Extra benefit of having a "slow" 328...

LOL!!!

Agreed, street racing is stupid. Guess the guy could have bought an A6 and saved on his new insurance premiums.

 

I have never heard the 328 called slow. I always thought it was a sssssllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow 308 (80 to 82)

 

Good story. I have saved myself from getting a ticket once because I did not race someone in traffic, doing so can only lead to trouble. The 328 may be slow by todays standards, but you can still get a ticket in all 50 states if you are not carefull.

 

With a big enough hill and a tail wind you could get a speeding ticket on your bicycle.

 

I don't play those games, even in my 355...there are plenty of faster cars these days.

 

IIRC, it's about 6.0 sec 0-60, per a contemporary Road & Track test. It's not slow relative normal cars, but an entry-level Boxster or Audi TT will easily keep up with it, and the new BMW 3 series in any configuration could probably edge out a Ferrari 328. They had 308 GTSi at 8.9 sec.

But, I had mine out today for a midday drive, including some 6000-7000rpm bursts, and even in a 328 it's hard to find a safe stretch of road to let the car unwind. I don't know how the F430 guys can deal with the frustration - it must be like sitting next to a supermodel in church, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 

That's quite a comparison.

 

Perfectly said. You are always held back and "chomping at the bit" to run her. Even going up the turnpike is not enought. You have to be satisfied with playing the throttle to hear the glorious exhaust note.

I have never street raced but Florida impounds the car if you are so many miles over the speed limit. Not sure what is is but it is only a "blip" of the throttle in modern Ferraris

Lee

 

I don't think a slow car was the savior, but a smart driver was!

Dave

 

Thats a great comparison.

 

A 328, slow? What's "slow"?

Modern cars have "electronically limited" top speeds. But the streets aren't the Bonneville salt flats.

A top fuel dragster will beat out just about anything except a surface to air missile on 0-to-60 -- but would have terrible lap times around a track. And would be a bear to parallel park.

On paper, the EVO, with fat sticky tires, humongous brakes, and a twin scroll turbo that can push the intake to over two atmospheres, should be faster than the 328. It powers away from a stop sign better. But with the turbo lag and balky (hydraulically damped) clutch, it doesn't power through turns as well as the 328. (The EVO was designed for anti-lag ... which the street version lacks.)

For the real world, it's not about "speed". It's about "quick".

Back in Metro West, I'd watch guys in beemers, porkers, or luxo-ricers zoom down the straights at well over the limit. I'd see them again soon: drivers there would slow to a crawl when there was traffic in the oncoming lane or when the road curved a bit. I could putt along as the "slow guy" at the speed limit --- and get there just as fast as the jackrabbits on the straights. But then, if the road was marked "35", the 328 can drive "35" .... through corners and all.

The 328 might not be "fast", but it *is* "quick".

And that's something you can enjoy, even in city traffic.


In the "other drivers' reactions" department, I've noticed an odd effect, lately, in northern VA: During the summer, the EVO got far more hostility from other drivers than the 328. (Hostility in terms of people deliberately blocking the road.)

But now that it's gotten a bit cooler out, people seem to be outraged that I'm still driving the 328. It seems that driving a Ferrari outside of summer violates some taboo, like wearing white shoes after Labor Day. Or maybe it's just that people are less hostile to top down (or targa off) cars -- where they can see that there's an actual person in it.

But that's another benefit to an "old" car: When a headlight goes out on the 328, I can pick up a new one anywhere, and swap it out in fifteen minutes, using the tools that come with the car. The EVO goes to the shop monday, so the dealer can do the massive (bumper and fender) disassembly required to change out a HID bulb. (Which is one reason I'm driving the Ferrari to work instead of the EVO -- it's dark when I leave the office, and the Ferrari's dash may be dim, but it has both headlamps.)

 

+1.

 

Neither of these is required to get pulled over on your bike. When I was about 13 I got pulled over for speeding in a school zone on my bike while doing my paper route. I was on a flat and managed to get upto a whopping 27 mph. After the cop followed me with his lights on for about a block, he finally came on his loudspeaker and told me to stop. I had no idea that he might actually be trying to stop the paper boy. I guess cops get a little bored sometimes... on the bright side, my parents bought me a spedo for my bike after that.

 

That's pathetic.

Dave

 

Exactly. I'd rather have a car where I can run through a couple gears than have a super fast car that you can't enjoy anywhere.

 

328s aren't slow at all. I have noticed that there are a lot of slow drivers who buy cars with huge amounts of horse power and handling so they can go faster, they are on the same level as poseurs.
This past weekend I was lapping a brand new Mustang GT and I was driving my '85 Porsche 911 3.2!
Anyway a 328 can do 0-60 under 6 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 13.9 seconds and will hit over 150mph very easily and sure footed.

 

I think it's more fun to drive a slow car fast. I like shifting a lot to get a car to move. Who wants to stay in one or two gears all day? ICK!!!!

I want a 120hp Miata

 

It's kind of funny, because these thoughts were exactly my own when looking at my next motor cycle purchase. I like Ducati's, have an ST3 and a 998....just love the new 1098 and wanted one, but....new cycles are so damn hyper that they demolish all (US) speed limits in first gear. To feel like you are going fast, and on the 'edge' you have to be going sick speeds, and putting yourself (and probably others) in real danger on public roads. Most likely riding above ones ability, certainly mine. I instead opted to buy a Hypermotard, a new offering from Ducati. Super torquey and slow by comparison to the 1098 (and any other modern superbike)....but it is, hands down, the single most fun street legal motorcycle I have ever ridden. Want the front end in the air, twist the little grip on the right a bit and the front will promptly be in the air, need it back on the ground, just ease up a bit. A complete hooligans’ bike, simply fun...not all that fast, but quick. All smiles.

j

 

These days, I would love a restored Fiat 500 or an Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 which I can enjoy 60mph and BELOW. The top speed of my 290 km/h car is largely academic. I would be jail so fast and my car impounded.

 

It's funny how many people say "enough already" when it comes to increasing power, yet the HP wars and bragging rights continue.

Dave

 

The only thing that gets you in trouble is your ego and not the car itself. You can get in over your head driving a Yugo running on one cylinder.

Feel free to justify anything under the sun to reaffirm your buying decision but to compare why the other guy drives what he drives is just stereotyping and hypocritical.

 

More proof that the 355 is the best? Not too slow, but fast enough an primitive enough that you feel everything?