Yep definitely way to go. My friend has wilwood 4 pot calipers on it - stops like a brick wall but he has HRE wheels on it too stock fit but he’s “saving” them - he’s had air leaks in them Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat
Every Lotus my dad had usually fell apart in the first year and had to be slowly re engineered and built to be able to drive. Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat
Loads Of Trouble Usually Serious is their anacronym for a good reason....... fast but so fragile they are kept in china cabinets overnight by their owners! Hehe
Lotus Esprit S1 Hands-down worst car I have ever owned. One of the mechanics on the forum told me they wouldn’t take one if it was given to them. I now Feel the exact same way. Seen better engineering from high school shop class. Seriously no offense to our British Friends, but I marvel at the fact this even made it to market.
There are no truly dangerous cars. There are, however, a lot of dangerous drivers. An automobile demands respect. Some vehicles seem to have built in margins that offer some protection to the driver who lacks the requisite respect, while others have no such margins, but all must be respected for their limitations and capabilities. A quick comparison of two teens. Teen A had a 1964 Ford Falcon with an inline 6 and an automatic transmission. Teen B had a 1966 Chevelle convertible with a 500 hp 454 and a 4-speed. Teen B never wrecked his Chevelle, and never got a speeding ticket. Teen A left the road and rolled the Falcon several times before it came to a stop.
LOL! Driving since 1975, longest I kept any daily driver was about a year. First job in US (1983) was as a car hiker, picking up trashed cars from dealers who took them in trade and did not want anything to do with them. I have driven more death traps, commie made contraptions pretending to be cars then you can even imagine. Still stand by my statement though, up to the driver whether the car he is driving is dangerous or not, sort of like a gun does not pose any danger on it's own.
ok. my mistake, you are qualified ! however, i made my statement because i have driven cars that are inherently dangerous FROM THE FACTORY ! and even once you rectify the errors baked in, another one crops up later on that can kill you. yes maintenance is key, but when stuff is engineered so poorly from the start, then that car is dangerous. imo
Dijon, damp track not exactly dangerous just a little tricky on slicks until they warmed up. Arrows A6 + Porsche 956 both ex Thierry Boutsen. Road cars?nothing really.
1999 BMW M Coupe: put me off the road 3 times when nothing was going on. Typical BMW poor engineering, too much power for chassis design 1954 Ford Custom(?): wheel fell off at 50 mph 1957 Chevrolet (don't remember model): couldn't get out of its own way. Best car I ever had/drove? 2007 Audi S4 Cabriolet.
1967 Corvette. Back in the day it had bias ply tires which were the easiest thing in the world to drift and I did so at every opportunity. But the dangerous part was the 427 engine combined with the 3:08 rear end which was said to give you an honest 160 mph. Had to try it. Several times. At 130 mph the aerodynamics were kind of backwards and the front end didn't squat, it lifted. Above that, you steered (barely) with your finger tips and hoped you had to make only small corrections. Then there was a friend's Viper which was so touchy that the parking lot attendent at the country club totaled it in the lot.
Mazda RX-7 late 80's vintage. Ya'll say "underpowered POS". And compared to a Viper.. yes. But, the car has a tail that will spin out and kick out in a second in an unstable way. 360 is downright planted by comparison. I rolled mine one october night. Even now after much more powerful cars I'd seriously have to mod it to make it half way secure in the corners.. Feels safe, shouldn't be bad.. but it is. My Porsches would have been perfect BTW. The rub is you buy a sports car to drive it. You can buy the 1000 HP car and drive it under the recommended speed limit. Sure it's safe, you're driving safe, etc. You can go on the track and push it linearly until you get nervous. Of course only stupid idiots crash the car under these circumstances. Happens every day. What makes me nervous about a car like a Carrera GT and any high HP car for that matter, is when you're driving it even within your safe parameters it will do something with that stretch of road at that one time with that weather that day that bites you in the ***. You're in the 7/10 range and the car will try to kill you. The farther you push it to the edge the more that quirk or danger condition will pop up. Even with a perfectly maintained car. I secretly really want a Carrera GT because it is such a "dangerous" car. European women are that way.
I had '91 Toyota MR2 Turbo. In its day, faster / more powerful than the Ferrari 348. Image Unavailable, Please Login But, had a nasty surprise in store for me ... The car handled fairly neutral -- maybe a bit of understeer -- up to the point where your would start to lose traction, say while powering around a curve. If it remained neutral or understeer, you could power and counter-steer around a corner. But the car was finicky. If you were to back off the throttle (even a little bit) --( I know, you are not supposed to do that) -- the car would immediately snap to a vicious over steering situation. So quickly, that the tail would spin around faster than most people (me included) could compensate. The situation was fixable and after a bit of suspension work, the MR2 quickly became a favorite of mine. Once suspension was modified, it would dance around a track. It was particularly a hoot at autocross events.
Come to think of it, there was a time once when a truck I was driving scared the hell out of me. Back in 1983, a new Chevy S10 I was delivering to a local cemetery, burst in flames on I-94 in Downtown Chicago. At the same time the door jammed and left the door handle broken off in my hand, had to break the side window to get out. Ended in a hospital for smoke inhalation...
We went from most dangerous cars, to cars trying to kill you.. I think Steven King had a novel about such a car PS. Another reason I have a Ford Pickup.. LOL
Dodge viper - too much power too little chassis composure Triumph spitfire - Ice skater in the wet Plymouth roadster - Drove like sh**
1. CGT: a race car in street clothes. Lemans engine with CF everything. Extremely mechanical, 605 HP with GT1 pushrod suspension, on top of a CF chassis drives stiff as a board. No margin for error. Feel every vibration. The one car I’d never push 10/10’s. Image Unavailable, Please Login 2. Lotus 211: raced this 2 seasons, after Elise’s and Exiges. Extremely light, good power to weight ratio - 275 HP weighing 1650 lbs. Slight rear weight bias set up for many spins on track. Once the rear went around, was like a hammer and difficult to correct. Image Unavailable, Please Login 3. Speciale: last NA V8 597 HP, 3000 lbs, feels extremely light and nimble. Very surprised, but even on Cup 2’s in damp weather I’ve inadvertently spun the car. Easy to break rear tires loose, well balanced to correct, but can’t get carried away. Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my 16M
- 1976 Pontiac Bonneville. A poorly maintained rustbucket in Hawaii. No steering feel left, wheel floppy from side to side. Barely tracked straight. Headlights barely visible. Brakes a mere suggestion of stopping, couldn't tell if it was actual braking or coasting to a stop. 4mpg. I drove it 90 mins round trip and was basically panicking inside the whole way. - original Mini Cooper with drum brakes. Like driving a shopping cart and trying to brake with your feet dragging on the ground. - other terrible drives: Dodge Shadow, Dodge Caliber, PT Cruiser
Ahhh, mine was a 1980, so maybe the early version was more "planted." I even drove mine in snow. In fact, drove it everywhere, as it was my only car at the time. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Renault sport spider - dreadful snap lift off oversteer numb steering feel . Best car was a Porsche 968 club sport , fantastic chassis, balance , throttle steering was easy .You could drift / slide it as you wanted. Testarossa 86 rudge hub TRX tyres was a disappointment , too light at the front , poor brakes and you could feel too much mass behind you messing up the balance on hard corners / roundabouts. Not pleasurable at speed round bends .