Noiseless
* Full elliptic springs make it the easiest riding
* Less than 1 cent a mile to run
* Less expensive than a horse
* Solid or pneumatic tires
* Exide,Waverly,National or Edison Battery
* Even a blizzard has no Terrors for the Silent Waverly |
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I hear everyone talking about harder springs for better handling, and I must say that it totally defeats the purpose. Road racers and NASCAR teams alike use the softest spring they can to keep the car in better contact with the road. Harder springs may feel more sporty, but they actually hinder handling. The way to better handling is a stiffer frame, and softer, more forgiving suspension. Otherwise, you can't plant the front tires well enough in a turn. Make the rear suspension too hard, and you'll get loose in the turns. Lowering is good though. There is one and only one reason for hardening the spring ratio, and that is to prevent bottoming out in hard turns. If you're not bottoming out already, you need no harder springs. |
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Yeah? Well one time I went to the store to buy some milk, and the girl behind the cash register sneezed. Wait, what? |
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As do I for, without them, my rooms would be dark at night. |
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I prefer plain denim 501s myself.... |
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[Darknight], it depends what you’re doing with the car. I had a (modified) car that went 338 kph (about 210 mph). I ended up removing the already not so cushy suspension because at that speed when you hit a bump the suspension doesn’t react fast enough. The bump is way behind you by the time the suspension puts the tires back on the road. Better off letting the speed rated tires respond to the job of maximizing road contact. Roads are usually not as smooth as racetracks. I wouldn’t attempt a turn at that speed, but that’s my point… Depends what you’re doing with the car. |
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Shz, I think we're trying to make the same point. |
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It seems we’re both trying to maximize road contact, only for different applications. |
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[UnaBubba]'s right, you'll probably become accustomed to the sensation of speed after a while. |
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I've noticed myself that, generally, the bigger and more expensive a car is, the slower it feels like it's going. I've driven a Nova which was comfortable up to 50mph, I have a Micra which at 70mph feels like the Nova at 50mph and my mother's 1.8 Mondeo feels like the Micra at 70mph while I'm lazily cruising down the dual carriageway at 90mph. Having said that, I've no real inclination to drive the Micra at more than 80mph; it's quite hard work getting it over 75. |
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A week ago I went down Takaka Hilll, local mountain road, 900 meters winding downhill.
What a blast, I overtook a truck in one corner!
Felt like sitting on a formula 1 car. My speed wasn't that fast but as I could see road under me and I sat about 10 cm from the road I felt that I was going very fast.
Only the noise of tyres, wind and occasional squeek of my hydraulic disc brakes.
Had to lean onto the corners to keep all wheels on the road. |
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Ok, you are wondering what I was driving? |
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Not driving but riding my new Greenspeed recumbent trike! Faster on the corners than cars but as I did not pedal I was slower on the straight pieces of road. |
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That's what I was going to say. The fastest I have ever felt I was going was 42mph on my Peugeot U09 10 speed. It felt WAY faster than 121mph on a motorcycle, 145mph in a SAAB or 175mph in a Corvette. I know I was going 42 because a guy pulled up next to me and said "hey did you know you are going 42 miles per hour?" I turn to look at him and I felt the wind sucking the air out of my mouth. |
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I love the motor vehicle / bicycle speed check. Mine was from an old Ford Pinto that pulled up alongside my waterpipe ten-speed with fifty pounds of luggage coming down the mountain from Henry Cowell state park outside Santa Cruz - "Sixty-five!" |
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I've gone fifty miles per hour on a land luge, head inches above the ground - feels a lot faster than it is. |
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Some fiction has the cars of the future making zooming sounds and air jets blowing in your face as speed enhancers. |
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//Some fiction has the cars of the future making zooming sounds and air jets blowing in your face as speed enhancers.//
"The Marching Morons" by C M Kornbluth - the world is populated by a mass of low-intelligence, well, morons really, who by sheer weight of numbers have enslaved the more intelligent.
Sound familiar? |
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Would it also be a car that switches to gaming mode at every stop due to red lights or traffic congestion, just to keep the driver's momentum going on? |
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