Performance....where do we go from here? - Page 4

Carby · 30-09-2011, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dimka100

People keep calling the M5 or the C63 as elite cars, please STOP as these cars are not. Just because these cars are seen as expensive in Australia it does not make them elite in any shape or form. These cars are in fact normal quality saloons that are driven by people living in other developed countries of this world who are on the same level of income as those who live in Australia and drive new HSVs/FPVs.

The reality is that it’s very hard to turn a family saloon into a Performance car simply due to the basic laws of physics. The sheer size, mass, weight distribution, saloon body limitations, and other factors have all a very negative impact on the performance characteristics of a vehicle. The German makers use a lot of technology to try an overcome these limitations in order to make the M5/C63 and other similar cars feel like a Real Performance car. Unfortunately for us, Australian car manufacturers do not have access/funds/whatever other reasons to implement such technology in the models available for us to buy here in Australia and hence the difference in performance terms only between the M5/C63 vs say an GT/F6/GTS is very significant, especially in the areas that are most technology dependant such as handling.

Straight line speed is not so hard to achieve, and can be done by substituting capacity and reduction in efficiency to produce the desired power levels required to achieve the targeted performance. Hence why in that in that area Australian cars are not so lacking say compared to handling …

Read my post - I'm not saying M5/M3 are elite I'm saying Ferraris and Lambo's are. I believe that the M5 M3 and the like are genuine performance cars however.

Carby · 30-09-2011, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

You are missing my point. The FPV falcons and HSVs are constained by their base platform whereas the M3s etc are not just base models with a few bits bolted on.

Many of the things that make a falcon good as a family vehicle hinder it as a performance vehicle.
Please note performance includes stopping, cornering, reliability at speed as well as straight line accelleration.

If you hammer a FPV on a track (or closed road) you will run out of brakes, boil the diff and trans, overheat the intake/intercooler and indeed the engine fairly quickly.
10-15 laps of QR or Lakeside is about all it takes to run one out of puff.

On the other hand a M3 et al. will play all day as they have been designed from the ground up to go fast for long periods.

This is first hand experience not something I read on the net......

So is an STi or Evo just family hacks and not true performance cars?

I doubt any stock car can "play" all day on a race track (for the record I have a good mate who runs an M3R) as you say.

I've seen enough production car races to know what are performance cars and what aint - and your definition is too narrow, in my opinion of course

XRDeeze · 30-09-2011, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carby

Read my post - I'm not saying M5/M3 are elite I'm saying Ferraris and Lambo's are. I believe that the M5 M3 and the like are genuine performance cars however.

And my NA XR6 did 11.9 the other week....

Legit290 · 30-09-2011, 06:54 PM

if ford made a rocket car i would get one

**DJM83** · 30-09-2011, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carby

So is an STi or Evo just family hacks and not true performance cars?

I doubt any stock car can "play" all day on a race track (for the record I have a good mate who runs an M3R) as you say.

I've seen enough production car races to know what are performance cars and what aint - and your definition is too narrow, in my opinion of course

Everyone has a differing opinion of what performance is in a car, just because you see it one way doesnt mean it is correct.