0 to 100 is a very poor measure of performance

[XR8-260]

How much would those Vbox devices used by motor magazine cost? I don't really trust the g-tech to give accurate measurements.

[Neeek]

Interesting reading... I've never liked the 0-100 argument (or 0-60 as I used to call it back in the UK!) to measure a car's performance. But it does sell cars.

I once read an article about this "benchmark" in a magazine a long time ago, and it was saying how the general public generally accept 0-100 as a good yardstick for performance... i.e. the car with the shorter 0-100 time will be "faster" and will no doubt sell because it beats competitor X, Y and Z.

However, manufacturers have sometimes altered gearing in cars to get that vital few tenths down and thus sell more cars. There was a comparison of a couple of hot hatches, I forget which ones they were, and that one had a half-second lead in the sprint to 100. But the only reason was for that was because it managed it in 2nd, whereas the other one had to change into 3rd at 90 or so. Ergo, one is "better" than the other.

I'm not sure I like the 1/4 mile argument either. The reason being that for 95% of the time, we're not all ripping away from the lights at full throttle, something that these two yardsticks rely on for positive results.

In another magazine way back when (I think it was Evo, or Performance Car or something - a UK mag) the jounralists devised a new measure and they called it TED - Time Exposed to Danger. If I remember right, the measure was that you're travelling along at 40mph behind a semi-trailer at a set distance and you have to overtake it from your position and pull in front.

The TED philosphy was that in the real world, the fastest cars would cover the manouvre in the shortest possible time and distance. If you like, it was a test of a car's acceleration potential. They conducted the testing in all the cars available gears, and the moment the car was a full car length (its own) in front of the truck, the clocks stopped and the measuring tape came out.

So I reckon 0-100 and 1/4 miles are fun, but to get a real measure of a car's performance that TED test was, IMHO, hard to beat.

[ThoR_]

Originally Posted by 30487256

So how fast can we accelerate before it is considered illegal? I suppose it's up to the policman's discretion?

Yeh i spose there a fine line between driving a little bit quick and hooning?

A friend of mine tryed to race me in his VX and i was sorta shaking my head saying no no no because there was a cop car behind him he took off like a bat out of hell flat pedal on to 70kph and they got him.

He tryed to say that it was to the speed limit they basiclly laughed there not dumb.

[Night Runner]

I think 0-100kph is a good measure of speed. Didn't agree with all he was saying and it's common knowledge. Once the cars leave the factory and have been trial tested by professionals day-in-day-out for the best performance times it is than sold to the consumer. In real world driving it comes down to the conditions (obviously) and the skill of the driver (more so in a manual). That's part of the fun. You know what your car can do and only the driver can stuff it up. Traction, stalling, missing a gear......

It's good to know what the cars are capable of if driven properly and for me 0-100kph is a good bench mark, no matter what any Noddy says. : Interesting read though.


My 0.02c

[[Tonko]]

Originally Posted by freaky

lol.. yes.. the same way a GT walks over the F6..

Touche :

[Piotr]

It all really depends on how you wanna measure performance. How quick to get to a speed and how long (distance wise) are two totaly different measurements.

Is performance how quickly a car accelerates only? Is it how quickly it goes around a track? What kind of track, is it open and flowing or narrow and twisty?

[Night Runner]

True, but when someone asks how fast your car is, 1/4 mile and 0-100 will be the first things mentioned, you wouldn't say it handles real well and double apex's are super smooth. Fast & performance are two different issues.

[Piotr]

Well the title is 0-100 is a very poor measure of performance not 0-100 is a very poor measure of how fast your car is

[Night Runner]

Right you are mate, my apologies. ;)

[Grasshoppr]

Originally Posted by ThoR_

Well actually it is illegal. Accelerating to fast to the speed limit is actually illegal. Most people dont think so because there not even at the speed limit yet. As a matter of fact i have not met one person that thinks its illegal and are suprised when i tell them. I know alot of people that have been done for it. Plus my Dad just retired as a cop.

Just thought i would let you know

Your posts get better and better :togo:

Accelerating fast will never get you into trouble. Screeching tyres as you leave the line and chirping into 2nd WILL get you into trouble. There is no road law that states that you can not accelerate quickly. Your mate was probably pulled over (if this story is even true...) because he looked like he was being a smart a$$ in front of police, not for accelerating quickly :

[GXL078]

My brain hurts after reading this thread

[Hybrid34]

0-100 is one of the best ways to measure, its right in front of your eyes, my car is faster than your because i can get to 100kms quicker, whether or not you have a massive turbo with a light car, or a massive v8 in a heavy car, depending on your motor, weight, aerodynamics and way u shift for the people who drive sticks..in the end its the car that gets ahead is gonna be the faster car, regardless of whats under the hood.

[Night Runner]

Originally Posted by BLKPhoon

Your posts get better and better :togo:

Accelerating fast will never get you into trouble. Screeching tyres as you leave the line and chirping into 2nd WILL get you into trouble. There is no road law that states that you can not accelerate quickly. Your mate was probably pulled over (if this story is even true...) because he looked like he was being a smart a$$ in front of police, not for accelerating quickly :

It's law in New Zealand. It's called "excessive acceleration". I can see why, you could be doing 0-60km as fast as you could near a school....or what-not, even when you're doing 45kph with full throttle the car is still traveling at a rate of knots and it takes longer for the driver to react and slow instead of if he was cruising at 45kph. You may want to check into you road laws, if NZ has it, odds are it was trial and used in Aussie first.

[colossus]

Originally Posted by Hybrid34

0-100 is one of the best ways to measure, its right in front of your eyes, my car is faster than your because i can get to 100kms quicker, whether or not you have a massive turbo with a light car, or a massive v8 in a heavy car, depending on your motor, weight, aerodynamics and way u shift for the people who drive sticks..in the end its the car that gets ahead is gonna be the faster car, regardless of whats under the hood.

No offence intended but do you actually understand what Merlin is saying? That is that two cars both with 0-100 times of 10 seconds will not cover the same distance when they hit 100km/h - One might cover 100 metres, the other 150 metres. I think some people may be missing this???

[GXL078]

Being able to go hard all night is a better measure of performance.